7165 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 | map |
As a
theatre it's also been known as the Century, the New Globe, the Ben Bard Playhouse, the
Hollywood Repertory Theatre, the Dahl Theatre, the
Capri/Riviera (a twin film house), New Yorker Theatre, the Europa, the Eros and the
Beverly Cinema.
Opened: The building was constructed in 1929 and most likely was originally
retail space. In 1934 it was a retail outlet for a winery and then it housed a succession of clubs and restaurants. It perhaps didn't see theatre use until 1949.
The line starting to form for the 2023 Christmas day matinee screenings of "A Night at the Opera" and "The Marx Brothers Go West." Photo: Bill Counter
Phone: 323-938-4038 Website: www.thenewbev.com | on Facebook
Architects: Original architect of the building
is unknown. John P. Edwards and Warren Frazier Overpeck did a 1959
remodeling that made the space into a 200 seat + 100 seat twin
operation.
Seating: 300 as a twin, 401 later as a single screen operation. It's now down to 228.
Status:
The New Beverly runs a mix of cult favorites, classics and indie
releases, always on film. It's the last of the commercial repertory style revival houses
left in Los Angeles. It's owned by Quentin Tarantino. After a long Covid shutdown, the theatre reopened June 1, 2021.
Recent interior views:
A look toward the boxoffice. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
Rick Dalton T-shirts for sale at the bar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
Action at the bar. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
A look to the house right end of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2024
A 2020 house right lobby view by Michelle Groskopf appearing with
Brian Raftery's N.Y. Times article "'Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood,' Many Times Over." The article discusses the resurgence of single screen art houses and, in particular, fans watching the film at the New Beverly.
Brad on the stairs. Photo: Michelle Groskopf - N.Y. Times - February 2020
A look toward the screen from "
Dark September, or Bright Reflections.." a September 2014 post about the changing of the guard at the New Beverly on the blog "Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule." The author was musing on the departure of Michael Torgan as manager/programmer and the great adventures he had seeing films at the theatre.
Matt Dinan, a manager at the theatre, does a pre-film introduction. It's a 2017 Calvin B. Alagot photo taken for the Jen Yamato's 2017 L.A. Times article "
It's like Cheers for movie lovers: An inside look at Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema."
The new look for the auditorium following renovations. Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for his September 2019 photo.
A tribute to Burt Reynolds with screenings of "Deliverance" and "Boogie Nights." Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for his February 13, 2019 photo.
A view of the rear of the house with fans there to watch "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood."
Photo: Michelle Groskopf - N.Y. Times - February 2020
Longtime operations manager Jules McLean was featured in Victoria Alejandro's February 2024 LAist article "LA’s New Beverly Cinema And The Magic Of Being 'Always On Film." Thanks to theatre sleuth Donavan S. Moye for spotting the story. The article notes:
"Jules McLean has now been running the New Beverly for 10 years. And her history with Tarantino goes back even further. 'I knew Quentin because we worked at Video Archives together. So we have a long history and friendship,' says McLean. She worked as his personal assistant for years, saying 'one of the things you do for a film director is try to facilitate his dream.' That’s the attitude she brings to the New Beverly. 'I'm facilitating Quentin's dream...'" Jules now manages the
Vista Theatre for Quentin as well.
"The New Beverly Standoff," a one hour shutdown in January 2026 when a patron refused to leave after using his cell phone and the police were called. Thanks to Dan Kapelovitz for sharing his footage on Facebook. The footage was also shared on Threads and on X. At a pre-show announcement later that week the manager noted that "the rumors are true that we enforce our no cell phone policy."
In the booth:
A 2007 photo of Brian Quinn, one of the theatre's managers, against the back wall of the booth. It's a Gina Ferazzi photo for the L.A. Times that appears with Jen Yamato's 2017 L.A. Times article. "
It's like Cheers for movie lovers..." Ms. Yamoto also included a recent video of the booth during a show.
A view down the booth. Tarantino got rid of the periscope projection system that was used to get a picture on the screen with a low beam in the way. Lowering the machines and the ports was the solution. It's a 2017 Calvin B. Alagot photo taken for Jen Yamato's 2017 L.A. Times article.
History:
The building dates from 1929. One report notes that it was a candy store and ice cream factory called Gene Colvin's. The end of prohibition changed things. Here in this 1934 view it has become Colvin's Beverly Winery. It's a Dick Whittington Studio photo in the
USC Digital Library collection. What is now the Beverly Cinema is on the left.
On the right side there's a poster advertising the shows at the Wiltern. Or rather, Wil-Tern as it was then known. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor BifRayRock for including the photo in his
Noirish post #20225 about the Beverly. The discussion continues on Tourmaline's
Noirish post #20253. In 1934 a venue to be called the
Beverly Theatre was proposed for a location a block and a half to the east of this building.
On November 7, 1937 the building opened as a nightclub called Slapsy Maxie's
and hosted many stars. Boxer and show business dabbler Maxie Rosenbloom was the owner. This photo of the opening is from the Jim Heimann collection. It appears with "A Comprehensive History of the New Beverly Cinema," the 2014 article Chris Nichols did for Los Angeles magazine.
A photo located by Stephen Powers for a post on the
Lost Angeles Facebook group. He comments: "
Maxie Rosenbloom (1906-1976) got his nickname from a journalist due to
his open-glove style of boxing. Maxie started his movie career in 1937,
two years before he announced his retirement from boxing."
A shot by Herman Schultheis of the building c.1940 with new signage. It's in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor Chuckaluck for locating the shot and including it with his research on Slapsy Maxie's in his
Noirish post #17919.
A 1942 ad for early nights at the club due to curfew. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one as well as many others appearing here for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
An ad for Jackie Gleason. Billy Reed was a burlesque comic who frequently appeared at the Follies. The ad was another find by Ken McIntyre.
A matchbook cover from Slapsy Maxie's. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
Maxie's moved to larger quarters at 5665 Wilshire, opening there in November 1943. From the mid 40s onward the New Beverly building
hosted a series of restaurants and nightclub operations such as the La Madelon and the La Lafayette.
A 1946 ad for a restaurant tenant. It was a find of Ken McIntyre.
Later it was the Blackhawk Club and Jackie Green's Cafe. The
contents of the latter got auctioned off in 1949.
The building
became a legit playhouse known as the
Century in 1949. By January 1950 it had became the
New Globe Theatre.
A January 1950 article in the Times about the Actors' Lab production "The Bankers Daughter" at the New Globe starring Howard DaSilva, Lloyd Bridges, Morris Carnovsky and Helen Ford. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it.
A March 1950 ad for "The Banker's Daughter."
A 1951 show. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the ad.
In 1952 it was the Ben Bard Playhouse and it had become the
Hollywood Repertory Theatre by 1955. In 1957 it was called the Dahl
Theatre.
A September 1957 ad for an adaptation of "Fledermaus."
The Playgoers Company offered a season of four shows at the Dahl beginning with Beckett's "Waiting for Godot." Thanks to Bruce Kimmel for sharing this October 6, 1957 ad. Monday and Wednesday nights the theatre was home to the Professional Actors Workshop.
Becoming a twin: It became twin movie theatres on October 23, 1958 under the operation of Robert Lippert as the
Riviera and Capri theatres. The seating was 100 in the Capri, 200 in
the big house. The low auditorium ceiling meant that a mirror system was
used to direct the light from the projectors down to a height where the
beam could reach the screen. The cost of the project was $110,000. Architects for the remodel were John P. Edwards with W.F. Overpeck as associate.
"We will reserve seats for you and your party any time." An October 1958 grand opening ad. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this and other items for comments on a post for the private Facebook group
Photos of Los Angeles.
A
1958 Times ad for a show at the Riviera, from the time when it was a
twin, the Riviera and the Capri. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting the
ad. The
initial concept was to run American product at the Capri and foreign
films at the Riviera. At these plush, modern, screening-room-like
theatres Lippert initially offered reserved seats and free coffee.
A February 1, 1959 ad that Ranjit Sandhu found in the L.A. Times.
Running the same films in both houses. It's a February 2, 1959 Mirror-News listing located by Ranjit.
A March 18, 1959 Mirror-News listing.
A March 26, 1959 Capri ad located by Ranjit in the Hollywood Citizen News.
Lippert had many other projects to attend to and by May 1959 he had exited the operation and it was run by Raymond
Rohauer, who had been doing a variety of eclectic programming at
the
Coronet Theatre for nearly a decade. Here he could run 35mm unlike at the Coronet, which had only 16mm capability. Rohauer also continued to also program the Coronet, at least for a few more months.
After Rohauer took over, the Capri was evidently booked with third-run mainstream product. Or maybe sometimes sitting unused. His main attention was devoted to the artier offerings he programmed for the Riviera, the big half of the twin. This was his flyer for May 15 through July 10, 1959:
You can click on the two images and then download for a more readable
version. Thanks to Ranjit Sandhu for acquiring this when it appeared on
eBay. He's investigated this theatre as well as Rohauer's earlier home, the Coronet, as part of his extensively researched article on Buster Keaton's "
The General." See his chapters on
Raymond Rohauer,
Back to Rohauer and the
Coronet Theatre.
"The Rarest of Film History..." It's an August 1, 1959 ad that Ranjit located in the L.A. Times. He calls this ad "astonishing" and has this report:
"On this program of rarities is 'CHAPLIN’S First Bit Part' from 1913. Now, NOBODY IN THE ENTIRE WORLD knew about this in 1959. Only two and a half frames of this movie are known to survive. The film in question was called 'How Motion Pictures Are Made,' and you can see the two and a half frames
here. Also see: Beryl Parkey's Film Diary "
Her Friend the Bandit (1914) Non-Review" and
another image from the film.
"These come from Maurice Bessy, who as a child in 1926 visited a projectionist in France who was running an old Keystone print and deleted three damaged frames. Maurice scooped them up from the rubbish bin and souvenired them. He published two of these frames in his gigantic book on Chaplin, but nobody paid any attention to those two images until about 1978, when somebody finally noticed and published an article in Classic Images (I think).
"Did Ray really show this film? Where on earth did he get a print? Incidentally, just over three years later after making his début in 'How Motion Pictures Are Made,' Charlie built his own studio and negotiated a distribution contract with Associated First National. His first movie there had a remarkably similar title: 'How to Make Movies.' First National saw the rushes and refused to release it. The execs told him to do something more palatable, and so he did, and he never assembled 'How to Make Movies,' though he did leave notes about how he wanted it edited. It was not until the early 1980s that Kevin Brownlow got access to the rushes and pieced the movie together."
The new twin theatre was featured in "One Remodeling - Object: Two Theatres," a
three page story starting on page 14 of the Modern Theatre section of
the October 19, 1959 issue of Boxoffice. It's on the site Yumpu. Thanks to Joe Vogel for spotting the article. Boxoffice noted:
"Since redesigning the theatre, Lippert has sold the property to Raymond Rohauer in order to devote more time to other properties in both production and exhibition of films."
A facade view from the Boxoffice article. Their caption: "An old legitimate house in Los Angeles is neatly carved into a pair of small, intimate auditoriums. A 40-foot frontage is sufficient for the two theatres. 22 feet for the Riviera, 15 for the Capri, three for walls."
"A handsome gold inlaid mirror dominates an entire wall of the foyer, and there is gold carpeting on the floor. Entrance to the Capri is at left. The mirror reflects a pair of handsome chandeliers."
"A view of the lobby in the opposite direction...shows the entrance to the Riviera. Street doors are at extreme right and the ladies' restroom is in background at the right"
"Looking back toward the projection room in the Riviera auditorium. Portholes are placed as high as possible, but mirrors are still necessary because of low ceiling. Baffle at rear is partition for lobby."
At left: "The Capri auditorium. Building two theatres in a 40-foot wide building presented severe space restrictions. Here, the floor ramp was eliminated and the screen located high so exit door could be placed beneath at left. Has 100 seats." At right: "In the Riviera theatre the floor ramp continues up to the screen location, and the exit is through the side wall. The screens extend from wall to wall in both theatres, and the gold theme is repeated in closure curtains. Has 200 seats."
The article also notes:
"Cinemascope is shown in both theatres. Matching screens to projectors eliminates any necessity for cropping, producing the best possible picture for every foot of film. Projection room equipment includes Simplex in the Capri, Ashcraft lamps in the Riviera and Goldberg rewinds. Servicing is by RCA and both theatres have Simplex sound systems."
Before and after floorplans as well as a section from the Boxoffice article. Note the periscope system illustrated in the bottom drawing. They discussed the "Bounce Light" System:
"Because of the existing structure's low ceiling it was impossible to shoot directly out of the projection room's openings. This problem was solved by a series of 12-inch mirrors. One mirror picks up the image from the projector and casts it down to a second mirror which is placed at the proper angle to relay it to the screen.
"Almost perfect reproduction is achieved with this 'bounce-light' system. There are four sets of mirrors in the common projection booth serving both theatres. In addition, each of the two operators has separate monitoring equipment providing him with a clear view of the screen on a conveniently located mirror."
It's unknown how long Rohauer continued at the Riviera/Capri. Ranjit
Sandhu notes that available information is sketchy but after 1960 he
evidently abandoned the exhibition end of the business to
focus on distribution, mostly 16mm but with a few titles in 35mm. He
moved to New York but also had an operation in Columbus, Ohio.
There was still some sort of connection between the "Capri-Riviera" and the Coronet Theatre in 1961. Thanks to Ranjit for locating this ad about a "Children's Movie Program" in the March 3, 1961 issue of the L.A. Times.
A March 24, 1961 ad Ranjit located in the Van Nuys News about a more kids shows at the Capri-Riviera in conjunction with a "Coronet Children's Creative Workshop" run by Hilda Roberts.
A 1962 Times listing with the two screens shown as the "Riviera-Capri" and the "Capri-Riviera." Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this.
Another photo of the theatre as the Capri and the Riviera comes from
, of all places, "The Beverly Hillbillies." It's seen in "Jed's Dilemma," episode 17 of the first season that aired January 16, 1963. The statues in front "by courtesy of the Beverly Hills Movie Museum" are identified by Aunt Pearl as Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, and William S. Hart. Many thanks to Eitan Alexander for spotting the theatre and getting the screenshots.
A closer look at the entrance from "The Beverly Hillbillies."
William S. Hart gets his closeup in front of the boxoffice. Thanks, Eitan!
Getting untwinned as the New Yorker:
In 1963 the wall was removed and the venue reopened as
the New Yorker Theatre on September 13. The 401 seat operation, running
mostly first run foreign films, was a venture of Shan Sayles, a Los Angeles
exhibitor and partner in the Continental circuit, and several partners.
The remodel cost was $75,000. The article about the remodel appeared in the September 16, 1963 issue of Boxoffice. Thanks to Joe Vogel for spotting it.
A November 30, 1963 ad in the Times for the New Yorker running "A Streetcar Named Desire" along with Billy Wilder's "One, Two, Three."
By 1964 it had become the Europa Theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this May 1965 ad for a Facebook post on Ken's Movie Page.
This April 1966 Europa ad for "Point of Order" appeared in the Los Angeles Free Press. It's on the site Ad Sausage in a collection of articles by Roger Delfont analyzing the film ads that appeared in that paper. He also has a nice discussion of the history of the theatre.
Frank Lee had the house in 1967 and ran Chinese product. Film producer Howard Ziehm took over the property in 1968. By
the late 60s it was a soft core porno venue and in the early 70s live
dancers were added, a nod to the building's legit theatre past.
It became the Eros Theatre in 1970. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this ad from that year.
The Eros was in good company with "Patton!" and "Fellini Satyricon" in this September 1970 ad from the Times. Thanks
to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a thread about various adult
theatres on the
Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
The venue was renamed the Beverly Cinema by 1972.
1st run! The Beverly with "The Young Starlets" in a November 1973 Independent Theatre Guide listing from the Times. See the
full Hollywood section this is detail is from with 30 theatres -- half of them running porno.
A 1977 ad as the Beverly Club Cinema that was located by Ken McIntyre for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
Going revival: The porno chapter ended in 1977. In 1978 the Beverly was leased to Sherman
Torgan and his partners who reopened with an artie double feature policy
which survives today. Their first bill was "Streetcar Named Desire"
and "Last Tango in Paris."
A 1980s view from the now-vanished American Classic Images website.
David Cotner comments: "The building to the left, once a laundry, was for some years a small 16mm screening room showing pornographic films under the name Rome's Arena."
A 1983 photo taken by Mike Sergieff. It's in the Herald Examiner collection at the
Los Angeles Public Library.
It appeared with this caption: "The new Beverly finds success in off-beat and foreign films."
A undated view of the New Beverly during some facade repairs. It's a photo by filmmaker and cinematographer Gary Graver. He took many photos of single screen theatres. More can be seen on his compilations on You Tube: "Second Run - part 1" and "Second Run - part 2." Thanks to Sean Graver for use of the photo.
A 1992 view. Thanks to Jason Horton for locating this one for a post on the
Lost Angeles Facebook group.
Sherman Torgan died while bicycling in 2007
and the management was taken over by his son Michael. Business
had been rocky even under Michael's father and Quentin Tarantino was
subsidizing the operation. Howard Ziehm, who still owned the building, had been soliciting offers from
other tenants until the 2007 purchase of the building by Mr. Tarantino.
He said:
"As long as I'm alive, and as long as I'm
rich, the New Beverly will be there, showing double features in 35mm."
A postcard view of the New Beverly from the website for
Mr. Freedom, the clothing store in the red half of the building at 7161 Beverly. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor BifRayRock for including the card in his
Noirish post #20225 about the Beverly.
Playing "Il Grido" and "Zabriskie Point" in 2007. Photo: Bill Counter
A 2017 Calvin B. Alagot photo that appears with Jen Yamato's 2017 L.A. Times article "
It's like Cheers for movie lovers: An inside look at Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema."
An October 2018 Halloween greeting from Mr. Tarantino. The theatre reopened in December 2018. Photo: Bill Counter
A photo by Michelle Groskopf appearing with Brian Raftery's February 2020 N.Y. Times article "'Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood,' Many Times Over."
Shut down due to the virus. It's a Kate Warren photo appearing with "
Hollywood Beacons in the Night," an April 23, 2020 New York Times story by Brooks Barnes featuring a dozen shots of closed historic theatres in L.A. Barnes offers a nice capsule summary of what the decades have wrought for each of the theatres he surveys. Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for spotting the story.
The June 1, 2021 reopening was announced with this photo that appeared on the theatre's website at the beginning of May.
A 2024 view of the boxoffice. Photo: Bill Counter
The New Bev in the Movies:
Julia Marchese's "
Out of Print" (Level 33 Entertainment, 2014) is a documentary chronicling the theatre with interviews from employees, filmmakers and customers. Matthew Rashleigh notes that it can be streamed free if you're on Plex, Tubi or Redbox.
"Directors. Dorks. Deviants. This ain't no multiplex." The film features John Landis, Edgar Wright, Patton Oswalt, Stuart Gordon, Rian Johnson, Joe Dante and many more.
An image of the New Bev promoting "Tarantino's Basterds: The Homeless Filmmakers of Hollywood," a 2020 "meta-documentary" by Bumdog Torres. See the
IMDb listing and a Bumdog Torres
blog post.
The New Bev is featured in "The Adventures of Cliff Booth" (Netflix, 2026). Actually it's the Highland Theatre in Highland Park standing in for the Beverly. This sequel to Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" follows Brad Pitt's character a few years after the original tale when
he's working as a Hollywood fixer. The photo, taken during the first night of filming, appeared on the
Church of Tarantino Facebook page. It's a script by Quentin, directed
by David Fincher. The cast includes Brad Pitt, Carla Gugino, Elizabeth
Debecki, Scott Caan, Yahya Abdul Mateen II, Corey Fogelmanis and Karren
Karagulian. The DP is Erik Messerschmidt. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for more about the shoot.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the New Beverly. Especially noteworthy is the fine research
done by Joe Vogel.
The New Beverly is one of a number of revival venues discussed in Mark Olsen's 2017 L.A. Times article "A film festival every night: The new ecology of the old-movie scene in L.A." See "A Comprehensive History of the New Beverly Cinema," a fine 2014 article Chris Nichols did for Los Angeles magazine. The L.A. Weekly had an October 2014 story on Quentin Tarantino and his programming of the New Beverly: "Quentin Tarantino on the New Beverly: "If People Come, Fine. If They Don't, F..."
In
September 2014 Tarantino, who had purchased the building in 2007,
announced that he was going to, for a period anyway, manage the
operation himself. He noted that he wanted to add a 6 channel sound
system and a 16mm projector. More of the programming now comes from his
own library. L.A. Weekly had a September 2014 interview with him "After 7 years as owner, I wanted to make it mine.." where he discussed his plans. Curbed L.A. also picked up the story.
A June 2014 post on The Wrap
discussed the Beverly's purchase of digital equipment not long before
Mr. Tarantino issued a diatribe in Cannes favoring the continued use of
film. Tarantino had purchased the building to keep it from
becoming a Supercuts. But even for several years before the purchase,
he had been subsidizing the New Beverly's operations to the tune of
about $5,000 per month. Michael Torgan, son of the man who first started
repertory programming at the theatre in 1978, had continued to operate
the business into 2014.
See the Hollywood Reporter 2010 story: "Quentin Tarantino Saves L.A. Theatre." The blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule had a 2010 post about improvements at the theatre after Mr. Tarantino purchased the building. Wikipedia has a nice article on the New Beverly which includes a history of the building and its operators. Yelp has over 200 photos of the theatre.
Victoria Alejandro's February 2024 LAist article "LA’s New Beverly Cinema And The Magic Of Being 'Always On Film'" is a fine profile of the theatre. Thanks to theatre sleuth Donavan S. Moye for spotting the story.
See our page on this site about various other 16mm Revival Houses that had opened between 1940 and 1975.
The other Beverly Theatres: In 1934 a venue to be called the Beverly Theatre was proposed for one of the corners of Beverly and La Brea, a block and a half east of the current New Beverly Cinema. It was never built.
We had a Beverly Theatre in Beverly Hills that opened in 1925 and ran until 1977. Also in Beverly Hills was the Warner Beverly Hills which was known as "The Beverly" in its last years as a rock concert venue. And there was also the Beverly Canon in Beverly Hills and the Beverly Center Cinemas. As if that's not enough, there was once a General Cinema multiplex across the street from the Beverly Center that was called the Beverly Connection.
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