Rolling Hills Theatre
2535 Pacific Coast Highway,
Torrance,
CA
90505
2535 Pacific Coast Highway,
Torrance,
CA
90505
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 144 comments
I believe that Patrick Crowley and Ross Melnick are both Americans.
I suspect that one of the main reasons that the photo feature has been unavailable for so long is that this is not a for-profit web site (you’ll notice that it carries no advertising, other than a few pages devoted to their own Cinema Treasures book, and that they don’t sell any member’s name and e-mail address to spammers), so neither of them can devote full time to running it, nor is there a budget for hiring someone who could.
I’m sure that the Add-a-photo feature will become available again eventually. In the meantime, if you have pictures to share, it’s possible to get free image hosting space at several web sites, such as Photobucket, Flickr, and Webshots (use Google to find any of them), and after posting the images to your chosen site, just put links to them in your comments here.
Why do the 2 Englishmen who own and run this site take so long to update the thousands of photos sent to them???
manwithnoname: By any chance do you know Ed’s last name? I don’t know if you know this littlt tidbit but when I grew up tv played a lot of “B” westerns during the 50’s on ch. 5 and from 1945-1955 right across the street from the Pantages was a little theatre called the HITCHING POST. It played “B” westerns, serials, cartoons etc. exclusively however I never went there. I wish I knew who owned it!!
manwithnoname: Here I go again. After high school in west LA I was hired in 1964-1965 as the asst. mgr. at the Fox Venice on Lincoln. The mgr. was PHIL CATHERALL. When I became an operator in 68 I knew alot of the Fox mgrs. Back then Phil made 110 plus 2% on candy. I made 65.00 and the operator 200!!! That was huge pay then. I heard that Phil eventually became mgr. of the FOX PALOS VERDES. Did you know him since you worked there? Also, I saw your comments about the DOME 40th. I was one of their 2 operators in 1975. That is where I really learned alot about 70mm because the Dome was a grind house then…12-12. Where I was taught 70mm was at the Pantages during Godfather #1.
MANWITHNONAME: I HAVE TRIED TO POST ANOTHER LITTLE STATEMENT AND THE SITE WON’T PREVIEW OR POST.
Manwithnoname, I stand corrected regarding the old UA. Geronimo indeed played at the UA Del Amo (which did run a bit of 70mm when it was open.) I had the date down correctly, but I was off by a theatre. :) Please disregard my last reference to the UA on Crenshaw and PCH being a 70mm house. Just trying to get any information on if that house was equipped for the large format.
The Del Amo, at the time of the Geronimo engagement, was referered to as Fashion Sq. Mall in the UA ad in the Los Angeles Times (Dec. 17, 1993.) I didn’t have the ad on me when I posted.
Manwithnoname: Today I have a bad back injury which keeps me home nd in front of the PC alot.Also, I am over 60. If you have any questions about my old field please contact me. 2 months ago I started a project and was successful within 75%. Thru 20 websites I collected 150 photos of theatres I worked and some I didn’t work but respected. All told I worked 200 theatres in 22 years. I liked relief work and seeing so many films. After I retired at 50 I got a B.A. in a field where all the good pay requires a Masters. B.A.s today are powerless compared to when I grew up.
Manwithnoname: It has been almost 30 years since I did weekend relief at the UA. I have no memory of the brand name of the equipment but I am certain it was not a 35/70mm booth. I was taught 70mm early on and once you see 35/70 projectors you don’t forget. Count on it! I do remember that it did have magnetic and optical sound heads so it could run 35mm film which was striped for stereo. When the magnetic tape wore down if it was a long run then the film could be run thru the optical heads. Optical film did not come with mag stripes but 35mm mag stripe film always had an optical track. The typical equipment in those neighborhood houses was Simplex projectors or occasionally a Century. Peerless lamps were with Simplex and Strong lamps were with Century. 70mm was practically always huge Phillips/Norelco and the reels were horribly heavy. I believe the manager was a woman and I seem to remember a great little restaurant next door. It was a nice area.
Was the location on the NW corner of PCH and Crenshaw? This is where a restaurant is now located with a spa upstairs next to Big Five, was this the location?
Manwithnoname wrote: The UA Theater occupied the space at the corner end of the property..
Then perhaps I did see the building during my visit to Rolling Hills. I might be wrong on this, but it looks like a bank now occupies the building, but not sure.
I read that the UA wasn’t huge (around 600+ seats), but it did run some 70mm prints. The last one was “Geronimo: An American Legend” in late 1993. I’m rather bummed that I didn’t simply take a drive out to the theatre to see the film. It was playing in Orange at the Cinedome (also demolished), but had no desire to see the film.
It’s too bad that the Rolling Hills has those unfortunate murders linked to the theatre’s past. Sounds like many who’ve written in this thread had mostly positive memories of the theatre.
manwithnoname: I read months later that one of the killers was in custody on another charge at the time the second killer was caught. I assume the second killer gave up the first killer. Back then the press was under strict governmental mandates about what could and could not be said. Also, the public never found out the verdict, sentence or anything unlike today when Court TV shows and tells everything. However, Nancy Grace and several other so-called experts never heard of innocent until proven guilty. Remember that next to the Depression and W.W.2 Sociologists consider the years 1968-1973 to be terribly tumultuous years. The minute I heard about the carnage I said: It is another MANSON. Manson was 1969 and Rolling Hills 1973.
In 1968 I joined the Los Angeles Projectionists Union. I was working at the World in Hollywood the night of the day they found those kids brutally murdered. As I remember they were stabbed not shot. I was horrified as was every operator I talked to for 2 weeks. Eventually I was a part-time relief operator at the UA Torrance nearby several years later. I also remember a famous bird farm nearby which burned down. In 1980 automation was starting and the union sent me to be interviewed for projection/manager at the Pasadena Colorado. i went to the Miracle Mile and met the head man at their office. I was accepted and Garrett Vanderbend was my supervisor. This job of being a manager/projectionist was terribly stressful. There was a probation period of 90 days. They accepted me after 90 days but I refused them. By 1990 platters and automation killed the profession and I left after 22 years. Even the studio union was taken over by studio sound men.
Another friend of mine who grew up in Torrance wrote me tonight…
“It was the very first theater I ever went to.
Grandma took Ron and I to see "Mary Poppins” at a matinee.
I remember going there later. They had rock n roll bands play before the feature, and we threw pennies at em. I remember a band playing the Stones “Paint It Black” and CCR’s “Who Can Stop The Rain”.
(Hey Nina!) I used to frequent R.H. Theater w/ Nina’s sister in the early 80’s…it seemed always empty though by then in the evenings, even a Saturday night. We saw movies like A Christmas Story, Something Wicked This Way Comes, that creepy muppett-people made movie w/ the dinasour like guys humming “ohmmmmm” what was the name errgh! My dad’s last movie in Calif before he moved in 1988 was Top Gun there, Lots of memories. Never felt creepy in there about the ghosts of the past, maybe I’m not “sensitive” enough to that ha! Carolyn
Thank you Teri and Manwithnoname for confirming this information about the Rolling Hills. It seemed like it was probably a nice theatre in its former glory, before twinning and gutting, etc.
As for the UA, I had a difficult time figuring out if the structure was still there or not. Again, I hadn’t read this thread before I visited Torrance, and am not familiar with these theatres. Anyway, the shopping mall across the street looks like it had been totally re-modeled. The only building, at first glance, that might’ve looked like it had been a theater at one time, is the Circuit City. But that building is very large. Was that possibly a Montgomery Wards or JC Penny? There are other buildings in the parking lot, but they all seem small for a theatre, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have held a theatre. Do you happen to know if the UA was large like the Rolling Hills?
I moved away in 1969, but I believe the roof was indeed sloped. I know that at the time, it was stand-alone and there were driving aisles both in front and on the left of the building (as you faced it). The ‘emergency’ exit was on the left as you sat in the theater (Adam West and Burt Ward used it as an entrance when they came to a Saturday matinee I attended – we were probably seeing the Batman full-length feature – I remember they conducted a prize drawing and the winner got to visit the TV Batcave. Pretty cool. :–)
Killian’s or any other restaurant/amusement was definitely not part of the original building. It wasn’t a strip mall back then.
Was this theatre equipped for 70mm?
I think I saw the building for the first time today (I’m not familiar with Rolling Hills or the theatre—and I didn’t have this thread printed during my visit). It’s located towards the back of the shopping center and it has a sloped roof, correct? It appears that there has been so much re-modeling to this theatre, it doesn’t look like an old movie theatre (plus the fact it has an unusual design).
I had a difficult time trying to decide if this was indeed a movie theatre at one time. There is another rather tall brick building in the same shopping center which houses a drug store and Trader Joe’s grocery store. Either one could easily be a 1100-seat theatre building constructed in the 1960s.
Is Killian’s a part of the original theatre, or was this built afterwards? Thanks.
Hi:
Is the location where the UA Theater was located now the Panera Restaurant and there is a large spa upstairs from the restaurant on Pacific Coast Hwy?
Now that steveorini has revealed that the address of The Rolling Hills Theater was 2535 Pacific Coast Highway, perhaps someone can restore the entry for the United Artist’s Torrance Theater mentioned in comments above. The U.A. Torrance was located at 2735 Pacific Coast Highway, according to the theater listings in The Los Angeles Times of February 10th, 1971.
well, now I’m embarrased,and intimidated by you Nina- and I’m sorry I posted this….
Steveorini
Hey, this is how Torrance is spelled
the address of the rolling hills theatre was 2535 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrence, Ca.
This is printed on a free giveaway photo of Disney’s Robin Hood
I got from the theatre way back when…..
Yes, I did start at the Rolling Hills about the time you left. Once the theatre was closed I was transferred to the Metro/Crest, then Holly, Hastings for a short stint to Paramount and yes I do remember you as well. I am still in contact with Roger, he is outside of Seattle, he is completely out of theatre business. He is in the insurance industry.
So you also remember Andrea Efurd, who is now Andrea Brabec as well. Her and Keith live in the area still and are realtors for Century 21,they have two kids.
Yes the theatre was many restaurants I remember Cricketts Tea House was there as well as the Paradise Restaurant
Garrett is a regional director for Loews in Washington state.
Are you kidding me? Of course. Roger was the manager at the time I was there – I was his assitant for the six months or so that I worked there, before being transferred to the Paramount in Hollywood. I haven’t heard from Roger in probably 20 years. Didn’t he move back up north? (If I remember, I think he was from Washington.) And of course I remember Gerrit van der Bend as well. Gerrit was my supervisor for the two years that I was the manager of the Holly and the year or so that I managed the Hastings. In fact, I also remember you. Didn’t you start at the Rolling Hills about the time I left?