Tag: bloor street cinemas

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The Odeon Humber returns

Eric Veillette

After a delayed start or two, it appears the former Odeon Humber is finally set to re-open today, courtesy of the same folks who revived the Kingsway a few years ago. The Humber, located at 2442 Bloor St. West at Jane, was twinned in 1975 and closed in 2003 while under the control of Cineplex Odeon. But over sixty years ago,  on January 27, 1949, the 1200 seat theatre  opened with a flourish. In the spirit of showmanship and general bonhommie, the Rank Organization and theatre manager Chris Holmes held a gala premiere of the J. Arthur Rank production Blanche … Continue reading The Odeon Humber returns

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Allen’s Bloor Theatre

Eric Veillette

For over twenty-five years, Toronto concert-goers and Annex residents have known the building at 529 Bloor St. West as Lee’s Palace. But nearly a century ago, the Allen’s Bloor Theatre was one of the most luxurious suburban movie houses Toronto had to offer. The immaculately detailed 782 seat theatre held its premiere screening on March 10, 1919 with Cecil B. De Mille’s Don’t Change Your Wife, featuring Gloria Swanson. It was the first theatre to be built on that stretch of Bloor Street since the current-day Bloor Cinema, then known as the Madison, opened in December, 1913. Months later, the … Continue reading Allen’s Bloor Theatre

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The Metro Theatre’s red hot opening night

Eric Veillette

At Bloor and Manning, a giant poster advertising Emmanuelle adorns the facade of the Metro, Toronto’s only surviving legitimate adult movie theatre. But long before it began showing porn in the 1970s, it served as a neighbourhood theatre for over three decades. Despite the PG-rated nature of the cinema’s opening night (April 7, 1939) double-bill, Delinquent Parents and Looking for Trouble, things got a little heated during the second showing of the programme when a fire broke out in a storage room on the ground floor near the building’s entrance. Smoke billowed into the auditorium and a minor panic ensued … Continue reading The Metro Theatre’s red hot opening night

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Classics From The Vault presents Scarface (1932)

Eric Veillette

On Thursday, July 29, 7PM, my new screening series at the Fox Theatre continues with one of my favourite films from Hollywood’s Pre-Code era, Howard Hawks’ Scarface (1932). Considered one of the greatest early gangster films, Paul Muni’s performance in Scarface ranks alongside James Cagney in The Public Enemy and Edward G. Robinson in Little Caesar, and would influence the genre for generations to come, from The Godfather to The Sopranos. Scarface chronicles Tony Camonte’s rise through the grisly, realistic underworld of the ’30s sound film, when the riccochet of bullets, wiseguy banter and tough-talkin’ dames could finally be heard. … Continue reading Classics From The Vault presents Scarface (1932)

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Lee’s Palace Shows its True Colours

Eric Veillette

by Eric Veillette Yesterday, Torontoist reported that the colourful amoeba and monster-laden mural which has adorned the facade of Lee’s Palace for over twenty years was taken down, to be replaced with a new creation by original artist Runt. Annex residents may feel it looks temporarily naked without it, but it gives us a better view of the building, which once housed a movie theatre. Designed by architect C. Howard Crane in 1919, it opened as The Bloor Theatre, which was part of the Allen’s national chain of cinemas. This photo, taken in 1921, shows  the westward view of the … Continue reading Lee’s Palace Shows its True Colours