Victoria Theatre summer film series preserves downtown tradition

Generations of patrons have enjoyed movies on the giant screen


WANT TO GO?

What: 2016 Cool Films summer movie series

Where: Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., downtown Dayton

When: Films are shown at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets: Individual tickets are $6 each and include popcorn and soda. They are available on the day of the show at the Victoria box office beginning one hour before showtime. Family matinees are $3 each. A 10-ticket passbook is $35. Passes can be used in any combination across all films. Passbooks may be purchased at the Schuster Center Box Office in downtown Dayton, by phone at (937) 228-3630 or toll free (888) 228-3630, or online at www.ticketcenterstage.com (click on Victoria Theatre Association, then Cool Films Series.)

More info: Visit www.victoriatheatre.com or buy online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

Many of us who grew up in Dayton have fond memories of heading downtown for a first-run movie at the RKO Keith’s, the Colonial, the RKO State, Loew’s and the Victory.

They were exciting excursions — complete with a newsreel and cartoons.

“Historically the downtown movie theaters were the place to be,” said Nancy Horlacher, local history librarian for Dayton Metro Libraries. “It gave you the opportunity to dress up and go out for an afternoon or night on the town.” When the neighborhood theaters sprung up in the neighborhoods, Horlacher said, it became easier to head for those venues. By the late ’60s or earlier ’70s, the ornate old theaters had disappeared.

Happily, the Victory survived and is now marking its 150th anniversary.

Thanks to its ongoing commitment to showing classic movies on the big screen, new generations of movie-goers are able to enjoy the unique experience through the summer film series that kicks off July 8.

To capture the feel of the old-time movie palaces, guests are treated to free popcorn and soda in the lobby beginning one hour prior to showtime and a classic cartoon is shown just before the movie.

Jennifer Limke has been coming to the film series since its inception. She’s come on dates, with family members and even her Latin students when they studied “Cleopatra.” “My 19-year-old daughter’s first movie was “Hello Dolly” and we both remember sitting in the very front row and having a great time,” says Limke, 47. She said a recent highlight for her husband was the beer-tasting and screening of “Animal House.”

Limke also relishes going to the movies by herself. “There is something about a shared experience with a bunch of strangers that brings you closer to humanity,” the Englewood woman said. “We all get choked up at the end of ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,’ we all burst into applause after the chase scene in ‘Back to the Future,’ and we all get really, inexplicably thirsty at the end of ‘Lawrence of Arabia!’”

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS SUMMER

This summer’s series runs from July 8-Aug.28. In addition to the weekend screenings, there will be weekday afternoon Family Films and 10:30 p.m. late night screenings dubbed “Reel Late at the Vic.”

Ken Neufeld, president and CEO of Victoria Theatre Association and The Arts Center Foundation, said the special theater has been the place to come and see a great movie since the 1940s.

“It was a first-run Warner Brothers house and then a Disney cinema,” he explains. “To honor Victoria’s 150th anniversary this year, we chose films that represent some of the theater’s greatest hits. We are still using 35-mm prints as much as possible and keeping the prices low.”

Among the films that played at the Victory in the early years that will be shown this summer are “Casablanca,” which was seen on the big screen in 1943; “Ocean’s 11,” which opened downtown in 1960; and “Mary Poppins,” which ran for eight weeks in 1964.

Fred Oliver, who teachers film classes at the University of Dayton’s Lifelong Learning Institute, said there’s probably no better way to enjoy great old movies than at the Victoria on a big screen in a darkened theater while munching on freshly-popped popcorn.

“The Victoria’s film series is probably as close as you’re going to get to a time machine,” Oliver said.

This summer audiences can re-live the suspense of Hitchcock’s “Rear Window,” the joy of “The Wizard of Oz,” the drama of “Casablanca” and the spectacle of “Gone with the Wind.”

“See these films as they were meant to be seen,” Oliver said. “On a big screen in a darkened theater with no distractions.”

TRIBUTE TO VICTORIA’S ORGANIST

Regular patrons have fond memories of Martin Bevis, the gentleman who played the Mighty Wurlitzer organ for the Cool Film Series and the Family Series for more than 20 years. He died in April at the age of 83.

>> RELATED: Longtime Victoria Theatre organist dies at 83

“Everyone loves to watch the rise and lowering of the Wurlitzer organ,” Limke said. “I remember the chills I got during Mr. Bevis’ rendition of the armed forces medley. I don’t really consider myself patriotic, but when he asked the veterans to stand during their branch fight song, my heart swelled with civic pride.”

Mr. Bevis began playing the organ at age 8 but never had a music lesson and never learned to read music. He graduated from Middletown High School in 1951 and earned a degree in aviation administration from Miami University in Oxford. He played the organ for a variety of theaters, supper clubs and skating rinks over his seven-decade career.

One of those who knew Mr. Bevis best is Gary Smith, who has been invited to memorialize his good friend by playing the Mighty Wurlitzer over the “Mary Poppins” weekend July 22-24. Smith was only 12 years old when he first met the man who was to become his mentor.

“I loved to roller skate, and every rink had an organ and organist,” Smith said. “I didn’t pay much attention to the music, they seemed to play the “Skater’s Waltz” on and on. But one day, it was Martin Bevis playing the music at the rink. And I thought ‘Wow!’ He was playing the music I’d just heard on the radio that same day, and I thought it sounded so nice.”

The two soon became fast friends. Smith taught himself to play, and he and Bevis began performing at many of the same venues. “Martin and I did silly things,” Smith recalls. “I would take the organ down while playing a song and Martin would bring the organ back up while playing the same song. It was really difficult to switch places without stopping the music, but it was fun.”

The two remained friends for more than 50 years. “If it were not for Martin, I wouldn’t be playing the organ at all,” said Smith, who plans a sing-along for the “Mary Poppins” weekend. “Martin really liked sing-alongs.”

WHAT MOVIE BUFFS ARE EXCITED ABOUT

Though it’s nostalgia that attracts many Cool Films audience members, people of all ages seem to be relishing the experience as well.

Christian Davell, a 20-year-old Wright State University student from Kettering, said he loves classic movies. “I enjoy watching the films they offer, and seeing them in the Victoria Theatre adds an historical context,” he explained.

Some of Davell’s favorites? “Back to the Future,” “The Birds,” “Groundhog Day” and “It Happened One Night.”

This summer, Davell said he is especially looking forward to seeing “Rocky Horror Picture Show” with his friends. The cult classic will be screened as part of the “Reel Late at the Vic” series on Aug.13. “We’ve been wanting to see it in a theater for a while,” Davell said.

Kimberley Liston of Oakwood said the Cool Film Series is a secret that should be shared and shared often. “It’s such a fun way to come downtown,” said Liston, who has been coming to the series for the past six years with her husband. The two have even been known to plan their vacations and events around the movies they want to see.

“I love the idea of seeing a movie from my past again on the big screen,” Liston said. “Sure, you can see it on TV or on a DVD, but it’s not the same. It’s very nostalgic to relive the feeling of being in the theater when you saw it originally. “

Because she didn’t get around to seeing all of the old movies when they were originally shown on big screen, Liston said she’s grateful to the Victoria for putting so many great films together for her to experience for the first time.

“For instance, last year my husband was astonished that I had lived for 53 years and had not seen ‘12 Angry Men,’ ” she said.” However, I was thrilled to see ‘Young Frankenstein’ and ‘Blazing Saddles’ for the millionth time, but now, on the big screen again.”

Liston said last summer was quite memorable with the Spielberg double header “American Graffiti” followed by the iconic, “Jaws” several weeks later. “I wore my ‘I Survived Sharknado’ T-shirt and received many compliments on my appropriate choice of attire,” she said. “Another wonderful memory from several years ago was when a group of my teacher friends and I got together before school started to enjoy ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.’ It was a wonderful Back to School Bash that started with dinner at Uno Pizzeria and ended with wine and more laughter and fun at the Wine Gallery.”

Liston and her husband always purchase the $35 passbook. The 10 passes can be used in any combination. When it’s time to pick the five films they’re going to see, sometimes the two agree. But not always.

“Sometimes, we engage in a negotiations summit that could rival The Versailles Peace Treaty,” Liston said.

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