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Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 8:54 am
by took64a
Hello everyone. I have been clipping newspaper ads and found some information about the Country Squire. I lived close by and went there not too long after the opening but missed the first movie shown there (I went a few weeks later to the showing of Cat Ballou). I see the first one was "The Man from Button Willow" Did anybody here attend that one? It was on October 13, 1965

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 9:32 am
by took64a
The following day, after the grand opening - the review came out. The theater had a full house of 500 that came to see the film and TV star: Anthony Eisely of "Hawaiian Eye". The article references the "less enchanted adults". After all it was an animated film. The film and the grand opening went to benefit the Holy Rosary Orphanage.

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 3:59 pm
by Lost Fresno
Thank Gerry, I appreciate the email you sent. Great idea to post about the Country Squire as many of us have very fond memories of this special place. I am posting the article from the Bee which first announced it's opening. Please share here if you remember it!

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2016 8:10 am
by Big J
Great stuff...thanks for sharing!!

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2017 1:41 pm
by Guest
This theater was scant blocks from my home on East Swift Avenue. But the opening feature was of no interest to me. Subsequently, I went there many times.

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 3:50 pm
by Jubal
I faintly recall seeing that movie ("The Man from Buttonwillow) at the Country Squire Theater ! Can barely recall...I was pretty young at the time. I can only remember one scene...where some bad guys hit the good guy (voiced by Dale Robertson) over the head & he falls into a well or ship's hold. A few years ago I watched a clip from the animated feature at YouTube and saw that it was not from a major studio and had a low budget look. Wonderful to see that it did so well in the the Fresno market ! Of course, I saw many movies over the years late at that wonderful theater (The Country Squire). Saw "The Sting", "The Towering Inferno", "The Day of the Locust", "Pete's Dragon" & so many others ! Wonderful memories !

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 11:43 am
by Richard Frey
While the Country Squire was in the permit process, many neighbors objected to its building. The developers made a promise that only "family friendly files" would ever be shown. I attended when it was a new theater and I liked it very much. At the end of its life, I think that it started to show X rated movies, probably to try and save its existence.

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 5:42 pm
by Kim Lauters
Greetings,
I saw so many great movies at the Country Squire Theatre. Among one of the most memorable, was the infamous Jaws movie. The theatre was full and the movie goers in the balcony were unusually rowdy. Well, someone thought it would be funny to throw chewed gum onto the crowd below. I had to cut the gum out of my hair when I got home. Needless to say, I started sitting in the balcony from there on out.

Re: Grand Opening - Country Squire in 1965

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2020 9:46 pm
by Gunner
I remember seeing Jaws, Exorcist, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at Country Squire. Charlotte's Web also.