Clinton News Record, 2014-12-17, Page 1414 News Record • Wednesday, December 17, 2014
The Roxy: Clinton's `Talkie' Movie House
David Yates
Special to the News Record
The magic of the silver screen
came to life in Clinton on Mon-
day, February 17, 1936 when
The Roxy movie theatre pre-
miered Ruby Keeler and Dick
Powell in 'Shipmates Forever:
The new movie theatre located
on the west side of Albert Street
drew 'a fine crowd' on opening
night.
It is no coincidence that the
Great Depression of the 1930's
was considered the Golden Age
of Hollywood as people flocked
to the 'pictures' for a few hours
of escapism. Clinton's Roxy the-
atre was the newest `talkie'
movie house owned by Mr.
Herb Sutherland who operated
a chain of small town theatres
in Seaforth, St. Mary's, Goder-
ich, and Cobourg.
With plush carpeting in the
aisles, a fire place in the lobby
and curtains that were 'a hand-
some shade of blue,' the Roxy
sat 260 movie goers. A large
screen, acoustically designed
walls and a Northern Electric
Sound system made the Roxy a
state of the art movie venue.
Ever concerned for the good
reputation of young women, a
ladies' waiting room was pro-
vided so that respectable
women did not have to stand
unescorted on the street while
husbands or dates parked the
car. 'The Clinton News -Record'
declared the Roxy 'an attractive
little theatre well appointed and
such a building as Clinton
should appreciate'
A night at the Roxy became
the focal point of Clinton's
social life for young people. A
1936 newspaper advertisement
from Bartliff's Ice Cream Par-
lour encouraged dates to head
over 'after the show' for toasted
sandwiches and ice cream.
During and after the Second
World War, many airmen
remember going to the Roxy as
one of the highlights of their
stay at RCAF Station Clinton.
One former RAF airman
recalled that the first date with
his future Canadian wife was at
the Roxy.
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As the holidays draw
near, we'd like to take
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"thank you: for your
valued patronage throughout
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RR #3 CLINTON 482-329
The Roxy was also the back
drop for one of the area's most
notorious criminal cases. On
December 6, 1941, 15 year old
James Flenniken was arrested
for car theft as he left the Roxy
with his girlfriend. The `Goder-
ich Signal Star' jokingly com-
pared his crime spree and cap-
ture with that of Depression era
gangster "John Dillinger" as
"the wanted youth was tracked
down through his girlfriend:'
The comparison with Dillinger,
a murderer and prison escapee,
would soon prove more pro-
phetic than anyone realized.
On December 14, while at
the Goderich gaol, Flenniken
hit Kip White, a gaol guard, over
the head with a hammer in an
unsuccessful escape attempt.
White died of his injuries. Flen-
niken received a two year sen-
tence for the deadly assault.
In what became a yuletide
tradition, the town and local
Excalibur Insurance Group is currently located on the former
property of the Roxy movie theatre.
service clubs sponsored free
Christmas matinees at the
Roxy so that parents could get
some shopping done.
Yet, the advent of television
revolutionized entertainment
in post-war North America. A
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local 1950's newspaper ad said
it all when it advertised that
`movies are better on CKNXtel-
evision.' Sutherland was forced
to off many of his chain of small
town movie houses. (Seaforth's
Regent theatre closed in 1958).
At the Roxy, box office reve-
nues began to decline steeply in
1954. In one month alone, the
Roxy lost $800.00. Small town
theatres could not sustain the
heavy financial losses. On
December3, a notice in the
'News -Record' announced that
the Roxy would close on
December 26, 1959. Suther-
land said that he was 'particu-
larly sorry that the children and
young people of Clinton and
community will no longer have
the Saturday afternoon mati-
nee, and evening
entertainment'
Five hundred children
packed the Roxy in two shifts on
December 17 for the final free
Christmas matinee. 'Ride
Lonesome' a western starring
Randolph Scott was the last
movie shown on December 26,
1959 when the projector was
turned off and the screen went
forever black at the Roxy.
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