Cinema Circus

The Cinema Circus was a project with a two-fold purpose. One was to provide a valuable service to the community that, at the time, had little opportunity to see quality films, especially foreign films.  This event was for the showing of films that would probably not appear in the local cinemas and were often the ones that advertised as “the highlights of the 20th century’s unique and original art form ….”  Slavet said of these showings, “The program is not only thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable, but also culturally worthwhile” (“Cinema Circus ….” Scrapbook 1971).  

The other purpose of Cinema Circus was to keep the name of Wayside Theatre before the public year round. At that time, Wayside provided theatrical entertainment only during the summer season. 

It is not completely clear where the Cinema Circus showings took place - - it is assumed it was in the Theatre and not in the Curtain Call.

Records indicate that the first Cinema Circus was scheduled in 1968 and showed films on Sunday evenings between February 9 and May 4.  The first selection was The Haunted House, starring Buster Keaton, followed by the 1915 film, Birth of a Nation.  Later viewings would include Blood and Sand and The Jazz Singer.   Another source indicates that the first season’s films were:  On the Waterfront, Little Colonel, Little Caesar, The Jazz Singer, From Here to Eternity, She Done Him Wrong, and concluded with Long Day’s Journey into the Night on May 4.  There was even an animated title Plane Crazy, a Mickey Mouse film, shown on March 16. 

It was the practice to hold a discussion following each presentation led by a film critic from DC or someone who had a knowledge of film from the local area to talk about the acting, directing and production, and the place of that particular in the American Theatre. 

The original ticket cost was $15.00 for the entire 12 double-feature evenings.  Tickets could only be purchased for the entire series, not for individual showings.  In the early years, the local press would announce these evenings as well as give some type of follow-up statement, “Second Cinema Circus evening a success.” 

The 1971 offerings included a March 7 showing of King Rat.  Other titles planned for the remainder of the season were: Phantom of the Opera; The Flim-Flam Man; La Strada; The Playhouse; Phantom of the Opera; and A Charlie Chaplin Festival.

Titles for the 1972 series included: The Bicycle Thief; Simon of the Desert; Andalusian Dog.  The remaining three titles were not given at that time. 

The 1974 season maintained the international focus of this series with:  Mondo Cane (Italy); Red Psalm (Hungary); I Even Met Happy Gypsies (Yugoslavia); Drunken Angel (Japan); The Blue Angel (Germany); and Yo Yo (France). 

The motto for this film series was clever:  “Join us next Spring.  The cost is minimal and the rewards are maximal.”

It is not clear how long this film series existed or whether it was a successful venture.