Indoor Drive-In

Ooooo, have I made a great Tucson discovery! While I was dining at GRILL (see my July 8th post), I picked up a copy of the monthly calendar for “The Loft”. As it turns out, The Loft is the local ‘art theater’. Now there’s another term that can have many different meanings. Coming from my previous Midwestern community, ‘art theater’ usually meant an under funded movie house that was either in dire need of repair, or movies being held in a multi-purpose room of another local non-profit organization.


I could tell right away this wouldn’t be the case with The Loft. The calendar was a well designed, multi-page, event packed showcase of The Loft’s movies and activities.

Here’s a sample of upcoming films for the month of July:

Special Events
THE UNITED ARTISTS 90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
Arizona Yoga Association presents "LIVING YOGA"
Special Screening of CARAMELO
ATOMIK CIRCUS - Arizona Premiere!
EL VAMPIRO with Live Music!

Cult Classics
RESERVOIR DOGS
BRAZIL
THE MONSTER SQUAD
AMERICAN PSYCHO
RUSHMORE

Mondo Monday Films
BREAKIN' 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
BLOODY BIRTHDAY
HERCULES IN NEW YORK
ED WOOD'S BRIDE OF THE MONSTER
THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN

Essential Cinema
THE RULES OF THE GAME
WALKABOUT
LAST TANGO IN PARIS
KNIFE IN THE WATER
PLAYTIME

Local Film Events
FIRST FRIDAY SHORTS
Special Screening of CARAMELO

It’s like Christmas everyday for a film lover like myself. Check out the list of films they will be showing for The United Artists 90th Anniversary Celebration: Annie Hall (1977), A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Goldfinger (1964), The Magnificent Seven (1960).

My first real introduction to the Beatles was when I watched A Hard Day’s Night (Reporter to John: “What do you call that haircut?” John: “Arthur.”), and I can still remember when my uncle and my dad took me to see Goldfinger (Bond: “Do you expect me to talk?” Goldfinger: “No Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!”). I haven’t been able to see these films on the big screen since. What a treat this will be!
So it should be no surprise that: “The Loft has received many honors since its transition to a nonprofit arts organization. It has been named Best of Tucson by the readers of the Tucson Weekly every year since 2002. The Loft received a Lumie from the Tucson Pima Arts Council in 2005 for Emerging Arts Organization.
In 2007, the Arizona Commission on the Arts noted that The Loft is “one of the most important cinema organizations in the state."”^[1]

“Hot Rod Rumble!”
My first exposure (ha!) to The Loft was thanks to The Tucson Street Rod Association and their sponsorship of “Hot Rod Rumble!”

As I drove into the parking lot I was greeted with about two dozen pristine classic cars gleaming in the afternoon Arizona sun. It was a beautiful sight, and blended in perfectly with The Loft’s retro marquee announcing the day’s features.

I arrived about five minutes after the announced show time and heard the ticket seller tell the group in front of me that the theater was almost full, and they might not find seats together. True enough, and I found an open seat between what turned out to be two members of the Street Rod Association.

After some short announcements and prize give-a ways by the TSRA the theater darkened and the “previews” began. These were movie previews from the 50’s for other hot rod style movies. These were great fun to watch, but were for the most part extremely washed out. Almost to the point of being unwatchable. I hoped the feature film would be in better shape.

As the feature film started I was relieved to see that it was in fine shape. The movie starts on a dark and stormy night, and that’s just one of the clichés I was to be treated to that afternoon.

I had expected to see a campy piece of 50’s cinema with performances ranging from bad to tolerable. As it turned out the movie held up fairly well after all these years. The plot involves a hot rod club and the murder of one of it’s members after a swinging jamboree. (I never really knew what a “jamboree” was until this movie’s example.) A bonus for my ears was the excellent jazz music played throughout this flick. Sitting through the credits afterward I noticed Maynard Ferguson as one of the musicians. Nice ‘get’ for a B movie like this.


After the movie ended I had a chance to take a few photos of some of the classic cars owned by members of The Tucson Street Rod Association.
The day turned out to be a great introduction to The Loft for me. My Saturday afternoons will never be the same!

Source:
[1] http://www.loftcinema.com/abouttheloft

Classic Cars, Classic Rock, Classic Diner

One of the benefits of having beautiful sunshine and warm weather most of the year is how well automobile bodies hold up. Coming from Michigan I am constantly amazed at the beautiful condition of the cars rolling down the road alongside Petey and me.

The combination of great weather and proud owners of pristine older cars means that sooner or later the owners of these cars will want to show them off to anyone that may be interested. A quick search on Google revealed two classic car events that are regularly held in Tucson.


Of course Michigan is no stranger to automotive events! The Motor City is host to one of the largest classic car events each year called the Woodward Dream Cruise. My home town of Grand Rapids has started a very successful event in the same vein, called the 28th Street Cruise. Both of these events boast thousands of participants every year.


But while the Tucson events can’t match the number of classic cars that are on display, they make up for this by holding events a couple of times each month. As I write this article, there are bi-weekly events scheduled for the following three months. That means there are plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy some of this family friendly fun.


Friendly is an apt description all the way around here. The owners of the cars are happy to talk about their passion for their hobby, Little Anthony’s is a friendly place to grab a bite to eat, and the people that show up are here to appreciate these lovingly restored classics.


Variety is everywhere in the parking lot this night as you can see by the photos. The lineup included a 1968 Mustang, a 1932 Ford coupe, a 40’s era army Jeep, and my personal favorite, a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T sporting the awesome 440 Six Pack. There were Chevelles, GTOs, and circa 1940’s Oldsmobiles.


Adding to the nostalgia is the sound of classic rock music playing from a local DJ. His portable studio is set up in the midst of all this American iron and helps resurrect the ghosts of a Saturday night long ago when cool cars, rock and roll, and the local drive-in were what you spent the rest of the week waiting for.

Little Anthony’s is located at 7010 East Broadway Boulevard. Be there or be square.