Baroque 'N Roll at the Los Angeles Theatre

The Los Angeles Theatre was the last (and many say the most beautiful) of all the theatres built in Downtown LA’s historic Broadway theatre district between 1911 and 1931.

The Los Angeles was designed by prolific architect S. Charles Lee (who also did the Tower Theatre just down the street and the Max Factor Building/Hollywood Museum) in the Baroque style, and the lobby was based on the Hall of Mirrors in France’s Palace of Versailles. Others have compared the look of the Los Angeles to that of the Fox Theatre in San Francisco, which was built in 1926.

The sweeping lobby is six stories high, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling, and there are all kinds of flowing drapes and crystal chandeliers and columns that give it an incredibly opulent feel. It is impressive to think that this whole theatre was built in less than six months.

It all began when independent exhibitor H.L. Gumbiner convinced William Fox (who founded the Fox Film Corporation and the Fox West Coast Theatre chain) to let him develop a theatre on a piece of land that Fox owned. Fox agreed, and Gumbiner was the one who hired architect S. Charles Lee to create the Los Angeles. However, as the Great Depression deepened, Gumbiner ran out of money.
Enter Charlie Chaplin.

Chaplin’s CITY LIGHTS was a silent film, and is now regarded as BRILLIANT. If you haven’t seen it, stop reading and do that now. But in the early thirties, talkies were all the rage and CITY LIGHTS had gotten some…shall we say “unfavorable” reviews and he was having a hard time finding a place to premiere it. Remember that at this time, film companies owned theatres and they would open and run the movies they had made in their own theatres.

Since Gumbiner was an independent and not tied to a studio, it was decided that the film would debut at the opening of the Los Angeles. Legend has it that Chaplin invested his own money into finishing the theatre, and in January of 1931 the film and the theatre premiered together with a huge gala. Two notable guests: Actress Gloria Swanson…and Albert Einstein!

All of this grandeur must have distracted patrons, at least for a few hours, from the nightmare of the Depression. But reality and fantasy collided even on the theatre’s opening night; there were crowds in front of the Los Angeles to see the stars, but also a crowd across the street…waiting in a breadline.

The draperies and carpets were all custom-made for the theatre in shades of deep red, gold, and royal blue. And even though the stage looks perfect for hosting  a musical like PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, since the Los Angeles was built as a movie house there is not a lot of room backstage for props and to accommodate large live productions.

If you were super fancy, you may have enjoyed a film away from the general public in a box seat. But even the “cheap seats” are wonderfully detailed, and there are eight aisles on the main floor so that each row has no more than six seats. There is a balcony, too, along with offices and ballrooms and lounges downstairs. And right off of one of the ballrooms is one of the loveliest bathrooms we have ever seen, with a large “cosmetics room” full of individual vanities and mirrors and (I never thought I would type this sentence) a very beautiful row of stalls. Men always talk about how women go to the restroom in groups and then stay in there gossiping, but with a powder room this grand, why would you ever want to leave?

Takeaway Tips:

• Keep an eye out for Los Angeles Theatre tours offered by groups like the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation.
• Host a party, performance, or screening at the Los Angeles. You can also get married here!
• Visit some neighborhood spots that are also located on Broadway, like the Tower Theatre and the Orpheum Theatre, and reVamp Vintage.

Contact Info:
Los Angeles Theatre
615 Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 629-2939
www.LosAngelesTheatre.com

Film Fatale: DOUBLE INDEMNITY's Phyllis Dietrichson

Life can be so tough for film noir ladies. They have to be sexy yet (faux) sweet, hard as nails but also (faux) tender, and manipulate every situation so that the man who has fallen into their clutches thinks he is in control. Ready to play the shady lady in your own life? Inspired by Phyllis Dietrichson (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in 1944’s DOUBLE INDEMNITY, this is the How to be a Film Fatale Guide in seven easy steps:

1. When you first greet a strange man in your house, a man who has come to sell you insurance, wear only a towel and an anklet and appear at the top of the stairs. It will distract him and put him at a disadvantage.

2. When the strange man comes over again, pretend to call for the maid. Then pretend to realize it’s her day off and feign surprise that the two of you are alone. After all, you’re not that easy.

3. When you drop hints that you would like to knock off your rich husband and the strange man calls you out on it, insult him. Later, show up at his house with a flimsy excuse like he forgot his hat, his cigarette case, or his socks. After all, these things happen.

4. As you hatch your scheme, make sure to use a seductive voice that sounds half needy and half sultry. Call the strange man “Walt-uh,” not “Walter.” Stumble into some good film noir lighting, and choose clothes that hug your curves. And don’t smile. No smiles!

5. After your husband has an unfortunate accident on the late train leaving Glendale, the insurance policy company will bring you in for questioning. Be sure to wear a veil. Nothing is as dramatic and screams “widow in mourning” like a black veil. You'll gain oodles of sympathy, and it looks good with your blonde hair.

6. When you meet your lover /accomplice in the grocery store and want to make it look like you are not meeting your lover/accomplice, wear dark shades indoors. Nothing says incognito like dark glasses inside a grocery store while shopping for tomatoes.

7. When the plan falls apart because of a suspicious insurance claims investigator, know when to cut your losses. Invite your lover/accomplice over in the evening, and be sure to turn off almost all the lights and close the venetian blinds to make some scary shadows. Keep a weapon handy; maybe  tuck it under a cushion. And if all else fails, reveal to your lover/accomplice that you were only using them, but just now started loving them 30 seconds ago.

After all, you really do love the guy. Really. You do. Maybe. We think. Or not.

 By: Lara Scott and Tracey LaMonica

Hear Lara's Classic Movie Recall review of DOUBLE INDEMNITY here.

THE STELLA DALLAS GUIDE TO BREAKING HEARTS

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THE STELLA DALLAS GUIDE TO BREAKING HEARTS

Buckets. Rivers. Oceans of tears. King Vidor's STELLA DALLAS (1937) is a twelve hanky weeper that stars one of the greatest of the great actresses of all time, Barbara Stanwyck, in the title role. I think Stanny might be my all-time favorite, and Stella is a fantastic, fascinating character because she is over-the-top and garish, but also incredibly generous and loving; there is something completely lovable about her and she is someone that you want to root for. However, she doesn’t realize that she is too much (too loud, too unsophisticated, too ambitious) for the refined, upper-class peeps that she wants to associate with, and they are certainly not rooting for her. One of the many things that makes this film so devastating is that from the beginning, we (or at lease I) see where things will most likely end up, yet we are powerless to stop it, even by shouting at our tv, computer screen, or iPhone as we slowly cry our eyelashes off. No one does heartbreak like Old Hollywood, so I give you:

Five Ways To Channel Your Inner Stella Dallas

5. Aspire to a higher station in life, when we all know it's going to be a train wreck when you get there. Young Stella has her eye on the finer things in life; as we might say today, she has champagne tastes on a beer budget. Her ticket to the good life comes in the delicious package of Stephen Dallas (John Boles), a rich, eligible bachelor who is smitten by Stella and marries her after a whirlwind courtship. He whisks her away to an elegant home, dresses her in fine apparel, takes her to high-society events, and dotes on her after their baby girl is born.

4. While your husband is in New York working most of the time, have the inappropriate guy (Ed, played by Alan Hale) you recently danced with in front of your hubby over to the house, serve him a drink and then make sure he is holding your precious baby girl as your husband WALKS IN THE DOOR from NYC. Surprise!

3. Get dressed up in your “fancy” clothes, the ones you have made yourself because you are no longer Mrs. Stephen Dallas and money is tight, put on lots of makeup, wear high heels and a ginormous hat and stroll through the high-society crowd at the ritzy vacation spot looking for your daughter (Laurel, played by Anne Shirley) and the mother of the boy she likes. Look around as the crowd makes fun of what they consider your vulgar appearance.

2. After your daughter hustles the two of you away from the ritzy resort without telling you why (Laurel has a heart of gold and doesn’t want you to be hurt by the nasty comments), settle into your berth on the train for some much-needed rest. Be wide awake as you hear some young girls that know Laurel ripping you to shreds, and let the realization that this crowd will never accept you play out on your face in a subtle way. When your sweet daughter looks into your berth so see if you have overheard, pretend to be asleep.

(In order to NOT give away the ending, I am going to omit a scene that should be here. If you have seen the film, it is where Stella meets with Helen to pitch her an idea, followed by what Stella does when Laurel comes home.)

1. Stand in the dark with the other peasants outside the big, beautiful house in your sad coat and hat, tears streaming down your face, as you look through a window at your only child with the man she loves. Make sure your face is perfectly framed between the pointy iron bars of the fence that are a physical reminder of a class line you can never cross, and as you walk away, change your face subtly from longing and sadness to relief that your sacrifices were worth it, as your daughter will have the life you always wanted.

Love classic film? Check out my new Classic Movie Recall podcast on Itunes or at www.ClassicMovieRecall.com. 

5 Lessons Learned From 1950's SUNSET BOULEVARD

Billy Wilder’s 1950 film noir classic, SUNSET BOULEVARD, won three Academy Awards and has inspired countless viewers to wrap their heads in leopard-print turbans while perfecting lines like, “We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces!”

Why do people still freak out over this film? Perhaps it’s William Holden’s cleft chin, or nostalgia for the Golden Age of cinema. Could be that people enjoy experiencing the worst of Hollywood made by the best of Hollywood. Or, maybe we all just like seeing Gloria Swanson, a true silent screen goddess making the mother of all comebacks in this film, do her Charlie Chaplin routine.

Here are a few things we learned while watching the film for the umpteenth time and deciding that we are firmly #TeamNorma:

1. When a delusional former silent film star (Norma Desmond) falls for you (Joe Gillis) – try not to end up floating in her pool, even if you do make the most handsome corpse ever.  Next time you want to leave, try sneaking out the back door while she is playing bridge with Waxworks buddies like Buster Keaton.

2. If you happen to be a former silent film star that has not had a hit in, oh….decades, it is important to pay attention to your budget. When hiring staff, save some coin by hiring someone like Max, who can chauffeur, be a butler and play the organ. Yes, he may have once directed you and been your husband, but—bygones!

3. Don't mix work and, um, pleasure. If you accept the role of Norma Desmond’s male “companion”– be that and only that. If she wants you to work on her comeback screenplay where she will play a teenager, tell her to to hire a ghostwriter. And if you want to hone your writing skills, start a blog.

4. While living with a former silent film star, don’t fall in love with any sweet ingénues like Betty Schaefer. True love does not exist in film noir, and you don’t have time for it anyway because you are busy attending funerals for monkeys and driving through the hills with Norma and Max.

 

5. If YOU are the former silent film star and are losing your grip on reality, one must always remember their adoring public and make an entrance like the queen of the screen you once were. Assemble the police and the press, and descend the stairs of your mansion to deliver one of the most famous lines in film history: “All right, Mr. DeMille. I’m ready for my close-up.”

 

 

 

And by the way...don't bother looking for Norma's house on Sunset Boulevard; it was actually on WILSHIRE Boulevard, and has since been torn down. 

 

Hear my Classic Movie Recall review of SUNSET BOULEVARD here. 

 

This blog was co-written with Tracey LaMonica.