Rex Theatre
Ipoh
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Built in the late 1930’s, the Rex Theatre was originally a warehouse and then converted into a theater in the late-1940’s. The Rex Theatre is located half a block away from the Majestic Theater. The single screen theater seated 816 with 520 downstairs and 296 in the balcony. At the back of the theater is a row of Chinese-style funeral and convalescent homes where the terminally ill would stay until their death. When someone dies, the Chinese customs have it such that there are rituals, chanting and prayers done by the priests all night long until the day of the funeral. The Rex Theatre was said to be haunted and had to have 2 dragon statues near the stage as apiritual protection. (Chinese people are not as superstitious as Malaysians and did not mind patronizing the theater.) If Malaysians celebrated Halloween, this would be the perfect, eerie theater for it. It showed mainly Chinese films but again diversified in the 1960’s into English, Tamil and Hindi films. The Rex Theatre finally closed in Sept 1998.
Contributed by
Valerie Kam
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
This is where i watched Shaw Brothers kung fu and wuxia movies. Ti Lung, David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng and co. kicking butts. I always remember this cinema as rather sombre and dark eventhough it was located at a very busy main street in Ipoh. Must be due to the close proximity of those Chinese funeral houses.