Introduction

The Appalachian Theatre dominated the film exhibition business in Boone from its opening in 1938 through the 1960s. Things changed in December 1971, when the Flick Theater came to town. Surprisingly, it was the Flick that brought several blockbuster films to Boone. For example, if you wanted to be the first in town to see Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) without going "off the mountain," you'd have to drive past the Appalachian Theatre and the newer Chalet Theatre and head for the Flick, where it played on 21 December 1977. And George Lucas' Star Wars? That massive hit played the Flick on 8 July 1977, a year before it ever came to the Appalachian and two years before the Chalet; same thing with The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) opened at the Flick on the day of its national release, 23 May 1984.

In truth, the Flick was a combination of a normal small-town theater with a bit of art-house, grindhouse, and late-night porn show mixed in. More liberal or counterculture subjects found a place here; a place denied them by the more conservative theaters in town.

The Beginnings: December 1971

The Flick was set up in a modest but modern-looking building a few blocks east of the Appalachian Theatre, just off of King Street on the northeast corner of the Appalachian State University campus:

This put the new theater almost directly across from the Dan'l Boone Inn, a family-style restaurant which still exists, and both had Hardin Street addresses. The Flick was also extremely close to the large dormitories of the ASU campus, an easy walk across the street. The student newspaper carried an article with a photo of the theater still under construction:

Bill Willets, first manager of the Flick, commented in the article that "For the first time students and the Boone public will have a choice of theaters for their entertainment." While this ignores previous theaters in Boone such as the Pastime and SkyVu Drive-In, it is clearly pointed directly at the unmentioned Appalachian Theatre. A further detail hinted at a different kind of film theater: the Flick was part of a company from Charlotte called, believe it or not, Strange Incorporated. Initial seating capacity was 450, around the size of the old Pastime Theatre. The Flick opened on 2 December 1971 with Summer of '42 (1971).

A week later, another Boone premiere took place with the independently distributed Billy Jack (1971), an oddly popular film with enough violent pacifism to appeal to both hippies and fans of the martial arts. The counter-culture theme then began in full force with Bullitt (1968), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and Cool Hand Luke (1967) in quick succession. These three films had previously played at the Appalachian, but to program them back-to-back must have attracted younger crowds to the new venue and hinted at things to come.

Then in January of 1972 came the world premier of a not-so-major film, Snow Job (1972), starring a man deservedly better known for his skiing than his acting, Jean-Claude Killy. Local reaction to the film was no different than what would come nationally: it was a truly awful movie, yet it had some exciting ski sequences. Since the ski industry in northwestern North Carolina was still just a little over a decade old, it attracted some local attention, as did Killy himself, who attended the premiere.

The local paper promised "All-night skiing, dancing in a European carnival-like atmosphere, a gala red carpet reception for high-ranking celebrities and all the glory that normally surround the appearance of a movie star at a World Premier . . ." (Watauga Democrat 1/24/1972, p. 1). The same paper was quiet after the actual event, but student newspaper columnist Richard Wells took up the slack in a genuinely funny piece of parody where "Jan-Clyde Killer" attended the "Tic Theatre" for the premiere of his new film, "Hum Job," and literally fell flat on his face (The Appalachian 1/28/1972, p. 2). The film was weak enough, but even the skiing was bad that weekend: the temperatures soared close to 50° and wet grass and mud replaced the powdery slopes where Killy was meant to show off. The two-week run originally planned for the film was drastically shortened. Undaunted, Willets plunged back into programming the trendy violence and off-beat humor of the day: Straw Dogs (1971), Dirty Harry (1971), and Little Big Man (1970)--all shown in Boone for the first time. 

The era of the Flick as a trendy alternative to the more conservative downtown venue was short-lived, however: the even newer and more modern Chalet Theatre was opened with twin screens in May 1972. The full story of the Chalet will be told on a separate page, but the initial wave of competition had impacts on the entire town, from a film industry standpoint. Was Boone large enough to support 4 screens (the Appalachian, the Flick, and the two at the new Chalet)? An article on the initial construction of the Chalet (The Appalachian 3/28/1972, p. 5) noted that longer film runs in Boone were fraught with peril. Even films that did well nationally, such as Straw Dogs and The French Connection, did surprisingly poorly in Boone and had to be withdrawn. On the other hand, Dirty Harry--already shown previously at the Appalachian--packed them in at the Flick. The Chalet would focus on shorter runs and go after the biggest, most popular films; the Appalachian and the Flick would scramble for what was left.

It was in this new era of local competition that our story begins to take a turn towards the blue . . .

The True Story of X-Rated Films in Boone, North Carolina

Mention the Flick Theater to locals who were around in the 1970s and typically the discussion will turn towards pornography. In the early years of the decade, porn chic was a nationwide trend that moved adult films towards more mainstream venues and audiences. For a brief time, explicitly adult films were the new thing, even for married-with-children adults. It is good to remember that though X-rated films were shown at the Flick, such films were also shown as frequently at the Chalet Theatre, especially in the early part of the decade. But somehow, the sleazy reputation has attached itself to the Flick and not the Chalet.

Technically, the first advertised showing of an X-rated film in Boone occurred at the Appalachian Theatre on 2 November 1969. Here's the ad to prove this somewhat controversial statement:

The little "X" in the circle on the lower left of Medium Cool (1969) translated as "Persons under 16 not admitted." The Motion Picture Association's rating systems was just a year old in 1969 and was still in flux--note that the M rating was later changed to GP and finally to the current PG. The actual meaning of the letters changed as well. The original intention of the X rating was that the film was not suitable for children, but not necessarily pornographic. Medium Cool, for example, was a story that dealt with the violence surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention, with a love story somewhat awkwardly tacked on. There is nudity, but it is limited and not the focus of the film. In later years, Medium Cool had its rating changed to R, as did all of the other X-rated films shown at the Appalachian Theatre, films such as Midnight Cowboy (1969), Myra Breckinridge (1970), and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). All of these films were shown as X-rated initially but later had their ratings downgraded (to R for the first two and NC-17 for the last one).

The cause of this change involved what other film producers were doing with the X rating. In many cases, the rating was self-applied to pornographic materials with explicit sexual scenes. There were even films advertised as "XX" and "XXX"--ratings which did not exist in the MPAA system but served to tantalize would-be viewers looking for the most graphic material possible. By the 1970s, an X rating for a film meant that it would not play in the family-oriented theaters like the Appalachian and there is no evidence that any truly pornographic film was shown at the AT. However, the two new theaters in town, the Flick and Chalet, had no such qualms.

If we look purely at the number of X-rated films advertised per year at the two theaters--films that were and still are X-rated--we see an obvious pattern of competition where initially the Chalet dominated the market from 1972-1974 (prime years for the porn chic trend), and then the Flick took over from 1975-1981:

         FLICK                     CHALET
1972: 6                    28
1973: 1                    53
1974: 10                  33
1975: 37                  16
1976: 43                  5
1977: 42                  0
1978: 2                    0
1979: 26                  0
1980: 51 (no titles)  0
1981: 24 (no titles)  0
1982: 0                   10

The following ad, in the student newspaper (!), coaxed potential curiosity seekers:

By 1980, titles were no longer necessary in the newspaper ads: "Adult Film" and "Skin Flick" were indicators of what was on the screen--if you'd seen one, you'd know what to expect; if you'd never seen one, this was your chance. The Flick stopped showing X-rated films after 1981 when, after moving away from the genre for 5 years, the Chalet showed a few more late-night porn shows before the videocassette industry took over.

While some viewed porn chic as a daring new cultural trend, more conservative locals not surprisingly were shocked at having this type of urban entertainment in their home town. One of the complaints involved juxtaposing risqué ads in the newspaper where different audiences would find them. The following ad is a classic example:

One imagines the audience for Julie Andrews and Marilyn Chambers would have been diametrically opposed.

A similar problem involved film previews for explicit materials being shown to the wrong audience. This caused more problems for the Chalet than the Flick, since for several the years the Chalet ran both children's matinees and late-night X-rated shows in the same week. Films explicitly for children were rare at the Flick, at least under the original management. 

R-rated films also met with some local opposition, due primarily to their violence. Yet even Bob Agle of the Appalachian Theatre noted that profits from G-rated films were disappointing (Watauga Democrat 3/29/1973, pp. 1, 2), something that their competitors had obviously already learned. The protests fizzled after spring 1973. In the end, the Chalet management backed away from explicit material, while the Flick continued for awhile with far more subdued advertising in the local papers. 

The Flick Has Twins

The Chalet Theatre opened 16 May 1972 with twin screens. Multiplex theaters were certainly not new in 1972, but they were becoming much more popular. Having more than one screen meant that different films could be shown concurrently with the same concession area, box office and staffing. The flexibility in programming more than made up for any loss in seating per screen. The Flick added a second screen in November 1979, closing for 45 days to complete the construction:

New manager Reece Carver stated that twinning was necessary since film companies were demanding longer runs of six to eight weeks for major films. Having two screens enabled the Flick to run these major films and pad out attendance with different films on the second screen. The twinning was accomplished by simply splitting the building in two, with 190 seats on each side. The article accompanying the photo above also stated that the Flick was now part of the 63-theater chain of Piedmont Productions of Charlotte. The Chalet countered with a third screen in April 1981. Even the Appalachian joined in the multi-screen act, when its balcony was converted into a small second theater in January 1982. 

Rocky Horror Comes to the Flick

In addition to twinning, the Flick received an improved Dobly, err, Dolby sound system (that was for you Spın̈al Tap fans). Carver explained that this would enable the showing of late night rock films in addition to the X-rated shows. As with other counterculture subjects, the Flick had already led the way in Boone for "rockumentaries," being the first in town to show Michael Wadleigh's Woodstock (1970), the Beatles' Let It Be (1970), and Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (1971).

But it was another type of late show that came to dominate the second screen at the Flick during late nights: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). No other film demonstrates the differences in crowds at the Flick vs. those at the Appalachian or Chalet Theatres. Beginning January 1979, before the twinning, and continuing as a late night show through 1982, Rocky Horror was advertised at the Flick 71 times. It only played at the Chalet 4 times (in 1986) and never at the Appalachian.

This strange cult phenomenon, as much audience participation as film, was detailed in an early review from the student newspaper by Brian Bailie: "At the beginning of the movie, there is a wedding, thus, rice is immediately thrown across the theater from all directions. . . . During a dinner scene, the champagne is served and a toast is offered and, you guessed it, people were suddenly pummeled profusely by pieces of toast. I think you can guess what happens when Dr. Frank N. Furter's name is mentioned." (The Appalachian 1/25/1979, p. 5) 

Seventy-one performances. Seventy-one early morning cleanups for some unlucky staff member . . .

The Final Years: 1990-1996

In the end, two or even three screens proved not to be enough. Boone's cinema scene was forever changed in May 1990 when a true multiplex moved in next to the New Market shopping area on Highway 421 east of town. Originally with six screens (eventually seven), the New Market or Regal Cinema doomed its three competitors. The Flick would close in December 1996, the Chalet in September 2004, and the Appalachian itself, at least as a single-purpose film theater, in September of 2007. 

Oddly, for its last five years, the programming at the Flick is very similar to that of the Appalachian Theatre, or Appalachian Twin as it was then called. The same movies played the same days at both theaters--sometimes the same movies on both screens, more often the same movie on one of the screens. The following ads are examples of this pattern:

Put Up a Parking Lot . . .

Having closed to the theater-going public in December 1996, the building was renovated the following spring for use as the Durango Bagel shop (Watauga Democrat 4/16/1997, p. 1). A later ad shows that the location for the business was still being given as "The Old Flick Movie Theater" in 1998:

The bagelry does not appear to have lasted long at this location. On a visit to the area in the spring of 1999, the author noted that the building appeared to a be a closed theater--complete with the distinctive, jagged "Flick" sign--with no sign of recent activity. Upon my next visit in the spring of 2000, the building was completely gone, having been converted into a parking lot for students. Ironically, the Chalet Theatre was to meet the same fate in 2006 when it was torn down to create more parking for the Paul H. Broyhill Wellness Center. The Appalachian has been reopened as a multi-use venue for live performance and film, while the New Market struggles on as the Regal Boone Cinema in a world where film theaters themselves seem an increasingly antiquated concept.

Thanks to Eric Plaag, Ross Cooper, John Doherty, and Kevin Freeman for assistance in writing this web page.

Dr. Gary R. Boye

Music Librarian and Professor

Appalachian State University

boyegr@appstate.edu

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