Thursday, February 9th, 2023
A Theater Comes to Life
St. Marys Theater honors a native son
By Bill Thornbro
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
The St. Marys Theater will honor St. Marys native William K. Howard on Saturday with two showings of his movies. Howard has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
ST. MARYS - The St. Marys Theater and Grand Opera House is a living history of 20th century American entertainment. And the building, currently under renovation, is forever linked to a favorite son of St. Marys.
Submitted Photo
St. Marys native William K. Howard went to Hollywood and directed more than 50 movies. He died in 1954.
This Saturday, the theater will honor William K. Howard, a St. Marys native who left to pursue a career in Hollywood. Born in 1899, Howard went on to direct more than 50 movies before he died in 1954. This weekend's show comes more than 80 years after Howard brought the world premiere of one of his movies - "Back Door to Heaven" - to the St. Marys Theater.
Saturday's events will begin with a 2 p.m. showing of "Back Door to Heaven." At 7 p.m., there will be a showing of Howard's 1923 silent film "Let's Go," with internationally famous Dennis James at the organ.
James will entertain during a brief intermission and then local historian Kraig Noble will discuss all the glamour and excitement of the 1939 premiere of "Back Door to Heaven." Then the lights will dim and the movie will light up the 15-by-30 foot screen.
"Howard grew up five blocks from the theater," said Doug Spencer of the non-profit Friends of St. Marys Theater and Grand Opera House.
The theater was four years old when Howard was born. The first production at the opera house was the comedic opera "Nancy" in 1895, Spencer said. In 1904, John Phillip Sousa, the composer of "Stars and Stripes Forever" and other marches, conducted on the stage. Later, the theater transitioned to vaudeville and its traveling musicians, comedians, acrobats and animal acts. The theater began showing movies in the 1910s, he said.
Howard was no slouch as a director. One of his first sound pictures earned two Academy Award nominations. And in 25 years in Hollywood, he directed many of the era's brightest stars, including Paul Muni, Merle Oberon, William Powell, Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray and more. In 1937, Howard went to England and directed a young swashbuckling Laurence Olivier in "Fire Over England." Olivier's costar was a starlet named Vivien Leigh.
An annual Howard film festival is a possibility, Spencer said.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Local historian Kraig Noble sits in the front row at the St. Marys Theater.
To show many movies, a licensing fee must be paid. "At $300 minimum," Spencer said, "plus 50% of the gross." Despite potential costs, they're kicking around plans for an Elvis Presley film fest for the 2024 season. "With Elvis impersonators," he added.
In fact, Spencer said the calendar of possible events is long and getting longer.
"There'll be movies, stage productions, concerts. We're going to have lectures," he said.
Throw in the roomy upstairs ballroom - also a work in progress - and there are opportunities to rent space for receptions and other engagements, Spencer said.
Meanwhile, the rehabilitation continues. While much of the work is a reminder of old days, one concession to the 21st century will be a state-of-the-art digital projector.
"It's a practical and economic decision," Spencer said of the modern format. "To have a (film) projector, you have to have a projectionist, which comes with a price tag."
The red-and-white marquee will be digital, too.
"It's going to look like it did," Spencer said, "but it's going to have digital boards."
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
The theater's newly-renovated concession is decorated with a photo of St. Marys Harvest Jubilee in 1910.
Another modern touch: A skywalk that will connect the theater to the new municipal building. The two buildings will share an elevator.
"The skybridge," Spencer said with enthusiasm. "We've been talking about it from the very beginning."
But none of the modern touches will diminish the romance and memories that come with a classic movie palace.
Noble smiled as he reminisced about watching the 1959 Disney movie "The Shaggy Dog" in the St. Marys Theater from a balcony seat.
Spencer points with pride to the work already complete - the new carpet, arches, sparkling glass concession stand and more. Before the Friends stepped in, the theater was in bad shape, dirty and moldy. It smelled like neglect.
But today, the theater shines.
Like old times.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
In this Jan. 2021 photo, Doug Spencer looks out over the St. Marys Theater prior to renovations.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
The front lobby at the St. Marys Theater has undergone major renovations.
