Sunday, October 08, 2017

PALACE THEATER REBORN IN ST. PAUL


MOVIE HOUSE GHOSTS
The poster from this 1953 B horror movie must have been discovered at the Palace Theater by workers during the remodeling.  To go to the Palace is like digging up a grave — a chilling experience.  See the poster across from the bar in the lobby.

PALACE IS PITCH PERFECT
Even in nosebleed last balcony, the acoustics were perfect for Prairie Home Companion radio show live.  I don’t know how much of the younger audience for PHC appreciated that out of the ruins has come an artifact of a bygone era of vaudeville and much more.

SEE THE STAGE FROM THE LOBBY
The wall separating the auditorium from the lobby has been torn down, so beyond the huge bar you can see the stage and main floor at the Palace.  Emily King and Serena Brook were standout singers Saturday night at the Prairie Home show with MC Chris Thile who is a suitable replacement for Gary with blue grass and folk music prominently showcased.
BEAST IN MANHATTAN
Besides Trump another beast caused havoc in Manhattan in the 1953 scifi thriller “Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” with special effects by Ray Harryhausen.
About 20 minutes into this B&W epic, the beast nibbles on a lighthouse but you have to wait until the last 20 minutes of the movie where New York City residents, including a blind man, are trampled by the merciless dinosaur aroused from his/her sleep by the atomic bomb.
Rick Notch says “Them,” which is on the same disc, is a better film. 

FEELING ANTSY
Our casual acceptance of atomic bombs results in payback of biblical proportions in the 1954 thriller “Them!” where gigantic pantry ants devour people and buildings in Southern California.  
Edmund Gwen (Miracle on 34th St.) is the scientist who provides the narrative on the why and wherefore of the ant explosion while Fess Parker (Daniel Boone) plays a local gone loco over the bug epidemic.

Warner Bros. is the distributor which marks the transition from classic movies to drive in trash for the major Hollywood studios.  They don’t make ‘em like that anymore even with CGI. 


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