Before the Malls Came: Showmanship for Small-town Movie Theatres

Over forty years ago, a movie theatre didn't				steps" which "later became illegal because it was a
need to be located in a shopping mall to attract				fire hazard." The Dallas Theatre made a profit
sufficient patrons. As other small, privately owned				during World War II but , he added, was the first
businesses had done before them, small-town				of his three small-town theatres to "dry up." A
movies theatres survived -- and, in some cases,				quonset hut theatre was constructed in the river
even thrived -- for several decades. One may still				town of Warsaw after World War II. It outlasted
occasionally find independent theatres grinding				the older theatre in Dallas City, but it never,
away in small towns located far enough away				according to Justus, made money. A large theatre
from metropolitan areas, but one is more likely to				circuit made him a considerable offer in the early
find abandoned buildings with empty marquess				1950s for all three of his theatres, but, despite
that often resemble the rusted prows of old				the gradual shifting of populations away from
ships. Some old theatre buildings serve as shells				small communities, he declined. He said that he
for churches and small businesses, but even many				just didn't want to get out of the theatre
of these buildings wear such skimpy camouflage				business.Television contributed to changes in the
that someone passing through town can easily				rural communities, particularly when nearby Quincy
guess the role they once played as a local center				acquired a TV station in the early 1950s, but a
for a shared community experience. After the				shift away from the shared experience of
nature of the community changed, after the local				small-town living was equally to blame. Justus'
people began identifying with the national television				theatres lost customers no faster than many
community, the local exhibitors stepped up the				other local businesses, such as furniture
public spectacle through promotional showmanship				dealerships and dry goods stores. Despite efforts
in order to revitalize not only its role in the				of theatre exhibitors and other merchants to
community but often the local community spirit				keep their integral roles alive in a shrinking
itself. These converted marquees remind us not				community, transportation facilitated the migration
only of abandoned ships but of shabby circus				of residents to urban areas where they
tents that remain long after the circus has left				established suburban communities complete with
town; they may bear few traces of their former				ubiquitous shopping centers and malls. New
role in the community rituals, but the memories of				theatres cropped up inside these shopping areas,
the personal efforts of local showmen to keep				later becoming twins and multiplexes, but they
the circus alive in the face of cultural change will				generally failed to offer patrons any sense of
keep that circus and the knowledge of the cultural				participating in communal rituals. Watching films
significance alive within us.Before people relied so				projected by automated equipment while seated
heavily on automobiles, and before they were				among strangers in a shoebox-sized shopping mall
afraid to walk more than a few city blocks, many				theatre (in some urban areas) bore little
towns of less than a thousand people had their				resemblance to the experience of watching a
own theatre which residents often labeled "the				movie with neighbors and relatives at the local
show house" or "the picture show." Residents of				"show house."Patrons in small communities did not
the western Illinois town of Carthage, for				have to wait sixteen weeks or to drive around
example, saw two show houses in its business				the city for a new film because the small theatres
district not long after the beginning of the 20th				ran several changes a week. Justus recalled that
century, but only one of them survived for long.				his own theatres would run "a Sunday-Monday
The Woodbine Theatre, named after the crawling				movie, a Tuesday bank night, a
vine that grew on the east side of the brick				Wednesday-Thursday, then a Friday and
building, was not the first theatre in the town of				Saturday. We got to the point where we were
over three thousand people, but the showmanship				open three days a week. First it was
of its owner caused the competition to go out of				Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday; then it was
business.The first Woodbine was converted into a				Friday, Saturday, and Sunday." The Carthage
theatre in 1917 by Charles Arthur Garard. C.A., as				community supported the theatre during the
he was called, had already operated a local dairy				week nights in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but
and a downtown ice cream parlor which offered				the Warsaw Theatre dwindled down to Saturday
five-cent ice cream sodas, confections, five-cent				and Sunday showings, sometimes with a different
crushed fruit souffles, and a tobacco called				film each night. Students from the local four-year
Garard's Royal Blue. He was a shrewd				liberal arts college in Carthage kept Friday night
businessman, but he was also a fanciful dreamer				attendance strong at the Woodbine, but high
who needed to be held in check by his pragmatic				school football games severely limited Friday
and even shrewder wife. Bertha, who often				attendance in Warsaw.Another factor that "made
accompanied the silent movies shown in his				it so tough for the little towns," according to
theatre with her piano, kept him from selling the				Justus, was that the independent exhibitors
theatre and drifting off into other projects, such				"couldn't get the product until it had played the
as the growing of grapefruits in Florida. When C.A.				bigger places," such as Quincy, which is about
died, she took over as proprietor until her				forty miles south of Carthage, or Keokuk, which
youngest son, Justus, became old enough to help				sits just across the Mississippi River on the
her.Justus recalled in June of 1981 how his father				southeastern tip of Iowa. Because he was an
never really had a chance to enjoy any substantial				independent, he had to wait six weeks to play a
returns from the theatre for ten years after he				film that was booked first in Quincy, Keokuk, or
converted it. "We would've been out of business if				at other nearby circuit theatres. "If we could've
it hadn't been for talking movies," Justus said, the				played the film the next week," Justus added,
earliest of which "were very hard to understand."				"Why, the people would have stayed home to
The Woodbine was the first theatre in the area				see it. But they knew that we weren't gonna
to show talking pictures, which were				have it for awhile. So they'd go to
sound-on-disc like Warner Brothers' Vitaphone				Keokuk."Among later gimmicks employed to stir
system (shown in the black-and-white TV promos				local community interest were Halloween midnight
for the 1955 film HELEN OF TROY and included in				shows and four features run each New Year's
the DVD and VHS copies of that film). The first				Eve, but the biggest seasonal event in Carthage
sound films were "only part-talkies. They would				was the annual series of merchant-sponsored
use some dialogue, then [the characters] would				Christmas films. Before each Christmas season,
soar into song." Because sound equipment was				Justus purchased a Filmack trailer for the
expensive to install, he and a friend Oliver				merchants, and a salesman from St. Louis sold
Kirschner constructed their own sound system.				the merchants a spot on the trailer for $37.50.
Cast-iron record turntables were cast at an				The merchants were also given tickets or
industrial plant sixteen miles away in Keokuk,				complimentary passes for the theatre that were
Iowa, and attached to the projector drive. Since				good any time, but the Christmas films -- usually
sound projectors operated at 34				chosen for the children of those parents who
frames-per-second, they revised a way to speed				were encouraged to do Christmas shopping in
up their projectors to synchronize the film with				town -- were shown free to the community. The
the soundtrack on the record. Occasionally, "the				popcorn, of course, wasn't free. I can remember
needle would jump out of the groove," and the				stuffing sacks full of popcorn and handing them
projectionist would have to "pick it up and set it				across the glass counter to pushy patrons who
on the right groove by watching carefully and				had to pay. . . not $3.00. . . but ten cents.The
following the sound." He recalled that they had to				midnight Halloween showings of horror
do this for two or three years until the advent of				double-features were the ones that I found to be
sound-on-film. Whenever the needles would jump				particularly fun. Justus often ran double bills like
from one groove to the next because of				THE FLY and THE RETURN OF THE FLY and
over-modulation, the customers would patiently				AIP's I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN (1957)
wait for the projectionists to synchronize the				with UA's THE RETURN OF DRACULA (1958). For
record with the film.The introduction of				the latter, in Warsaw, I shaped white cardboard
sound-on-film, which Justus recalled was here to				into a castle which covered the left exit. Above
stay by 1933, required that he, like other				the exit, appropriately enough for Halloween, was
exhibitors, insert an expensive sound head into				a clock which advertised a local funeral home. (I
the projector. Because some films were released				often wondered why funeral home clocks were
as sound-on-disc and some were released as				displayed in small movie theatres in those days.
sound-on-film, such as Fox's Movietone system,				Were patrons being reminded that their lives
many exhibitors had to choose between one				were ticking away while the films were flickering
system or the other. "Consequently," said Justus,				on the screen?) I stretched a wire from the
"we weren't playing any Fox pictures. Paramount				projection booth to the exit, located immediately
came out with the records and Fox with the				to the left of the screen, and draped a white bed
sound-on-film." Once he installed the sound-on-film				sheet over a clothes hanger. During a high point of
system, he no longer used the disc system				one of the films, I stood in the exit doorway with
because he was never "able to completely				my girl friend and jerked on the string attached
overcome that wavery noise. The music would				to the hanger, intending to pull my ghost down to
go up and down."Although C.A. died shortly after				the exit over the heads of the audience. The
the sound-on-disc system was working, he never				ghost emerged from the small projection window
saw the business at his theatre improve. Justus				on cue, but the hanger became hung-up on the
saw a gradual improvement "along about 1937."				wire and refused to travel as I had intended. I
This increase in patronage came about not				tugged on the string and it snapped, so the
because many small-town citizens were interested				projectionist gave the hanger a push. When the
in the latest technical improvements or in having				houselights came on at the end of the feature, I
their lives enriched by the imaginative visions of				saw my intended deus ex machina suspended in
such geniuses as Orson Welles; they merely				plain view in the center of the auditorium. Maybe
wanted entertainment that would whisk them				this failure was why Justus limited all of my future
away from their humdrum lives -- and an excuse				promotion efforts to the lobby and outside the
to get out of the house. They didn't expect to be				theatre; maybe he decided that I had been
surprised by the plot or ending and didn't really				influenced too much by the gimmicks of such
want to be intellectually challenged. They were as				master showmen as William Castle (for such films
excited about seeing their favorite romantic leads				as THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, THE
involved in the latest routine star vehicles as they				TINGLER, MR. SARDONICUS, HOMICIDAL, and
were about seeing the burning of Atlanta.The fact				THIRTEEN GHOSTS). Of all of the Castle films
that GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) was a hit in				that Justus played, I can only remember the
Carthage may or may not have been the result				colored glasses for the original THIRTEEN
of Justus renting the side of a barn where he and				GHOSTS being particularly effective. [Further
his friends pasted up a 24-sheet display touting				details about horror movie promotions can be
the popular classic. Many of the films that we				found in the companion article
today regard as classics were, at the time, little				BLACK-AND-WHITE HALLOWEEN HORROR HITS:
more than run-of-the-mill programmers.				I WAS A TEENAGE UNDEAD WITCH, which is
CASABLANCA (1942), for example, was merely				available online.]These are only a few examples of
a modest romantic thriller with Humphrey Bogart				promotional machinations that were necessary to
and Ingrid Bergman acting as stand-ins for our				boost ticket sales for the second-run films shown
exotic fantasies; they turned the attention of				by independent, small-town exhibitors. Many of
small-town patrons away from their personal				the earlier gimmicks, such as bank night and
issues while the caricatured Nazi villains provided				merchant-sponsored Christmas shows, brought in
targets for their anger. In most instances, what				a few extra dollars, but it is doubtful whether the
was playing at the local theatre was irrelevant,				later and more flamboyant gimmicks greatly
whether it be a film like WIZARD OF OZ (1939),				affected ticket sales. BOXOFFICE magazine and
which initially did disappointing business but was				press sheets for the individual films offered
later perceived to be a classic, or films with				exploitation tips, many of which required the
appropriate titles like SMALL-TOWN GIRL (1936).				ordering expensive supplies, but the struggling
It was a community activity that was as vital to				independent had to primarily rely on his own
the town as the Saturday night band concerts				imagination to create makeshift, inexpensive
when the white-painted wooden bandstand was				promotions.Justus Garard* claimed to be one of
hauled to the center of Main Street.An activity				the last independent exhibitors in the area to go
that Justus promoted in his small town to help				out of business. The Woodbine Theatre in
improve theatre patronage was bank night. Bank				Carthage was sold to the neighboring auto dealer
night was a gimmick that worked like this: the				in 1969 and eventually converted into a
patrons would register in a large book, and				showroom for new cars. The interior of his
attached to each registration form was a				theatre, when my brother and I saw it shortly
numbered tag which Justus or an employee				after it had been gutted for this purpose,
placed in a large drum. The drum was hauled out				resembled the interior of the small-town movie
in front of the theatre audience after the first				theatre in the superb and touching Italian film
showing on Tuesday nights where a local				CINEMA PARADISO (1989). The Dallas and
merchant or other prominent citizen would draw				Warsaw theatres, although closed long ago, still
out a number and announce it to the audience. If				resemble movie theatres; the latter, used as a
the person holding that number sat in the theatre				storage area for antiques, still has its prow of a
at that moment, he or she would claim the				marquee that juts out over the sidewalk. Not
money. "If not," Justus added, "the money was				much has changed in the river town of Warsaw,
put into what we called bank night and held over				but on Saturday nights, without the bandstand
until the next week. We'd add fifty dollars a				with local citizens playing instruments while kids
week." A fifty dollar night would hardly pay for				skip around it, and without the glittering marquee
the showing, and the theatre wouldn't start				of the old movie theatre, Main Street seems
making money until the jackpot reached around				much darker, and a lot lonelier. Perhaps only a few
$200 or $300. "Then we'd fill the theatre," he said,				independent exhibitors, like those in small,
and this didn't include "all the people who came				midwestern towns like Carthage and Warsaw,
down and gambled in the afternoons." Of course,				resorted to the above-mentioned gimmicks, and
a weekly winner would have wiped out the				perhaps the death knell for the mom and pop
business, so Justus, like other independent				theatre operation had been sounded long before
exhibitors, took a gamble with this particular				the staging of many of the later promotional
gimmick.Another gimmick to bolster limping ticket				efforts, but like the sailors on ships which many
sales involved the distribution of sets of				of these still-existing theatre fronts resemble, the
silverware one piece at a time until the patron had				tenacious independents refused to go down
collected an entire set. These sets -- knives,				without a fight.[Note: *Justus Garard's statements
forks, spoons, and ladles -- were easier to handle				were taken from an interview conducted by Sam
than dishes; dishes were shipped in barrels and				Garard in June 1981 at a Daytona, Florida, cinema
often arrived broken. Unlike today, exhibitors				draft house owned by Sam at the time. I am
actually made the bulk of their profits from ticket				indebted to both my father who passed away in
sales. The limited offerings of the concession				May of 1988 and younger brother for the
stands in small theatres -- long before the days				information which supports my own recollections.
of hot dog warmers and cheese-covered tortilla				Some of these memories have been utilized as
chips -- provided only a small percent of the				background for my novels WATERFIELD and
revenue. The best years for ticket sales, added				CLOSED FOR THE SEASON.]All rights
Justus, were during World War II.While Justus was				reserved.Charles J. Garard is a writer and
an officer in the Navy in 1943, a fire started in				professor of British literature, American literature,
the furnace and consumed the entire theatre. His				mythology, and film studies. He has taught for
uncle, prominent architect Edgar Payne, drew up				two colleges, two community colleges, and two
blueprints for a wider, single-floor theatre, and				universities (most recently a university in Anshan,
construction began immediately under Kirschner's				China). His nonfiction book on film POINT OF
supervision. The new building had no balcony, but				VIEW IN FICTION AND FILM: FOCUS ON JOHN
it did contain a soundproof cry room on the				FOWLES is available from Amazon. His interests
second floor. The seating capacity of the theatre				include mainstream fiction (with his father's movie
was 500 seats, and this was later reduced to				theatres forming the background of two novels),
350.In the late 1930s, Justus remodeled an older				science-fiction time travel, and horror; he is now
building into a theatre in Dallas City, Illinois, sixteen				working on a novel about Atlantis and is gathering
miles north of Carthage. The theatre, he recalled,				his notes for a novel about China. He lives in
had a "beautiful front lobby with walk-up front				Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Preceptions

Before the Malls Came: Showmanship for Small-town Movie Theatres