This was not the Fillmore East (also known as The Saint) although that location was also pegged to be a Cineplex Odeon multiplex at one time. That location was further south on second avenue near the Hell’s Angels headquarters.
The local authorities' reluctance to allow a second avenue entrance and the financial problems of CPO delayed the once active project until it died.
In its early days the Beekman failed to secure many first runs since the upper east side was not yet established as the best place to open a new film.
The BEEKMAN did not become an established “sure-seater†(the name for specialty arthouses then) until over six years later when Jules Dassin’s HE WHO MUST DIE became a five month hit forever establishing the BEEKMAN as a first-run of choice.
Below are the programs of the fifties and sixties. Further to the titles below, THE SORROW AND THE PITY was a highlight in March 1972.
In February 1974 The BEEKMAN joined Cinema One, Paris, Plaza and the Paramount (Columbus Circle) in THE EXORCIST run.
Although the BEEKMAN never showed ANNIE HALL first run (that distinction goes to the Baronet, Little Carnegie and 34th St. East) it did join the LOVE AND DEATH in June 1975, also at the Sutton and Paramount.
04/25/52 NEVER TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER
07/18/52 FRANCHISE AFFAIR
07/25/52 EDWARD AND CAROLINE
08/01/52 DIPLOMATIC COURIER
08/08/52 LAUGHTER IN PARADISE
08/15/52 THE CLOUDED YELLOW
08/22/52 CITY LIGHTS/ ROYAL JOURNEY
08/29/52 THE ADVENTURESS
09/05/52 LAST HOLIDAY
09/12/52 WAYS OF LOVE
09/19/52 THE QUEEN OF SPADES
09/26/52 LAST HOLIDAY
10/03/52 THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
10/10/52 DEAD OF NIGHT
10/17/52 ON APPROVAL
10/24/52 BLACK NARCISSUS/I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING
10/31/52 THE BERLINER
11/21/52 UNDER THE RED SEA
01/09/53 CASTLE IN THE AIR
01/30/53 WHEREVER SHE GOES
02/06/53 A RUN FOR YOUR MONEY /GIGI (1948)
02/13/53 MALTESE FALCON/ BRIEF ENCOUNTER
02/20/53 MARIKA
03/13/53 GLORY AT SEA
03/27/53 THE STORY OF MANDY
04/03/53 THE RED SHOES/ ROYAL JOURNEY
04/10/53 WHITE CORRIDORS/CURTAIN UP
04/17/53 THE SUSPECT/ LADY PANAME
04/24/53 ROAD TO BALI
05/01/53 GREEN FOR DANGER/ NOTORIOUS GENTLEMAN
05/08/53 DULCIMER STREET/ JENNY L'AMOUR
05/15/53 ANNA
05/22/53 THE MAGIC BOX/ ANOTHER SHORE
05/29/53 THE STAR/ TAXI
06/05/53 COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA
06/12/53 KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS/QUARTET
06/19/53 DOUBLE CONFESSION/MURDER WITHOUT CRIME
06/26/53 MISS ROBIN HOOD
07/10/53 MOULIN ROUGE
07/17/53 LAST HOLIDAY/ LAUGHTER IN PARADISE
07/24/53 DEAD OF NIGHT/ HIDDEN ROOM
07/31/53 THE LONG MEMORY
08/14/53 MASK OF THE HIMALAYAS
08/21/53 ON THE RIVIERA/ HERE COMES MR. JORDAN
08/28/53 MLLE. DESIREE
09/04/53 DESPERATE MOMENT
09/25/53 FAN FAN THE TULIP
10/02/53 MAN ON A TIGHTROPE/ PRESIDENT’S LADY
10/09/53 THE BAND WAGON
10/16/53 THE QUIET MAN
10/23/53 GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES
10/30/53 ROME AT 11 O'CLOCK/ AFFAIR IN MONTE CARLO
11/06/53 ROMAN HOLIDAY
11/13/53 THE PASSIONATE SENTRY
11/20/53 THE MOON IS BLUE
11/27/53 STALAG 17
12/04/53 MOGAMBO
12/18/53 DREAM WIFE
12/25/53 THE 39 STEPS
1954- 58 SUB-RUN FEATURES
12/26/58 HE WHO MUST DIE
05/29/59 OF LOVE AND LUST
06/26/59 WILD STRAWBERRIES
11/27/59 THE COUSINS
01/22/60 ROSEMARY
07/08/60 THE SUBTERRANEANS
08/05/60 SONS AND LOVERS
10/14/60 THE FLUTE AND THE ARROW
10/28/60 CONFESS, DR. CORDOBA
11/18/60 THE VIRGIN SPRING
02/10/61 THE FACTS OF LIFE
04/07/61 L'AVVENTURA
06/30/61 ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS
11/03/61 THE DEVIL’S EYE
12/15/61 LA DOLCE VITA
03/16/62 THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
06/08/62 HAROLD LLOYD’S WORLD OF COMEDY
07/27/62 THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY
09/28/62 A VERY PRIVATE AFFAIR
11/02/62 BOCCACCIO ‘70
11/16/62 TRIAL AND ERROR
12/21/62 ELECTRA
03/22/63 FOUR DAYS OF NAPLES
05/17/63 WINTER LIGHT
06/28/63 MURDER AT THE GALLOP
09/20/63 THE SUITOR
11/01/63 KNIFE IN THE WATER
12/20/63 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
01/17/64 POINT OF ORDER!
03/06/64 DOULOS, THE FINGER MAN
03/27/64 THE GIVEN WORD
04/10/64 ADORABLE JULIA
04/24/64 LILIES OF THE FIELD/ THE L-SHAPED ROOM
05/01/64 OF STARS AND MEN
05/15/64 SOUTH PACIFIC
05/29/64 RING OF TREASON
06/26/64 THE TROUBLEMAKER
07/17/64 THE BEST MAN/ THE PINK PANTHER
07/31/64 MAFIOSO
08/21/64 MAJOR BARBARA/ TWELFTH NIGHT
08/28/64 TOM JONES/ LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER
09/04/64 BECKET
11/13/64 THE FINEST HOURS
12/25/64 THE GUNS OF AUGUST
01/22/65 ANDY
02/05/65 THE GIRL WITH GREEN EYES/ THE MAN FROM RIO
02/12/65 RED DESERT
04/16/65 FUNNY FACE/ AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
04/23/65 THE PAWNBROKER
07/23/65 CASANOVA '70
10/08/65 BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING
10/29/65 KING RAT
11/19/65 LAUREL AND HARDY’S LAUGHING 20'S
12/17/65 A PATCH OF BLUE
02/25/66 PROMISE HER ANYTHING
03/18/66 BAND OF OUTSIDERS
03/25/66 THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES
04/08/66 THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS
05/06/66 SHE DONE HIM WRONG/ I’M NO ANGEL
05/20/66 LADY L
08/12/66 GIGI
10/14/66 MISTER BUDDWING
10/28/66 THE LIQUIDATOR
11/18/66 TOKYO OLYMPIAD
12/02/66 THE SHAMELESS OLD LADY
12/16/66 THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM
02/03/67 LA GUERRE EST FINIE
03/10/67 BLOW-UP
06/30/67 THE FAMILY WAY
09/01/67 TO SIR, WITH LOVE
10/06/67 THE PENTHOUSE
11/03/67 THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
12/15/67 GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
02/09/68 ULYSSES
02/23/68 THE TWO OF US
06/28/68 A MAN WITH THE BALLOONS
07/26/68 YOUNG TORLESS
08/23/68 HUGS AND KISSES
09/13/68 DEADFALL
09/27/68 THE PRODUCERS
10/18/68 RACHEL, RACHEL
12/20/68 THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE
03/28/69 ASSASSINATION BUREAU
04/23/69 LOLA MONTES
05/28/69 THOSE DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR JAUNTY JALOPIES
06/18/69 THE MALTESE BIPPY
07/02/69 BLOW-UP/ DARLING
07/16/69 EASY RIDER
12/10/69 Z
07/01/70 TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON
08/12/70 DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE
12/09/70 THE CONFESSION
I have a pesonal subscription through Proquest that gives me access to all New York Times from the late 1800’s to about two years ago but I pay over $6000 yearly for it. You can do this but it costs quite a bit as you can see. The pages are trademarked but I can access a specific request if you want me to.
Casablanca was a Thanksgiving release that played at the Hollywood for ten weeks going right through Christmas and New Year and then moving to the Strand for another five weeks. Even at that, five weeks was a long run for the Strand though the Hollywood generally held movies for much longer.
The Roosevelt was once home to the “Quintaphonic Sound” release of LADIES & GENTLEMEN THE ROLLING STONES. The managers at the time invented the gimmick and it seemed to work. I also saw the film version of OH! CALCUTTA here.
During the late 60s and 70s it was a first sub-run double feature house and had some great shows. The Miami Herald ad always announced the following week’s shows so you could plan ahead. WAIT UNTIL DARK and COOL HAND LUKE was one memorable double.
The Patio Theatre was added behind this site in 1970 with a separate entrance and opened with LOVERS & OTHER STRANGERS. The larger 163rd Street screen was later twinned and the three screens were marketed as a triple.
“Mediterranean Holiday” was a Walter Reade attempt to cash in on the Cinerama craze. It was indeed a travelogue flop which may explain the continuous showings.
Cineplex Odeon expected to go back into this site with a new sixplex as per their contract but settled out of court after the World Wide deal was signed.
Your photo has thrown me into time travel mode like no sci-fi movie ever could. Having “dealt” with Kenmore for many years in the nasty eighties I knew it had a grand past but one single image and the eighties are now gone. This one familiar, yet foreign, image means all the world to me. Thank you and Cinema Treasures for bringing this bullet holed crackhouse back to life. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
Anyone who has worked in the New York film industry can tell you that theatre managers have little control over the Union Projectionists. Diligent, hardworking and proud are words I can associate with many projectionists I have met around the world. Those words do not apply in New York where only a handful would qualify. The majority of New York projectionists behave like civil servants with jobs for life.
Perhaps the kid behind the counter can bring a little pride back to the job as he could actually get fired for not giving a damn.
Only in New York do theatres fail to open when it rains or snows because the projectionist won’t come to work. A living wage requires minimal standards. Local 306 demands professional wages for amateur work.
The lesson for the IFC Waverly is not to repeat Cineplex Odeon’s mistakes and corner themselves into incompetence overhead and lazy programming. They have already addressed the other issues.
Running a projector is not nuclear science and I am sure they will pay some conscientious NYU film student of their own choosing a fair rate.
I love the Waverly and this site and I feel this forum is perfect for this discussion. If we deny that poor presentation, mainstream movies, shabby seating and bully unions closed the Waverly last time, we will lose it again. Cross the picket line and support the Waverly. The local leftists may be idealist but we are not stupid. We demand excellence and reasonable prices, not crap presentations and obsolete unions.
The projectionists at the former Cineplex Odeon Waverly were always late, incompetent, overpaid and could care less about the theatre. Hurrah to the IFC for confronting the dinosaur bullies from local 306. New York movie-goers have experienced the worse projection in the Northeast for too many years. Maybe the IFC will pioneer the first good presentation in the village. Poor standards, closed shop, defending incompetence, and demanding unrealistic wages is what Local 306 brings to th etable. I hope AMC tosses them out as well and hires people who have to do their job right unstead of hide behind a union contract because they can’t be bothered. As a Union supporter I feel Local 306 is an example of why Unions get a bad rap. I will happily cross this picket line.
barrygriffin, I suspect they are probably still there as Cineplex Odeon was quite un-interested in the prints. The Toronto office was dismissive of Sterling which was still operating as a service to schools and universities. I don’t know who owns these film rights today but there were some 35mm prints of high profile titles such as ROOM AT THE TOP and TEOREMA.
This was the ABC Florida State Theatres BOULEVARD in the sixties often playing move-over runs of roadshow hits at regular prices. ABC operated it very much as a family venue. ASthe neighborhood deteriorated it became part of Leroy Griffith’s porn PUSSYCAT theatre chain. I believe the KITTY KAT was added later as the main house played DEEP THROAT for years. The Wometco Rosetta on Second Avenue faced a similar fate.
The 162 seat Evergreen started showing movies in early 1968 with FINNEGAN’S WAKE as an outlet for Grove Press Releases. It had previously run plays as the Renata. Its claim to fame was the opening of I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW) along with Cinema Rendezvous and it offered mail order reserved seats. The film played on and off for over a year. By 1970 Grove Press also moved into the Bleecker Street and temporarily renamed that the Evergreen Bleecker as well. It was caught up in a three cinema obscenity trial for showing the film CENSORSHIP IN DENMARK and by 1971 had reverted to live shows.
Don’t mistake full seats at discounted prices as profit. The Worldwide’s high rent killed any chance at profit. It was bad deal that should never have been made. It went subrun when the other Times Square theaters refused to play day and date. When it dated the same film as the National it did around 10% of the business and it took that from the National hence the discount attempt. Staffing costs and a sometimes violent crowd did not help matters. I understand the AMC Empire loses money as well.
Cineplex Odeon destroyed this cinema’s image by playing dumb mainstream comedies and move-over films instead of the specialised art films that worked so well. On films such as CROSSING DELANCEY and MY OWN PRTIVATE IDAHO that Plaza provided some of the highest grosses in the country.
Cineplex Odeon did eventually put a small concession stand in here near the end but it was the only in the circuit without postmix soft drinks. The popcorn was popped at the Plaza and brought over. Donald Trump wanted to use the area as a club and would not renew the lease.
The Cinema 3 was a primary outlet for German films for a while but that didn’t last. Cineplex Odeon booked it as a last run move-over house.
I have SONG OF NORWAY on VHS and it is painful watch. Its sort of like watching THE SOUND OF MUSIC scenery with polka tunes and no plot.
I have SONG OF NORWAY on VHS and it is painful watch. Its sort of like watching THE SOUND OF MUSIC scenery with polka tunes and no plot.
This was not the Fillmore East (also known as The Saint) although that location was also pegged to be a Cineplex Odeon multiplex at one time. That location was further south on second avenue near the Hell’s Angels headquarters.
The local authorities' reluctance to allow a second avenue entrance and the financial problems of CPO delayed the once active project until it died.
In its early days the Beekman failed to secure many first runs since the upper east side was not yet established as the best place to open a new film.
The BEEKMAN did not become an established “sure-seater†(the name for specialty arthouses then) until over six years later when Jules Dassin’s HE WHO MUST DIE became a five month hit forever establishing the BEEKMAN as a first-run of choice.
Below are the programs of the fifties and sixties. Further to the titles below, THE SORROW AND THE PITY was a highlight in March 1972.
In February 1974 The BEEKMAN joined Cinema One, Paris, Plaza and the Paramount (Columbus Circle) in THE EXORCIST run.
Although the BEEKMAN never showed ANNIE HALL first run (that distinction goes to the Baronet, Little Carnegie and 34th St. East) it did join the LOVE AND DEATH in June 1975, also at the Sutton and Paramount.
04/25/52 NEVER TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER
07/18/52 FRANCHISE AFFAIR
07/25/52 EDWARD AND CAROLINE
08/01/52 DIPLOMATIC COURIER
08/08/52 LAUGHTER IN PARADISE
08/15/52 THE CLOUDED YELLOW
08/22/52 CITY LIGHTS/ ROYAL JOURNEY
08/29/52 THE ADVENTURESS
09/05/52 LAST HOLIDAY
09/12/52 WAYS OF LOVE
09/19/52 THE QUEEN OF SPADES
09/26/52 LAST HOLIDAY
10/03/52 THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
10/10/52 DEAD OF NIGHT
10/17/52 ON APPROVAL
10/24/52 BLACK NARCISSUS/I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING
10/31/52 THE BERLINER
11/21/52 UNDER THE RED SEA
01/09/53 CASTLE IN THE AIR
01/30/53 WHEREVER SHE GOES
02/06/53 A RUN FOR YOUR MONEY /GIGI (1948)
02/13/53 MALTESE FALCON/ BRIEF ENCOUNTER
02/20/53 MARIKA
03/13/53 GLORY AT SEA
03/27/53 THE STORY OF MANDY
04/03/53 THE RED SHOES/ ROYAL JOURNEY
04/10/53 WHITE CORRIDORS/CURTAIN UP
04/17/53 THE SUSPECT/ LADY PANAME
04/24/53 ROAD TO BALI
05/01/53 GREEN FOR DANGER/ NOTORIOUS GENTLEMAN
05/08/53 DULCIMER STREET/ JENNY L'AMOUR
05/15/53 ANNA
05/22/53 THE MAGIC BOX/ ANOTHER SHORE
05/29/53 THE STAR/ TAXI
06/05/53 COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA
06/12/53 KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS/QUARTET
06/19/53 DOUBLE CONFESSION/MURDER WITHOUT CRIME
06/26/53 MISS ROBIN HOOD
07/10/53 MOULIN ROUGE
07/17/53 LAST HOLIDAY/ LAUGHTER IN PARADISE
07/24/53 DEAD OF NIGHT/ HIDDEN ROOM
07/31/53 THE LONG MEMORY
08/14/53 MASK OF THE HIMALAYAS
08/21/53 ON THE RIVIERA/ HERE COMES MR. JORDAN
08/28/53 MLLE. DESIREE
09/04/53 DESPERATE MOMENT
09/25/53 FAN FAN THE TULIP
10/02/53 MAN ON A TIGHTROPE/ PRESIDENT’S LADY
10/09/53 THE BAND WAGON
10/16/53 THE QUIET MAN
10/23/53 GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES
10/30/53 ROME AT 11 O'CLOCK/ AFFAIR IN MONTE CARLO
11/06/53 ROMAN HOLIDAY
11/13/53 THE PASSIONATE SENTRY
11/20/53 THE MOON IS BLUE
11/27/53 STALAG 17
12/04/53 MOGAMBO
12/18/53 DREAM WIFE
12/25/53 THE 39 STEPS
1954- 58 SUB-RUN FEATURES
12/26/58 HE WHO MUST DIE
05/29/59 OF LOVE AND LUST
06/26/59 WILD STRAWBERRIES
11/27/59 THE COUSINS
01/22/60 ROSEMARY
07/08/60 THE SUBTERRANEANS
08/05/60 SONS AND LOVERS
10/14/60 THE FLUTE AND THE ARROW
10/28/60 CONFESS, DR. CORDOBA
11/18/60 THE VIRGIN SPRING
02/10/61 THE FACTS OF LIFE
04/07/61 L'AVVENTURA
06/30/61 ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS
11/03/61 THE DEVIL’S EYE
12/15/61 LA DOLCE VITA
03/16/62 THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY
06/08/62 HAROLD LLOYD’S WORLD OF COMEDY
07/27/62 THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY
09/28/62 A VERY PRIVATE AFFAIR
11/02/62 BOCCACCIO ‘70
11/16/62 TRIAL AND ERROR
12/21/62 ELECTRA
03/22/63 FOUR DAYS OF NAPLES
05/17/63 WINTER LIGHT
06/28/63 MURDER AT THE GALLOP
09/20/63 THE SUITOR
11/01/63 KNIFE IN THE WATER
12/20/63 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
01/17/64 POINT OF ORDER!
03/06/64 DOULOS, THE FINGER MAN
03/27/64 THE GIVEN WORD
04/10/64 ADORABLE JULIA
04/24/64 LILIES OF THE FIELD/ THE L-SHAPED ROOM
05/01/64 OF STARS AND MEN
05/15/64 SOUTH PACIFIC
05/29/64 RING OF TREASON
06/26/64 THE TROUBLEMAKER
07/17/64 THE BEST MAN/ THE PINK PANTHER
07/31/64 MAFIOSO
08/21/64 MAJOR BARBARA/ TWELFTH NIGHT
08/28/64 TOM JONES/ LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER
09/04/64 BECKET
11/13/64 THE FINEST HOURS
12/25/64 THE GUNS OF AUGUST
01/22/65 ANDY
02/05/65 THE GIRL WITH GREEN EYES/ THE MAN FROM RIO
02/12/65 RED DESERT
04/16/65 FUNNY FACE/ AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
04/23/65 THE PAWNBROKER
07/23/65 CASANOVA '70
10/08/65 BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING
10/29/65 KING RAT
11/19/65 LAUREL AND HARDY’S LAUGHING 20'S
12/17/65 A PATCH OF BLUE
02/25/66 PROMISE HER ANYTHING
03/18/66 BAND OF OUTSIDERS
03/25/66 THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES
04/08/66 THE TROUBLE WITH ANGELS
05/06/66 SHE DONE HIM WRONG/ I’M NO ANGEL
05/20/66 LADY L
08/12/66 GIGI
10/14/66 MISTER BUDDWING
10/28/66 THE LIQUIDATOR
11/18/66 TOKYO OLYMPIAD
12/02/66 THE SHAMELESS OLD LADY
12/16/66 THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM
02/03/67 LA GUERRE EST FINIE
03/10/67 BLOW-UP
06/30/67 THE FAMILY WAY
09/01/67 TO SIR, WITH LOVE
10/06/67 THE PENTHOUSE
11/03/67 THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
12/15/67 GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
02/09/68 ULYSSES
02/23/68 THE TWO OF US
06/28/68 A MAN WITH THE BALLOONS
07/26/68 YOUNG TORLESS
08/23/68 HUGS AND KISSES
09/13/68 DEADFALL
09/27/68 THE PRODUCERS
10/18/68 RACHEL, RACHEL
12/20/68 THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE
03/28/69 ASSASSINATION BUREAU
04/23/69 LOLA MONTES
05/28/69 THOSE DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR JAUNTY JALOPIES
06/18/69 THE MALTESE BIPPY
07/02/69 BLOW-UP/ DARLING
07/16/69 EASY RIDER
12/10/69 Z
07/01/70 TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON
08/12/70 DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE
12/09/70 THE CONFESSION
Stepale2, it actually switched over the years (for whatever reason) closing as the Normandy in newspaper ads.
I have a pesonal subscription through Proquest that gives me access to all New York Times from the late 1800’s to about two years ago but I pay over $6000 yearly for it. You can do this but it costs quite a bit as you can see. The pages are trademarked but I can access a specific request if you want me to.
Casablanca was a Thanksgiving release that played at the Hollywood for ten weeks going right through Christmas and New Year and then moving to the Strand for another five weeks. Even at that, five weeks was a long run for the Strand though the Hollywood generally held movies for much longer.
This cinema was named Normandy in the seventies.
The Roosevelt was once home to the “Quintaphonic Sound” release of LADIES & GENTLEMEN THE ROLLING STONES. The managers at the time invented the gimmick and it seemed to work. I also saw the film version of OH! CALCUTTA here.
During the late 60s and 70s it was a first sub-run double feature house and had some great shows. The Miami Herald ad always announced the following week’s shows so you could plan ahead. WAIT UNTIL DARK and COOL HAND LUKE was one memorable double.
The Lauderhill was down the street from the “16th Street Lauderhill”, both operated by GCC after Loews sold them several Florida sites.
The Patio Theatre was added behind this site in 1970 with a separate entrance and opened with LOVERS & OTHER STRANGERS. The larger 163rd Street screen was later twinned and the three screens were marketed as a triple.
You can’t alway get what you want but if you try sometimes you get what you need.
Jennifer, I want quality projection at the Waverly. When did Local 306 ever supply that in the past?
“Mediterranean Holiday” was a Walter Reade attempt to cash in on the Cinerama craze. It was indeed a travelogue flop which may explain the continuous showings.
Cineplex Odeon expected to go back into this site with a new sixplex as per their contract but settled out of court after the World Wide deal was signed.
Thanks Warren.
Your photo has thrown me into time travel mode like no sci-fi movie ever could. Having “dealt” with Kenmore for many years in the nasty eighties I knew it had a grand past but one single image and the eighties are now gone. This one familiar, yet foreign, image means all the world to me. Thank you and Cinema Treasures for bringing this bullet holed crackhouse back to life. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
Anyone who has worked in the New York film industry can tell you that theatre managers have little control over the Union Projectionists. Diligent, hardworking and proud are words I can associate with many projectionists I have met around the world. Those words do not apply in New York where only a handful would qualify. The majority of New York projectionists behave like civil servants with jobs for life.
Perhaps the kid behind the counter can bring a little pride back to the job as he could actually get fired for not giving a damn.
Only in New York do theatres fail to open when it rains or snows because the projectionist won’t come to work. A living wage requires minimal standards. Local 306 demands professional wages for amateur work.
The lesson for the IFC Waverly is not to repeat Cineplex Odeon’s mistakes and corner themselves into incompetence overhead and lazy programming. They have already addressed the other issues.
Running a projector is not nuclear science and I am sure they will pay some conscientious NYU film student of their own choosing a fair rate.
I love the Waverly and this site and I feel this forum is perfect for this discussion. If we deny that poor presentation, mainstream movies, shabby seating and bully unions closed the Waverly last time, we will lose it again. Cross the picket line and support the Waverly. The local leftists may be idealist but we are not stupid. We demand excellence and reasonable prices, not crap presentations and obsolete unions.
The projectionists at the former Cineplex Odeon Waverly were always late, incompetent, overpaid and could care less about the theatre. Hurrah to the IFC for confronting the dinosaur bullies from local 306. New York movie-goers have experienced the worse projection in the Northeast for too many years. Maybe the IFC will pioneer the first good presentation in the village. Poor standards, closed shop, defending incompetence, and demanding unrealistic wages is what Local 306 brings to th etable. I hope AMC tosses them out as well and hires people who have to do their job right unstead of hide behind a union contract because they can’t be bothered. As a Union supporter I feel Local 306 is an example of why Unions get a bad rap. I will happily cross this picket line.
barrygriffin, I suspect they are probably still there as Cineplex Odeon was quite un-interested in the prints. The Toronto office was dismissive of Sterling which was still operating as a service to schools and universities. I don’t know who owns these film rights today but there were some 35mm prints of high profile titles such as ROOM AT THE TOP and TEOREMA.
Cineworld Yeovil opened in April 2002 and was designed by Unick Architects. It has 1897 seats and was the 26th in the British start-up chain.
This was the ABC Florida State Theatres BOULEVARD in the sixties often playing move-over runs of roadshow hits at regular prices. ABC operated it very much as a family venue. ASthe neighborhood deteriorated it became part of Leroy Griffith’s porn PUSSYCAT theatre chain. I believe the KITTY KAT was added later as the main house played DEEP THROAT for years. The Wometco Rosetta on Second Avenue faced a similar fate.
You are correct BR. It was early 1990. Cineplex was trying to save money after the Garth Drabinsky debacle and did not have to pay extra rent here.
The 162 seat Evergreen started showing movies in early 1968 with FINNEGAN’S WAKE as an outlet for Grove Press Releases. It had previously run plays as the Renata. Its claim to fame was the opening of I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW) along with Cinema Rendezvous and it offered mail order reserved seats. The film played on and off for over a year. By 1970 Grove Press also moved into the Bleecker Street and temporarily renamed that the Evergreen Bleecker as well. It was caught up in a three cinema obscenity trial for showing the film CENSORSHIP IN DENMARK and by 1971 had reverted to live shows.
Don’t mistake full seats at discounted prices as profit. The Worldwide’s high rent killed any chance at profit. It was bad deal that should never have been made. It went subrun when the other Times Square theaters refused to play day and date. When it dated the same film as the National it did around 10% of the business and it took that from the National hence the discount attempt. Staffing costs and a sometimes violent crowd did not help matters. I understand the AMC Empire loses money as well.
Cineplex Odeon destroyed this cinema’s image by playing dumb mainstream comedies and move-over films instead of the specialised art films that worked so well. On films such as CROSSING DELANCEY and MY OWN PRTIVATE IDAHO that Plaza provided some of the highest grosses in the country.
Cineplex Odeon did eventually put a small concession stand in here near the end but it was the only in the circuit without postmix soft drinks. The popcorn was popped at the Plaza and brought over. Donald Trump wanted to use the area as a club and would not renew the lease.
The Cinema 3 was a primary outlet for German films for a while but that didn’t last. Cineplex Odeon booked it as a last run move-over house.