Vamp and Camp

The downtown Ohio Theater in Columbus, Ohio is a 2700-seat old-fashioned movie palace built in 1927, restored in the 70's, and kept up in marvelous shape as a year-round arts venue. Every summer, they have a classic movie series, and much as I love to go there (in part because the building is so beautiful, and a seat in the front loge is movie heaven), we have slacked off in recent years, partly because of DVDs. This year we went only three times: once for Meet Me in St. Louis, once for Sunset Blvd. (and it was truly fabulous being one of those "wonderful people out there in the dark" watching Norma Desmond have her breakdown), and last week for what was advertised as a "Vamp and Camp" double feature of She Done Him Wrong with Mae West, and Cobra Woman with Maria Montez.

The summer movies are fairly well attended; I'd guess at least 300-700 people depending on the film. I assumed for this that there'd be a fairly small group of middle-aged gay men and hard-core film buffs, but I was shocked to see one of the biggest crowds I'd seen there in a couple of years, of all types and age ranges, from families to packs of teenagers to people in walkers and wheelchairs. It was great fun as the audience was what I would call "respectfully enthusiastic," quiet for dialogue-heavy scenes, laughing at the humor, both intended and unintended, and seeming to be truly involved in the proceedings. The presence of onstage organist Clark Wilson, who plays before and after all the films, added to the atmosphere.


The most fun was had during Cobra Woman, a famously campy piece of exotic adventure and romance with the well-known B-movie team of Maria Montez (see pic above) and Jon Hall; many of us in the audience were mimicking the Cobra salute that the islanders use (arm bent at the wrist, thrust into the air like a biting snake), and during and after the terrible Montez dance number, there was much whooping and applause. The prints for both were good, and for Cobra, spectacular. The Technicolor was crisp and bright; though this may sound like blasphemy, at times it looked like Michael Powell's Black Narcissus, what with the exotic setting and the rich colors. I hope they do more unusual programming in future seasons, and it makes me wish I had more opportunities to see classic films in a theater.