Back in the late ‘70s, when Cinema V was a going concern run by Ricky Friedman, it was a regular haunt of Montreal’s english-speaking, movie-loving community. One day I explored some of the building’s hidden corners with the writer Dane Lanken (husband of Anna McGarrigle) for an article we worked on together for the theatre’s program. We felt a bit like Howard Carter when he discovered and opened the tomb of King Tut; upstairs in the wings behind the curtains we turned on a dim light to see painted hieroglyphics on the walls (at least those sections that hadn’t been covered with acoustic panelling) and a large mask of Tut high on a frieze â€" regrettably smashed through years before to allow for an air exhaust pipe to pass through the wall. Fragments of the plaster mask lay shattered on the floor. I think I still have a copy of a vaudeville program from the 30s that we found tossed with others down a stairwell in the adjoining office and dressing room wing. It was fantastic.
Back in the late ‘70s, when Cinema V was a going concern run by Ricky Friedman, it was a regular haunt of Montreal’s english-speaking, movie-loving community. One day I explored some of the building’s hidden corners with the writer Dane Lanken (husband of Anna McGarrigle) for an article we worked on together for the theatre’s program. We felt a bit like Howard Carter when he discovered and opened the tomb of King Tut; upstairs in the wings behind the curtains we turned on a dim light to see painted hieroglyphics on the walls (at least those sections that hadn’t been covered with acoustic panelling) and a large mask of Tut high on a frieze â€" regrettably smashed through years before to allow for an air exhaust pipe to pass through the wall. Fragments of the plaster mask lay shattered on the floor. I think I still have a copy of a vaudeville program from the 30s that we found tossed with others down a stairwell in the adjoining office and dressing room wing. It was fantastic.
Best of luck with the project.