Melvan / KTLA Studio Theatre / Encore / Continental Theatre

5308 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90038  | map |

Opened: As the Melvan c.1941. The name came from its location at Melrose and Van Ness. The 1984 photo of the theatre as the Continental appeared on the now-vanished American Classic Images website.

Seating: 824           

Architect: Unknown 

A 1946 ad.

A 1947 ad.

 

A 1947 ad for the Melvan as one of the "Encore Theatres," under the same management as the four houses advertised as the "Academies of Proven Hits."

 

A 1947 Encore Theatres ad in the L.A. Times for a reissue of "Fantasia."

A 1948 ad for the Melvan. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ads. 

 

The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook didn't have a listing for "Encore Theatres" but they did list "Academies of Proven Hits" as a company run by Saul Mahler and James H. Nicholson. The office was at 1824 S. Vermont. The theatres listed as being under their control at the time included the Arlington, Cinema, Jewel, Picfair and Vermont. In 1949 the group was also involved with the Marcal Theatre. Joseph Moritz was also a part of the company. Nicholson was later a co-founder of American International Pictures.

 

In 1950 the Melvan was taken over by KTLA and renamed the KTLA Studio Theatre. 

 

A 1953 ticket to the KTLA "Bandstand Revue" show. Thanks to Eric Lunxwiler for sharing this from his amazing collection. It's on Flickr. Hit "back to photostream" for views of tickets to many other TV shows of the era. Eric is the author, with Tom Zimmerman, of the Angel City Press book "Spectacular Illumination: Neon Los Angeles 1925-1965." And, with Kevin Roderick, he's also done the celebrated book "Wilshire Boulevard: The Grand Concourse of Los Angeles.

In 1963 the theatre was leased by Louis Federici and became the Encore, running foreign films and revivals. The renovation he did was described in "A Movie House is Reborn in L.A.," an article in the October 21, 1963 issue of Boxoffice. It's on Internet Archive. The text:

A facade shot and two interior photos that appeared with this can be seen lower on the page. 

 

 

 

A new set of operators in 1978 headed by Philip Chamberlin and Edgar Goff. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this item in the Times. It's one of many items about the theatre in a thread on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.  

 

A 1978 rep schedule for the Encore from the Adsausage Archives collection. In addition to their website, there's also an Adsausage Facebook page and Instagram feed. 

In July 1980 it became part of the Laemmle circuit and was renamed the Continental.

 

 

An ad for the Continental that was located by Ken McIntyre. 

 

 

A c.1981 ad for Pasolini's "Arabian Nights." The 1974 film didn't get a U.S. release until 1980. Thanks to the Adsausage Archives for sharing the ad. The other three theatres were also part of the Laemmle circuit.

Closing: The theatre closed in January 1985. 

Status: It's been demolished. The site is now occupied by a large administration building that's part of Raleigh Studios. 

 

 

Interior views: 

 

A lobby shot from "A Movie House is Reborn in L.A.," the article in the October 21, 1963 issue of Boxoffice. It's on Internet Archive. The caption: 

"The lobby-lounge of the new Encore Theatre is richly decorated with dark red carpeting, light walls and graceful lighting fixtures. Paintings by local artists are exhibited. At right is the coffee bar." 

 

An auditorium view from the Boxoffice article. Also see the color shot at the bottom of the page from the film "Messiah of Evil." The Boxoffice caption: 

 

"The entire proscenium and side walls are fully draped and the screen area is highlighted by ceiling spots. The all-new seats are widely spaced on 43-inch centers to provide for greater patron comfort."

 

More exterior views:

c.1942 - Looking west on Melrose from Van Ness. On the left is the theatre, here still called the Melvan. On the right it's Western Costume. Both were demolished for expansions of Raleigh and Paramount studio properties.  The photo is from the lovely 2009 Arcadia Publishing book "Hollywood 1940 - 2008" by Marc Wanamaker.  The photos in the book come from his Bison Archives collection. It's available on Amazon. The page with this photo is part of the preview Google Books.

c.1942 - A detail from the photo above. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing it. 

1951 - A shot taken in May by Ed Clark for Life. The crowd was lining up for a show when the venue called was the KTLA Studio Theatre. It's online via Google/Life Images. Also see another photo of the line by Mr. Clark taken from back a little farther.

1951 - A look at the entrance by Ed Clark for Life. It's on Google/Life Images. Also see another similar entrance view.

 

1951 - Thanks to the wonderful Bruce Torrence Hollywood Photograph Collection, now owned by the McAvoy family, for this photo of the theatre in its KTLA days.

 

 

1963 - The renovated facade. It's a photo appearing with "A Movie House is Reborn in L.A.," the article about Louis Federici's renovation appearing in the October 21, 1963 issue of Boxoffice. The caption: "The attractive and inviting front of the new Encore Theatre in Hollywood."

1980s - A photo of the closed Continental Theatre taken by filmmaker and cinematographer Gary Graver. More of his theatre photos can be seen on YouTube in "Second Run - part 1" and "Second Run - part 2." Thanks to Sean Graver for use of the photo.

2019 - The site of the Continental. On the right we're going west on Melrose. Photo: Bill Counter

 

 

The Encore in the Movies:

 

Joy Bang makes the mistake of going to a show at the Fox Venice in "Messiah of Evil" (International Cine Film Corp., 1973). We get exterior and lobby shots there but for the big scene in the auditorium we're at the Encore. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another auditorium view as well as shots at the Fox. 

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Encore.

| back to top | Hollywood Theatres: overview and alphabetical lists | Hollywood Theatres: list by address | Downtown theatres | Westside | Westwood and Brentwood | Along the Coast | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | L.A. Theatres: main alphabetical list | L.A. Theatres: list by address | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | theatres in movies | LA Theatres on facebook | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |