Local history: ‘The Exorcist’ scared the hell out of Akron 50 years ago

Why would people line up to see a movie that made them feel sick? The devil made them do it.

Fifty years ago, “The Exorcist” began an exclusive run at Summit Mall Theater, drawing crowds of curiosity seekers. For audiences, the R-rated film was a communal experience, a rite of passage, a survival test.

The anticipation had been building for years.

Directed by William Friedkin, the 1973 movie is based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty, who also wrote the screenplay. Linda Blair plays demon-possessed Regan, the 12-year-old daughter of actress Chris MacNeil, portrayed by Ellen Burstyn. When doctors are unable to help the girl, Catholic priests agree to perform an exorcism to drive out the demon.

The disturbing story — oozing with vulgarity-spewing, projectile-vomiting, bed-levitating, head-revolving dreadfulness — shocked moviegoers. Some viewers were so traumatized that they felt faint and physically ill.

Warner Bros. released the movie Dec. 23 in major cities, but it took nearly seven weeks to wend its way to Summit County, and then when it finally arrived, it played in only one theater for two months. About 500 people waited in line at the Fairlawn mall for the first screening at noon Wednesday, Feb. 13, 1974.

Marge Witchey — yes, that was her name — drove 75 miles from Shelby in Richland County to be the first in line. She arrived at 8:30 a.m. with five friends “because everyone says don’t go alone,” she told the Beacon Journal. “I mean … after all the publicity, I just had to see it.”

Sandra Maneval requested a day off from work at the Click bakery to see the movie. “And I came with my mother,” she said. “If she wasn’t coming, there was no way I was coming alone.”

Margaret Modrick of Barberton just wanted to see what the fuss was about. “My niece in Pittsburgh said people were getting sick, fainting and wetting their pants,” she explained.

Manager Dolores Aloi said she had stockpiled smelling salts and VoBan, an absorbent material used to clean up vomitus, at the suggestion of RKO Theaters, owner of the cinema. She also doubled the number of ushers and concession workers to handle the crowds.

Customers filtered into the 1,100-seat auditorium. Popcorn and candy sales were brisk before the movie, but screeched to a halt when the show began. Patrons lost their appetite by the time Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells,” the theme to “The Exorcist,” swelled in the theater.

About 15 minutes into the film, frightened customers began to exit. Doorman Ollie Armstrong said he waved smelling salts under the noses of four women and three men who stumbled into the lobby. At least five people became physically sick during the first showing.

Summit Mall Theater usher Doug Isenhart, who wore a wooden cross around his neck on opening day, said some patrons looked a little green as they fled the auditorium.

“A lot of people were coming into the lobby saying they were just grabbing a smoke,” he said.

Concession stand worker Rose Mary Tonski tried a folk remedy to create moisture in the air for queasy moviegoers.

“I did take pans of water into the ladies room about four or five times,” Tonski said. “People were saying how gross it was and wishing they weren’t here.”

Patrons provided instant reviews as the credits rolled on the 122-minute movie.

“I wouldn’t recommend that movie to a dog,” Rona Morris told a reporter. “That type of film should never be released.”

She acknowledged, though, that she couldn’t sit through the whole thing, and had started taking breaks after the first 15 minutes.

Billie Bowman of Rittman said she didn’t feel sick after watching the film, but it was an experience that she’d rather not repeat.

“I was sitting there as cool as a cucumber,” she said. “I wouldn’t pay to see it again, I’ll tell you.”

Following one screening, two women went to Renard’s Lounge at the Hilton Inn West to unwind over drinks.

“The best thing about it is the happy ending,” one told a waitress.

“Happy ending?” the server replied. “Where did you get that?”

“When we left the theater.”

Beacon Journal movie critic Dick Shippy proclaimed “The Exorcist” as “sheer hokum,” but conceded that it was “a devil of a movie, capable of petrifying hell out of anyone who does not just view a film and think about it, but who escapes INTO it, or capable also of sickening those who can be psychologically induced to revulsion by purposeful theatric effects.”

“We have just returned from seeing the motion picture ‘The Exorcist,’ ” Jeffrey F. Bishman wrote to the newspaper. “Both my wife and myself sat through the whole filthy movie. I don’t think I have ever seen or heard of anything so blasphemous in my entire life.”

In the Action Line column, a Barberton woman identified as “Mrs. W.T.” wrote: “Can’t someone stop the showing of the movie ‘The Exorcist?’ I think it is pornographic! I won’t go to see it.”

That led Denise Williams to respond: “How can you possibly know the film is pornographic if you have not yet seen it? The issue is a matter of opinion and I resent her wanting to force her opinion on me. People are entitled to distinctive opinions and tastes. Let’s respect one another’s beliefs and not try to force them upon others.”

It seemed that more people were seeing the film than staying home.

Summit Mall Theater screened “The Exorcist” five times a day: noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30 and 10 p.m. On weekends, a midnight show was added. With the average movie ticket costing about $1.75, the theater raked in around $90,000 a week (over $572,000 today).

One night after waiting in a long line only to learn that the show had sold out, unruly customers broke into a mall restaurant, grabbed chairs and threatened to enter the theater. Employees called security to restore order.

In the ensuing weeks, experts were asked to weigh in on the cultural phenomenon of “The Exorcist.”

The Rev. Phillip Marcin, president of Metropolitan Interchurch Ministries, took exception to the movie’s ending. SPOILER ALERT: Father Damien Karras, portrayed by Jason Miller, saves Regan by taking the demon into his body and throwing himself down a flight of stairs to his demise.

“An exorcist worthy of his name would never do what Karras did. You never take the devil upon yourself,” Marcin said. “… No exorcist that I know has ever done that. That’s just a pet peeve of mine.”

Cathryn Taliaferro, assistant professor of English at the University of Akron, said “The Exorcist” was a reflection of the Vietnam and Watergate era.

“Interest in demonology is the ‘in’ thing these days,” she said. “These are fearful times, and such interest is an escape from reality. We use crutches when we are in trouble, and to say ‘The devil made me do it’ is buck-passing, putting the blame on the devil rather than accepting the responsibility ourselves.”

Summit Mall exorcised itself with a final showing at 10 p.m. Sunday, May 5. “Zardoz,” an R-rated sci-fi film starring Sean Connery, hit the screen the next week.

Today, “The Exorcist” is considered a movie classic with an 87% approval rating among audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. It remains one of the (no pun intended) highest-grossing horror films of all time after raking in more than $440 million at the box office over the past 50 years.

You know what’s scary?

Today’s kids watch it and laugh.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘The Exorcist’ scared the hell out of Akron in 1974