Ritz Theatre
803 N. Rolla Street,
Rolla,
MO
65401
803 N. Rolla Street,
Rolla,
MO
65401
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Correction: It was the Crown Cinema Corporation that took over the Ritz after United Artists, not Crown Theatres.
The Ritz Theatre opened its doors on July 19, 1941 with a one-day showing of Jackie Moran in “The Gang’s All Here” along with a few short subjects featuring sound installations by Western Electric.
Like most theaters in Rolla, the Ritz operated for many decades. Throughout its history, the Ritz went into several chains over the years, including Commonwealth Theatres, United Artists, and Crown Theaters.
The Ritz Theatre closed for the final time on June 18, 1995 with “Braveheart” and was demolished on May 30, 1998.
I wonder if the July 3, 1941 issue of Film Daily got Mildred Rauth’s surname wrong, or if she remarried sometime before selling the Ritz to R. E. Carney?: “MRS. MILDRED KARSCH, following a business visit to St. Louis, has returned to Farmington, Mo., and will open her new theater in Rolla, Mo., on July 15.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 5, 1952: “The Lyric (in Newburg MO) for many years was operated by Mildred Rauth of Rolla, Mo., who still has the State Theatre at Cabool and the Crocker at Crocker, Mo. Several weeks ago she sold her Ritz Theatre at Rolla to R. E. Carney.”
The Ritz was left unlocked shortly before demolition, and I couldn’t resist taking a flashlight in and looking around. The seats and screen had been pretty well worked over by vandals. While one of the restrooms was wrecked, the other had apparently been kept viable by workmen doing pre-demolition salvage—it was in decent shape, stocked with paper towels and soap. In the balcony I found a homemade Superman costume neatly folded up inside a plastic bag.
A while after the Ritz was knocked down, I looked up the Rolla newspaper from the demolition date. While there were several photos and a detailed history on the adjacent car dealership that was also demolished, no mention was made of the Ritz.