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Summary
Summary
A journey back in time to the movie theatres of the past and the days when those theatres were as exotic and exciting as the movies on screen. John Margolies has been documenting theatres and drive-ins aross America. Emily Gwathmey's introduction traces the evolution of the movie theatre.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Varied typefaces, colorful layout and reproduced postcards and photos comprise this kitschy tribute to the elaborate cinemas built across the country from 1913 to the mid-'40s. Margolies, an architecture historian, and Gwathmey ( Wholly Cow ) have collected nostalgic reminiscences of early moviegoing experiences from former ushers, a movie pianist, a projectionist, from comic Harold Ramis and producer John Landis, among others. We hear about weekly serials at the silent movies and the Depression-era ``Dish Nights'' that lured patrons to theaters with gifts of china; illustrations recall elaborate Egyptian theaters, constructed after King Tut's tomb was discovered in the early '20s, and such fabulous landmarks as Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the Roxy in New York City. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
The joys of moviegoing in the prevideo, premultiplex era are captured in this affectionate tribute. In addition to some 200 color photos, taken by photographer Margolies during the past 20 years, of movie theaters and drive-ins around the country, the volume offers a colorful array of old postcards, programs, and other memorabilia. Additionally, dozens of moviegoers and theater employees, from managers to ushers, share their memories of particular theaters, from small-town moviehouses to palaces like Radio City Music Hall and Grauman's Chinese Theater. The accompanying text covers the history of moviegoing from the nickelodeons of the early 1900s through today's downsize theaters. Still, the bulk of the book is devoted to the days when the opulent surroundings made the magic start even before the projector did. Since most of the great movie palaces are now demolished or dark, this is as close as we're likely to come to the days when, as the authors put it, "moviegoing was nearly as much about where we went as what we went to see." ~--Gordon Flagg
Library Journal Review
The ``How We Had Fun'' part of this good-looking book is a problem but also a part of its charm. Reminiscences by generally unknown writers, explaining how ``The movies brought the larger world to my rural/suburban/urban childhood and adolescence,'' are positioned next to postcard images, archival photos, or contemporary shots of what must be America's most beautiful movie theaters, circa 1920-50. These little letters of affection about specific theaters are sometimes a clue to the impact of what are often remarkable architectural forms and fetes of signage, found in small towns. But generally the pictures of nearly 300 theaters speak of ravages of neglect. Still, this book is simply so full of astonishing ornament and design imagination in theater architecture that it succeeds even with its clumsy text provided by too many people saying the same thing . . . again and again. Recommended for academic, museum, and public libraries.-- David Bryant, Belleville P.L., N.J. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.