on this date: Downtown Theaters in 1971
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — I was chasing various rabbit trails in the archives of the LA Times tonight and happened upon an "Independent Theatre Guide" from the 1970s. In order to make it more topical I wandered around a bit more and found one for September 12th, 1971. By that time the new Downtown of skyscrapers had started to rise and Downtown's theaters were in decline. They were all still open, though, much in contrast to today.
It's a mixed bag: lots of Mexican film, with the rest mostly drawn from the offbeat and exploitation cinema. Fourteen theaters were playing films, and that doesn't even count the various adult venues.
After the jump I've linked each theater to its page on the Cinema Treasures site and each film to its page on IMDB.
Here's what the Downtown theaters were playing thirty-five years ago on September 12th, 1971:
Arcade
Long Duel (1967), The Stranger Returns (1967), Beach Red (1967)
Broadway
La Vida Inutil de Pita Perez (1970)
California
La Viuda Blanca (1970), Leyenda del Bandido
Cameo
Slaves (1969), The Bravados (1958), North to Alaska (1960)
Globe
La Generala (1971), Me Ha Gustado Hombre (1965)
Los Angeles
Soul to Soul (1971), Big Doll House (1971)
Olympic
Rosas blancas para mi hermana negra (1970)
Orpheum
Love Story (1970), 5 Card Stud (1968)
Palace
Creatures the World Forgot (1971), War Between the Planets (1966)
Rialto
La Noche del Halcon (1968)
Roxie
Shaft (1971), Murphy's War (1971), The House that Dripped Blood (1970)
State
Evel Knievel (1971), The Hunting Party (1971), Hell's Angels on Wheels (1967)
Tower
United Artists
Emiliano Zapata (1970), El Pistolero Desconocido (1967)
Warrens
The Seven Minutes (1971), Mephisto Waltz (1971)
daniel on September 13, 2006, at 12:57PM – #1
Very cool~ Can you imagine a rehabilitated Broadway hosting an foreign film festival? Or better yet, a permanent theater district featuring classic, foreign and independent films?
Whitman Lam on September 13, 2006, at 01:15PM – #2
It's really a huge difference between New York City's thriving Broadway district and L.A.'s crumbling historic Broadway. Why? Maybe because NYC mayors, the viewing public, and theatrical groups all supported Broadway through hard times. Not abandoning our history and cultural institutions is key to a revival. There is profit to be made in Los Angeles for performing arts, the creative talent is certainly here, but our city leaders must work harder at getting people to visit Broadway. Clean up the place, bring back the best companies to perform like Will and Co. did at the LATC before being wrongfully evicted for political reasons. Support Broadway, make the streets safer and the revival will come.
Scott Mercer on September 19, 2006, at 01:19PM – #3
Joy! I wish I could have gone. This is actually fairly close in feel to the Times Square area of New York at that time. Unfortunately, by the time I was old enough to go down there, the grindhouses had mostly gone and the Disneyfication of the area was soon to begin. And I didn't live near New York anymore.
Looks like some great exploitation bills, though I can't comment on the Spanish stuff. Really obscure titles, and some of them I've never even heard of. And I seek out obscure horror films. Probably these are imported B-movies.
I've lived in LA since 1989, so during the 1990s I was able to attend movies on Broadway, when a few of the theatres were still open and showing stuff. I went to the Palace, the State and the Orpheum. These were mostly second-run showings of major studio Hollywood fare though. No freaky grindhouse type stuff.
I recall seeing "Ace Ventura Pet Detective" and "Money Train," along with several dozen others before the theatres all shut down.