National Theatre

Photo from the Scott Neff collection.

10925 Lindbrook Dr Westwood Village (Los Angeles) CA 90024

Information for this tour was contributed by Paul Linfesty.

Starting construction in 1969, the 1,112 seat National Theatre was to be called the Fox Westwood (not to be confused with the classic Fox Westwood Village theatre two blocks away). But by the time the theatre opened to the general public on Friday, March 27, 1970, the National name graced the front of the building. That was because National General had just phased out the Fox name that appeared as part of every one of their theatre names (for years, directory ads always read National General's Fox West Coast theatres).

For years, the National was an exclusive engagement theatre, with clearance over every other theatre in a three county area (L.A., San Bernardino, Riverside). There were exceptions. After Fiddler on the Roof ended its reserved seat engagement at the Wilshire, the National was added to the selected theatre release, albeit with an exclusive 70mm print.

The National Theatre was home to many big blockbuster films of the 1980s, including all three Indiana Jones films, Top Gun, etc. The already excellent sound system was upgraded to THX for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The theatre was also a testing ground for Douglas Trumball's 60fps 70mm process, SHOWSCAN.

Further sound and projection upgrades were performed in the late 1990s.

One interesting feature of the theatre is the marquee. It is mounted on two tracks, which allow it to be lowered all the way to the ground for easy changing. Unfortunately, the theatre no longer paints huge copies of giant posters on the Gayley side of the building.

Inside, the theatre still basically looks the same as it did when it opened. Same drapes and seats. A well-preserved museum to the way a "modern" 1960s theatre looked.

Mann Theatres closed the theater on April 19, 2007. It was re-opened on May 11, 2007, by an independent operator, but closed again on October 7, 2007.

December 2007 photos from the Mark Campbell collection.

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April 2007 photos from the Mark Campbell collection.

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July 2006 photos from the Mark Campbell collection.

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April 2006 photos from the Adam Martin collection.

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April 2006 photos from the Darren Snow collection.

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March 2006 photos from the Scott Neff collection.

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February 2003 photos from the Scott Neff collection.

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September 1997 photos from the Scott Neff collection.

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• National Theatre Opening Advertisement [] [Size: 312 KB] Source: Paul Linfesty (March 26, 1970)

• Cinema Treasures

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Last featured 5/18/2003. Last edited 1/23/2022.