Cinema Under The Stars Reopens With Hitchcock's 'Notorious'

Moviegoers have had limited options in recent months, basically, watch at home or in a drive-in. But tomorrow night Cinema Under the Stars in Golden Hill reopens to screen Alfred Hitchcock’s espionage love story "Notorious."

Doug Yeagley’s charming and magical Cinema Under the Stars has been closed since December. But with COVID-19 cases dropping, he was relieved to see the state declare last Monday that some businesses, including an outdoor venue like his, could reopen. So this weekend, he turns to a cinema classic to entice people out of quarantine to come watch Cary Grant seduce a notorious Ingrid Bergman into a dangerous game of espionage.

"Notorious" is famous for a kiss scene, which faced restrictive 1940s censorship rules that said a kiss could only last three seconds. But director Alfred Hitchcock had a clever solution: simply have his gorgeous stars engage in a series of three-second kisses in a tight two-shot to steam up audiences.

In addition to the heat generated on screen, Cinema Under the Stars will warm audiences with heaters and if there’s rain, a retractable roof will be pulled out to cover the cinema and keep everyone dry. There are safety rules in place as well: People are required to wear masks and seating capacity has been reduced so seats can be socially distanced in pairs.

Now Yeagley just has to wait and see if the Master of Suspense and old school Hollywood glamor under the stars are enough to get people to leave their homes.