Trot Theatre

Boxoffice of October 30, 1937, said that Jack Pickens' new Trot Theatre had recently opened at Cuero. An October 16 item had given the origin of the theater’s unusual name. It was named for an annual event in Cuero called the Turkey Trot, in which thousands of turkeys were paraded down the city’s main street.

Not long after opening the Trot Theatre, as well as additional theaters in other towns then controlled by the Hall circuit, Jack Perkins agreed to open no more competing houses in the Hall brothers' territory in exchange for complete control of the theaters in Cuero and two other towns. Pickens thus took over operation of Cuero’s Rialto and Rex theaters, former Hall operations.

Boxoffice of December 29, 1951, said that the Trot Theatre, operated by Video Theatres, had closed on September 29, and there were no plans to reopen it. The Trot had specialized in westerns and Spanish language movies, the item said.

There’s indication that at least one Spanish language house operated in Cuero after the Trot closed. A February 23, 1952, item says that Celia Saenz de Montes of Cuero had visited film row in San Antonio, though it doesn’t say specifically that she operated a theater there. Then there is a March 10, 1956, Boxoffice item mentioning an A. Lopez as operator of the Teatro Lopez in Cuero. It’s possible that the Trot was reopened as a Spanish language theater and renamed, but I’ve not found any confirmation of this.

This one opened on October 14, 1937. The opening movie was “A Star Is Born” starring Janet Gaynor and Frederick March.