|
|
|
|
Newspaper
photo that was reprinted in the July 4, 1976, special edition of the
Palestine Herald-Press. Date of original photo is unknown, but it
was probably 1930s.
Courtesy of Roddy Millichamp |
|
In 1908 two
conjoined buildings were erected in downtown Palestine. The left
side was built by Judge P.W. Brown and became the gas company. The
right side, built by Judge B.H. Gardner, became a silent movie theatre,
THE GEM PICTURE PALACE. Upstairs were sixteen offices housing doctors,
dentists, and lawyers.
Newspapers carried
provocative movie ads promising thrilling movies, full of romance,
laughs, sentiment, courage, and spine tingles. Not much has changed
in movie offerings to the present time, except, of course, that
sound is now incorporated into the film. Sound then was live and
melodious.
One newspaper
ad stated, "Mrs. Mae Middleton Colley [the Colley family was influential
in Palestine at the time], who has just returned to Palestine after
a successful season in wide musical circles, is offering a special
musical program at the Gem Theatre tonight…", featuring her accompaniment
to a male quartet. This was local entertainment before the movie
showing. Mrs. Colley was famous for her skillful accompaniment on
piano and organ as the movie unfolded.
|
|
|
The
old Gem [silent] Picture Palace today
Now Star of Texas Antiques
Photo courtesy Sandy Fiedler |
|
The Gem ceased
to be a theatre in the 1930s when the structure became the office
for Texas Power and Light until the 1970s. In 1996 the twin buildings
were bought by Roddy and Susan Millichamp. After three years of
intense restoration, the old theatre was reopened as the Star of
Texas Antiques shop during Dogwood Trails, March 16, 2000. Most
notable is a collection of 15,000 antiquarian books. When the left
side of the building is fully restored as well, the book collection
should expand to about 30,000.
One of my favorite Gem newspaper ads is for The Young Diana with
Marion Davies, a colorful silent movie actress on and off celluloid.
|
|
|
An
ad for Marion Davies feature being shown at the Gem [silent] Picture
Palace in Palestine.
Photos are taken of original newspaper ads courtesy of Roddy Millichamp,
current owner of the old theatre. |
|
Marion was the
till-death-do-us-part mistress of the powerful publisher and founder
of Cosmopolitan Studios, William Randolph Hearst, who was married
to the mother of his children. Together W.R. and Marion lived and
entertained Hollywood's brassy royalty in Hearst Castle at San Simeon,
California. Their lives were immortalized in the brilliant movie
Citizen Kane, product of the young genius, Orson Welles. Because
W.R. disliked the portrayal of himself in the movie, he saw to it
that Welles in effect became blacklisted in Hollywood. The world
never saw what could have been.
Unfortunately,
Citizen Kane's portrayal of Marion's acting skills as hackneyed,
a forced creation of Hearst's influence and wealth, has stuck. But
this is not the truth. Marion Davies was a capable, multi-hued actress,
worthy of a better legacy.
|
|
|
An
ad for Gipsy Blood at the Gem [silent] Picture Palace.
Photos are taken of original newspaper ads courtesy of Roddy Millichamp,
current owner of the old theatre. |
|
Davies reminds
me of Helen Grossenheider, a young woman from a strict St. Louis
family, who in the same time period ran off to California with the
man of her dreams. Happy are the words on postcards she wrote to
her adoring little sisters who easily forgave her for leaving home.
Happy, until she discovered that her husband already had a wife.
Helen died an early death of syphilis.
|
|
|
An
ad for Lon Chaney in Flesh and Bloodd
at the Gem [silent] Picture Palace.
Photos are taken of original newspaper ads courtesy of Roddy Millichamp,
current owner of the old theatre. |
|
Her picture
hangs on my office wall. There she stands, posing in 1923 in a California
studio, with a flowing dark dress, a single long strand of pearls,
floppy hat, sunlight from the window serving as a backdrop. The
roses at her waist are hand-colored a deep red, the way people used
to color black and white photos to add realism and dimension. Her
face is white with rosy, flushed cheeks. She is smashing. She was
my grandmother's sister, "Dear Sister Helen," my grandmother always
called her, almost genuflecting at the mention of the name. The
rest of the family, however, was ashamed and mostly silent about
her. It took some effort on my part to find out the truth about
her death.
Why does she
intrigue me? Because she was daring while the rest of the world
trudged along? Because she exchanged her papa's house with its massive
dark Victorian furniture in a snowy landlocked city for an ocean
breezes, perpetual sunshine, and adventure? Setting isn't everything,
but it is something.
|
|
|
An
ad for D.W. Griffith's Orphans of the Storm
at the Gem [silent] Picture Palace.
Photos are taken of original newspaper ads courtesy of Roddy Millichamp. |
|
The 1920s: Patrons
attend the Gem Picture Palace in Texas; Marion Davies is an actress
and paramour; Dear Sister Helen basks in the southern California
sun - transient fantasy, romance, and brave innocence.
You pays your money and you takes your chances.
September 2001
© Sandy Fiedler
See Palestine,
Texas
Book Your Hotel Here &
Save
Palestine
Hotels >
|
|
|
