Movie Magic and Melrose

... the good old days

Few
individuals--if any--would dispute the importance of entertainment as a
venue for determining the likes, values, interest and lifestyles of any
and all segments of a given society. This is certainly true as it
relates to the development of the motion picture and its effects on the
people who quickly adopted it as their favorite form of entertainment.

The Silver Screen arrived in Melrose on November 11, 1912, just 16
years after the first public picture was shown on April 23, 1896 at the
Koster and Beal's Music Hall in New York City. It was the same year that
the Motion Picture Copyright Laws were passed to allow films to be
deposited in the Library of Congress on film instead of unprojectable
paper rolls.

The
MELROSE MOTION PICTURE THEATER was located in the Lewis Building at
441-3 Main Street. Owned by Benjamin Harrison Green, the new showplace
became one of more than 13,000 movie houses to be found throughout the
United States. In response to the public demand and fascination with
screen "stars", these theaters featured the latest releases of such
luminaries as Florence Lawrence, Charlie Chaplin and "America's
Sweetheart", Mary Pickford.

This was an era long before the relatively common practice of mass
openings of films. Pictures at this time were purchased by zones. This
meant that Melrose audiences would have to wait until a film had been
shown--or refused--by Boston and Malden before it could be shown in this
city. If a major star was featured in a new motion picture, the leasing
theater was required to show the picture using synchronized musical
accompaniment provided by the distributors (for an additional fee. of
course). Motion pictures were shown everyday except Sunday and at
evening screening some seats were reserved, and ushers were hired to
maintain order and increase the feeling among the audience that a visit
to the "movies" was a special event, indeed.

In
the 1920's atmospheric houses became the rage among the public. These
new theaters boasted crystal chandeliers, oriental rugs, original
paintings, statuary and elegantly uniformed attendants--from doorman to
ticket-taker to auxiliary help throughout the building. This meant that
sound films were essential to a theater's success. The most common
method of adding sound to a motion picture was piano, organ or
orchestral accompaniment.

This
must not be confused with "talking pictures," such as those exhibited
by Leon Gaumont at the Paris Exposition of 1900. Those were achieved by
combining a film projector with a phonograph. "Sound Films," on the
other hand ranged from the use of pianos in the earliest store theaters
and nickelodeon, to elaborate organs with a variety of sound effect
equipment. The Melrose Theater belonged to this later classification.
(It is interesting to note that quality rather then economy was the
criteria for deciding on purchases for the showplace. In 1948 the
original organ of the Melrose Theater was sold to the Most Blessed
Sacrament Catholic Church of Wakefield.)

The magic of motion pictures showed a steady climb in popularity and
by January, 1939 even the sacrosanct Massachusetts Blue Laws were
forced to suffer defeat. In a city wide election, the voters of Melrose
showed approval of Sunday movie screening. A license was issued by Mayor
Perkins to Manager Harold F. Ward of the Melrose Theater to permit
continuous performances starting at 1:30 on Sunday afternoons and
continuing till closing. The impossible had finally occurred: Melrose
citizens could enjoy films seven days a week without leaving their
hometown.

Hollywood
and motion pictures were more firmly established and more deeply rooted
in the American consciousness, from early thirties to the end of World
War II, than any other era in history. In a time of economic depression
and international conflicts, motion pictures eased people's loneliness
and offered temporary relief from life's anxieties for a very small
price. When ticket sales fell off, theaters responded by offering
promotional giveaways in the hopes of attracting new patrons. It was not
unusual to see newspaper ads that shouted about "GIANT GIVEAWAYS"--free
dishes (women only), double features, 3 short subjects and a newsreel.
Such novelties, along with the adulation of film stars by the American
public, updated technology, and the variety and quality of films
available helped to establish the Golden Age of American film, lasting
from the early 1930's to 1946.

Why did the Melrose Theater close? There is no simple answer to this
question. From its inception the theater was exposed to a series of
costly fires, some of which may have been caused by the highly flammable
nature of the film used at that time. The first of these fires occurred
on November 2, 1917 and resulted in extensive damages which kept the
theater closed until August 12, 1918. A second minor fire took place on
March 12, 1931, and kept the theater inoperable for nearly three months,
not reopening until June of that year.

But these disasters were merely indicative of what was to follow.
Motion pictures were such an integral part of American life that
Hollywood could not fail to be affected by tremendous changes in society
following World War II. An unbroken annual decline in ticket sales
occurred from 1946-1962. Perhaps not by coincidence, 1962 was the year
that television reached 90% of American homes. Suddenly the film
industry found itself in competition with such corporate media giants as
NBC, CBS, and ABC.

No longer did the majority of Americans see any need, or desire, to
leave homes for their entertainment. Television was new and, best of
all, free. The only price the viewer was forced to pay was sitting
through endless commercials. Bear in mind however, that television did
not kill motion pictures any more than it did radio listening. What it
did do was to displace a key function of both media. Television replaced
several of motion pictures major forms: the "B" films, short subjects,
newsreels, and cartoons. The American public had gone from spending 23%
of its total recreational dollars on film to less than 2%. If not
completely gone, the magic of movies was in serious decline.

Change is the only constant in life and in the history of motion
pictures in Melrose. Beginning with "Tar Paper Village" production
company in the general area of where the City lines of Malden, Medford
and Melrose meet, this low budget operation produced one or two
independent films--not cheaply enough for a substantial profit, nor in
sufficient volume to meet the demand for films that existed. Instead
theaters everywhere--including the one in Melrose had to depend upon the
same major production companies of Hollywood. When these faltered so
did all theaters.

The magic of movies is still in existence as can be seen by today's
high profits in the film industry. However its "Magic" has taken new
forms in technological advances and spectacular special effects. As for
the City of Melrose itself, any resident will agree: Here is a Magical
Victorian City with roots in the past but with eyes firmly fixed on the
present and the future.

Previously published

February 4, 2005