Luna Theatre
4743 W. Belmont Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60641
4743 W. Belmont Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60641
5 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 34 of 34 comments
Does anybody know what went in here after the theatre was demolished?
That’s the first time I EVER heard of a theatre playing 3D, squeezing people for more money for the glasses.
My father took me here once in the late 60’s or early 70’s to see a revival of House of Wax in 3D. It was the first time I had seen a movie in this process. I thought it was pretty neat. I remember that there was a “special admission” for the movie and my father thought it outrageous! And, to add insult to injury, you had to pay extra for the glasses. He asked the box office what happened if you didn’t buy the glasses and he was told it would look blurry but we were welcome to see it without the glasses. He, obviously, relented. It’s funny to think back on this since we are probably talking no more than about .50 for the glasses.
The only theatre which I know that existed on Belmont between Austin and Central was the Will Rogers, which was at the corner of Belmont and Parkside.
The Will Rogers was the theatre which would have shown the Laurel and Hardy films. It always mostly Disney films, but from time to time would show moves by people like Chaplin and Laural and Hardy.
I don’t believe this is the same theater. This theater was famous for it’s action and horror double features. Perhaps you are thinking of either the Music Box or 3 Penny.
I think I may have some very vague memories of this theater – does anyone know if they used to show Laurel and Hardy films in the early 80s? My grandpa used to take my mom and I to these when I was younger but I don’t remember the location.
I attended this theater in the mid-late 1970s for the horror triple features they showed. I saw The Legend Of Hell House and a couple of John Carradine B-titles. I took the bus all the way up there from Roscoe Village for the obscure horror titles and the cheap admission!
In the late 70’s up until its closing the Luna became known as the theater for the blue collar crowd. Most double features consisted of bloody slasher films or sex comedies. Though I never visited I can remember two bookings. One was “I Spit on Your Grave” and “Friday the 13th” which must have been popular as I can remember the line stretching down the street for that one. The other was a double bill of “Spaced Out” and “Squeeze Play”, two long forgotten films. I remember an article on the theater where the manager claimed he preferred to play more mainstream films but they failed miserably. He claimed the audience at the Luna wanted to see blood and breasts. So much for a nice neighborhood theater.
The Luna used to feature free Saturday morning matinees for kids in the 1960’s sponsored by Cragin Savings. It’s where I first saw “The Ghost & Mr. Chicken” and “The Incredible Mr. Limpet”. The Luna was a small house, but made a good babysitter.