Although Kingstree no longer has a movie theater, at least four different theaters in three locations served the community from 1914 until 1968. In February 1914, A.J. Reese began promoting the Comet Theatre, located in the McCabe building next to the Courthouse on Main Street. The McCabe building is now the easternmost part of the Alex Chatman County Complex.
Three reels were shown nightly, with shows beginning at 7:30 and continuing until 10 o'clock. Admission was a dime for adults and a nickel for children. Most silent movie theaters used an organist to provide music for the movies. However, Mr. Reese engaged L.T. Thompson's Kingstree Cornet Band to play several selections during the course of the evening on opening night.
Bessie Britton adds color to the days of the silent movie in Kingstree with her description of Otis Arrowsmith's commentary on the the movies. "Otis's gift for storytelling came into its own when silent movies first hit Kingstree. While the rest of the bewildered audience sat in darkness watching the silent actors cavorting on the screen, Otis kept up a constant stream of explanation to any child near him. No doubt his version was better than the original script, and it at least had the merit of giving the audience some glimmer of what the show was trying to tell them. Once, when the screen suddenly went blank, a ghostly voice from the loft broke the silence, 'One moment please while the operator changes the fillum.' A little boy with Otis piped out uneasily, 'What's the matter?' Otis scoffed, 'Nothing, except the son-of-a-bee has broken the film again.' And without lowering his voice, Otis added, 'Boy, do you want to pee-pee?'"
The Comet did not survive long. By June 1914, the building's owner, Dr. Robert J. McCabe had joined forces with L.T. Thompson of Kingstree Cornet Band fame to take over the theatre, which they renamed the Uwana Theatre.
They remodeled the building to provide moviegoers with a "comfortable experience" by installing opera chairs, elevating the floors in the rear so that every seat had a good view of the screen, and bringing in a number of oscillating fans to cool the building on hot summer nights.
They also bought a new-model motion picture machine and affiliated with the Universal Film Company so that they would have access to first-run films. They made sure to provide six exits with all doors hung to swing outwards so that the theatre-going public would be able to escape quickly in case of fire. They opened at 8 p.m. every night except Sunday. The movies started at 8:30, with two showings each night. Shortly after their grand opening, they held a Saturday afternoon matinee and had plans to offer a matinee every afternoon.
In October, they ran a promotion in which everyone attending a showing would be given a coupon. At the end of the month, the person holding the largest number of coupons would win a set of dinnerware which was displayed throughout the month in the theatre's lobby.
On October 23, actress Mary Pickford debuted on the Uwana's screen in The Sultan's Garden. Music for this presentation was provided by Kingstree's own David Silverman's Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, the Silverman Orchestra began playing at the theatre every Thursday night.
In the Fall of 1914, a traveling photographer came through town and produced two short films, which were shown at least twice at the Uwana. The first showed photos of businesses, residences, and public buildings in Kingstree, while the second starred a number of local babies and young children.
In 1915, the local lyceum (a group which sponsored traveling performers) used the theatre to showcase a number of the performers with whom it had contracted. These performances became a part of the regular programming at the theatre. Regular serial dramas were also a part of the theatre's programming, including The Perils of Pauline and The Exploits of Elaine. In what was apparently a joint venture, The County Record ran a serial, The Diamond from the Sky, at the same time the film serial of the same name was showing at the Uwana.
H.C. Crawford bought the Uwana Theatre from McCabe and Thompson in February 1916. He came with experience in theatre management, having owned the Idle Hour Theatre in Marion. Billing himself as Crawford, The Moving Picture Man, he remodeled the front of the building to look like a "city movie-house." But, by September, he was running this ad in The County Record: FOR SALE: Having decided to enter other businesses, I offer for sale the Uwana Theatre. Business now well-established and making money; a good investment for anyone who wants a good, reliable business. Will sell at a bargain to quick purchaser. For particulars, see H.C. Crawford."
But apparently, there were no quick purchasers as Mr. Crawford was still running the theatre well into 1917. There is a gap in The County Record from March 1918 through February 1919, and at some point during that period, the Uwana Theatre seems to have faded away and The Academy Theatre, located approximately where Holt's China & Gifts is today, took its place as the local movie house. In 1920, C.J. Thompson, the proprietor of the Academy Theatre installed a new musical instrument "wherein is combined an orchestra of 17 pieces. Piano, violin, flute, drums, etc., all operated by electricity and music produced by rolls similar to a player piano."
In September 1922, C.W. Boswell, the same man who made Boswell Beach a local playground, took over the management of the Academy Theatre. He promised the public a "better class" of movies than had been offered in the past.
As early as 1920, there were rumors afloat that a new theatre would be built on the corner of Academy and Mill streets on property owned by W.B. Brockinton. C.J. Thompson, the rumors said, would lease the theatre. However, it appears that these rumors did not immediately produce results. My father and one of his cousins spent childhood summer afternoons during the 1930s at the Academy Theatre, and it seems that the new theatre on the other side of Academy Street, where the Paisley Pearl is located today, was not built until around 1938 or so. The Anderson Theater was advertising its locations in Kingstree and Mullins in 1939. That chain would eventually also own theaters in Hemingway, Myrtle Beach, Manning, and Pamplico.
Bessie Britton also provides another story, this time involving her son Jack and his African-American friend, Roy Purvis, who had never seen a "talking motion picture. "One Saturday afternoon, Jack took Roy to see a talking Western in Kingstree. The theater was jammed with children whistling and stomping as they waited for the show to begin. At a signal flicker of the lights, they became quiet. Suddenly two bands of horsemen thundered across the screen, the guns of the bad guys and the guns of the good guys blasting away at each other. Roy, who was sitting in the balcony, gave a yell of terror and bolted downstairs and out the door. Jack ran him down and said, 'Come on back. That was just a picture.' But Roy wasn't about to go back. 'I know a gun when I see one,' Roy said, 'and them guns ain't no pictures.' He went home."
1 comment:
Love this! So timely for me to come across, as it'll be useful in my forthcoming novel!
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