It’s hard to find a more Hollywood shot than this color one of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre lit up in all its neon glory. “The Fugitive Kind” starring Marlon Brando enjoyed a seven-week run at the Chinese in May and June of 1960. What we’re seeing here is the night United Artists held a preview before the official opening on May 6. And with that bright klieg light shining into the night sky, it wasn’t any secret sneak preview, either. I also like how the moon is peeking over the roof line of the theater.
I wish they’d left those dragon marquees on the front of the Chinese. (I think one of them may have made their way to MONA, but not sure about that.) A lot of theatres use LED boards to advertise their films and so when you look at a theatre now the stationary marquee is gone. So many Los Angeles photos of the past have been dated by what movies are showing at a theatre in the picture and those references give us instant time frames. (And possible memories.) Another loss IMO.
Always like it when an old image somewhere reveals a theater with the name of some film that acts as evidence of the way it looked when that movie was out. It might be 1956’s Earth Versus the Flying Saucers in a downtown city venue or a triple billing shlocko fest at a downward diving drive-in in the ‘70’s. The marquee is like spice in the pudding.
BTW…kind of surprised that no one started a site to post found images of each marquee displaying a particular film at the time it was hitting the theaters. Sometimes you have to look real close to notice it’s there in plain view.
The Los Angeles Theatres website does that for Los Angeles area theatres only, but that could be great to do it by film title and see it on marquees across the globe.
I was watching a youtube video the other day which had a close-up shot of The Class of ’44 (1973) on the Chinese Theatre marquee. Back then I thought 1944 was sooo long ago, almost thirty years ago then. 1993 doesn’t seem that long ago from now!
I saw that sequel in a local theater back then, but can’t recall exactly which one. I’ll just have to start chanting “Serenity Now” and try to envision the circumstances.