August 12, 2016

Lorre at the Victoria in Dayton, Ohio

In the 1940s, Dayton's Victoria Theatre was a first-run Warner Brothers theater, showing the newest movies from that studio. This summer, in celebration of its 150th anniversary (opening in 1866 as an opera house), the Victoria presents its annual "Cool Films Series" with some of Hollywood's greatest hits – including Casablanca (1942), on-screen Friday, August 12, through Sunday, August 14, 2016.

The program includes live piano music, a trivia contest with prizes, and a classic cartoon. Free popcorn and soda will be available in the Victoria's lobby an hour before the program begins.

On Friday and Saturday, the show will begin at 7 pm. On Sunday, the program will begin at 3 pm.

Admission is $6 for all seats. Tickets are available at the Victoria box office, beginning one hour before showtime.

The full schedule of movies in the "Cool Films Series" is available on the Victoria’s website.

The Victoria Theatre is located at 138 North Main Street, at the corner of Main and First streets in Dayton, Ohio.

The Victoria recommends parking at the Arts Garage, located at 107 N. Ludlow Street, at the corner of Ludlow and Second streets. Parking fees at the Arts Garage help to support the arts venues used by all the arts organizations. More information on parking, as well as directions to the Victoria, are available on the theater’s website.

Casablanca originally opened at the cinema – then called the Victory – on Friday, January 22, 1943, and ended its run on Wednesday, February 17.

In the pages of The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin describes the making of Casablanca, a role to which Peter Lorre attached little importance. Peter later claimed that during the day and a half he worked on the film, he made more money playing the roulette wheel on the "Rick's Café Americain" set between takes than he did before the cameras for about 6 minutes of screen-time. The Warner Bros. front office felt differently, however, and Peter was offered a contract with the studio, leading to the most productive period of Peter’s career, with classic films, radio appearances, and a "House Act" tour at downtown theaters in large cities.

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre is available in soft-bound and hard-back editions, as well as the Kindle and Nook.

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