Introduction
Staged origins
The nickelodeons
Bigger and better
The majestics
The main three : the metropolitan, the Kirby, and Loew's state
The later 1920s : you ain't heard nothing yet!
Will Horwitz, philanthropist
The neighborhood theatre, 1934-1949
Hoblitzelle's interstate
Jim Crow and the ethnic theatre
The fifties : the incredible 3-d wide-screen technicolor stereophonic-sound ballyhoo parade
The drive-in : a view from the car seat
The sixties : the times, they are a-changin'
The x-houses
From multicinema to multiplex : safety in numbers
Let them eat candy : the concession stand
Beyond the fringe : midnight movies and the alternative cinema
Rediscovery in the age of the megaplex
Perspectives : an afterword
Notes.