Movie theaters have been a part of the social life of the American community from the small village to the large city since their advent early in this century. Old-timers will remember the early days of silent films and the noisy click of the projector as it was cranked by hand by the operator, and the sign, "One Moment, Please," when the movie stopped and the reels were changed by hand. Those were the days when there was musical accompaniment to the action of the show. Small theaters usually had a hometown pianist or organist who furnished the music, but large movie theaters were often accompanied by house orchestras.
When a silent movie was released, cue sheets for musicians accompanied the film. These included the minutes and seconds of music needed for each scene, and also suggested certain musical compositions to use. It was up to the musicians as to whether they would use the suggestions on the cue sheet or would select their own music.
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| Empress Theater, circa 1920's | Empress Theater, 1914 - 1940 |
It was in February of 1914 that Fred G. Keens, early pioneer businessman of Kearney, bought the lot at 2205 Central Avenue on which he would build the Empress Theater. There were at the time four downtown movie houses in Kearney - the Crescent, the Isis, the Radio and the Air Dome, plus offering of special movies with vaudeville and/or music at the Kearney Opera House.
By September of 1914 the building was finished to a point where the Empress could be open to the public. The marble for the lobby had not arrived, but was expected any day. Mr. Keens had no part in the operation of the theater but leased the building to other managers or proprietors, who offered movies along with vaudeville or musical groups.
The grand opening of the Empress was on Monday, September 21, 1914. A news article in the Kearney Daily Hub of September 19 announced that the management of the theater promised something extra good in the way of pictures, with Famous Player Features being shown every Friday night, and that an orchestra had been secured to finish the music every night. The program set out in the grand opening ad in the Hub of the 21st stated:"Big Strong 101 Bison Feature, "The Lure of Ceisha," produced in Japan by Henry McRay. Also, Ford Sterling Comedy with Ford Himself. Six Piece Orchestra. Admission 5 cents and 10 cents, Loge Seats 15 cents."The Empress was an impressive building and was a popular theater from its beginning. The main floor and the balcony seated 654, more than any other movie house in the city at that time. The Lobby walls were marble trimmed, and the huge wooden front doors were brass trimmed. The multi-lighted marquee was a bright spot on Central Avenue.
Musical accompaniment to the silent films was provided by local orchestras, organists or pianists. Fred Boucher is remembered as one who often provided organ music. Mildred Burman and a Mrs. Riggs were among others who furnished music. No matter what accompaniment was used, it was no small task for the musicians to flip from one piece of music to another to keep the music correct as the movie progressed.
The silent era of films came to an end around 1927. There were some movies with sound as early as 1923, but the talking movie did not come into its own until 1929. Vitaphone is one of the famous names related to movies with sound. The 1930's brought all of those wonderful, extravagant musicals in black and white, with singing and dancing, and where Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and many other stars found their places of fame. Next came movies in Technicolor and their casts of thousands.
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