Opened: January 17, 1918 as the Iris Theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this 2013 photo, a post on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. The facade is the one installed in a 1968 National General remodeling. The theatre had been open as a nightclub, Playhouse Hollywood, until the March 2020 Covid shutdown.
Phone: 323-656-4600 Website: www.playhousenightclub.com
This new building was the third Iris location, a replacement for the second Iris located at 6417 Hollywood Blvd., on the other side of the street and a block east, near the present Warner Theatre. The initial Iris location at 6524 Hollywood Blvd., originally called the Idle Hour, had been Hollywood's first theatre.
This ad listing the recently closed second Iris location at 6417 appeared in the Wednesday January 16, 1918 issue of the L.A. Evening Express. It was part of a larger Express ad that Ken McIntyre located for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
They didn't quite get the title right for the main feature of their January 17 opening. The Wallace Reid film wasn't "The Man From Music Mountain." It was "Nan From Music Mountain," a December 1917 release. The Fatty Arbuckle short "Coney Island" was out in October 1917.Architect: Frank Meline designed the original classical facade with diamond brick patterns and sets of paired columns topped with Grecian urns. The theatre was built for P. Tabor, who had operated the business at the two earlier locations as well.
Seating: Originally 1,000 advertised, the count after the 1955 remodel was 816. It was down to 647 in the final years.
An L.A. Times article about the building getting sold in 1919 to Dr. Wilbur Townsend, a dentist. Perhaps he wasn't cut out for the theatre business. He soon flipped it it to J.B. Zeller.
An illustration that appeared with the 1919 Times article. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding this for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
The sale by Zeller, after owning the Iris "for about a year," to J.E. Johnson, owner of the Liberty Theatre in Long Beach, was announced in this Hollywood Citizen article on April 30, 1920. The new Sterling Theatre that Zeller was planning on Santa Monica Boulevard opened in 1921 as the Paramount. But Zeller wasn't part of the operation -- Turner, Dahnken & Langley were the operators. Thanks to Jim Lewis for locating the article.
Johnson had intended to build a second theatre in Long Beach and had agreed to purchase an organ for that house. It ended up at the Iris. Jim Lewis has the report:
"I have a xerox of a purple carbon paper letter from W. H. Johnson to the Estey Organ Co., Brattleboro, VT, dated January 5, 1920. The Estey organ for the Iris was purchased originally for the Queen Theatre in Long Beach and Johnson writes:
'Regarding the organ for the [Queen] theatre in Long Beach, I will state that on account of building conditions at the present time, we have decided to wait for matters to get on a more settled basis before going through with this project. However, we have arranged to use this organ in the Iris Theatre in Hollywood. This will at least give you the sale of another instrument as we will want a duplicate for the Long Beach house when we decide to build.
-- W.H.J.'"
The cover of a November 1924 program for the week they were running "Circe the Enchantress" and "Lover's Lane." Note Charles Toberman's ad on the front. Thanks to April Brooks Clemmer for sharing this from her collection. Visit the April's Old Hollywood site for information on walking tours and special events she hosts. She's also on Facebook.
The inside of the 1924 program.
Vitaphone and Movietone equipment ready to entertain you at the Iris. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this August 19, 1929 ad.
With
a 1934 remodel by Clifford Balch it got a deco look. A June 29, 1934
L.A. Times item noted that the
decoration was by Robert Power Studios. Gore Brothers were mentioned as
operators -- and they hoped their friend the Sid Grauman might officiate
at the reopening.
The L.A. Times article about the 1934 reopening. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Noir City Dame for finding the article -- it's in her Noirish post #31116 about the theatre.
The Gore Brothers had been involved as major shareholders with West Coast Theatres from its founding in 1920. That firm became Fox West Coast in 1929. Here it appears the brothers were acting on their own although later Fox ended up running the Iris.
A 1946 shot of the snack bar at the Iris. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. The photo also appears in the AMPAS Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann Collection and on Ethereal Reality's Noirish Los Angeles post #7604.
A rendering for the 1955 facade remodeling. It's an item from the Herald Examiner collection at the Los Angeles Public Library. The caption it ran with: "Artist's sketch of the Fox (Iris) Theatre
at 6508 Hollywood Blvd. on February 11, 1955, to open soon with lavish
movieland premiere fanfare. The 816-seat showcase has been remodeled at
a cost of $100,000. Architects: S. Charles Lee and Frank Meline." Mr.
Meline had designed the original building in 1918. Presumably he wasn't
helping with this remodel as he had died in 1944.
"Hollywood's Jewel Box." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this reopening ad for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
The Hollywood Citizen-News had lots of congratulatory ads and bios of Fox West Coast executives in their February 14, 1955 issue. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing this as part of a Facebook thread about the reopening for Ken's Movie Page.
"Stars! Lights! Autographs!" The February 14, 1955 reopening ad for "White Feather."
Read all about the "miracle mirror" screen and other wonders. It's another story Ken located in the February 14, 1955 Citizen-News.
William Katzky Jr, the manager at the time, gets his picture in the Citizen news in another story about the February 1955 reopening. See another article about the reopening in a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page.
National General Corp., then running the Fox West Coast circuit, gave it another
remodel in 1968 and a re-branding as the Fox Theatre. It reopened December 18 with "The Killing of Sister George." That's the 1968
facade that's still on the building but the marquee was removed and replaced in 2017.
Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this December 18, 1968 ad.
Mann Theatres took over the Fox circuit from National General in 1973. The Fox continued to show first run product (occasionally in 70mm) well into the 80s.
Closing: It closed as a film
theatre in 1994 after a bit of earthquake damage and was used as a warehouse by the chain for several years afterward.
Later use: It sat vacant for years. After a remodel it opened in June 2009 as a club called the Playhouse at the Fox, also known as Playhouse Hollywood. The
lobby area was expanded to host a fast food restaurant, with the club space behind. There's also an upstairs lounge area.
A plan of the revamped front of the building with a restaurant in front, club space behind.
The Playhouse closed in March 2020 due to Covid restrictions. By early 2021 the space was for lease.
Status: It reopened in 2023 under different management as a club called The Fox Hollywood. There's a listing on Yelp. See some interior views lower on this page. By early 2024 they were closed, the entrance was papered over, and the venue was getting another remodel.
The latest plan is to call it Bahia Hollywood. It's an operation that already has a Sunset Blvd. location. "The Truck," the fast food restaurant in the retail space, was already operating using that name by mid-2024. In July they had a sign up in the club's window noting that they were hiring: 818-565-9531.
1918 - A glorious look at the Iris Theatre thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Ethereal Reality. It's on his Noirish post #7603. See more photos of the theatre on his post #7611. The 1918 photo is also on Chuckaluck's Noirish post #7622 and Tourmaline's Noirish post #40163. A cropped version of the image is in the Google Books preview of the fine book "The Story of Hollywood" by Gregory Paul Williams. "The Family Skeleton" was a March 1918 release. Thanks to Michael Manus for working on the image.
1918 - An entrance detail from the "Family Skeleton" photo.
1919 - The Iris running "The Test of Honor," an April release with John Barrymore. The photo made an appearance in the November 4, 1922 issue of Exhibitors Herald
with an article on the use of face brick for theatre exteriors and
interiors. The issue is on Internet Archive. The Herald's caption: "The front
of the Iris theatre, Los Angeles, shows face brick of old rose shades
treated in various designs. Another version of the photo puts in an appearance on Tourmaline's Noirish Los Angeles post #40163.
1926 - Looking west from Wilcox toward the Iris, on the left.
Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this photo from his amazing
collection on Flickr. Also see a shot taken from a block farther west. He's 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.
1926 - A detail from Eric's copy of the photo. On the marquee "Emil Jannings - Lya De Putti." The only film they made together was the 1925 UFA production "Varieté" (U.S.title: "Variety"). See the Wikipdia article about Lya. The film got a U.S. release beginning in mid-1926. The first-run L.A. engagement was in June at the Million Dollar. The Los Angeles Public Library
also has a copy of the photo.
1928 - A view looking east with the newly opened Warner down the street. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The photo also makes an appearance in Laurence Landreth Hill's book "La Reina, Los Angeles in Three Centuries," published in 1929 by the Security Trust & Savings Bank.
1928 - A detail from the previous photo. "Don't Marry" was a June release.
1934 - A view of the deco facade designed by Clifford Balch just prior to the grand re-opening. John Barrymore on the screen of the Iris again -- this time in "20th Century" with Carole Lombard. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The photo also appears on a fine Water & Power Associates museum page with many other vintage Hollywood photos. And, of course, it can also be seen in the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection.
1936 - A look at the marquee with the Iris running "Thanks a Million" with Dick Powell, a 1935 release. Check out that terrazzo design! It's a photo from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives. A version of it appears on page 66 of the fine 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres In Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Marc Wanamaker. There's a preview to browse on Google Books.
1936 - An entrance detail from Marc's photo.
1937 - Don't miss the "Owl Show" on Saturdays! "Toast of New York" with Edward Arnold was a July release. It's a Herman Schultheis photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1937 - A postcard view using a Bob Plunkett photo from the Huntington Library collection.
1937 - A detail from the Plunkett photo. On the left, the Colony Theatre,
later known as the Holly, has a banner out for "Two Men and a Girl"
with Deanna Durbin and Adolphe Menjou. "It's Love I'm After" was at the Warner with a banner out at advising
that "Alcatraz Island" has been held over as a co-feature. On the right the Iris has a banner for "Wee Willie Winkie." That film had opened first-run at the Carthay Circle on June 25.
1939 - The Iris had Loretta Young and Richard Greene in "Kentucky" along with "Trade Winds" starring Fredric March, Joan Bennett and Ralph Bellamy. Both were December 1938 releases. Thanks to the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for the photo, their #HB-209. It's one of 219 in their album "Hollywood Boulevard 1899-1940."
1940 - In this Frasher Foto postcard we get the Iris on the right with a banner for "Balalaika," a 1939 release with Nelson Eddy, Ilona Massey and Charley Ruggles. The Warner was
running "Dr. Erlich's Magic Bullet" with Edward G. Robinson. It's from the California State Library collection, their
item #01537182.
1942 - A look the Iris, running "The Wife Takes a Flyer" with Joan Bennett, an April release. In addition to a "News Scoop" we also get "Two Yanks in Trinidad," a March release. Thanks to transit historian Sean Ault for spotting the image on eBay. The portion above is just a slice.
1942 - Here's a wider view, showing the Warner running "Sergeant York" with Gary Cooper, a September 1941 release.
1942 - Norma Shearer and Melvin Douglas in "We Were Dancing." It's a photo from p.225 of the great book "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History" by Gregory Paul Williams. The page with the photo appears in the preview on Google Books. The book is available on Amazon.
1947 - A Frasher Foto Card from the Pomona Library appearing on Calisphere. There's also a zoomable version. Looking east we see the Iris Theatre on the right. On the left there's the Academy / Holly Theatre with the towers of the Warner beyond.
c.1947 - A view east toward the Warner and the Iris. Thanks to Maurice Ideses for the post on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles. Sean Ault notes that the bus we see is from L.A. Motorcoach, a company that ceased operations May 1, 1949.
1948 - A December view looking east toward the Warner by Arnold Hylen from the Facebook page Arnold Hylen-Photographer-Los Angeles Images of an Era. The Iris Theatre is running a preview of "You Gotta Stay Happy" with Joan Fontaine and James Stewart. Or maybe they're running that feature plus a preview. Thanks to Greta Gustafsson for making the photo available. Note the new style streetlights.
1949 - A delicious look toward the Iris. It's an Arnold Hylen photo in the collection of the California State Library. Bruce Kimmel researched the booking an notes: "This beautiful shot is from September of 1949, when this double bill
was re-released on September 21. The original run of 'Renegades' was in 1946,
June, at the Vogue. 'Desperadoes' was originally 1943. Whew!"
1951 - A Life Magazine photo by Ralph Crane looking east on Hollywood Blvd. The Iris is down the street. On the right is the Ritz Theatre in its newsreel theatre days. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the shot for a post on his Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. It's also on Google/Life Images and Tourmaline has it on Noirish Los Angeles post #35733.
1953 - A California Historical Society photo in the USC Digital Library collection. The Iris is half way down on the left. On the right the Warner is running "This is Cinerama" with the Academy Theatre, later renamed the Holly, down in the next block.
1953 - A detail from the USC photo. On the marquee: "First Time - Pop. Prices - Ivanhoe." The film got a New York run in July 1952 and a wide release in February 1953.
1954 - A last look before the S. Charles Lee facade remodel. The photo appeared on the now-vanished American Classic Images website. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it in their collection.
1957 - A view with "Friendly Persuasion" on the marquee and a model posing outside in front of Karl's Shoes. The photo is from the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection.
Bruce Kimmel researched the booking: "'Friendly Persuasion' opened at the Iris on February 27, 1957 - it was a post-Oscar nominations run. It played there as a solo feature until March 27, at which time it was joined by the other big Oscar nominee, 'The King and I.' Then that played a couple of weeks until April 9 - it was replaced on April 10 with a reissue of 'Cinderella' with the brilliant
short subject, 'The Red Balloon.'"
1957 - A March view with "Friendly Persuasion" at the Iris and "Cinerama Holiday" over at the Warner. Note the new facade on the Iris. It's a screenshot from Getty Images footage that's included in Rick Prelinger's "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2016," an hour and twenty minutes of wonderful clips from various sources that was originally presented in a program at the Los Angeles Public Library. Also see "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2019." This second installment was presented at the Library by the organization Photo Friends as part of the series L.A. in Focus. Both compilations are on Vimeo.
Parts of the same Getty footage appear in "Hollywood Blvd. Part 3 - 1956," a one minute clip on YouTube from Alison Martino. More of the footage can be seen in "Hollywood Blvd. 1956," four minutes of lovely clips from Getty Images on YouTube from Craiglaca1.
1957 - A postcard view looking east. Again it's "Friendly Persuasion" at the Iris and "Cinerama Holiday" at the Warner. The card is one that was
part of the collection on the now-vanished website Yesterday LA.
1957 - The Iris running a reissue of "Bambi." The co-feature, "Apache Warrior," was a July 1957 release. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. It's from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives.
1963 - There's a nice ride down the street in "Hollywood Blvd 1960 [sic] Vintage Los Angeles...," a one minute+ clip of Getty Images footage on YouTube from Alison Martino. The Iris has a reissue of the 1954 film "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Back a bit from the screenshot seen here there's a view of the Academy running a double bill of "Bye Bye Birdie" and the Bob Hope/Anita Ekberg feature "Call Me Bwana." "How the West Was Won" is at the
Warner. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting the footage. The clip also appears on the Getty Images website where they note that it was shot by Warner Bros.
1963 - The Iris playing Disney's "The Sword in the Stone" along with "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze." Thanks to Richard Wojcik for sharing this photo from his collection as a post on the private Facebook group Mid Century Modern. Alison Martino later posted it on her Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. Bruce Kimmel comments: "Opened Christmas Day, but I was probably over at the Chinese seeing 'Charade.'"
1963 - Another fine December "Sword in the Stone" view from the Richard Wojcik collection. He had shared this one on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.
1966 - A summer view from the Richard Wojcik Collection on the non-public Facebook group Mid Century Modern Los Angeles. We're looking east along Hollywood Blvd. toward the Warner. Note a bit of the Iris marquee at the right with the film "Maya" playing. It was a June release.
1966 - Thanks to Warren Beckerman for this shot he took looking west with the Iris down the street on the left. The Warner was running "Kaleidoscope," a September release.
1968 - The theatre got a new facade in a remodel by National General Corp. It reopened December 20 with "The Killing of Sister George." It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1969 - The Fox running a reissue of "Dr. Zhivago." It's a happy family from Colombia enjoying an outing on Hollywood Blvd. The photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1972 - "The Mechanic" was a November release with Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent and Keenan Wynn. The photo is in the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #T-015-1. Thanks to Bill Gabel for spotting this one for a post on the Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
1972 - Martin Ritt's "Sounder," a September release, playing during the Christmas season. Thanks to
the Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for the image. It's their
#HB-414, included as one of 226 photos in their gallery Hollywood Boulevard 1941-1990. Also see a Christmas 1972 view east toward the theatre, the collection's #HB-419.
1973 - Ed Ruscha, perhaps better known for "Twentysix Gasoline Stations" and "Every Building on the Sunset Strip," also had a fling with Hollywood Blvd. Here we get a look at the Fox on the left. See the five minute video on YouTube as we go up one side of the street and then down the other.
It was part of the Getty initiative "Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A.." Many of Ruscha's works reside at The Getty. This one, from the "Streets of Los Angeles" archive at the Getty Research Institute, was part of their exhibition "Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future 1940-1990." Mr. Ruscha lives and works in Culver City.
1974 - The Fox running "Phantom of the Paradise." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the shot for a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page.
c.1975 - A view west toward the Fox, provenance unknown, that popped up on the Classic Hollywood/Los Angeles SFV Facebook page.
1976 - Thanks to the Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for the image. It's their #HB-492. That's the Holly Theatre across the street. Also see a 70s view west from the Warner, the collection's #HB-501.
"Taxi Driver," a February release, playing the Fox. Bruce Kimmel comments: "It moved
over from the Paramount to the Fox, where it opened on Friday April 9. It played there until May 4th. Then that marquee changed on
Wednesday to - drum roll - 'The First Nudie Musical,' which opened there
on May 5th. Hubba hubba, baby.
1976 - The Fox running "The First Nudie Musical" (Paramount) in April. The photo appears in "From Dollars to Donuts," the featurette included on the film's DVD. The book, music, and lyrics for the movie are by Bruce Kimmel. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for seventeen shots from the film including views of Hollywood Blvd. at night and two lobby views of the Fox Venice.
1979 - Running James Fargo's "Every Which Way But Loose" with Clint Eastwood. The film was a December 1978 release. Thanks to
the Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for the image. It's their #HB-557.
1983 - Thanks to the now-vanished American Classic Images website for this July photo.
1984 - "Purple Rain" at the Fox in September. Thanks to American Classic Images for the photo.
1986 - A view west toward Wilcox and the Fox Theatre beyond on the left. Thanks to Bill Gabel for locating the photo for a post on Photos of Los Angeles. The Warner, at the time called the Hollywood Pacific, is on the right.
1992 - A Gary Leonard photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection taken looking west on Hollywood Blvd. during the riots.
c.1995 - The theatre after closing as a film house. Thanks to Bill Ware for the photo on the Facebook group You Know You Grew Up in Hollywood because....
2002 - Ed Ruscha's later look at this stretch of Hollywood Blvd.
2007 - The vacant Fox Theatre's 1968 facade. Photo: Bill Counter
2009 - The view toward the Warner. That's the Fox on the right -- here with the marquee just rows of vertical fluorescent tubes. Photo: Google Maps
2010 - The Fox open again as The Playhouse Hollywood. Photo: Bill Counter
2017 - The readerboard faces taken off as the first step toward removal and replacement with a digital version. Thanks to John Alvarez for the March photo on the Facebook group You Know You Grew Up in Hollywood bacause....
2017 - Thanks to Michael Moran for this March 15 photo, appearing with his post on the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Facebook page.
2017 - A March 28 photo by Chris Willman taken following removal of the marquee. It appeared as a comment to a post by Michael Moran on the LAHTF Facebook page. Thanks, Chris!
2017 - A Michael Moran photo taken April 14. It's on his post on the LAHTF Facebook page that day. Thanks for these, Michael!
2017 - A look up at figures revealed from the long-hidden 1934 Clifford Balch deco remodel. The theatre had two facades applied on top of that one in later decades. It's a Michael Moran photo.
2017 - Thanks to Michael Moran for another peek at the figures on the facade. It's an April 14 photo appearing on the the LAHTF Facebook page.
2017 - The new digital readerboards at work in June. Photo: Bill Counter
2024 - A look north in the alley from Wilcox Ave. toward the back of the theatre. What looks like a stagehouse a couple doors down is just a partially gutted building getting a remodel. Photo: Bill Counter
2024 - The new paint job as Bahia Hollywood. Photo: Bill Counter - August 7
Views of the interior as the Playhouse:
The restaurant in the former lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
The bar in the former auditorium space. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
The club sidewall -- no historic elements remain. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
A club view looking toward the screen area. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
The lounge area on the expanded mezzanine level. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010
2023 interior views as The Fox Hollywood:
Photo: Fox Hollywood website
Photo: Fox Hollywood website
Photo: Fox Hollywood website
The Iris/Fox Theatre in the Movies:
We get a look at the outside of the Iris in "Ring Up the Curtain" (Rolin Films/Pathé, April 1919). Alf Goulding directed the 14 minute film starring Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels and "Snub" Pollard. Here the manager is fuming because his cast hasn't yet appeared and he's frustrated with his somewhat drunk crew. It's unknown where the interiors were shot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more shots. Thanks to silent film detective John Bengtson for spotting the theatre. Check out his latest explorations via the Silent Locations blog "Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations (and more)."
Douglas Fairbanks is at the Iris for a scene in "The Nut" (United Artists, 1921). Theodore Reed directed the 70 minute feature about an eccentric investor looking for funding for a plan devised by his girlfriend to help poor children. Others in the cast include Marguerite De La Motte, William Lowery and Gerald Pring. Thanks to John Bengtson for the screenshot. See two more views of the scene at the Iris in the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post.
Actor Lloyd Hughes in front of the Iris in "Hollywood Snapshots" (Hodkinson Films, 1922). Thanks to John Bengtson for the screenshot. It appears, with many other shots from the film, in his Silent Locations post "Hollywood Snapshots - a 1922 Time Machine." He notes that "Facing a public relations nightmare in 1922 over recent scandals, the film community produced 'Hollywood Snapshots,' a promotional film portraying screen folk as wholesome to middle America." See the Historic L.A. Theatres in the Movies post for more about the film.
In the Laurel and Hardy two-reeler "45 Minutes From Hollywood" (Hal Roach Studios, 1926) we get a look at the Iris Theatre on the right, running "What Fools Men," a 1925 release. Thanks to Chris Bungo for the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for more on the film.
Ann Savage and Tom Neal head east on Hollywood Blvd. in search of a
car dealer in Edgar G. Ulmer's "Detour" (Producers Releasing
Corporation, 1945). The 1938 footage they used for this process shot shows the Iris with "The
Buccaneer" starring Fredric March and Franciska Gaal. Over on the right it's a bit of the Colony/Holly Theatre. Thanks to Dave Hunter for spotting the theatres. The cinematography was by
Benjamin H. Kline. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more shots from this sequence where we also see the Warner and a bit of the vertical of the Pantages.
We get a look west toward the Iris vertical in Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (United Artists, 1956) as Sterling Hayden comes out of a store just east of the Warner. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for shots showing the Warner and Lux theatres.
An over-exposed shot for "Vice Squad" (Avco Embassy, 1982) that appears in the trailer but not the completed film. Season Hubley is a single mom working as a prostitute who reluctantly
becomes a police informant. The film also
features Gary Swanson, Wings Hauser, Pepe Serna, Beverly Todd, Nina
Blackwood and Sudana Bobatoon. Gary Sherman directed. The cinematography
was by John Alcott. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots of the Vogue, Cinema Theatre, Tiffany, Pussycat, Hollywood Pacific and Pix from the film. At the time of the shoot the Fox was running "The Fan" with Lauren Bacall and James Garner.
If you can take your eyes off the foreground, the Fox is across the street in this shot from "The Executioner: Part II" (21st Century
Distribution, 1984). James Bryan directed and photographed this hunt
for a masked serial killer. Featured are Christopher Mitchum, Aldo Ray,
Antoine John Mottet and Renee Harmon. Thanks to Eric Schaefer for spotting the theatres in the film and getting many screenshots. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for exterior looks at the Pantages, Hollywood Pacific and X Theatres plus interior views of the Variety Arts.
In "Twins" (Universal, 1988) Arnold Schwarzenegger is new in LA when he's spotted as a rube and is set up. The guy on the motorcycle is in
for a surprise when he tries to grab a suitcase. Arnold is looking for his
long-lost brother, played by Danny DeVito. The Fox was running "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood." "Twins," directed by Ivan
Reitman, also features Kelly Preston, Chloe
Webb, David Caruso, Nehemiah Persoff and Hugh O'Brien. The
cinematography was by Andrzej Bartkowiak. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for a nice distance view with a bit of the Fox and the Paramount in the distance as well as shots of the Chinese and the Granada in Wilmington.
More information: Visit the Cinema Treasures page on the Fox for lots of stories and photos. The Cinema Tour page on the Fox has 8 exterior views.
Ethereal Reality's Noirish Los Angeles post #7611 featured some exterior views from Cinema Treasures as well as other items. Noir City Dame's Noirish Los Angeles post #31116 about the theatre has clippings of articles related to various remodelings.
A February 2019 story on Eater L.A. by Mona Holmes, "City of L.A. Hits Hollywood Nightclub With 40 Criminal Charges," discussed some of the problems The Playhouse has been causing for the neighborhood.
The other Fox Theatre on Hollywood Blvd: The Music Box had been called the Fox in the 40s and 50s but after Fox West Coast exited that theatre, Pacific Theatres took over and changed the name to the Pix. Soon the Fox name appeared on the street again for the remodeled Iris.
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