I’ve been heading to the theater on Thursday nights this month for the Silent Film Society of Chicago‘s Silent Summer Film Fest. The movies have been shown the past six weeks at the charmingly art deco Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge. 
The Pickwick is gorgeous. Much of it is still original, like the ticket window, the tiny concessions, and the lobby, but the seats have been updated so they are nice and big and cozy, and they even rock. (I hate sitting in uncomfortable movie theater seats!) We saw The Winning of Barbara Worth, Amarilly of Clothesline Lane, and Torrent. Of the three, I thought Amarilly of Clothesline Lane was the…oddest? It had a inexplicable fire and shooting incident. And the story line was disjointed. Barbara Worth was fun and had great (for the day) effects. And Torrent had a perfect ending and an incredible wardrobe. Oddly, all three had a love triangle of some sort. Oh, and the movies all have live accompaniment by an organist, so if there’s a slow moment in the movie, at least the music is entertaining.
Sadly, the Film Fest is over, but the Pickwick is going to start showing an older movie every month. The first one is North by Northwest and I’m so excited to see that one on the big screen!
If you ask me what the latest “mainstream” or “blockbuster” movie I saw was, the answer would be really lame. (Lincoln. And before Lincoln, it was Sex & the City…the first one.) But I’m really enjoying seeing some of these old films on the big screen. What can I say? I crave simpler times.
I can’t even remember the last movie I saw. That sounds like a fun summer. 🙂 By the way, my first reaction to your first photo was “Oh my goodness, the theater is on fire!” The cloud behind the theater looked like billowing flames. I quickly scanned your post to make sure everyone was ok and was baffled that the post was about movies! hahaha
HA…it DOES look like a fire! It was the way the sun was shining on the cloud I guess. 🙂