Happy 60th, Callicoon Theater

Sullivan’s last single-screen movie house offers free popcorn, sodas and giveaways as it enters its sixth decade

By FRITZ MAYER

CALLICOON, NY — The year was 1948, World War II was over, the country was prosperous and a movie theater in Callicoon opened for business with a film called “Green Grass of Wyoming.” The film, which involved a wild stallion that lured racing mares away from their owners, soon faded into memory, but the theater is still up and running, 60 years later.

The man who built the movie house, a local lumberyard owner named Fred Stark, went on to build others in Hancock, Narrowsburg, Livingston Manor and Roscoe. But those went out of business over the years, with now only the Callicoon Theater remaining.

Jim and Barbara Kayton purchased the Quonset-hut styled theater in 1986, and a year later, they quit their jobs in New York City and moved up to the area to run the theater full time.

Jim said one of the first things that needed attention was the marquis. He said, “When we were weekenders, we thought the theater was closed because we never saw the marquis lit up, we never saw any lights on.”

The couple quickly addressed that situation and began a series of improvements. One of the most prominent was changing the seating capacity from 514 seats to 380, to allow for wider seats with more legroom. Jim said this was because as movies got longer, people spent more times in the seats and they needed to be more comfortable. Barbara quickly added, “And we’ve all got more secretarial spread.”

The couple also updated the sound system, the projection system and installed air conditioning. The public responded positively. The theater draws a mix of full-time local resident and weekenders and shows first-run movies, though sometimes a week or two after they’ve debuted elsewhere. The theater also shows art films in conjunction with the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance.

Asked if there are any particular genres that work best in this area, Barbara said, “Every movie is a different experience. You can predict what will work from one year to the next or one season to the next.” The couple did well with the recent blockbuster “Iron Man,” but, she said, sometimes a big movie will be a bust in Callicoon and vice versa. She added, however, “if you have a strong children’s movie, usually you can do well with that.”

In part that’s because kids like to eat a lot of popcorn and other goodies. With most of the ticket revenue going back to the distributors, sales of popcorn help to keep the theater running strong.

So it’s a special event, indeed, when the Kaytons decide to give away free popcorn and sodas. And that’s just what they’ll be doing on Tuesday, July 8 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Callicoon Theater, the oldest continuously operating movie theater in Sullivan County. They’ll also be giving away 60th anniversary mugs and gift certificates.

Jim said, “Any theater or entertainment venue can’t exist without the support of its patrons, so we appreciate that the patrons have supported us.”

The movie scheduled is the Disney/Pixar release WALL-E, an animated film about a lone robot left to clean up the mess mankind has made of planet Earth. (See review on page 16C) The reviewer for The Boston Globe called it “a sci-fi parable of astonishing scope and depth … the best American film of the year to date.”

For more information, visit callicoontheater.com or call 845/887-4460.