Lakes 10 Movie Theater in Hermantown has Closed, But We Still Have Great Theaters in Duluth

This is the beginning of a recent story from the Duluth News-Tribune:

HERMANTOWN — The Lakes Cinema will close after showtimes on Sunday, April 19, according to a statement on the theater's website.

Marcus Theatres, which operates the cinema at 4351 Stebner Road in Hermantown, did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the News Tribune as to why the theater was closing. In an email to loyalty members, the company wrote, "Thank you for your support over the years — we have enjoyed being part of this community."

Though no reasons were spelled out, I was aware that the theater was having trouble. The large parking lots on three sides of the theater had no more than a dozen cars one Sunday afternoon as I drove by last month. What a change from when we boomers were kids. Even drive-ins were full in those days.

I've known for some time that Covid played a role in breaking people out of their movie routines. Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime stepped up their game at the same time that giant flat-panel TVs come significantly down in price. As a result, going out to catch a matinee or evening flick was no longer the default way to see movies. Covid was a gut-punch from which theaters never recovered.

There were other things that happened though as well. Studios have been making fewer mid-budget films and more big "event" films (superheroes, franchises), perhaps in an effort to capitalize on add-on sales from memorabilia and other gimmicks (which I find nauseating). The blockbusters did fill seats, though even there it has been hit and miss much of the time. Small to mid-sized towns can't survive long dry spells between the big time stuff.

Which compounds the problem of rising costs, from heating to taxes to maintaining projection equipment and sound systems.

Then there's the economics of Hollywood itself. Studios make money from streaming, from global releases and the merchandising I mentioned above. Ticket sales at the theaters are no longer as important as they once were.

On the other hand...

Many theaters have adjusted. What Bob Boone has done in restoring the West Theatre and its sibling The Alhambra is nothing short of wonderful. Whereas movie theater economics has threatened many, these asymmetrical twins were ahead of their time by creating a social hub like theaters once had been in the past. In addition to two theaters, the front half of the Alhambra has captured the historic Speakeasy atmosphere of a century ago, a time almost forgotten with live music and atmosphere.

The West is more than a movie house. Since opening it's been a stellar venue for top drawer acts from Peter Yarrow and Judy Collins to Jorma Kaukonen and John McCutcheon...  and so many others--Benny Goodman's Big Band, Gospel Bluegrass, Paula Poundstone the DTAs -- 52 weeks a year, and more!

Opened in 1913, and now it's back

It's not just music. We've also been wowed by magicians, and other acts that have added a little magic to our corner of the world. 

If you feel like the world today is driving you a little close to the edge, grab a Reader, see who's coming to town in the weeks ahead and drop in for a bit of sanity. 

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For the record we still have the Zeitgeist downtown, an alternative venue that's got its own cool factor, and the Marcus Theaters by the DECC across from the William S. Irving ore boat.

I just heard a story recently about how the Irving ended up where it is today. A group of community business leaders brought the ship into the slip where it sits, to contribute to our soon to be flourishing tourist trade. It was all part of a grand vision for Canal Park, and it came to pass!

The Lincoln Park area has been the center of attention these past ten years, but it's my personal hope that the Spirit Valley neighborhood gets a similar about of love. And I know a lot of people who are eager to see Downtown thrive again. 

Garbo Documentary Shows Why She Became Legendary and Why She Stepped Away

"There's something strange about the nature of "celebrity." Many young people dream of "making it" in the field of their dreams, but few really understand the hidden cost of being famous. It might be fun at first. But when you read between the lines of many stories, you see that the mystique is also a burden."
--Burden of the Public Eye

This weekend  I watched the Netflix documentary Garbo: Where Did You Go? What intrigued me was learning that at the height of her fame she withdrew from the limelight to live a private life of seclusion. I couldn't help but think of others who similarly pulled back in one way or another. J.D. Salinger came to mind, as did John Lennon in the mid-Seventies.

In his Chronicles: Volume One, Bob Dylan talks about the pre-eminent need to maintain a “normal” family somewhere away from the public eye. That task eventually took a toll on his first marriage. Some Dylan observers have gone so far as to speculate that his famous Woodstock motorcycle accident in the Sixties was staged as a mechanism for getting out of the public eye for a spell, some time to slow down and assess.

Greta Garbo was born in Sweden, 18 September 1905. Her birth name: Greta Lovisa Gustafsson. The youngest of three children, her childhood memories were not happy ones, growing up in a slum, long dark winters, an oppressive atmosphere in the home. 

At an early age she became quite interested in the theater and directed her friends in make believe stories. She finished school at age 13 like other working class girls and found work but when the Spanish Flu swept through Stockholm her father became ill and lost his job. Greta took him to hospital appointments and took care of him, but he died when she was 14, which was very dark time.

Greta's first jobs included soap-lathering in a barber shop, running errands in a department store and modeling hats, which led to her being filmed for a commercial, which then led to being in a silent film. She evidently sensed she's found her calling because she followed up with two years of training in the Royal Dramatic Training Academy.

In 1924 the Finnish director Mauritz Stiller recruited her for a film based on a story by Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlof, and she was on her way. She had no idea that in a few years she would end up being the biggest name in Hollywood and one of its biggest international stars.

Illustration by the author.

The documentary showed clips from the numerous film she starred in (28 in all) and it was easy to see why she was such a compelling on-screen presence. In her very. first screen test she was described as "electrifying." The response to her films certified that she had what it takes and the studio milked it for all it was worth.

Many silent screen stars fell out of favor once audiences could hear them talk, but not Garbo. Her husky Swedish accent amplified her desirability and powers. She became the biggest box office draw in Hollywood.

Despite her fame, the human spirit within her was being smothered and strangled by contract pressures and the expectations of Louis B. Mayer. When her sister died, to whom Greta had been immensely close, the studio would not give her permission to fly to Sweden to attend the funeral. She was given two days to grieve then get back to work.

Living life in the public eye took its toll in other ways. Eventually she walked away, still in her early forties. Hollywood repeatedly attempted to coax her back but it was not to be. Nor would she share her reasons for this permanent voluntary hibernation, even with her friends. Four years before her death she opened up to her biographer Sven Broman. "I was tired of Hollywood. I did not like my work. There were many days when I had to force myself to go to the studio... I really wanted to live another life."^[1]

The documentary has its flaws, but it does succeed in giving us a deeper appreciation for this artist from Hollywood's early years and the price of fame. It also made me want to see some of those films that catapulted her to the top.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Garbo