Always Cool and Comfortable at the Pantages

“Always cool and comfortable,” claims this ad for the Pantages Theatre in July, 1928, and on this ridiculously hot night (it’s a staggering 86F in Toronto), sitting in a cool movie theatre sounds like a great idea. As we recently examined, air conditioning was an early attraction in both movie palaces and neighbourhood theatres, and both its advertising and marquees often capitalized on the public’s desire to chill out. Lady Be Good, based on the  musical by George and Ira Gershwin, was directed by Richard Wallace, who spent years directing comedy shorts under Mack Sennett and Hal Roach. Although the … Continue reading Always Cool and Comfortable at the Pantages

Talkies the Talk of Toronto!

by Eric Veillette Eighty years ago, on Dec. 28, 1928, the talkies came to Toronto. Despite the freezing weather that winter evening, over a thousand movie-goers ventured out to the Tivoli, located at the intersection of Richmond  and Victoria Sts. to see a midnight preview of The Terror, a haunted-house whodunit. This was more than a year after a New York City audience watched and listened as Al Jolson got down on one knee and sang “My Mammy” during The Jazz Singer premiere on Oct. 6, 1927 at the Warner Bros. Theatre.  Contrary to popular belief, that wildly successful “photo-dramatic … Continue reading Talkies the Talk of Toronto!