Today we start a new series in which we will profile a historic cinema in the United States every week or so. I hope to profile at least one cinema from every state plus Washington, DC.
I begin with the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va. The only reason I have not been going to movies there since the 1930s* when it initially opened is because I was not around in the 1930s.
The first movie I saw there was a revival of Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" in 1984 when I was 14 years old, which means that Jason Garnett, the current manager of the Grandin and a good friend of mine, was 8 years old at the time!
On Dec. 20, The Grandin will screen John Waters' 1981 cult film "Polyester" in smell-o-vision. There will NOT be a seance to bring Waters' frequent star Divine back to life, but the first 200** folks who come in will get smell-o-vision cards.
The Grandin is also one of the six or seven reasons why my hometown is more socially progressive and hip than Provo, Utah, though I've heard arch conservatives Republicans go there just to eat the popcorn.
Perhaps, they will come by on Dec. 20 expecting to see "It's a Wonderful Life."
Hmmm.........in that case, a seance, even one for Jimmy Stewart, would be a very bad idea.
*-I believe that is the right decade the theatre opened
**-I believe 200 is the right number
See our entry about the North Theatre in Danville, Va. on our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time."
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