Many people in Gastonia remember the old Webb Theatre which
was in recent years converted into a restaurant. But few know about the early
motion picture theatres in downtown Gastonia that were showing silent, black
& white films. Some sources differ over which theatre was the first, but the
earliest appear to be the Odeon and AmusU. Other theatres were added, moved, bought,
sold, or changed names through the years. Additional names of early motion
picture theatres in Gastonia include the Theato, Cozy, Ideal, Gastonian, Lyric,
Temple, Center, State, Star, Canvas, and the Carolinian.
One interesting theatre, the Gastonian, opened in 1918 and
was managed by J. A. Estridge, who personally selected the movies. The theatre could
seat eight hundred people and had a $10,000.00 pipe organ played by an expert musician to accompany the films. Estridge found creative ways to market the films. For one
film, a bed and mannequin (dressed as a nurse) were placed in front of the
theatre to market the film, “Sick Abed.”
(See http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/43889/photos/170542
). In another marketing stunt, the theatre hired Bill Strother, the “Human
Spider,” to appear in person when the Gastonian theatre showed
films of him climbing skyscrapers in New York and performing other daredevil stunts (Gastonia Gazette 1/15/1919). According to
IMBD trivia, Strother was born in North Carolina and Harold Lloyd discovered
Strother after he did a climbing stunt in Los Angeles. Strother was the inspiration
for Lloyd’s film, “Safety Last.”
The Gaston County Public Library’s Digital History
Collection contains a scan of a small handout advertisement from the Gastonian
Theatre for the film “To the Last Man,” a film adaptation of Zane Grey’s novel,
To the Last Man. To see the complete handout, go to https://library.biblioboard.com/content/fbdf70a4-eda1-42b6-8313-2a16f085498f
The Gastonian was the first theatre in Gastonia to feature a movie with
sound effects although this film was not an official “talkie.” The film, “Wings,”
starred Charles Rogers, and according to the Gastonia Gazette on
February 21, 1955, one sound effect was “wailing sirens.”
On Saturday, September 10th in the Main Library Auditorium at 2 pm, the library is recreating the silent film experience by showing the silent film “The Kid,” starring Charlie Chaplin. The program features ragtime piano wizard Ethan Uslan, who will play the piano during the entire film. Xina Lowe, Librarian in Adult Services, is introducing the program. (Oh, and by the way, Chaplin’s “The Kid” was shown 101 years ago at the Gastonian Theatre in May 1921.) Mark your calendars for this unique event!
Jane Kaylor, Local History and Genealogy
No comments:
Post a Comment