Camelot Theatres

2300 E. Baristo Road,
Palm Springs, CA 92262

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MSC77
MSC77 on February 26, 2023 at 3:13 pm

A chronology of Palm Springs’ 70mm presentation history has recently been published. Camelot is mentioned numerous times.

CStefanic
CStefanic on November 14, 2022 at 10:09 am

Is the screen still as pictured? I will be assisting in a screening early next month. I’ve never been to this theatre but I’m very excited!

RogerA
RogerA on April 27, 2022 at 9:55 am

I just did a tec service call for house One. They are running three films in 70mm the first weekend in May. This is one of the best 70mm theaters I have seen. Theater number one has two Norelco AA 35/70 projectors. The 70mm picture is wall to wall.

sdiaz
sdiaz on January 15, 2018 at 2:40 pm

I worked as assistant manager and mostly a union projectionist at all palm springs theatres in the 1970’s Camelot, village, Plaza, palm springs drive-in, Sunair Drive-in, Cinemart, and the Palms to Pines 3-plex. The original projectors were not Norelco, they were Century. The main theatre had a CenturyJJ 35/70mm projector with 6 Bogen 100watt amplifiers. 5 massive speaker boxes behind the screen and about 28 speakers in the ceiling. F. Hugh Thomas was the manager and projectionist at Camelot from its start to the late 70s. He had customized the main screen so that it had 5 format settings. By pushing a button the black masking would change from a small Flat screen to 70mm wide which was about 12" wider than the original installation. I have been to many many theatres in my 65 years but nothing has ever been as spectacular as the opening from trailers to the main feature at the Camelot. When the first Star Wars film came out we added Dolby optical stereo sound. I sure miss those days and Mr. Thomas a true Master Showman. Stanley Diaz

rivest266
rivest266 on January 11, 2017 at 2:52 am

2 screens on May 27th, 1971. Grand opening ad in the photo section.

rivest266
rivest266 on January 11, 2017 at 2:37 am

February 1st, 2002 also in the photo section.

rivest266
rivest266 on January 11, 2017 at 2:30 am

January 6th, 1967 grand opening ad in the photo section.

terrywade
terrywade on February 26, 2015 at 10:32 pm

Does the main large theatre still have the large D-150 curved screen up? They need to advertise this in the ads they run in Palm Springs.

RobertAlex
RobertAlex on November 6, 2013 at 1:32 pm

As a gay man that lived in Palm Springs for over 5 years, this came as a bit of a shock. I mean the gay film festival is held here for goodness sakes. This was my little piece of heaven in the desert. Where else can you see independent films on a 70 foot curved screen with 7.1 Dolby (when available).

I don’t ever like to get political on this site, but I do feel that her response to this should also be posted here as well.

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20131105/OPINION04/311050024/Camelot-Theatres-owner-loves-people-Palm-Springs?nclick_check=1

An open letter to the Palm Springs community.

My name is Rozene Supple. Although I was born in the Midwest, I have been a part-time resident of Palm Springs since 1934 and a full-time resident since 1968. Recently, others have tried to paint a very one-sided picture of who I am. With your forbearance, I’d like to add some color to that canvas.

I love this community. I have seen it through good times and through bad times, and I have always tried to do everything I could to contribute to its well-being with my own energy with financial contributions and through the businesses that I own.

When my husband and I moved here, we invested in this community by opening businesses here. We purchased, refurbished and reopened the defunct Camelot Theatres, and purchased, then reopened a defunct radio station. We have also tried to do our part when it comes to philanthropic causes.

We helped found the Palm Springs International Film Festival, we funded the trauma center at Desert Regional Medical Center, we helped fund the McCallum Theatre, and we have given time and money to a wide variety of other organizations and causes.

Over the years, we have also donated to a number of arts organizations and charities, including the Desert AIDS Project, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Equality California, The Judy Fund, Olive Crest, the Children’s Discovery Museum and others. We didn’t have to do any of these things. We did them because we love our community and its people. That includes the gay and lesbian community — a community that includes many of my closest friends, and a community I both admire and respect.

Having been born in the Midwest to a conservative family, and to a family that had been in the broadcasting business since before I was born, I have also been a supporter of small government and less regulation for most of my life. The broadcasting business is one of the most regulated in our country. I daresay you will find few owners of broadcasting companies that are in favor of big government or more regulation.

As a result of my background and my beliefs, I have been a member of and a supporter of the Republican Party for many years. As the party began to become more and more attached to social causes I personally disagreed with, it became harder and harder for me to continue making those donations, but old habits and longstanding beliefs about the role of government die hard.

I doubt anyone will ever call me a liberal, despite my rather liberal social beliefs and my commitment to the arts.

I can tell you specifically that I am not a fan of either the tea party or the religious right, and that I have been struggling for quite a while with the fact that my efforts to support fiscal responsibility in government have been clouded by these other issues. As a result of that struggle, and because of these recent attempts to paint me as someone I am not, I have decided that I will no longer contribute to any political entity that does not embrace equal rights for all Americans. Truth be told, I will probably stop contributing to any of them.

I realize that some people will find a way to criticize this decision on my part, or spin it in a negative way. That’s their option.

Anyone who knows me knows I answer to my own conscience, and not someone else’s opinion.

They also know there is far more to me than the picture that was painted in the Valley Voice column that was printed in The Desert Sun on Sunday.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on November 6, 2013 at 5:06 am

Well, well. Take a look at this:

Tucked away in Palm Springs is a movie theater complex called Camelot that shows mostly quirky indie films, hosts the local gay and lesbian film fest, and takes money from gay people to give to horrible politicians. The news broke this weekend on a local blog, where a lawyer unveiled the results of a little campaign finance sleuthing. The theater’s owner, Rozene Supple, has made a series of contributions over the years that read like a checklist of people who don’t like LGBT people.

Michelle Bachman? Yep. Proposition 8? Yes indeed. Allen West? Oh yes.

(We have to admit that there’s a part of us that misses Allen West, the super-crackpotty politician from, naturally, Florida, who lashed out at Lady Gaga for calling America “home of the gays.”)

And it gets worse: According to attorney Robert Tansey, who dug through Supple’s donation records, she was more than a little sneaky about how she donated to Prop 8. Initially, she listed the money as coming via her homeowner’s association. The record was only corrected after the association received a large volume of complaints, Tansey reports. (Conversely, we wonder how Bachman and West would react to her upcoming hosting of The Palm Springs Gay and Lesbian Film Festival?)

So, now that we have this information, what do we do about it? Well, there’s always the possibility of a boycott. Supple’s free to spend her money on nutty causes that hurt her own patrons–just as the people of Palm Springs are entitled to withhold theirs from her.

The optimal outcome in a situation like this would be an apology from the donor, a promise that it won’t happen again, and a big donation towards marriage equality. Might we suggest an amount at least equivalent to all the combined money she’s given to antigay causes? That’s what a Gold’s Gym franchisee in San Francisco did after it came out that the CEO of Gold’s supported a Karl Rove PAC: the franchisee cut all ties with Gold’s and donated a ton of money to local LGBT causes.

Will Supple follow suit? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Full story here:

jeremyproctor
jeremyproctor on July 26, 2012 at 9:05 pm

Official Information: In June 2011, Camelot Theatres upgraded Aud #1 to allow for Digital Cinema Projection by installing a Christie Solaria CP2230 projector. All existing equipement in Aud #1 remained, with the exception of 16mm. The Norelco 35/70mm projectors are still operational and we are still capable of running reel-to-reel, two projector changeovers. 70mm can only be ran if it has a DTS soundtrack. By the end of August 2012, we will have fully upgraded to Digital Cinema, leaving existing 35mm equipment in Aud #1 and Aud #3. Aud #2 will be exclusively digital, due to space contstrains. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me directly at . – Thank You :)

RobertAlex
RobertAlex on October 14, 2010 at 5:15 pm

In September 2010, The Camelot Theatres added digital projection in their main house on the large screen, and one of the smaller auditoriums. Theater #3 is still 35mm.

William
William on August 3, 2010 at 6:22 am

When this theatre opened as a D-150 house the full screen was 30 feet high by 68 feet wide.

trooperboots
trooperboots on May 25, 2005 at 10:11 pm

This theater is about to have a FILM NOIR FESTIVAL on June 2-5…

I recommend a call to the theater the day of the event to confirm guest appearances. Some of these films are being shown on one of only 1 or 2 prints remaining. It is not to be missed if you are in the area.

Thursday June 2nd 7:30 pm – OPENING NIGHT with actress Salome Jens
SECONDS (1966)

Friday June 3rd 10:00 am
BLONDE ICE (1948)

Friday June 3rd 1:00 pm w/ Special guest Paul Picerni
I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE F.B.I. (1951)

Friday June 3rd 4:00 pm
with special guest James MacArthur & Ray Bradbury book signing
CRIME WITHOUT PASSION (1934)

Friday June 3rd 7:30 pm
an evening with Mamie Van Doren on stage
GUNS, GIRLS, AND GANGSTERS (1959)

Saturday June 4th 10:00 am
TRY AND GET ME (1950)

Saturday June 4th 1:00 pm
THE GLASS WEB (1953)

Saturday June 4th 4:00 pm w/ Special guest Stanley Rubin
THE NARROW MARGIN (1952)

Saturday June 4th 7:30 pm w/ Special guest Robert Forster
JACKIE BROWN (1997)

Sunday June 5th 10:00 am
GUILTY BYSTANDER (1950)

Sunday June 5th 1:00 pm
Actress Nancy Coleman in a special guest appearance.
SUDDENLY (1954)

Sunday June 5th 4:00 pm
DESTINY (1944)

Sunday June 5th 7:30 pm – Special Guest director George Englund
THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY (1969)

For complete info on films and prices, go to: http://www.palmspringsfilmnoir.com/

stanleydiaz
stanleydiaz on March 16, 2005 at 4:02 am

I was one of the projectionists of the camelot from about 1973 to 1977 when it had a D-150 screen 70mm and 6 channel sound. It was run by F. Hugh Thomas, a third generation Master showman with standards unmatched in the industry. To go from the small “flat” previews and then open the huge 70 foot screen while the picture was projecting on the giant curtain while it was opening was a magnificent event to behold. It was as if the heavens were opening up. Stanley Diaz

trooperboots
trooperboots on January 1, 2005 at 5:30 pm

January 6-17 is the PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. The stars coming for this event are amazing. The official website is http://www.psfilmfest.org

This is one of 3 venues for the festival this year. The others are the Signature Theaters on Taquitz Canyon and Palm Springs High School auditorium. All theaters are located within a few blocks of each other.