Hollywood Vampires: The Birth of Midnight Movies on L.A.'s Sunset Strip is a three-part series of essays by Tim Concannon.Praising Arizona: Louis K. Sher Vs. The Censor, The Case Of Les Amants"Whenever I hear the word cinema, I can't help thinking hall rather than film."—Roland Barthes.1kiva. noun. An underground or partly underground chamber in a Pueblo village, used for ceremonies or councils. Origin: Hopi. Old Town Boutique Shops, Scottsdale Main Street in 2011. Site of the former Kiva Theatre, which closed in 1993.Arguably, before El Topo played at the Elgin in New York's West Village in 1971, and before trans performance troupe the Cockettes performed their Nocturnal Dream Shows for film director, impresario, and protégé of Salvador Dalí, Stephen F. Arnold, at the Pagoda Palace Theatre on San Francisco's Russian Hill, midnight movies began at a theatre adjoining Santa Monica Boulevard, where the Underground Cinema 12 film...
- 8/2/2019
- MUBI
Underground Cinema 12 was a midnight movie screening series of underground films that ran in theaters owned by Louis Sher, who founded “the nation’s largest circuit of art houses” in 1954.
While Sher was the head of the Art Theatre Guild, Underground Cinema 12 was run by his nephew Mike Getz. The series began at the Cinema Theater in Hollywood, California on Columbus Day 1963; and when it proved to be a big hit there, Getz came up with the idea to run the series at all of his uncle’s theaters. A program would run on a Saturday night at one theater, then that theater would ship the films to the next theater, and so on.
The industry magazine Boxoffice profiled Louis Sher in their July 9, 1962 issue, over a year prior to the start of Underground Cinema 12. Sher came to cinema operations in his early forties as an outsider to the industry.
While Sher was the head of the Art Theatre Guild, Underground Cinema 12 was run by his nephew Mike Getz. The series began at the Cinema Theater in Hollywood, California on Columbus Day 1963; and when it proved to be a big hit there, Getz came up with the idea to run the series at all of his uncle’s theaters. A program would run on a Saturday night at one theater, then that theater would ship the films to the next theater, and so on.
The industry magazine Boxoffice profiled Louis Sher in their July 9, 1962 issue, over a year prior to the start of Underground Cinema 12. Sher came to cinema operations in his early forties as an outsider to the industry.
- 3/2/2019
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Beginning in the early 1960s, one of the main venues where audiences could watch underground films outside of New York City was the midnight movie screening series called Underground Cinema 12.
The origins of Underground Cinema 12 were related by one of its founders, Mike Getz, to the Alternative Projections historical project. Getz was the manager of the Cinema Theater in Hollywood, California when he was approached by John Fles, who had been holding alternative cinema screenings around Los Angeles, such as in the Jewish and Ukrainian cultural centers.
Fles had the idea to run a regular midnight movie screening series in an actual movie theater, which Getz quickly agreed to host. The Cinema Theater typically ran foreign films and independent cinema, so screening underground films at midnight seemed like a good match. Initially, the series was called Movies ‘Round Midnight and it premiered on Columbus Day 1963 with a screening of Jack Smith‘s Flaming Creatures,...
The origins of Underground Cinema 12 were related by one of its founders, Mike Getz, to the Alternative Projections historical project. Getz was the manager of the Cinema Theater in Hollywood, California when he was approached by John Fles, who had been holding alternative cinema screenings around Los Angeles, such as in the Jewish and Ukrainian cultural centers.
Fles had the idea to run a regular midnight movie screening series in an actual movie theater, which Getz quickly agreed to host. The Cinema Theater typically ran foreign films and independent cinema, so screening underground films at midnight seemed like a good match. Initially, the series was called Movies ‘Round Midnight and it premiered on Columbus Day 1963 with a screening of Jack Smith‘s Flaming Creatures,...
- 1/20/2019
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
A genuine underground mystery has appeared! The above movie ad appeared in the January 1, 1966 San Francisco Examiner; and was posted on Twitter by Evan. It announces the “World Premiere” of the film Cycle Queen, which is billed as a satire on Kenneth Anger‘s classic film Scorpio Rising (1963). No filmmaker is listed in the ad. (Click the ad to embiggen.)
By 1966, Scorpio Rising was a genuine underground film hit that audiences would have been familiar with. The Cycle Queen premiere was a part of the “Underground Cinema 12” series created by theater manager Mike Getz, who was arrested in 1964 in Los Angeles for screening the “obscene” Scorpio Rising. Getz eventually had the charges against him reversed. Also, the oral history project Alternative Projections places the creation of “Underground Cinema 12” in 1968, but based on this ad it may have started two years earlier.
But, who directed Cycle Queen?
Later in 1966, in September,...
By 1966, Scorpio Rising was a genuine underground film hit that audiences would have been familiar with. The Cycle Queen premiere was a part of the “Underground Cinema 12” series created by theater manager Mike Getz, who was arrested in 1964 in Los Angeles for screening the “obscene” Scorpio Rising. Getz eventually had the charges against him reversed. Also, the oral history project Alternative Projections places the creation of “Underground Cinema 12” in 1968, but based on this ad it may have started two years earlier.
But, who directed Cycle Queen?
Later in 1966, in September,...
- 10/7/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.