It’s a Friday night in 1947. The new Inwood Theatre’s grand opening promises a true Hollywood experience.
The first movie to play was The Show Off starring Red Skelton, Marilyn Maxwell and Virgina O’Brien with two showings at 7:15 and 9:30 p.m. One ticket was 44 cents and matinee showings were a mere 25 cents.
Gala-dressed people stepped into the spacious lobby and saw marine murals, handpainted by Perry Nichols, decorating the walls. The theatre was opulent with Art Moderne decor found in the theatre’s crevices.
At the time, well, it was ahead of its time.
The theatre in its heyday was a hub of activity. It was the only theatre for miles and was popular around Lovers Lane. Back in the day, not-so-vintage cars lined the parking lot to see the newest hits.
Neighbor Robert Cammack would make it a weekend ritual to ride his bike to see the Saturday morning cartoons. And it’s where a couple of people, like Douglas Lehmann, got their first kiss.
“In an ever-changing town like Dallas, especially North Dallas where so many businesses and buildings themselves come and go so fast, it’s refreshing to still see the Inwood marquee sticking up in the air in the same exact place even though the ownership has changed,” says author of Preston Hollow: A Brief History Jack Drake. “It’s still largely the same and the inside is still very retro. The shopping center now has so many high-end shops and new buildings so it’s cool to have it in the middle of that.”
Seventy years and some later, the theatre is aging.
In the ’60s and ’70s, it started to see a decrease in activity and in 1982, a fire tinged some parts of the murals. It closed for a year from the damage and created a third auditorium from the old balcony area.
The Inwood Theatre got its next chance at life when Landmark Theatres, a national chain with over 30 locations, stepped into the picture.
In January 2005, the theatre was refurbished but maintained the bones of the building. Changes included touchups to the mural, rebuilding the marquee and replacing the chairs and carpets. Later, in 2008, a martini bar was added.
The new screening lounge on the first floor made its debut in 2008 with a one-of-a-kind auditorium. The large theatre had a massive screen and couches as seats. Rumor has it, that was one of Mark Cuban’s ideas when he was a temporary owner.
A renovation has been talked about loosely, after all it’s been nearly 20 years since the last one.
“I hope that they can find the balance between promoting it for the next generation and at the same time, honoring its history,” Drake says.
Inwood continues to play foreign, independent and popular flicks.
“Customers will call just to find out what’s playing in this theatre,” current Inwood Theatre manager Linda Winbigler says.
It’s a three-screen theatre, so this isn’t where you arbitrarily go catch a film.
“The three showings a day are because we haven’t bounced back yet from the pandemic,” Winbigler says. “Otherwise, we would have four showings. We’re just struggling trying to keep it open.”
But like clockwork every last Saturday of the month, one show will play without question. Since 1998, the theatre has played a Rocky Horror Picture Show live shadow cast where actors simultaneously recreate the movie on a stage below the screen.
“Inwood has been really good to us,” Victor Entropy says. “They’re a very nice place to perform at.”
A member of Los Bastardos, he’s been part of the production in every aspect — from behind-the-scenes work to characters Columbia, Riff Raff and even Frank-N-Furter.
“The audience is always really, really fun,” Entropy says. “Even when we have a smaller crowd, it’s got a really good energy to it.”
