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Uptown Theatre in Marceline | ||
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Have you ever fallen asleep in a movie theater? Today Yesterland takes a look at the historic Uptown Theatre in Walt Disney’s boyhood hometown, Marceline, Missouri. I slept at the Uptown. After reading this article, you might want to sleep there too. But this weekend is a good weekend to stay awake at the Uptown. That’s because the theater is hosting a movie premiere—a movie that promises to be a “must see” for anyone interested in the life of Walt Disney.
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Uptown Theatre building on Main Street U.S.A. in Marceline |
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Walt Disney saw his first movie as a child in Marceline, Missouri. Here’s how biographer Bob Thomas describes it in his book Walt Disney, An American Original (Simon & Schuster, 1976): One of his [Walt’s] new discoveries was the movie house that had just opened in Marceline. One day after school, he persuaded [his younger sister] Ruth to accompany him to the theater, and on a bedsheet screen they saw a reenactment of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. It was dark when they emerged, and they hurried home fearful of what would happen to them for staying out so late. Nothing did, because their parents were so relieved that the two children were safe. This story would be even better if the theater that Walt and Ruth visited had been the 286-seat Uptown Theatre, which is still in Marceline today. Sorry. It wasn’t the Uptown. Young Walt and his little sister went to a different theater, which is now gone. The Uptown Theatre didn’t open until 1930, almost 20 years after the Disney family and their 9-year-old son Walt left Marceline in 1911. Even so, the Uptown Theater has legitimate claims to being a historic Disney site. |
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Poster for The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) |
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The year was 1956. Walt Disney, who had built his reputation with animation, was now also making live-action features. These films were often grand adventures, including Treasure Island (1950), The Story of Robin Hood (1952), and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). The newest movie in this tradition would be The Great Locomotive Chase, starring Fess Parker, fresh from his success as Davy Crockett. |
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Walt Disney on the stage at the Uptown Theatre for the premiere of The Great Locomotive Chase (1956 photo) |
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Walt Disney chose the Uptown Theatre in Marceline for the Midwest premiere of The Great Locomotive Chase. Walt Disney, his wife Lillian, his brother Roy, and Roy’s wife Edna made the trip to Marceline to participate in the premiere. The children of Marceline packed the Uptown Theatre. Before the movie began, Walt Disney addressed the young audience: “My best memories are the years I spent in Marceline. You children are lucky to live here.” |
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Premiere of The Spirit of Mickey (1998 photo) |
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It would be 42 years until the next big premiere at the Uptown Theatre. The Walt Disney Company chose to launch The Spirit of Mickey, a 1998 direct-to-VHS anthology of Mickey Mouse cartoons from the 1930s and 1940s, with a theatrical premiere in Marceline. |
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Placque on the box office of the Marceline Theater |
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A Disney press release promised a “once-in-a-lifetime event”: The momentous occasion will feature an action-packed celebration including the exciting arrival of Mickey and Minnie in the elaborately decorated antique airplane christened “The Spirit of Mickey,” a dazzling motorcade through the town, a magical stage performance featuring a host of adored Disney characters, a grand-scale block party for Marceline, and a world premiere showing of the movie at the Uptown Theater, the location where Walt Disney saw his very first film. The premiere showing will kick off a week of free screenings for all of the residents of Walt Disney’s boyhood home and surrounding areas. To kick off this once-in-a-lifetime event, “The Spirit of Mickey” will fly more than 1,700 miles from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to Marceline. Mickey and Minnie’s airplane will be welcomed at the charming hometown airport just outside of Marceline with a magnificent, rousing tune played by the local high school pep band. The press release erroneously claimed that Walt Disney “saw his very first film” at the Uptown, when, as already noted in this article, Walt saw his first movie long before the Uptown was built—but he did see it in Marceline. Although Marceline had only around 2,000 residents, the event was expected to draw 10,000 guests. Estimates after the event put the number closer to 19,000. The Uptown kept showing the The Spirit of Mickey for six additional days, so that everyone who wanted to see it could. |
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Uptown Theatre box office (2010 photo) |
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In the first decade of the 21st century, a time by which most single-screen movie theaters in large and small cities throughout America had already shut down, the Uptown Theater was still regularly showing movies to small but appreciative audiences. |
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Uptown Theatre owner Debbie Foster on the stage of her historic theater |
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Debbie Foster, the youthful grandmother who owns the Uptown Theatre, served as the theater’s ticket seller, projectionist, snack bar attendant, bookkeeper, maintenance chief, and janitor. Debbie scheduled movies every Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Admission was $5.00. |
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Uptown Theatre website in April 2010 |
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After an impressive 80-year run, the final regular movie at the Uptown Theater was the movie Valentines Day (2010) on March 30, 2010. |
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Uptown Theatre auditorium (2010 photo) |
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Although you can no longer head to the Uptown Theater any weekend for a movie date, the theater is still used as the auditorium for civic events in Marceline and for presentations to tour bus groups. Shows in 2011 have included Marceline’s version of Dancing with the Stars, Marceline’s Got Talent, and the town’s Dance Revue. This is not a defunct theater. Debbie is even improving its interior and exterior. “The staging looks better [than in the photos from 2010] since we lowered the whole stage and gave it a wood floor... much nicer,” boasted Debbie. “Also, the green and blue aluminum awnings over the windows have been removed and the windows reglazed with black chalking.” |
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Uptown Theatre lobby (2010 photo) |
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In fact, it’s time for another movie premiere at the Uptown! The biggest event of the year in Marceline is ToonFest, held each year in September. Activities include a parade down Main Street, U.S.A (the downtown street originally named Kansas Street), fun at E.P. Ripley Park, and symposiums by prominent cartoonists at the Uptown Theatre. The 2011 date is Saturday, September 17 (with Student Day one day earlier). |
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Artwork for the movie Marceline |
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For 2011, ToonFest weekend includes the premiere of the documentary Marceline by husband-and-wife filmmakers Andy and Sara Neitzert. The premiere showing is Friday, September 16th, at 8 p.m. There will be another screening on Sunday, September 18th, at 2 p.m. Andy and Sara will be on hand for a discussion following both screenings. Marceline should be a good movie. Somebody could just have pointed a video camera at Kaye Malins, Marceline’s number one booster and local historian, for two hours and made a fascinating movie. The filmmakers have done much more than that. ToonFest and the screenings of Marceline are free. Yesterland will have more about the movie Marceline in the future. |
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Uptown Theatre Bed & Breakfast |
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What if you need a place to sleep in Marceline? You have two choices: The 13-room Lamplighter Motel or the 4-room Uptown Theatre Bed & Breakfast. It’s tough to get a room during ToonFest, but it’s much easier the rest of the year. Uptown Theatre owner Debbie Foster is the manager, decorator, reservationist, housekeeper, and breakfast chef for the Bed & Breakfast. |
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Santa Fe Suite |
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Americana Mickey Suite |
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ToonFest Suite |
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The Uptown Theatre was built with five apartments above the lobby. When Debbie bought the theater, she turned four of them into nightly accommodations. Each is completely different. The Santa Fe Suite has a railroad theme—quite fitting in a town founded by the Santa Fe Railroad. The name of the Americana Mickey Suite sums up its theme. The ToonFest Suite is the most unusual, with artwork by visiting cartoonists drawn directly on the white plaster walls of the living room. The two-bedroom Walt Disney Suite is the largest. Debbie’s renovations involved painting, cleaning, and furnishing the former apartments—not gutting and modernizing them. The spaces combine the charm of the original rooms from 1930 with a love for Disney. Don’t expect a big, Marriott-style bathroom. There’s no elevator either. |
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Living room of the Walt Disney Suite |
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Master bedroom of the Walt Disney Suite |
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Second bedroom of the Walt Disney Suite |
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The two biggest attractions of Marceline are the Walt Disney Hometown Museum and the friendly little town itself. If you ever find yourself driving cross-country, consider taking U.S. Highway 36 through Missouri instead of an east-west Interstate highway. U.S. 36 is now a four-lane, divided highway with no traffic signals, so it’s just as fast as an Interstate. Take the Marceline exit; spend a couple of nights at the Uptown Theatre Bed & Breakfast; and visit the Walt Disney Hometown Museum (open April 1 to October 31 each year). |
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“For Sale” |
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If you really like the Uptown Theatre, you can buy it. You would get a 286-seat movie theatre, five apartments, two ground-level retail spaces—a bakery and a coffee bar—and the pride of owning a piece of Disney history in Walt Disney’s boyhood hometown. Debbie Foster is not in a hurry to sell, but she’s looking forward to getting out from under the burden of running and maintaining the building. Over the years, she’s had to make expensive repairs to the roof and walls to keep out rain and melting snow. The Midwestern temperature extremes take their toll on utility bills. How much to buy the place? “Once I get the restoration completed,” explained Debbie, “the price would probably be around $300,000.” From a big city perspective, $300,000 is a bargain. The five apartments alone would be worth far more than that. But this is Marceline, and it’s a real challenge to bring in enough revenue from the Uptown Theatre building to make it a profitable business. If you have creative ideas and an entrepreneurial spirit, this could be an opportunity for you! When asked if there was anything she wanted to tell readers of Yesterland, Debbie just replied, “Come Home to Marceline!” |
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For more information about Marceline, see the following external (exit from Yesterland.com) links: You might be interested in these other Yesterland articles about Marceline:
Click here to discuss this page on the Yesterland Discussion Forum at MiceChat!
© 2011-2012 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated April 6, 2012.
Historical photos: From the collection of the Uptown Theatre; year as identified under each historical photo. |
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, Curator of Yesterland, September 16, 2011
