In the 1950s and 1960s, movie theatres across Thailand were important architectural statements and centres of social and cultural life. At a time when few houses had electricity, the local movie theatre was where people came together, irrespective of class or occupation. In today's era of shopping-mall multiplexes and movies streamed on personal devices, the popularity of the standalone cinema has become a thing of legend; few remember the once-familiar scenes of overflowing crowds spilling out onto the streets or frantic ticket buyers thrusting fists full of cash through small ticket windows. In 2008, Philip Jablon, then studying for a Masters degree in Thailand, began recording the demise of the country's standalone cinemas. In bringing together his poignant photographs and the ephemera of a vanished culture, such as highly collectible hand-painted Thai movie posters, this book records an irreplaceable slice of social, cultural and movie history. It is introduced by Kong Rithdee, writer, documentary film-maker, and long-time movie critic for the Bangkok Post newspaper.