MovieChat Forums > Krakatoa: East of Java (1969) Discussion > Movie that started the Cleveland jokes

Movie that started the Cleveland jokes

posted 16 years ago by davidbaratko
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This movie had its premier in Cleveland,Ohio at a beautiful old movie theater"The Allen" on a very hot steamy night. There was a champagne party before hand staring the comedy team of Rowan and Martin. They were very popular and had a hot number one show on TV. Unfortunately that night the air conditioning shut down and made the whole place unbearable. People were dressed up in the heat which made it worse. Needless to say the comedy act went over like a dead balloon. They were preforming in the lobby which was wall to wall bodies. I am not sure how funny they were under the conditions, however they were pissed that no on was paying attention to them. Fast forward a few weeks and on their TV show' "Laugh In" they were unmerciful to the city. every week they blasted the town turning it into a national joke. What a night.

Oo

[–] tobyradloff 16 years ago

"Krakatoa: East Of Java" was the last movie to play at the Palace Theatre before it closed (several months after the Allen, Loews State, and Loews Ohio closed.) Shortly afterward the Playhouse Square Foundation was formed, to save the four theaters from the wrecking ball. Now these theaters are part of the second largest theater district in the US, and is one of Cleveland's cultural jewels.

[–] chips76309 16 years ago

I didn't know any of this! I'm from NE Ohio myself but was too young to care about the movie, aside from the geographical error in the name.
However, I well remember when Laugh-In gave Youngstown, OH, the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate because our schools closed down from Thanksgiving to New Year's due to the failure of the property tax hike to pass in the recent vote. R&M made us sound like Neanderthals whose schools could barely teach arithmetic. It was unfair, to say the least.