OK, it's Saturday. As a kid growing up in Glenside, PA, I would walk to the Keswick Theatre every Saturday for the 50 cent matinée. It didn't really matter what the feature was, it was always fun.
The Keswick was originally built for vaudeville and burlesque shows. It is a large place, seating about 1,350, as per their web site. There is no balcony, but the restrooms are in an upstairs lounge area. It was quite an ornate place before it was modernized. I only have memories of it with a drop ceiling, which hid the beautiful (but water damaged) plaster work. The walls in the auditorium had fabric over the old walls, and huge, star shaped lights. Everything was dark red in color. Maybe they are working to bring back the original splendor. There is nothing as thrilling as a completely restored old theater.
I understand that the original dressing rooms were downstairs, under the large stage. There was plenty of room above the stage to fly canvas backdrops and curtains for the live shows, but a perforated aluminum screen was put downstage (to the front) when they added air conditioning and turned it into a movie house. The air conditioning unit and the speaker system was then located on the stage, behind the screen. That was the end of live shows.
One of my most memorable movies at the Keswick was Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, The Birds. It was 1963, so I was thirteen. I remember being so scared that I watched the movie from the aisle in the back of the theater, behind a glass partition! I have The Birds on DVD, and it just isn't as scary now!
I took a look at IMDB and noticed that Doodles Weaver was cast as a fisherman in The Birds. He had a very recognizable voice, and when he was with Spike Jones' Orchestra, he was everyone's favorite. They show that he had 132 acting parts (movies and TV) in his career. Fifteen of them were in 1944 alone! It would be fun to put together all the movies and shows of one of these prolific bit part actors and watch them over the course of a year.
Showing posts with label Keswick Theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keswick Theatre. Show all posts
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A bit about me
This is only my second post to the blog, so here is some info about me. I figure I will get this out of the way, since there are no followers on the blog yet. If people are interested, they should be able to go back and find these early posts.
I was born in 1950. Movies were quite sophisticated by then, with great movies like Sunset Boulevard, Cinderella, Born Yesterday, All About Eve, Winchester '73 (one of my favorites, with a bit part by Rock Hudson as Young Bull, a Native American!), and the film noir classic DOA. These movies all had class. They had intricate plots and great stars, as well as wonderful supporting roles and bit parts. Of course, I was too young to know them first hand.
By the time I was able to follow the story of a simple movie, my parents would take the family to the theater. Our local theater was The Keswick in Glenside, PA. The building was designed by the same architect who designed the Philadelphia Art Museum. When it eventually went out of business, it was saved from demolition by a community of people who turned it into a performing arts center. www.keswicktheatre.com/index.cgi
About once a year, we would drive to New York for a show at Radio City Music Hall. It was quite a treat to view North by Northwest at RCMH! Plus, I loved the theater organ.
Back in the '50s, it was still safe for a young guy to walk to the movies every Saturday by himself, so of course, I did. The Keswick had a Saturday matinee for 50 cents that included several cartoons, a two reel comedy (usually Laurel and Hardy or the Three Stooges), and then a feature. Quite a bargain.
Things change as you grow up, and by my teen years model railroads and British cars took over my interests, but I always tried to get to the movies. The Keswick was getting run down, but with a car, the new multi-plex theaters were plentiful and easy to get to.
Tomorrow I will tell you about my projectionist friend, and more about me. For now, I hope you find this blog. I have submitted the URL to Google for listing. So far nothing comes up when you search.
All my best,
Allen
I was born in 1950. Movies were quite sophisticated by then, with great movies like Sunset Boulevard, Cinderella, Born Yesterday, All About Eve, Winchester '73 (one of my favorites, with a bit part by Rock Hudson as Young Bull, a Native American!), and the film noir classic DOA. These movies all had class. They had intricate plots and great stars, as well as wonderful supporting roles and bit parts. Of course, I was too young to know them first hand.
By the time I was able to follow the story of a simple movie, my parents would take the family to the theater. Our local theater was The Keswick in Glenside, PA. The building was designed by the same architect who designed the Philadelphia Art Museum. When it eventually went out of business, it was saved from demolition by a community of people who turned it into a performing arts center. www.keswicktheatre.com/index.cgi
About once a year, we would drive to New York for a show at Radio City Music Hall. It was quite a treat to view North by Northwest at RCMH! Plus, I loved the theater organ.
Back in the '50s, it was still safe for a young guy to walk to the movies every Saturday by himself, so of course, I did. The Keswick had a Saturday matinee for 50 cents that included several cartoons, a two reel comedy (usually Laurel and Hardy or the Three Stooges), and then a feature. Quite a bargain.
Things change as you grow up, and by my teen years model railroads and British cars took over my interests, but I always tried to get to the movies. The Keswick was getting run down, but with a car, the new multi-plex theaters were plentiful and easy to get to.
Tomorrow I will tell you about my projectionist friend, and more about me. For now, I hope you find this blog. I have submitted the URL to Google for listing. So far nothing comes up when you search.
All my best,
Allen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)