Fox Fallbrook / Mann Fallbrook / Mann Fallbrook Twin

22940 Vanowen St. West Hills, CA (Los Angeles) 91307  | map | 

Opened: March 16, 1966 as the Fox Fallbrook, a single-screen project of  National General Corporation. The film for the theatre's benefit premiere opening was "The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" with Richard Burton. "The Cincinnatti Kid" was added as a second feature the next day.The photo is one that appeared on the cover of the July 18, 1966 issue of Boxoffice. The image got many comments when it was shared as a post on the Valley Relics Museum Facebook page.

It was located in the Fallbrook Square shopping center, on the southwest corner of Vanowen St. and Fallbrook Ave. At the time of the theatre's opening this was considered part of Canoga Park. 

Architect: J. Arthur Drielsma. In 1950 he had designed the Starlite Drive-In in South El Monte and done the 1959 remodel of the Vogue Theatre for the Fox circuit. Ernest W. Hahn was the general contractor.

Seating: 874 when it opened. 

 

 

 

The upcoming groundbreaking for the new house was noted in this item in the April 26, 1965 issue of Boxoffice.  

 

A groundbreaking shot taken by Tom Kravitz for the Valley Times that's now in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The caption used by the Times when the photo appeared on April 28, 1965: 

 

"Shovel and friends dig in - Breaking ground for National General Corporation's new Fox Theater in Fallbrook Square are, left to right, Pierre Salinger, NGC vice president; Gisele MacKenzie, noted stage star, and Joseph K. Eichenbaum, builder of Fallbrook Square."

 

 

A wider groundbreaking view. Thanks to Dallas Movie Theatres for locating the photo for a post on Cinema Treasures. The caption: "Pierre Salinger and star Gisele MacKenzie are to the right of Joseph K. Eichenbaum at the groundbreaking." Eichenbaum was known as "the father of California shopping malls." See "Malls Thrive on Golden Touch," a June 30, 1985 L.A. Times article about him.  

 

 

The NGC expansion program was discussed in this January 31, 1966 item from Boxoffice.  

 

 

 

The L.A. Times noted the upcoming opening in this story from their March 11, 1966 issue. 

Robert McKinney was the first manager of the house. This item appeared in the March 14, 1966 issue of Boxoffice.

 

 

A March 16, 1966 opening day ad. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating it. Visit his site: Movie-Theatre.org

 

 

 The March 16 ad in the L.A. Times. 

 

 

 

An item about the opening benefit that appeared in the March 21, 1966 issue of Boxoffice.  

 

The L.A. Times noted that the house had opened in this March 27 story.

 

 

Boxoffice noted the opening with this item in their April 18 issue.

A lobby view that appeared in the May 16, 1966 issue of Boxoffice as part of an article titled "Carpeting Accents Decor in Hardtops." Their caption for this shot: "Fox Fallbrook Theatre, recently opened by National General Corp., in Canoga Park, Calif.; Alexander Smith carpeting in gold, brown, turquoise. Vinyl tile surrounds concession area, which opens on main lobby. Restrooms have ceramic tile." 

 

An auditorium shot. Thanks to Dallas Movie Theatres for finding this one for a post on Cinema Treasures. The lobby and auditorium shots have also appeared in a post on the Valley Relics Museum Facebook page.

Up in the Fox booth with Simplex XLs, Simplex SH-1000 soundheads and Strong lamps. It's another image spotted in a trade magazine by Dallas Movie Theatres that they've shared on Cinema Treasures.

 

The theatre was known as the Mann Fallbrook after Ted Mann bought the Fox circuit from National General in 1973.

It was twinned in 1976. Thanks to Mike Rivest for locating this April 9 ad.

As a twin it was known as the Fox Fallbrook Twin or the Mann Fallbrook Twin. Mabel Tate was the manager in the Mann days.

Closing: Mann closed it on November 8, 1987. Bill Gabel notes that the last films were "Fatal Beauty" with Whoopi Goldberg and "No Way Out" starring Kevin Costner.

Status: After sitting for several years, the building was demolished and replaced with a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. That opened in June 1992.

More information: See the Cinema Treasures page about the Fox Fallbrook. General Cinema opened their Fallbrook 7 nearby in 1988. That's now an AMC operation.

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