Sutter Cinema
A former adult cinema in downtown San Francisco that became associated with feminist, queer, and sex-positive approaches to erotic film exhibition.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Sutter Cinema was an adult movie theater that operated on Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco during the early 1970s. It occupied a second-floor space at 363 Sutter Street, close to Union Square and within walking distance of Chinatown. The location had previously housed Charlie Low's Forbidden City, a prominent Chinese-owned nightclub associated with San Francisco's mid-century nightlife and with performer Coby Yee. The cinema opened in 1970 under the management of Arlene Elster, who also worked as its cashier. Elster was connected to the Sexual Freedom League and had a personal connection to Janis Joplin, having been one of Joplin's close high-school friends. Historical accounts describe Elster as possibly the first, or among the first, women to operate an adult theater. Her management style and programming philosophy distinguished Sutter Cinema from larger and more commercially oriented adult venues such as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. Sutter Cinema served a predominantly middle-class clientele and also attracted customers from the nearby Chinatown community. Elster's personal relationships in the neighborhood helped create a local audience. The venue was not presented simply as a place for commercial pornography. Elster viewed erotic cinema as part of the broader sexual-liberation movement and selected films according to her own interests and standards. She favored work that depicted women as active sexual subjects and that addressed erotic desire as something relevant to both women and men. She also supported films that extended beyond conventional heterosexual representations, including gay adult films. The theater's programming and public activity reflected this cultural agenda. In December 1970, Sutter Cinema and Leo Productions sponsored a five-day erotic film festival intended to give pornographic cinema greater cultural respectability. The event was moved to the 800-seat Presidio Theater to accommodate expected attendance, although promotional material continued to identify Sutter Cinema as a sponsor. The festival's judges included film critic Arthur Knight and publisher Maurice Girodias, lending the event a literary and critical dimension. Its visibility also led to an appearance by Elster on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in January 1971. Sutter Cinema presented films associated with independent and alternative erotic filmmaking. Mary Rexroth's Intersection premiered there, and the cinema also screened Rexroth's Cozy Cool and gay pornographic films. Some of the films shown were made with Elster's partner, Lowell Pickett. These activities positioned the theater as an exhibition site within San Francisco's wider countercultural, sexual-liberation, and independent-film communities. By 1975, Elster had become disillusioned with the business. She faced repeated police harassment and was arrested 14 times, eventually paying a $1,000 fine. She also believed that the supply of high-quality films suitable for her programming had declined. Between 1975 and 1976, she sublet the cinema and moved with her lesbian partner to Sonoma County, where they operated a wholesale plant nursery. Sutter Cinema closed not long afterward and is now a defunct venue. Archival material, including a press kit for Intersection, survives in the Arlene Elster papers held by the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.
History
Sutter Cinema opened in 1970 at 363 Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco. The venue occupied a second-floor space near Union Square and a few blocks from Chinatown. Before becoming a cinema, the premises had been used by Charlie Low's Forbidden City, a Chinese-owned nightclub remembered for its role in San Francisco nightlife and for performers including Coby Yee. The theater was owned and managed by Arlene Elster, who also served as its cashier. Elster was associated with the Sexual Freedom League and was closely connected to the sexual-liberation culture of the period. She was also known as a close high-school friend of Janis Joplin. Accounts of the cinema describe Elster as possibly the first, or one of the first, women to operate an adult theater. Sutter Cinema developed a reputation for programming that reflected Elster's personal and political views. Rather than treating adult film exhibition solely as a commercial enterprise, she considered erotic cinema a way to discuss sexual freedom and to expand the representation of female desire. She preferred films in which women were portrayed as active participants in sexuality and sought work that could speak to both male and female audiences. The venue also showed gay adult films, making its program broader than the conventional heterosexual fare associated with much of the period's pornography. The cinema attracted middle-class patrons and customers from nearby Chinatown. Elster's friendly relationship with Edsel Ford Fong, a famously difficult head waiter at Sam Wo restaurant, reportedly helped bring some Chinatown residents to the theater through complimentary passes. This local social network complemented the cinema's identity as an independent venue within San Francisco's counterculture. In December 1970, Sutter Cinema and Leo Productions sponsored a five-day erotic film festival. The event was organized with the stated aim of improving the cultural standing of pornographic film. Attendance required a larger venue, so the festival was held at the 800-seat Presidio Theater, while promotional material identified Sutter Cinema as a sponsor. Film critic Arthur Knight and erotic-book publisher Maurice Girodias participated as judges, giving the event a degree of critical and literary recognition. The festival's publicity eventually resulted in an invitation for Elster to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a segment broadcast in January 1971. The cinema also supported independent and alternative erotic filmmakers. Mary Rexroth's Intersection premiered at Sutter Cinema, which also screened Rexroth's Cozy Cool and gay pornographic films. Rexroth was the daughter of poet Kenneth Rexroth. Some films shown at the venue were made with Lowell Pickett, Elster's partner. By 1975, Elster had become dissatisfied with the theater's circumstances. She reported extensive police harassment and had been arrested 14 times, paying a $1,000 fine. She was also discouraged by what she regarded as a decline in the quality of available films. From 1975 to 1976, she sublet the cinema and moved with her lesbian partner to Sonoma County, where they operated a wholesale plant nursery. Sutter Cinema closed soon afterward. Its historical record is preserved in part through the Arlene Elster papers at the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco, including a press kit for Intersection.
- 1976
Cinema closes
[1]After the subletting period and Elster's move to Sonoma County, Sutter Cinema closes shortly afterward.
- 1975
Elster begins subletting the cinema
[1]Elster's dissatisfaction with police harassment and film quality leads to a period in which the cinema is sublet.
- 1971
Intersection premieres at Sutter Cinema
[1]Mary Rexroth's Intersection receives its premiere at the theater.
- 1971
Elster receives national television exposure
[1]Arlene Elster appears on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson following attention generated by the erotic film festival.
- 1970
Sutter Cinema opens
[1]The adult cinema begins operation at 363 Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco, with Arlene Elster as owner and manager.
- 1970
First International Erotic Film Festival
[1]Sutter Cinema and Leo Productions sponsor a five-day festival intended to raise the cultural profile of erotic film.
Products and positioning
An independent, sex-positive adult cinema that emphasized erotic films portraying women’s sexual agency, broader gender and sexual representation, and cultural legitimacy for erotic filmmaking.
Cinema service · 1970
Adult film exhibition
Sutter Cinema's primary offering was theatrical exhibition of adult and erotic motion pictures. Its program was curated by Arlene Elster rather than described as a purely volume-driven commercial schedule. The theater emphasized films that treated women as sexually desiring subjects and included work outside narrowly conventional heterosexual pornography.
Film exhibition · 1971
Independent erotic cinema
The venue showed independent erotic films connected with the period's sexual-liberation culture. Known examples include Mary Rexroth's Intersection, which premiered at Sutter Cinema, and Cozy Cool. The theater's programming approach gave selected films a setting associated with independent and alternative exhibition.
Film exhibition · 1970
Gay adult films
Sutter Cinema also screened gay pornographic films. These bookings formed part of the venue's broader effort to present erotic cinema with more varied sexual representation than was typical of a narrowly mainstream adult-theater program.
Film festival · 1970
The First International Erotic Film Festival
This five-day festival, sponsored by Sutter Cinema and Leo Productions in December 1970, sought to increase the respectability and critical visibility of erotic film. Because of its expected audience, the event was staged at the larger Presidio Theater rather than solely at Sutter Cinema.
Controversies
1975
Police harassment and arrests involving Arlene Elster
Elster became disenchanted with operating the cinema after repeated police harassment. Historical accounts state that she was arrested 14 times and paid a $1,000 fine. The pressure contributed to her decision to sublet the theater and leave San Francisco.
Marketing campaigns
- 1970The First International Erotic Film Festival
United States
Sutter Cinema and Leo Productions organized a five-day festival presenting erotic film as a subject worthy of broader cultural and critical recognition. The event used the 800-seat Presidio Theater to accommodate its audience and included critic Arthur Knight and publisher Maurice Girodias among its judges.
Outcome. The festival attracted media attention and contributed to Arlene Elster's appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in January 1971.
Brand decisions
1975
Sublet the cinema and leave the theater businessStrategyBackground
Elster cited police harassment and a lack of films she considered sufficiently high quality as reasons for her dissatisfaction.
Action taken
She sublet Sutter Cinema from 1975 to 1976 and moved with her partner to Sonoma County.
Aftermath
The theater closed shortly after the subletting period.
1970
Adopt a sex-positive and auteur-oriented programming policyStrategyBackground
Arlene Elster regarded erotic film as connected to sexual freedom and believed that adult cinema should portray female desire and sexuality more fully.
Action taken
Sutter Cinema selected films that Elster personally supported, including work with broader gender and sexual representation and films made with her partner Lowell Pickett.
Aftermath
The policy gave the venue a distinctive identity within San Francisco's adult-film and countercultural scene.
1970
Move the erotic film festival to the Presidio TheaterOtherBackground
The planned five-day festival required more seating than Sutter Cinema could provide.
Action taken
The festival was held at the 800-seat Presidio Theater while continuing to identify Sutter Cinema as a sponsor.
Aftermath
The larger event drew wider attention and helped bring Elster to national television.
Recent events
- 1976
Sutter Cinema closes after a period of subletting[1]
Other
After Elster sublet the theater from 1975 to 1976 and left the city, the cinema closed shortly afterward.
- 1971
Arlene Elster appears on The Tonight Show[1]
Other
The festival and its organizers attracted wider media attention, leading to Elster's appearance on the Johnny Carson program in January 1971.
- 1970
Sutter Cinema opens in downtown San Francisco[1]
Other
The adult cinema began operating on the second floor of 363 Sutter Street under the management of Arlene Elster.
- 1970
Sutter Cinema sponsors an international erotic film festival[1]
Campaign
Sutter Cinema and Leo Productions sponsored a five-day erotic film festival designed to present erotic filmmaking as a more culturally serious form.
Sources2 sources
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