Film Fan Welcomes Back Silent Theater
Silence is golden! . . . Having first attended John Hampton’s unique classic “Silent Movie Theatre” back in 1957, and being a regular patron until it closed in 1980, I was quite happy to read that he’s reopening in the fall (Times, May 22).
Like Canter’s and the Farmers Market, the Silent Movie Theatre is a regular fixture on Fairfax Avenue, and the first film I ever saw there was a Laurel and Hardy classic, “We Faw Down.” I still recall Dorothy Hampton selling tickets, the hard seats and the enthusiastic audience (with) people of all ages.
The background music was appropriate for each and every scene, and to me it was always fascinating to note the actors and actresses who successfully made the transition from silent to sound films, and those who did not.
Los Angeles is blessed with such fine revival theaters as the Vagabond, Nuart and Beverly Cinema, but nothing is quite like the Silent Movie Theatre, which proves that “Silents are golden!”
EDDIE CRESS
Los Angeles
Only good movies
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