Amusu Theatre

dallasmovietheaters on December 26, 2022 at 9:27 pm

Architects Dale & Smith designed the new-build Amusu Theatre opening August 17, 1914 with Mary Pickford in “A Normandy Romance” supported by “Circle 17” starring Herbert Brenon (ad in photos). The neighboring Amusu Confectionery served as the venue’s de facto concession stand. Robb & Rowley (R&R) took on the venue from the Collins' family and gave it a $15,000 Hope Jones Wurlitzer Pipe Organ at its relaunch on April 14, 1923 with Otto Moellering at the console and “The Prisoner” on the big screen. But the theater was closed on October 8, 1927 not making the transition to sound. The theater was disassembled and converted to the Amusu Bowling Center Lanes.

n June of 1935, the Amusu Bowling Center closed permanently. The Collins family decided to re-convert the venue back to a movie house and, for the first time, with a sound system. The New Amusu Theatre was remodeled to the plans of architect W. Scott Dunne in 1936 becoming a streamline moderne facility. After a nine-year hiatus from film, its reboot was complete with its Grand Reopening as the Amusu on October 4th, 1936 with Gloria Stuart in “The Girl on the Front Page.”

The Amusu scuffled through the 1950s as western films lost favor due to television and adult films were a bit of a tough sell in town. It closed on February 4, 1962 with Scilla Gabel in “The Fruit is Ripe” and Lewis Cotlow’s “Primitive Paradise.”

During the porno chic era of movie exhibition, the theater got one more chance as a movie house. After its second nine-year hiatus, it would return with adults films. Relaunching for a third time - now under the Amusu Adult Theatre banner - the venue reopened on February 12th, 1971 with adult films. It was a lightning rod of controversy. And the City of Corpus tried to rid the city of objectionable film content following the Supreme Court’s landmark Miller v. California case. On November 12, 1973, the Amusu voluntarily ceased showing adult films. Its final attempt to remain viable occurred with a programming policy consisting of repertory fare on 16mm films. That lasted for less than a month with the Amusu closing permanently on December 4, 1973 with “Frontier Fury,” “Tarantula!” and “Sons of the Desert.”

In 1975, plans were unveiled to demolish the vacant Amusu. Preservation efforts were carried out over the next four years. While film aficionados wanted to reboot the theatre with an announced plan in 1979 (hopefully rebooting in 1982 - which would have been the theater’s hat trick with three reopenings following nine-year hiatuses), it was not meant to be. The Collins' long-running Amusu Theatre was razed in 1979 and its bricks repurposed for another project.

rivest266 on November 27, 2020 at 2:09 pm

Closed in 1962.