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Cambridge —

A Cambridge man disappointed in a Brattle Theatre screening of "The Sound of Music" was arrested after allegedly smashing all the items in the lobby's concession stand, including a cash register.

On Jan. 5 at 7:41 p.m., police were called to the scene on the report of a fight at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square. Upon arrival it was learned that a man identified as Cambridge resident Michael Harrington, 56, had smashed all the items on the concession stand in the lobby, damaging a cash register valued at $1,000.

Harrington of 96 Henry St., Cambridge, was placed under arrest on Brattle Street and charged with malicious destruction of property over $250.

According to Andrea O'Meara, associate director of the Brattle, Harrington became irritated because the movie -- shown as part of the 75th anniversary of 20th Century Fox -- became blurry for about five minutes.

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I hope that this wasn't anybody on this forum.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 01-09-2011, 06:29 AM:
 
That was my thought as I was reading this. . . or any of my other friends, either. Louis
 

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-09-2011, 08:52 AM:
 
Ah-HA! Seems like there are consequences to presentation done badly! Exhibitors best take note!
 

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 01-09-2011, 10:10 AM:
 
Pretty sure anyone on this forum would have gone to the projection booth first
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-09-2011, 12:28 PM:
 
I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've helped random theaters out.

A number of years ago I was at a Cinemark about to watch an advance screening. They tried to start the movie and it jammed in the gate before the first preview was over. A friend of mine from the studio (who was in the audience had invited me and knew I was there) came to me and asked if I could help. Apparently they were going to cancel the show because the kid upstairs couldn't untangle a brain wrap. By the time I got to the booth I had it on screen in 2-3 minutes. That silly "Usher-B" nor the manager up there with him had a clue. At least they didn't have to cancel the show though, which is what is important.

That's not the only time I've helped competing theaters. I've probably put back together at least a dozen prints that got tossed from the platter and at saved at least half a dozen prints that got wet from a roof leak over the platter. I know some people have the belief we should never help "the other guy", but I don't buy into that nonsense. This week I might help them put a movie back together, the next week they might have a platter part that saves one of my screens that I need to borrow for 2 days until I can get a replacement. Sometimes it was something as simple as borrowing a BIB of Coke for a day until our stock truck arrived to pay them back. (There was a very nice Loews across the street that we used to help each other out like that.)

Probably the most ridiculous example I can think of was at the UA Prestonwood. They used to have constant problems when they ran 70mm films in the early 90s. I remember the assistant manager there who was a good friend at the time telling me how terrified they were of Hoffa because they said it broke 9 times out of 10 shows. They had their tech out there several times already trying to find the cause of the problem and yet almost every show they were giving out emergency passes. I was managing a UA down the road and I was over there either picking up borrowed stock or dropping it off (I don't remember) when the film broke. Apparently the GM was the only one who knew how to run the 70mm other than a different assistant manager. The GM was at lunch and that other assistant manager was off. He asked me if I could re-thread it and get it going again. While I was putting it back together he kept ranting about how often that film broke and how the tech said it was a defective print. During the re-thread I found the gate was closing WAAAAAY too tight. So I made him delay the show a few more minutes, found some allen wrenches and adjusted the damn thing. That film didn't break again for the rest of its run. Geez
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-09-2011, 04:23 PM:
 
The weird thing is that the Brattle is usually one of the better places in this area to see a film. They have good people working there and didn't deserve this.

The patron in question really should have gone to a show at the AMC Boston Common, instead. A flawless show is a rare occurrence there.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 01-09-2011, 07:45 PM:
 

quote: Scott Norwood

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The patron in question really should have gone to a show at the AMC Boston Common, instead. A flawless show is a rare occurrence there.

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quote: Brad Miller

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I know some people have the belief we should never help "the other guy", but I don't buy into that nonsense. This week I might help them put a movie back together, the next week they might have a platter part that saves one of my screens that I need to borrow for 2 days until I can get a replacement.

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