"Pop Goes the Easel"

The Larchmont Theatre, 149 N. Larchmont Blvd., is on the far left in this shot from the two reel Three Stooges short "Pop Goes the Easel" (Columbia, 1935). Thanks to Chris Bungo for spotting the theatre in the film. He's got the various Larchmont district locations explained in his eleven minute Filming Locations video on YouTube. 

 

A close up of the sidewalk action with the theatre still on the left. 

 

 

A later shot with the theatre's marquee on the far right. One of the titles may be "The Painted Veil," a 1934 release. 

See the page about the Larchmont Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for a history of the now-vanished building as well as screenshots from other films where it appears. 

On IMDb: "Pop Goes the Easel"

"The House of Flickers"

At the boxoffice of an unidentified theatre in "The House of Flickers," a rare 18 minute Fox "Sunshine Comedy" released March 15, 1925. The screenshots are from a print in the Danish Film Institute collection. It was directed by Ben Stoloff and features a cast including James Parrott, William Courtright, Bob McKenzie, Kalla Pasha, Bobby Dunn, Pete the Pup, Louise Carver, Eddie Boland, and Bynunsky Hyman. 

 

Thanks to John Bengtson for spotting the film online and sharing the data about it. Keep up with his latest investigations on the site Silent Locations. Some exteriors were filmed on Larchmont Blvd. but it's unknown if the Larchmont Theatre was used. It opened in 1922. See the page on the Los Angeles Theatres site for shots from several movies in which it appears.  

 

The booth, with access via ladder and trap door. 

 

 

Threading up a reel on one of the Powers projectors.

 

 

The rear of the auditorium.  As John Bengtson notes: it's a bit too elaborate to just be a set. 

 

 

 

The crowd pouring in for the first show. 

 

 

A shot at the back of the house. The manager is on the right. 

 

Striking the arc -- with the door open. Later he'll lose a hot carbon out one of the ports. 

 

A view to the screen as the show starts. 

 

 

A closer look at the proscenium decoration. 

 

Another proscenium view. At times the actors in the film interact with the audience. 

 

 

A Larchmont Blvd. shot. That's a reel of film rolling across the street toward the drug store. 

 

A ticket lobby view. There's an organ grinder in the audience. His monkey threw the film out a window.

 

Another ticket lobby view. Trying to deal with runaway film. 

 

A nice shot of one of the projectors. But with the film running onto the floor. 

 

 The resultant mess. It's all the monkey's fault. 

 

 

There's still a picture on the screen but it's now upside down and backward. 

 

 

Here's a flipped version. At the theatre at least three kids and a dog do headstands to look at it the way it was being projected. We're on Broadway looking north from 7th St. Down the block on the right is the Orpheum, a house that opened in 1911. It's been renamed. See the pages about the Palace Theatre on the Los Angeles Theatres site for lots of information and many photos.

The film can be seen on Vimeo from the Danish Film Institute. It's under the Danish title "En biograftur med forhindringer." That translates as "A Cinema Trip With Obstacles."

 On IMDb: "The House of Flickers"

"Pedestrian Safety"

Pete Smith gives us a peek at the Larchmont Theatre, 149 N. Larchmont Blvd., in the background of this shot from his short "Pedestrian Safety" (MGM, 1952).

The photo appears on page 44 in the terrific Arcadia Publishing book "Location Filming in Los Angeles" by Karie Bible, Marc Wanamaker and Harry Medved.  You can view the page on Google Books.

Visit the Los Angeles Theatres page about the Larchmont Theatre for more about the building. It closed in the early 50s and has been demolished.

On IMDb: "Pedestrian Safety"

"Hoi Polloi"

The Larchmont Theatre, 149 N. Larchmont Blvd., makes an appearance in the background of this shot in the Three Stooges short "Hoi Polloi" (Columbia, 1935). Thanks to Peter Chacona Chaconas for the great screenshot, a post of his on Vintage Los Angeles.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the Larchmont Theatre for more information about this now-vanished building.

On IMDb: "Hoi Polloi"

"Better Behave"

We get a look at the Larchmont Theatre, 149 N. Larchmont Blvd., in Poodles Hanneford's "Better Behave" (Weiss Brothers Artclass Pictures, 1928). It's part of the Weiss-O-Rama set of late silent era comedy shorts, available in a collection on Amazon).

Thanks to the famed silent film detective John Bengtson for the photo and data. Visit John's blog "Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations (and more)" for accounts of his latest investigations.

See the Los Angeles Theatres page on the Larchmont Theatre for more photos of the building.

On IMDb: "Better Behave"