I never got to meet Phil, but I was always grateful to him as the “silent partner” behind The Movies repertory cinema downtown. I recall he invited investors to participate in his movie projects in their calendars. He also ran April Fools Distribution, who handled the Pink Floyd at Pompeii concert film.
YOUNG GANGS FROM WILDWOOD HIGH is a retitling of TEAM-MATES.
ONE-NIGHT STAND is a retitling of PETS with Candice Rialson.
HOT AND BOTHERED is a retitling of Sergio Martino’s LOVING COUSINS (CUGINI CARNALI) with Susan Player.
Marci, if you can scan any of that material, you can upload the jpegs as images in the photo gallery. Do you have any pix of the interior during that time?
Since they didn’t list in the newspaper, did they print flyers for the neighborhood shops? Like, obviously people in the immediate vicinity would see the marquee and know what’s playing, but was that enough to draw substantial crowds for a given booking?
Nitpicky thing, especially since I’m ultimately guilty of the mistake in my initial submission, but could the listing be changed to Mt. Adams instead of the full word Mount? Seeing as how that’s the manner of spelling it was always presented in, and it would bring it in line stylewise with other Greater Cincinnati towns like Mt. Healthy. I guess I’m compulsive like that. ;/
That’s illuminating information, Mbeino - do you have any ads or other promotional material from when your dad and granddad ran it? Since they rarely did newspaper ads, I’m dying to know how they got word out about their bookings.
I did get that wrong - it was Holiday Amusements that booked the Auto-In, along with the Acme, Dent, Starlite, Hiway 28, Lake, and Mt. Healthy drive-ins. Levin Services booked the Ferguson Hills.
Both the ad for THE ROAD WARRIOR listing the Auto-In and for SWEET SIXTEEN listing it as the Captain Kidd read 2501 Anderson Ferry Rd.
I grew up in Cincinnati devouring the movie pages as a child, and I remember much fanfare in the drive-in listings promoting the “new” Captain Kidd, so that is not a misprint. Maybe they gave up the new name after one season and went back to calling the place Auto-In, but that alternate name is not a mistake.
I just finally got confirmation that in the early ‘80s, Levin Services renamed the Auto-In on 2501 Anderson Ferry Rd. as the Captain Kidd, I guess intending it as a Cincinnati cousin to this Kettering location. That’s what confused me for years, since the “new” Captain Kidd came about shortly after the closing of the Tri-County located Jolly Roger.
This is another of the Cincinnati theatres that I occasionally heard about and would have loved to visit but they never posted showtimes in the paper. Gary Goldman must have really hated the press. Can anyone approximate a list of what played here and when?
The Regal always frustrated me because they never listed showtimes in the newspaper, and only rarely even bought placement in a display ad, so as much as I wanted to visit there, I never knew what was playing. I guess they were content to cater solely to the immediate neighborhood for traffic.
If there were any way someone could compile a list of movies and playdates from its history, particularly the grindhouse days, that would be amazing.
davidcoppock: Levin Services had a similar pirate-themed drive-in in Cincinnati near the Tri-County area called the Jolly Roger, so they clearly had a theme in mind by naming this one the Captain Kidd. From the dates of the history, they were probably intended to open at the same time in a big splash, but the impedences Kettering made thwarted that plan.
I wonder if Levin Services had other pirate-themed drive-ins in Ohio?
In the 1977 sketch comedy film CAN I DO IT…‘TILL I NEED GLASSES, a scene opens outside the theatre, and the marquee is advertising the producers’ previous film IF YOU DON’T STOP IT, YOU’LL GO BLIND. Don’t know if the actual theatre interior was used for the remainder of the sketch.
It would appear they still run 35mm here – Christopher McQuarrie tweeted that 7 cinemas in America were running MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT on film, and this was listed as one of the locations.
The building was purchased a few years ago, and the owners have been very good about cleaning up the place and trying to revive it as a theatre space, though naturally it’s a long, slow, hard process. The neighborhood it’s in has recently been branded the Sohn-Mohawk Historic District, giving it historic protection and thus new incentive to rehab the space. There is a Facebook group, though updates are sporadic:
Looks like the church has left, and it’s been reconfigured into a nightclub again, and they’re even calling it Top Cats as it was known back in the ‘80s:
CityBeat recently wrote about the new cinema programming taking place at this location.
I think the name can be officially changed to The Garfield Theater now.
https://www.citybeat.com/movies-tv/film/article/21020736/cincinnati-world-cinema-opens-a-permanent-home-in-the-former-cincinnati-shakespeare-company-space
The Ritz has reopened as a live venue called The Miracle Theatre, often hashtagged as #MiracleOnMarket. They have hosted events such as the 2nd Season premiere of the HBO series “INSECURE”. Looks very nice.
They had showtimes for today (May 6th) and Sunday, but no further. Could be switching to weekends only, or composing showtimes on the fly based on turnout.
On the upside, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR in 35mm!
There’s a large banner hanging on its marquee reading “FILM CREW BASE CAMP” and a couple phone numbers, suggesting it’s been gutted and rented. But when I googled the words and the address, as well as the two phone numbers, nothing significant, or more importantly, film-related, came up.
I noticed that the Cox does not have its own listing. It seems to me that it was a substantial enough operation on its own from the Shubert that perhaps it should have a page.
When I went to see magician Harry Blackstone Jr. at the now-demolished Palace around 1980, he said that the last time he was in Cincinnati the Cox theatre was operating but was now gone. He then added that he hoped the next time he came to town he wouldn’t be performing in a parking lot.
Sadly, considering the fate of the Palace, he was not far off.
A screencapture from the long-forgotten 1976 Craig Denney film THE ASTROLOGER features the Belmont marquee presenting the premiere of the film-within-the-film, also called THE ASTROLOGER:
I never got to meet Phil, but I was always grateful to him as the “silent partner” behind The Movies repertory cinema downtown. I recall he invited investors to participate in his movie projects in their calendars. He also ran April Fools Distribution, who handled the Pink Floyd at Pompeii concert film.
YOUNG GANGS FROM WILDWOOD HIGH is a retitling of TEAM-MATES. ONE-NIGHT STAND is a retitling of PETS with Candice Rialson. HOT AND BOTHERED is a retitling of Sergio Martino’s LOVING COUSINS (CUGINI CARNALI) with Susan Player.
Marci, if you can scan any of that material, you can upload the jpegs as images in the photo gallery. Do you have any pix of the interior during that time? Since they didn’t list in the newspaper, did they print flyers for the neighborhood shops? Like, obviously people in the immediate vicinity would see the marquee and know what’s playing, but was that enough to draw substantial crowds for a given booking?
Nitpicky thing, especially since I’m ultimately guilty of the mistake in my initial submission, but could the listing be changed to Mt. Adams instead of the full word Mount? Seeing as how that’s the manner of spelling it was always presented in, and it would bring it in line stylewise with other Greater Cincinnati towns like Mt. Healthy. I guess I’m compulsive like that. ;/
That’s illuminating information, Mbeino - do you have any ads or other promotional material from when your dad and granddad ran it? Since they rarely did newspaper ads, I’m dying to know how they got word out about their bookings.
I did get that wrong - it was Holiday Amusements that booked the Auto-In, along with the Acme, Dent, Starlite, Hiway 28, Lake, and Mt. Healthy drive-ins. Levin Services booked the Ferguson Hills.
Both the ad for THE ROAD WARRIOR listing the Auto-In and for SWEET SIXTEEN listing it as the Captain Kidd read 2501 Anderson Ferry Rd.
I grew up in Cincinnati devouring the movie pages as a child, and I remember much fanfare in the drive-in listings promoting the “new” Captain Kidd, so that is not a misprint. Maybe they gave up the new name after one season and went back to calling the place Auto-In, but that alternate name is not a mistake.
http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/8490/photos/334715
I just finally got confirmation that in the early ‘80s, Levin Services renamed the Auto-In on 2501 Anderson Ferry Rd. as the Captain Kidd, I guess intending it as a Cincinnati cousin to this Kettering location. That’s what confused me for years, since the “new” Captain Kidd came about shortly after the closing of the Tri-County located Jolly Roger.
Apparently, the Auto-In was rechristened Captain Kidd in the early ‘80s. I found a newspaper ad and uploaded it here.
Also, the address should be changed to 2501 Anderson Ferry Rd.
This is another of the Cincinnati theatres that I occasionally heard about and would have loved to visit but they never posted showtimes in the paper. Gary Goldman must have really hated the press. Can anyone approximate a list of what played here and when?
Last year of operation was 1986.
The Regal always frustrated me because they never listed showtimes in the newspaper, and only rarely even bought placement in a display ad, so as much as I wanted to visit there, I never knew what was playing. I guess they were content to cater solely to the immediate neighborhood for traffic.
If there were any way someone could compile a list of movies and playdates from its history, particularly the grindhouse days, that would be amazing.
davidcoppock: Levin Services had a similar pirate-themed drive-in in Cincinnati near the Tri-County area called the Jolly Roger, so they clearly had a theme in mind by naming this one the Captain Kidd. From the dates of the history, they were probably intended to open at the same time in a big splash, but the impedences Kettering made thwarted that plan. I wonder if Levin Services had other pirate-themed drive-ins in Ohio?
In the 1977 sketch comedy film CAN I DO IT…‘TILL I NEED GLASSES, a scene opens outside the theatre, and the marquee is advertising the producers’ previous film IF YOU DON’T STOP IT, YOU’LL GO BLIND. Don’t know if the actual theatre interior was used for the remainder of the sketch.
Ten years later, I finally found an answer – No, it was not this American Theatre, it was the former Fox Ritz in Beverly Hills.
Bought and scheduled to open as a live music venue in 2019
https://la.curbed.com/2018/7/30/17630660/vermont-hollywood-music-venue-mcap-partners
It would appear they still run 35mm here – Christopher McQuarrie tweeted that 7 cinemas in America were running MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT on film, and this was listed as one of the locations.
The building was purchased a few years ago, and the owners have been very good about cleaning up the place and trying to revive it as a theatre space, though naturally it’s a long, slow, hard process. The neighborhood it’s in has recently been branded the Sohn-Mohawk Historic District, giving it historic protection and thus new incentive to rehab the space. There is a Facebook group, though updates are sporadic:
https://www.facebook.com/Imperialtheater/
Looks like the church has left, and it’s been reconfigured into a nightclub again, and they’re even calling it Top Cats as it was known back in the ‘80s:
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/nightlife/bars-and-clubs/2018/08/02/top-cats-classic-short-vine-music-venue-make-comeback-month/887667002/
CityBeat recently wrote about the new cinema programming taking place at this location. I think the name can be officially changed to The Garfield Theater now. https://www.citybeat.com/movies-tv/film/article/21020736/cincinnati-world-cinema-opens-a-permanent-home-in-the-former-cincinnati-shakespeare-company-space
The Ritz has reopened as a live venue called The Miracle Theatre, often hashtagged as #MiracleOnMarket. They have hosted events such as the 2nd Season premiere of the HBO series “INSECURE”. Looks very nice.
https://www.themiracleinglewood.com/
They had showtimes for today (May 6th) and Sunday, but no further. Could be switching to weekends only, or composing showtimes on the fly based on turnout.
On the upside, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR in 35mm!
There’s a large banner hanging on its marquee reading “FILM CREW BASE CAMP” and a couple phone numbers, suggesting it’s been gutted and rented. But when I googled the words and the address, as well as the two phone numbers, nothing significant, or more importantly, film-related, came up.
I noticed that the Cox does not have its own listing. It seems to me that it was a substantial enough operation on its own from the Shubert that perhaps it should have a page.
When I went to see magician Harry Blackstone Jr. at the now-demolished Palace around 1980, he said that the last time he was in Cincinnati the Cox theatre was operating but was now gone. He then added that he hoped the next time he came to town he wouldn’t be performing in a parking lot.
Sadly, considering the fate of the Palace, he was not far off.
A screencapture from the long-forgotten 1976 Craig Denney film THE ASTROLOGER features the Belmont marquee presenting the premiere of the film-within-the-film, also called THE ASTROLOGER:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2HOPAFCMAEf560.jpg