Every year the town and village of Mamaroneck NY (where Griffith had studios for a few years) holds its annual “Historic Harbor Festival”. The entire main drag is taken over by a giant street fair with booths, performers, food from local restaurants, etc. Mam’k’s 1920’s movie theater, currently owned by Clearview Cinemas, is smack in the middle of this and each year I present a program of short comedies in one of the movie house’s four theaters.
I do a program of two comedy shorts 3 times in an afternoon. We bring in a digital piano, rented from Acme Sound (run by high school classmate Peter Denenberg), and show the films on video. I give a little talk and show the films. This year went well, as it always does; before each program I asked how many people had been to the program before in previous years and at each show nearly everyone’s hands went up. [This is my fifth year dong this, and I hope someday to find a way to interest the people at the nearby Emelin Theatre to do a silent film program.]
Here are some photos of the marquee and front of the theatre that I took:
Here are some photos of the marquee and front of the theatre that I took:
Here is a vintage 1915 photo that was on display of Mamaroneck’s original movie theater, which was built in the ‘teens, and on the right you see what remains of the building, currently Miller’s Toys.