The year was 1966 and a young heartthrob, Sean Connery, had recently returned as 007 James Bond in “Thunderball.” Shortly after the movie’s release, the Martin Theatre opened in Cullman. Located next to the Cullman Shopping Center on Loring Street Northwest, the new theater would be the hot spot for many for the next 20 years.
The Martin opened Friday, June 3, 1966 at 7:30 p.m., and moviegoers lined up to be among the first to see a show. The announcement of the new theater described the venue as “Cullman’s New Luxury Theatre” and as a special promotion, the first 200 ladies to attend on opening night received a free orchid.
The theater boasted several fancy features including: “Heywood Wakefield chairs- the last word in auditorium seating comfort, Vista-Vue screen and all-purpose projection equipment, stunning tangerine and gold decorations, especially refreshing open-air lobby, convenient free theatre parking, deluxe refreshment area, luscious personalized carpet specifically designed for the Martin all weather entrances.”
Less than 10 years later, the theater closed temporarily, from Dec. 9-20 1974, for an exciting remodel. With the addition of a second screen, the theater became the Martin Twin.
Today, the old Martin Twin is home to Stewart Auto Supply and many folks might not know about its nostalgic past. The Tribune stopped by Stewart to see what we could learn. One customer instantly recalled two movies he had seen at the old theater.
“’Coal Miner’s Daughter’ and an old Ron Howard film called ‘Eat My Dust!’” he exclaimed. “I saw both of those here.”
The old concession area is now the counter at Stewart and behind the counter is an original poster from the Martin offering free admission with for six RC bottle caps.
“Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry” was the movie that stood out in Stewart employee David Hines’ memory.
“I’ve got the movie at home,” said Hines. “It was a good movie. He had this Dodge Charger and it was souped!”
The movie starred Peter Fonda and was a fun yet suspenseful car chase flick.
Hines added, “What’s interesting is during the day or during the week, how many people say, ‘Boy, I came to a lot of movies here.’ We hear that a bunch.”
“That was the thing to do. Come up here to the movie and cruise the parking lot of the shopping center,” Dawn Wagnon, another employee, said.
Hines explained as he walked through the building, “The floor started sloping and sloped all the way to the back. Later they filled it in to make it level. Up there are the old projector rooms.”
Hines pointed out where the emergency side exit doors were. The building sloped at such an angle that after leveling out the floor, only about 6 inches of the exit signs can be seen coming up from today’s floor.
Stewart put in a drop ceiling, but in the original theater, three chandeliers hung from the high ceilings. Hines removed a ceiling tile revealing the only remaining chandelier. What happened to the other two, he does not know.
Cullman Police Chief Kenny Culpepper remembered the Martin fondly, sharing, “My favorite memories are going there with the Cullman Bearcat football team on Friday afternoons before our high school football game that night. They opened just for the team. ‘The French Connection,’ ‘Patton,’ ‘Mackenna’s Gold’ come to mind.”
“Jeremiah Johnson,” “Little Big Man,” “The Godfather” and “The Sting” are just a few of the films resident Steve Arnett remembers catching at the Martin.
Longtime Tribune employee Robin Winton will never forget seeing the horror film “The Town that Dreaded Sundown” there shortly after moving into her first apartment.
“It scared me so bad, I went back to my momma’s house to sleep,” Winton said.
Hines recalled his brother-in-law saying that one of the worst movies he ever saw back in the 70s at the Martin was “The Exorcist.” Apparently, the showing of the movie caused a bit of a controversy.
In 1979, The Town Square Triple was opened by Martin Theatres on the south side of Cullman, and the popularity of the Martin Twin diminished. It finally closed its doors for good in 1987.
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