31 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
31 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
---
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aliases:
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- Band Box Theater
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- Bandbox Theatre
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category: "Media & Entertainment"
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tags:
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- Organization
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- Cinema
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- Philadelphia
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- Germantown
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- RCHorsch
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summary: "Art-house cinema at 20-22 East Armat Street in Germantown, owned by Art Carduner from 1966 to 1975, which screened R.C. Horsch's condemned film Black Mass in 1975."
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location: "Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"
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created: 2026-09-23
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updated: 2026-10-15
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---
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The Bandbox Theater, also written Band Box, was a cinema at 20-22 East Armat Street in the [[Germantown, Philadelphia|Germantown]] section of [[Philadelphia]], recorded with a seating capacity of 499. [[Art Carduner]] bought it, then shuttered, in 1966 and ran it as a house for foreign and art films until 1975. It screened films of Ray Hoersch, later [[R.C. Horsch]], in 1969 and 1975.[^1][^2]
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### Hoersch
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In late 1969, when the city's [[Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections|Department of Licenses and Inspections]] closed Hoersch's [[Underground Cinema 16]] on Sansom Street, the Bandbox ran the Vietnam documentary *[[In the Year of the Pig]]*, which Cinema 16 had under contract.[^3] In February 1975 the [[Arcadia Theatre (Philadelphia)|Arcadia]] on Chestnut Street cancelled a midnight booking of Hoersch's *[[Black Mass (1975 film)|Black Mass]]* after what the *Inquirer* called reported pressure from the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia|Philadelphia Archdiocese]], and a joint statement of sixteen religious leaders led by Cardinal [[John Krol]] condemned the film. Carduner gave it a midnight screening at the Bandbox on Saturday, March 1, 1975, as a benefit for the Friends of the Bandbox, with Hoersch attending.[^4][^5] The *Inquirer* column of February 28, 1975 announced the midnight showing at the Bandbox and reported that Hoersch would attend the opening.[^4] The *Inquirer*'s news story of the same date reported the film as scheduled at a center-city theater and one in Germantown; the center-city house called the report "a mistake," and the Germantown theater said it was not yet known whether the film would be shown there.[^6]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, Athenaeum of Philadelphia, "Bandbox Theatre," 20-22 E. Armat St. ("Seating capacity: 499"). https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/8266
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[^2]: Morrison, John F. "Art Carduner, a pioneer in exhibiting foreign films in Phila.," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* December 9, 2009. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20091209_Art_Carduner__a_pioneer_in_exhibiting_foreign_films_in_Phila_.html
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[^3]: *The Distant Drummer,* no. 65, December 25, 1969, p. 8, Temple University Libraries, Special Collections Research Center. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p16002coll34/id/473
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[^4]: [Society and nightlife column], *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 21. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173366667/
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[^5]: "Offensive Material: Leaders Condemn Black Mass Film," Religious News Service, *Lake Shore Visitor* (Erie), March 7, 1975, p. 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/951794835/
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[^6]: "Protest Raised Here On 'Black Mass' Film," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* February 28, 1975, p. 11. https://www.newspapers.com/image/173364962/
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