What was Off the Wall Cinema?
Visual artists and storytellers have long used film in imaginative and often surprising ways to connect with audiences. But before the age of streaming, or DVDs, or home video, you had to be willing and able to scour libraries and archives, make connections, and expend considerable resources to find their work.
For a dozen years, Off the Wall was the public's curator, offering the rare, the unusual, the obscure, the forgotten, and the hidden gems of cinema to anyone with a couple bucks and the fortitude to find its tiny storefront(s). Local animators, budding filmmakers, and artists from every continent were represented, not to mention the underappreciated classics, unsung heroes, and even a few infamous hacks (looking at you, Edward Wood) of classic Hollywood. Off the Wall itself became known to filmmakers and aficionados around the world.
Moreover, the theater itself was warm and friendly. The audience had café tables and chairs to sit at, with local art on the walls and a kitchen that offered coffees, other thoughtfully selected beverages, and quality baked goods. And no popcorn. It was all very…Cambridge.
This is part of what we’re celebrating this year. For those who ran the theater, it was always about sharing the film-watching experience, but the fact that this enclave, this oasis, this pillow fort of a theater existed, deserves to be acknowledged.
That’s the short version — believe it or not. For the detail-oriented among you, Michael Nicholson’s exhaustive, meticulously researched, and excellent history of Off the Wall begins below. Enjoy!
An Off the Wall History
by Michael Nicholson, Off the Wall founder and programmer
Part I: The Living Room Era
An early Michael Nicholson original kitchen wall poster channeling Aubrey Beardsley to announce Juliet of the Spirits and 8 1/2
in 1973, Larry Silverman and I were intrigued by the creative energy contained in the short films we saw either on PBS, or at events such as Justin freed's midnight underground movie series at the old Kenmore square theater. Larry, who was working as a photographer at a commercial house in Boston, obtained a Boston Public Library film card (in the name of the company where he worked), he borrowed a projector and screen, and on Wednesday, May 2, 1973, we began the first of 80 consecutive weekly screenings at our Cummings Road apartment in Brighton.
In the beginning the setup was crude, with the projector buzzing in the same room as the screen and with only one showing per week. Eventually, however, the landlord not only gave us permission to cut a hole in the wall to project through, but lent us the tools to do it with, and soon we had a nice little screening room with dimmable lights and music, both controlled from an enclosed “projection booth.” Screenings expanded to two per week of each program, and a group of regulars began contributing small sums toward projector maintenance and the occasional film rental. Since neither Larry nor I had ever seen many of the films we booked, there was the occasional clinker, but most lived up to the multi-colored, handmade posters tacked to our kitchen wall.
That initial program included Nichols and May’s Bach to Bach, Calder's Circus (both later screened at off the wall), Panta Rhei, Toronto jazz and Ballet with Edward Vlella.
Over 300 films were shown at Cummings Road, including features such as fellini's White Shiek and I Vitlloni; Fritz Lang’s M; Cassavetes shadow; plus Animal Farm, What's Up Tiger Lily, the Blue Angel, Reefer Madness, On the Waterfront, the Wild One, Alice in Wonderland (1933), Hitchcock's the 39 steps and Notorious, Truffaut's Jules et Jim, and the Marx brothers’ Duck Soup, A Night at the opera, and (at a time when it was not commercial release) Animal Crackers.
Short films included those of Norman McLaren and other filmmakers from the National Film Board of Canada; classic comedies of chaplain, Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, and W.C. fields; and others, such as the Frogs, Tup Tup, the Hand, Televisionland, Un Chien Andalou, Vicious Cycles, Two Men in a Wardrobe, and An Occurrence at Owl Creek bridge.
The concept of showing feature-length compilations of short films in a comfortable, coffeehouse atmosphere seemed such a good idea that we enlisted the support of our friend, Jay Berman, who happened to be looking for a small business to invest in (and who possessed invaluable carpentry skills). So, on Friday the 13th, December 1974, at 861 Main St. Cambridge, Off the Wall Cinema was born.
The first Off the Wall interviews! Larry Silverman, Michael Nicholson, and Jay Berman on Main Street
Part II: The Main Street Years (1974-1979)
Friday the 13th. We should have known better. And in December yet. In those days, December was the worst month of the year for the movie business, and opening a 64 seat theater dedicated to short films would have seemed like suicide if we had been experienced enough to know better. Fortunately (I think), we weren’t.
No history of Off the Wall would be complete without mention of the origen of our name. During the summer and fall of 1974, when we began planning and organizing the operation, “off the wall” was a phrase that Larry used incessantly. And one night, while sitting aaround trying ideas for a name, I saw the forest amongsst the trees. And that, as they say, was that. Now…on with the chronicle.
Under Jay’s direction, we renovated the interior ourselves, including building the tiny projection booth inside the miniscule kitchen, which opened directly into the theater. Our friends from Baby Watson (who had opened their first store that October), ran the concession, and for a while there was an attempt to combine free movies with lunch.
Anyway, after frantic last minute work we opened with a program called international animation. That historic screening included tup tup, quo vadis, and Venus the cat (all from Zagreb); Walking and Syrinx by Ryan Larkin; Norman McLaren's Poulette Gris; Jan lenica's Monsieur Tete; Jiri trnka’s The Hand; and Milos Macourek’s How to Raise a Good Child.
Opening night saw 64 in the audience. Saturday, 58. However, there were only 13 on Sunday, 2 on Monday, and Tuesday drew a blank.
The next week was even worse. Films and video by Stan VanDerBeek, including a personal appearance, attracted only 32, with nobody coming in on Monday or Tuesday.
Things did improve somewhat. We received some media attention and by our sixth week, when we showed Fantasy and the Fantastic, attendance for the week was up to 643.
However business remained mediocre for the first few years despite an occasional success such as Kurt Vonnegut's Between Time and Timbuktu and the most pleasant surprise, Magic Movies I.
In August 1976 our luck seemed to change. Auteurs, a collection of early short films by well known directors, did three weeks of good business, and our latest brainchild, Heart Throbs, looked like a sure winner.
A poster for Heart Throbs
Heart Throbs attracted a bit too much attention however. The story is long but basically a plainclothesman saw the film, the licensing committee told us to stop, we toned down the show and opened anyway. The print, radio, and TV critics called the show harmless, but on September 14th 1976, a half hour before showtime, the city closed us down, all the while dodging the censorship issue like mad. To get our license back, we agreed not to show that or similar shows, but once we had our 1977 license, we ran Heart Throbs 77 with nary an official whimper.
We will always look back with pride on our standing up to cowardly authority, and the furor brought us much renowned and publicity; however the fact that we were closed, if only for 10 days, penetrated the collective consciousness of the public more than our reopening did, and our momentum was broken. Not until the following January with, Magic Movies II, did we begin to rebuild, and there was still a long way to go.
In may and June of 1978 we planned an ambitious Jazz Festival, investing a lot of money and promotional effort. Attendance was fair, but not nearly enough, and Off the Wall appeared to be in trouble. But to the rescue came our sweetheart and our savior: Betty Boop.
A friend in the animation distribution field, Charles Samu, suggested a program of Max Fleischer cartoons. Hey, we did ‘animation,’ not Hollywood cartoons, but we were desperate. Initially A one-week, stopgap, desperation move, the Fleisher cartoon show shattered all our previous records, with lines extending halfway to Massachusetts Avenue! After 3 and a half years of losing money, a 47 year old cartoon flapper led us to our first and only profitable year.
The last nine months at 861 Main Street were the best in our history. Starting with Betty Boop, we had an almost uninterrupted string of successful programs: Hubbly Bubbly, featuring the films of John Hubley; The Real Lenny Bruce; a rock'n'roll collection; Hertzog's La Soufriere; Feats of Feet, featuring dance on film; and Magic Movies IV, among others. We also added a fourth partner, as our longtime friend David Mendelson joined Jay, Larry, and me.
Detail from an Alternative Family Cinema flier
Alternative Family Cinema
What would a history of Off the Wall be without mention of the Alternative Family Cinema?
The day after we opened (Saturday, December 14), we showed a film called Blind Bird and the following week, Amelia and the Angel. And no, I don't remember either. But it was the start of the Alternative Family Cinema, with three shows each Saturday and Sunday, with additional screenings during school vacation weeks. I was the programmer and we declared these films would have no sexist or violent content. Shows were an hour long, and tickets were 50 cents regardless of age. Our first theater at 861 Main Street had 65 seats, but it was not unheard of to have 100 people of varying heights at the show, begging to sit on the floor!
The films were for a preteen audience, but I did not believe in "talking down" to kids. I had to enjoy them, and frequently there were films that would also screen at night. I was even invited to address a convention in New York city on films for children.
Many children in the late 70s and early 80s had their first film experiences at the Alternative Family Cinema, including film star Casey Affleck, as he told the Boston Globe in a recent interview!
Part III: Where’s Off the Wall? (1979)
Opening party at Where’s Boston, 1979
There was a dark lining to our silver cloud, however. We found out that our landlord, La Groceria Restaurant, was planning an expansion, and we would have to find new quarters at the end of March 1979. The hunt was on.
After looking at many spaces, we set our sights first on a space next to the Central Square police station. We had some great architectural drawings made: the new space would have 150 seats -- some tables and chairs, some fixed theatre seats -- spacious restrooms, a full kitchen, and a real lobby with tables and chairs. Unfortunately, the price tag for our dream theater was in the neighborhood of $100,000, and since this was just the time when money was getting tight, we would need almost that much just to get a bank loan.
Not ones to give up easily, we continued to explore new possibilities, and we got the chance to use the Where's Boston theater (adjacent to Quincy market in Boston) at night, sharing the space with the multimedia show which played there during the day. Of course, moving to the Faneuil Hall area was a gamble: with our friends come to the new space? Would our increased ad budget and central location bring us more patrons from Boston? Would we be able to attract the tourist crowd?
Well the fact that our tenure at Where’s Boston lasted only from September 14, 1979 through May 23, 1980, should answer those questions for you.
We did have some great shows there though. Laughing Gas, our first show, brought us into contact with Albert Brooks, Steve Martin, and Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor. We couldn't get Steve's film, but the others lent us their personal copies!
For the Great Cartoons festival, Walter Lantz lent us a half dozen of his personal prints, and a Disney program set an all time box office record (It was also the most expensive for us: it literally took us years to pay it off). The five-part Oscar Shorts festival was another highlight, especially the 1980 Oscars nominees, which ran before the award ceremony and featured audience balloting. Mention must also be made of our hosting of the delegation from the Shanghai animation studio and presentation of the films.
As good as our programs were, they weren't drawing enough people. Although business was up about 15% over our Main Street days, expenses had tripled. Our spirits were at an all-time low that June of 1980 when we met to decide whether we had a future, or whether Off the Wall had screened its last film.
The Red Line poster heralding Off the Wall’s phoenix-like resurrection back in Central Square. Would the third time be the charm?
Part IV: Pearl Street (1980-1986)
Of course, Off the Wall did survive the transition, but Larry Silverman decided at this juncture that he had enough of entrepreneurial life. This left a gap in our personnel. Fortunately, Michael Peck, whom we had met during our Where's Boston period, was between careers and wanted in. The stage was set for yet another incarnation.
Through the summer we occupied a room in Larry's apartment as we struggled with the problems of where, when, and how Off the Wall was to be. We had considered 15 Pearl Street earlier, but it had been rented by another tenant. By the summer of 1980 it was vacant again, so we grabbed it, and with renewed energy we began preparing the space for our most recent rebirth.
Off the Wall is what and who we are, and Off the Wall is what we chose to open with. Off the Wall, the independent feature made by Rick king that is. We brought actor Harvey Waldman, the film’s star, up from New York to help promote the film and to help put a few finishing touches on the theater space while he was around, and we were off and running!
Next it was our dear friend Betty Boop's 50th birthday, and who showed up to help us celebrate but Betty's voice, Mae Questel!
1980 ended with a bizarre coincidence. On Friday December 12th we were scheduled to begin a rock on film program highlighting The Beatles. On December 8th John Lennon was killed.
1981 began on an up note with “Magic Movies VI,” our first installment of Magic Movies on Pearl street. It featured will Vinton's Dinosaur; Mike Jittlov’s Wizard of Speed and Time; Paul Vestor’s Sunbeam; Karen Aqua’s Heavenly Bodies; and Lisa Craft’s Ungloved Hand; among others, and we were able to induce Jane Aaron (Interior Designs) to come up from New York and meet the press.
Other highlights of the winter included the premiere of Peter Weir's The Plumber, and a highly successful revival of the Monkees’ feature, Head.
Less successful was our festival of local films, but our premiere of the powerful Canadian film, Primal Fear, was a heartening success. It was presented in conjunction with local rape awareness groups, and we were able to have the filmmaker, Ann-Claire Poirier, here to discuss the film.
Animation dominated the rest of the year. A tribute to text Avery was the highlight of our 1st Annual Cartoon Hall of Fame, and the monumental 13 part series, 75 years of animation, featuring a personal appearance by Oscar winners Frank and Caroline Mouris. The festival itself won a Boston Critics Award for Best Film Series.
Sandwiched in between all that animation was a revival of the original Heart Throbs program, the one that had gotten us closed by the city five years earlier. We presented it intact this time, and no harassment ensued.
1982 was like one of the movies revived: a Little Shop of Horrors. Business was cut in half virtually overnight, and nothing we could do all year seemed to help.
Aesthetically there were highlights of course. The comedy compilations called Fish Heads and Northern Laughs and the premiere of Les Blank’s Garlic is as Good as 10 Mothers; the original versions of Cat People and The Thing in a double feature; Edward D. Wood's incredibly inept Plan 9 from Outer Space and his transvestite travesty Glen(n) or Glenda; and our second annual “Fall Animation Festival,” with its exploration of societal issues in cartoons, such as Cartoons of Shame, highlighting the use of racial stereotypes in cartoons, Never Kick a Woman (examining the depiction of females), and All this and World War Stew, a collection of cartoon propaganda.
We started 1983 on a bright note with “Magic Movies VIII.” Oh Sean, by Heidi blomkvist, Jay Cestnik, Gerald Paquette, and Genni Selby, and Will Vinton's The Creation won our audience popularity poll. Other notables in that show were Lisa Craft’s Glass Garde; Lynn Smith's The Sound Collector; Ewa Bubanska's Incomplete Portrait; and David Silverman's The Strange Case of Mr. Donnybrook’s Boredom.
Like, Strictly from Squaresville, a solid show dad, was one of our coolest shows of the year. With Jack Webb’s anti-commie Red Nightmare, James Dean, and Stamp Day for Superman, it was a wigged out, flipped out, solid gas of a send up of the “I like Ike” years.
In a more traditional vein, we presented the three best films of all time (according to the international poll published in Sight and sound magazine): Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game, and Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai.
“Summer schlock” came to Off the Wall with an immortal lineup of turkeys such as Robot Monster, Chained for Life, The Terror of Tiny Town, Wrestling Women versus the Aztec Mummy, and, again, the Edward D. Wood classics Glen(n) or Glenda and Plan 9 from Outer Space. Our other summer series, “The Cartoon Hall of Fame” featured the highly unsuccessful Popeye's 50th birthday bash (where were you people), Eleven of the Best Cartoons Ever, and Cartoon Propaganda. The “Fall Animation Series” was highlighted by The Best of Will Vinton, Felix the Cat, Hubley's Hollywood Cartoons, and The 18th Tournée of Animation.
As part of the festival, we inaugurated the “Wally Awards” for best animation in New England. Dan Lavender’s Parts Availability won first prize (we’re pleased to report that Dan has gone on to a long and very successful career in the film and television industries). Students of the Rhode Island School of Design swept the other awards.
The “Wally Awards” ended 1983 on an upbeat note, and 1984 proved to be one of our most exciting years. We got things rolling with the bang when “Magic Movies IX” proved to be our most successful Magic Movies ever. Parts Availability and Zbigniew Rybczynski's Oscar winner Tango won the popularity balloting. Other notable films in the show were Flip Johnson's The Roar from Within; Peter Wallach's Raygun's Nightmare; Rocky Morton and Annabelle Jankel’s Genius of Love; Jane Aaron's Remains to be seen; and Karen Aqua and Jeanee Redmond's Yours for the Taking.
February was Maniac month as Dwayne Esper's 1934 schlokterpiece was given a public airing. Ridiculous overacting, a hokey script, and the complete lack of good taste made Maniac a schlock connoisseur’s delight. After a successful run of The Golden Age of Disney, we succumbed to “stoogemania” and hosted The Curly Shuffle, followed by Funny Ladies, a tribute to the classic comediennes of the 1930s.
We then went through an avant-garde/arty phase, showing classic surrealist films in My Heart Belongs to Dada, and weird new wave comedy in Bigfoot Saved my Life. We tried (rather unsuccessfully) a different type of programming the spring of ‘84 with our Schlock, Rock, and Jazz “Orgies,” six hours of no-repeat programming. More traditional was our “4th Annual Cartoon Hall of Fame,” featuring tributes to Bob Clampett and Hugh Harmon, and Rudolf Ising.
The life story of controversial author William S. Burroughs was presented in Burroughs: the movie. Not as controversial was a screening of the Walt Disney feature The Three Caballeros, the first time that it had been shown theatrically in its original uncut condition since its initial release in 1945. Donald duck is the star of the film, so it was the perfect way to celebrate the fowl one's 50th birthday.
In the fall, Off the Wall took another bold leap. We promoted our first outside event when we presented a personal appearance by legendary Warner Brothers animator Chuck Jones at the New England Life Hall in Boston. We were thrilled when Chuck offered to donate part of his fee to endow the grand prize for the Wally awards.
In addition, chuck's appearance served as a benefit for our biggest undertaking to date: the “1984 New England Animation Festival.” Highlighting the festival was the sold out appearance of June Foray and Bill Scott, much better known as the voices of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose, and a personal appearance by a delegation from the Sophia animation studio in Bulgaria. You can read more about the festival and see some of our favorite souvenirs and memories on the New England Animation Festival page.
Part V: The Final Chapter
The highly sought-after invitation to Off the Wall’s closing party. Watch the video of that party on the Memories page.
All of the history above was written by my 1984 self, with fresh memories and complete access to current files. Alas, it’s up to my 40-years-older self to complete the story.
1985 started with a bang: Magic Movies Ten (not the first thing you'd assume seeing an “X” after “Movies”). I don't have a weekly list of the other shows, but it would certainly have included much animation, music on film, and both classic and schlock films.
We would sometimes give over the space to others with their own artistic visions. Rear Windows was a film program curated by David Kleilor before he became involved with the Coolidge Corner Theater. A film by then Harvard student, now we'll known filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, was a highlight. Comedy Clubhouse, hosted and run by comedian Ron Lynch, who now calls Hollywood home, provided late night stand up time for local comedians.
A staple at both of our Cambridge locations was On the Walls at Off the Wall, art exhibits by a wide variety of local artists, with sales proceeds going directly to the artists.
Magic Movies XI got 1986 off to a rousing start, with films from the USSR, Hungary, UK, The Netherlands, Japan and the US. But alas, times were changing. More and more people were staying home to watch rented movies on their new VCRs. Nearly twelve long, financially challenging years had taken a toll on all of us. Facing a rent increase, we had to face the fact that Off the Wall might soon be over. On July 20, we held a Fun Raiser Dance Party, featuring the Sex Execs. In September, we closed the doors, holding a sale of our memorabilia.
But there was a little more to the story. In 1987, in conjunction with the Institute of Contemporary Art, we presented Magic Movies XII, featuring a new work by Sally Cruickshank. A few years after that, the Middle East Restaurant graciously agreed to let me revive Off the Wall in once a week screenings there. I concluded with a 20th Anniversary show!
A few years after that, David and I donated the Off the Wall film library to the Brattle Theater.
Help us celebrate our 50th anniversary there on December 12!
Three We Remember
Fifty years is a long time, and many of our friends and supporters are no longer among us. We miss them all and think of them fondly. These are three whose sustained support and encouragement were particularly important to us.
Karen Aqua In Memoriam by David Kleiler
Karen Aqua
Karen was a distinguished animator, known around the world, but for us, she was our first kitchen employee and a friend to all of us. We would see her sometimes working on her artwork in the kitchen between intermissions. We screened all of the films she completed while we were open.
Charles Samu
Early on, he was a prime source for animation from Eastern Europe. But when our Jazz on Film festival faltered, he suggested a show of Fleischer cartoons featuring Betty Boop, sent us the entire show, and the rest is history! Charles was the president of International Film Programs and a true friend of Off the Wall.
David Kleiler
David was well known around the Boston film community as a teacher, consultant, and advisor to many, including us at Off the Wall. He became the first Executive Director of the (successful) campaign to save the Coolidge Corner Theater in 1989.