I miss the movies..and the palaces.

I used to love going to the movies. Especially when I was a kid in Boston and most films were shown at so-called movie palaces. Theaters like the RKO Keith, the Metropolitan, and the Paramount were opulent settings to see the latest products of Hollywood. Boston, unlike a lot of cities, always had double features, plus, of course, previews of coming attractions (we didn't call them trailers) and possibly a cartoon. Seeing Spartacus at the Astor was a thrill because the theater was spectacular and spacious and there were two sets of curtains that parted dramatically as the film began. Seeing Cinerama at the Boston Theater was another thrill when Lowell Thomas—who had given a rather tedious opening speech on a small screen in black and white—suddenly said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Cinerama" at which point the red curtains parted to reveal the biggest movie screen any of us had ever seen using the new three-camera process that gave the viewer the added realism of peripheral vision. And on that screen, in glorious color,  the car of a roller coast suddenly rumbled out and took us for a close-to-real ride on a wooden roller coaster. But that was then, when movies were fun, the theaters were grand, and presentation was part of the experience. Not any more. For one thing there are no palaces. There are multiplexes where most theaters are good sized, but often you're condemned to a small screening room. And people no longer know how to behave at movies. They talk. They put their feet over the seat in front of them. They eat loudly, often of odorous treats like nachos. And, worst of all, they constantly check their cell phones so that at any given moment in the film, you are distracted by lighted screens to the left or right of you, in the next row or rows and rows and rows away. Like I say, no fun. Pity because this Christmas I would like to see Les Miserables on the big screen at the local multiplex. But I've only had pleasant experiences with this musical which I have seen four times. Why ruin it now. I think I'll wait till it's on television.

Note: Imagine this: The magnificent stairway above was the way we slum kids would ascend to the balcony of Boston's Metropolitan Theatre to see such films as The House of Wax. Even more amazing is that so many other theaters were equally impressive.