6025 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 |
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Opened: 1925 as the Marcal Theatre, a project of "a syndicate of Hollywood capitalists." The name was a
contraction of two of the lessee's names: Mark Hansen and Alice Calhoun. The theatre operating company was called Hansen Theatres, Inc. Joseph G. Curl was also part of the firm. It
was never a prime Hollywood venue but cobbled together interesting
programs of revivals and overlooked titles. The 1935 photo of the theatre running "The Mighty Barnum" is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
Seating: 1,250 was the number when the project was announced in the Times. 964 was a later count.
The project was announced in the July 12, 1925 issue of the L.A. Times:
After the original operators were out of the picture it was run for several decades by Fox West Coast.
An interesting experiment with a 16mm booking in 1946. Thanks to Ron Strong for locating the ad. Visit his
Bijou Memories site for his research and memories regarding San Fernando and San Gabriel Valley theatres.
A fire starting in the orchestra pit in 1948. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the June 27 story for his Facebook thread about the theatre on
Ken's Movie page. Note that Mark Hansen was still the owner at this time.
The theatre got a remodel in 1949, probably as a result of the fire the year before. Among the exciting new features was anti-talk technology. Sounds like just sound absorbent panels on the side walls and ceiling. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this March 28 item.
"Hollywood's Finest - New Throughout - Modern as Tomorrow." New operators, a remodel and a grand reopening in 1949. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating the March 31 ad.
A 1949 Times ad touting their "New Cycloramic Screen." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it. "The 7th Veil" was a 1945 release, "Great Expectations" was out in 1946. A display case at the theatre is also seen with material advertising the new screen in "Destination Murder" (RKO, 1950).
A December 14, 1949 ad located by Gerald A. DeLuca for a post on
Cinema Treasures.
An interesting chapter in the Marcal's history was the run of Sid Pink's "French Post Card Revue" in 1953. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this September 30 L.A. Mirror ad for a post about the theatre on the
Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
An article about the show that Ken located. Pink operated other theatres at times, including the
Major in Burbank as well as houses in East. L.A. and Anaheim. Sid is best remembered as a producer
of the 3-D hit "Bwana Devil."
Star of the revue, the "Gorgeous" Gloria Pall, gets a bit of promotion in the Mirror in 1953. Thanks to Ken for locating this.
A November 1953 listing in the L.A. Times.
Pacific Theatres took it over in 1963, gave it a remodel and reopened it as the World Theatre.
"Open All Night." Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this July 3, 1963 reopening day ad.
It's mentioned 41:37 minutes into the 2023 "
Roger Corman Tribute @ Beyond Fest" chapter of the Post Mortem podcast with Mick Garris that the World Theatre was used for a test screening for the 1982 Corman film "Slumber Party Massacre." Thanks to Jonathan Raines for the information.
Keep a low profile was the advice in this review of the environment at the World that Ken McIntyre located in a 1982 issue of L.A. Weekly. He comments: "I saw a double feature at the World in 1984. It was an experience."
Closing: The World closed in the summer of 1986, a grindhouse operation until the end. The theatre was later gutted for other purposes.
Looking at the present exterior you'd never guess that it was a theatre. The facade is unrecognizable. Chris Hoffman reports that the front portion was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Building permits show it was rebuilt in June of that year.
A drawing from the 1994 permit application. Thanks to Chris Hoffman for providing it.
Status: Since 2013 or so the building has been used as a nightclub. It was initially called Create. It's now called Academy. Thanks to T.J. Pierce for the club data.
Interior views:
A peek into the lobby. It's a 1932 Dick Whittington Studio photo in the
USC Digital Library collection. Also see Whittington's
job ticket for the three photos he took.
Back out toward the street. It's a 1932 Dick Whittington Studio photo in the
USC Digital Library collection.
A c.1978 lobby view taken during a shoot for a USC film project. Thanks to Meredith Jacobson Marciano for the photo, one appearing on
Cinema Treasures.
A 1940 look at the seating taken for an insurance case. A woman caught her heel on the metal plate on the floor and fell. It's a photo by the Dick Whittington Studio. This shot as well as a view from the other direction are in the USC Digital Library collection.
More exterior views:
1926 - "Hollywood Boulevard at Gower as it looks today." We're looking east with the Marcal in the center of this Security Trust and Savings Bank photo that appeared in the November issue of Los Angeles Realtor. Thanks to the Special Collections Division of the Los
Angeles Public Library for making the issue of the magazine available. Click on the image for a larger view.
1926 - The Marcal nestled among the trees of Hollywood Blvd. It's a detail from the Security Bank photo.
1927 - A look at the ticket lobby with the theatre running "The Broken Gate," a February release from Tiffany Productions. The photo is in the collection of the
Los Angeles Public Library. The photo was an illustration to show off the work by Winter Iron Works that had been designed by William Young.
1931 - "City Lights" is on the marquee. Chaplin himself evidently
picked the Marcal for the film's Hollywood run. "City Lights" had
opened downtown at the Los Angeles Theatre, where it was the initial
film for the theatre when it opened in January 1931. It's a photo that appears on page 224 of "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History" by Gregory Paul Williams.
1932 - A look at the ticket lobby from Dick Whittington Studio that's in the
USC Digital Library collection.
c.1937 - A shot of the market that later became the X Theatre. Note the view of the Marcal Theatre's vertical sign on the left. It's a Herman Schultheis photo from the
Los Angeles Public Library.
1937 - A photo taken at an event honoring various silent film stars. Thanks to Gregory Paul Williams for including the photo in his epic "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History," available on Amazon. This photo is on page 224. There's a preview of the book to browse on Google Books.
c.1937 - A view when the theatre was on a revival policy running "Godless Girl" (1928) and "American Madness" (1932). As an extra they're including "The Great Train Robbery." The photo appears in the great 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres In Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Marc Wanamaker. Most of the photos in the book are from Mr. Wanamaker's
Bison Archives. There's a preview you can browse on
Google Books. Also see
the uncropped version of the photo.
1966 - Buffalo Springfield at the theatre. Thanks to Torbjörn Eriksson for locating this shot and the one below for a post on the private Facebook group
Southern California Nostalgia. He notes that one of the posters is for the March release "Cast a Giant Shadow." Photo: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
1966 - A look across the street toward Hollywood Ford, 6000 Hollywood Blvd. Photo: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
1971 - A look east on Hollywood Blvd. at the World, running as a three feature grindhouse operated by Pacific Theatres.
That's the X Theatre beyond, here seen with the two halves of the twin called the Adam and Eve. The photo is from the amazing Bruce Torrence
Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #T-057-1. The collection is now owned by the McAvoy family.
1972 - Again thanks to the Bruce Torrence
Historic Hollywood Photographs collection
for this photo that was taken when the World was a 99 cent admission triple-feature grindhouse. It's their #T-057-2.
1977 - A shot looking west at the X Theatre and onward down Hollywood Blvd. toward the World. Thanks to Brooklyn-based theatre historian Cezar DelValle for the photo. His theatre adventures can be found on his Theatre Talks blog as well as on
Facebook.
c.1978 - The World vertical. Thanks to Meredith Jacobson Marciano for the photo. She was there on a USC film project. The photo appears on
Cinema Treasures.
c.1978 - A marquee photo from Meredith Jacobson Marciano that she shared on
Flickr.
c.1978 - Looking east across the facade of the World toward the X Theatre. Thanks to Meredith Jacobson Marciano for the photo on
Flickr.
1979 - A view discovered by Ken McIntyre for the private Facebook group
Photos of Los Angeles. Thanks, Ken!
1982 - The World Theatre in December. The photo was on the website of the now-vanished American Classic Images collection.
1982 - Another December photo from American Classic Images.
2010 - The now unrecognizable building. Photo: Bill Counter
2018 - The former theatre as a music venue called Academy. Photo: Bill Counter
The Marcal/World in the Movies:
In "Destination Murder" (RKO, 1950) we see the theatre running a revival
double bill of "Flight Lieutenant" (1942) and "Corregidor"
(1943). Thanks to Jack Tillmany for the information on this one. He
notes that the filming was done during the first week of December 1949
and the Marcal's booker must have thought this was an appropriate
"commemoration" of the anniversary of
Pearl Harbor.
Stanley Clements is there with a date in "Destination Murder." During intermission he goes out
for a smoke and a guy picks him up to go do a killing nearby. Here he's
coming back in to grab a popcorn before the show starts again. The film,
directed by Edward L. Cahn, stars Joyce Mackenzie as the
daughter of the man who was killed, Hurd
Hatfield and Albert Dekker as sleezy club operators, and James Flavin as
the cop on the case. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several more shots at the Marcal.
We get a view of the World on the left as a bust is underway at the X Theatre in the Carlos Tobalina
film "Refinements in Love" (Hollywood International Pictures, 1971).
See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several more shots at the X plus views of the Mayan and Las Palmas theatres.
More Information: Lots of recollections of the World's days as a grindhouse are on the Cinema Treasures page about the theatre.
Don't miss "6021-6025 Hollywood Boulevard: The Marcal Theatre," J.H. Graham's extensive article about the theatre's history.
Nearby: the X Theatre | the Music Box/Fonda | the Hawaii Theatre |
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