Source: Chicago Sunday Tribune, 21 October 1928, pt. 7, pg. 5.
My Dear Miss Tinée: To get right down to the point, I think the Chicago motion picture theaters and the programs they present are rank. And not of the first rank.
In order for a theater to be beautiful in this city it must have lots of rococo on the walls—the more junk the more beautiful. In order for it to be a "wonder theater" it must be absolutely hideous.
And to cap all this ugliness the managers put some jackass up on the stage to lead a bunch of noisy lunatics. When some decent singer or dancer comes out on the stage two spotlights spring up, one to play contiuously on some bushy haired sap and the other to play on the actor. The "orchestra" leader passes out a bunch of wise cracks, which spoils the entire performance.
Perhaps my taste in theaters has been spoiled. I have attended many performances at a certain Rochester, N.Y., theater. After that the movie palaces here seem like a bunch of junk. The most restful of all the larger theaters I have seen. Quiet, beautiful. When one leaves he realizes he has been entertained and rested.
In Chicago one leaves the theater almost a nervous wreck. Noise and junk, ushers that stand on your head, acting as though you were perfectly helpless.
I suppose when you finish this, if you get this far, you will say "Ooooh!" and throw it away. But what do I care? All I want to do is get it out of my system.
