Meet the Laemmles, Perhaps on One of Their Screens
For all the talk of movie theaters as ‘sacred spaces,’ it’s the family bonds that will stick with viewers of the documentary ‘Only in Theaters.’
There has been a Laemmle in the movie business since the beginning of the industry. After Carl Laemmle immigrated to America from Germany in 1884, he went from retail bookkeeper to nickelodeon owner to founder of Universal Pictures. His son won an Academy Award as the producer of the original movie version of “All Quiet on the Western Front” and a nephew helped Preston Sturges craft his screwball classic “The Palm Beach Story,” though he went uncredited. “Uncle Carl” also encouraged brothers Max and Kurt Laemmle to leave Europe for Los Angeles, where they started buying up theaters in the 1930s.
Known as the Laemmle Theaters, their chain is the subject of a new documentary called “Only in Theaters.” Run now by Greg Laemmle, grandson of Max, the theaters are a local legend in L.A., hosting film festivals, revivals, foreign-language features, documentaries, and “Oscar qualifying runs” of independent films. Several industry professionals and directors, such as Cameron Crowe and Ava DuVernay, attest on camera to the influence the movies projected at the Laemmle Theaters have had on their careers.
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