"The Caretakers"

We see lots of the Bruin Theatre in Westwood at the beginning of Hall Bartlett's "The Caretakers" (United Artists, 1963). Here an agitated Polly Bergen is walking by.

Bruce Kimmel comments: "We get great exterior shots of Polly Bergen walking up to the theater and buying a ticket, then great lobby shots as she enters the theater, and best of all, great auditorium shots when she goes beserk and runs up in front of the screen. Amusingly, I saw a sneak preview of 'The Caretakers' AT the Bruin – it was quite odd to be sitting in the auditorium watching Miss Bergen go berserk in the same auditorium!"

A wider view with another United Artists release on the marquee. 

Buying a ticket. She seems to be having trouble coping with loud noises on the street.

The snackbar in all its Skouras-style glory.

A look toward the screen. It's evidently a newsreel with lots of noise.

A chance to check out the carpet and back wall decor as Polly comes into the auditorium. 

She's picked the wrong show and can't deal with the loud sounds. That's her running down the left aisle and screaming. You'd think she would run away from the noise.

In front of the screen being restrained by two ushers. It looks like a rear screen shot done elsewhere. Note that earlier we don't see a platform in front of the screen.  The rest of the film is substantially less interesting. She goes to a psych hospital and the film stays there exploring how she deals with the other patients and staff. Robert Stack plays a doctor and Joan Crawford is the head nurse.

The theatre, at 948 Broxton Ave., is a 1937 S. Charles Lee design still going strong as a single screen first run house. See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the Bruin Theatre for many photos.

On IMDb: "The Caretakers"