The Isis was both equipped for and hosted regular programs of motion pictures and live stage productions. Admission for children was 10 cents while admission for adults was 15 cents. The theater had matinee showings weekdays from 1:30 P.M. until 7 P.M. in the evening. On Saturdays and Sundays, the theater provided continuous showings from 12:30 P.M. until 11 P.M. in the evening. On Sunday, May 17, 1931, the theater published a program, left, for that week’s daily feature films. The theater played The Spoilers on Sunday and Monday, Be Yourself on Tuesday and Wednesday, The Sea God on Thursday and Friday, while playing one feature on Saturday, Trailing Trouble, and previewing the upcoming “coming soon” feature, Devil’s Holiday, that would play the following week. With each feature film listed, the theater chose to include an actor or actress’s name from within the film in order to entice patrons into the theater and to see the show. The theater also boasts in this advertisement that the theater is equipped with RCA Sound. Additionally, this advertisement provides information to its reader about the showtimes, “Continuous Shows Sat. and Sun. 1 to 11 P.M. Daily Mat. 1:30, Eve., 7” with admission costing 10 cents for children and 15 cents for adults (Medford Mail Tribune, May 17, 1931, p. 2).
The advertisements for the Isis theater are usually found in the bottom corner of the pages of the Medford Mail Tribune. The ads include the name of the theater, in capital letters, and the location of the theater “East Main Near Bridge” printed below, in a box. The ads were typically simplistic, with the name of the film playing at the at theater that week and, perhaps, an image depicting a scene or actor from the film. Additionally, the ads for the theater included the admission fees of 10 and 15 cents. In addition to the advertisements ran in the Medford Mail Tribune, the theater has “A large and attractive Neon sign in colors, with moving electrical effects, announcing the name of the new theater,” and it “extends out from the theater entrance on East Main street, and will assist considerably in enticing the crowds to that section of the city” (Medford Mail Tribune, Mar. 29, 1929).
Owners Gene and Mae Childers lowered prices in early 1932, perhaps as a Depression-era strategy to maintain their audience, but by June the Isis closed to make way for the Roxy under new ownership.
