Manring Theatre

Address was 2032 W. Cumberland Avenue, State Hwy 74 today. West Cumberland Avenue turns into State Hwy 74 at 21st Street. A medical clinic tied to Middlesboro ARH Hospital now stands on the former theatre site. 1930s photo added courtesy Kentucky Coal Towns Facebook page.

the Middlesboro paper is ruuning one of those Monster ads you would love to have it you had a printer!At the MANRING THEATRE, LIVE ON STAGE"DRACULA".the Horror movie was “HOUSE OF THE LIVING DEAD” and folks would see,and I ain’t making this up,April 2 1957, THE MATERIALIZATION of JAMES DEAN! after all of this the second feature was “ABBOTT And COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY”.I pity these kids coming up today with no movie ads,but most of the current crop of films aren’t worth watching.

MANRING THEATER DECEMBER 31, 1935

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY

STARRING
CHARLES LAUGHTON
CLARK GABLE

WITH
FRANCHOT TONE

ADDED ATTRACTIONS:

Travel. “RURAL MEXICO"
Comedy, "PUBLIC GHOST NUMBER 1"
Cartoon, "WHO KILLED COCK ROBIN”

PRICES: 10c, 26c, 36c Monday, 10c, 26c

(From: Middlesboro Daily News)

Feb 18 1964 and DORIS DAY is at the Manring in “MOVE OVER DARLING” with a color cartoon called “Astronut” Also “IN THE HEAT OF NIGHT” played here too.With a cartoon.

Here are some movies that played on the big screen at the MANRING.

June 3 1963 sees ELVIS in “IT HAPPPENED AT THE WORLD’S FAIR"
Oct 10 1964 and "MCHALE’S NAVY "is playing and a double feature of Tony Curtis in "WILD AND WONDERFUL” coming the next day was “THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA”

Does anyone remember the manager of the Manring Theatre during the years of 1940’s & 1950’s? His name was Arnold Feldman. I would like any info on him. The name of his wife and if he had any children, their names. Sure would appreciate any help!

I remember the Manring well and think of it often. My first haircut at the barber shop at age one in 1956; the first movie I recall in 1963 probably Sword in the Stone or Mary Poppins. The interior including the wall light lens were red and the concession stand was a work of art. I read dozens of comic books at the barber shop and the barbers were personal friends of my father. On Saturday mornings, I would look at the lobby; no one around, but it was fun to see the posters. Lobby color was green I think. Middlesboro was a good place to be back then. Check my web page for photos: www.middlesboroughhistory.com

I’ve found a reference to the Manring Theatre in a Stanford, Kentucky, newspaper called The Interior Journal, issue of December 13, 1907. The April 21, 1905, issue of the same paper carried a single line in a section of news from Middlesboro saying “J. L. Manring buys the opera house and library building.”

A 2005 book called “Coal and Culture: Opera Houses in Appalachia” contains a reference to a “New Manring Theatre” in 1922, and in a list headed “Opera Houses Studied” has this:

“Middlesboro(ough) Middlesborough (aka Princess/Manring) Theatre 1889”

I’ve been unable to discover if the New Manring Theatre in the 1922 reference was the same building as the earlier Princess/Manring Theatre, apparently built in 1889. The Princess Theatre is listed in Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide for 1904, the only Middlesboro house listed.

Here’s a link to a few paragraphs about J.L. Manring in a 1912 book digitized at Google Books. It mentions the Manring Theatre but doesn’t give any details about it. It reveals that Manring converted the library building he’d bought into a headquarters for the Manring Coal Exchange, one of his many enterprises.

Here is an undated photo of the Manring Theatre with the name “Manring” in stone above the entrance. It’s only two floors, unlike the Manring in later photos. Either the New Manring was a different building or the original building was altered and a third floor was added to it.

Addition to my post above: Middlesboro is the home of Lee Majors! I bet the 6 million dollar man sat in plenty of those seats. I was surprized when I typed in Manring on CT as I never expected to see anything on this theatre.

For you Manring fans here are some of the movies that played there:

“Somebody Love Me” with Betty Hutton and a 2nd feature “Desert Pursuit”, “The Sea Hornet” and “Desert of the Lost Men”. They had a kids show with free comic books for the first 100 kids buying tickets at 10:00 AM Saturday, and in addition 3 big color cartoons.

Nice ads for “The Birds” and “The Dirty Dozen”. Also, “Operation Bikini” “The Phantom Planet” “Clash By Night” with Marilyn Monroe with 2nd feature “Young Man With Ideas” with Glenn Ford.

From 1952: “Les Miserables” with Michael Rennie plus 2nd hit “Holiday for Sinners” with Gig Young, “Snows of Kilimanjaro” with Gregory Peck, “Hangman’s Knot with Randolph Scott, "Voodoo Tiger” with Jungle Jim, “The Sinners” an adult movie for 1952, “Don’t Bother To Knock” with Marilyn Monroe and 2nd feature “Sellout”, “Wait till the Sun Shines Nellie” and 2nd feature “Tomahawk Territory” with Clayton Moore, “Clash By Night” with Marilyn Monroe, “Lawless Breed” with Rock Hudson, “Desert Legion” with Alan Ladd.

The ads for “The Sinners” for 1952 are quite graphic. Judging how you look at these ads it could imply two women getting ready to kiss! The ad said, “Julien Duvivier’s masterpiece” and the tag line was, “emotional secrets women only whisper about!”

I’m surprized there’s nothing written on the Park Theatre or The Reda Drive-In. Was The Reda changed to The Rosa in Middlesboro? A few years ago I found the site of The Rosa Drive-In. The projection booth and concession stand were still standing!

here is a link to a page about owner of manring theater in middlesboro kentucky
[url=http://books.google.com/books?id=E2m43HWFcrMC&pg=PA1310&dq=manring+theater+middlesboro+kentucky]

Here is a March 1933 ad from the Middlesboro Daily News:
http://tinyurl.com/p2omd2

If anyone could lead me to the family that owned this theater I would greatly appreciate it. My last name is Manring. I would like to see if they link to my family history. This is exciting information to find!!!!!! You may contact me:
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!