Cinecon hosts ‘Pop-Up’ classic film festival at El Segundo’s Old Town Music Hall on April 6

Because of the success of the event, Cinecon will host its first “Pop-Up” day at the OTMH on Sunday, April 6, which will include a full day of rare television shows and film.

All proceeds will benefit the non-profit organizations.

“After the wonderful experience of having Cinecon at Old Town in 2023, I knew that I didn’t want the relationship between us to drift into memory,”said Stan Taffel, a professional motion picture archivist and president of Cinecon. “Bringing this special day of rare programming to El Segundo once again links our festival with one of the greatest venues for classic cinema. It was meant to be.”

The “Pop-Up” opens at 9:30 a.m. with a selection of shorts, followed by a restored screening of 1944’s “Song of the Open Road,” starring Jane Powell, Edgar Bergen, and W.C. Fields.

The previously unavailable 1973 featurette “Zukor: A Man of our Century,” will then be screened at 11:30 a.m. The 25-minute film explores the life of the legendary Paramount Pictures co-founder Adolf Zukor as he celebrated his 100th birthday that year.

The Old Town Music Hall was built in 1921, and decades later became home to the 1925 Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ. The Cinecon Classic Film Festival will host its first ‘Pop-Up’ day at the OTMH in El Segundo on Sunday, April 6, which will include a full-day of rare television and film. (photo by Michael Hixon/SCNG)

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After a lunch break, Stirling Yearian will accompany the French silent film from 1929, “The Seamstress,” on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ, which marks its 100th birthday in 2025, beginning at 2:20 p.m.

Richardo Montalban and Bert Lahr star in “The Fantasticks,” a television show from 1964, will be screened beginning at 4 p.m. This will be followed by the Anna May Wong-starring 1929 silent film “Pavement Butterfly,” at 5:10 p.m., and a new Paramount restoration of “The Mountain,” from 1956, starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner and Claire Trevor, at 7 p.m.

The OTMH was built in 1921, and decades later became home to the 1925 Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ, with its 2,600 pipes.

Bill Coffman and Bill Field refurbished the organ, which they purchased from the Fox West Theater in Long Beach, and reopened the music hall as a movie theater in 1968.

When Bill Field died at 80 years old in 2020, volunteers took over operating OTMH including James Moll, Danny Tokusato and Angie Hougen, to keep the theater open almost every weekend throughout the year.

“We are pleased to be the venue for Cinecon’s latest collection of film rarities spanning from the 1920s to the 1960s,” Hougen said. “It promises to be a memorable day and we hope that our South Bay neighbors take advantage of this unique opportunity.”

Last year, an effort was launched to raise $100,000 for new seats, which are around 50-years-old.

James Moll, an award-winning filmmaker and longtime music hall volunteer and boardmember, said the new seats will be installed “late summer.”

“Thanks to matching gifts from generous donors, we did reach our $100,000 goal,” Moll said.

The OTMH will also celebrate the 100th birthday of the Mighty Wurlitzer throughout year, Moll said, by “showing many more silent films than we usually do.”

“Our July through December schedule in particular will feature 100-year-old films, like the war epic ‘The Big Parade,’ and ‘The Phantom of the Opera,” Moll said.

The theater is located at 140 Richmond St.

For more information, visit OldTownMusicHall.org, or for tickets visit cinecon.org.