Ross, in what years did you live in Paxtonia? The Creasons lived on Jonestown Road, across the street from what is now the post office. Also on that block lived Michael Korn, a reclusive kid who later became a famous classical musician.
When I was in high school (1963-1966), the Star showed what were called nudie movies. Customers were required to be at least 18 years old. To get past that barrier, I fashioned an ID in French, but I can’t recall if I used a Quebec address or one in France. When I went to the box office one Saturday afternoon, the ticket seller called for the manager to inspect my ID, and the manager let me slide, after I responded in French to all of his questions. From that point on, I could attend shows at the Star, which I did on occasion on Saturday afternoons. What the Star showed in those days, as I recall, were two sorts of movies. One type were Russ Meyer films, like Lorna–I was mightily impressed by Lorna Maitland–and Mudhoney, and the like. The other type were fetish oriented, like Olga’s House of Shame and other movies in the Olga series. As I remember it, the audience when I attended was all male.
By the mid 1970s, the Star Art, as it had become, was showing porn, with an emphasis on the works of director Alex de Renzy, as I recall.
The theater was of modest size, with seating on one level. There were two aisles and three banks of seats, and, as in many theaters, one entered the seating area by walking down a gentle gradient. The place was pretty threadbare.
In those days, Harrisburg had two daily newspapers, and they had common ownership. The Star advertised in these newspapers every day, but the newspapers censored the names of some of the movies. For example, the Star showed a movie called The Keister, but The Evening News and The Patriot changed the advertising copy so that the Star advertisement had the title of the movie as The Keystoner.
I grew up less than a mile from the Harrisburg Drive-In and saw a huge number of movies there. I also played on the swings in the daytime. My parents would take me in our car, and there were typically double features. The films would often be a few years old, but we didn’t mind. The refreshment stand snacks were yummy, and the theater promoted the refreshment stand aggressively. The speakers that provided the in-car sound weren’t the greatest, but they were functional. One of the main promotions was $1 a carload night. As a kid just walking to a spot at the back of the lot to see a movie without paying, I recall usually being chased out of there a lot by the management. With this coronavirus horror, I wish that drive-ins would make a comeback.
I grew up in Lower Paxton township, and, when I was in high school at Central Dauphin, I saw a number of foreign films at the Uptown. In my recollection, during that period (1963-1966), the Uptown only showed foreign films. Here are some films that I recall seeing there: Billy Budd, The Collector, Tom Jones, 8 ½, Juliet of the Spirits, Blow-Up, and A Man and a Woman.
I understood at the time that the Uptown was owned by Robert Mumma, the Pennsy Supply mogul, who was a wealthy guy. When I went to the Uptown it would be on a Friday night, always alone, and I remember that the theater was never very full. There was an audience for foreign films in Harrisburg in those days, but it wasn’t a big audience. I had the impression that the owner wasn’t strongly focused on making a profit on the Uptown. I thought then, and I think now, that the Uptown was the most significant cultural force in the whole Harrisburg area in the mid 1960s.
I consider myself lucky to have been able to see a number of significant foreign films of that period when they were contemporary.
By the early 1960s, the Penway was owned by the Creason family, who lived in Paxtonia. Joanne Creason, who died last year at the age of 98, was a tremendous amateur golfer, and she ran the theater. She had a large family, and I was friends with her sons Johnny and Richie. Through them, I got to explore the whole theater, including the projection area.
Art deco was a main architectural design theme in Harrisburg in the first half of the 20th century, and the Penway and Senate theaters were two notable examples.
Ross, in what years did you live in Paxtonia? The Creasons lived on Jonestown Road, across the street from what is now the post office. Also on that block lived Michael Korn, a reclusive kid who later became a famous classical musician.
When I was in high school (1963-1966), the Star showed what were called nudie movies. Customers were required to be at least 18 years old. To get past that barrier, I fashioned an ID in French, but I can’t recall if I used a Quebec address or one in France. When I went to the box office one Saturday afternoon, the ticket seller called for the manager to inspect my ID, and the manager let me slide, after I responded in French to all of his questions. From that point on, I could attend shows at the Star, which I did on occasion on Saturday afternoons. What the Star showed in those days, as I recall, were two sorts of movies. One type were Russ Meyer films, like Lorna–I was mightily impressed by Lorna Maitland–and Mudhoney, and the like. The other type were fetish oriented, like Olga’s House of Shame and other movies in the Olga series. As I remember it, the audience when I attended was all male.
By the mid 1970s, the Star Art, as it had become, was showing porn, with an emphasis on the works of director Alex de Renzy, as I recall.
The theater was of modest size, with seating on one level. There were two aisles and three banks of seats, and, as in many theaters, one entered the seating area by walking down a gentle gradient. The place was pretty threadbare.
In those days, Harrisburg had two daily newspapers, and they had common ownership. The Star advertised in these newspapers every day, but the newspapers censored the names of some of the movies. For example, the Star showed a movie called The Keister, but The Evening News and The Patriot changed the advertising copy so that the Star advertisement had the title of the movie as The Keystoner.
I grew up less than a mile from the Harrisburg Drive-In and saw a huge number of movies there. I also played on the swings in the daytime. My parents would take me in our car, and there were typically double features. The films would often be a few years old, but we didn’t mind. The refreshment stand snacks were yummy, and the theater promoted the refreshment stand aggressively. The speakers that provided the in-car sound weren’t the greatest, but they were functional. One of the main promotions was $1 a carload night. As a kid just walking to a spot at the back of the lot to see a movie without paying, I recall usually being chased out of there a lot by the management. With this coronavirus horror, I wish that drive-ins would make a comeback.
I grew up in Lower Paxton township, and, when I was in high school at Central Dauphin, I saw a number of foreign films at the Uptown. In my recollection, during that period (1963-1966), the Uptown only showed foreign films. Here are some films that I recall seeing there: Billy Budd, The Collector, Tom Jones, 8 ½, Juliet of the Spirits, Blow-Up, and A Man and a Woman.
I understood at the time that the Uptown was owned by Robert Mumma, the Pennsy Supply mogul, who was a wealthy guy. When I went to the Uptown it would be on a Friday night, always alone, and I remember that the theater was never very full. There was an audience for foreign films in Harrisburg in those days, but it wasn’t a big audience. I had the impression that the owner wasn’t strongly focused on making a profit on the Uptown. I thought then, and I think now, that the Uptown was the most significant cultural force in the whole Harrisburg area in the mid 1960s.
I consider myself lucky to have been able to see a number of significant foreign films of that period when they were contemporary.
By the early 1960s, the Penway was owned by the Creason family, who lived in Paxtonia. Joanne Creason, who died last year at the age of 98, was a tremendous amateur golfer, and she ran the theater. She had a large family, and I was friends with her sons Johnny and Richie. Through them, I got to explore the whole theater, including the projection area.
Art deco was a main architectural design theme in Harrisburg in the first half of the 20th century, and the Penway and Senate theaters were two notable examples.