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At the Movies on February 7, 1959

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  • At the Movies on February 7, 1959

    Scrivener's Sudoku, appearing every Sunday in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, features local trivia as part of the puzzle. I spent some time doing some research for some upcoming trivia questions and came upon the movie listings for February 7, 1959. I thought some of us might get a kick out of the theaters AND the films that were showing.


    The rest are all Consolidated theaters.
    • At the Waikiki Theater, The Tunnel of Love.
    • At the Kuhio Theater, Auntie Mame.
    • At the Liberty Theater, The Living Idol.
    • At the Kapahulu Theater (611 Kapahulu Ave.; apparently a different theater from the OTHER Kapahulu listed above), The Man with Three Jobs. This is a Japanese film I can't find a listing for anywhere.
    • At the Toyo Theater, Avenging Swordsman. Another Japanese film I couldn't find. Something must be wrong with the translation.
    • At the Kaimuki Theater, Mardi Gras.
    • At the Pawaa Theater, Imitation General.
    • At the Varsity Theater, High School Confidential!
    • At the Palama Theater, Battle Cry.
    • At the Liliha Theater, The Key.
    • At the Wahiawa Theater, Party Girl. I don't know this one, but based on the IMDB entry, I may have to check it out.
    • At the Waipahu Theater, which was an adult theater by the time I was aware of it in the late seventies, Home Before Dark.
    • At the Drive-In (that's the only name given! 1620 Kapiolani Blvd), The Law and Jake Wade and The Deerslayer.
    • At the Princess Theater, Search for Paradise.


    I know we've discussed theaters long-gone in other threads, but I think there are some names here we haven't brought up. Pawaa? Victory? Roosevelt? Also, I'm quite sure we have more screens on Oahu now, but I don't think we ever have this many different titles showing at once, do we? Very few titles listed here are playing on more than one screen. And since the titles probably changed weekly or with more frequency than that, you probably couldn't see everything you wanted.

    I don't think I've seen a single one of the films showing on this date, all those years ago.
    But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
    GrouchyTeacher.com

  • #2
    Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

    Not one of those theaters still in business.
    Burl Burlingame
    "Art is never finished, only abandoned." -- Leonardo Da Vinci
    honoluluagonizer.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

      Originally posted by scrivener View Post
      • At the Pawaa Theater,
      • At the Drive-In (that's the only name given! 1620 Kapiolani Blvd),


      I know we've discussed theaters long-gone in other threads, but I think there are some names here we haven't brought up. Pawaa?
      From what I remembered the Pawaa became the Cinerama Theater. As far as the Drive-In, the address given seems to be the Kapiolani Theater.

      Also, I'm quite sure we have more screens on Oahu now, but I don't think we ever have this many different titles showing at once, do we?
      It might vary from week to week. For places like Ward with it's 16 screens doesn't mean they are limited to showing 16 different films a week, they could use one theater to show a G rated movie for a couple of showings during the day and then later on in the day show another movie in the afternoon and evenings.

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      • #4
        Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

        Originally posted by buzz1941 View Post
        Not one of those theaters still in business.
        Which raise the question, what is the oldest operating theater? Probably the Hawaii. What's the next oldest?


        Originally posted by helen View Post
        As far as the Drive-In, the address given seems to be the Kapiolani Theater.
        Somewhere I think I saw a photo that indicated that Don Quijote was built on that site.

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        • #5
          Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

          I've mentioned some of these theaters before, what corner of the street was the Palace Theater on, i.e. what is there today?

          Buzz did a story about movie theaters on military bases awhile back, gather those would be amongst the oldest still around.

          Anyone know when was the last oldtime theater demolished, other than the Varsity.

          How many of these theaters structures still are intact as other businesses now:

          Cinerama (Auto Parts store)
          Kapiolani (Papa Johns?)

          Aj

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          • #6
            Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

            Wasn't the Queen Theater in Kaimuki, like a block or two ewa of the Kaimuki Theater?

            There is a building on Queen Street just Diamond Head of Lex Brodie and that building looks like a movie theater (dive shop was the last thing I saw about a couple of years ago). This wasn't the Queen Theater?

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            • #7
              Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

              Originally posted by scrivener View Post
              I know we've discussed theaters long-gone in other threads, but I think there are some names here we haven't brought up. Pawaa? Victory? Roosevelt? Also, I'm quite sure we have more screens on Oahu now, but I don't think we ever have this many different titles showing at once, do we? Very few titles listed here are playing on more than one screen. And since the titles probably changed weekly or with more frequency than that, you probably couldn't see everything you wanted.

              The Palace was on the makai side of Beretania just off Keeaumoku.

              I lived on the Ewa side of the 1600 block of Kalakaua Avenue in the '50s (before we moved to Mayor Wright Homes). We used to peek thru the fence to see the movies showing at the Drive Inn where Don Quijote is now. The Drive Inn entrance was on Kapiolani; its secondary exit driveway was right next to our building / apartment.

              Pawaa was across King Street from Washington Intermediate School. Yup, became the Cinerama.

              Ah, memories. The Roosevelt was on the Ewa side of Maunakea, between Beretania and Pauahi - half a block away from the Beretania Follies Burlesque, which was on the makai side of Beretania / Maunakea. As I recall, Maunakea did not extend beyond Beretania - there was a steep narrow lane down to the Follies. Both were, of course, adult entertainment venues. Roosevelt initially showed "regular" movies before changing.

              Off topic: I fell in love with Tempest Storm after seeing her billboards when she appeared at the Beretania Follies. Several times, I was tempted to walk down that steep street (hey, maybe that was Beretania) to see what was there. Nope, never did.

              No memory of the Victory.
              Born in Hawaii, too - Truss me

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              • #8
                Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

                The Schofield Barracks Theater seem to be the oldest continually operating movie theater in the islands, and it's quite a nice one.
                Burl Burlingame
                "Art is never finished, only abandoned." -- Leonardo Da Vinci
                honoluluagonizer.com

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

                  Originally posted by Palama Kid View Post
                  The Palace was on the makai side of Beretania just off Keeaumoku.
                  Nope, it was on the MAUKA side of Beretania. I guess no one caught my error.
                  Born in Hawaii, too - Truss me

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                  • #10
                    Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

                    Originally posted by Palama Kid View Post
                    Nope, it was on the MAUKA side of Beretania. I guess no one caught my error.
                    Was it located right across the street from the Old Meadow Gold Building?

                    Aj

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                    • #11
                      Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

                      Originally posted by Kalihiboy View Post
                      Was it located right across the street from the Old Meadow Gold Building?

                      Aj

                      It was on the Ewa- mauka corner of that intersection. That makes it kitty-corner from the Meadow Gold Bldg, right?
                      Born in Hawaii, too - Truss me

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                      • #12
                        Re: At the Movies on February 7, 1959

                        The Drive-In opened in 1948, and was called that because it was Hawaii's first drive-in theatre. (I believe the first in the U.S. was in 1933.)

                        Its entrance was about where Kaheka street is today, and the exit was onto Kalakaua from Makaloa.

                        Don Quijote is there today, but the Drive-In took up much more space than that. Aerial pictures I have show very little on the property bordered by Keeaumoku, King, Kapiolani and Kalakaua.

                        The Drive-In was renamed Kapiolani Drive-in in 1962 when the Kam Drive-In opened in Pearl Ridge. This was a problem for Kapiolani Drive Inn, a restaurant that later became Wailana Coffee House.

                        Pacific Theatres bought Consolidated and sold the Kapiolani Drive-In property in 1962.

                        The Kapiolani Theatre, was on the same piece of land, but 100 feet makai of the Drive-In's screen. It opened in 1964 as the Toho. It closed in 1996.

                        The Pawaa opened in 1929 and became the Cinerama in 1962. It closed in 1999.

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