Grab a date, buy a box of popcorn (or a giant dill pickle), find a comfortable seat and get ready for Saturday’s movie marathon at the Paramount Theatre.

Friday, March 15, 2002

Grab a date, buy a box of popcorn (or a giant dill pickle), find a comfortable seat and get ready for Saturday’s movie marathon at the Paramount Theatre.

The marathon will "show different classic movies, a lot of which are from the era when the Paramount was a commercial operation," Dick McIntosh, a member of the theater’s board, explains.

Scott Anderson, director of the Paramount, says the theater has held marathons "a couple of times before … it’s a way we can provide entertainment and it’s a chance to have the old Paramount open to people.

"It’s a great old place and every time people come, they walk away with smiles because it’s a fun, magical place," he says.

The movies include Shirley Temple’s "The Little Princess," "Darby O’Gill and the Little People," "Behind the Waterfall," "The Quiet Man," "The Absent-Minded Professor," Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Anderson says members of the board chose most of the titles, "basically, by thinking out loud.

There are so many good ones … it was really tough. Most of the films are family-oriented and we wanted to have them appeal to a broad audience."

"We had a lot of input from people who came to past marathons and told us they would like us to show a certain film," McIntosh adds.

Anderson says it’s an ideal way to spend an evening because "of the combination of it being something that’s free – though we do accept donations – for families to do in a very unique building."

"Very few communities have something like the Paramount and outside the Twin Cities, there is no place in Minnesota like the Paramount," Anderson adds.

McIntosh hopes this is especially true during the showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." "The last time we had a movie marathon, we showed ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and I was a little disappointed. People sat on their hands a little more than I expected. No one got up and did the ‘time warp,’" he laughs.

When the movie was over, he says he asked people if they would be a little less restrained if the film was shown again "and they promised they would get into the act. So, I hope this time anyone who is a true Rocky Horror fan will come ready for the true Rocky Horror experience."

No matter what movie you come to see or how you choose to dress, McIntosh says "if nothing else, it’s a cheap date."

The Paramount Theatre’s Movie Marathon Schedule

9:30 a.m.: Classic cartoons

10 a.m.: "The Little Princess," starring Shirley Temple (colorized version)

12 p.m.: "Darby O’Gill and the Little People"

2 p.m.: "Behind the Waterfall," starring Gary Burghoff (Radar O’Reilly from "MASH.")

4 p.m.: "The Quiet Man," starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara

6 p.m.: "The Absent-Minded Professor," starring Fred McMurray

8 p.m.: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"

10 p.m.: "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"

Popcorn, soda and other concessions will be for sale, including the Paramount’s famous dill pickles – aka Chilly Dillys.

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com