A million years ago, I worked at a little movie theater in Seattle called the Grand Illusion Cinema.
And every Christmas, to make the end of the year come out alright financially, we ran "It's a Wonderful Life".
It's a fine Christmas movie. Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey yells
"Hello, Movie House"
to the theater as he runs through his snowy town.
(the GI was originally called the Movie House under Randy Finlay's ownership)
But there's a better reason why this is a holiday staple.
Liberty Films,
(the 1945 company that Frank Capra launched with his film "It's a Wonderful Life")
didn't do well, and the company went under.
The film went without distribution or proper ownership.
It fell between the cracks,
and anyone could show it without getting charged for fees
(see footnotes for some clarification).
(see footnotes for some clarification).
So, if you checked a 16mm copy out of the library, (and we did)
you could run it for absolutely free and end the year in the black, with Momma Dollar and Poppa Dollar, hot dog!
For several years, that person running it was me.
Being the only employee who didn't have family in another city,
I ran it all week.
With no other staff.
Twice, three times a day.
That's a hard week on 16mm film, which is not designed for that many showings.
That's a hard week on 16mm film, which is not designed for that many showings.
Inevitably, the splices in the film would snap, and I'd be
running off the reel through the projector into a garbage can so I could manage the mess
(garbage bags are static'y, but cleaner than the floor)
between shows, frantically re-glueing the bits back together in order.
It was a long week, in a tiny projection booth.
No one I knew came by; they all went home for the holidays. I would comp (give a free ticket) to anyone I knew, or barely knew, who came in.
I had few takers.
It was a long week, in a tiny projection booth.
No one I knew came by; they all went home for the holidays. I would comp (give a free ticket) to anyone I knew, or barely knew, who came in.
I had few takers.
One delightful year, I got to watch this after I came home from work at the theater.
https://youtu.be/vw89o0afb2A
where Uncle Billy remembers what he did with the money
Recently, my brother in law ran across this video,
Harvey Danger's "Sometimes You Have To Work On Christmas"
Harvey Danger's "Sometimes You Have To Work On Christmas"
https://youtu.be/H3ogxQsMxO8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sometimes_You_Have_to_Work_on_Christmas_(Sometimes)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sometimes_You_Have_to_Work_on_Christmas_(Sometimes)
That's my damn movie theater. That's my damn Christmas.
This is from 1998: how come I am only hearing about this now?
This is from 1998: how come I am only hearing about this now?
There was never a rave in the auditorium, though.
I no longer have to work on Christmas.
And the Grand Illusion is still playing "It's a Wonderful Life" at Christmas.
But in 35mm.
Like a REAL movie theater.
http://www.grandillusioncinema.org/
Merry Christmas, Movie House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Films
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life#Ownership_and_copyright_issues
And the Grand Illusion is still playing "It's a Wonderful Life" at Christmas.
But in 35mm.
Like a REAL movie theater.
http://www.grandillusioncinema.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Films
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life#Ownership_and_copyright_issues
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