Ticket To Paradise: American Movie Theaters And How We Had Fun

Ticket to Paradise: American Movie Theaters and How We Had Fun

From Library JournalThe How We Had Fun part of this good-looking book is a problem but also a part of its charm. Reminiscences by generally unknown writers, explaining how The movies brought the larger world to my rural/suburban/urban childhood and adolescence, are positioned next to postcard images, archival photos, or contemporary shots of what must be America's most beautiful movie theaters, circa 1920-50. These little letters of affection about specific theaters are sometimes a clue to the impact of what are often remarkable architectural forms and fetes of signage, found in small towns. But generally the pictures of nearly 300 theaters speak of ravages of neglect. Still, this book is simply so full of astonishing ornament and design imagination in theater architecture that it succeeds even with its clumsy text provided by too many people saying the same thing . . . again and again. Recommended for academic, museum, and public libraries.- David Bryant, Belleville P.L., N.J.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.Photographs, most in color, of the exteriors of big city and small town movie theaters are augmented by such memorabilia as tickets, posters, and advertisements, and by a popular history of cinema. The volume is 11 deep. No subject index. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.From Publishers WeeklyVaried typefaces, colorful layout and reproduced postcards and photos comprise this kitschy tribute to the elaborate cinemas built across the country from 1913 to the mid-'40s. Margolies, an architecture historian, and Gwathmey ( Wholly Cow ) have collected nostalgic reminiscences of early moviegoing experiences from former ushers, a movie pianist, a projectionist, from comic Harold Ramis and producer John Landis, among others. We hear about weekly serials at the silent movies and the Depression-era Dish Nights that lured patrons to theaters with gifts of china; illustrations recall elaborate Egyptian theaters, constructed after King Tut's tomb was discovered in the early '20s, and such fabulous landmarks as Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the Roxy in New York City.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.