68th Street Playhouse
1164 3rd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10065
1164 3rd Avenue,
New York,
NY
10065
10 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 71 comments
Please update, theatre closed July 17, 1997
I am fairly certain that the 68th Playhouse is where I saw “A Hungarian Fairy Tale”, a little known film that still haunts me to this day.
Walter Reade’s wife sponsored the Lincoln Center screens for several years.
Is Ackerman the last of the breed of distributor/theatre owner who shaped the art house phenomena of the past half-century? Where are the heirs to Donald Rugoff, Walter Reade & Dan Talbot. These sadly missed titans presented product that not only forecasted important social trends but stimulated intellectual dialogue.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/29/movies/meyer-ackerman-dead.html Obituary for Meyer Ackerman who owned the 68th St Playhouse from the late 70’s to the mid-80’s and programmed pictures like La Cage aux Folles and The Gods Must be Crazy The man was serious about programming good movies there!
Lovely description by Frank McCourt visiting the 68th St Playhouse to see Hamlet with Olivier. An amazing mix of arthouse and commercial, 1st and 2nd run went through this theatre over the years https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/02/22/new-in-town
Hello fellow movie theater lovers,
I’m doing a project for my photojournalism class at NYU about closed down independent movie theaters in New York. I hope to gain information about people’s past experiences at these movie theaters, recollections of favorite memories or not so great experiences, perhaps economical insight, contacts with owners/managers, etc. On a larger level, I hope my project is able to show the significance of the role that these establishments play in our city and the importance of keeping them afloat.
If anyone would be willing to answer a few questions via email about your personal memories at the theater, please let me know! It could be as simple as recounting a favorite movie you remember seeing back when it was open. I would greatly appreciate your insight.
You can contact me at:
Thanks,
Gabi
As I wrote in a previous post I saw The Gods Must Be Crazy at this theatre and remembered it played there from October 1984-April 1986, that’s 18 months, The Goodbye People was the next film to play there which I did see there, couldn’t believe one film played at a same theatre for 18 straight months other than the Rocky Horror Picture Show, can’t see how that can happen in 2015
AlAlvarez AlAlvarez on August 8, 2014 at 7:48 am (remove)
According to this NYT article, the 68th Street Playhouse was converted from an apartment building to a vaudeville and movie house in 1914.
View link
It closed in July 1997 with “The Pillow book”.
The 1930 edition of Film Daily Yearbook lists the 68th Street Playhouse, 68th Street & 3rd Avenue with 1,269 seats (obviously a mis-print) as in the 1931 edition of FDY it is listed with 409 seats.
The building at this address was to be remodeled, according to this item in the September 23, 1933, issue of Motion Picture Herald. It sounds as though there was already a theater in it at that time, but if so the magazine didn’t give its name:
I saw La Cage there also. Had an aisle seat. Laughed so hard at one point that I wound up in the aisle.
I saw La Cage Au Folles opening day there which ended up laying for over a year.
I live on 64th St. & First Ave. & miss the old 68th St. Playhouse. I saw “Gods Must Be Crazy” & “Return of Martin Guerre” there in the 80’s among other things. I think the last thing I saw there was “Dangerous Liasons” in the 90’s which I remember seeing from the balcony. I’m a theater nut & love shared cultural experiences even if it is alongside strangers. It was a truly unique time that I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience before video began keeping most people home for their film experiences.
I saw so many good films there. What a shame it had to close. In 1986 I saw an excellent French film called Baiser Rouge. I think “The Gods Must Be Crazy"played there for two years.
Margaret, it is considered a classic novel and film and often shows on TV. The book was required high school reading at my school in the mid-seventies.
The film was often a second feature in later years and had a minor re-release in November 1947 but I can’t find any other dates at the 68th St. Playhouse.
Dear Al and Tinseltoes,
Thank you so much for this information. I am in the UK although I have made a point of visiting the store where the theatre was on a visit to New York. Such a shame it has gone but the same think has happened in the UK where the young generation know mostly on Multi screen cinemas. However, we have a lovely restored one in my town that has plush seats where people can pass without you having to get up and they even have four two seater red sofas if you are lucky enough to book them! They also sell wine by the glass … very civilised. With regard to ‘A Tree Grows in Brooklyn’ how popular and widespread is it in contemporary popular culture. Is it still referenced and well-read. I noticed that there has been a recent stage revival. Was the film shown again later after the above dates do you know?
Thank you,
Margaret
I remember catching quite a few movies at this rather tiny and intimate theater.
Given the small space available, they really had to cram in as many seats as they possibly could in order to maintain a profitable capacity. This resulted in the first few rows being situated nearly under – only a mild exageration – the screen. On one occasion, the showing was full to near capacity and I could only find a seat in the first row. In order to view the film, I had to tilt my neck at a very extreme angle. While I have totally forgotten the film that I saw that day, I still occasionally am visited with neck pains derived – I am sure – from those two or so hours of trying to view it.
The moral of the story: NEVER sit in the first five rows in the 68th Street Playhouse! Beyond that point, however, this was a great place to take in a flick.
Hi Margaret.
A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN was showing from Monday, May 28, 1945 to June 3, 1945.
Dea Al,
You helped me some time ago with a list of films shown at the 68th Street Playhouse and I believe that you have a list that goes further back than 1949? I wonered if ‘A Tree Grows In Brooklyn’ was shown there and if so, the date, please? Best wishes, Margaret Eaton
Does anyone know when this theater was built and opened? Thanks.
Almost, Ed.
“Wedding Bell Blues” and “Head Above Water” had short runs after “The Designated Mourner” and before “The Pillow Book”.
You were only off about a month.
Al, For years I believed I had seen the final film there, “The Designated Mourner.” Was that the next-to-last 68th Street Playhouse feature?
According to this NYT article, the 68th Street Playhouse was converted from an apartment building to a vaudeville and movie house in 1914.
View link
It closed in July 1997 with “The Pillow book”.
Correction: “We’ll always have Paris” is the correct line. Sorry.