Laurence Jones
Introduction – A brief history of the theatre
The Music Hall in 2007, photo from Historic Toronto
In 1970, the theatre again underwent a transformation: the Titania Theatre was born. Tax records listed Electra Films Ltd. as owner of the property, with an additional listing of Patmar Theatres Ltd. as tenant.[6] Run by Gus Patsios and Aristidis Maragos, the cinema screened a mix of B-movies, horror flicks and Greek language content.[7] The theatre continued to operate in this fashion for approximately a decade until, in the late seventies, it began to advertise as the Titania Music Hall. To boost revenue the theatre offered live music performances alongside its film content.[8] Soon, it was solely The Music Hall, a venue with a focus on live acts. In 1998, it became part of the Festival chain of cinemas until its eventual closure in 2004. A restoration and a reopening followed in 2006, headed by Englishman Glyn Laverick, with a focus on live acts and performance.[9] Though the last few years have been financially tumultuous for the Music Hall, which closed in 2010 due to a non-payment of rent, the venue is once again open and regularly hosts musical concerts.[10]
The Music Hall, picture from The Star
The Century in the Sixties
The longest running identity of the theatre was that of the Century Theatre, owned by B&F under Famous Players, which survived from the 1930’s until the late ‘60s following the takeover of the Allen theatre chain. Under the supervision of B&F the theatre was architecturally altered by H.J Chown.[11] Danforth Avenue was still demographically in tune with its first wave of inhabitants, populated mostly by working class immigrants of British descent.[12] In 1960, a number of small businesses surrounded the Century Theatre. There was a laundrette called Washateria, Walk Right Shoes, the Commerce House Hotel, Bishop Electrical and William’s Menswear.[13] Such services sought to cater to a predominantly white demographic. Notably, there were few places to eat and drink in close vicinity. The theatre also had an accompanying news and tobacco retailer next door, under the Century brand.
The content of the Century seemed to be largely mainstream, lower-end productions from Hollywood, including the Three Stooges films, Outlaws Is Coming, a British spy thriller called Code 7 Victim 5, a sci-fi thriller called Satan Bug, the romantic comedy-musical Gidget Goes Hawaiian and Frankie Avalon’s party film Beach, Blanket, Bingo. Often, the Century line-up would lag closely behind the programming of Nat Taylor’s 20th Century Theatres chain (another branch of Famous Players), with the Century acquiring new titles to screen only once they had reached their last week in Taylor’s cinemas.
Promotional events were not uncommon at the theatre at however. A “special kiddie’s matinee” made up part of Sunday entertainment, alongside the showings of the other 20th Century Theatre films designated for the weekend audience. This would seem to complement the traditional Christian ideal of Sunday as a day of rest and family, which may have appealed to the theatre’s sought after demographic. The cinema also played host to the Toronto Film Society, screening Avant Garde works such as The Fall of the House of Usher and Lot in Sodom, as well more established material like In A Lonely Place and The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. They also held the Canadian premiere of Luis Bunuel’s San Simeon Of The Desert at the theatre, in 1965.
The French Cine-club of Toronto hosted screenings at the Century. These were advertised as a “members only” educational service – “The best way to perfect French.” They would screen ten films at the Century, subtitle free and for the price of ten dollars payable by cheque. Films included Arsene Lupin vs. Arsene Lupin and La traversee de Paris, starring Jean Gabin. Another interesting program run by the cinema was its series of “Eidophor” presentations. These were screenings of television broadcasts projected onto the cinema screen, most frequently showing televised Toronto Maple Leaf away games. Tickets to Eidophor events were often given away as competition prizes in the Toronto Star.
Looking at this theatre’s history can help us to understand who exactly the audiences of these films may have been. The tendency of the Century seems to have been to screen “lower end” Hollywood fare in contrast to the glossier, higher budget material that the main Famous Players theatres focused their attention on. Cheaper and second-run films allowed for cheaper admissions, positioning the Century in line with its later incarnation, the Titania. Lower admission cost could be seen to appeal to a less affluent, more working class demographic. The “Eidophor” screenings of hockey games could be seen to appeal to this group as well, as organised sports have long been an integral part of traditional Western white working class culture. The choice to screen art-house films through the Toronto Film Society and the French cine-club, however, signifies the drive to appeal to an educated, middle or upper-middle class demographic. Generally, films shown at the Century courted a family market with a consistent lack of explicitly violent or sexual content across chosen titles and genres.
The changing face of the Danforth and the life of the Titania in the Seventies
In 1960 the Toronto Planning Board undertook a study of the sizes of ethnic groups in the city. The report states that in 1960 the Danforth was listed as having a ten to thirty percent “non- British” population. “In Danforth West…” it continues, “…Italian, German and French groups had, by 1960, grown to 10 percent, 6 percent and 10 percent respectively.”[14] Danforth Avenue is listed as a “small extension” of the main reception area for some ethnic groups. In 1951, 82.5 percent of the population of Danforth West is listed as “British”; this has fallen to 57 percent by 1961. Given this demographic data, it is clear that the Century was screening films in a time of ethnic transformation within the area. Perhaps aware of this burgeoning new audience, Century screened the Academy Award winning Zorba The Greek in 1965, a stand out addition amongst its usual material. A 1970 article examining the changing Danforth landscape noted that the old Danforth “has disappeared so completely that the people who were born there can’t quite believe it.”[15]
In 1970, the Titania, now owned by Electra films and run by Gus Pastios and Aristidos Maragos, made up one of two theatres in the area that screened Greek films, often on a Sunday — the other being the Metro Acropolis. Its Greek-language screenings included the films of actress Aliki Vougiouklaki, dramas such as Naked In The Street, Nikos Tzimas’ O Astrapogiannos and the comedy What Did You Do In The War, Thanassi? The other major films that theTitania began to show were mainly “B” movies, often belonging to the horror genre. A wide range of titles included The Thing With Two Heads, Godzilla V.S The Smog Monster, The Creature With The Blue Hand and Chrome And Hot Leather. The theatre seemed to adapt to popular trends, with an influx of martial arts films slowly overtaking horror towards the end of the seventies. Similarly, the Titania adapted well to political trends – at a meeting in the theatre in 1979, the actress Melina Mercouri brought a “largely Greek” crowd to their feet in approval after proposing support for the new revolutionary government in Nicaragua.[16]
In the early seventies, tickets were priced at $1.50 individually and 75 cents each for a pair.[17] Through this model of pricing the theatre seemed to promote movie going in groups, advocating for an understanding of cinema going as a social activity. The popularity of cult films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, along with its B-movie horror catalogue, indicate that the Titania’s primary audience may have been teenagers. The City of Toronto planning board atlas of 1980, which examined census results in 1976, observed that in the West Danforth Area, 22 percent of the population fell within the 18-30 age bracket. 35 percent of residents were between the ages of 31 to 64. [18]
The area had begun to change considerably, reflecting the drastic change in its ethnic composition. Where the Bishop electrical company had been in the sixties, Surkos Hardware now did business, run by Emil and Mary Surkos.[19] The chiropractor’s office was now the Broadview Deli. Many businesses had names derived from Greek mythology and culture, such as the Golden Comb hairdressers, the Trojan Horse coffee shop, Socrates Custom Tailor and Olympic Tiles.[20] The growth of new places to eat and drink in particular points to a far more cosmopolitan space than had previously existed in the sixties. The programming of the Titania, as opposed to the Century, complimented this new cosmopolitan ethos by catering to both the local Greek community as well as youth through a mixed program of Greek language films and B-movie material. A Toronto historian, Barbara Myrvold, notes that the seventies had also brought a growth of young professionals to the area, drawn by its convenient distance from the downtown core and its relatively cheap accommodation.[21]
Of the number of working individuals interviewed in the 1976 census, 26 percent were listed as office workers in the area, whilst 66 percent identified as “other” against a minority that worked in retail or factory employment.[22] 49 percent of the overall population of area were stated to speak a language other than English. The new population was a dwindling mix of established working class residents, alongside new immigrant cultures and young adults for whom the Titania’s dual distribution of Greek language and B movie films would appeal.
The increasing trendiness of the area and the emergence of a population of young professional contributed to the theatre’s transformation in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Conclusion
The theatre’s transition between the 1960s and 70s, from Century to Titania, is remarkable because it reflects the demands and demographic characteristics of the Danforth Avenue area. In the Sixties, the Century served a largely white, working class audience of British heritage with a mix of affordable Hollywood productions. With the arrival of new key audiences in the form of new immigrant populations, an emergence of younger audiences and, accordingly, a shift in cinematic taste, the theatre dynamically mirrored the social transition. In turn, the change can be seen within the entire make-up of the surrounding area, and is an indication of the manner in which new cultures and demographics can alter the business and entertainment venues of a city.
Inside the Music Hall, from the Photo Ontario Archives
[1] “Celebrating 90 years of the Music Hall”
[2] “New Allen Opens To-Nite”
[3] Ibid.
[4] Morris, 176.
[5] Yearbook of the Canadian motion picture industry.
[6] Tax Assessment Roll, 1971, City of Toronto Archives.
[7] “The Old Familiar Danforth Is Vanishing”.
[8] Advertisement, Toronto Star, December 20 1980, 6
[9] Weir.
[10] Demara.
[11] Myrvold.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Might’s Toronto City Directory, 1960.
[14] CITY OF TORONTO PLANNING BOARD
[15] “The Old Familiar Danforth Is Vanishing”.
[16] “Actress pleads for Nicaragua”.
[17] Advertisement, Toronto Star, September 17th, 1973, 8
[18] City of Toronto Planning Board Atlas, Archives of Toronto, 1980
[19] Might’s Toronto City Directory, 1975.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Myrvold
[22] City of Toronto Planning Board Atlas, Archives of Toronto, 1980
Works Cited
“Actress pleads for Nicaragua.” Toronto Star 22 August 1979. Print.
“Celebrating 90 years of the Music Hall.” n.d. Heritage Toronto. Web. 1 October 2011. .
Demara, Bruce. “Music Hall Shuttered.” 19 August 2010. Toronto Star. Web..
Might’s Toronto City Directory. Toronto: Might Directories Ltd., 1960-1979. Print.
Morris, Peter. Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema, 1895-1939. Montreal: McGill-Queen, 1978. Print.
Myrvold, Barbara. Historical Walking Tour of the Danforth. Toronto: Toronto Public Library, 1992. Print.
“New Allen Opens To-Nite.” Toronto Star 18 August 1919: 16. Print.
Richmond, Anthony H. Immigrants and Ethnic Groups in Metropolitain Toronto. Toronto: Institute for Behavioural Research, York University, 1967. Print.
“The Old Familiar Danforth is Vanishing.” Toronto Star 10 October 1970: 12. Print.
Weir, Marguerite. “The Music Hall’s Encore.” 18 February 2009. On the Danforth. Web. 1 October 2011…
Year book of the Canadian motion picture industry. Toronto: Toronto Publications of Canada, 1965. Print.
Local Film Cultures: Toronto 