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I’ve been conducting research for a pending post on the last years of Sid Grauman’s life. Among the interesting items I have run across is this 1950 newspaper advertisement for his estate auction.  While I’m sure a great many of his former belongings are long vanished or forever separated from their history, one can’t help […]

Those who attended Corona Del Mar’s Port, during the theatre’s inaugural years, were treated to “The Magic Screen of The Future”. Branded with a somewhat schlocky name and grandiose marketing, at the time of its’ 1949 launch, the Starke Cycloramic Custom Screen was promoted as offering a brighter, more uniform, picture, via the exclusion of […]

This past week marked the 40th anniversary of Garden Grove’s long forgotten Westbrook Twin. Opened on July 3, 1973, the 800 seat Westbrook Twin was typical of the quick build, “no frills”, design, which was prevalent throughout the 1970’s. Serving as more of a territory place holder for the Edwards chain, than true movie going […]

A 1941 program from Anaheim’s Grand Theatre, featuring the Jean Arthur Comedy “The Devil and Miss Jones”. Some thirty-five years later, a very different “Miss Jones” feature would screen at the theatre, via the adult film “The Devil in Miss Jones”. While the two films hold nothing in common, outside of their titles, they provide […]

Today’s pictures come from a 1927 “Scientific American” feature on New York City’s legendary Roxy Theatre (1927-1960); depicting a few of the industrial caliber support features that went in to running the massive venue (the 5,920 seat Roxy even had a “completely equipped” hospital!).         

Think those annoying pre show commercials are a recent addition to the movie going experience? Well, here is a 1947 trade publication advertisement for the Movie Advertising Bureau, promoting the benefits of running sixty to eighty second spots in movie theatres. Yes, even in the “good old days”, there were television style commercials, hawking everything […]

This week, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) convenes in Las Vegas for the organization’s yearly meeting/trade show/schmooze fest, Cinema Con. Eighty-two years ago, one of NATO’s predecessors, The Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America, came together at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, for the day’s premiere industry convention. While separated by some nine decades, there […]

The celebrity prints immortalized at Grauman’s Chinese have been a Hollywood landmark and “must see” tourist stop for nearly a century. However, unbeknownst to most, the Chinese isn’t the only theatre in Hollywood where notables have left their mark in concrete. A little over a mile away, there stands another collection of forecourt prints, which […]

Today’s unique picture captures Grauman’s Chinese Theatre doorman (circa 1949), Joseph Lockard Martin Jr. Better known by his stage name, Lock Martin, the 7’1” – 7’7” (accounts vary on his height) actor worked in various public relations/promotional roles and appeared in a handful of movies, before being hired as Grauman’s doorman in the late 1940’s; […]

Today’s picture, from a 1978 edition of Box Office Magazine, captures that dark time when exhibitors felt compelled to “economically” plex their single screen holdings. One hates to even contemplate how many formerly grand auditoriums were hacked up with “TWINNING, TRIPLEXING, or QUADING” after this advertisement ran.