i saw this movie at detroit's redford theatre - a historic cinema that was founded in 1928 - and is now after the ups and downs through the years in the skilled hands of the 'motor city theatre organ society'. the building is voluntarily restored and in mint condition, except a small part of the lobby that is currently being finished. as inconspicuous as the building looks from the outside - once you entered the grand foyer you're in for quite a treat. there are still lounges instead of restrooms and beautiful art deco exit signs on stencilled dark wood paneling, lots of shiny brass hardware - and two chandeliers gracing the ceiling ... the viewing area is restored back to it's original Japanese motif, the seating pristine and facing the red curtain the 3 manual/10 rank Golden Voiced Barton Theatre Pipe Organ - in place since 1928 of course. attendance for the Saturday night show of 'beyond the rocks' was quite remarkable. the theatre seats about 1400 and the ground floor was at least 3/4 filled with a disciplined crowd of all ages. preceding the film was half an hour live entertainment on the barton by John Lauter - performing a set of period pieces and remarkably enough 'happy together' (the 60s turtles number) all connected with amusing quips about the period, himself and state of the world in general. then a brief intermission and finally the lights went out and the curtain opened ... other reviewers have already detailed the restoration and the story line, so there's no need to go into details here. to me the film is mediocre at best (measured to the Murnau's, Lang's, Pabst's and Stroheim's) but that's only half of the story. sitting in a beautiful place with hundreds of people reacting to the flicker on the screen and having John Lauter pumping away on the barton was an unforgettable experience. the show ended with a long and sincere applause from everybody in the audience - an appropriate way to say 'thank you' to the people of the motor city theatre organ society who made this great evening possible.
Review of Beyond the Rocks
