The Calvin

On the Internet yesterday I came across a picture from the 1950s of west Dearborn, Michigan. In the background of the photo was the old Calvin theater. That was a fun place to watch movies. But it was more for the patrons than the matinee.

I suspect that many Calvin theatergoers were regulars, but anyone could get into the act. Samples of what played out at the old movie house are abundant in my memory.

Once an usher came into the main body of the theater and announced (remember this was well before cell phones) "Phone call for Michael Brady! Phone call for Michael Brady!" About one third of the audience rose and started towards the lobby.

That poor usher. Another time he called out, "Phone call for Cloyce! Phone call for Cloyce!" From all over the place came many voices. "Cloyce! Phone!" "Better get the phone Cloyce!" "Yo! Cloyce! Phone!" "Cloyce! Yer interruptin' the movie!" In exasperation the usher finally responded, "Aw come on, guys!" which of course only made it worse. They really piled on then.

The feature film did occasionally hold the attention of the crowd. An actress in one less than classic movie was inspecting her house for a strange noise. She crept towards the door of her room, cat like in tread. Reaching it, she slowly turned the knob. At that, the camera cut to the other side of the door. The actress opened it tensely, the creaking sound filling the atmosphere, and carefully stuck her head out of the opening to look into the hall. Through it all the place was stone quiet until someone said, "Hello? Can I help you?" The spell was broken.

A pizzeria was built where the Calvin once sat. The pizza is good, but the entertainment was better at the theater.