The pictures that played the Capitol, from its grand opening to its final reel. Every title here is confirmed by a period source: the trade papers of the day, the theater's own marquee, or someone who sat in its two balconies.
First-run Hollywood pictures in Nakpil’s new air-conditioned palace, run by the Tuasons as a showcase for Warner Bros. and Paramount.
Hollywood films were banned. The Capitol carried on with Filipino pictures, live stage shows and Japanese propaganda films.
No Hollywood posters hung on Escolta in these years. In the battle for Manila in 1945, American trade reports listed the Capitol among the first-run houses “completely demolished.” It was rebuilt, and the lines came back.
Source: Motion Picture Herald, 1945The lines came back to Escolta as soon as American pictures did, and an improved Capitol re-opened to record crowds.
Brando, Bond and premieres shared with the Avenue and Rizal, until the malls and the LRT drew the crowds away.
Ticket stubs, programmes, newspaper ads and family stories all help us confirm the titles.