Stanley Theatre
586 Seventh Avenue,
New York,
NY
10036
586 Seventh Avenue,
New York,
NY
10036
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Located on Seventh Avenue and 41st Street in Manhattan. In the early 1950s, specialized in Russian films.
Does anyone remember this theater, or anything else about it?
Contributed by
Joseph Angier
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
THEATRE MAN FINED $250; Pays to Escape Jail Term for Overcrowding His Building
NY Times November 4, 1944
David Fine, 38 years old, manager of the Stanley Theatre, at 586 Seventh Avenue, paid a $250 fine yesterday in the Municipal Term Court to avoid going to the workhouse for thirty days for permitting 380 standees to crowd the aisles and stairways of the theatre last Oct. 28 when all 625 seats were occupied.
I am glad to see this movie house is already identified as a communist sympathizer house as I found this movie ad in my trusty May 10, 1946 NYC edition of the (Communist) Daily Worker (reading from top to bottom various type size):
“Has more dramatic excitement than most films in town.” – World-Telegram
K. Simonov's
DAYS AND NIGHTS
An Artkino Release
Now – A Stirring Film
Doors Open 8:45 a.m.
Stanley 7th Ave. bet 42 & 41 STS
Also 1st New York Showing—
“Warsaw Rebuilds” and Soviet “Young Musicians"
Just arrived – first film of "Election Day in the U.S.S.R.” Exclusive pictures of Stalin, Zhukov, Konev, Ilya Ehrenburg, Boris Babushkin, Nikolai Cherkasov and other Soviet celebrities."
So there.
I wouldn’t call this a “communist sympathizer house.” It was actually run by Artkino, which was an agency of the USSR and controlled the distribution of that country’s movies in the USA. The Stanley became a showcase for Soviet movies, which had a reputation for quality and innovation. When Artkino’s lease of the Stanley ran out, it moved to the Squire Theatre on Eighth Avenue with the same policy.
In November 1948 the Italian film The Spirit and the Flesh premiered at the Stanley. It had been made in 1941 and was based on the great Manzoni novel, I promessi sposi.
In August, 1943, the Stanley Theatre presented the American premiere engagement of “Seeds of Freedom,” which was essentially Sergei Eisenstein’s silent classic, “The Battleship Potemkin,” with a new epilogue and prologue connecting the story to the Soviet Union’s current war with Nazi Germany. “Potemkin” was shown in its entirely, with a new musical soundtrack, sound effects and occasional dubbed dialogue in English. The new footage used American actors and was also in English. “Seeds of Freedom” later contributed to “blacklisting” grief for Aline MacMahon, Henry Hull and scriptwriter Albert Maltz:View link
This is from Boxoffice magazine in November 1947:
NEW YORK-“Francis the First”, a French film, opened at the Stanley Theater November 19. The theater usually shows first-run Russian product.
By the way, did you see the Yiddish film that was playing in Warren’s ad of 2/19/08? There was some diversity in this theater.
Sorry, that ad was from Gerald DeLuca, not Warren.
Haven’t you ever heard of Russian Jews?
Mark Rivest has the only photo I have seen of the Stanley marquee. Check page 63 of his Manhattan collection.
http://movie-theatre.org/usa/ny/NYC/readmanhattan