Artcraft packs ‘em in with the classics

posted by Michael Zoldessy on July 29, 2008 at 7:50 am

FRANKLIN, IN — The 86 year-old local institution, the Artcraft Theatre, manages to be successful with a slate of classic films and some old-fashioned service.

“If you talk to anybody who’s lived here for any period of time, they have memories from the Artcraft Theatre,” said Tricia Bechman, executive director of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, who often can be glimpsed in the box office, selling old-fashioned roll tickets.

“It’s a throwback. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you feel like a kid again.”

In an age of corporate chains of multiplexes splashing the newest movies on screen every week, the Artcraft thrives by playing old movies — and brings out audiences in astonishing numbers. Several hundred people typically buy tickets on alternate weekends, paying $5 a head to see films that they could easily rent on DVD.

Read the full story at the Indianapolis Star.

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