‘X’ Draws Large Crowds in Southland : Entertainment: Movie of the black leader attracts big audiences, regardless of the ethnic makeups in some neighborhoods. Many applaud movie’s message, effort to put Malcolm X’s message into proper perspective.

Spike Lee’s long-awaited epic about the life of black nationalist Malcolm X opened across the nation in 1,124 theaters Wednesday, attracting a solid turnout in most of the Los Angeles area.

A spokesman for Warner Bros. said the film attracted strong audiences throughout the area, regardless of the ethnic makeup of the neighborhoods where it is playing. He said no attendance figures will be available until today.

At the Baldwin Entertainment Complex on South La Brea Avenue, for example, all five shows of “Malcolm X” were sold out. All but a handful of ticket buyers were black.

The $34-million, three-hour, 21-minute film biography, one of the most heavily publicized films of the year, drew an enthusiastic response from many who wanted to be among the first to see it.

Francine Roberts, 40, a telephone sales representative, heeded film director Lee’s call to blacks to take off time from work to see his movie at the Baldwin Hills complex. Pronouncing the film “just great,” Roberts, a Windsor Hills resident, said she might have liked it even better as a television miniseries. “They tried to jam a lot into three hours,” she said.

A.D. Slice, 29, a self-employed salesman from Windsor Hills, said he knew nothing about Malcolm before he entered the theater. “Once you learn about your history you feel better about yourself,” Slice said.

Outside an Edwards Cinema theater near South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, several people had good things to say about the film.

“I thought it was wonderful,” said Jan Arnold, a 30-year-old aspiring writer from Laguna Hills. “I think everyone should see it, children included, because it’s very important that people understand what Malcolm X stood for, how his visit to Mecca changed his life and how he didn’t let other people’s perceptions of him get in the way of bettering himself and his people.”

Arnold’s sister, Kim, 25, of Laguna Hills, said the film should be “a requirement for history classes.”

“It’s about time that we get the autobiography of our black leaders out on the screen and a chance for everyone to experience some of our own history,” she said. “It’s a great movie. Everybody should see it, students especially.”

Cal and Tammy Dupree of Santa Ana said they thought the film set straight some of the misconceptions about Malcolm X.

“A lot of people think they know about (Malcolm X), but they take things out of context, like the violence,” said Tammy Dupree, 25, an office manager. She cited Malcolm X’s famous quote “ . . . by any means necessary,” which has been reproduced on T-shirts with a picture of Malcolm X holding an assault rifle.

Her husband, Cal Dupree, 35, said: “The movie put that into context. It helped bridge the gaps; it was informative and educational.”

Ed Warren, 53, of Moorpark, who took time off from his aircraft repair business to see the film, said, “I think he was probably the most misunderstood black man who was trying to do something for his people.”

Warren, who is white, said the massive publicity blitz encouraged him to see the film early. “It’s a part of history that we should all know about,” he said.

Dean Jones, a 56-year-old minister from Simi Valley, attended the first show. “I think it’s important that I expose myself to things I’m not really familiar with,” he said.

In Westwood, where merchants had feared the possibility of violence, additional police officers were put on patrol and private security guards were hired, but the film didn’t draw the large crowds that were seen in other parts of the city.

“It should have sold out,” said Peggy Kidwell, a member of the Westwood Village Assn.’s executive board, a merchant group. “We have to get more people out to Westwood. We should have had a lot more people in the village tonight.”

Some merchants were concerned that negative publicity about the possibility of violence may have driven patrons away from Westwood on opening night.

Merchants requested the additional security because many feared the possibility that violence might erupt as it did when “New Jack City,” a film about urban violence, opened in 1991.

Hundreds of youths broke windows, looted stores and vandalized cars in Westwood after the premiere of that film, which opened several days after the beating of motorist Rodney G. King.

Los Angeles Police Officer Francine Spada said, “Everything has been going smoothly. There have been no difficulties, no arrests.”

She said that 30 additional officers have been assigned to foot and bike patrols, and to a horseback detail until Saturday.

“We want to make sure everyone who comes out to visit Westwood does it in a safe manner,” she said.

Meanwhile, prominent African-Americans who saw the film at special screenings this week praised it effusively as a compelling and moving portrait of a major figure in U.S. history.

“I was inspired. It was a walk-back through a period of history in which I lived and worked,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson. A civil rights worker under Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1950s and 1960s, Jackson saw the film Tuesday at a private screening in Birmingham, Ala., and called it “a must movie for blacks and whites.”

“The part that made me weep was watching the conspiracy unfolding, watching (Malcolm) being killed so young, so needlessly, a victim of black-on-black crime,” Jackson said.

“It’s an extremely powerful movie,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who attended the movie’s premiere Monday night in New York. “Malcolm’s life has meaning for all of us today, particularly young African-Americans. I’m hopeful that the debate and discussion will empower young people to take control of their lives.”

Times reporter Catherine Gewertz and correspondents Willson Cummer, David J. Fox, Kathleen Kelleher, Mimi Ko and James Maiella contributed to this report.