Credit: Ambler Theater/Facebook
The history of cinema has never died at Ambler Theater.
Opened by the Warner Bros. in 1928 on East Butler Avenue, the theater retains its rustic façade and nostalgic sign on the exterior, and on the inside, the old celluloid magic continues in its projectionist booth.
There, Jesse Crooks, Ambler Theater projectionist and director of operations at Renew Theaters, maintains and operates the two 35mm projectors and their respective film reels, according to WHYY. Renew Theaters is the nonprofit the runs Ambler Theater, County Theater in Doylestown, Princeton Garden Theatre in Princeton, NJ, and Hiway Theater in Jenkintown.
Before the days of electronic video files, which is the method most movies are shown today, movie theaters used a projectionist, 35mm film and a projector onto the screen, per the article. The four theaters previously mentioned are part of a group of 23 theaters in the Tri-State area still dedicated to analog film.
Ambler Theater will celebrate 35mm film with its fourth 35mm Film Festival this weekend. From April 12 to April 14, the nonprofit community arthouse theater will show nine feature films: “The Wizard of Oz,” “Evil Dead II,” “Rififi,” “The Naked City,” “The Adventures of Prince Achmed,” “Three on a Match,” “The Love Witch,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and “Ball of Fire.”
It will close out its festival on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. with a special program “Remembering Lou DiCrescenzo: Films That Time Forgot.” DiCrescenzo was a local historian and film preservationist who was the inspiration behind the 35mm Film Festival. Before he passed away, DiCrescenzo donated hundreds of film prints to the Library of Congress and American Film Institute, according to the theater’s Facebook page.
The tribute to DiCrescenzo will have short films, trailers, and snipes from his collection, donated to Ambler Theater in 2008, according to its Facebook post.
Find showtimes and get tickets here. Become a member of Ambler Theater to help keep it alive here or even make a donation for its preservation here.
Read more on the Ambler Theater’s history and its 35mm projectors here.
Earlier this year, Ambler Theater Executive Director Christopher Collier revealed that Renew and Ambler Theater were able to reach its 2023 fundraising goal, which has led into a strong 2024.
However, its two crown jewels in the projection booth are now 12 years old, and overdue for replacement. If its equipment fails, then no more movies.
Membership makes up about 33% of the theater’s revenue; film distributors and suppliers get 50% of all ticket and concession sales, according to its website.
