Guild Theater
33 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
33 W. 50th Street,
New York,
NY
10020
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 111 comments found
Ah, the Guild 50th. My first trip to New York was in March 1993. And the first film I ever saw in the US was at the Guild – a showing of Disney’s Aladdin, still some 8 months before it opened in the UK.
Due to its small size and early newsreel history, I somehow doubt that this cinema ever had attendants in the restrooms. How could it afford them, unless the attendants worked solely for tips that they might receive.
Does anyone happen to know or remember whether or not there were attendants in the restrooms of this theatre in the late 1960s?
According to IMDB (and my memory) Brenda Starr opened at the Guild in April, 1992.
I was visiting NYC at the time, and saw BEAUTY AND THE BEAST on Saturday morning, the day before Easter. I recall that BRENDA STARR opened at the Guild on Easter Sunday, with the 70mm print of BATB moving to one of the Embassy 2-3-4 houses.
The NY Times review for BRENDA STARR was in the 4/18/92 edition and confirms it was running at the Guild.
That was a great NYC Theatre day for me…70mm Beauty And the Beast in the morning, 5 Guys Named Moe Broadway show matinee, and finished up with the Easter Show at Radio City…not a day I will ever forget.
You probably came to the Rockefeller Center area to see the annual Christmas tree, which would explain the freezing cold weather. It was just across the way from the Guild Theatre.
I completely forgot about this venue. For some reason, I only came to this area when it was freezing cold? The last film I caught here was the infamous Brenda Starr in ‘89. Great marquee, at least they kept that intact.
Does anyone know anything about the old “News Reel Theater ” emblems which were round bronze colored spheres of the globe with a camera on a tripod overlayed on it? These were on the outside of the Guide theater and were rescued from the trash when the theater was closing.
My father worked there in the 70’s when they were running super simplex’s with magnarcs and had an old huge early b&w vidoe projector inbetween the projectors The theater had an awesome gold curtain with a screen wash and a very nice rake for the time. I remember cutting my projection teeth there showing films like Sounder and Harry and Tonto when I was just a kid.
I think the confusion comes from this NYT article.
[In 1949, Norman Elson, who was then the president of the competing Trans-Lux chain, took over the Newsreel theaters.
‘'That was just the beginning of TV,’‘ Peter Elson recalled, ’‘and he saw that newsreels were not much longer for the world.’‘ Norman Elson remodeled the theater and reopened it as the Guild.]
The 1950 edition of Film Daily Yearbook lists the Embassy (Rockerfeller Plaza) as being operated by The Newsreel Theaters, Inc.
Is the first sentence of the introduction’s second paragraph correct? I don’t think that Trans-Lux ever ran the Guild. The longtime management was by Embassy Newsreel Theatres, which took its name from the Embassy Newsreel on Broadway next to the Palace Theatre. Embassy eventually dropped the word from its name when newsreel theatres became passe.
Fifty years ago today, Francois Truffaut’s B&W “Jules and Jim,” with Jeanne Moreau, Oscar Werner, and Henri Serre heading the cast, opened its American premiere engagement at what was then known as the Guild 50th. The Janus Films release was shown in its original French, with English subtitles…Down the block, Radio City Music Hall was in the midst of an all Disney Easter Holiday program, with “Moon Pilot” on screen and a tribute to Disneyland following the traditional Easter pageant.
On those rare occasions when the Radio City Music Hall, largely unknown, subway box office was closed spent time on line by the Guild to go in thru the main entrance.
Under its original Newsreel name, the house is profiled in ‘The Exhibitor Catalogue 1940’, and features pictures of a doorman standing in front of the stainless steel doors, an ad showing ‘before and after’ pix of the marquee comparing its makeover, and in the auditorium, the most memorable feature was the carpeting, which had ‘unwinding reels’ in a Radio City Art Deco-type pattern. The lounges featured original bentwood furniture by the renowned Finnish architect/designer Alvar Aalto. All in all, a pretty restrained but elegant house, completely uniform with Rock Center.
Fifty-seven years ago today, “Out Of This World,” a feature-length travelogue filmed in Tibet by Lowell Thomas and his namesake son, opened its world premiere engagement at the Guild 50th. Advertising prominently mentioned Lowell Thomas' connection with Cinerama, but made no claims about wide screen projection for “Out Of This World,” which had a print by Technicolor. The booking was obviously intended to capitalize on crowds flocking to adjacent RCMH for the Easter holiday show with “Rose Marie” on screen. The 50th Street waiting line for RCMH had a roped-off gap to permit access to the Guild.
Does anyone have pictures of the interior of the Guild? I never had the chance to see a film there, but I was always curious as to what it might be like inside.
I attended this theater once when I was living in Queens. Couldn’t even tell you what I saw because I fell in love with the theater. What I rememeber most is that the auditorium opened into the concession area and they closed curtains at the back of the auditorium as the presentation started.
I went once when I first moved to the city, in 1988, to see a late run screening of “She’s Having a Baby,” on a Thursday night, last show. Between the empty theater and the desolate streets, it was like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and kind of scary for someone young and new to the city.
I remember passing this theater often when one left Radio City or when we would go each Xmas season to see the tree at Rockefeller Center. It seemed that every holiday season they had a Disney film playing. After many years I got to go to this theater in about 1983 to see a Gene Hackman flick “Uncommon Valor.” The theater was much bigger than I expected. Now when I pass down this street each holiday season, I’m kind of saddened that its not there anymore showing the latest Disney animated film.
While Columbia University owned the land, their midtown campus was actually further east on Madison Avenue. Leasing the land to Rockefeller, Jr was a way to finally start making some money off property that was never developed to its full potential.
I remember seing “Eight Men Out” here right after it came out. This was probably the last film that I saw in what was a very fine little theater. I greatly miss it.
Stepale2:
The area where the Associated Press Building (including the Newsreel/Guild Theatre) was an empty lot until it opened in 1938. The only thing on the lot prior to the building of the structure was the truck ramp that goes down to the lower levels of the Rockefeller Center. The theatre was built into the curve of the ramp structure.
The Embassy Newsreel Theatre opened in the Associated Press Building when that office building opened in late 1938. The lot sat empty from 1931 awaiting a major tenant. Prior to that, the area was a owned by Columbia University, which had once used it as its main campus the previous century.
OOPS! The theater was not named the Guild when it opened, but whatever it was called, I was curious as to what was there before it became a theater???
If Radio City Music Hall opened in 1932, and the Guild in 1939, does anyone know what the space was used for in the seven years in between? Too bad NBC did not rent it for broadcasting after Trans-Lux stopped showing films, like NBC did with the Center Theater in 1950. The Guild would be the perfect for the Tonight show or any program that requires an audience.