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Topic: Theaters on the Big Island of Hawaii

Chris Markiewicz
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 209
From: Glenaviegh, County Tipperary, Ireland
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 03-08-2003 11:45 PM

Hi,
As far as I know, there never were any drive-ins on this island, but for a few years I had instorage in our booth a pair of Simplex portable projectors that were used for outdoor showings at various sugar plantation camps here in the 1930s. They were metal framed and paneled with heavy masonite, and had four splayed adjustble legs. The reel boxes were detachable for transport. There was an integrated optical soundhead, and the motor was at the rear in the lamphouse, which used a 1000 to 1500 watt incandescant lamp. They actually ran really well and treated the film very gently, but the image was very dim.

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 03-09-2003 01:12 AM

Chris,

When I was little, my parents belonged to the Waipahu Japanese Social Club and the primary membership service the group offered was the opportunity to to enjoy first run Japanese films as soon as they finish their run either at the Kukusai Gekijyo (Theatre) or the Nippon in Honolulu. The Kokusai was Daei Motion Picture company's first run house and the Nippon featured films from Shochiku & the Toho Studios. (This was before Toho opened their own theatre) All of the club's showing which used to be held as often as three Saturday evenings in a month were on the grounds of a little pre school at the Oahu Sugar plantation here in Waipahu.
There was a permanent projection booth in a wood shack with a regular pair of 35mm projectors. I did not know the brand name of the projectors because I was too young. The screen was a large sheet of cloth on a roll and mounted on the ceiling of the outdoor stage. The sound was from a regular PA sound system. Thank God, I was only a kid who did not know the difference between good and bad sound like I do today. Mr Jack Matsuura who owned and operated both the Victory in Wahiawa and the Haleiwa on the north shore was the projectionist during the club's showings. I used to always bother him with all kinds of questions about motion picture exhibition because I have always loved to see movies and the way they are shown. Most of the time, there would be American short subjects including a cartoon and a Japanese Yomiuri newsreel and than the feature. Some times, there would be a special bonus. The bonus was alway an American full lenght feature film in addition to the regular Japanese film. By the way, the club showed a Japanese science fiction movie that later became a cult favorite in America. When I saw the film, it was the original without Raymond Burr. The film was "GODZILLA' but it was know as "GOJIRA" at the time. When the Japanese started to produce films in scope, the club showed them on a much wider cloth screen. The neighboring village of Ewa also had a social club muchh like ours because they too had a large Japanese population. The Oahu Sugar Company and the Ewa Plantation closed up shop many years ago and the happy memories of enjoying Japanese and sometimes as a bonus, an American feature under the stars would come back to me when I recollect my very happy childhood. [Smile]

-Claude

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