In the North Country, spring means the mountains turn green, the rivers flow wildly and on Friday (today)- against all odds - one of the nation's oldest movie theaters opens for the summer.
NHPR correspondent Chris Jensen has this story about the Colonial Theatre in Bethlehem.
CUT FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ:
“I’ll get you my pretty and your little dog, too! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha.”
CUT FROM THE LONG, HOT SUMMER:
“I spent my whole life around men who push and shove and shout and think they can make anything happen just by being aggressive and I am not anxious to have another one around the place.”
For 93 years the Colonial Theatre in Bethlehem has entertained the people of the north country.
It was built when Bethlehem was a town of upscale hotels.
Its first movie in July 1915 starred Mabel Van Buren in “The Girl of the Golden West.”
Some guy named Cecil B. DeMille directed it.
That was several months before the Ioka theater in Exeter opened.
In fact, the Colonial’s fans argue it is the oldest movie theater in the country to have shown films every year.
But when it comes right down to it nobody can be dead sure.
Andreas Fuchs is one of the creators of the Cinema Treasures web site.
“There is really no central repository where you can confirm that this is the oldest or the longest.”
Whatever.
The Colonial is really a love story.
Cut Lauren Bacall in To Have or Have Not
It is a tale that will be familiar to anyone who has been bewitched by an inanimate object, an idea or the past.
Or, all three.
That bewitched group includes Stephen Dignazio, the Colonial’s executive director.
He picks the movies, works with the volunteers and is the chief hunter-gatherer when it comes to getting funds from individuals and foundations.
Standing on Main Street on a recent morning he had just raised the flag over theater.
“It has been a challenge. There is no question about that. But I mean without getting too sappy to see a smile on people’s faces, people coming up and congratulating you on the street, people who tell you stories about how their parents used to work in this theater in the 20’s and 30’s and how great it is to see it coming back because it was on the verge of falling down. All that is
very, very satisfying.”
The Bethlehem Redevelopment Association owns The Colonial.
But it has plenty of friends. They sell popcorn. Clean up. Help with repairs.
One of those friends is Jim Severyn, who is usually called “Sep.”
SOUND OF CLIMBING STAIRS.
He’s heading up to the projection booth.
Operating the 1940s era projector is Sep’s specialty and passion.
The booth is a steel compartment because back in the early days the films was made with nitrate which is super flammable.
“As you can see, all the openings had flaps on them. They were hooked to cables that had heat sensors like oil tanks had years ago, little melt-down units. If a fire occurred they would melt down and drop all the openings to confine the room so fire wouldn’t get out.”
In the theatre’s less glorious period some other hot stuff came out of this projection booth.
The town’s police chief once raided the theater when during its tawdry period it showed “Deep Throat.”
Now, the Colonial ignores the big
commercial flicks.
It’s become what’s called an “art house” showing films such as “The Band’s Visit,” “The Yes Men” and “Taxi to the Dark Side.”
Executive Director Dignazio sees the Colonial as a theater with a social conscience.
“We have some incredible challenges, social challenges, political challenges. The little bit I can do to bring some of the questions, not the answers, some of the questions to people’s dinner tables, people’s discussions, around coffee, I try to do that.”
It is clear that the theater is making a comeback.
Much of it has been refurnished. But there is also an olden-days, slightly tattered charm.
The theater is closed in the winter because there is no furnace.
But on chilly spring and fall evenings a stack of blankets is piled next to the door.
Cut from Marx Bros. A Day at the Races
Andrea Fuchs, of Cinema Treasures web site, says saving these old theaters like the Colonial is vital to local communities. .
“Think about how many generations of people have gone to that particular theater, seen movies, met their girlfriends, go out on their first date. It is very, very important to keep this kind of community space. It is almost like a town hall, almost like a church but for entertainment.”
And over the years there has been plenty of entertainment.
CUT FROM “DRACULA” WITH BELA LUGOSI”
“I am Dracula. I bid you welcome.”
For NHPR News this is Chris Jensen in Bethlehem.
