Slim pickings

Fade out

by Catherine Tumber

MAKE WAY for the DVDs.

I was a Johnny-come-lately to the fabulous faux-celluloid world of the Coolidge Corner Videosmith. Sad to say, I discovered it only four months ago, when I set out with grim determination to find an alternative to my local video store, a Blockbuster. Earlier that day, I had visited the aptly named conglomerate with an overpowering urge to rent a Mae West video -- any one would do -- and also to pick up Warren Beatty's acclaimed 1975 satire, Shampoo. No dice: Blockbuster had just weeded out its already thin inventory to make space for an onslaught of DVDs, duplicating titles of recently released videos already in stock. But I was in luck. A sympathetic clerk directed me to Videosmith, two miles away -- a cornucopia overflowing with classics, cult obscurities, and foreign films, in addition to the usual recent fare. It even had an entire section devoted to ALFRED HITCHCOCK, posted with the same type of category sign as ACTION and COMEDY. Phew! All was not lost! Little did any of us know then that its days were numbered.

The Coolidge Corner Videosmith is closing its doors on December 31. One of the first video stores in the area -- it used to traffic in Betamax -- it was established in 1981 in the basement of the Brookline Booksmith and grew large enough to move into its own storefront just a few years later. There is still time to purchase what remains of its inventory, although you may feel like a scavenger picking at the carrion of a once gorgeous and noble beast. But at the same time you'll wonder where else you could find gems like these: 1940s Lucille Ball movies, Harold Lloyd escapades, the work of the world's great directors from Sergei Eisenstein to Satyajit Ray, and, yes, Mae West and Shampoo. You could take heart in the fact that, in any case, Videosmith was no longer independently owned, as it had been for nearly 20 years. It was purchased two years ago by a franchise builder who had also acquired West Coast Video; more recently, it had been owned by the bank. Still ...

As it turns out, Videosmith/West Coast is closing half its Boston stores. Of all the Boston locations, Coolidge Corner had the largest inventory, thanks to years of careful cultivation and sheer love of movies, and it was the Videosmith chain's second-busiest store. And it stood out in one more respect: it paid the highest rent of all, although the rent hadn't increased in two years, according to the building owner.

However it happened, with the departure of Videosmith, something precious -- something that was still viable by every meaningful measure -- has been lost to Coolidge Corner. Let's hope that whoever moves into its old space will anchor the neighborhood with as much passion and business savvy as its independent owners once did.