State Theatre New Jersey Program — Vol 32, Issue 5

WELCOME TO THE HISTORIC STATE THEATRE NEW JERSEY! The State Theatre opened in 1921 as a grand movie palace. The theater began with silent films and quickly transitioned to “talkies” or movies with sound.

We recently came across an article in The Daily Home News from March 3, 1929 when we were known as “B.F. Keith’s State Theatre.”

The article talks about the introduction of sound into movie productions, and it is clear that folks were not quite sold on “talkies” and the future of movies (see headline/sketch above). Nevertheless, the announcement was made that “The State Theatre will be ready to run ‘talkies’ beginning on Monday, March 11.” The first talkie screened on that day was Synthetic Sin starring Colleen Moore.

After that, the talkies continued for many years as the State Theatre continued to change hands. In July of 1942 when we were “RKO State Theatre,” there were screenings of This Above All starring Joan Fontaine and Tyrone Power, two of the great romantic stars of the mid-20th century. Two years earlier, in 1940, Fontaine’s sister starred in one of the biggest movies of all time, Gone with the Wind.

Using the stage name Fontaine, Joan was born Joan Beauvoir de Havilland, sister of Olivia de Havilland. According to The Daily Home News on March 6, 1940, GWTW was in such demand that it was the first time since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, that the State Theatre opened its doors before noon for a movie screening.

For more State Theatre history, watch PBS’s Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey at STNJ.org/history 9