Baltimore's Senator Theatre Continues Christmas Benefit Tradition

Despite a chaotic 2010 and questions about the future of Baltimore's vintage Senator Theatre, the traditional benefit showing of a classic Christmas movie happily continued under the theater's new owners. There's been turmoil in the past few years over the ownership of north Baltimore's classic 1939 movie theater, the Senator. After previous owner Tom Kiefauber's financial difficulties and a bank foreclosure, the theater went dark over the summer after a final packed showing of the original "Star Wars" movie. Baltimore movie entrepreneur Buzz Cusack took possession and began screening movies in October. The big question was whether he would continue Kiefauber's tradition of showing classic Christmas movies during the holiday season to benefit the CARES food pantry of the Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation (GEDCO).

It's always a treat to see the Alastair Sim version of Dickens' "Christmas Carol" and Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" on the big screen. The Senator Theatre's three-story-tall movie screen and surround sound bring out the best of these classic holiday movies. In past years, the theater has been full with friends and neighbors revisiting a Christmas tradition. Baltimoreans were happy to see the tradition continue with at least one of these movies. Best of all, the screenings benefitted the CARES food pantry, always in need at this time of year.

In the past, the Senator Theatre has shown both the Alastair Sim "Christmas Carol" and the Frank Capra movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," rotating the two movies in an all-day marathon. Under the new ownership, this year there were three screenings of the Jimmy Stewart movie only, on Saturday December 19, Sunday December 20, and Friday December 24, all at 10 AM. The Sunday morning show filled more than half of the 900-seat theater and donations for Baltimore's CARES food pantry filled most of the north lobby wall, piled three feet high. The Christmas eve showing drew even more of a crowd.

The audience was a mixture of locals and visiting movie buffs, some visiting Baltimore from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Cameron, age 11, lives a few blocks away and was brought by his parents. He confessed he was unenthusiastic before seeing the movie, but "thought it was better on the big screen than on TV." Cameron spent some time checking out the "Walk of Fame" in front of the Senator. The sidewalk commemorates Baltimore movie premieres with autographs of Barry Levinson, John Waters, Edward Norton, Ricki Lake and other noted locals.

The holiday screening at Baltimore's vintage Senator Theatre of "It's a Wonderful Life" is a Christmas tradition that deserves to be continued. The pleasures of visiting with neighbors, benefitting the CARES food pantry, and seeing a magnificent movie on a huge screen are all part of the joys of the season. Here's hoping that the Senator will continue this tradition for many Christmases to come, and bring back "A Christmas Carol" next year to run in conjunction with "It's a Wonderful Life."

Historic website: Senator Theatre

Current website: Senator Theatre

Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation