Montclair Savings Cinema
9355 Monte Vista Avenue,
Montclair,
CA
91763
9355 Monte Vista Avenue,
Montclair,
CA
91763
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 42 comments
I added the final movies to play here in the photo section.
Another ad
Montclair plaza cinema opening 02 Apr 1969, Wed Progress Bulletin (Pomona, California) Newspapers.com
Expanded to 8 screens on October 24th, 1980. No grand opening in the LA times.
Added a May 30,1969 ad for a special weeklong showing of the classic first Oscar winner for Best Picture. 1927’s “Wings”.
Man I remember coming to this theater as a kid along with UA 6 on central.
Well I found two photos this was an important theater where are the photos
Los Angeles Times once listed the theatre in its independent theatre section as shown by the photo in the photo section.
April 2nd, 1969 grand opening ad in the photo section.
I worked at the Montclair Cinema from the summer of 1969 to 1975. Started off as an usher and shortly moved up to Chief of Staff. Then there were 2 houses, one was 1000 seats and the other was 500 seats. I remember that the theater, which had opened a few weeks before I was hired, was showing Bullit and Romeo & Juliet. The first manager was James Polydorus. Lots of great memories were had in this place. So sad that it no longer exists.
“The Rocketeer” was presented at the Montclair GCC Cinema in 35mm Dolby Stereo beginning on Friday June 21, 1991.
An article in the San Dimas Press from March 27, 1969 says that the theatre would be opening April 2, 1969.
Yes. There are no longer “professional” projectionists. It’s all done by the snackbar girls and boys as most theatres are “digital” and all they have to do is start the DVD by pushing a button. Yes, we pay big bucks to watch a movie that is basically on a DVD…only more technically advanced and cannot be played on a home unit.
For the record for anyone else who visits this page, Ron knows his stuff about this theatre, and knows his stuff about projection. When you go to the movies nowadays and are able to see into the projection booth, you usually see someone barely out of high school fumbling around with the machinery in there, mostly clueless about what is going on with the machinery and film, if they even use film there anymore. Ron and Mr. Kelly from GCC Montclair were masters of the machines and of the film itself, something that is just simply missing in most theatres today. I salute them both.
Hey, Ron! How goes it? “Installations” may be a too generous term, as I don’t mean wiring the place for sound or anything, but did stuff like the “new” interior marquee signs, doing the changeout from the old red and white to the gray and blue seats, etc. In any case, I was pretty intimate with both buildings for a long time…they are still missed by me every time I am around the Montclair Plaza area. Good to “see” you, Ron, and Bill’s name up above as well! I went on a bit of a nostalgia trip today and “Googled” GCC and wound up here. Small world!
TimC: What kind of installations did you do at the GCC complex? I just remember the “RCA” tech’s doing the projection/sound service.
With a little digging I can come up with a lot of photos of the place, as I did a lot of banners, signs, and window painting for promotions back then. I have the photos packed away someplace…
I worked at these theatres from 1988 to 1996 or 1997. I can still mentally tour every last square inch of both buildings, top to bottom, inside and out…pretty literally, as I spent a good amount of time behind screens, inside ceilings, and whatnot, doing various installations, fix it jobs, and cleanup. The space that the front building filled is now an Elephant Bar and a Macaroni Grill, while the back building space is a gym. It’s amazing to me how small the space that the front building filled now looks…the restaurants make the spot seem so small, while that front building with three screens seemed so massive back in the day. I miss the place greatly…by far that has been my favorite job ever.
One would think that as the projectionist at the Montclair Cinemas for thirty years I would take lots of photos. Didn’t happen. I did take few, very few, photos of the place but after ten years I can’t find them. I should look for them. A note to Lavar: The back five cinemas were operated by General Cinema until the last and final day of operation and were never ‘independent’; always GCC.
Thanks for all the info, Ron! The General Cinema holds SO MANY memories for me, that it’s nice to get an insider’s perspective. Also great to see that so many other people cherished it, as well. Do you have any pictures? And if so, is there anyway you could post them?
The back five theatres were built from scratch, designed to be a five screen facility from the beginning.
One more question:in 1980,was the five screen building new or had it been previously occupied and then converted into a theatre?
Thank you and i stand corrected,kind sir.
Rich Jr’s 1979 date is wrong for the opening of the back five. It was 1980. I was there.
Looking at the original building from the Montclair Plaza parking lot, the “big” theatre on the left side was twined making the theatre a triplex in 1977. The back five opened in 1980 with “THE ELEPHANT MAN” at the first attraction.
Ron,i asked this earlier but i hope you can answer:when was the left side of the original twin turned into a triplex? Also,when did the five screens in the back open?