It was hot this weekend in Los Angeles…it was South East Asia hot! So what better weather than to slip into a movie theater and enjoy a show in air conditioning. However, I’m not fond of going to the movies. Frankly, most of the movies that are released now don’t impress me but more importantly the theaters today are found in a mall, twenty theaters together, and no character at all. As noted from a trip of the week a year ago, I enjoy classic movies enjoyed in a theater that makes you feel special. Here in Los Angeles there has been several old movie palaces that have been historically preserved and show classic movies to a new generation. For an evening, you can feel like it’s the mid 1940s in Los Angeles where movies were melodramatic and the theaters they were shown in were like palaces.

This week took me to Glendale to the Alex Theater with a special showing of Annie Get Your Gun. Going to the movies here is more of an event than just going to a local mall and seeing the recent releases. I’ve been here a few times for special screenings of classic movies, but the theater also hosts a wide array of cultural arts events.

Since 1925, the Alex Theatre has been a Los Angeles area landmark. Designed by architects Charles R. Selkirk and Arthur G. Lindley, the Alexander Theatre, as it was originally known, opened its doors as a Vaudeville and motion picture house. Featuring Greek and Egyptian motifs, the Alex Theatre is not only an important example of the grand theatres of the early 20th century; it also provides a strong sense of identity for downtown Glendale, California.

In 1992, the Glendale Redevelopment Agency purchased the historic theatre to serve as the centerpiece of Glendale's revitalized Brand Boulevard. The agency dedicated $6.2 million in public funds to restore the Alex to its former splendor and transfer it into a performing arts center. Since reopening on News Year's Eve 1993, the historic theatrer has been a source of pride for residents and attracts thousands of theatergoers to Glendale each month.

The auditorium of the theatre is designed as an "atmospherium" with an open air illusion enhanced by the stage-set wall encircling the auditorium, creating the feeling of being enclosed in an ancient garden. The Alex is one of the few atmospheric theatres constructed in Southern California and one of only a handful that still remain. The new seating in the auditorium and the restored lobby areas capture the feeling and ambiance of the original design.

From the late 1920's through the 1950's, the Alex Theatre served as a preview house for major Hollywood releases and community events attracting the glamorous stars of the time from Hollywood. In 1940 in an effort to extend the glamour of the theatre out to Brand Boulevard, architect S. Charles Lee, a designer of over 400 movie houses, created a 100 foot tall Art Deco neon tower with a spiked starburst at the top. Integral to his design were the three dimensional marquee, outdoor ticketing kiosk, and the decorative terrazzo floor crested in bright tropical colors that were all restored as part of the restoration project.

Today, the Alex Theatre is owned by the City of Glendale and operated by the nonprofit Alex Regional Theatre (ART) Board and serves as a multi-use facility for professional and community performing arts institutions. Resident companies include the Alex Film Society, Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, Glendale Symphony Orchestra, Glendale Youth Orchestra, Musical Theatre Guild, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. In addition, the Alex Theatre presents a full season of world-class presentations including music, opera, live theatre, comedy, lectures, popular concerts and dance.

They also offer one hour docent led tours. Tonight’s show was a classic movie musical of Annie Get Your Gun. The show starts with a cartoon, which this time was a Donald Duck cartoon. This was followed by a professor speaking about the movie that was going to be shown and giving some history about the actors and actresses. In past events they have also shown news reels from that era. Back in those days…going to the movies was an all afternoon affair with cartoons, shorts, newsreels, intermission, and the featured film.

Annie Get Your Gun is a 1950 American musical film loosely based on the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The Metro Goldwyn Mayer release, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and a screenplay by Sidney Sheldon based on the 1946 stage musical of the same name, was directed by George Sidney.

Betty Hutton played Annie with Howard Keel (making his movie debut) as Frank Butler and Benay Venuta as Dolly Tate. Frank Morgan was originally cast as Buffalo Bill Cody but after filming the movie's opening production number, "Colonel Buffalo Bill", he unexpectedly died. Morgan was replaced by Louis Calhern. Originally, Judy Garland had been cast in the title role, and recorded all of her songs and worked for two months under Busby Berkeleys direction. She was forced to leave the production due to poor health and other personal problems that would soon end her career with:

In 1973 it was withdrawn from distribution due to a dispute between Irving Berlin and MGM over music rights, which selfishly robbed the public of enjoying this film for almost 30 years. It was not until the film's 50th Anniversary in 2000 that it was finally seen again in its entirety.

Tonight was a special treat because it was once again shown on the big screen at the Alex Theater. There are several theaters in Los Angeles that have been historically preserved and show classics movies. It’s a great way to recapture a little of Hollywoods Glory Years, while learning some history, and in this case escape the heat!