Huge crowd at premiere
AUGUST 20, 1936 — A capacity house greeted the premiere performance at the new Capitol Theatre in Penticton on Monday night. Prior to the opening of the doors, the patrons of Penticton’s new motion picture house stretched along the sidewalk for a considerable distance, while parking space for autos was at a premium.
Reeve H.B. Morley was called to the stage by Manager Harry Black after the audience had been seated. In his remarks, Penticton’s first citizen said he considered the Famous Players had shown great faith in the future of Penticton in erecting this theatre. They had been a far-sighted organization for many years, showing shrewd judgment in locating their houses. Evidently they considered Penticton had a great future, for otherwise they would not have erected this splendid new building at such great cost. Some persons might have criticized the company for spending this amount of money. But certainly they knew what they were doing, and their confidence in Penticton must be based upon a concrete analysis of the community, the district, and its future.
“Addition to Penticton” Following the address by Reeve Morley, G.A.G. Macdonald, president of the Penticton Board of Trade was called upon. “This will be a great addition to Penticton,” said Mr. Macdonald, “and one of which we can justly feel proud. It must mean that the tourist trade will have a great place in the future of Penticton, the Board president indicated, for the Famous Players Company to invest so much money in the new addition to the life of the community.”
It would be a pleasure to attend this theatre, said Mr. Macdonald, where the air was clean, and where it would never be either too warm or too cold. Continuing his remarks, Mr. Macdonald referred to a pamphlet issued by Famous Players announcing the new theatre in which they called the Okanagan the “Garden of Eden of Canada.” Well, it could be noticed that we had, likewise with the original garden, some difficulty over the apple. This sally was greeted with laughter, as were further witty remarks from the President of the Board.
Fine Reproduction Then, finally, the lights were dimmed, and the sound came on. There were some gasps, and considerable amazement at the accuracy of this and the clarity of tone.
When the first house had poured out of the building, these comprising it found another long line, patiently awaiting entry to the second showing of the films. For there was not only one good house on Monday night, but two. As many of those comprising these audiences came from out of town, it is possible the new theatre will draw considerably from the outlying areas, thus providing citizens in the smaller communities with firstclass entertainment.