Kaiju in long-gone theaters in the San Fernando Valley

Above, the San Val Drive-In Theater in Burbank, California.

Kaiju in long-gone theaters in the San Fernando Valley:
A 50th Anniversary Remembrance

by Armand Vaquer

(Originally Published in G-FAN #64, Summer 2004)

Recently, I came across a website (http://www.geocities.com/bijoumanager/burbank-theaters.html) concerning long-lost movie houses and drive-in theaters in the San Fernando Valley of California by Ron Strong of Delphian Productions.

My interest was further aroused then Mr. Strong mentioned that he saw Destroy All Monsters at the San Val Drive-in Theater in Burbank. I then contacted him and asked him what he remembered about this screening and whether or not he saw other kaiju films at this theater.

Stong replied, "I saw Destroy All Monsters at the San Val Drive-in during the month of March, 1969. The co-feature at the drive in was the disinteresting (to me at the time), The Terrornauts. The film played for one week at the drive-in, opening the same week at Disney's The Love Bug (which was playing at the opposing drive-in in Burbank, The Picwick)."

When asked about any other Japanese giant films he may have seen at the Sun Val, Stong said, "That, unfortunately was the only rubber suited film I saw at the San Val as the drive in closed a few years later." However, although he didn't see other kaiju films at the Sun Val, he did manage to see some at other local theaters. "But as for other Burbank theaters, the double feature of War of the Gargantuas and Monster Zero played at the Cornell Theater during the summer of 1970, and Destroy All Monsters screened there as well as a co-feature with The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant. Later, the Cornell screened Godzilla's Revenge with Island of the Burning Doomed in the summer of '71. That was pretty much it for the rubber suit films that I can recall in Burbank."

According to Strong's website, "On June 16, 1938. Burbank became the home of the largest outdoor theater in North America. In an area that once was home to Burbank's winery and grape fields, the San Val Drive-In opened (below) with a flourish usually given a palace like Grauman's Chinese. The San Val Drive-In had a long and glorious run until the early 1970's when the land surrounding the Burbank Airport became much more valuable. Now resting on the site are production houses, manufacturers and offices."



The Sun Val had an unusual speaker system (photo below) during its first ten years of operation (the theater was closed and demolished in the 1970s). Each parking space in the theater had a speaker positioned stationary on a pole in front of each car. Obviously, this system proved to be bothersome to the theater's neighbors and the speaker system was replaced by individually wired speakers that drive-in theater enthusiasts are more familiar with (the speaker box that hung on the patron's door window).



The Cornell Theater (below) in Burbank, built in 1949, was demolished in 1980 after closing in 1978. The Cornell had an "art moderne" architectural style with a huge neon "Cornell" sign and marquee.



Strong adds, "And say hello to J.D. for me. It's been quite a few years." Will do! (Small world, eh?)

While it is sad to see favorite and historical theaters get razed "in the name of progress" (and skyrocketing real estate values), it is nice to know that the films that played in them still exist for our continued enjoyment.

Photos herein are courtesy of Bijou Memories and its URL, Delphian Productions and The Burbank Historical Society. Our thanks to Ron Strong for sharing his memories with G-FAN.