1 9 6 2 - Cine Europa - Barão - Fiammetta - Scala

Those early 1960s were fantastic years. After thinking so much about them 'good old days' I suddenly started doubting myself and my memories. I thought I was overemphasizing or embellishing that period. But now that I have been going back into the past and really reaserching that period I came to the conclusion that I have been right all along. Those were the days, my friend.

1961, 1962 & 1963 were really special wonder years. We lived the last days of democracy in Brazil and Latin America. Due to the Cuban Revolution the USA government became paranoid about Latin America turning 'red'. They thought a new Cuba would sprout everywhere... so they had to smother any kind of independence or 'rebellion' coming from countries south of Rio Grande. And we, Brazilians and Latin Americans of all sorts had to pay the ultimate price of having to live under right-wing military dictatorships as of April 1964.

But let's stick to the period just before the dark forces of backwardness set in. The lull before the storm.

1962 in particular was an amazing year. While researching the cinema-ad pages of daily 'O Estado de S.Paulo' I realized that at least 5 new movie houses opened on that particular year. 

4 March 1962 - posh Cine Barão on rua Barão de Itapetininga is inaugurated on Friday, 9 March 1962.

15 March 1962 - a movie-theatre that shows only 'westerns': Cine Los Angeles on Rua Aurora corner with Rua Guaianases is inaugurated with 1956's 'The last wagon' (A ultima carroça) with Richard Widmark and Susan Kohner.

Cine Scala is inaugurated on 25 April 1962.

22 April 1962 – Cine Scala was a new movie-house on Rua Aurora a street with 2 different sections: the one north of Avenida São João was disreputable and it was known as Trash Mouth (Boca do Lixo); the southern stretch (nearer Praça da Republica) Rua Aurora was ‘respectable’ but not that much if you go by the title of the flick that opened the new house: Luigi Vanzi's 'Il mondo di notte' (O mundo de noite).

Cine Scala is hailed as a good movie theatre: Inauguração na 4a.feira, 25 April 1962, do Cine Scala, nova e moderna sala situada à Rua Aurora, 720, destinada a apresentação de filmes da Columbia, Universal, Warner, de seleta seleção européia e da Toho japonesa. Outra inauguração, a do Cine Nikkatsu, antigo Cine Tokyo, na Rua São Joaquim. Na verdade esse cinema passou a se denominar Cine Alamo. 

6 May 1962 -  Cine Atlas, next to Cine Monaco on Avenida Rio Branco is the 3rd movie house inaugurated in 1962 which means showing films was still a good business; Polish director Aleksander Ford's 1960's 'Knights of the Teutonic Order' (Cavaleiros teutonicos) or 'Krzyzacy' in Polish.

OESP ad on 1st July 1962 announcing new movie-theatre on Rua Fradique Coutinho, 361.

13 July 1962 - In Pinheiros, Cine Fiammetta on Rua Fradique Coutinho, 361 (next door to MGM's Cine Jardim) is inaugurated with Carlos Hugo Christensen's 'Esse Rio que eu amo' featuring Odete Lara, Tonia Carrero & Jardel Filho. 

29 September 1962 - Inauguration of Cine Europa, a small movie house at the corner of Praça da Republica with Rua Joaquim Gustavo. It was supposed to show only the best European movies starting with a Russian love story - Isidore Annensky’s 1958’s ‘O marinheiro do cometa’ with Gleb Romanov, Nikolai Kryuchkov & Nikolai Svobodin.

4 November 1962 - two months after its inauguration Cine Europa was showing anything but European movies: Charles Chaplin's 1915 'Work' (O pintor de paredes); Lou Castello & Bud Abbott in 'Meet Captain Kidd' (1952) plus a serial & 2 cartoons.