The Movie Palaces

Year Published: 1986

Creator: Smithsonian Institution Office of Telecommuinications

Complete Record: The Movie Palaces Movie theater lights, crowd at movie premiere. Shots of outside and inside movie theaters. Warner Bros banner. Presented by Gene Kelly. Wiltern Theater. History of movie theaters. Arcades. “Great Train Robbery” clip. Shot of starry lit sky. Comical stunts. Magic of the movies, audience clapping. Shots of movie theaters such as Gem Theater, Orpheum Theater in LA, seating area, carved interiors. Charlie Chaplin. Crowd at movie theater. Stills of movie executives William Fox and Marcus Lowe. Extravagant movie theater interiors. Stills of Sid Grauman. Women in waterdall. Cars driving through busy streets at night. Fancy theaters. Capitol Movie Theater. Gene Kelly talks about movie prices back in the day. Ceiling paintings at picture palaces. Golden statues, ornate statues, luxurious decor, red velvet curtains. Examples of culturally themed theater decor-East Asian, Indian, Egyptian, etc. Hands on organ. Man playing organ. Shots of movie palaces. Man talking about movie palaces, he has grey hair and black glasses-former theater organ player. He plays the organ. Organ elevating, close up of the tubes whistling. Hands playing organ to illustrate different organ songs for silent films. Movie poster. Clip of “Queen Elizabeth” with Sarah Bernhardt. Silent pictures, love scenes in black and white. Horse chase in the wilderness. Car speeding in town. He continues to play organ. Dancing on stage, women, the Rockettes, putting their legs in the air in unison. Radio City Music Hall. Movie premiere, crowd cheering. People in line outside movie theater. Film footage woman tap dancing to piano playing. Beautifully lit movie palace interiors. San Francisco, Fox Theater. Exotic ceiling ornaments. Seattle Auditorium, Asian influence in the decor. Grauman’s Egyptian theater in Hollywood. Gothic, Baroque, Byzantine, Mayan, American-Indian influences. Chicago Theater. Paramount Theater in Times Square. San Antionio’s Majestic. Shot of architect with gray mustache holding a cigar, Don Eaverson. Miami’s Olympia Theater. Chandeliers, different lighting in the theaters. Arlington in Santa Barbara. Atlanta Fox. Elderly man. architect S. Charles Lee, talking about movie palaces. Movie palace stairway. Incredible interiors, “the patron’s heaven.” The Avalon, Catalina Island. Oakland Paramount. Radio City Music Hall again. Great Depression. Men on the street near bus. People eating. Crowd queuing outside movie theater. Abandoned theater. Movie theater being torn down and reduced to ruble. Empty theaters, more rubble. Theaters transformed for performing arts. Mary Bishop, woman, talking about saving movie theaters, like Columbus Paramount, from being destroyed. Movie theater renovations and modifications. Stairways at Columbus Paramount. Outside of the theater. Various black and white film footage, man hanging from plane by ladder. Diverse shots of interiors of movie palaces.