Top Gun, Some Like It Hot, Double Indemnity and More: LA Conservancy Picks Classics for Its 30th Last Remaining Seats

Our favorite event of the year is back! The Los Angeles Conservancy has announced the movie roster for this year's 30th Last Remaining Seats -- and to celebrate the anniversary, this year's movie roster contains several classic faves from years past!

The Last Remaining Seats, which takes place from June 4 – 25, 2016, celebrates downtown's historic Broadway movie palaces by showcasing classic movies, bringing those wonderful stages back to life. And as more of Broadway gets revitalized, there's even more reason to celebrate.

Tickets for the 2016 season of Last Remaining Seats go on sale March 30 to Conservancy members and April 13 to the general public. Tickets are $18 for L.A. Conservancy members and $22 for the general public. (Go to the LA Conservancy website for more info.) Read all of our posts about Last Remaining Seats here.

Meanwhile, here's what you've been waiting for, the list of this year's screenings:

2016 Schedule

Top Gun (1986)
Saturday, June 4, 2pm & 8pm
Los Angeles Theatre

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Wednesday, June 8, 8 pm
Million Dollar Theatre

Some Like It Hot (1959)
Saturday, June 11, 8pm
Los Angeles Theatre

Dos tipos de cuidado (Mexico, 1953)
Wednesday, June 15, 8 pm
Palace Theatre
Co-presented with Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Saturday, June 18, 2pm & 8pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel

Double Indemnity (1944)
Wednesday, June 22, 8pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel

Safety Last! (1923)
Saturday, June 25, 8 pm
Orpheum Theatre

"Psycho," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and More: The 2015 Last Remaining Seats Schedule Is Here

Our favorite event of the year is back! The Los Angeles Conservancy has announced the movie roster for this year's 29th Last Remaining Seats -- and it's the most diverse mix of movies I've seen on the roster that I can remember!

The Last Remaining Seats, which takes place from June 10 – 27, 2014, celebrates downtown's historic Broadway movie palaces by showcasing classic movies, bringing those wonderful stages back to life. And as more of Broadway gets revitalized (see the recent Night on Broadway event), there's even more reason to celebrate.

Tickets for the 2015 season of Last Remaining Seats go on sale March 25 to Conservancy members and April 8 to the general public. Tickets are $16 for L.A. Conservancy members and $20 for the general public. (Go to the LA Conservancy website for more info.) Read all of our posts about Last Remaining Seats here.

Meanwhile, here's what you've been waiting for, the list of this year's screenings:

Psycho (1960)
Wednesday, June 10, 8pm
Million Dollar Theatre

City Lights (1931)
Saturday, June 13, 8pm
Los Angeles Theatre

Dios se lo pague/God Bless You (1948)
Wednesday, June 17, 8pm
Palace Theatre

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
Saturday, June 20, 8pm
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)
Wednesday, June 24, 8pm
Orpheum Theatre

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Saturday, June 27, 2pm & 8pm
The Theatre at Ace Hotel

"Back to the Future," "Citizen Kane," More: The Last Remaining Seats 2014 Schedule Is Here!

Our favorite event of the year is back! The Los Angeles Conservancy has announced the movie roster for this year's 28th Last Remaining Seats -- and I think it may be the best yet.

The Last Remaining Seats, which takes place from June 11 – 28, 2014, celebrates downtown's historic Broadway movie palaces. And these days, there's a lot to celebrate, as more of the theaters get long-needed makeovers. This year, for the first time since 1990, the United Artists Theatre -- now The Theatre at Ace Hotel -- will be a part of the rotation. (And even better: "Back to the Future" is screening there!)

Tickets for the 2014 season of Last Remaining Seats go on sale March 26 to Conservancy members and April 9 to the general public. Tickets are $16 for L.A. Conservancy members and $20 for the general public. (Go to the LA Conservancy website for more info.) Read all of our posts about Last Remaining Seats here.

Meanwhile, here's what you've been waiting for, the list of this year's screenings:

Wednesday, June 11, 8 PM
The Lady Eve (1941)
Los Angeles Theatre (1931)
615 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.

Saturday, June 14, 8 PM
West Side Story (1961)
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (1964)
135 N. Grand Avenue, Downtown L.A.

Wednesday, June 18, 8 PM
Footlight Parade (1933)
Orpheum Theatre (1926)
842 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.

Saturday June 21, 2 PM & 8 PM
Back to the Future (1985)
The Theatre at Ace Hotel (former United Artists Theatre, 1927)
933 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.

Wednesday, June 25, 8 PM
El Gran Calavera [English translation: The Great Madcap] (1949)
Palace Theatre (1911)
630 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
Co-presented with the Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles

Saturday, June 28 2 PM & 8 PM
Citizen Kane (1941)
Orpheum Theatre (1926)
842 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.

A Day Touring Downtown Los Angeles' Broadway Theatres

Los Angeles's Broadway -- the home to countless grand, old movie palaces -- is finally joining in the downtown renaissance, and on Saturday, hundreds of Angelenos toured the street ("Day on Broadway") to get an update on how Bringing Back Broadway is going.

Sadly, the Clifton's Cafeteria is still closed (that renovation is taking much longer to complete), but those great theaters are being made over, one-by-one. The biggest success story remains the Orpheum Theatre, but the Palace Theatre also has been given a nice update. The Globe, which had been somewhat gutted, is now also coming back, while the United Artists has now been renovated as part of the Ace Hotel makeover.

Some pics from the event, which was sponsored by the LA Conservancy and the office of City Councilman Jose Huizar:


The Palace screen


The Palace Theatre's auditorium


One of the Palace Theatre's two large murals


A fixture adorns one of the Palace Theatre's handrails.


The Palace's "Gentlemen's" room.


Outside the Palace


The Tower Theatre wasn't open for tours, as filming was going on. But we did pass by the outside facade.


The curtain inside the Los Angeles Theatre


I know, we've posted pics of the inside of the glorious Los Angeles Theatre many times, but here's another.


Even after its run as a swap meet and later, as a nightclub, the Globe's theater curtain remains.


The Globe's ceiling


The sloping theater floor was flattened, but much of the Globe's inside is still preserved.


The upstairs balcony at the Globe Theatre


The spruced-up United Artists marquee, now home to downtown's brand new Ace Hotel


The Ace Hotel entrance


Ace Hotel front desk


New restaurant at the Ace Hotel


"Hello LA"

An Evening With the LA Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats

Our annual pilgrimage to the LA Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats was another winner. Neither Maria nor I had seen the Bette Davis classic "All About Eve" (1950), and the grand, historic Los Angeles Theatre seemed like the place to do it.

After a drink at The Association and a quick bite straight off a taco truck parked on 7th, we found our seats up in the balcony and settled in. To kick things off, LA Conservancy leader Linda Dishman gave the crowd a status report on the Wyvernwood Garden Apartments (1939) in Boyle Heights, which is in very real danger of being demolished. (Separate post to come.) Leonard Maltin then introduced the film, offering a few trivia tidbits.

We've been to the Los Angeles Theatre countless times -- it's the venue we always seek out during the Last Remaining Seats -- but it still thrills. There's nothing like seeing a classic film in such an ornate movie palace. A few pics from this visit:









Read all of our Last Remaining Seats posts here. Also, your last chance to take part in this year's event happens tonight or this weekend. More details from the Conservancy:

The Los Angeles Conservancy will wrap up its twenty-seventh season of Last Remaining Seats this week with screenings at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown L.A. and Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
Wednesday, June 26, 8 p.m.
Orpheum Theatre (1926), 842 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
The June 26 screening of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ will be hosted by historian Mark A. Viera and feature live accompaniment by Clark Wilson on the Orpheum’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

Casablanca (1942)
Saturday, June 29, two shows – 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Saban Theatre (1930), 8440 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills
KPCC’s “Off-Ramp” creator and host John Rabe will host the 2 p.m. matinee, and film historian, writer, and director of the Film Noir Foundation Alan K. Rode will host the 8 p.m. evening screening.

Tickets for all three screenings are still available at laconservancy.org. Advance tickets are $16 for L.A. Conservancy members and $20 for the general public. Any tickets remaining at show time will be $20 at the door.

Sneaking Inside Downtown's The State Theatre

Thanks to the Los Angeles Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats event, we've had the opportunity many times to spend time inside some of downtown's grand Broadway theaters -- including the Los Angeles Theatre, the Palace and the Million Dollar Theatre. (We've also been to countless events at the rehabbed Orpheum). But there are still several old movie palaces on Broadway that are tougher to visit -- they're either shut down, being used as churches or otherwise inaccessible.

A few weeks ago, Maria and I were walking down Broadway when we noticed that the door to The State theatre, currently operating as a church, was open. We decided to walk in and take a look. Nothing was going on at the time, and only a handful of people were inside, busy doing various things. So I did my duty for the blog, and started snapping pictures.

The State is not nearly as grand as most of the other Broadway theatres, but it looks like the lobby was quite attractive at one point. It's now in bad need of an overhaul -- one that it may soon be getting. According to Curbed LA, "the Delijani family, longtime owners of the Palace, State, Los Angeles, and Tower theaters expects to file documents with the Department of City Planning for a proposal that would bring the turn-of-the-20th-century theaters back to life by transforming them into concert venues and delivering restaurants and bars."

It looks like The State is probably at the bottom of the priority list for the Delijani family, and their work is indeed cut out for them. When Maria and I visited, I peered into the auditorium and immediately saw a rat dash down the aisles. Welcome!

Here are some of the pics I snapped at the State:



Inside the auditorium.



The lobby ceiling.



More of the State's peeling ceiling.



The 2nd floor.



The State lobby.



The State aisle



More from the auditorium.



The State staircase.



The State's ticket booth.

Originally known as Loew's State, the theatre was built in 1921. The State was still showing movies as recently as the late 1990s (here's a photo of the marquee from 1995, when "Money Train" and "Ace Ventura 2" were playing); check out this site for a great, thorough history of The State. More info also at Cinema Treasures here.

L.A. Ad Town: Remy Martin at the Los Angeles Theatre

I don't think I've ever seen the Los Angeles Theatre so young, hip and hoppin! Remy Martin's new commercial was shot at our favorite downtown Broadway movie palace... and although in real life the run-down theatre is still awaiting restoration, in this spot it looks sharp.



Those gates were added for effect in the commercial. Are they trying to make it seem like an old-time elevator?



Also added for effect: These lights, surrounding a doorway on the balcony. Party at the Los Angeles!

Opening Night at Last Remaining Seats

On Wednesday night the L.A. Conservancy opened up its annual Last Remaining Seats screening series -- one of our favorite events of the year -- with Peter Bogdanovich's 1973 classic "Paper Moon" at the even-more-classic 1932 Los Angeles Theatre on Broadway. Starring 8-year-old Tatum O'Neal in the role that won her an Oscar, the tale of 1930s scam artist and the even more cunning kid he finds in Kansas still holds up.

Before the screening, Bodganovich opened the evening by telling a few stories (about how "Paper Moon" was made, how the O'Neals were cast, and how the title even came about) and offering a few spot-on impersonations (of Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart and others).

Of all the movie palaces on Broadway, the Los Angeles remains the most grand -- even though it's still in need of a complete overhaul. You've seen the Los Angeles lobby in countless features and TV shows. It's always a treat to see something in the Los Angeles. And what's great is that after years of mostly talk, the long-awaited Broadway revival is finally starting to take place, thanks to the opening of new spots like the Umamicatessan, the Los Angeles Brewing Company, the renovation of Clifton's, and more.

More pics from our evening:











Tickets remain for most of this year's other Last Remaining Seats screenings; go here for more info.

Last Remaining Seats 2012 Schedule Announced

One of our favorite events of the year, the Los Angeles Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats, is back this summer for its 26th season of classic films in historic L.A. movie palaces.

Here's the lineup, subject to change:

2012 Last Remaining Seats Schedule

Wednesday, May 30 - Paper Moon (1973)
Los Angeles Theatre (1931), 615 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, this recent classic stars father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal as a Depression-era con man and the street-smart girl who may or may not be his daughter. At the spectacular Los Angeles Theatre, the last and largest of the great movie palaces built on Broadway.

Wednesday, June 6 - Tootsie (1982)
Orpheum Theatre (1926), 842 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of this endlessly quotable, beloved tale of a New York actor who goes to great lengths to nab a big role. Sydney Pollack directed and joins the all-star cast led by Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange. At the magnificent, beautifully renovated Orpheum Theatre.

Wednesday, June 13 - The Big Sleep (1946)
Los Angeles Theatre
It doesn't get better than Bogey and Bacall, directed here by the great Howard Hawks with a screenplay co-written by William Faulkner. As private detective Philip Marlowe, Humphrey Bogart encounters a heap of trouble and a stunningly beautiful Lauren Bacall.

Wednesday, June 20 - Los tres mosqueteros (Mexico, 1942)
Million Dollar Theatre (1918), 307 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
co-presented with the Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles
Mexican icon Cantinflas stars in this parody of Alexander Dumas' "The Three Musketeers." In Spanish with English subtitles. At the beautiful Million Dollar Theatre, built as Sid Grauman's first Los Angeles venue.

Wednesday, June 27 - Robin Hood (1922)
Orpheum Theatre
This silent version of the timeless classic stars Douglas Fairbanks at his acrobatic best. With live accompaniment on the Orpheum's original 1928 Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

Saturday, June 30 - The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Saban Theatre (1930), 8440 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills
Matinee and evening screenings
L.A. Conservancy members voted this gem as their Fan Favorite film. Judy Garland leads an impeccable cast through an unforgettable journey down the Yellow Brick Road. With these two weekend screenings, Last Remaining Seats makes its first-ever visit to the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, which opened as the Fox Wilshire in 1930 and has been beautifully renovated.

Tickets go on sale to Conservancy members at 10 a.m. on March 28 and to the general public on April 11. Advance tickets cost $20 ($16 for Conservancy members). Read our past coverage of Last Remaining Seats here.

"Last Remaining Seats" Highlights the Beautiful Los Angeles Theatre

One of my favorite L.A. events of the year -- the Los Angeles Conservancy's "Last Remaining Seats" screenings -- came to the beautiful (but still in need of a rehab) Los Angeles Theatre last Wednesday.

"Last Remaining Seats" was a tradition for Maria and me -- well, until the kids came. It's been a few years since we last visited L.A.'s historic Broadway theatres for the event (although we've been to the restored Orpheum many times for other shows). This year, however, we decided to make the effort.

We've been to the Los Angeles Theatre for past "Last Remaining Seats" events, but it's always a treat to return. The last of Broadway's movie palaces, Los Angeles Theatre stopped regularly showing movies in the early 1990s -- but remains a popular film and TV shoot location. (We love spotting the Los Angeles Theatre on screen, where it frequently makes a cameo.) A primer:

The Los Angeles Theatre was designed by architect S. Charles Lee in the Baroque style. Lee filled the theatre with glamour, glitz, technical innovations and sumptuous audience conveniences. With a construction cost of over $1.5 million, the Los Angeles was the most expensive theatre built up to that time on a per seat basis. On opening night in 1931, the theatre hosted the premier gala screening of Charles Chaplin's City Lights. Among celebrities of the era in attendance that evening was Mr. Albert Einstein.

The Mike Nichols classic "The Graduate" (1967) screened last Thursday. Maria and I had never seen the Dustin Hoffman/Anne Bancroft starrer, and it was a great choice (although fully dated, of course). As a bonus, our beloved Ambassador Hotel was a location in the movie, doubling as the fictional "Taft Hotel."

A few more pics from the Los Angeles:














High-tech for the 1930s: This allowed ushers to figure out where seats were still available.





"Last Remaining Seats" continues through the end of the month, with "Flor silvestre (Wild Flower)" at the Million Dollar Theatre this Wednesday, and "Peter Pan" (1924 version) at the Orpheum Theatre on June 30. Tickets are still available for both.