Loews Cheri
50 Dalton Street,
Boston,
MA
02115
50 Dalton Street,
Boston,
MA
02115
11 people
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Showing 26 - 50 of 76 comments
Regarding that “fourth auditorium”—-sounds as if you are referring to one of the two original lower level auditoriums. The lower level auditorium on the right side was subdivided in 1989. The lower level auditorium on the left side, which I assume is that “fourth auditorium,” was never subdivided. The left wall of that auditorium was immediately adjacent to Scotia Street.
I’ve just read all the comments on this thread and am completely blanking out on where the ‘fourth’ auditorium of the Cheri was physically located. I remember the two (the result of the 1989 split?), located up those few stairs to the left of the concession stand, and the staircase leading to the upstairs auditorium (in the space the Summer Shack currently occupies), but I can’t recall where the fourth one was. (This is embarrassing, considering how many films I saw at the Cheri.) Can someone fill me in?
I worked for a local radio station in the early 00’s and went to a lot of sneak previews and premires here. Including the terrible movie “Whipped” and the not terrible movie “Cecil B. Demented”
Regarding EricH’s last post, you’re right, again, EricH! It’s weird to realize that my memory gets foggy when it comes to many of these films. “Cabaret” did indeed open at the Gary. I remember because I managed that theater for a time while it was playing there. But I also remember it playing in Cheri 2 for a while, too.
If I can’t remember the details about the films too well, at least I most vividly remember the people – i.e. the staff and customers.
My first time working at the Gary as a manager was for the film “Shaft”. I remember THAT vividly because a pregnant woman fainted at my feet and threw up on my new, shiny black shoes.
But THAT’S a story I should probably post on a section devoted to the Gary…
I saw many movies here in the mid 1990s, including invite-only sneak previews of Pulp Fiction, Interview with the Vampire, and Wyatt Earp. I saw Jurassic Park there in a sold-out opening weekend crowd. The main theater’s floor had a very gentle slope, which made sitting behind tall folks problematic. Today’s stadium seating not only makes for great sightlines, but I think it also minimizes overheard voices in the theater.
A quick clarification about the above reference to the “Cabaret” engagement in Boston. “Cabaret” opened at the Gary on a general admission basis in February 1972; it was not a roadshow. Although the Gary continued to operate for another 5 years or so, “Cabaret” was probably the last high profile film to play there exclusively.
Most, if not all, of the “roadshow” pictures started out as assigned seat and eventually became general admission in the same theater. “Oliver” was one of them.
After the musical “Oliver!” won the Academy Award for Best Picture (of 1968) in the spring of 1969, I made a point of going to see it at The Cheri. I guess it must have been one of the 70mm blow-up prints (since the original negative was 35mm), as it certainly looked nice on the screen. However, I do not remember getting an assigned seat at all. So wouldn’t that be just a general admission run by then? Or were the reserved-seat roadshow releases in 1969 just congregating people in certain general sections of the cinema according to price, such as everyone in the center orchestra paying the highest ticket price but grabbing whatever seats were available in that section? When we saw “The Sound of Music” at the Gary Theater in the summer of 1965, it was definitely with assigned reserved seats, like a live theatrical show. Any thoughts on this issue?
Sorry, EricH, for misunderstanding your posting.
I had completely forgotten that “Funny Lady” played there. My mistake.
There were many “roadshow” pictures that played at the Cheri Theater complex, largely due to the fact that it really was such a showplace (at the time) for the entire Sack Theater chain.
“Oliver” was one I remember. And I believe “Cabaret” was also.
“Funny Lady” came much later and it wasn’t as big a deal as when “Funny Girl” opened in all three theaters, so I had forgotten all about it.
Very interesting comments, J-Semp, and thanks for sharing.
A quick clarification to your posting when you mentioned my earlier remarks. I was referring to the simultaneous roadshow/general admission engagements of “Funny Lady” in 1975—-not “Funny Girl.” I recall seeing the sequel at the Cheri soon after the opening; the general admission engagement was in the smaller auditorium on the upper level and the roadshow run was in one of the two larger auditoriums on the lower level. I saw the general admission version (no intermission). Also, “How Lucky Can You Get” was in “Funny Lady” and not “Funny Girl.”
On the Loew’s State page there are many comments about a May 1968 concert by Judy Garland, which took place immediately before that theatre was demolished. This was a few months before you met her, since Funny Girl was released in September of that year. The Loew’s State (by then called the Back Bay Theatre) was just two blocks from the Cheri.
It’s interesting that you described her as looking ‘elderly’, as she would have been only 46 then. She died less than a year after you met her.
I came of age at the Cheri Theater complex and I have very fond, vivid memories of working there. I started working at the Cheri Theaters in 1968 as a ticket-taker. I was fifteen, and legally they shouldn’t have even hired me. I had lied about my age, but I turned sixteen a few weeks later. Over the next seven or eight years I worked there on and off, mostly during school summer vacation and weekends, eventually working my up to becoming a manager.
The Cheri Theater Complex was the first three-theater complex in Boston at that time. Part of the challenge of working there was crowd-control. The complex frequently hosted sellout crowds in all three theaters, especially on weekend nights. But when it had been designed, nobody had given any thought to where patrons would line up, so keeping all of those long, weaving lines in some semblance of order was a huge task. I remember many nights of standing outside, often in cold weather, shouting directions into a megaphone.
We had a very funny manager at one time named Rick Garcia. He had nicknamed himself “Theater Rick”, which was what we called him. One winter night, “Theater Rick” grabbed the megaphone out of my hands and started talking to an imaginary “suicide jumper” on top of the building across Dalton street, urging him not to jump. Rick basically did an entire comedy routine. People in line were totally mystified. I doubled over with laughter.
The Cheri complex was the flagship theater of Ben Sack’s cinemas at that time because it was the newest and prettiest, so our theaters got all of the big premieres, with lots of stars. One of the most memorable was the world premiere of “Alice’s Restaurant”. I worked as a ticket-taker at the door for Cheri 2 that night, which was where they screened the movie. I met Claire Bloom, Liza Minelli (in town shooting “Tell Me That You Love Me Junie Moon” directed by Otto Preminger), director Arthur Penn, producer Hillard Elkins (at that time Claire Bloom’s husband) and the cast of the film, including the real Alice (Brock) and Arlo Guthrie.
But nothing was bigger than the Boston premiere of “Funny Girl”. To correct the statement that ErikH made above, “Funny Girl” had its Boston premiere in all three Cheri Theaters, and all three theaters originally had it as a “roadshow” event, with reserved seating. It was reduced to a lower status much later in its run.
Also to correct 70MMLover’s statement above, “Funny Girl’s” intermission happened after the number “Don’t Rain on My Parade” – NOT after “How Lucky Can You Get.” I know this because I frequently worked as an usher, and we ushers used to sell juice drinks right inside the theater as soon as the curtain closed. So I saw that pre-intermission musical number about a zillion times.
One afternoon, late in “Funny Girl’s” run at the complex, when it was down to playing in only one theater (Cheri 2), an elderly, slight women and her male companion quietly sauntered out of the theater, through the spacious lobby, up the long stairway and out the door. Having been alerted by my co-worker, Eileen Riordan, to watch out for her, I can now lay claim to having been smiled at by the legendary Judy Garland, who had been escorted there by Garson Kanin (Garland frequently came to Boston for medical treatment back in those days).
Another celebrity whom I met in the same lobby at a different time was Miles Davis. I actually did gather up enough courage to talk to him. I had recently seen him perform in New York on a double bill with Laura Nyro.
By the way, to answer Ian M. Judge’s posted query above, the correct pronunciation of the word “Cheri” (at least as far as the staff was concerned) was “sheREE” with the accent on the “REE”.
So many memories, so little space.
If any of my fellow Cheri co-workers are reading this, shout out and let me know you’re here. If you knew me well enough, you can guess my real name by my handle.
My favorite experience at the Cheri was being one of only two people in the main theatre during the opening night of Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles – a sign, saddy, that the end was nigh. That said, hearing the firetrucks and traffic scream by on the street during the movies there was not exactly “endearing”.
The Cheri was a 70MM house, it was also the last of the Carbon Arc lit projectors in Boston (till it caught fire) The Cheri was one of 4 (70mm) houses in the Boston area During the late 80s. The Charles, had one 70mm theater, Both of the Cinema 57 theaters were 70mm Houses, and Copley had a theater in 70mm.
Sack/USA/Lowes theaters had a nice racket going in Boston. Each theater had a function before its demise of the “Multi-Plex invasion” (Copley Place)
The HoJo “57” was largest (1007) and third (867) largest houses in Boston, the premier Blockbuster action house, Aliens/Rocky/Rambo/any “Cannon pictures” movie with Chuck Norris or “lots of guns” opened there. I know cuz I ran the cameras for over 8 years. (I remember Jack Nicholson, Susan Sarandon, Cher, and Michelle Pheiffer all secretly ‘escorted’ into see Aliens in 70mm during a sold out show when they were all filming “The Witches of Eastwick”)
The Cheri got the “Bond” movies, Indiana Jones/Batman/ Family oriented films opened there, The Charles got more arty movies, (Lawrence of Arabia -re-mastered in 70mm)
“Paris” got the art flicks and they usually put the controversial flicks there, being on busy Mass Ave. there wasn’t much room for protesters unless they were willing to take on busy traffic for their cause. “The Last Temptation of Christ” and ‘Agnes of God’ played there FOREVER!!!
Any type of movie you wanted to see were all with in a mile radius of each other… sure it was a hike, but they sure beat the multiplex “screening room” 40 people capacity theater 10 foot screen of the Copley. Nothing like seeing an action flick with 999 blood thirsty movie fans yelling at the screen.
I worked in the box office (the upstairs street level) of the Cheri in the summer of 1978. The big hit that summer there was Warren Beatty’s “Heaven Can Wait”. The job was fine, except we had to wear these horrible blue and red polyester uniform dresses. I liked working upstairs since the manager didn’t come up too much, (only to count the money occasionally) and I got to read a lot of books that summer in between ticket sales times. Funny to think of a young girl alone, sitting in a enclosed booth away from other employees, right on the sidewalk in downtown Boston, with wads of cash in an old drawer. Were things that much safer then? Nothing ever happened to me at that cinema, but when I worked at a small triplex downtown LA a year later near USC some kids just reached in and grabbed the money through the hole in the window.
Many “Roadshows” played the Cheri in the 1960’s! I am sure it had at least 1 70mm screen! “funny Girl”, “Half A Sixoence” played there for sure!
During my stay in Boston, ‘59-'60, the Loews State had just closed. The other choices in the area were the Fenway, Uptown and Exeter. I remember walking down Boylston and thinking there should be at least one theater in between the above. In fact, I had always thought an area across from the 'Pru construction would be a good location. Ironically, that is where the Paris was built. Visiting Boston many times, we attended the Paris. Never did attend the Cheree.
Unfortunately, we can’t ask Donald King this or any other question, as he died last year, shortly before the book was published.
But I think he meant that the Paris was the last single-screen theatre that remained one throughout its life.
I wonder if Donald King has an explanation for the Paris being the last single screen theatre opened in Boston in 1964, meanwhile the Cheri being listed as only one screen in 1966.
According to Donald C. King’s new book The Theatres of Boston: A Stage and Screen History, the Cheri opened with 800 seats on February 17, 1966.
Another way of maximizing profits, was to run the new hit first, and then to get the overflow from a sellout into films that had been playing longer, thus increasing exhibitor’s revenue. Everyone was a winner, because the distributor was able to get longer engagements, and the exhibitor had better percentages into the run.
Of course in those days, sellouts happened nearly every weekend. I’m not sure this is the case anymore.
My grandfather (Ben Sack) explained some of the rationale for the Cheri, one of the first multi-screen threatres in the country. The biggest was obviously the ability to leverage the single service infrastructure. The real key was by staggering the start times of the films, he was able to get by with one projectionist — at that time, one of the biggest fixed cost. (They were unionized.)
Perhaps one film was playing on the two screens. Opening night was for press and dignitaries, and Ben Sack gave out mini champagne bottles with labels named “Cheri”. Izzy Strier and Joe Luongo were opening night managers.
I assume that Ron is correct in that the Cheri was intended as a twin and that one screen opened earlier than another (or perhaps one screen was closed for some reason in September 1966?). The two lower level auditoriums were quite wide; I doubt that they resulted from the subdivision of a single auditorium split down the middle.
[quote]The Cheri was a single theatre when it opened, and later split, with the third auditorium up on street level later.
posted by dwodeyla on Mar 6, 2005 at 11:57am[quote]
I’ll have to admit I was a bit confused, and reference my earlier post. I forgot all about the Symphony, (I Am Curious Yellow) and thank Ron for checking the newspapers. Sometimes we oldtimers need a refresher on our memory!