Lyric Theatre

As Brandt's Lyric, this was one of the "Top Three" movie houses on 42nd Street, along with the Cinema Circuit's New Amsterdam and Brandt's Apollo. The Lyric and New Amsterdam divided up the double-feature programs that played the Loew's and RKO circuits, while the Apollo was a "foreign" showcase. All three were first-run for 42nd Street. After engagements there, the films moved on to other 42nd Street theatres.

The Lyric was, in the early- to mid-'90s, the third-to-last (not counting the MoviePlex 42) of the Deuce grindhouses to close its doors for business, followed by the Selwyn and the Harris.

The Lyric - which was then in its period as one of the handful of the Deuce's porno theatres - was featured in the film 'Taxi Driver'.

Although it may have shown a soft-core adult movie from time to time (when porn flirted with mainstream acceptance) the Lyric was never a porno house.

I actually had a chance to attend a punk concert here back in the late 80s : the band set up right in front of the screen and pornos played in the backround- the Lyric was really run down by that point, but traces of it's former beauty were evident in the (dark) painted plaster ceiling, and along the crumbling yet still grand lobby/entrance- the bathrooms were something else- signs warning against prostitution/drug dealing; toilets missing and no running water. It was a great concert, and me and my(underage) friends certainly appreciated being allowed into the verry same porn theater from Taxi Driver!

I recall that the Lyric, like a lot of legit theaters, was not very wide but it certainly was tall. And in the 50s-60s, it was always packed since it was showing some of the newer films on the Deuce, along with the New Amsterdam. Since people did not time the beginning of a showing back then, a lot of the viewing was interrupted by you, or someone else, looking for a seat or two seats together. And if you ended in the top balcony, you were looking down on the screen through the cigarette smoke.

After a week here, the program would move west to the Selwyn.

As always, if anyone know how I can obtain images or booking/programming information for any of the theaters on the Deuce, please let me know. The Lyric did appear in a lot of newspaper ads, since it was showing newer flics, but sometimes they would vary the 2nd feature (as opposed to the RKO circuit)for their "action" audience.

Jerry 42nd Street Memories

I have an exterior photo of the Lyric (circa early 90s). I'll e-mail it to some if they want to post it.

I just found a beautiful color clip of the Lyric and entire north side of 42nd Street from 1956 on the gettyimages.com website. The Selwyn is showing (3 Coins in the Fountain & Love is a Many Splendid Thing), Apollo (Naked Night & Divided Heart), Times Square (Best of the Badmen & Badman's Territory), Lyric (Man in the Grey Flannel Suit & Magnificent Roughnecks), Victory (Purple Heart & Guadalcanal Diary). Here's the link http://creative.gettyimages.com/source/Film/filmresultsmain.aspx?source=general&masterID=561-55&brandID=14&detailView=1

Jerry 42nd Street Memories

You can see some photos of the Lyric theater marquee taken from the movie Taxi Driver here:
http://www.silverscreens.com/cinesaucine/en/taxidriver.html

In a word, wow! But I wonder if the Lyric actualy played those two movies, or if it was a mock up for the film.

And that's a very interesting site. Thanks for the tip.

saps, I also wondered if the Lyric actually played those films. IMDB lists both as 1974 releases (I thought the titles and posters may have been made up for the film). An IMDB user comment on the second film makes mention of the Taxi Driver connection.

Great tip,lostmemory. Enjoyed the site.

Here is a 1966 shot of The Deuce. Note the billboards over the Lyric. THey would display their coming attractions there. In this case.....THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (10th anniversary re-release) and the remake of STAGECOACH

I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here's the temporary link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6166608315

For those interested, the films showing are:
HARPER & SWINGER'S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.

There is an old photo of the Lyric theater and some history also at this link:
http://web.bvu.edu/faculty/whitlatch/42nd/lyric.htm

Thanks for the link; really fascinating stuff. Not completely accurate, and with a typo or two, but well worth a visit.

There was a Lyric Theater on 3rd Ave between 12th and 13th St.,
Manhattan years ago.You can check out the link section on here to view it.

Listed as Bijou: http://cinematreasures.org/theater/8371/

On 3/10/72 Universal released Paul Newman, Henry Fonda and Lee Remick in "Sometimes a Great Notion" and as a second feature Clint Eastwood in "Play Misty For Me". Great Notion is billed as "first New York Showing", but has no Broadway theatre playing it. The Manhattan run was The Lyric, UA Academy of Music, Juliet 1 (which only played the main feature), Kips Bay, UA Riverside and Brandts Cinema Studio. I have noticed in many of the Showcase engagements the top Broadway theatres did not play many of them until the later 70's when Broadway was pretty much always opening everything on showcase breaks.

You'll need to quickly freeze frame to catch this one. In "Midnight Cowboy" when Jon Voight is running down 42nd Street, you have a full screen of the front on the Lyric showing "Hang'Em High" with all the lobby displays.

I have trouble believing the LYRIC is anything but alive and well. I attended a show there this week, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, expecting a stark modern interior of the currently named HILTON Theater. To my happy surprise I found a beautiful old interior, with all of the decorations typical of a grand theatre circa 1901, two balconies, and absolutely looking like a cleaned-up old palace. Go there and see for yourself.

The Hilton Theatre is an entirely new structure, rlvjr, save for select architectural elements which were removed from the Lyric and Apollo, both of which were demolished (in terms of their interiors) to make way for the then-Ford Center/Hilton Theatre.

NO WAY the HILTON is new. Nobody can construct a new building to look like it's 100 years old. Nobody can layer 100 years of dirt on art work et cetera. Let somebody who says they've actually BEEN THERE and SEEN the HILTON (aka FORD) THEATRE --- let that person say the theatre is "new."

My, my.

After being stripped of certain ornamentation and architectural elements to be later re-used, the Lyric and Apollo were guttted to the bare walls, the roof was removed, the wall between the two theatres was removed, and there you had it: four walls standing, surrounding a dirt pit. From this rose the new theater we lovingly call the Hilton (not). Some of the artwork and other elements in the new theater are originally from the Lyric and Apollo, but there are many recreations done to look as classic as the originals. And I have been to this theater many times since it first opened with Ragtime the 1990's.

Here's a photo I took in 1975. The Lyric had a double feature consisting of Report To The Commissioner and That Man Bolt. Porn had taken over some of the other theaters.

http://photobucket.com/albums/a9/John409/?action=view¤t=42NDSTREETWORLDSGREATESMOVIECENTER-.jpg

Interesting...the movie "Sometimes Sweet Susan" on the Rialto marquee, was, if I remember correctly, the film on the Lyric marquee in the movie "Taxi Driver". "Taxi Driver" was filmed around the time the photo was taken. I wonder if the film was moved over to the Lyric for the "Taxi Driver" shoot.

Don - You are correct about "Sometimes Sweet Susan" on the Lyric marquee in the movie "Taxi Driver." You assumption about moving it over to the Lyric for the "Taxi Driver" shoot is reasonable. It would be in keeping with the mood of the film to have a porn film on the marquee. There are similar thoughts on this in previous comments.

This website has before and after photos of a Lyric theater aka Ford Center for The Performing Arts located at 213 West 42nd Street. Is this the same Lyric theater as the one listed on this page?

Yes and no. "Elements" from the Lyric and adjacent Apollo were combined into the Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

A Kimball organ Size 2/7 was installed in the Lyric Theater in 1916.

There is an exterior shot of this theatre by Andrew Moore on line at
www.andrew-moore.info
(Just click on Photography and then Times Square 1995-2005 to bring up theatre photos)
The shot of the Lyric in the 3rd one across in the second row.
In addition, Moore has photos of the New Amsterdam, Selwyn, Times Square and Liberty theatres prior to any restoration work.

As Depression "flophouse": www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/lyric.jpg

Take note of the checkerboard motif on the neighboring Victory Theater (which featured Burlesque and was called the Republic Theater at the time of this photo, I believe) to the right of the Lyric. I know that theater has its own page, but does anyone know when that design element was incorporated into the facade? Was it concurrent with the demolition of the exterior staircase that would later be re-created for the opening of the renovated New Victory Theater in 1995?

I think that the checkerboard motif was installed for Minsky's Burlesque. The white squares were filled with faces of showgirls or surrounded windows that were already in the facade. See photo on page 50 of the original edition of Nicholas Van Hoogstraten's "Lost Broadway Theatres."

Going back to some of the "Taxi Driver" inspired debate above as to whether the old Lyric ever showed porn... I think saps is right that the theater was never one of the Duece's full-time porno houses (like the Rialto 1 and 2, Victory and Harem were). I think Scorcese liked the theater's outdoor vestibule area as a shooting location and had the marquee especially made up for the shoot. The Harem entrance looked like a storefront, the Rialto entrances were very small and, like the Victory's, were flush up against the facade. My guess is the Lyric vestibule offered the right look and spaciousness that Scorcese wanted and so he took some liberties. I wonder if that is the Lyric's interior that was used for the shots of DeNiro and Sheppard watching the movie inside the theater.

Getting back to porn... if memory serves, the Lyric did play the un-edited version of Bob Guccione's "Caligula" very shortly after its run at the east side theater Guccione had four-walled and renamed after his Penthouse magazine. I remember my friends and I standing under the marquee and then sheepishly moseying over to the display cases in the vestibule to look over the publicity stills and cards for the movie before working up the courage finally to go in and check the film out. It was our first porn experience and I might add that several sequences were extremely difficult for us to sit through!

Speaking of "Caligula"... does anyone remember the theater that Guccione commandeered to exhibit this porn-epic? I believe it was a former Trans-Lux theater on 1st or 2nd Ave in the 30's or 40's? My memory is failing on that point. I tried searching under "Penthouse" here, but I guess no one has thought to add that as an AKA to whatever theater it might be.

EdSolero
It was the Trans Lux East on 3rd Ave Between 57 & 58. Guccione leased it for 1 year and renamed it The Penthouse. After the year Crown took over the theater remdeled it and reopened it as the Crown Gotham.

Thanks Mikeoaklandpark, I was a bit off on that location, eh? I seem to recall it ran exlusively at the renamed "Penthouse" Theater for much of 1980. I can't remember exactly when it played the Lyric, but it must have been sometime before the film was edited down for an "R" rating and re-released fairly wide the following year. I remember going back and seeing the shorter version at the Sunrise Cinemas multiplex in Valley Stream. The film was a botch job in both versions, thanks mostly to the incompetent and incoherent editing job performed by the Penthouse publisher Guccione, who assumed control of the project and locked-out the nominal director, Tinto Brass (himself an Italian soft-porn maestro), from the completion of the project.

A lot of the notorious history behind this film (which was filmed in 1976 but not completed and released until 1979) is outlined on the movie's imdb trivia page. There are some fine performances and evocative atmospherics, but its such a jumbled mess that it makes for a very frustrating cinematic experience. I would love to see a true "Director's Version" with all the footage shot by Brass arranged in the precise order he intended just to see if any of the film's glimpses of worthiness might have panned out. But that would mean Guccione and his enormous ego stepping out of the way and relinquishing control of his $17.5 million dollar epic.

Came across a pair of old Playbills from Broadway shows I had seen when I was a teenager (one from November of 1978, the other from May of '81). Interesting article in the '78 Playbill about the theatrical community's efforts to work with the Mayor (Koch during his first administration at the time) to clean up the Times Square area. There's mention of the League of New York Theaters and Producers working with the "Mayor's Midtown Action Office and Midtown Enforcement Project" to permanently close area peep shows, massage parlors and "other sex-related businesses." Sound familiar? Perhaps the Giuliani's administration circa 1994?

It's funny how the article takes a sunny outlook on the situation, referring to a time "a few years back" when "the Times Square area was in many people's minds a composit of Dante's Ninth Circle and the outer space, spaced-out bar in 'Star Wars.' The Great White Way was splattered with sleaze. Actresses and actors went on talk shows and made jokes about muggers." Meanwhile, any true clean-up of the area was more than a decade in the future and at the cost of some of our greatest cinematic and theatrical palaces (not to mention any trace of Times Square's once-unique character and atmosphere).

The article also mentions a "recent announcement" by the Brandt Organization to restore the Lyric and the Apollo on 42nd Street to legitimate theaters. I don't think anything ever came of that plan for the Lyric, but I do know that attempts were made to use the Apollo as a legitimate stage in the early '80's. In fact, the '81 Playbill I found lists Richard Thomas appearing at the Apollo in "Fifth of July" under the "How many of these shows have you seen?" section in the back of the magazine. In any event, the plans did come to fruition eventually, albeit with the destruction of the orignal Lyric and Apollo interiors and the creation of the new Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now Hilton Theater) which, as described in comments above, incorporates architectural elements from both old houses into its design.

This is a photo of a Lyric theater in NYC. I don't know if its the Lyric theater listed here. Caption with photo reads:
"Exterior of the Lyric Theatre, with people walking under the marquee advertising a film double feature and a $50 cash 'bank night,' New York City, 1936".

Looks like an elevated train column in front of the theater, so that means it's not on 42nd Street.

This may be the Lyric on Third Avenue after it was "modernized." That theatre is probably listed here, but I can't recall under which of its several names.

The Lyric at 100 Third Avenue (listed here as the Bijou) is in a four story building; this looks a lot shorter.

Good point saps, the El train got by me. There was a Lyric theater on Pitkin Ave in Brooklyn, but I don't know if the El train ran past the theater. The caption states NYC so we assume that its Manhattan. Maybe its in another boro.

Was there ever an El train on third ave? The Kameo theater in the Bronx was onced called the Lyric theater.

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/8107/

This view of the Lyric and another view probably taken at the same time can be seen at the Getty Images website. The other photo shows that the Lyric's entrance was close to the corner of a street that intersected with the avenue with the elevated subway. Neither the 1936 nor 1937 volumes of the FDYB list a Lyric in Manhattan other than the Lyric on West 42nd Street.

The Lyric theater on Pitkin Ave in Brooklyn was a corner building. The Kameo/Lyric theater in the Bronx was not a corner building. This is a modern photo of the former Kameo theater:
http://kraybill4.home.mindspring.com/48theatres/third4367_lyric_2002.jpg

This looks to me more like Brooklyn than Manhattan:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/lyriccorner.jpg

Was there ever a bypass on 42nd street in the 19th century? There is something similar on 42nd street shown in the latest KING KONG movie. Could it be the old east-west cattle run was still around in the thirties?

I took a series of photos of the vacant Duece grind houses in 1993 and recently scanned them to my photobucket account. Here is a shot of the Lyric and neighboring Victory, stripped of their billboard signage and their marquees displaying some sort of public poetry project:

1993 Lyric and Victory

Here's a 2002 shot I took of the restored Lyric facade used as the entrance to the big Ford Center for the Performing Arts complex:

2002 Ford Center restoration

Smokey at the Lyric in 1978:

NY Daily News 1/25/78

As usual with the 42nd Street grinds, the Lyric isn't listed at the bottom of the ad (only the National Theater around the corner on B'way is listed for Manhattan), but it was on this theater's historic stage that Smokey Robinson made two live appearances to support this blaxploitation epic for which he wrote the musical score. I don't imagine he sang at all at either appearance - just a few appreciative words and a wave to the crowd, I suspect.

Funny stuff, Ed.

Can't imagine any entertainer, or ANYBODY for that matter, who would want to be vulnerable on a stage - on The Deuce - when 100 flying discs have just been distributed.

Great ad. jerry

I suppose this belongs more on the Hilton Theater page than here, but I grabbed these two shots of the former Lyric facade the other night while seeing a show next door at the New Victory with the kids:

The Grinch
Grinch times two

Oh wait, the Hilton never showed movies so there is no Hilton page... Duh!

On May 4, 2006, Lost Memory had asked, hopefully in jest, "Was there ever an El train on Third Ave?" LOL! That was the infamous 3rd Ave. El, which ran the length of Manhattan from South Ferry to the Bronx, ceased operations in the city on May 12, 1955 and was razed soon afterward.

Today I purchased a 2007 calendar, "Old New York," published by the City Museum of NY. One of the highlights was Berenice Abbott's classic shot of the Lyric Theatre, c. 1936. Check it out.

i worked as an usher at the lyric 1945 20 bucks for 6 days work ...i saw king kong and gunga din there about 50 times and still remember the dialogue.....as an usher i could go into any theatre on the block in my cheesy "uniform" at that time i think wm. brandt owned all the theatres...victory, lyric, times square, apollo,,selwyn, harris , liberty, empire and anco only the new amsterdam was the exception i remeber GRANTS across 42 stret where you could get good coffee to go and hot dogs sewrved at street level counter ...............memories

How long did you work there, metz?

only for the summer of `1945 then i had to go back to highj school BKLYN TECH

New Lyric trivia.

The film on the TAXI DRIVER marquee scene, SOMETIMES SWEET SUSAN, featured future Hollwood mainstream producer, Craig Baumgarten, so it was most probably an industry inside joke.

On April 28, 1966 a manager at the Lyric was stabbed to death in an apparent robbery attempt according to the NYT. The week before, the Bryant had been robbed at gunpoint.

I just added a third Lyric Theatre on 23rd Street which may correspond to photo posted by Lost Memory on May 3(??)

The following was reported in The New York Times on April 10th, 1988:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/lyric88.jpg

I recall hearing about that incident back when it was news. I remember finding it very ironic and quite disturbing. It had always been my experience at the Lyric and other Duece grinders during the '80's, that audience participation was an anticipated part of the entire "entertainment package." By April of '88, I was already growing impatient with the change in programming on 42nd Street (many of the theaters were trying to book more mainstream product for the top of the bill) and was disconcerted by the unpleasant odors that had started to overwhelm some of the old grind houses. This story was just another - and perhaps final - reason why I stopped turning to Times Square for my cinematic adventures.

Wonder if Young Frankenstein , the movie- ever played at the Lyric?

Because it was reported that due to the Grinch playing the St James theatre, Mel Brooks was recently quoted as hoping that the musical version of Young Frankenstein will play the Hilton.

He was beyond thrilled that a show of this caliber would be playing on 42nd Street.

I for one can't wait to see it.

its a shame want happend to times square looks mad kl when all the theaters were all there. How much was it to watch a movie back then ?? in the lyric??

40c to 95c in 1957 for two subrun movies.

what is this now like what has replaced it

The intro explains that.

The Lyric is on the right in this early fifties photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2jr9hv

I can't believe it hasn't been brought up yet, but the Lyric is portrayed significantly in the 1988 Sam Elliott/Peter Weller actioner SHAKEDOWN.
Now since I can't confirm the authenticity of the interior, somebody with first hand knowledge will have to chime in.

The theater is portrayed as undercover cop Eliott's office. You're shown a screen and auditorium. The movie showing is James Glickenhaus's THE SOLDIER (he also directed SHAKEDOWN).

It's definitely the interior lobby because Weller and Elliot are tracked from the concession stand to the outside and it's obvious they came from inside the Lyric by then.

Lots of other 42nd Street theatres on display in the film including the interior of the New Amsterdam.

SHAKEDOWN Lyric shots and one SHAKEDOWN New Amsterdam

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2510581735/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2511414344/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2510581945/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2511414626/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2510582221/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2510582331/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2511414912/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2511415000/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2510582615/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2510582709/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2511415254/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2510582905/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2511415510/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seriousexploitation/2511415652/

Notice the XXX on the New Amsterdam marquee. They never ran XXX features, so it was obviously a set-up. I would like to know how they collapsed the New Amsterdam vertical sign in the movie. Finally, I never liked those yellow letters with the black background on the 42nd Street marquees. Looked sleezy and cheap.

From what I understand, the New Amsterdam was closed at the time so the production probably had free reign. The place is set up like some swinger's club with individual rooms so it's possible it's a mock-up on a set.

Attached is a 1975 photo I took of the Lyric and other marquees. This was previously posted here a few years ago however also attached are a couple of more recent photos of The Hilton.

http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/lyric-theater-new-york-city/

I took this photo of a dark Hilton Theatre last week.

http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=new+york&catpageindex=27&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31080

Al, this picture link is for the Manhattan 1 & 2 theatre.

Geez!

http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=new+york&catpageindex=32&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31222

Hey Al, This photo link is of the Waverly 1 & 2 Theatres.

Last try. I don't understand why this is happening.


http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=lyric+new+york&catpagesize=25&ProductID=31076

The third time is the charm. LOL

Here are two 1986 photos:

Photo1

Photo2

Read this excellent Wikipedia article on the Lyric Theatre: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyric_Theatre_(New_York)

1952 LIFE image - http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=7beb28da211afcff&q=new%20york%20motion%20picutre%20source:life&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnew%2Byork%2Bmotion%2Bpicutre%2Bsource:life%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18

Technically, the theatre was not razed. Gutted yes. Joined with the adjacent Apollo yes. When you walk west on 43rd street from Broadway you can see the remains of the ornate exterior Lyric wall. Incidentally, before the 42nd street vitalization project, this exterior wall was cleaned and resurfaced anticipating the revival of the theatre as had been done with the Apollo using 43rd street as the entrance to avoid the blight on 42nd street.

If you look at the photo on page 225 of the recent book "The Story of 42nd Street" you will see a demolition photo that shows what was salvaged. They were really insignificant small sections of wall.

I consider what I see on 43rd Street more than an insignificant small section of wall. Check it out for yourself.