Cine 42
216 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
216 W. 42nd Street,
New York,
NY
10036
6 people
favorited this theater
This twin was one of the few houses on the street not operated by Brandt Theatres. Never more then a kung-fu and schlock house, it closed in 1992.
Contributed by
RobertR
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Recent comments (view all 43 comments)
I think the Cine 42 was a Norman Adie operation – he and the Brandts ran most of those houses on the deuce. The pictures that played those houses in 1970s were playing in drive-ins in other parts of the country. The Deuce, due to the absence of drive-ins in New York, was the only indoor booking for many of these pictures. One epic in particular that comes to mind from that era was ‘Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama’. It was the kind of stuff that today goes direct to video – they don’t even strike any prints.
I believe some of the prints from these theaters were donated to the Anthology Film Archives downtown. Unfortunately, I don’t think Jonas Mekas has added MAD MONKEY KUNG FU, MAFIA VS. NINJA or MORON MOVIES to his “Essential Cinema” list!!!
One point never mentioned about 42nd Street “grind houses”: they showed OLD movies from the 1970’s—in the friggin' 1980’s. I remember a marque showing “Legend of the Wolf Woman” (from I believe 1977) in like 1981! I can’t imagine charging full price to see a 4 year old movie! I also remember seeing “Lisa & The Devil” (A.K.A. “House of Excorcism” w/ Telly Savalas & Elke Sommer) from 1975—-playing in 1980! And actually, it may have been at Cine 42! I cannot remember. So sad that when I look at those shots like the above picture from RobertR; the 1970’s are staring to look like the early 1950’s from where we now stand!
Was this the same as the Roxy Twin at one point?
This theatre would get the New York exclusives of some of the lesser Troma films back in the 1980’s.
The year given for this photo is 1986.
photos i took of the closed Cine 42 in 1995
in this photo the marquee reads VISIT SELWYN HARRIS THEATRES FOR BEST MOVIES
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/4073388808/
and a longer shot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/78612802/
a distant shot of the Amsterdam and Cine 42 undergoing restoration
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/3508126448/
seen here while Lion King was playing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/73312407/
and a night shot while Mary Poppins was playing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woody1969/2007861285/
This theatre first appears in ads in November 1974. It was twinned at Christmas 1978.
Here is a 1977 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/y9w5zk2
The CIne 42 occupied – at least in part – a storefront that had been one of those Fascination arcades that were around TImes Square back in the ‘70’s and very early '80’s (and probably even much earlier than that).