Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: How many military theaters are there?

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Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 02-02-2013, 11:58 AM:

Does anyone know how many base theaters the U.S. military has/had throughout the world (post WWII)?

The reason I ask is because I have a difficult time believing a claim I read recently in a film history book. (The claim was that during the 1960s the Army & Air Force Motion Picture Service operated 3,262 movie theaters, including 1,702 in Vietnam and 548 in Europe, effectively making it the world's largest chain.)

Those figures are much higher than I would've expected (and they don't even include the theaters operated by the Navy and Marines).

Any thoughts?

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 02-02-2013, 12:23 PM:

The number for Vietnam is probably correct given that distribution was in 16mm. I was at a small communications site with one 16mm projector. We received films daily and I'd bet they counted us (and others like us) as theaters.

When I rotated to the states I was assigned to Ft. Benning, GA and had a part time projectionist job. There were 9 theaters on that post, all 35mm.

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 02-02-2013, 12:35 PM:

It's been a while since I was in the Air Force but as far as I know the military had at least one theatre on every base. I worked as the base projectionist at Thule, Greenland. It was 35mm Simplex XL. I would believe the figures. I thought Regal was the worlds largest theatre chain.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-02-2013, 01:59 PM:

The current Army and Air Force theatres and showtimes are listed here:

AAFES Reel Time Movies

The Navy Motion Picutre Service handles the Navy theatres and does not seem to have a listing anywhere online that I can tell (for all I know, it may include shipboard theatres, which are probably 16mm or video).

Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 02-02-2013, 04:01 PM:

I installed the Joe Jessel Mega Theater , it was 8/70 and 35mm equipped, but now it looks like they switched to digital. It was already a museum when I did the install.

Rick

Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 02-02-2013, 06:43 PM:

quote: Richard Hamilton
I installed the Joe Jessel Mega Theater , it was 8/70 and 35mm equipped, but now it looks like they switched to digital. It was already a museum when I did the install.

I was living in Corpus Christi at the time they put that theater in the U.S.S. Lexington. Small World.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-02-2013, 07:08 PM:

Quantico also has a theatre in their "Little Hall". We premiered HBO's "Taking Chance" there.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-02-2013, 08:40 PM:

The guy who installed the Simplex projector at Mercyhurst told that it came fro Hanscom AFB.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-02-2013, 08:59 PM:

Hanscom still has its original 1950s Simplexes (see the pictures in the gallery here), or at least they did as of a few years ago. Maybe they had another theatre at one point? Seems unlikely, as it is a small base.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-02-2013, 10:07 PM:

I don't know for sure. All I have to go on is the story I was told by the guy we bought it from. I can't take his word as gospel but I don't have any reason to doubt him, either.

It is a straight gate Simplex PR-1003 with a serial number that dates it from the 1950s. The lamphouse is an L.P. Associates Xe-Lamp. I don't remember the serial number, off hand, but I believe it is in the 1,000 - 2,000 range.

Next time I go to Mercyhurst, I'll try to remember to look for the exact serial number.

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 02-03-2013, 07:42 PM:

How many of these AAFES theatres have converted to digtial?

How many will convert to digital in the future?

How many have closed or will close because they are not being converted?

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-04-2013, 10:07 AM:

Some theaters on military bases/posts have converted to digital projection. Here is a link to the web page of the Little Hall Theater on the "main side" of the Marine Corps base in Quantico, VA.

Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 02-18-2013, 01:17 PM:

quote: Rick Raskin
The number for Vietnam is probably correct given that distribution was in 16mm. I was at a small communications site with one 16mm projector. We received films daily and I'd bet they counted us (and others like us) as theaters.

Was there an admission charge for these "theaters" in Vietnam?

quote: Rick Raskin
When I rotated to the states I was assigned to Ft. Benning, GA and had a part time projectionist job. There were 9 theaters on that post, all 35mm.

Was it common on the larger posts to have multiple theaters? I've seen movies in a military theater on about a dozen posts, and my recollection is they all had only one theater. So my thinking that the figures cited earlier seemed too high was based on the premise that the typical situation was one theater per post. If, however, multiple theater situations were common, then I can see the figure being plausible. On the other hand, I'm not sure the Vietnam installations should count if they were merely small gauge and/or temporary/mobile situations.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-18-2013, 01:51 PM:

quote: Randy Stankey
Next time I go to Mercyhurst, I'll try to remember to look for the exact serial number.

XL-3259

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 02-18-2013, 04:46 PM:

Movies were free in Vietnam. I don't think there were any 35mm installations in country. The 5th Special Forces (Green Berets) HQ in Nha Trang, which was adjacent to my signal site, was 16mm. They did have the luxury of dual JAN projectors with changeovers though.

Long Lines North - Back-porch Tropo - Theater, Nha Trang Vietnam (1967)

At Ft. Benning there were multiple theaters as it was then a large base. The smaller bases I was stationed at stateside usually had only 1 theater. I erred on there being 9 theaters operating at Benning, but I know that 5 were operational in 1968; the smallest being Theater #9. All were XLs and 4 of them had Magnarcs. Theater #1 on the main post had Strong Super 135 lamps burning 11mm positive trim. When I visited in the early 1970s they had already converted to Xenon but were still running changeovers. I believe that now all the movies are shown at the main shopping complex in a multiplex type of theater.

The booth at the (demolished) Ft. Benning, GA Theater #1 (1968)

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 02-18-2013, 06:10 PM:

XL straight gate, 9030 and LP Associates Xenon, 2 machines. I supplied Kelmar arms and mono amps for those theatres with no path to Dolby. Plenty of theatres in the Ohio Valley Exchange region. Air Force Academy as well as bases on the Ohio, Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers. Louis

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-27-2013, 10:48 AM:

I found this news story on Fort Sill's web site regarding the post's Sheridan Theater. It stopped showing movies this past December.

quote:
FORT SILL, Okla.-- The Fort Sill Sheridan Road Theater stopped showing movies in December, but the facility will continue to be used for ceremonial and training events, said Army & Air Force Exchange Service officials.

The post theater is one of about 60 AAFES theaters that have stopped showing movies as technology is moving away from film projection and toward digital pictures and sound, said Chris Ward, AAFES Headquarters spokesman in Dallas. About another 60 AAFES theaters worldwide are making the conversion to digital.

Today, movie theaters using 35mm prints are virtually non-existent, as theaters across the country have converted to digital projection. As a result, AAFES theaters, which use 35mm prints, have been undergoing reviews to determine the cost-effectiveness of converting its theaters to a digital format.
A review of the Fort Sill theater determined that, with a cost of about $120,000 to convert to digital and the availability of local off-base entertainment venues, the continued operation of the theater was not viable.

"With a dual mission to provide quality goods and services while returning a dividend for quality of life programs, upgrading and continuing to operate theaters that are not viable is untenable for a self-sustaining entity such as the exchange," said Michelle Mackey, Fort Sill Exchange general manager. "We will still continue to provide avenues for Soldiers and their families to see all the Hollywood hits with our wide selection of DVDs and Blu-Rays available at the exchange, as well as through Instaflix kiosks."

The Instaflix kiosk, an entertainment vending machines at the Express stations on Fort Sill, offers a selection of 600-800 discs per kiosk and lets users rent DVDs overnight for $1 and Blu-ray discs for $1.49. Once customers rent videos, remembering when to return them is simple as rentals are due the next business day by 6 p.m., no matter what time they were rented.