Tag: uptown theatre

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Classics From the Vault presents King Kong!

Eric Veillette

The Eighth Wonder of the World returns to Toronto screens for One Nite Only! Plus shorts, cartoons and prizes from Rue Morgue Magazine! Thursday, February 24! 7PM The Fox Theatre (2236 Queen St. E at Beach Ave.) KING KONG (1933) Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack Starring Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot and KONG Written by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace 100 mins | 16mm Call it a love story, a horror film, a jungle adventure — KING KONG remains one of the greatest films from Hollywood’s Golden Age, still drawing awe nearly 80 years … Continue reading Classics From the Vault presents King Kong!

Toronto Cinemas1 Comment

Ladies line up near the Uptown Theatre

Eric Veillette

Here’s a shot from April, 1946, showing a long lineup of ladies as the Uptown Theatre‘s marquee advertises Turhan Bey and Merle Oberon in Universal’s Technicolor spectacle Night in Paradise. The Star‘s Jack Karr called Arthur Lubin’s film “a big, wondrous joke.” The film opened on Wednesday, April 17, 1946. Check out the opening night ad! But what are the ladies lining up for? [1] Christina Stewart, media archivist at the CNE Archives, supposes they are waiting for a new shipment of nylons at the hosiery shop next to the Uptown — a likely occurrence in the post-ration days after the end … Continue reading Ladies line up near the Uptown Theatre

Toronto Cinemas2 Comments

The Uptown Theatre

Eric Veillette

To cinephiles, the theatres we patronize are often just as important as the films they show. It might only be a building, but once an audience is at attention and the image is flickering, the place takes on an organic quality. Whether it’s a run-down rep house, a bicycle repair shop moonlighting as a cinema or the second floor of a restored hotel, these darkened spaces allow us to forget the outside world, and as Neil Gaiman once put it, let “others think of things of import and consequence.” A few days ago, I asked  our Twitter followers to share … Continue reading The Uptown Theatre

Toronto Cinemas3 Comments

Talkies the Talk of Toronto!

Eric Veillette

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!

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Clara Bow at the Uptown Cinema

Eric Veillette

Get Your Man, a Paramount Picture starring Clara Bow and Charles “Buddy” Rogers, premiered at Toronto’s Uptown Theatre on December 24, 1927. The duo had already appeared together in Wings earlier that same year. The film was your typical mixed-up 20s farce, with Bow trying to win Rogers’ heart. The only problem is that Rogers has been bethrothed to a family friend since childhood, and they’re now set to be married. The film originally ran for 60 minutes; Unfortunately, the print held by the Library of Congress is missing the second and third of six reels, so until the remnants … Continue reading Clara Bow at the Uptown Cinema