Ticket to Paradise: American Movie Theaters and How We Had Fun

This is one of two books written by Margolies which I have just re-read. Emily Gwathmey co-authored this one. (The other is Pump and Circumstance.) Regrettably, copies of both are now difficult to obtain but well-worth the effort. Each focuses on what may seem to be a highly specialized subject. In fact, both offer a wealth of information and commentary concerning a basic component within the development of U.S. culture during the 20th century. This volume focuses on the "American movie theaters and how we had fun." Obviously, I have no idea how many readers of this review settled into a seat in one or more of the theaters which are featured in this volume. Many of them are no longer exist or have been converted to serve other purposes.The excellent material is carefully organized within an especially appropriate format: a Prologue (written by Harold Ramis), followed by "Now Playing" (a brief history of film theaters) and then eight "Scenes" which focus on specific developments such as Saturday matinees and drive-ins. The illustrations (especially archival photographs, most in full-color) are superb. I was surprised to learn that several of the most ornate theaters were located in small towns throughout the United States. Margolies and Gwathmey provide a wealth of historical information about the theaters themselves, of course, but also about the entertainment entrepreneurs (many of whom combined films with arcades and even vaudeville programs), and the architects they retained to design theaters for them. In most small towns, the film theater was the major (if not only) cultural center. More often than not, an usher in uniform (perhaps wearing white gloves) guided people to their seats. Once the film began, the same usher used a flashlight to assist late-arrivals. In the final chapter (Scene Eight: Elegy), observe: "the beautiful and ornate movie theaters we went to when we were growing up live on in our minds. Many of them survive as treasured landmarks, painstakingly restored to their former opulent splendor. Nearly all have suffered sadder fates. An unfortunate few cling to life as porno houses. Others live hermit-crab existences as nightclubs, churches, and bowling alleys. The saddest of all stand as dying dreams, withering away on the Main Streets of America. The vast majority, however, were violently and irrevocably demolished, replaced by faceless cinder-block cinemas I, II, III, and IV on the edge of town. Drive-in theaters have had an even harder time. Decaying slabs and overgrown parking lots litter the borders of civilization. Others have disappeared completely, leaving no traces at all."Now that I am in my anecdotage, I frequently reminisce about my childhood in Chicago, recalling so fondly what "going to the movies" was like at the Avalon, Chicago, Granada, Oriental, and Paradise theaters. Until recently, my three sons and daughter, and especially my older grandchildren, simply could not identify with the experiences I described.

My first job was at a multi-screen movie theater in a mall only 13 years ago, and that theater is gone too. "Ticket to Paradise" by John Margolies is a wonderful, captivating look at the bygone era of grand movie theaters. Full of intriguing photos, most in color, this book leads you by the hand through the days when going to the movies was fun. I was astonished at how extravagant even the small town theaters were, and the thought and ingenuity that was put into the design of the signs and marquees.It's heartbreaking to me that most of these georgeous old theaters were shut down, to be replaces by sanatized 20 screen theaters that had nothing memorable about them, most even built without marquees, these days. This book will take you back before the term "multi-screen" was ever used, when they're were ushers to guide you down the dark aisles when you came in late, and those wonderfule snack bar trailers... "Let's go out to the lobby..." etc...If you have a passion for movies, and the bygone age of Hollywood, you will love this book.