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BRATTLEBORO — Ever since the Latchis Theatre debuted the day after the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, its operators have aimed to take the town by storm with one splashy film premiere after another.
Consider “That Certain Age,” a now forgotten musical comedy “rushed from Hollywood by airplane” for the grand opening before its release anywhere else, the local newspaper reported at the time.
Or “The Wizard of Oz,” screened after a 1939 downtown parade that featured the horse-drawn carriage Judy Garland rode through Munchkinland.
Or “Gone with the Wind,” which arrived with the advertised claim, “Brattleboro will be the first town in the country of less than 10,000 population to see it.”
“A lot of the history of cinema has taken place right here,” Jon Potter, the Latchis’ current executive director, said in a recent interview. “We hearken back to a golden age, and part of the experience is a trip back in time.”
This summer, the Latchis is offering the latest sequels to “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Toy Story” and “Spider-Man.” Yet operators say 2026’s biggest draw so far is an Oscar-winning best picture — not the reigning “One Battle After Another,” but 1942’s “Casablanca,” which sold a near-capacity 400 tickets in a recent one-night-only return.
“Things are in a transformative moment,” Potter said. “Our movie audience is half of what it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, so we are doing more special events than ever of all shapes and sizes.”
The Latchis is set to host David Lubin, author of the new book “Ready for My Close-Up: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream,” as part of a June 14 showing of the 1950 film.
“Democracy Now!” host Amy Goodman will arrive June 19 with her new documentary “Steal This Story, Please!” as part of a program moderated by her brother, VTDigger podcast host David Goodman.
And the “Classics at the Latchis” series that has ranged from 1942’s “Now, Voyager” to 1983’s “Terms of Endearment” will continue June 21 with a Father’s Day presentation of 1973’s “Paper Moon.”
“There aren’t too many places that are a first-run movie theater and also an event space,” Potter said, “and that can be a challenge.”
The Latchis’ main auditorium can’t rely solely on films, as for every “Casablanca” is a current box-office bomb that detonates upon arrival. But the theater also can’t limit itself to live performances, since it’s the only cinema in a half-hour radius.
As a result, the Brattleboro landmark has a history of promising something for everyone.
The Art Deco picture palace opened in 1938 as a memorial to Greek immigrant-turned-impresario Demetrios Latsis. (An Ellis Island registrar misspelled that original surname, resulting in what’s now on the marquee.) The four-story building was billed as “a town within a town” for its cinema, 30-room boutique hotel, restaurant and sidewalk of shops.
The block provided entertainment and escape during the Depression and World War II, then saw audiences scatter with the arrival of Interstate 91 and the internet. The Latchis became a nonprofit organization in 2003, only to face $500,000 in flood damage from 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene and up to $1,000 in daily losses at the height of the 2020 pandemic.
To make ends meet, the Latchis now rents its main auditorium and three smaller screens for private events. It mixes in live stage shows: the Windham Philharmonic played there last week and a new production of the opera “Tristan und Isolde” is set for August. It’s also plugging into technology for simulcasts from New York’s Metropolitan Opera and London’s National Theatre.
Theater manager Luis Negron came up with “Casablanca” when brainstorming a film for Valentine’s Day.
“It’s not only about love,” he said, “but also people were so ready to see heroes winning.”
Even so, Negron was surprised when fans arrived with the lyrics to “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem that’s heard in the movie.
“When it played, some people stood up and started singing,” he said. “And every time a Nazi appeared, they booed.”
“It turned a little bit into Rocky Horror,” confirmed Potter, referring to the 1975 cult picture show.
The Latchis isn’t sure how locals will respond when it screens 1951’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” in September. But with the latest “Star Wars” spinoff reporting a 70% drop in U.S. ticket sales from its first to second week, the Brattleboro theater is willing to try something different.
“We’re just opening the doors to what we can do here,” Potter said. “There are lots of reasons to stay home, so you have to give people a reason to come out.”
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VTDigger's southern Vermont and features reporter. More by Kevin O'Connor
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