Levittown Theater

3080 Hempstead Turnpike,
Levittown, NY

Unfavorite 6 people favorited this theater

Levittown Theater Site, Levittown, NY

Viewing: Photo | Street View

For most of its life this was a discount house playing sub run double features. Later on it was twinned and jumped back and forth between first and second run.

Contributed by RobertR

Recent comments (view all 46 comments)

DixonSteele
DixonSteele on September 6, 2007 at 10:52 am

Saw countless movies growing up here incl MARK OF THE DEVIL, which handed out vomit bags. The highlight of the witch-hunting epic was when Herbert Lom pulled out the tongue of a suspected witch. Ugh!

Rory
Rory on September 25, 2007 at 11:43 am

I went to this theatre several times when I was a kid in the sixties on Long Island. The ones I can recall are “Planet of the Apes,” “Ice Station Zebra,” “Romeo and Juliet,” a re-issue of “The Sound of Music” and one that my father took me to, even though it was kind of too adult for a nine-year-old, “Last Summer.” I saw “Apes” there on June 29, 1968. I know that because I saved the ad from the time. It was “Apes” second run after playing the first run theatres in April. The ad said, “Welcome back, Dr. Zaius. We missed you.” Anyway, the Levittown was one screen back then. I don’t recall it as any kind of special theatre, but it wasn’t bad. It was one of the smaller, second-run theatres on the Island. I’m surprised it operated as long as it did.

KingBiscuits
KingBiscuits on November 19, 2008 at 9:18 am

The theatre actually closed in the late 1990’s apparently since the New York Times listed times as late as 1996. At that point, they were playing Indian films.

The theatre also had the Long Island exclusive of Reservoir Dogs in 1992. I believe that ran it for over a month.

jojojo77
jojojo77 on February 9, 2009 at 3:20 pm

Use to go there in the 50’s and 60’s. Saw Day the Earth Stood Still, Godzilla, Rodan, Them, Day of the Triffids, Crawling Eye, and every Hammer Horror film ever made. They even had Flash Gordon serials between shows. The place was a babysitter for the neighborhood on Saturdays. Poor ushers! It was like the premiere scene from Ed Wood, with hails of Jujube’s and Good & Plenty’s flying through the air at the poor schmuck unlucky enough to have the flashlight. The bathrooms were foul, but the popcorn had real butter. I also miss Jahn’s ice cream parlor next door to the old Meadowbrook theatre. That was the site of everyone’s first date. If you could finish the humongous “Kitchen Sink” ice cream extravaganza, you didn’t have to pay the $6 it cost. It came in a cardboard sink. people ran outside in a hurry if the sink began to “back up” barf-wise. Levittown kids were blessed in all departments back then. So many things to do, and cheaply too. It was a different America in many ways. It was WAAAAAY better for kids in a lot of aspects. We all ran wild in the asphalt streets without worrying about kidnappers, molesters, gangbangers or crackheads. I used to skateboard all over the May’s Mall area with my buddies from Division Avenue. Gilgo Beach surf-rats one and all.

Rory
Rory on February 10, 2009 at 7:43 am

What you say, Jojojo77, about those days is very true. I lived down Hempstead Turnpike from Levittown, in the village of Hempstead in the late 60’s. I was 8, 9, 10 years old, white, and used to walk into downtown Hempstead to matinees at the Calderone, Rivoli, and Hempstead theatres — alone, and I don’t remember it ever crossing my mind that I’d be kidnapped or molested, maybe beaten up by slightly older kids, especially blacks, but that was it. Those really were the lates days in America when kids could enjoy that kind of freedom.

fred1
fred1 on February 10, 2009 at 7:50 am

Don’t forget the RKO Hollywood

jojojo77
jojojo77 on February 16, 2009 at 7:41 pm

how about the soft-core “t*tty” flicks at the “Fine Arts” in Hempstead? A true educational experience for us sheltered suburban innocents. Pretty lightweight compared to today’s super-smut…

Hipsterdofus
Hipsterdofus on June 25, 2009 at 1:01 am

I was an usher for almost two years starting in June of ‘75. It was more quaint then sleazy in those days. One summer we had the Disney festival and babysat every kiddie in Levittown for six weeks. And all were wearing Fonzie t shirts. Had great runs of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Blazing Saddles”. We would trade free tickets with the Chinese resturaunt down the street. We had to turn away the single patron who showed up to watch the last showing of “Benji” two nights in a row. Almost got fired for wording the marquee out front from “Three Days of the Condor” to Three Days of the Condom". Thursday night was the porters night off and the ushers would clean the theater. So we would get drunk and spend four hours doing a one hour job. Ah, those were the days.

markp
markp on June 25, 2009 at 7:09 am

Ahh…those Disney Summer Festivals. We had them here in Jersey too. Rainy days were the WORST. 600 kids would show up to a 400 seat theatre. But, as I have said elsewhere here on CT, and as stated above, ‘those WERE the days’ and I’m sorry to say they will never, ever return.

dplomin1954
dplomin1954 on August 23, 2010 at 9:06 am

Did anyone else notice that the ad posted here for the movie “Volunteers” misspelled Tom Hanks and made him “Tom Hawks”?

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater