239 East 59th Street
1969 – Cine Malibu
1976 – D.W. Griffith
1989 – 59th Street East
2004 – ImaginAsian
220 East 59th Street
1969 – Avco Embassy/Pacific East
1970 – 59th St Twin-1/59th Street Twin-2
1977 – EastWorld/ 59th Street East
1979 – Manhattan-1/ Manhattan-2
As far as I can tell this location only ran one film, MALE MAGAZINE, in the late sixties for a few weeks and even that appears to have been a gimmick at turning gay porn loops into performance art. The Fortune should probably be delisted here.
Gerald, I recently tried adding the Ambassador and it was not posted either. Does anyone know the reason why a theatre that ran movies for over six years and brought foregn language classics like CHILDREN OF PARADISE to New York does not rate but the Winter Garden, Henry Miller, Bijou, and Drury Lane do?
I see a lot of moaning about the loss of this great theatre but not a single mention of the Criterion this one replaced. I would appear it was demolished in June 1935 (along with the Loews New York)in order to make this Criterion happen. The new one was open by September 1936. How was such a speedy construction of this mammoth building possible?
The old Criterion ran the first western blockbuster, THE COVERED WAGON and Oscar winner WINGS for over a year each. It also had the New York premiere of HELL’S ANGELS. Does anyone have more info on the OLD Criterion so it can get posted?
LM, it appears the Brooklyn Amphion was a major theatre since the nineteenth century with Manhattan dated talent making an appearance before leaving town. I found several NY Times stories about the shows but no mention of movies. The Williamsburg location assured the eventual tilt towards Yiddish Vaudeville and it seems it was a major drawing card.
In one story, when the femele lead failed to show up for a performance, the manager cancelled the show and refuse to pay the troupe. They promptly beat him up. You don’t need an address to figure that was Brooklyn. My Film Daily shows it was closed by 1934.
The Manhattan Amphion is more illusive.
Yes Ken. I live near Vauxhall and to NY often as I consider it home.
Thank you, Ken. This is one of the most obscure NY theatres I have encountered so far. It appears in my 1934 Film Daily (as Ampion) and an obituary for owner William Yoost. (He died in Miami Beach, like all hard working New Yorkers deserved to in 1940.)
The obit does confirm that all his theatres were in Manhattan. (Chelsea, Circle, Royal, 34th Street, Chaloner, and REGENT!)
By the way the 1934 address is 614 Ninth Avenue, as above, and to make matters even more convoluted, the Brooklyn Amphion was really off ninth street, not Division.
There appears to be an error in the introduction to this theatre. It did not premiere LONESOME COWBOYS. 55th Street Playhouse and the Warhol GARRICK in the Village did.
I think the confusion comes from the another nearby theatre, the Henry Miller owned HUDSON on 44th Street. In 1967 that theatre premiered Andy Warhol’s MY HUSTLER, I- A MAN and BIKE BOY.
Aside from gay porn, the Henry Miller’s life as a cinema consisted of two upscale long runs. LA DOLCE VITA and LES LIAISONS DANGEROUSES.
The Lincoln Art opened in July 1964 as an outlet for Joseph E. Levine’s Emabssy Pictures. Levine also owned the Festival at the time.
Opening night patrons in to see CARTOUCHE! received portraits of Abraham Lincoln. Seat count was placed at 571.
Construction: William Ely Kohn (architect?)
Color schemes- green and black in the looby, red and black in the auditorium
Interior decor by Yale R. Burge, Inc.
General contractor: Lasberg, Inc.
Focal points include large prints of Lincoln at the White House and at his inaugural parade.
“The opening of the new Lincoln Art theatre technically may be listed as historic. The intimate showcase is the newest to grace a mid-manhattan already bristling with new or fairly new miniature film palaces.”
Open in 1927, this was one of the first ever fulltime arthouses. This place was specialising in Far East martial arts films (think Kurosawa, not Bruce Lee) from 1965 until 1969 when it switched policy for Andy Warhol’s LONESOME COWBOYS. The success of that film sealed its fate and like many other Manhattan arthouses, it switched to increasing graphic sex films, this one eventually specialising in gay product and then gay grind porn.
In 1929 it premiered Abel Gance’s NAPOLEON which received bad reviews in its abridged form and was replaced a week later with a re-release of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI.
In 1930 it opened TWO HEARTS IN WALTZ TIME a German film and the first foreign language film subtitled for U.S. release. The novelty paid off and the film ran for a year. In March 1931, during that run the theatre was renamed Europa, a name it kept until late 1933 when it started to also show more mainstream films.
In 1952 it premiered Jacques Tati classic JOUR DE FETE, 1956 Fellini’s I VITELLONI, in 1957 John Ford’s THE RISING OF THE MOON, in 1958 Kim Stanley’s THE GODDESS, in 1961 the Russian DON QUIXOTE (MGM Soviet cultural exchange).
The theatre was notorious for poor projection and was often featured in the press as an example of the lost art of quality of cinema presentation. Sound familiar?
(Cinema Treasures did not invent that particular bitch-fest hobby of attacking projectionists, union or otherwise, which dates back to the silent era.)
The trajectory of the 55th Street Playhouses’ life certainly started in the head and ended in the groin.
I saw Pasolini’s SALO, 100 DAYS OF SODOM at the Arcadia, the most offensive movie I have seen to date, and was shocked the place wasn’t getting closed down.
The Grove Cinema (Intermedia) on Virginia Street was first in the tiny arthouse cycle and it then moved around the corner to Grand operated by the Fabulous Flying Fendleman Brothers.
The Cinematheque (Merry Go Round, Alcazar, Absinthe House ) followed, operated by Nat Chediak.
Of course, the Wometco Mayfair, Parkway and Sunset predated all these as Florida’s premier arthouses.
If you look at previous posts, Ron3853 has already covered this 70’s era which included periods with no film at all. The Music Hall got caught between it’s own wholesome image and a slew of bad family films. (I mean wild, sexy 1972 and The Hall is showing a Bob Hope movie!)
There is no excuse for the bad shows unless, as Vincent suggests, the Rockefeller group was trying to justify killing the formula in order to renegotiate better terms with talent agencies.
As you may see from my previous posts, I am not personally fond of the shows or the venue as a cinema, but I love this building.
I will need some time to get the rest of the seventies together.
40/01/14 His Girl Friday (1940)
40/01/28 Shop Around the Corner, The (1940)
40/02/11 Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
40/02/18 I Take This Woman (1940)
40/02/25 Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
40/03/10 Too Many Husbands (1940)
40/03/17 Young Tom Edison (1940)
40/03/31 Rebecca (1940)
40/05/12 My Son, My Son (1940)
40/05/26 Irene (1940)
40/06/02 My Favorite Wife (1940)
40/06/16 Our Town (1940)
40/06/30 Tom Brown’s School Days (1940)
40/07/07 All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
40/08/04 South of Pago Pago (1940)
40/08/11 Pride and Prejudice (1940)
40/09/08 Lucky Partners (1940)
40/09/22 RAMPARTS WE WATCH, THE
40/09/29 Howards of Virginia, The (1940)
40/10/13 They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
40/10/27 Westerner, The (1940)
40/11/03 Escape (1940)
40/11/24 Bitter Sweet (1940)
40/12/08 Thief of Bagdad, The (1940)
40/12/22 NO, NO, NANETTE (1940)
40/12/29 Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
41/02/09 Arizona (1940)
41/02/16 This Thing Called Love (1941)
41/02/23 Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
41/03/02 So Ends Our Night (1941)
41/03/16 Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941)
41/03/30 Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
41/04/06 That Hamilton Woman (1941)
41/05/04 That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
41/05/18 Devil and Miss Jones, The (1941)
41/05/25 Penny Serenade (1941)
41/06/15 Sunny (1941)
41/06/22 SHE KNEW ALL THE ANSWERS
41/06/29 Blossoms In the Dust (1941)
41/07/20 Tom, Dick and Harry (1941)
41/08/10 Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
41/08/24 Little Foxes, The (1941)
41/09/21 Lydia (1941)
41/10/05 It Started With Eve (1941)
41/10/19 All That Money Can Buy, The (Devil and Daniel Webster) (1941)
41/10/26 You’ll Never Get Rich (1941)
41/11/09 Appointment for Love (1941)
41/11/16 One Foot in Heaven (1941)
41/11/23 Suspicion (1941)
41/12/14 Men in Her Life, The (1941)
41/12/21 H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
42/01/04 Babes on Broadway (1941)
42/01/18 Ball of Fire (1941)
42/02/08 Woman of the Year (1942)
42/03/22 Bedtime Story (1941)
42/03/29 Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
42/05/03 We Were Dancing (1942)
42/05/10 Saboteur (1942)
42/05/24 Tortilla Flat (1942)
42/06/07 Mrs. Miniver (1942)
42/08/16 Bambi (1942)
42/08/30 Talk of the Town, The (1942)
42/09/27 Tales of Manhattan (1942)
42/10/25 My Sister Eileen (1942)
42/11/15 Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)
42/12/06 You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
42/12/20 Random Harvest (1942)
43/03/07 They Got Me Covered (1943)
43/03/21 Keeper of the Flame (1942)
43/04/18 Flight for Freedom (1943)
43/05/16 More the Merrier, The (1943)
43/06/27 Youngest Profession, The (1943)
43/07/25 Mr. Lucky (1943)
43/09/12 So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
43/10/10 Lassie Come Home (1943)
43/11/07 Claudia (1943)
43/12/05 What a Woman! (1943)
43/12/19 Madame Curie (1943)
44/02/06 Jane Eyre (1944)
44/03/05 Up in Arms (1944)
44/04/02 Cover Girl (1944)
44/05/14 White Cliffs of Dover, The (1944)
44/07/02 Once Upon a Time (1944)
44/07/23 Dragon Seed (1944)
44/09/17 Casanova Brown (1944)
44/10/15 Mrs. Parkington (1944)
44/11/26 Together Again (1944)
44/12/17 National Velvet (1944)
45/01/28 Song to Remember, A (1945)
45/03/11 Tonight and Every Night (1945)
45/03/25 Without Love (1945)
45/05/06 Valley of Decision, The (1945)
45/07/08 Bell for Adano, A (1945)
45/08/19 Over 21 (1945)
45/09/09 Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)
45/10/07 Weekend at the Waldorf (1945)
45/12/09 Bells of St. Mary’s, The (1945)
46/02/10 Adventure (1945)
46/03/17 Gilda (1946)
46/04/07 Green Years, The (1946)
46/05/26 To Each His Own (1946)
46/06/23 Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
46/08/18 Notorious (1946)
46/10/13 Jolson Story, The (1946)
46/12/08 Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
47/01/26 Yearling, The (1946)
47/03/02 Sea of Grass, The (1947)
47/03/23 Late George Apley, The (1947)
47/04/27 Egg and I, The (1947)
47/05/25 Great Expectations (1946)
47/06/29 Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947)
47/07/27 Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, The (1947)
47/09/14 Down to Earth (1947)
47/10/12 Song of Love (1947)
47/11/09 Cass Timberlane (1947)
47/12/07 Good News (1947)
48/01/11 Paradine Case, The (1948)
48/02/22 Double Life, A (1947)
48/03/14 I Remember Mama (1948)
48/04/25 State of the Union (1948)
48/05/23 Pirate, The (1948)
48/06/20 Emperor Waltz, The (1948)
48/08/08 Date With Judy, A (1948)
48/09/19 Good Sam (1948)
48/10/10 Julia Misbehaves (1948)
48/11/07 You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
48/11/28 Hills of Home (1948)
48/12/12 Words and Music (1948)
49/01/23 Letter to Three Wives, A (1949)
49/02/27 Family Honeymoon (1948)
49/03/13 Little Women (1949)
49/04/10 Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, A (1949)
49/05/15 Stratton Story, The (1949)
49/06/05 Edward, My Son (1949)
49/06/26 Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
49/08/07 In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
49/09/11 Under Capricorn (1949)
49/10/09 Heiress, The (1949)
49/11/13 That Forsyte Woman (1949)
49/12/11 On the Town (1949)
50/01/22 My Foolish Heart (1949)
50/02/12 Young Man With a Horn (1950)
50/02/26 Stage Fright (1950)
50/03/19 Woman of Distinction, A (1950)
50/04/01 Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, The (1950)
50/04/28 No Sad Songs for Me (1950)
50/05/19 Father of the Bride (1950)
50/06/30 Next Voice You Hear, The (1950)
50/07/21 Men, The (1950)
50/08/11 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
50/09/29 Glass Menagerie, The (1950)
50/10/27 Miniver Story, The (1950)
50/11/10 King Solomon’s Mines (1950)
50/12/08 Kim (1950)
51/01/19 Magnificent Yankee, The (1950)
51/02/02 September Affair (1950)
51/02/16 Payment on Demand (1951)
51/03/09 Royal Wedding (1951)
51/04/13 Father’s Little Dividend (1951)
51/05/11 Great Caruso, The (1951)
51/07/20 Show Boat (1951)
51/09/14 Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
51/10/05 American in Paris, An (1951)
51/11/23 Too Young to Kiss (1951)
51/12/07 I’ll See You in My Dreams (1951)
52/01/11 Greatest Show on Earth, The (1952)
52/03/28 Singin' in the Rain (1952)
52/05/09 Scaramouche (1952)
52/05/30 Lovely To Look At (1952)
52/06/27 Where’s Charley? (1952)
52/08/01 Ivanhoe (1952)
52/09/26 Because You’re Mine (1952)
52/10/31 Happy Time, The (1952)
52/11/14 Plymouth Adventure (1952)
52/12/05 Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
53/01/16 Bad and the Beautiful, The (1952)
53/02/13 Tonight We Sing (1953)
53/03/06 Story of Three Loves, The (1953)
53/03/27 By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
53/04/24 Shane (1953)
53/05/22 Young Bess (1953)
53/06/19 Dangerous When Wet (1953)
53/07/10 Band Wagon, The (1953)
53/08/28 Roman Holiday (1953)
53/10/02 Mogambo (1953)
53/11/06 Kiss Me Kate (1953)
53/12/04 Easy to Love (1953)
54/01/08 Knights of the Round Table (1953)
54/02/19 Long, Long Trailer, The (1954)
54/03/12 Rhapsody (1954)
54/04/02 Rose Marie (1954)
54/05/07 Executive Suite (1954)
54/06/18 Student Prince, The (1954)
54/07/23 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
54/09/17 Brigadoon (1954)
54/10/15 White Christmas (1954)
54/12/10 Deep in My Heart (1954)
55/01/21 Bridges at Toko-Ri, The (1954)
55/02/18 Jupiter’s Darling (1955)
55/03/04 Hit the Deck (1955)
55/03/25 Glass Slipper, The (1955)
55/05/06 Interrupted Melody (1955)
55/05/27 Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
55/07/15 Mister Roberts (1955)
55/09/16 It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)
55/10/14 Trial (1955)
55/11/11 Tender Trap, The (1955)
55/12/09 Kismet (1955)
56/01/13 I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
56/02/17 Picnic (1955)
56/03/23 Serenade (1956)
56/04/27 Swan, The (1956)
56/05/25 Bhowani Junction (1956)
56/06/22 Eddy Duchin Story, The (1956)
56/08/10 High Society (1955)
56/09/28 Tea and Sympathy (1956)
56/11/02 Friendly Persuasion (1956)
56/11/30 Teahouse of the August Moon, The (1956)
57/01/18 Barretts of Wimpole Street, The (1957)
57/02/01 Wings of Eagles, The (1957)
57/02/22 Spirit of St. Louis, The (1957)
57/03/29 Funny Face (1957)
57/05/17 Designing Woman (1957)
57/06/14 Prince and the Showgirl, The (1957)
57/07/19 Silk Stockings (1957)
57/08/30 Pajama Game, The (1957)
57/10/04 Les Girls (1957)
57/11/15 Don’t Go Near the Water (1957)
57/12/06 Sayonara (1957)
58/01/31 Seven Hills of Rome (1958)
58/02/21 Brothers Karamazov, The (1958)
58/03/21 Merry Andrew (1958)
58/04/25 Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
58/05/30 No Time for Sergeants (1958)
58/06/27 Indiscreet (1958)
58/08/15 Reluctant Debutante, The (1958)
58/09/19 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
58/11/07 Home Before Dark (1958)
58/12/05 Auntie Mame (1958)
59/01/23 Some Came Running (1958)
59/02/20 Journey, The (1959)
59/03/20 Green Mansions (1959)
59/04/24 Count Your Blessings (1959)
59/05/22 Ask Any Girl (1959)
59/06/19 Nun’s Story, The (1959)
59/08/07 North by Northwest (1959)
59/09/25 FBI Story, The (1959)
59/10/23 Summer Place, A (1959)
59/11/13 Miracle, The (1959)
59/12/04 Operation Petticoat (1959)
60/01/22 Never So Few (1959)
60/02/12 Once More, With Feeling (1960)
60/03/04 Home From the Hill (1960)
60/04/01 Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960)
60/05/20 Pollyanna (1960)
60/06/24 Bells Are Ringing (1960)
60/08/12 Song Without End (1960)
60/09/23 Dark at the Top of the Stairs, The (1960)
60/10/14 Midnight Lace (1960)
60/11/11 World of Suzie Wong, The (1960)
60/12/09 Sundowners, The (1960)
61/01/20 Where the Boys Are (1960)
61/02/17 Cimarron (1960)
61/03/17 Absent Minded Professor, The (1961)
61/05/05 Parrish (1961)
61/06/02 Pleasure of His Company, The (1961)
61/07/07 Fanny (1961)
61/09/08 Come September (1961)
61/10/06 Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
61/11/10 Flower Drum Song (1961)
61/12/15 Babes in Toyland (1961)
62/01/12 Majority of One, A (1962)
62/02/09 Lover Come Back (1961)
62/03/16 Rome Adventure (1962)
62/04/06 Moon Pilot (1962)
62/05/18 Bon Voyage! (1962)
62/06/15 That Touch of Mink (1962)
62/08/24 Music Man, The (1962)
62/09/28 Gigot (1962)
62/11/02 Gypsy (1962)
62/12/07 Jumbo (Billy Rose’s) (1962)
63/01/18 Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
63/02/15 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
63/03/15 Girl Named Tamiko, A (1962)
63/04/05 Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
63/05/17 Spencer’s Mountain (1963)
63/06/07 Come Blow Your Horn (1963)
63/08/02 Thrill of It All, The (1963)
63/09/20 V.I.P.s, The (1963)
63/10/25 Mary, Mary (1963)
63/11/15 Wheeler Dealers, The (1963)
63/12/06 Charade (1963)
64/01/24 Prize, The (1963)
64/02/21 Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
64/03/20 World of Henry Orient, The (1964)
64/04/24 Pink Panther, The (1964)
64/05/22 Chalk Garden, The (1964)
64/07/17 Unsinkable Molly Brown, The (1964)
64/09/25 Mary Poppins (1964)
64/11/13 Send Me No Flowers (1964)
64/12/11 Father Goose (1964)
65/01/29 36 Hours (1964)
65/03/05 Dear Heart (1964)
65/04/02 Operation Crossbow (1965)
65/05/14 Yellow Rolls-Royce, The (1964)
65/07/16 Sandpiper, The (1965)
65/09/17 Great Race, The (1965)
65/11/05 Never Too Late (1965)
65/12/03 That Darn Cat (1965)
66/01/21 Judith (1966)
66/02/18 Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
66/03/18 Singing Nun, The (1966)
66/05/06 Arabesque (1966)
66/06/10 Glass Bottom Boat, The (1966)
66/07/15 How to Steal a Million (1966)
66/09/23 Kaleidoscope (1966)
66/10/14 Any Wednesday (1966)
66/11/11 Penelope (1966)
66/12/02 Follow Me, Boys! (1966)
67/01/20 Hotel (1967)
67/02/17 25th Hour, The (1967)
67/03/10 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
67/04/28 Two for the Road (1967)
67/05/26 Barefoot in the Park (1967)
67/08/18 Up the Down Staircase (1967)
67/09/29 Bobo, The (1967)
67/10/27 Wait Until Dark (1967)
67/12/01 Happiest Millionaire, The (1967)
68/01/19 How to Save a Marriage (And Ruin Your Life) (1968)
68/02/09 Sweet November (1968)
68/03/01 Secret War of Harry Frigg, The (1968)
68/03/22 One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, The (1968)
68/05/03 Odd Couple, The (1968)
68/08/09 Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968)
68/09/20 Hot Millions (1968)
68/10/18 Bullitt (1968)
68/12/06 Impossible Years, The (1968)
69/01/17 Brotherhood, The (1968)
69/02/14 Mayerling (1968)
69/03/14 Love Bug, The (1969)
69/04/25 IF ITS TUESDAY THIS MUST BE BELGIUM
69/05/23 WINNING
69/06/18 TRUE GRIT
69/08/29 GYPSY MOTHS, THE
69/09/26 CHRISTMAS TREE, THE
69/10/24 HAIL, HERO!
69/11/14 BRAIN, THE
69/12/05 BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN, A
70/01/23 VIVA, MAX!
70/02/13 TICK…TICK…TICK
70/03/06 AIRPORT
70/05/29 OUT-OF-TOWNERS, THE
70/07/24 DARLING LILI
70/09/25 SUNFLOWER
70/10/30 PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE
70/11/20 SCROOGE
Several porn theatres seem one-time events without history.
I cannot place previous use for:
The LOVE at 125 West 42nd Street.
The 42nd Street Cinema at 422 West 42nd Street.
The Tomcat at 424 West 42nd Street.
The MASQUE at 440 West 42nd Street.
I guess those were storefront theatres that came and went (no pun intended). Does anyone know about these?
Ron, I have been reluctant to take up so much space but here are the thirties. Surely someone will let me know of a better way to share these…
Opening dates are within five days:
33/01/15 Bitter Tea of General Yen, The (1933)
33/01/15 Sign of the Cross, The (1932)
33/01/22 King’s Vacation, The (1933)
33/01/29 State Fair (1933)
33/02/05 Sign of the Cross, The (1932)
33/02/12 Topaze (1933)
33/02/19 GREAT JASPER, THE
33/02/26 Our Betters (1933)
33/03/05 King Kong (1933)
33/03/12 Christopher Strong (1933)
33/03/19 Sailor’s Luck (1933)
33/03/26 Sweepings (1933)
33/04/02 YOUNG KING, THE
33/04/09 Cavalcade (1933)
33/04/23 Working Man, The (1933)
33/04/30 Zoo in Budapest (1933)
33/05/07 Silver Cord, The (1933)
33/05/14 WARRIOR’S HUSBAND, THE
33/05/21 ADORABLE
33/05/28 Elmer the Great (1933)
33/06/04 COCKTAIL HOUR
33/06/11 ANN CARVER’S PROFESSION
33/06/18 I LOVED YOU WEDNESDAY
33/06/25 Melody Cruise (1933)
33/07/02 Bed of Roses (1933)
33/07/09 PRIVATE DETECTIVE 62
33/07/16 Professional Sweetheart (1933)
33/07/23 DOUBLE HARNESS
33/07/30 Devil’s in Love, The (1933)
33/08/06 NO MARRIAGE TIES
33/08/13 Pilgramage
33/08/20 Morning Glory (1933)
33/08/27 PADDY, THE NEXT BEST THING
33/09/03 ONE MAN’S JOURNEY
33/09/10 Lady for a Day (1933)
33/09/10 Power and the Glory, The
33/09/24 MY WEAKNESS
33/10/01 Ann Vickers (1933)
33/10/08 Dr. Bull (1933)
33/10/15 Private Life of Henry VIII, The (1933)
33/10/22 AGGIE APPLEBY, MAKER OF MEN
33/10/29 Berkeley Square
33/11/05 AFTER TONIGHT
33/11/12 Only Yesterday (1933)
33/11/19 Little Women (1933)
33/12/10 Counsellor-at-Law (1933)
33/12/17 RIGHT TO ROMANCE, THE
33/12/24 Flying Down to Rio (1933)
34/01/07 If I Were Free (1933)
34/01/14 MAN OF TWO WORLDS
34/01/21 I AM SUZANNE
34/01/28 AS HUSBANDS GO
34/02/04 Nana (1934)
34/02/18 CAROLINA
34/02/25 It Happened One Night (1934)
34/03/04 David Harum (1934)
34/03/11 Spitfire (1934)
34/03/18 George White’s Scandals (1934)
34/03/25 BOTTOMS UP
34/04/01 WILD CARGO
34/04/15 This Man Is Mine (1934)
34/04/22 Stand Up and Cheer (1934)
34/05/06 Twentieth Century (1934)
34/05/13 CHANGE OF HEART
34/05/20 STINGAREE
34/05/27 WHERE SINNERS MEET
34/06/03 Little Man, What Now? (1934)
34/06/10 SISTERS UNDER THE SKIN
34/06/17 Life of Vergie Winters, The (1934)
34/06/24 LET’S TRY AGAIN
34/07/01 Of Human Bondage (1934)
34/07/15 WHOM THE GODS DESTROY
34/07/22 GRAND CANARY
34/07/29 HAT, COAT AND GLOVE
34/08/05 World Moves On, The
34/08/12 One More River (1934)
34/08/19 Cat’s Paw, The (1934)
34/09/02 Fountain, The (1934)
34/09/09 One Night of Love (1934)
34/09/23 Richest Girl in the World, The (1934)
34/09/30 Caravan (1934)
34/10/07 POWER (1934)
34/10/14 Judge Priest (1934)
34/10/21 Age of Innocence, The (1934)
34/10/28 PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, THE
34/11/04 We Live Again (1934)
34/11/18 Gay Divorcee, The (1934)
34/12/02 Broadway Bill (1934)
34/12/16 Music in the Air (1934)
34/12/23 Bright Eyes (1934)
34/12/30 Little Minister, The (1934)
35/01/13 Evergreen (1934)
35/01/20 Romance in Manhattan (1934)
35/01/27 Iron Duke, The (1935)
35/02/03 Good Fairy, The (1935)
35/02/10 Scarlet Pimpernel, The (1935)
35/02/24 ONE MORE SPRING
35/03/03 Whole Town’s Talking, The (1935)
35/03/10 Roberta (1935)
35/03/24 Little Colonel, The (1935)
35/04/07 Life Begins at Forty (1935)
35/04/14 Star of Midnight (1935)
35/04/21 Cardinal Richelieu (1935)
35/05/05 Scoundrel, The (1935)
35/05/12 Informer, The (1935)
35/05/19 Break of Hearts (1935)
35/05/26 ESCAPE ME NEVER
35/06/02 UNDER THE PAMPAS MOON
35/06/09 Our Little Girl (1935)
35/06/16 Becky Sharp (1935)
35/06/30 Love Me Forever (1935)
35/07/21 GINGER
35/07/28 She (1935)
35/08/04 Curly Top (1935)
35/08/11 Farmer Takes a Wife, The (1935)
35/08/18 Alice Adams (1935)
35/09/01 Top Hat (1935)
35/09/22 Steamboat ‘Round the Bend (1935)
35/09/29 She Married Her Boss (1935)
35/10/06 Return of Peter Grimm, The (1935)
35/10/13 Gay Deception, The (1935)
35/10/20 Metropolitan (1935)
35/10/27 FEATHER IN HER HAT, A
35/11/03 Three Musketeers, The (1935)
35/11/10 Peter Ibbetson (1935)
35/11/17 Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, The (1935)
35/11/24 Crime and …Punishment (1935)
35/12/01 I Dream Too Much (1935)
35/12/15 In Person (1935)
35/12/22 Littlest Rebel, The (1935)
35/12/29 Magnificent Obsession (1935)
36/01/12 Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
36/01/19 Strike Me Pink (1936)
36/02/02 Next Time We Love (1936)
36/02/09 Petrified Forest, The (1936)
36/02/23 Follow the Fleet (1936)
36/03/15 COUNTRY DOCTOR, THE
36/03/29 Sutter’s Gold (1936)
36/04/05 Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
36/04/19 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
36/05/03 Under Two Flags (1936)
36/05/17 Show Boat (1936)
36/05/31 King Steps Out, The (1936)
36/06/14 Private Number (1936)
36/06/21 SINS OF MAN
36/06/28 Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
36/07/12 Bride Walks Out, The (1936)
36/07/19 Green Pastures, The (1936)
36/08/02 Mary of Scotland (1936)
36/08/23 MY AMERICAN WIFE
36/08/30 Swing Time (1936)
36/09/20 My Man Godfrey (1936)
36/10/04 Craig’s Wife (1936)
36/10/11 Gay Desperado, The (1936)
36/10/25 Adventure in Manhattan (1936)
36/11/01 Woman Rebels, A (1936)
36/11/08 As You Like It (1936)
36/11/15 Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
36/11/22 Garden of Allah, The (1936)
36/12/06 Winterset (1936)
36/12/13 More Than a Secretary (1936)
36/12/20 RAINBOW ON THE RIVER
37/01/03 That Girl from Paris (1936)
37/01/10 Lloyds of London (1936)
37/01/31 Plough and the Stars, The (1936)
37/02/07 On the Avenue (1937)
37/02/21 When You’re in Love (1937)
37/03/07 Fire Over England (1937)
37/03/14 Wings of the Morning (1937)
37/03/21 When’s Your Birthday? (1937)
37/03/28 Seventh Heaven (1937)
37/04/11 Quality Street (1937)
37/04/18 WOMAN I LOVE, THE
37/04/25 Star Is Born, A (1937)
37/05/16 Shall We Dance (1937)
37/05/30 This Is My Affair (1937)
37/06/13 Woman Chases Man (1937)
37/06/20 Another Dawn (1937)
37/06/27 Ever Since Eve (1937)
37/07/04 New Faces of 1937 (1937)
37/07/11 Knight Without Armour (1937)
37/07/25 Toast of New York, The (1937)
37/08/08 Stella Dallas (1937)
37/08/22 Vogues of 1938 (1937)
37/09/05 Prisoner of Zenda, The (1937)
37/09/26 Lost Horizon (1937)
37/10/10 Stage Door (1937)
37/10/31 Victoria the Great (1937)
37/11/07 Awful Truth, The (1937)
37/11/21 Stand-In (1937)
37/11/28 Nothing Sacred (1937)
37/12/19 I’ll Take Romance (1937)
38/01/02 Tovarich (1937)
38/01/16 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
38/02/20 Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The (1938)
38/03/06 Bringing Up Baby (1938)
38/03/13 Jezebel (1938)
38/03/27 Fools for Scandal (1938)
38/04/03 Divorce of Lady X, The (1938)
38/04/10 Adventures of Marco Polo, The (1938)
38/05/01 There’s Always a Woman (1938)
38/05/08 Joy of Living (1938)
38/05/15 Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
38/06/05 Vivacious Lady (1938)
38/06/19 Blockade (1938)
38/06/26 Holiday (1938)
38/07/10 Having Wonderful Time (1938)
38/07/17 Algiers (1938)
38/08/07 Mother Carey’s Chickens (1938)
38/08/14 Four’s a Crowd (1938)
38/08/21 Four Daughters (1938)
38/09/04 You Can’t Take It With You (1938)
38/09/25 Carefree (1938)
38/10/02 Drums (1938)
38/10/16 There Goes My Heart (1938)
38/10/23 Mad Miss Manton, The (1938)
38/10/30 Young Dr. Kildare (1938)
38/11/06 Young in Heart, The (1938)
38/11/20 Sixty Glorious Years (1938)
38/11/27 Cowboy and the Lady, The (1938)
38/12/11 Dramatic School (1938)
38/12/18 Duke of West Point, The (1938)
38/12/25 Christmas Carol, A (1938)
39/01/01 Topper Takes a Trip (1939)
39/01/08 THERE’S THAT WOMAN AGAIN
39/01/15 Trade Winds (1938)
39/01/22 Great Man Votes, The (1939)
39/01/29 Gunga Din (1939)
39/02/19 Made For Each Other (1939)
39/03/05 Stagecoach (1939)
39/03/19 Love Affair (1939)
39/04/02 Story of Vernon & Irene Castle, The (1939)
39/04/23 Dark Victory (1939)
39/05/07 East Side of Heaven (1939)
39/05/14 Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
39/05/28 Captain Fury (1939)
39/06/11 Sun Never Sets, The (1939)
39/06/18 CLOUDS OVER EUROPE
39/06/25 Good Girls Go to Paris (1939)
39/07/02 Bachelor Mother (1939)
39/07/16 Man in the Iron Mask, The (1939)
39/07/30 Winter Carnival (1939)
39/08/06 In Name Only (1939)
39/08/27 5th Ave. Girl (1939)
39/09/10 Golden Boy (1939)
39/09/24 Nurse Edith Cavell (1939)
39/10/08 Intermezzo (1939)
39/10/22 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
39/11/12 Ninotchka (1939)
39/12/03 We Are Not Alone (1939)
39/12/17 Balalaika (1939)
39/12/31 Hunchback of Notre Dame, The (1939)
The 1970 article mentions “the sanctum” of Gus Eyssell, President of Rockefeller Inc., as the source, citing the rising costs of live shows and the lack of popular G and GP films. It also states that RCMH needs to sell 6 million tickets a year in order to stay to in business but had been operating at just over 5 million.
For those of you so inclined, the July 15, 1970 issue of Variety,(Music Hall has Mulled Twins) covers the possibilty that Radio City may have been twinned with one screen showing R rated “now” films.
For a short time in the late sixties-early seventies this became the Rialto West, the basement theatre continued as the Rialto II, and the Pix became the Rialto East. All three played soft-core films.
Cineplex Odeon indeed never used the basement theatre due to subway noise and the trouble they already had securing first-run product for this venue. UNCLE BUCK and a 70mm move-over of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA from the Ziegfeld were among it’s biggest hits.
I think I finally figured this street out:
239 East 59th Street
1969 – Cine Malibu
1976 – D.W. Griffith
1989 – 59th Street East
2004 – ImaginAsian
220 East 59th Street
1969 – Avco Embassy/Pacific East
1970 – 59th St Twin-1/59th Street Twin-2
1977 – EastWorld/ 59th Street East
1979 – Manhattan-1/ Manhattan-2
211 East 59th Street
1970 – Lido East
As far as I can tell this location only ran one film, MALE MAGAZINE, in the late sixties for a few weeks and even that appears to have been a gimmick at turning gay porn loops into performance art. The Fortune should probably be delisted here.
The Eros 2 was indeed a separate theatre and it did later become the Venus.
This theatre has received a real beating in the posts here and as I recall, they are not undeserved.
…but no one has mentioned that it did open with Fellini’s 8 ½, first-run. How many theatres can lay claim to that?
Great to hear that, Warren!
Gerald, I recently tried adding the Ambassador and it was not posted either. Does anyone know the reason why a theatre that ran movies for over six years and brought foregn language classics like CHILDREN OF PARADISE to New York does not rate but the Winter Garden, Henry Miller, Bijou, and Drury Lane do?
I see a lot of moaning about the loss of this great theatre but not a single mention of the Criterion this one replaced. I would appear it was demolished in June 1935 (along with the Loews New York)in order to make this Criterion happen. The new one was open by September 1936. How was such a speedy construction of this mammoth building possible?
The old Criterion ran the first western blockbuster, THE COVERED WAGON and Oscar winner WINGS for over a year each. It also had the New York premiere of HELL’S ANGELS. Does anyone have more info on the OLD Criterion so it can get posted?
The 1934 Film Daily seat count is 1671.
LM, it appears the Brooklyn Amphion was a major theatre since the nineteenth century with Manhattan dated talent making an appearance before leaving town. I found several NY Times stories about the shows but no mention of movies. The Williamsburg location assured the eventual tilt towards Yiddish Vaudeville and it seems it was a major drawing card.
In one story, when the femele lead failed to show up for a performance, the manager cancelled the show and refuse to pay the troupe. They promptly beat him up. You don’t need an address to figure that was Brooklyn. My Film Daily shows it was closed by 1934.
The Manhattan Amphion is more illusive.
Yes Ken. I live near Vauxhall and to NY often as I consider it home.
Thank you, Ken. This is one of the most obscure NY theatres I have encountered so far. It appears in my 1934 Film Daily (as Ampion) and an obituary for owner William Yoost. (He died in Miami Beach, like all hard working New Yorkers deserved to in 1940.)
The obit does confirm that all his theatres were in Manhattan. (Chelsea, Circle, Royal, 34th Street, Chaloner, and REGENT!)
By the way the 1934 address is 614 Ninth Avenue, as above, and to make matters even more convoluted, the Brooklyn Amphion was really off ninth street, not Division.
Are you based in London?
There appears to be an error in the introduction to this theatre. It did not premiere LONESOME COWBOYS. 55th Street Playhouse and the Warhol GARRICK in the Village did.
I think the confusion comes from the another nearby theatre, the Henry Miller owned HUDSON on 44th Street. In 1967 that theatre premiered Andy Warhol’s MY HUSTLER, I- A MAN and BIKE BOY.
Aside from gay porn, the Henry Miller’s life as a cinema consisted of two upscale long runs. LA DOLCE VITA and LES LIAISONS DANGEROUSES.
From the NY Times:
The Lincoln Art opened in July 1964 as an outlet for Joseph E. Levine’s Emabssy Pictures. Levine also owned the Festival at the time.
Opening night patrons in to see CARTOUCHE! received portraits of Abraham Lincoln. Seat count was placed at 571.
Construction: William Ely Kohn (architect?)
Color schemes- green and black in the looby, red and black in the auditorium
Interior decor by Yale R. Burge, Inc.
General contractor: Lasberg, Inc.
Focal points include large prints of Lincoln at the White House and at his inaugural parade.
“The opening of the new Lincoln Art theatre technically may be listed as historic. The intimate showcase is the newest to grace a mid-manhattan already bristling with new or fairly new miniature film palaces.”
That photo really tells a story, Warren. I wonder if the Cameo faced a similar scenario during the cold war?
Open in 1927, this was one of the first ever fulltime arthouses. This place was specialising in Far East martial arts films (think Kurosawa, not Bruce Lee) from 1965 until 1969 when it switched policy for Andy Warhol’s LONESOME COWBOYS. The success of that film sealed its fate and like many other Manhattan arthouses, it switched to increasing graphic sex films, this one eventually specialising in gay product and then gay grind porn.
In 1929 it premiered Abel Gance’s NAPOLEON which received bad reviews in its abridged form and was replaced a week later with a re-release of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI.
In 1930 it opened TWO HEARTS IN WALTZ TIME a German film and the first foreign language film subtitled for U.S. release. The novelty paid off and the film ran for a year. In March 1931, during that run the theatre was renamed Europa, a name it kept until late 1933 when it started to also show more mainstream films.
In 1952 it premiered Jacques Tati classic JOUR DE FETE, 1956 Fellini’s I VITELLONI, in 1957 John Ford’s THE RISING OF THE MOON, in 1958 Kim Stanley’s THE GODDESS, in 1961 the Russian DON QUIXOTE (MGM Soviet cultural exchange).
The theatre was notorious for poor projection and was often featured in the press as an example of the lost art of quality of cinema presentation. Sound familiar?
(Cinema Treasures did not invent that particular bitch-fest hobby of attacking projectionists, union or otherwise, which dates back to the silent era.)
The trajectory of the 55th Street Playhouses’ life certainly started in the head and ended in the groin.
I saw Pasolini’s SALO, 100 DAYS OF SODOM at the Arcadia, the most offensive movie I have seen to date, and was shocked the place wasn’t getting closed down.
The Grove Cinema (Intermedia) on Virginia Street was first in the tiny arthouse cycle and it then moved around the corner to Grand operated by the Fabulous Flying Fendleman Brothers.
The Cinematheque (Merry Go Round, Alcazar, Absinthe House ) followed, operated by Nat Chediak.
Of course, the Wometco Mayfair, Parkway and Sunset predated all these as Florida’s premier arthouses.
I have now entered the Absinthe House.
Also known as the Cinecitta in 1939-1940 (NY times Sept 23, 1939) and the Cameo Art in the early seventies.
If you look at previous posts, Ron3853 has already covered this 70’s era which included periods with no film at all. The Music Hall got caught between it’s own wholesome image and a slew of bad family films. (I mean wild, sexy 1972 and The Hall is showing a Bob Hope movie!)
There is no excuse for the bad shows unless, as Vincent suggests, the Rockefeller group was trying to justify killing the formula in order to renegotiate better terms with talent agencies.
As you may see from my previous posts, I am not personally fond of the shows or the venue as a cinema, but I love this building.
What the hell, it is Radio City after all!
I will need some time to get the rest of the seventies together.
40/01/14 His Girl Friday (1940)
40/01/28 Shop Around the Corner, The (1940)
40/02/11 Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
40/02/18 I Take This Woman (1940)
40/02/25 Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)
40/03/10 Too Many Husbands (1940)
40/03/17 Young Tom Edison (1940)
40/03/31 Rebecca (1940)
40/05/12 My Son, My Son (1940)
40/05/26 Irene (1940)
40/06/02 My Favorite Wife (1940)
40/06/16 Our Town (1940)
40/06/30 Tom Brown’s School Days (1940)
40/07/07 All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
40/08/04 South of Pago Pago (1940)
40/08/11 Pride and Prejudice (1940)
40/09/08 Lucky Partners (1940)
40/09/22 RAMPARTS WE WATCH, THE
40/09/29 Howards of Virginia, The (1940)
40/10/13 They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
40/10/27 Westerner, The (1940)
40/11/03 Escape (1940)
40/11/24 Bitter Sweet (1940)
40/12/08 Thief of Bagdad, The (1940)
40/12/22 NO, NO, NANETTE (1940)
40/12/29 Philadelphia Story, The (1940)
41/02/09 Arizona (1940)
41/02/16 This Thing Called Love (1941)
41/02/23 Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
41/03/02 So Ends Our Night (1941)
41/03/16 Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941)
41/03/30 Adam Had Four Sons (1941)
41/04/06 That Hamilton Woman (1941)
41/05/04 That Uncertain Feeling (1941)
41/05/18 Devil and Miss Jones, The (1941)
41/05/25 Penny Serenade (1941)
41/06/15 Sunny (1941)
41/06/22 SHE KNEW ALL THE ANSWERS
41/06/29 Blossoms In the Dust (1941)
41/07/20 Tom, Dick and Harry (1941)
41/08/10 Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
41/08/24 Little Foxes, The (1941)
41/09/21 Lydia (1941)
41/10/05 It Started With Eve (1941)
41/10/19 All That Money Can Buy, The (Devil and Daniel Webster) (1941)
41/10/26 You’ll Never Get Rich (1941)
41/11/09 Appointment for Love (1941)
41/11/16 One Foot in Heaven (1941)
41/11/23 Suspicion (1941)
41/12/14 Men in Her Life, The (1941)
41/12/21 H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
42/01/04 Babes on Broadway (1941)
42/01/18 Ball of Fire (1941)
42/02/08 Woman of the Year (1942)
42/03/22 Bedtime Story (1941)
42/03/29 Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
42/05/03 We Were Dancing (1942)
42/05/10 Saboteur (1942)
42/05/24 Tortilla Flat (1942)
42/06/07 Mrs. Miniver (1942)
42/08/16 Bambi (1942)
42/08/30 Talk of the Town, The (1942)
42/09/27 Tales of Manhattan (1942)
42/10/25 My Sister Eileen (1942)
42/11/15 Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942)
42/12/06 You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
42/12/20 Random Harvest (1942)
43/03/07 They Got Me Covered (1943)
43/03/21 Keeper of the Flame (1942)
43/04/18 Flight for Freedom (1943)
43/05/16 More the Merrier, The (1943)
43/06/27 Youngest Profession, The (1943)
43/07/25 Mr. Lucky (1943)
43/09/12 So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
43/10/10 Lassie Come Home (1943)
43/11/07 Claudia (1943)
43/12/05 What a Woman! (1943)
43/12/19 Madame Curie (1943)
44/02/06 Jane Eyre (1944)
44/03/05 Up in Arms (1944)
44/04/02 Cover Girl (1944)
44/05/14 White Cliffs of Dover, The (1944)
44/07/02 Once Upon a Time (1944)
44/07/23 Dragon Seed (1944)
44/09/17 Casanova Brown (1944)
44/10/15 Mrs. Parkington (1944)
44/11/26 Together Again (1944)
44/12/17 National Velvet (1944)
45/01/28 Song to Remember, A (1945)
45/03/11 Tonight and Every Night (1945)
45/03/25 Without Love (1945)
45/05/06 Valley of Decision, The (1945)
45/07/08 Bell for Adano, A (1945)
45/08/19 Over 21 (1945)
45/09/09 Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945)
45/10/07 Weekend at the Waldorf (1945)
45/12/09 Bells of St. Mary’s, The (1945)
46/02/10 Adventure (1945)
46/03/17 Gilda (1946)
46/04/07 Green Years, The (1946)
46/05/26 To Each His Own (1946)
46/06/23 Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
46/08/18 Notorious (1946)
46/10/13 Jolson Story, The (1946)
46/12/08 Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)
47/01/26 Yearling, The (1946)
47/03/02 Sea of Grass, The (1947)
47/03/23 Late George Apley, The (1947)
47/04/27 Egg and I, The (1947)
47/05/25 Great Expectations (1946)
47/06/29 Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947)
47/07/27 Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, The (1947)
47/09/14 Down to Earth (1947)
47/10/12 Song of Love (1947)
47/11/09 Cass Timberlane (1947)
47/12/07 Good News (1947)
48/01/11 Paradine Case, The (1948)
48/02/22 Double Life, A (1947)
48/03/14 I Remember Mama (1948)
48/04/25 State of the Union (1948)
48/05/23 Pirate, The (1948)
48/06/20 Emperor Waltz, The (1948)
48/08/08 Date With Judy, A (1948)
48/09/19 Good Sam (1948)
48/10/10 Julia Misbehaves (1948)
48/11/07 You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
48/11/28 Hills of Home (1948)
48/12/12 Words and Music (1948)
49/01/23 Letter to Three Wives, A (1949)
49/02/27 Family Honeymoon (1948)
49/03/13 Little Women (1949)
49/04/10 Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, A (1949)
49/05/15 Stratton Story, The (1949)
49/06/05 Edward, My Son (1949)
49/06/26 Look for the Silver Lining (1949)
49/08/07 In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
49/09/11 Under Capricorn (1949)
49/10/09 Heiress, The (1949)
49/11/13 That Forsyte Woman (1949)
49/12/11 On the Town (1949)
50/01/22 My Foolish Heart (1949)
50/02/12 Young Man With a Horn (1950)
50/02/26 Stage Fright (1950)
50/03/19 Woman of Distinction, A (1950)
50/04/01 Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, The (1950)
50/04/28 No Sad Songs for Me (1950)
50/05/19 Father of the Bride (1950)
50/06/30 Next Voice You Hear, The (1950)
50/07/21 Men, The (1950)
50/08/11 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
50/09/29 Glass Menagerie, The (1950)
50/10/27 Miniver Story, The (1950)
50/11/10 King Solomon’s Mines (1950)
50/12/08 Kim (1950)
51/01/19 Magnificent Yankee, The (1950)
51/02/02 September Affair (1950)
51/02/16 Payment on Demand (1951)
51/03/09 Royal Wedding (1951)
51/04/13 Father’s Little Dividend (1951)
51/05/11 Great Caruso, The (1951)
51/07/20 Show Boat (1951)
51/09/14 Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951)
51/10/05 American in Paris, An (1951)
51/11/23 Too Young to Kiss (1951)
51/12/07 I’ll See You in My Dreams (1951)
52/01/11 Greatest Show on Earth, The (1952)
52/03/28 Singin' in the Rain (1952)
52/05/09 Scaramouche (1952)
52/05/30 Lovely To Look At (1952)
52/06/27 Where’s Charley? (1952)
52/08/01 Ivanhoe (1952)
52/09/26 Because You’re Mine (1952)
52/10/31 Happy Time, The (1952)
52/11/14 Plymouth Adventure (1952)
52/12/05 Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
53/01/16 Bad and the Beautiful, The (1952)
53/02/13 Tonight We Sing (1953)
53/03/06 Story of Three Loves, The (1953)
53/03/27 By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
53/04/24 Shane (1953)
53/05/22 Young Bess (1953)
53/06/19 Dangerous When Wet (1953)
53/07/10 Band Wagon, The (1953)
53/08/28 Roman Holiday (1953)
53/10/02 Mogambo (1953)
53/11/06 Kiss Me Kate (1953)
53/12/04 Easy to Love (1953)
54/01/08 Knights of the Round Table (1953)
54/02/19 Long, Long Trailer, The (1954)
54/03/12 Rhapsody (1954)
54/04/02 Rose Marie (1954)
54/05/07 Executive Suite (1954)
54/06/18 Student Prince, The (1954)
54/07/23 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
54/09/17 Brigadoon (1954)
54/10/15 White Christmas (1954)
54/12/10 Deep in My Heart (1954)
55/01/21 Bridges at Toko-Ri, The (1954)
55/02/18 Jupiter’s Darling (1955)
55/03/04 Hit the Deck (1955)
55/03/25 Glass Slipper, The (1955)
55/05/06 Interrupted Melody (1955)
55/05/27 Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
55/07/15 Mister Roberts (1955)
55/09/16 It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)
55/10/14 Trial (1955)
55/11/11 Tender Trap, The (1955)
55/12/09 Kismet (1955)
56/01/13 I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
56/02/17 Picnic (1955)
56/03/23 Serenade (1956)
56/04/27 Swan, The (1956)
56/05/25 Bhowani Junction (1956)
56/06/22 Eddy Duchin Story, The (1956)
56/08/10 High Society (1955)
56/09/28 Tea and Sympathy (1956)
56/11/02 Friendly Persuasion (1956)
56/11/30 Teahouse of the August Moon, The (1956)
57/01/18 Barretts of Wimpole Street, The (1957)
57/02/01 Wings of Eagles, The (1957)
57/02/22 Spirit of St. Louis, The (1957)
57/03/29 Funny Face (1957)
57/05/17 Designing Woman (1957)
57/06/14 Prince and the Showgirl, The (1957)
57/07/19 Silk Stockings (1957)
57/08/30 Pajama Game, The (1957)
57/10/04 Les Girls (1957)
57/11/15 Don’t Go Near the Water (1957)
57/12/06 Sayonara (1957)
58/01/31 Seven Hills of Rome (1958)
58/02/21 Brothers Karamazov, The (1958)
58/03/21 Merry Andrew (1958)
58/04/25 Marjorie Morningstar (1958)
58/05/30 No Time for Sergeants (1958)
58/06/27 Indiscreet (1958)
58/08/15 Reluctant Debutante, The (1958)
58/09/19 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
58/11/07 Home Before Dark (1958)
58/12/05 Auntie Mame (1958)
59/01/23 Some Came Running (1958)
59/02/20 Journey, The (1959)
59/03/20 Green Mansions (1959)
59/04/24 Count Your Blessings (1959)
59/05/22 Ask Any Girl (1959)
59/06/19 Nun’s Story, The (1959)
59/08/07 North by Northwest (1959)
59/09/25 FBI Story, The (1959)
59/10/23 Summer Place, A (1959)
59/11/13 Miracle, The (1959)
59/12/04 Operation Petticoat (1959)
60/01/22 Never So Few (1959)
60/02/12 Once More, With Feeling (1960)
60/03/04 Home From the Hill (1960)
60/04/01 Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960)
60/05/20 Pollyanna (1960)
60/06/24 Bells Are Ringing (1960)
60/08/12 Song Without End (1960)
60/09/23 Dark at the Top of the Stairs, The (1960)
60/10/14 Midnight Lace (1960)
60/11/11 World of Suzie Wong, The (1960)
60/12/09 Sundowners, The (1960)
61/01/20 Where the Boys Are (1960)
61/02/17 Cimarron (1960)
61/03/17 Absent Minded Professor, The (1961)
61/05/05 Parrish (1961)
61/06/02 Pleasure of His Company, The (1961)
61/07/07 Fanny (1961)
61/09/08 Come September (1961)
61/10/06 Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
61/11/10 Flower Drum Song (1961)
61/12/15 Babes in Toyland (1961)
62/01/12 Majority of One, A (1962)
62/02/09 Lover Come Back (1961)
62/03/16 Rome Adventure (1962)
62/04/06 Moon Pilot (1962)
62/05/18 Bon Voyage! (1962)
62/06/15 That Touch of Mink (1962)
62/08/24 Music Man, The (1962)
62/09/28 Gigot (1962)
62/11/02 Gypsy (1962)
62/12/07 Jumbo (Billy Rose’s) (1962)
63/01/18 Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
63/02/15 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
63/03/15 Girl Named Tamiko, A (1962)
63/04/05 Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
63/05/17 Spencer’s Mountain (1963)
63/06/07 Come Blow Your Horn (1963)
63/08/02 Thrill of It All, The (1963)
63/09/20 V.I.P.s, The (1963)
63/10/25 Mary, Mary (1963)
63/11/15 Wheeler Dealers, The (1963)
63/12/06 Charade (1963)
64/01/24 Prize, The (1963)
64/02/21 Captain Newman, M.D. (1963)
64/03/20 World of Henry Orient, The (1964)
64/04/24 Pink Panther, The (1964)
64/05/22 Chalk Garden, The (1964)
64/07/17 Unsinkable Molly Brown, The (1964)
64/09/25 Mary Poppins (1964)
64/11/13 Send Me No Flowers (1964)
64/12/11 Father Goose (1964)
65/01/29 36 Hours (1964)
65/03/05 Dear Heart (1964)
65/04/02 Operation Crossbow (1965)
65/05/14 Yellow Rolls-Royce, The (1964)
65/07/16 Sandpiper, The (1965)
65/09/17 Great Race, The (1965)
65/11/05 Never Too Late (1965)
65/12/03 That Darn Cat (1965)
66/01/21 Judith (1966)
66/02/18 Inside Daisy Clover (1965)
66/03/18 Singing Nun, The (1966)
66/05/06 Arabesque (1966)
66/06/10 Glass Bottom Boat, The (1966)
66/07/15 How to Steal a Million (1966)
66/09/23 Kaleidoscope (1966)
66/10/14 Any Wednesday (1966)
66/11/11 Penelope (1966)
66/12/02 Follow Me, Boys! (1966)
67/01/20 Hotel (1967)
67/02/17 25th Hour, The (1967)
67/03/10 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
67/04/28 Two for the Road (1967)
67/05/26 Barefoot in the Park (1967)
67/08/18 Up the Down Staircase (1967)
67/09/29 Bobo, The (1967)
67/10/27 Wait Until Dark (1967)
67/12/01 Happiest Millionaire, The (1967)
68/01/19 How to Save a Marriage (And Ruin Your Life) (1968)
68/02/09 Sweet November (1968)
68/03/01 Secret War of Harry Frigg, The (1968)
68/03/22 One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, The (1968)
68/05/03 Odd Couple, The (1968)
68/08/09 Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968)
68/09/20 Hot Millions (1968)
68/10/18 Bullitt (1968)
68/12/06 Impossible Years, The (1968)
69/01/17 Brotherhood, The (1968)
69/02/14 Mayerling (1968)
69/03/14 Love Bug, The (1969)
69/04/25 IF ITS TUESDAY THIS MUST BE BELGIUM
69/05/23 WINNING
69/06/18 TRUE GRIT
69/08/29 GYPSY MOTHS, THE
69/09/26 CHRISTMAS TREE, THE
69/10/24 HAIL, HERO!
69/11/14 BRAIN, THE
69/12/05 BOY NAMED CHARLIE BROWN, A
70/01/23 VIVA, MAX!
70/02/13 TICK…TICK…TICK
70/03/06 AIRPORT
70/05/29 OUT-OF-TOWNERS, THE
70/07/24 DARLING LILI
70/09/25 SUNFLOWER
70/10/30 PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE
70/11/20 SCROOGE
Several porn theatres seem one-time events without history.
I cannot place previous use for:
The LOVE at 125 West 42nd Street.
The 42nd Street Cinema at 422 West 42nd Street.
The Tomcat at 424 West 42nd Street.
The MASQUE at 440 West 42nd Street.
I guess those were storefront theatres that came and went (no pun intended). Does anyone know about these?
Ron, I have been reluctant to take up so much space but here are the thirties. Surely someone will let me know of a better way to share these…
Opening dates are within five days:
33/01/15 Bitter Tea of General Yen, The (1933)
33/01/15 Sign of the Cross, The (1932)
33/01/22 King’s Vacation, The (1933)
33/01/29 State Fair (1933)
33/02/05 Sign of the Cross, The (1932)
33/02/12 Topaze (1933)
33/02/19 GREAT JASPER, THE
33/02/26 Our Betters (1933)
33/03/05 King Kong (1933)
33/03/12 Christopher Strong (1933)
33/03/19 Sailor’s Luck (1933)
33/03/26 Sweepings (1933)
33/04/02 YOUNG KING, THE
33/04/09 Cavalcade (1933)
33/04/23 Working Man, The (1933)
33/04/30 Zoo in Budapest (1933)
33/05/07 Silver Cord, The (1933)
33/05/14 WARRIOR’S HUSBAND, THE
33/05/21 ADORABLE
33/05/28 Elmer the Great (1933)
33/06/04 COCKTAIL HOUR
33/06/11 ANN CARVER’S PROFESSION
33/06/18 I LOVED YOU WEDNESDAY
33/06/25 Melody Cruise (1933)
33/07/02 Bed of Roses (1933)
33/07/09 PRIVATE DETECTIVE 62
33/07/16 Professional Sweetheart (1933)
33/07/23 DOUBLE HARNESS
33/07/30 Devil’s in Love, The (1933)
33/08/06 NO MARRIAGE TIES
33/08/13 Pilgramage
33/08/20 Morning Glory (1933)
33/08/27 PADDY, THE NEXT BEST THING
33/09/03 ONE MAN’S JOURNEY
33/09/10 Lady for a Day (1933)
33/09/10 Power and the Glory, The
33/09/24 MY WEAKNESS
33/10/01 Ann Vickers (1933)
33/10/08 Dr. Bull (1933)
33/10/15 Private Life of Henry VIII, The (1933)
33/10/22 AGGIE APPLEBY, MAKER OF MEN
33/10/29 Berkeley Square
33/11/05 AFTER TONIGHT
33/11/12 Only Yesterday (1933)
33/11/19 Little Women (1933)
33/12/10 Counsellor-at-Law (1933)
33/12/17 RIGHT TO ROMANCE, THE
33/12/24 Flying Down to Rio (1933)
34/01/07 If I Were Free (1933)
34/01/14 MAN OF TWO WORLDS
34/01/21 I AM SUZANNE
34/01/28 AS HUSBANDS GO
34/02/04 Nana (1934)
34/02/18 CAROLINA
34/02/25 It Happened One Night (1934)
34/03/04 David Harum (1934)
34/03/11 Spitfire (1934)
34/03/18 George White’s Scandals (1934)
34/03/25 BOTTOMS UP
34/04/01 WILD CARGO
34/04/15 This Man Is Mine (1934)
34/04/22 Stand Up and Cheer (1934)
34/05/06 Twentieth Century (1934)
34/05/13 CHANGE OF HEART
34/05/20 STINGAREE
34/05/27 WHERE SINNERS MEET
34/06/03 Little Man, What Now? (1934)
34/06/10 SISTERS UNDER THE SKIN
34/06/17 Life of Vergie Winters, The (1934)
34/06/24 LET’S TRY AGAIN
34/07/01 Of Human Bondage (1934)
34/07/15 WHOM THE GODS DESTROY
34/07/22 GRAND CANARY
34/07/29 HAT, COAT AND GLOVE
34/08/05 World Moves On, The
34/08/12 One More River (1934)
34/08/19 Cat’s Paw, The (1934)
34/09/02 Fountain, The (1934)
34/09/09 One Night of Love (1934)
34/09/23 Richest Girl in the World, The (1934)
34/09/30 Caravan (1934)
34/10/07 POWER (1934)
34/10/14 Judge Priest (1934)
34/10/21 Age of Innocence, The (1934)
34/10/28 PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, THE
34/11/04 We Live Again (1934)
34/11/18 Gay Divorcee, The (1934)
34/12/02 Broadway Bill (1934)
34/12/16 Music in the Air (1934)
34/12/23 Bright Eyes (1934)
34/12/30 Little Minister, The (1934)
35/01/13 Evergreen (1934)
35/01/20 Romance in Manhattan (1934)
35/01/27 Iron Duke, The (1935)
35/02/03 Good Fairy, The (1935)
35/02/10 Scarlet Pimpernel, The (1935)
35/02/24 ONE MORE SPRING
35/03/03 Whole Town’s Talking, The (1935)
35/03/10 Roberta (1935)
35/03/24 Little Colonel, The (1935)
35/04/07 Life Begins at Forty (1935)
35/04/14 Star of Midnight (1935)
35/04/21 Cardinal Richelieu (1935)
35/05/05 Scoundrel, The (1935)
35/05/12 Informer, The (1935)
35/05/19 Break of Hearts (1935)
35/05/26 ESCAPE ME NEVER
35/06/02 UNDER THE PAMPAS MOON
35/06/09 Our Little Girl (1935)
35/06/16 Becky Sharp (1935)
35/06/30 Love Me Forever (1935)
35/07/21 GINGER
35/07/28 She (1935)
35/08/04 Curly Top (1935)
35/08/11 Farmer Takes a Wife, The (1935)
35/08/18 Alice Adams (1935)
35/09/01 Top Hat (1935)
35/09/22 Steamboat ‘Round the Bend (1935)
35/09/29 She Married Her Boss (1935)
35/10/06 Return of Peter Grimm, The (1935)
35/10/13 Gay Deception, The (1935)
35/10/20 Metropolitan (1935)
35/10/27 FEATHER IN HER HAT, A
35/11/03 Three Musketeers, The (1935)
35/11/10 Peter Ibbetson (1935)
35/11/17 Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, The (1935)
35/11/24 Crime and …Punishment (1935)
35/12/01 I Dream Too Much (1935)
35/12/15 In Person (1935)
35/12/22 Littlest Rebel, The (1935)
35/12/29 Magnificent Obsession (1935)
36/01/12 Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
36/01/19 Strike Me Pink (1936)
36/02/02 Next Time We Love (1936)
36/02/09 Petrified Forest, The (1936)
36/02/23 Follow the Fleet (1936)
36/03/15 COUNTRY DOCTOR, THE
36/03/29 Sutter’s Gold (1936)
36/04/05 Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
36/04/19 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
36/05/03 Under Two Flags (1936)
36/05/17 Show Boat (1936)
36/05/31 King Steps Out, The (1936)
36/06/14 Private Number (1936)
36/06/21 SINS OF MAN
36/06/28 Poor Little Rich Girl (1936)
36/07/12 Bride Walks Out, The (1936)
36/07/19 Green Pastures, The (1936)
36/08/02 Mary of Scotland (1936)
36/08/23 MY AMERICAN WIFE
36/08/30 Swing Time (1936)
36/09/20 My Man Godfrey (1936)
36/10/04 Craig’s Wife (1936)
36/10/11 Gay Desperado, The (1936)
36/10/25 Adventure in Manhattan (1936)
36/11/01 Woman Rebels, A (1936)
36/11/08 As You Like It (1936)
36/11/15 Theodora Goes Wild (1936)
36/11/22 Garden of Allah, The (1936)
36/12/06 Winterset (1936)
36/12/13 More Than a Secretary (1936)
36/12/20 RAINBOW ON THE RIVER
37/01/03 That Girl from Paris (1936)
37/01/10 Lloyds of London (1936)
37/01/31 Plough and the Stars, The (1936)
37/02/07 On the Avenue (1937)
37/02/21 When You’re in Love (1937)
37/03/07 Fire Over England (1937)
37/03/14 Wings of the Morning (1937)
37/03/21 When’s Your Birthday? (1937)
37/03/28 Seventh Heaven (1937)
37/04/11 Quality Street (1937)
37/04/18 WOMAN I LOVE, THE
37/04/25 Star Is Born, A (1937)
37/05/16 Shall We Dance (1937)
37/05/30 This Is My Affair (1937)
37/06/13 Woman Chases Man (1937)
37/06/20 Another Dawn (1937)
37/06/27 Ever Since Eve (1937)
37/07/04 New Faces of 1937 (1937)
37/07/11 Knight Without Armour (1937)
37/07/25 Toast of New York, The (1937)
37/08/08 Stella Dallas (1937)
37/08/22 Vogues of 1938 (1937)
37/09/05 Prisoner of Zenda, The (1937)
37/09/26 Lost Horizon (1937)
37/10/10 Stage Door (1937)
37/10/31 Victoria the Great (1937)
37/11/07 Awful Truth, The (1937)
37/11/21 Stand-In (1937)
37/11/28 Nothing Sacred (1937)
37/12/19 I’ll Take Romance (1937)
38/01/02 Tovarich (1937)
38/01/16 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
38/02/20 Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The (1938)
38/03/06 Bringing Up Baby (1938)
38/03/13 Jezebel (1938)
38/03/27 Fools for Scandal (1938)
38/04/03 Divorce of Lady X, The (1938)
38/04/10 Adventures of Marco Polo, The (1938)
38/05/01 There’s Always a Woman (1938)
38/05/08 Joy of Living (1938)
38/05/15 Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938)
38/06/05 Vivacious Lady (1938)
38/06/19 Blockade (1938)
38/06/26 Holiday (1938)
38/07/10 Having Wonderful Time (1938)
38/07/17 Algiers (1938)
38/08/07 Mother Carey’s Chickens (1938)
38/08/14 Four’s a Crowd (1938)
38/08/21 Four Daughters (1938)
38/09/04 You Can’t Take It With You (1938)
38/09/25 Carefree (1938)
38/10/02 Drums (1938)
38/10/16 There Goes My Heart (1938)
38/10/23 Mad Miss Manton, The (1938)
38/10/30 Young Dr. Kildare (1938)
38/11/06 Young in Heart, The (1938)
38/11/20 Sixty Glorious Years (1938)
38/11/27 Cowboy and the Lady, The (1938)
38/12/11 Dramatic School (1938)
38/12/18 Duke of West Point, The (1938)
38/12/25 Christmas Carol, A (1938)
39/01/01 Topper Takes a Trip (1939)
39/01/08 THERE’S THAT WOMAN AGAIN
39/01/15 Trade Winds (1938)
39/01/22 Great Man Votes, The (1939)
39/01/29 Gunga Din (1939)
39/02/19 Made For Each Other (1939)
39/03/05 Stagecoach (1939)
39/03/19 Love Affair (1939)
39/04/02 Story of Vernon & Irene Castle, The (1939)
39/04/23 Dark Victory (1939)
39/05/07 East Side of Heaven (1939)
39/05/14 Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
39/05/28 Captain Fury (1939)
39/06/11 Sun Never Sets, The (1939)
39/06/18 CLOUDS OVER EUROPE
39/06/25 Good Girls Go to Paris (1939)
39/07/02 Bachelor Mother (1939)
39/07/16 Man in the Iron Mask, The (1939)
39/07/30 Winter Carnival (1939)
39/08/06 In Name Only (1939)
39/08/27 5th Ave. Girl (1939)
39/09/10 Golden Boy (1939)
39/09/24 Nurse Edith Cavell (1939)
39/10/08 Intermezzo (1939)
39/10/22 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
39/11/12 Ninotchka (1939)
39/12/03 We Are Not Alone (1939)
39/12/17 Balalaika (1939)
39/12/31 Hunchback of Notre Dame, The (1939)
1970 Radio City prices were $1.50-$3.50 and considered a bargain even then, even if much of the audience travelled in from the burbs.
The 1970 article mentions “the sanctum” of Gus Eyssell, President of Rockefeller Inc., as the source, citing the rising costs of live shows and the lack of popular G and GP films. It also states that RCMH needs to sell 6 million tickets a year in order to stay to in business but had been operating at just over 5 million.
For those of you so inclined, the July 15, 1970 issue of Variety,(Music Hall has Mulled Twins) covers the possibilty that Radio City may have been twinned with one screen showing R rated “now” films.
Whew!
Thanks, Mike. Do you know if the Bay Harbor is still there?
For a short time in the late sixties-early seventies this became the Rialto West, the basement theatre continued as the Rialto II, and the Pix became the Rialto East. All three played soft-core films.
Cineplex Odeon indeed never used the basement theatre due to subway noise and the trouble they already had securing first-run product for this venue. UNCLE BUCK and a 70mm move-over of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA from the Ziegfeld were among it’s biggest hits.