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Today:
When movies were movies
Posted: Sep 24, 2008 in Things to do, Movies
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VENUE INFO
At the Artcraft Theatre, a 1920s movie palace that sits in the heart of Franklin, new generations flock to rediscover a legacy on film.
Spencer Tracy's craggy visage harrumphs with annoyance at an impossibly young Elizabeth Taylor. Several dozen people chitter appreciatively with laughter at Franklin's Artcraft Theatre.
Somewhere in the back of the cavernous, 600-seat auditorium, behind the mega-sized movie posters and several leather couches, a bell chimes softly: It's time to switch reels on 1950's "Father of the Bride."
It's a tricky maneuver that hasn't gotten any easier since oily-fingered projectionists started doing it in the heyday of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. The projectionist at the Artcraft waits patiently as one 35-mm projector unspools the last of its celluloid thread, the next reel sitting ready on its mechanical twin a few feet away. The bell warns the projectionist to watch for cue marks in the upper-right corner of the screen.
At just the right moment, a switch is thrown and one projector starts up while the other begins to die down. The next reel is off and running, chattering away noisily at 24 frames per second, Tracy's discomfiture at his soon-to-be-wed daughter's antics uninterrupted.
Like an Olympic race in which runners gracefully hand off the baton, the cinematic torch has been passed.
And at the Artcraft Theatre, a 1920s movie palace that sits in the heart of Franklin, new generations flock to rediscover a legacy on film.
In an age of corporate chains of multiplexes splashing the newest movies on screen every week, the Artcraft thrives by playing old movies -- and brings out audiences in astonishing numbers. Several hundred people typically buy tickets on alternate weekends, paying $5 a head to see films that they could easily rent on DVD.
A showing of "Grease" in late June brought more than 500 patrons. "A lot of places in small towns didn't sell 500 tickets to 'Wall-E,'." said Larry Thomas, a Cincinnati film booking agent, referring to the popular animated film released the same weekend.
The Artcraft is one of two venues hosting films for the second annual B.Movie Celebration Sept. 26-28, and about 2,000 people are expected to attend the event, hosted by the IndyFilm Co-Op.
Thomas, who books films for the Artcraft and a number of other independent cinemas, attributes the Franklin venue's success to two things: nostalgia for old films and the showmanship of the theater's owners. Since 2004, the Artcraft has been owned by Franklin Heritage, a group dedicated to restoring old houses around town.
The Artcraft is every inch the throwback. Built in 1922 as a vaudeville stage and silent-movie theater, it has a huge half-oval marquee out front and a ton of neon lighting in the lobby.
Its biweekly screenings are exercises in old-fashioned, unabashedly hokey nostalgia. People dress up in costumes reflecting characters in the movies. There was a bride, flower girl and harpist at "Father of the Bride."
Before the show, there's a live warm-up called Short Attention Span Theater, complete with prizes and trivia. At "A Christmas Story," a perennial holiday sellout, jars of Oval-tine and decoder rings were given out. "The Star-Spangled Banner" plays before the movie, and everyone is expected to stand up and sing.
"It's a throwback," said Tricia Bechman, executive director of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, who often can be glimpsed in the box office, selling old-fashioned roll tickets. "It doesn't matter how old you are -- you feel like a kid again."
B Movie Celebration
What: Three-day event featuring a charity auction, more than 50 classic B.movie screenings, 20 educational seminars and the World's Largest Beach Party.
When: Sept. 26-28.
Where: The Artcraft Theatre, 57 N. Main St., Franklin; and the Johnson County Museum of History, 135 N. Main St., Franklin.
Tickets and info: www.bmoviecelebration.com.
Great story! This is one of those hidden gems that I think the majority of people in the Indy area (myself included) did not even know went on.
On a related note, Franklin is a wonderful community. My wife and I were very close to buying a house there when we first started looking. If you have the chance to visit for this festival or for any other reason, I'd encourage anyone to.
Oh wow!
The title of this post caught my eye because it was the name of an old feature on Channel 6 hosted by Dave Smith called "When Movies Were Movies". Mr. Smith, long retired from TV, teaches a movie course at Ball State University and has a web site: http://whenmoviesweremovies.com/
I didn't know about this, either. Great story!
I remember that show! I'll have to check this place out...I love the opportunity to see movies on the big screen again...the way they were intended. I saw Wizard of Oz at Eastgate and then again at Hollywood Bar and Film works and I was so impressed with how big it was. I hadn't really thought about it which is I guess they way you look at it when the ONLY way you have ever seen some of these movies is on television. The best was the time that they brought back the original Star Wars trilogy to the big screen...I actually took my son out of school for that one!
I live in Greenwood and I didn't know about this. great story thanks for letting us know. I can't wait to check it out
Glad people discovered this article. Although in the interest of accuracy, this is actually a fragment of a story that ran in July. It apparently got "repurposed" for this event.
You can read the complete piece here: http://www.indy.com/posts/10189