Buck Theater

dallasmovietheaters on June 17, 2026 at 1:10 pm

R.W. Tyson’s Capitol Theatre opened here (215 West Capitol not Capital) as a deep discount house on October 16, 1933 in an existing retail building. The first film was “The Big Brain” with a capacity crowd. The moribund Century was relit to make life difficult for Tyson but it encouraged Tyson to open the State Theatre in a neighboring spot. In 1936, the Capitol was taken over by Verne Buck’s Hattiesburg Amusement for another location of its regional chain of Buck Theaters. In February of 1939, it was taken over by Paramount Circuit which ran it for most of its WW2 years.

Discount operator Joy Houck’s Joy Theatres took on the Buck Theatre as the Gay Theatre on April 2, 1945 with “Dr. Gilllespie’s Criminal Case" with ultra low pricing. It was given a face lift with better air conditioning and larger screen at its relaunch later that year as the New Joy on November 24th, 1945.

The New Joy went to no joy after the June 6, 1954 triple feature of “Monkey Business,” “Montana Territory,” and Boris Karloff’s “The Mummy.” The building was converted for other retail uses and the building was still standing in the 21st Century.

Chris1982 on June 17, 2014 at 7:12 pm

The Buck Theatre opened in 1938.