Movieland
1567 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1567 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
3 people
favorited this theater
The Central Theatre was built for the Shuberts in 1918 by Herbert J. Krapp, at the corner of Broadway and W. 47th Street, across from the Palace Theatre in Times Square. Seating just over 1,100, the Central Theatre was designed in an elegant French Renaissance style, and contained ornate plasterwork, gilded columns, and paintings on the auditorium walls depicting the court of Louis XVI.
Its auditorium was topped by an oval ceiling cove, and imported European chandeliers hung from the ceiling. It contained a balcony, boxes and orchestra pit. However, its proscenium arch wasn’t very wide, and its stage, fairly small compared to most other Broadway stages.
Until 1928, with the exception of one year (1921) when Universal leased the Central Theatre for screening movies, the theater was a legitimate house. From 1928 until 1932, it showed movies only. In 1932, live shows made a comeback, but within a year, the Central Theatre began to feature burlesque acts. For several months in 1934, the theater went by the name the Columbia Theatre, however, by mid-1934, movies were back, and so was the name the Central Theatre.
Briefly in 1942, the Central Theatre once again attempted a return to “all-girl revues”, but very quickly returned to second-run films. It was renamed the Gotham Theatre in 1944, and the theater remained a movie house until it was closed in 1951 and remodeled inside. It reopened as the Holiday Theatre, and offered live stage revues, which lasted until 1955, when legitimate theater returned for the first time since the late-1920’s.
On December 26, 1957, now known as the Odeon, it was back to showing movies under the ownership of the British owned Odeon Theatres Ltd., when they premiered “Pursuit of the Graf Spee”(original British title “Battle of the River Plate”). In mid-1959, the Odeon became the Forum, and a decade later, the Forum 47th Street. In October 1980 it was renamed Movieland, a name it retained until March 1989 when it was closed.
The Shubert family sold the theater in 1989. The lobby was turned into the Roxy Deli, while the auditorium became a disco, called Dance USA. By the mid-1990’s, both had closed, and the building sat vacant until 1998, when the auditorium was demolished to make way for the new W Hotel Times Square.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 148 comments)
Tomorrow (3/19) will mark the 52nd anniversary of the opening of the NYC premiere engagement of Walt Disney’s “The Shaggy Dog,” a B&W comedy starring Fred MacMurray and Jean Hagen, at the Odeon Theatre on Broadway and the Trans-Lux 52nd Street on the East Side. The Easter holiday booking also found Walt Disney represented on Broadway with the ongoing engagement of his Technicolor animated feature “Sleeping Beauty” at the Criterion Thearre, where it was being shown in Technirama 70 with stereophonic sound.
“Tomorrow (3/19) will mark the 52nd anniversary of the opening of the NYC premiere engagement of Walt Disney’s "The Shaggy Dog,”
posted by Tinseltoes on Mar 18, 2011 at 10:38am"
Although I’ve become senile and somtimes I can’t remember what I did yesterday, I remember the opening of “The Shaggy Dog” as though it was just yesterday. It’s strange what I can remember over 50 years ago and yet current things draw a blank.
Fifty-eight years ago today, Republic’s The Lady Wants Mink" opened its NYC premiere engagement as the Holiday Theatre’s Easter attraction. Filmed in Republic’s own TruColor process, the romantic comedy starred Ruth Hussey, Dennis O'Keefe, Eve Arden, and William Demarest. Advertising claims like “How a Mink Can Make a Monkey Out of a Man!” failed to attract crowds. After its Holiday Theatre run, the film landed on the Loew’s circuit as supporting feature to Paramount’s Technicolored “Shane.”
Fifty-seven years ago today, UA’s “Witness To Murder,” with Barbara Stanwyck in the title role, opened its world premiere engagement at what was then known as Michael Rose’s Holiday Theatre. Co-starring George Sanders and Gary Merrill, the B&W suspenser was projected on the Holiday’s W-I-D-E Vision Screen. Advertising compared it to Stanwyck’s classic “Double Indemnity” and “Sorry, Wrong Number,” but critics didn’t agree and it ended up as a supporting feature in its neighborhood release.
In December 1967 I made one of my weekend trips to NYC. I saw “Doctor Dolittle” the night before and went Saturday afternoon to see “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” at the Victoria Theatre. I know it was the Victoria as it was the first and only time I patronized that theatre. Most of my trips to NYC I saw the roadshow attractions at the Criterion, Rivoli, DeMille, Warner, Loew’s State and Capitol. Those were the days. Can anyone else confirm that my memory is not playing tricks on me???
Now I think I have lost it. I could have sworn I read a comment on this theatre listing about “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” hving it’s premiere at this theatre. Darn if I can find it now!!!!
“Dinner” premiered at the Victoria and Beekman.
That December “DOLITTLE was at the State, "GONE WITH THE WIND” was at the Rivoli, “FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD” at the Capitol, “THE AMBUSHERS” at the De Mille and “CAMELOT” at the Warner.
The Forum was showing “THE PRESIDENT"S ANALYST”.
You could be right about “Dinner” opening at the Victoria. The Astor, Victoria and the Forum all meld together in my mind since they were all DUMPS as far as I’m concerned. When they closed the Astor & Victoria I didn’t shed a tear. Despite their location, unlike the other Broadway theatres that had 2 projectionists on a shift, those dumps only had one man. Although if you go back before 1950, they ALL had two men (except the Music Hall, which had 3 and at one point 4 men).
Hello- while the body of the theater(the auditorium)had been converted to the U.S.A. disco and subsequently demolished to build the swanky W hotel the lobby area stills stands as is still operates as the Roxie deli.
That sucks! There won’t be ANY theatres left in NY. Did you hear that AMC Theatres was sold to a Chinese company? I wonder what they’re going to do?