Spielberg inspired by movie seen at Boyd Theatre

On Sunday’s Golden Globes telecast, Steven Spielberg described how he was inspired to become a director after his father took him to see “The Greatest Show on Earth” at a Philadelphia movie theater. As many of you know from our historic photos, it was the Boyd Theatre that showcased that film.

The 1952 movie was not wide screen, but unusual for any movie, had a wide screen special effect showing a train crash. After seeing the movie, Spielberg crashed his model trains at home so many times that his father told him he would take away the trains if he kept it up. Spielberg borrowed his father’s 8 mm camera and filmed the train crash, so he could watch the trains crashing on film.

Friends of the Boyd would be pleased to share our photos of “The Greatest Show on Earth” at the Boyd Theatre with the local and national press. As Philadelphia’s last surviving movie palace, it is important that the closed Boyd Theatre be rescued, restored, and reopened. As wonderful as it is to have a local developer seeking to purchase the theater to preserve it, the Boyd needs all the publicity it can get so that funds can be obtained from various sources to help with the rehabilitation costs. The Boyd should once again play a part in entertaining and inspiring children and adults.

Spielberg Acceptance Speech

Howard B. Haas
Friends of the Boyd

Theaters in this post

• Boyd Theatre