A 1966 bus windshield view looking east on Hollywood Blvd. with the theatre at the time called Rector's Admiral. They're running an MGM revival package that was out that year. On the marquee: "Sweethearts" and "The Merry Widow." Oh, that's the Pantages down the street on the left. Thanks to The Kingsley Collection for the photo. It appears in their album Classic Los Angeles which features photos from the estate of Barbara Harlen. Among other places, the photo has also been seen in a cropped version on Photos of Los Angeles as a post of Bill Gabel.
Opened: May 16, 1940 as the Admiral. It was originally a restaurant before the remodel into a theatre. The opening films were "His Majesty's Mistress" with Danielle Darrieux and John Loder along with "Torpedoed" starring H.B. Warner.
Website: www.dolby.com/...vine-screening-room.html
Architect: S. Charles Lee did the 1940 conversion into a theatre.
A section by Mr. Lee showing the proscenium and auditorium back wall. It's a detail from a
larger drawing in the S. Charles Lee Papers Collection.
Seating: 603 after the 1969 renovations. The Dolby renovations of 2014 took it down to 70 seats.
Noir City Dame in her Noirish Los Angeles post #19591
traces the use of the building as a restaurant. In 1933 it was Henry's
Restaurant. In March 1934 Henry was out and it reopened as Perry's
Brass Rail, Perry having moved from three doors to the west. By late
1936 it had become the Weiss Cafe.
The L.A. Times issue of May 17, 1940 reported the opening of the theatre:
A 1941 ad for the Admiral.
In the 50s and 60s the theatre was known as Rector's Admiral. Bruce Kimmel notes that he visited:
"Funnily, I was only in that theater once. I was obsessed with 'North by Northwest' back when it came out - saw at the Wiltern several times originally, then followed it around town. It played the Admiral in December of 1959, right around Christmas. I took a bus up to Hollywood to see it, but oh dear what a horrid little theater it was. I don't know that I'd ever been in such a weird theater before."
At the end it played mostly revivals and sub-runs. Trans-Beacon gave it a $200,000 remodel in 1969 and re-named it the Vine Theatre. Joe Masher notes that Trans-Beacon was a partnership between the Forman family (Pacific Theatres) and New York's B.S. Moss circuit, now Bow Tie Cinemas.
Work included a greater height lobby area (with new lobby decor),
redone boxoffice area, new seating, new booth equipment, redesigned rear
exit scheme, a bigger screen and new auditorium decor (mostly drapes). The remodel was profiled in the May 19, 1969 issue of Boxoffice.
Pacific
Theatres later acquired the theatre and operated it for years (with a yet another remodel in the
70's) as both a Spanish language house and a $2 grindhouse. At the end
it was a sad independent operation with $7 double features. After 70 years of operation (with a few breaks) the Vine closed as a regular film theatre in October 2007.
The
Vine then was a rental house for a few years for various downmarket
events and private screenings. The marquee's semi-permanent copy usually touted
the theatre's 35mm and digital projection capabilities. In June 2009 it had a fling as the home of the Laserium. The L.A. Times had the story. Evidently the Laserium folks couldn't make a go of it. A January 2010 story detailed the defeat.
Status: Dolby leased the Vine in late 2013 and the theatre was gutted
down to the bare walls in 2014. It was rebuilt as a private
demonstration showcase for their Dolby Vision process, featuring
laser-based projection. They're working with Christie on the equipment.
SF Gate had a May 2015 story by Benny Evangelista about the company's new technologies, "Dolby hopes to lure movie fans back with theater of the future," that included photos of both the Vine and the Dolby Theatre.
Hollywood Reporter had a December 2014 story about a demo at the theatre: "Sensory Assault: Dolby Takes on IMAX with Mega-Theatre Rival." Digital Trend ran a December story about the process: "Dolby Looks to Outdo IMAX..."
The Admiral/Vine Theatre in the Movies:
We get the same shot repeated in Joseph Newman's "The George Raft Story" (Allied Artists, 1961) with Ray Danton, Jayne Mansfield and Julie London. For the purposes of "Raft" the towers of the Warner in the distance with the neon saying "Cinerama" are a bit of an anachronism. Thanks to Kliph Nesteroff for the screenshot this time, posted on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.
We get a fine tour of Los Angeles in Jacques Deray's "The Outside Man" (United Artists, 1973). Here we get a bit of the Vine's marquee advertising "Nicholas and Alexandra" and the vertical of the Pix scintillating in the distance as Jean-Louis Trintignant picks up a hitchhiker. The film also stars Roy Scheider as another hit man and Ann-Margret as the former owner of a bar who gets caught in the middle of the mess. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another distance view of the Pix plus a shot of the Cinematheque 16 on Sunset.
The Vine's signage gets a quick cameo during a musical number in "The First Nudie Musical" (Paramount, 1976). The book, music, and lyrics for the movie are by Bruce Kimmel. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for sixteen more shots from the film including more views of Hollywood marquees and a look at the lobby of the Fox Venice.
"Go see what's playing at the Vine" her father said. So Elle Fanning risks a jaywalking ticket while he has a tryst in "Low Down" (Oscilloscope Labs, 2015). She's the daughter of troubled jazz pianist Joe Albany, played by John Hawkes. It's 1974 and the cashier won't let her in to see "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" due to its X rating. Thanks to Royce Mathew for the screenshot.
In "Keanu" (Warner/Fine Line, 2016) we take a drive to the Hollywood Hills for a drug delivery after our two stars, Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key, get involved with a gang in an attempt to get back a stolen cat. On the far left is the dark marquee of the Vine with the Pantages in the distance. In "Keanu" we also see the Palace Theatre, the Los Angeles Theatre and the Cinerama Dome. See the Theatres In Movies post for more shots from the film.
The Vine is seen in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (Sony, 2019). The film stars Leo DiCaprio and his friend Brad Pitt as an actor and stuntman trying to find work in the business in 1969. The Manson murder case also figures into the plot as the guys live next door to Sharon Tate, played by Margot Robbie. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies pages for more shots of the shoot at the Vine as well as lots of action at the Cinerama Dome, Earl Carroll, Vogue, Pussycat/Ritz, Fox Westwood, Bruin, and Pantages theatres.
Interior views:
The interior of the building as Henry's Restaurant before its conversion to a theatre. The card appears as part of Mr. Ethereal Reality's Noirish Los Angeles post #20899 and was a find by him on eBay.
The Vine's auditorium after the 1969 remodel. The photo apeared in the May 19, 1969 issue of Boxoffice. The photo is also on Cinema Treasures, added by Bill Gabel.
The effects wall. Dolby's idea for their Dolby Vision Theatre is to have a long entrance corridor to act as a transition from the outside world. It's a photo by David Walter Banks that appeared with a May 2015 SF Gate story by Benny Evangelista "Dolby hopes to lure movie fans back..." that included photos of both the Vine and the Dolby Theatre. They commented: "Instead of a traditional lobby, the entrance to the auditorium is a dark, curved corridor. Projectors cast a floor-to-ceiling video the length of the corridor, with accompanying Atmos sound."
Another look at the effects wall. It's done with multiple projectors overhead. You follow it around to either side for the auditorium entrances. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
A view from house left. Photo: Bill Counter - 2018
A 2015 photo by David Walter Banks appearing with the SF Gate article. They commented: "The seats and wall coverings are made of materials in flat black to eliminate light reflecting from the screen. The speakers are hidden behind faceted panels, smaller in the back and larger toward the front, to help focus the viewer’s attention to the screen."
The rear of the Vine's re-configured auditorium. It's a 2015 photo by David Walter Banks for SF Gate.
More exterior views:
1940 - A pre-opening photo by Julius Shulman from the UCLA S. Charles Lee Papers collection appearing on Calisphere.
c.1942 - A lovely shot taken across the street from the Admiral with its marquee reflected in the window. The photo was on the site Shorpy in September 2015. Thanks to Michael Moran spotting it and posting on Photos of Los Angeles.
Bruce Kimmel comments: "Got the top-billed feature - 'Last of the Duanes' starring George Montgomery. That film came out in September of 1941 and would have hit second and third run theaters like the Admiral a few months later." The second feature looks like it might be Lloyd Nolan in "Buy Me That Town," an October 1941 release.
1942 - This view is in the great Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection. On the marquee: "Hellzapoppin" and "Saboteur." It's their item # T-002-1. The collection, of course, has many more Hollywood theatre photos to browse.
1942 - This detail from the photo above appears on page 67 of the 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres in Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Marc Wanamaker. Most of the rare photos in the book are from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives. Google Books has a preview of the book to browse.
c.1946 - Here we're looking east along Hollywood Blvd. -- you can see a sliver of the Pantages vertical on the left. The main feature at the Admiral this week was "Razor's Edge" with Gene Tierney and Tyrone Power. The photo came from Tom Wetzel's now-vanished site Uncanny, a lovely exposition about L.A. transit history.
1946 - A Christmas view looking west at one of the most photographed corners in the city, Hollywood and Vine. The Admiral marquee is glowing brightly in the middle of the image. The uncredited photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. It also appears as part of the lovely Noirish Los Angeles post #2330 by GS Jansen featuring several other Hollywood Blvd. Christmas shots by the same photographer.
1947 - A busy Frasher Foto Card looking west on Hollywood Blvd. across Vine with the Admiral Theatre in the center. It appears on Calisphere from the Pomona Public Library collection. The photo also appears on Vintage Los Angeles and, as well, is part of Ethereal Reality's Noirish Los Angeles post #5198, a fun photo survey of the use of banners across L.A.'s streets.
1948 - Well it's a nice look at the newstand. Thanks to Mr. Ethereal Reality for the tourist snapshot from eBay, included in his Noirish Los Angeles post #34180. Our theatre is lurking across the street.
c.1950 - A photo by Ralph Morris looking east on Hollywood Blvd. Below us is the Admiral Theatre with Vine St. and the Pantages beyond. It's in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
early 1950s- A rainy Christmas season view looking east toward Vine St. The Admiral Theatre marquee is peeking out on the left. Thanks to Sean Ault, a noted historian of transit in the Los Angeles area, for the photo.
1954 - A detail from Sean's September photo. That was the last month for Red Car service on the Hollywood line.
1954 - A sweet December view of the theatre's marquee in the center of the image as we look west. The Warner is down the street. The
Admiral was running "The Wild One," a February release with Brando along
with "My Forbidden Past," a 1951 release with Robert Mitchum and Ava
Gardner. Thanks to Richard Wojcik for the postcard from his collection, appearing on Vintage Los Angeles.
The card has also been seen in various versions on the So Cal Historic Architecture Facebook page, on Gaylord Wilshire's Noirish Los Angeles post #9302, on Photos of Los Angeles and in Elizabeth Fuller's Old Los Angeles Postcards
collection on Flickr.
1955 - A view east with the Admiral running "Hell Below Zero" with Alan Ladd, a July 1954 release. Thanks to Sean Ault for locating the photo. Bruce Kimmel notes: "Week of February 23. 'Hell Below Zero' finally makes it to the Admiral about eight months after the fact. Second feature is 'Clash by Night.'"
1957 - The Admiral in running "The Searchers" and "Francis In The Navy." It's from Getty Images stock footage that can be seen as "Hollywood Blvd. 1956 Vintage Los Angeles," a one minute+ clip on YouTube from Alison Martino. The same footage appears on YouTube as a separate post from Alison titled "Hollywood Blvd. Part 3 - 1956."
More of the Getty Images footage shot at the same time can be seen in "Hollywood Blvd. 1956," four minutes of lovely clips on YouTube from Craiglaca1. Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for this screenshot, taken from an appearance of the footage in the 2019 Showtime documentary "Sid & Judy." Bruce Kimmel notes that this program ran at the Admiral the week of March 17, 1957
1957 - Another time around the block in the Getty footage allows a better look at the boxoffice. This shot is from the footage that's included in Rick Prelinger's "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2016," an hour and twenty minutes of wonderful images 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.
1957 - Looking east toward the Vine and Pantages in another March view from the Getty footage in Rick Prelinger's "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2016."
c.1960 - Well, it's hard to see much of the Admiral Theatre in this postcard view but it's there on the right as we look west on Hollywood Blvd. This was a post of Douglas Rudd on Photos of Los Angeles.
1963 - Looking west from Hollywood and Vine in August. The photo was submitted to Shorpy by "Tterrace," who said he's that guy visiting the big city. The Admiral was running a reissue of "Auntie Mame" from 1958 plus "The Day They Robbed The Bank of England," a 1960 release. Thanks to Phillip Cutler for giving a nudge to get this one included by posting it on the Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page. Visit Phillip's page devoted to Classic Hollywood/Los Angeles/SFV. In a post on the Mid-Century in Color Facebook page Paul Penna says he's the guy in the photo and it was taken by his brother.
c.1964 - The view west on Hollywood Blvd. with Rector's Admiral visible on the far left. Thanks to Alison Martino for the photo on Flickr where she also has a nice collection of additional historic L.A. photos. At the theatre that week: Belmondo in "That Man From Rio" (a June 1964 U.S. release) and Deborah Kerr and Gary Cooper in "The Naked Edge," a 1961 release. The photo also appears on Ryan Khatam's Neat Stuff Blog in a 2009 post called "Vintage Los Angeles."
1965 - A look east from Ivar St. with the Admiral on the left. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting this shot on eBay. The theatre was running "Viva Las Vegas," a May 1964 release with Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The second feature was the March 1965 release "The Rounders" with Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda. Bruce Kimmel notes that this program played the week of July 7.
1965 - A "Viva Las Vegas" lobby card and stills are in the poster case. Care for an Orange Julius next door? Or a visit to the Haunted House nightclub in the space that was formerly Sardi's? Later it was the Cave adult theatre and later yet the Deja Vu strip club. We get a bit of the nice green Pantages vertical in the next block and the signage for the Pix in the distance on the right. The photo was another find of Sean Ault on eBay. Thanks!
1966 - A view west with the theatre running "Never Too Late," a November 1965 release with Paul Ford and Connie Stevens along with Billy Wilder's "Irma la Douce," a June 1963 release with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Note that the Haunted House is still in business with new and improved signage. Thanks to Sean Ault for sharing the photo from his collection.
1969 - The Trans-Beacon remodel and rebranding of the Admiral as the Vine was profiled in the May 19 issue of Boxoffice. This view appeared with the article. The photo is also on Cinema Treasures, an addition to the site by prolific contributor Bill Gabel.
1970s - A triple bill at the Vine. It's a photo by Kolchak Ans on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles.
1980 - The run of "Cruising" brought out the protestors. Thanks to Cinema Treasures contributor Granola for adding it to the site's page on the Vine Theatre.
c.2000 - The Vine marquee in its later grind house days. The marquee is tying to tell us that it's two movies for $5. The photo is from Preemo on Flickr. It's also been seen on Photos of Los Angeles.
2009 - A look west with the intersection of Hollywood and Vine behind us. Note the towers of the Warner Theatre in the distance. It's a view from Google Maps.
2009 - A Laserium marquee detail from intrepid theatre photographer Hollywood 90038, who has stalked all of Hollywood. It was once on the Cinema Treasures page for the Vine but seems to have vanished from that site.
2015 - A view from the May SF Gate story by Benny Evangelista "Dolby hopes to lure movie fans back..." It may be all new inside but there were no Dolby upgrades on the exterior -- except a security guard to limit entrance when Dolby has an invitational screening. It's a photo by David Walter Banks.
2020 - A peaceful protest against police violence and racial inequality on June 3. Yes, that's the National Guard standing by. Thanks to Brad Stubbs for his photo, one of 46 in his album "BLM Protest - Hollywood (Day 3)" on Facebook. Also see 40 additional photos from that evening in his "BLM Protest Caravan" album.
More Information: See the Cinema Tour page for more pictures. And there's lots of discussion on the Cinema Treasures page. Sid Avery has a nice 1965 color view of the entrance on MPTV Images. For another look at the block before the theatre existed, see the Dick Whittington 1939 USC view on Photos of Los Angeles.
The owner of the theatre building can be reached at (310) 444-8955.
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What's fascinating about the 1944 photo where the Admiral is playing Footlight Serenade is Sardi's next door - all reports say that it burned down in 1936. So, they left the signage and front intact for eight YEARS???
ReplyDeleteWell, it certainly doesn't look abandoned in that 1944 shot, does it? In fact, it appears that the doors are open. Could it be that all those reports are wrong?
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