Film Forum
1544 Piedmont Avenue NE,
Atlanta,
GA
30324
1544 Piedmont Avenue NE,
Atlanta,
GA
30324
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Modular Cinemas of America, Weis Theatres
Functions: Retail
Previous Names: Ansley Mall Minicinema
Nearby Theaters
The Ansley Mall Minicinema was opened April 5, 1968 with “Elvira Madigan”. The great Atlanta actor and film aficionado, George Ellis took over the Ansley Mall Minicinema after the demise of the Weis Theatre Circuit and renamed it the Film Forum.
Mr. Ellis presented a rather eccentric mix of films, including some that would have otherwise had no commercial release. The Film Forum’s Friday and Saturday midnight features made box office flops such as “Harold and Maude”, “The Ruling Class”, and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” into cult classics.
Contributed by
Jack Coursey
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
As far as I can recall this theater stayed open til 1990. I remember the AJC having an article saying that a high point in Atlanta (the Ansley Cinema) movie going and a low point (the Rialto) both closed around the same time in 1990.
Cool name.
Here is a link to a newspaper article about the episode I described in my first comment involving George Ellis getting locked out. I was under the impression that Lewis Osteen, the guy who did this, was the GM of the chain. The article indicates that Osteen had purchased the mini cinema chain from it founders. I never cared for Osteen but thought Gentry and Maddox, the founders of the company, were good people to work for. I was suprised that this event ever took place.
The article clears this up since it seems that Osteen was not a hired gun working for the owners, but was the actual owner. During the Osteen years I would sometimes go to the film depot but come back empty handed because there was a COD tag on the print and Osteen had not paid the up front money or the rent from a previous booking.
View link
George Ellis (“Bestoink Dooley”) was also a stage figure in Atlanta and a TV figure. I think he appeared on TV as Bestoink. I saw him in a Jim Peck play called “Sterioptican,” which had in it one of my favorite lines ever: “Let’s make the humdrum optional.” My first memory of Ellis was when he opened what I believe was his first movie theater, a very small place in back of the downtown YMCA on Spring Street. From there he moved to Ansley Mall, et cetera. I went to his first movie theater on opening night. He offered us a refund (which we refused) because the theater had just that afternoon been treated with fire retardant and the smell of ammonia was almost overwhelming. But we toughed it out. The film was a black and white sub-titled movie about the Spanish Civil War. It was terrific. And he served coffee with whipped cream in the lobby.
I know that the Film Forum at Ansley Mall was open at least as late as 1980 into 1981, when I lived within walking distance and watched many films there during that time period, odd selections of foriegn films and cultish works, some offbeat comedies. One that sticks with me over 39 years later I viewed there was one film by Bunuel (I don’t remember the title this morning) back around 1980 or early 1981 in a small movie theater. Really enjoyed it, it made me think of a long Twilight Zone episode. I do think that not far into 1981 the theater suddenly was closed and never opened again. Being new to Atlanta, I knew none of the history of the Film Forum, but it was a cool little theater.
I was a friend of George Ellis and George Macrenaris, who also worked at the Film Forum (and may have been Ellis' silent partner). On May 1, 1982, I had a baby girl. The Film Forum had a “crying room” for babies and parents. My baby girl, Helen and I went to the movies every week, at least once a week, and sat quietly in the “crying room” probably through August or September of 1982. The two Georges grew to love my baby girl. In December of 1982, George Ellis was at a Christmas caroling party with my husband, my daughter, and I and his big bass voice charmed Helen Marie to sleep as he sang Christmas carols at the home of Mary Nelle and Dante Santacroce. The theater was still showing films, with Macrenaris running it, when my son was born in September of 1983. I think that is when it closed. I thought of buying it and showing children’s movies, but the informal survey I took of women with children indicated that they would not let their children go to the movies in what they called the “gay shopping center.”
This and the Peachtree Battle minicinema opened on April 5th, 1968.
Reopening as Bijou on April 6th, 1981. Article below.
And reopened by George Lefort as the Ansley on December 24th, 1982 Ad in photo section.