Movieland
1567 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1567 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 148 comments found
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?
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.
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).
“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”.
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!!!!
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???
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.
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.”
“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.
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.
In 1958, as the Odeon, the theatre presented a limited rserved-seat roadshow engagement of Laurence Olivier’s classic Technicolor filmization of William Shakespeare’s “Henry V,” which had been blown-up to wide-screen dimensions in the SuperScope process. The run was from February 5th through March 11th, with two performances daily and prices ranging from $1.25 to $2.75.
Back in the 60’s when this was the Forum, you could enjoy one of William Castle’s classics
13 Ghosts in ILLUSION-O
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An ad for the December 1957 re-opening as the Odeon.
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Thanks for the search tip Ken, I appreciate it.
techman; The former Demille Theatre is listed on this site as the Embassy 1,2,3 Theatre. To search correctly, you need to search under ‘name’, then if that name doesn’t come up, untick that box and tick ‘previous names’ box and click the search button again.
Theatres are normally listed on Cinema Treasures under their last operating name, with aka’s available to search under previous name (if known). The aka’s are also above the theatre name on each page (in rather feint typeface).
The “Forum 47th STREET”, as it was known when I worked there was operated by Ellson Theatres, a father and son team. However, it was the son, Peter Ellson that appeared to run everything. They also had the 46 ST Newsreel Theatre, aka, The Embassy Theatre and the Guild 50th, on the side of Radio City.
As a projectionist (now retired)I worked a minimuim of 100 different theatres over the years, some only a few shifts and a few long term jobs (5 years or more) over the years. I worked at the Forum in 1967 for the premiere of “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” where I met Stanley Kramer at that time.
The database here is very strange, I almost didn’t find this theatre. Shortly after working at the Forum, I worked across the street at the “DeMille Theatre” however, I can’t find it listed in the database. I realize that the theatre originally opened in 1905 as the Columbia Burlesque and in later years was taken over by Loews and renamed the “Mayfair Theatre” before it was finally named “The DeMille Theatre” by Walter Reed in 1959 for the premiere of Spartacus, yet, I can’t find it on any of those names.
I worked at the Demille until the fire in 1973. It was operated by an independent operator for a short time until it was taken over by Ellson. It was turned into a Triplex and was incorporated into the “Embassy” theatre name along with the 46th Street Newsreel Theatre. I believe they were called Embassy 2, 3, 4, the Embassy 46 being Embassy 1.
Here’s the 8/5/60 NY Daily News full-page ad and 8/6/60 review for “13 Ghosts”:
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Here’s a link to a 1981 film clip as Movieland:
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Tomorrow (August 5th) will mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of William Castle’s “13 Ghosts” at the Forum Theatre. The Columbia release was filmed in the “Illusion-O” process. Patrons received a free “Ghost Viewer” which had two panels and enabled them to choose between seeing ghosts in certain scenes or avoiding them. Here’s a photo of the viewer: View link
That photo is actually from March 1972 and the porn revolution was still in its infancy. “THE GODFATHER” was the State, “NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA” on roadshow at the Criterion, “FIDDLER ON THE ROOF” on roadshow at the Rivoli, “DIRTY HARRY” at the Embassy and “CABARET” at the Ziegfeld.
By 1973, Duffy Square was well into decline, but this theatre was still operating: View link
Good name Movieland.
Here’s a 1951 view as the Holiday Theatre with “Fugitive Lady.” That year, the nearby Strand had been re-named the Warner Theatre and was presenting “Force of Arms,” with “A Streetcar Named Desire” coming soon: View link 119
Portions of the marquee and entrance can be seen on the right side of this photo, which The New York Times dates as 1952: View link
A correction on the introduction:
“In 1965, the Odeon became the Forum, and a decade later, the Forum 47th Street.”
The Odeon became the Forum in mid-1959.