Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1951)

Oh the Mom iir editorial reports and comment on events, trends, people and opinion Finding the Theatre Better’n Ever for Movies ELSEWHERE in this issue of Better Theatres we note that the movies are getting a better press ; here we offer a couple of cases in point, neither of them prompted by pictures, but rather by the motion picture’s theatre, as an institution and as a cog of the movie machinery. Let’s take the last motivation first: It is the new' Lee theatre at Fort Lee, N. J., across the George W ashington bridge from Manhattan. This is an operation of the B. S. Moss theatrical interests long prominent on and around Broadw'ay, with operations, which include the Criterion in Times Square, under the direction of Charles Moss. The Lee was designed by Ben Schlanger and William A. Hoffberg, New York architects and engineers, whose recent achievement at Framingham, Alass., is described in preceding pages. The Lee does not exemplify the technique applied to the New' England job; it does give precedent, however, to the screen performance in judging architectural values. And this has moved the movie critic of the New ’fork JF orld-Telegr-arn and Sun to W'rite in his column : ‘‘Era’s End : The end of a queer fashion in movie theatre architecture is emphasized in the opening of the new Lee Theatre at Fort Lee, N. J. “Time was when theatre architects seemed to be frightened at the prospect of having their building recognized as a place dedicated to the showing of motion pictures.’The lobbies were overdecorated into what might have been a museum curator’s nightmare. Inside, the walls were cluttered with statues and lighting effects calculated to draw the eye away from the screen. There are times when a theatre man can be justifiably ashamed of his photoplay but there is no need to be so blatant about it. “The Lee, like our other postw'ar theatres, has abandoned all that nonsense. The lobby is simple and functional, a place designed for waiting or a snatch of conversation after the picture. The auditorium di rects attention straight to the screen with nothing to divert the mind away on small details of queer decoration. “We finally have come back to the notion that a movie theatre should be primarily designed for best results in showing [fictures. The gaudy counterfeits of Spanish palaces and Roman cathedrals are out of style. “Incidentally, most of those starlit and cloud-w'reathed theatre ceilings are now mercifully masked in darkness. The stagehands’ union demands too many men to operate the cloud and star machinery.’’ The cloud and star machinery have been out for quite some time now, of course ; and quite a number of theatres erected particularly since the end of the war measure the long distance motion picture theatre design has traveled since the heyday of the “Spanish palace.” The lay press is not expected to be too well posted on such things ; nor can it be aware of functional values. It is to be identified rather with the public. Therein, probably, lies the significance of its comment on what the motion picture business does. If an Alton Cook welcomes theatres designed to aid rather than impede motion picture exhibition, it is likely the public does. That, unfortunately, only underscores The Theatre Called An "Era's End" At left is a rear view of the auditorium of the Lee theatre at Fort Lee, N. J., which prompted the editorial quoted above by Alton Cook, movie critic of the New York World-Telegram and Sun. Shown above at the recent opening of the Lee are Kenny Wallace, Bergen, N. J., Evening Record; Mr. Cook, Frank Quinn, New York Daily Mirror; Charles Moss of the B. S. Moss organization, owners of the Lee; and William Sorenson, its manager. 14 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER I. 1951