Studs at the Pussycat Theatre

It opened in 1940, so it had a long run as a regular theater before it switched to porn.

Here is an April 1969 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/q25ut4

Greetings. I guess I was recollecting in general, some of what I remember discussing elsewhere on how the Triple X industry both impacted older theatres, and then took off on it’s own after basically no longer needing them. Some theatres read as rebounding after Triple X, some don’t.

I like to read all the posts when I link to an unfamiliar theatre. I guess the post from 2004 about the business & advertising/money end of the Pussycat Theater, had gotten my mind going in the direction it did.
As I read on, stream of thought went where it went.

Though my comments may not have been about this particular theatre, I thought they were somewhat relevant and might be of interest to some.
If my last reading of the Studs Theatre as a “dying breed” was an unconscious catalyst, my post might have shed some light on how/why the X industry seemed to fare elsewhere.

In Chicago, once home to many X rated theatres, I can think of only one still in existence, The Admiral. And that’s really now more of the live stage show nature. With small video booths instead of a projector and mass seating as it once had. Also open 24/7.
It spent a lot of money during a remodel years back, and stayed around long after the rest of it’s like theatres closed up. So I guess that would be the ultimate of the dying breed. That is in no danger of dying anytime soon.
Someone else reading this may now very well click to the Admiral page.

If I went off topic, I certainly apologize. But if some reading my posts have other memories triggered by them, I think that’s what CT is all about. I sometimes read posts by some who have never even been in the theatres or cities they are located in. They merely post to praise any given theatre’s architecture, history or past promotions as they come across them. Then they are maybe reminded about a different forgotten theatre, or tour like Cinerama. And they begin to search CT even more. I know I do.

There are several ironies in the television & VCR’s having hastened the demise of movie theaters, premise.

One, that some theaters once claimed to having “had” to run porno in order to stay afloat, then closed anyway.
Two, that the porno film biz seemed to flourish from an industry in the shadows, into a multi-million dollar juggernaut. Once it came into video and now DVD itself.
Once the product could be purchased and brought into homes, and not sought out in theaters where interacting with others whether desirable or not, was a given.
The industry then got another giant boost, with the introduction of the internet. Then it’s customer base needn’t even leave their homes to buy the product.

I remember the day’s of “Caligula” creating an uproar when it was first released. And it had name stars in it. It’s probably multiplied it’s sales many times over since then. Probably to it’s own makers surprise.

Which theaters then video stores ran/carried the X version of “The Bad Lieutenant”, was the last such controversy. Upon it’s release, the popularity of owning your own copies of anything was on a fast uprise.

Haha, this has “got” to be a “cinema treasure” with a name like “Studs Theater”.

I remember passing this theater a few times when driving on Santa Monica Blvd when I was in the area. It had a different name though the last time I went by, and from what it sounds like from the comments above, it changed names this year.

Thanks for the photo of The Left Bank—Looks like the Monica went to “adults only” films prior to its conversion into a Pussycat. (I am guessing that Vince Miranda did not own the theater at that point in time.)

All 3 of those films are quite good. Highly recommended DVD. (Note: There was another film called Venus in Furs, directed by Jess Franco, that came out around that time. It is on a different DVD by another company.)

Mini-Skirt love is out on DVD through SWV.

Judinging from the March 1970 ad, it appears that the Monica became a Pussycat in late 1969 or early 1970.

Here is a May 1972 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/3xnwup

I went in recently after a two year absence. The place was so decrepit, sad and filthy 2 years ago (which attracted mostly decrepit, sad & filthy men), I swore I’d never return. But I was pleasantly surprised: I personally think the new owners have done a decent job with the renovation. It may never return to its “glory years”, but I think it’s a solid, well-kept porno theatre & cruising spot. While sex is discouraged (there are signs on the outside of the theatre with all of the rules & a mission statement where the movie posters used to be) and there isn’t a specific “no shoes, no shirt, no service” policy, the new owners know what keeps the patrons coming back. They seem to turn a blind eye to the occassional nudity, and the action ranges from hand jobs in the seats to sex in the gated areas at the back of the main theatre and on the couches in one of the smaller rooms.

I have been told that Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays are very busy there, and the two new straight bars one block east and west of the Pussycat-Studs-Tomkat Theatre are apparently bringing in new, curious patrons. I think we should all encourage the continued patronage of a dying business: the legal porno theatre, especially one in a landmark building with the kind of history this one has.

Is the theater clothing-optional?

I remember when the booths were a quarter on Times Square in the early eighties. I must be getting old.