Southern Movie Palace: Rise, Fall, and Resurrection, The

The Southern Movie Palace: Rise, Fall, and Resurrection

BY JANNA JONES (UNIVERSITY PRESS OF FLORIDA, $24.95)

Opulent film houses in six Southern cities serve as the focal point of this treatise. The beyond-the-glitter view includes the Tampa Theatre; the Fox in Atlanta; the Saenger in Biloxi; the Orpheum in Memphis; the Alabama in Birmingham; and the Carolina in Durham.

Interviews with those dedicated souls who have taken on the task of rescuing the buildings, coupled with archival research, bring the buildings to life. Beyond comparing each movie castle's storied existence, author and academician Janna Jones gives a deeper account. The book presents a serious study of what each of these edifices meant to original audiences, as well as what they are becoming for those crossing their gilded portals today.

NANCY DORMAN-HICKSON

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Apr 2003
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