Back again by popular Demand: “Movie Theaters and Other Movie Facts of Athol Massachusetts” JUNE 23RD at 1:00pm

          Throughout the twentieth century, significantly during the first half, movie theaters have played a vital role in both American society and culture. These buildings of public assembly, many of which were ornately designed, brought communities across the nation a wide variety of entertainment, public service, and inspiration. The town of Athol Massachusetts had two theaters that did just that. The York Theatre and the Capitol Theatre both opened in the year 1930, and during their thirty-year legacy provided patrons with a luxurious atmosphere to enjoy a wide array of entertainment.

          On Sunday June the 23rd at 1:00pm the Athol Historical Society will host a second exhibition of film history enthusiast Jonathan A. Boschen’s well-received presentation on the York and Capitol. The presentation, which utilizes a slide show, explores these buildings during their reign as theaters throughout the 1930’s, through the 1950’s and discusses how they are significant and important to Athol’s history. One of the highlights of the presentation is the historic photographs from the 1930’s, that have been digitally scanned at a high resolution. This will allow viewers of the presentation to clearly see the ornate architectural details of both theaters up close, and help them understand how these two buildings brought entertainment and joy to the town. Along with the photographs, back ground information on the buildings’ architects and owners, as well as other significant pieces of film history and Americana that relate to going to the movies in Athol are shown. Admission to the presentation is free and complimentary freshly popped popcorn and candy will be served. 

Jonathan A. Boschen Multimedia Film History Presentations: PROJECT UPDATES 02/22/13

          Great news everyone! It looks like my Athol history lecture on the York and Capitol Theaters is going to have a second exhibition during the Summertime. I will post further details in the months to come. Also a second presentation (not related to Athol) is just about put together; there are still some nooks and crannies that need polishing, but it's almost finished. The next step for that project is drafting up a proposal letter/e-mail to a few venues who might be interested in hosting the event. I hope to do that one in the Autumn or early Winter time of this year. I will release further details on that show after the exhibition of the Athol presentation. For more information please visit my Facebook page. ;-)

Cubby Bear's 80th Birthday and a look at the RKO Roxy

February 10th, 2013 marks the 80th Birthday of the theatrical cartoon "Opening Night" which debuted Cubby Bear; a now obscure cartoon star who was one of the many 1930's cartoon creations utilized to outdo Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse.  Despite not being animated overly well, "Opening Night" is still an interesting time piece that, in a way, offers modern day viewers a look at the past and at an era long gone.  

"Opening Night", was made by the Van Beuren Corporation, a motion picture company located in New York City, that specialized in the production of both live action and animated theatrical short subjects.  The cartoon was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures who, like Twentieth Century-Fox and United Artists, never had their own in-house cartoon studio and only distributed animated cartoons to theaters during Hollywood's golden age (Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, Columbia, and Universal at one point had their own in-house cartoon studio during this era).  During the years of 1932 through 1936, the Van Beuren Corporation was RKO's unofficial theatrical cartoon studio.

RKO's triumphant radio tower logo and lightning bolt logo.  Unlike Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, Columbia, and Universal, who placed their proud logos on their animated theatrical cartoons, neither of RKO's two logos ever made an appearance on any of Van Beuren's cartoons.

          Cubby Bear was another unsuccessful attempt by the Van Beuren Corporation to take on Mickey Mouse.  The studio had tried earlier with other characters, including one that was a crudely drawn Mouse that looked vastly similar to Mickey Mouse; the character actutally fooled audiences in thinking it was Mickey Mouse and thus prompted a law suit from Walt Disney.  Cubby Bear was only featured in twenty cartoons (one of which was not released to theaters) that were made throughout 1933 and 1934.  Though these cartoons were not overly popular with the general public at the time of their original theatrical release, today they are still fun to watch as they are incredibly campy with their bizaire stories and crude animation.  One of the best of the bunch "The Nut Factory" (1933) clearly demonstrates some of the strange plots that were thought up for Cubby Bear.

          "Opening Night", though still odd, sticks out from the other Cubby Bear cartoons and holds some interesting historical value.  To begin with, the cartoon was a spoof of the grand opening of the RKO Roxy Theatre in New York City which had opened a few months prior, on December 29th 1932.  The Theater, a beautiful art-deco streamlined theater located in Rockefeller Center in New York City, was an un-identical sister theatre to RKO's other newest theater, Radio City Music Hall.  Both theater's were beautiful additions to both New York City and RKO's Theatre Chain.  Information regarding the Roxy Theatre's grand opening and it's architecture can be found on the Cinema Treasures' Page for the Roxy, which has a nice write up regarding it by William Gabel.  The plot of the cartoon revolves around Cubby sneaking into the grand opening show of a RKO Roxy Theatre and eventually leading the orchestra to the theatre's opening prologue show.  While the cartoon revolves around Cubby's exploration of the venue, it also showcases some of the strange modern features offered to its cartoon character patrons.  Many of these features include a cavernous lobby, foyer, and auditorium, moving seats that bring patrons to the auditorium, and trap doors that dispose of rude inconsiderate patrons.

Images from "Opening Night".  Note how crudely designed the film and animation is.

Top Left, Image 1: The Exterior of the RKO Roxy. Top Image 2, outside of the theatre.  Top Image 3: the staircase infested  Foyer of the theatre. Top image 4: the door to the theatre "control room".  Bottom Left, Image 1: Moving chairs that bring patrons to a spot within the auditorium.  Bottom Image 2 & 3: The auditorium.  

Bottom Image 4: The Stage with the grand opening prologue show.

      Though unrealistic, in some aspects the cartoon offers modern day viewers a look at the past.  While the film is not a documentation of the (real NYC) Roxy Theatre's grand opening, it does poke fun at the emphasis that was put towards the Roxy, and also towards many other brand new or recently renovated movie theaters located throughout the United States in the 1920's and 1950's.  Grand opening advertisements for new or recently renovated movie theaters often over emphasized the new special features and modern comforts the venue had to offer its patrons.

Though not related to the Roxy Theatre in New York City, two examples of grand opening theatre advertisements which accentuate the wonderful features and modern comforts found in the particular venues.  Left is a 1928 grand opening advertisement for the Embassy Theatre in Waltham MA.  Right is a 1947 grand re-opening advertisement for the, modernized, Victoria Theater in Greenfield MA (built 1913).

The opening prologue show featured at the end of the cartoon, though not overly funny, is still interesting from a historical perspective.  The show, which does not seem to spoof any particular stage show, is an exaggeration of the elaborate stage shows that were often put on at theatres such as the Roxy Theatre.  These stage shows were performed prior to the showing of a feature film. (Smaller theaters located in towns would feature vaudeville acts, stage acts, dance acts, etc.  in their programs).

Left: A scene from "Opening Night" of an elaborate opening prologue show.  Right: A Vintage postcard of Radio City Music Mall with an elaborate stage show or prologue show taking place. (Many postcards from this era were often Black and White Photographs that were colored)

            Another interesting historical perspective regarding "Opening Night", is that the film may have been attempting to subliminally market Cubby Bear with the new Roxy Theatre.  Perhaps the Van Beuren Corporation thought if they debuted Cubby Bear, RKO's newest cartoon star, with the Roxy Theatre, an RKO Theatre that was highly praised, the subliminal marketing would cause Cubby to be more successful than Mickey Mouse.  If this was the case, the technique unfortunately failed, as after only 19 cartoons Cubby was still struggling to outdo Mickey Mouse.   It should be stated that several months later in July of 1933 the Disney studios released a cartoon entitled "Mickey's Gala Premiere"; a film that revolved around the premiere of a new Mickey Mouse cartoon at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.    In the cartoon, the Chinese Theater (one of Hollywood's grand premiere movie palaces) is jam packed with caricatures of Hollywood's top celebrities all excited to see Mickey's most recent film.  Unlike "Opening Night", the Disney cartoon is a celebration of Mickey Mouse's popularity and isn't trying to subliminally market their cartoon star with a popular theater.

Still images from "Mickey's Gala Premiere"

Available on the "Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White Volume 1" DVD

           So if you are into researching classic movie theaters and experiences relating to going to the movies, I would recommend viewing "Opening Night".  The cartoon is in the public domain and is available on two excellent DVD compilations.  The first compilation is "The Cartoons That Time Forgot: from the Van Beuren Studio" and is a collection that mainly showcases the three-strip Technicolor "Rainbow Parade" cartoons produced by Van Beuren in 1935 through 1936.  (The "Rainbow Parades" were the studios un-succesful attempt on taking on Walt Disney's Three-strip Technicolor "Silly Symphony" cartoons.  They were made in 1934 through 1936)  Along with the Three-Strip Technicolor cartoons the collection also features one "Cubby Bear" cartoon "Opening Night", a couple of the studio's "Tom and Jerry" cartoons (not the famous Cat and Mouse duo from MGM) and one of the greatest Van Beuren cartoons ever made "The Sunshine Makers".  The other collection is "The Goldenage of Cartoons: The Complete Adventures of Cubby Bear", a DVD compiliation by film historian Steve Stanchfield, that features all twenty Cubby Bear Cartoons.

PS- Be sure to check out "Mickey's Gala Premiere" available on the "Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White Volume 1" DVD.


Addition Links:

BOOK: "American Showman: Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and the Birth of the Entertainment Industry"

BOOK: "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons" by Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck

DVD's: Steve Stanchfield's Thunderbean Animation DVD sales page (More great Van Beuren compilations).

A Brief Look at the Rialto Theatre Building of Leominster MA

      There was a nice article in the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise last week regarding a garden railroad located in Leominster Massachusetts and designed by a gentleman named Walt Pauli.  Though I never got into the hobby, I have always been fascinated by model railroading for several reasons.  The first reason is that I have always loved railroads; from watching freight trains roll by to riding the MBTA commuter rail and subway system (with the exception of that dreadful blue line).  However my favorite trait regarding model railroading is it always tends to glorify classic downtown areas, elaborate landscapes, and American industry with absolutely no sign of shopping malls, strip malls, big box stores, etc.  Though I have not visited Mr. Pauli's railroad, the photographs featured in the Fitchburg & Sentinel clearly show several of these traits are present in his railroad; especially paying homage to classic downtown areas as it features a few beautiful recreation models of several buildings in downtown Leominster.  These recreations consist of the Leominster Railroad station, the (now unfortunately fire destroyed) Columbian Hotel, and (my favorite of the three) the Rialto Theatre.  As seen in the newspaper photograph, you can clearly see the detail put into all of the buildings, especially the Rialto Theatre.   Having traveled through Leominster I've had the pleasure of seeing the former theater building, and I feel I can honestly say that Mr. Pauli did a wonderful job capturing it's triumphant presence.

The Rialto Theatre as it appeared in 1940.  This image is a photocopy of the one found in the book "Images of America: Leomister" by Thomas K. Hazzard and Diane M. Sanabria.  

         The Rialto Theatre was the first of three large movie theaters that existed in downtown Leominster during the 1920's through the 1940's.  Unfortunately today, it is the only remaining theater building in Leominster as the other two, the Plymouth and the Metropolitan, were demolished some time ago.  The Rialto opened in January of 1923, to a "capacity house", with a program consisting of several vaudeville acts, musical numbers on a "gigantic Robert Morton Organ", and a film from Paramount entitled “Back Home and Broke” (this information can be found in the Leominster Daily Enterprise from January 9th 1923).  The architects of the theater, as indicated on the Rialto's original blue prints (which are housed at the Massachusetts State Archives), were Funk & Wilcox.  Funk and Wilcox designed many buildings throughout Massachusetts including several theaters such as the Ware Theatre in Beverly and the Strand and Franklin Park Theaters in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.

Original blueprints to the Rialto Theatre

      The other two theaters, the Plymouth and the Metropolitan, opened several years after the Rialto and unfortunately I do not have as much information on these two as I do on the Rialto.  With the exception of some photos of their exteriors, I have not seen any photos documenting their interiors.  From what I understand, the Plymouth Theatre was designed in an egyptian style; I am unsure of the style of the Metropolitan.  The blueprints to the Metropolitan do exist at the Massachusetts State Archives, and while they detail an elaborate looking facade, they unfortunately do not provide too much insight on it's interior.  The blueprints to the Plymouth Theatre are currently unaccounted for.

The Metropolitan Theatre is pictured on the left, while the Plymouth is shown at right.  The photograph of the Metropolitan was found on Microfilm while the photograph of the Plymouth can be found in the Leominster History book from Arcadia Publishing.   (Keep in mind images from their original source will be in a much higher resolution)

      During their day the three theaters played an important role in the Leominster community throughout the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's.  Trouble for the three did not start until the post-war World War II era when several changes in the American lifestyle began to occur.  The arrival of television, the end of rationing gasoline for automobiles, a rise in drive-in theaters, are some of the many lifestyle changes that began to negatively affect small town theaters across the country; Unfortunately Leominster was no exception.  The Rialto closed it's doors and ceased operating as a theater in the 1950's, while the other two theaters closed much later on and were completely demolished.  Despite the closing of the Rialto, the building was not demolished as it was renovated into a community center.  Though the facade, lobby, and foyer were mainly left alone, the auditorium was unfortunately gutted to accommodate several new features of the community center.  Today the Rialto Theatre building still stands and retains many of it's exterior architectural features, allowing it to shine as a beautiful proud asset to downtown Leominster.

"R" and "T"

RIALTO THEATRE

A Look Back At Western Electric’s Sound On Film Technology with "Finding His Voice" (1929) And "The Family Album" (1931)

There were many wonderful animated cartoons that were made during Hollywood's golden age.  Hundreds of animated films were cranked out by the major cartoon studios and/or distributors to entertain theater patrons around the country.  While the majority of cartoons produced during this time were entertainment pieces, there were also a large number of industrial and educational animated cartoons.  Two industrial cartoons that I consider important to the topic of film history are "Finding His Voice” (1929) and “The Family Album” (1931).  Both films were made for Western Electric and are early sound era cartoons that showcase sound on film motion picture production and exhibition.  They both feature realistic technical drawings of the equipment utilized as well as a movie theater similar to those found in many American towns and cities during that era.

Western Electric, a division of A.T. & T., was one of the many companies producing sound equipment for motion picture production and exhibition.

“Finding His Voice”, probably my favorite of the two, was produced in 1929 by the Fleischer brothers.  The Fleischer's were well known names in the 1920’s and 1930’s as they made a number of wonderful theatrical cartoons for the Bray Studios and then Paramount Pictures.  Their cartoons starred notable and popular characters such as KoKo the Clown, Betty Boop, and Popeye the Sailor.  “Finding His Voice” is one of the Fleischer's few (known) industrial sound cartoons.  
The cartoon revolves around two rolls of film, Talkie and Mutie, going on a tour with a gentleman, Dr. Western, who demonstrates to them how sound on film motion pictures are produced at a studio and then exhibited at a theater.  As demonstrated, the sound is first captured by a “glorified telephone transmitter" or microphone and wired to a sound proof booth housing a sound mixer where it is adjusted by an engineer.  The motion picture camera is also housed behind glass in another sound proof booth.  During filming the audio is wired to a machine, located in another building, that amplifies the noise.  The amplified audio is then wired to another machine that captures the sound track on film.  This machine records/captures the sound on another reel of film via a light bulb; the film is run at the same frame rate as the motion picture camera.   The picture and audio are on two separate negatives and are combined together when the film is printed as a positive.  (This whole process is quite fascinating, however the thought of a sound recorder light bulb burning out, or one of the many wires suddenly malfunctioning and sending a buzzing hum to sound recorder honestly makes me cringe.) 

Scenes in the film that demonstrate how talking pictures are made.  The realistic technical drawings are a true delight for any film history buff!

After being shown the, as Dr. Western states, "simple" recording process, the cartoon transitions to a movie theater where Talkie and Mutie learn about sound motion picture exhibiton.  As a die hard theater buff these are probably my favorite scenes in the film.  This portion of the tour starts off in a projection booth where Dr. Western demonstrates how sound is reproduced, utilizing a realistic drawing of a Simplex projector.  It should be stated that only one projector is shown for the demonstration, unlike the standard two which was required to exhibit nitrate film.  (My guess is that the second projector is located beyond where the fireproof booth cuts off.)  After learning about the projector the three then travel through the wires, installed in an ornate auditorium, to the speakers on stage.  Dr. Western now demonstrates how the speakers or "horns" reproduce sound; thus ending the tour.   The cartoon then leads into Mutie and Talkie performing on screen.

Theater scenes in "Finding His Voice"

The other cartoon, “The Family Album”, is another Western Electric industrial cartoon that focused on demonstrating audio technology.  The cartoon was made by a cartoon studio named Terry & Moser Cartoons for a studio named Audio-Cinema Incorporated.  Paul Terry, like Max Fleischer, was another known name in the field of animated cartoons; overtime his cartoons or “Terry~ Toons” ended up becoming 2Oth Century Fox’s unofficial cartoon series during the late 1930's through the 1950's.  Audio-Cinema I believe (still looking for some evidence to back this up with) was run by Western Electric.  (In the later 1930’s there was another company called Audio Productions that was operated by Western Electric.  Trade ads for Audio Productions appeared shortly after the Audio-Cinema name vanished).  

The focus of the Family Album is slightly different from "Finding His Vocie".  Instead of documenting  how a motion picture was given a voice, “The Family Album” gives a look at how sound on film motion pictures and other non-film related audio devices "inherit" characteristics from the Telephone.  The story concept of this cartoon consists of a candlestick style telephone, Mr. Phone, introducing members, or "children", of his family to three newspaper reporters.  These family members include the "Radio Twins” Mike and Loudspeaker, Mr. Public Address System, Stethe the Electric Stethoscope, and Talkie the motion picture film.  Talkie is introduced to the reporters as the youngest and most active member of the family; emphasizing the popularity of talking pictures. 

(1&2) The Radio Twins, (3) Mr. Public Address System, (4) Stethe, (5) Talkie 

It should be stated that Paul Terry's cartoon Studio aka TerryToons Inc. (in the film copyrights there is not a space between Terry and Toon) is often considered by many cartoon buffs and historians to be the bottom of the major Hollywood cartoon studios.  The “The Family Album”, is better animated than many of Paul Terry’s theatrical cartoons of the early 30's, but it does suffer from some sloppiness present in the animation.  With it’s flaws aside though, “The Family Album” is still a wonderful time piece and a fun look at late 1920’s and early 1930’s audio technology. 

The Theater Scenes in the Film

One observation regarding both cartoons is that they literally feature the same theater auditorium.  It is realistic looking and bears similar architectural features found in auditoriums around the United States during the 1910's and 1920's.  It’s interesting that both should feature identical auditoriums as "Finding His Voice" and "The Family Album" were made by two completely different studios and featured differently designed characters.  Unfortunately information on this auditorium and why it may have been significant to Western Electric is currently scarce to me.    

Left: "Finding His Voice"                       Right: "The Family Album" 

1910's Blueprints for the (now burnt out and Condemned) Orpheum Theatre in Gardner MA.  Notice the horseshoe style balcony and opera boxes; similar characteristics featured in the two Cartoons' aditoriums.

It is currently not known if other technology cartoons were made for Western Electric.  Due to several reasons many industrial films from that era are unfortunately lost and, in the case of Audio-Cinema, information on the studios that made these films is unfortunately obscure.  Both “Finding His Voice” and “The Family Album” survive today because of private film collectors who cared enough to save these entertaining and historically significant films.  If there were other Western Electric technology cartoons, it would be interesting to know if they did feature the exact same theater auditorium.

Both cartoons are in the public Domain and have been made available legally by several different collectors.  “Finding His Voice” is available for both viewing and downloading from Rick Prelinger (the Prelinger Archives) on Archive.org.

http://archive.org/details/FindingH1929

Another Alternate print of “Finding His Voice”, which interestingly does not contain the Western Electric title card at the end, is also available along with “the Family Album” on Steve Stanchfield’s terrific DVD Cultoons Volume 2.

http://www.amazon.com/Cultoons-including-Fleischer-Harman-various/dp/B000P4X21K/ref=sr_1_2/102-2851527-9769744?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1178728999&sr=8-2

RELATED LINKS:

The Prelinger Archives on Archive.org

Thunderbean Animation DVD sales

More Information on Max Fleischer from the Bray Animation Project

"Of Mice and Magic"; a wonderful book by film historians Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck on classic Hollywood cartoons

And, if you are interested in the Orpheum Theatre in Gardner...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone!

My Free Local History Presentation in Athol MA

Some of my audience

A week prior to Thanksgiving I had the privilege of doing a local History multi-media presentation at the public library in the town of Athol Massachusetts.  The topic I discussed was the history of Athol's two movie palaces the York Theatre and the Capitol Theatre, which existed from the 1930’s up through the 1950’s.  While I only anticipated a small ten to twenty people at my show I was instead greeted with the pleasant surprise of about fifty to sixty people from the Athol community present at my lecture; all of whom enjoyed my presentation and shared a number of great stories with me following the show.  

My interest in Athol Theaters began during my first year of middle school.  At this age I began researching old movie Theaters around Franklin County and Western Massachusetts.  My interest expanded to the town of Athol when my best friend in elementary school moved to Athol.  Whenever I went to visit him my parents would drive through downtown Athol.  Driving through the town, I was always fascinated by a beautiful, slightly beat up, triumphant building which at that time housed the town’s bowling alley.  The building with its giant arched window accompanied by some intriguing art-deco comedy & drama designs on its façade, grabbed my attention and my suspicions of this bowling alley once operating as a theater began.  After asking several elderly people at my church (who told me that they grew up in Athol) about the building I soon learned that this building was at one time the York Theatre, an extremely popular movie palace in the Athol area.   Though this intrigued me, I did not further look into researching the theater as I was at the time researching other theaters in Massachusetts that were closer to home.

The York Theatre Building Today. 

Jumping ahead about twelve or fourteen years, I was going through some microfilm and researching some theaters at a library, when a gentleman asked for my assistance on a microfilm machine he was using. I assisted the gentleman on the machine and he greatly appreciated my assistance.  He introduced himself as Richard Chaisson and stated he was a historian and author who resided in the town of Athol Massachusetts; one of his books, which featured a photo of him, was in the room where we were talking.   I shared my interest in local theaters with him and asked about Athol’s York Theatre.  By doing so, Mr. Chaisson told me that he had several photographs of the York and Athol’s other theater the Capitol.  A few weeks later I went over to Athol and had an amazing visit with Mr. Chaisson.  Not only was I shown some beautiful photographs of both the York and the Capitol but Mr. Chaisson shared with me a large number of fascinating stories regarding both theaters in the 1940’s and 1950’s.  Along with this I also learned about a popular 1940's era movie star who was born and raised in Athol  named Charles Starrett.  During the 1940’s Mr. Starrett starred as the “Durango Kid” in the popular B-Western “Durango Kid” kids movies made by Columbia Pictures.  Mr. Starrett came from the same family that owned the famous Starrett Tool Company in Athol.

The remaining portion of the Capitol Theatre: the lobby and part of the foyer areas.
The building operates today as a beauty parlor.
Love the remaining Light Fixtures!

            A few years later I decided to put my knowledge on Athol Theaters to use and produced a PowerPoint presentation (utilizing about 15 years of self-taught PowerPoint skills) discussing and showing the history of the York and Capitol Theatres.  The end results were spectacular as many attendies, including Mr. Chaisson raved about the show.  However one wonderful thing I did not expect was the applause and thank you I received from the audience for taking an interest in the history of their town and putting together an ornate and polished presentation.

Display consisting of a York Theatre Bill Poster, photographs of both theaters,
free York Peppermint Patties, and free Popcorn!

LINKS: 

Starrett Tools Website: http://www.starrett.com

Charles Starrett information: http://www.b-westerns.com/durango.htm

Athol's 250th Anniversary:  http://athol250.org