RISING LIKE A PHOENIX… THE RETURN OF A MOVIE THEATER

I’m not exactly sure when it happened, probably sometime in 1986 if my movie-watching notes are correct, but it was a big deal when a new movie theater—the Fox White Marlin Mall theater--opened ten minutes away from my house (in Ocean City, Maryland) when I was a kid.  Before then, our family had to travel a half-hour away to see a film in the theater, and as a young movie-obsessed boy, having a theater in such close proximity was pure bliss.  The expression is usually, “like a kid in a candy store”, but for this kid, it was “like a kid in a movie theater.”

The theater housed many cherished movie memories for me.  I remember sitting awestruck watching the classic John Carpenter films, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness, and They Live on the big screen for the first time.  Seeing the unadulterated Ninja vs. Samurai classic, The Hunted and the immortal Death Wish 5 were other highlights.  Probably the best memory was waiting in line for two hours to see the midnight show of The Phantom Menace.

What was cool about the theater was that being so close to a seaside resort, there was nothing to do in the winter.  To lure in the crowds, the theater had $1.00 shows of second-run movies in the wintertime.  The price eventually increased over the years (to a whopping $3.00 if memory serves).  Because of the thrifty price, I was able to not only take a chance on movies I wouldn’t normally have seen, but also see beloved movies again and again.  (I distinctly remember the first dollar showing of Pulp Fiction being sold out.)  

After decades of dedicated service, the White Marlin Mall theater closed its doors, seemingly for good in 2007.  The last movie I saw there was 3:10 to Yuma.  It was a bittersweet memory.  I remember the movie more fondly because of the circumstances I saw it under than for the movie itself.  

The theater turned into a Michael’s and for a long time, whenever I went into the store (which was rare), I would feel a tinge of melancholy.  There was a wistful yearning for the past mixed with a sort of sense of finality.  That the good times were gone for good.

Then, a year ago, the unthinkable happened.  The Michael’s moved down the road apiece.  Even before the move, there were rumors of a movie theater hopping into the (not yet) vacant space.  Could it happen?  Could the old White Marlin theater be resurrected?

As it turned out—YES!  Our prayers were answered.  The good folks at Flagship Premier Cinemas moved in as soon as Michael’s went out.  It took a while for the dust to settle (about a year after it was first announced), but on June 7^th, the theater opened and my daughter (who is roughly the same age as I was went I started going to the old theater) and I were one of the first people to step foot in the theater for a matinee of Dark Phoenix.

And how fitting.  Like the Phoenix of legend, the White Marlin Mall theater, nee Flagship Premier rose from the ashes to delight movie lovers once again.  For this movie lover, the world is a happier place.  

The reason this piece (and subsequent Dark Phoenix review) is coming so late is because before I celebrated the birth of the new theater, I wanted to commemorate the old one.  I’ve compiled a list, year by year of every movie I recall seeing at the old theater.  On my old LiveJournal site, I did a similar rundown for the Movies 6 theater (in Salisbury) when it shut its doors.  I hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane as much as I had writing it.  

(Note:  I’ve included the theatrical release date of each film.  Although I saw many of these films opening night, that isn’t exactly the date I watched it at White Marlin.  I’ve only added it to give a sense of chronology.  I’ve also noted if a film was watched as a “$1 movie”, which were second-run showings that usually occurred months after its initial release.)  

1986
Big Trouble in Little China 7/2
Flight of the Navigator 8/1
Little Shop of Horrors 12/19

1987
Jaws the Revenge 7/17
The Living Daylights 7/31
Prince of Darkness 10/23
The Hidden 10/30
The Running Man 11/13

1988
Beetlejuice 3/30 ($1 movie, second viewing)
Crocodile Dundee 2 5/25
Big 6/3
The Dead Pool 7/13
Die Hard 7/20
Monkey Shines 7/29
The Blob 8/5
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4:  The Dream Master 8/19
They Live 11/4
Twins 12/9

1989
The Fly 2 2/10
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure 2/17
Leviathan 3/17
976-EVIL 3/26
Pet Sematary 4/21
Weekend at Bernie’s 7/5
Look Who’s Talking 10/13
We’re No Angels 12/15

1990
Hard to Kill 2/9
Loose Cannons 2/9
Joe Versus the Volcano 3/9
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3/30
Robocop 2 6/22 ($1, second viewing)
Days of Thunder 6/27
Die Hard 2 7/3
Ghost 7/13
The Jungle Book (1967, reissue) 7/13
Young Guns 2 8/1
Hardware 9/14
I Come in Peace 9/28
Night of the Living Dead 10/19
Graveyard Shift 10/26
Child’s Play 2 11/9
Misery 11/30

(It’s important to note that the movie theater at the Centre at Salisbury opened in 1991 and quickly became to go-to theater for the next few years, which explains why the pickings were so slim in ’91 and ’92.)

1991
Warlock 1/11
Child’s Play 3 8/30

1992
Universal Soldier 7/10

1993
Hot Shots! Part Deux 5/21
Cliffhanger 5/28
Jurassic Park 6/11
Last Action Hero 6/18
In the Line of Fire 7/9

1994
Death Wish 5:  The Face of Death 1/14
Beverly Hills Cop 3 5/25
City Slickers 2:  The Legend of Curly’s Gold 6/10
Speed 6/10
Wolf 6/17
Forrest Gump 7/6
The Mask 7/29
Color of Night 8/19
Pulp Fiction 10/14 ($1 movie, third viewing)

1995
The Hunted 2/24

1996
The Arrival 5/31
The Ghost and the Darkness 10/11
The People vs. Larry Flynt 12/25

1997
The Lost World:  Jurassic Park 5/23
Batman and Robin 6/20
Men in Black 7/2
Air Force One 7/25
Conspiracy Theory 8/8
Copland 8/15
Mimic 8/22
Hoodlum 8/27
L.A. Confidential 9/19
The Edge 9/26
The Peacemaker 9/26
Gang Related 10/8
The Devil’s Advocate 10/17
Red Corner 10/31
Titanic 12/19

1998
Blues Brothers 2000 2/6
The Wedding Singer 2/13
Godzilla 5/20
Bulworth 5/22
Lethal Weapon 4 7/10
Saving Private Ryan 7/24
The Avengers 8/14
Rush Hour 9/18
Ronin 9/25
The Siege 11/6

1999
The Matrix 3/31
The Mummy 5/7
Star Wars:  Episode I:  The Phantom Menace 5/19
Austin Powers:  The Spy Who Shagged Me 6/11
Eyes Wide Shut 7/16
Deep Blue Sea 7/28
Runaway Bride 7/30
The Thomas Crown Affair 8/6
The Astronaut’s Wife 8/27
Three Kings 10/1
House on Haunted Hill 10/29
Sleepy Hollow 11/19
The World is Not Enough 11/19
End of Days 11/24
The Green Mile 12/10
The Talented Mr. Ripley 12/25

2000
Supernova 1/14
O Brother, Where Art Thou? 2/2
U-571 4/21
Frequency 4/28
Battlefield Earth 5/12
Road Trip 5/19
Shanghai Noon 5/26
Gone in 60 Seconds 6/9
Me, Myself and Irene 6/23
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle 6/30
The Perfect Storm 6/30
The Nutty Professor 2:  The Klumps 7/28
Hollow Man 8/4
Nurse Betty 9/8
The Watcher 9/8
Bedazzled 10/20
Unbreakable 11/22
Vertical Limit 12/8
Thirteen Days 12/25

2001
The Mummy Returns 5/4
Evolution 6/8
A.I. Artificial Intelligence 6/29
Scary Movie 2 7/4
Jurassic Park 3 7/18
Planet of the Apes 7/27
Rock Star 9/7
Ocean’s Eleven 12/7
The Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Rings 12/19

2002
Orange County 1/11
Spider-Man 5/3
Star Wars:  Episode II:  Attack of the Clones 5/16
The Sum of All Fears 5/31
Mr. Deeds 6/28
Halloween:  Resurrection 7/12
Signs 8/2
Fear Dot Com 8/30
Die Another Die 11/22
The Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers 12/18

2003
Dreamcatcher 3/21
Cold Creek Manor 9/19
The Rundown 9/26
Kill Bill Vol. 1 10/10
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 10/17
The Matrix Revolutions 11/5
The Last Samurai 12/5
The Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King 12/17
Paycheck 12/25

2004
The Big Bounce 1/30
Miracle 2/6
The Passion of the Christ 2/25
Dawn of the Dead 3/19
Kill Bill Vol. 2 4/16
Van Helsing 5/7
The Chronicles of Riddick 6/11
Anchorman:  The Legend of Ron Burgundy 7/9
The Village 7/30
Collateral 8/6
Alien vs. Predator 8/13
Anacondas:  The Hunt for the Blood Orchid 8/27
Napoleon Dynamite 8/27
Resident Evil:  Apocalypse 9/10
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow 9/17
Team America:  World Police 10/15
The Grudge 10/22
Seed of Chucky 11/12
Meet the Fockers 12/22

2005
Elektra 1/14
Constantine 2/18
Cursed 2/25
Sin City 4/1
The Amityville Horror 4/15
Star Wars:  Episode III:  Revenge of the Sith 5/19
The Longest Yard 5/27
Batman Begins 6/15
War of the Worlds 6/29
The 40-Year-Old Virgin 8/19
Transporter 2 9/2
Walk the Line 11/18

2006
Failure to Launch 3/10
Rocky Balboa 12/20

2007
3:10 to Yuma 9/7