Loew's Willard Theatre

96-01 Jamaica Avenue,
Woodhaven, NY 11421

Unfavorite 6 people favorited this theater

Showing 26 - 50 of 88 comments

AntonyRoma
AntonyRoma on October 1, 2007 at 3:29 pm

R. Thomas Short, was he a local guy from Long Island, where all the ‘classic’ theaters he designed are located?

Shalom, ciao, and excelsior

PKoch
PKoch on June 18, 2007 at 5:12 pm

Thanks, Warren. Hopefully, competition, in line with the American Way, made both theaters better.

PKoch
PKoch on June 12, 2007 at 10:05 pm

Thanks, Warren.

PKoch
PKoch on October 16, 2006 at 6:44 pm

Thanks, Warren. Interesting, in that the Willard was neither in Richmond Hill nor Kew Gardens, but in Woodhaven.

PKoch
PKoch on October 16, 2006 at 3:44 pm

Thanks, Warren. What newspaper was that from ?

EdSolero, I’ve grown tired of flame wars.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on September 3, 2006 at 2:05 am

Things have certainly gotten a might less interesting around here… and I don’t just mean the fact that the flame wars have been doused.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim on September 2, 2006 at 3:29 pm

All Queens movie theaters' “Star Wars” victims, robbie. :(

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on August 25, 2006 at 10:29 am

I’m impressed ‘Tonino! And I have no intention of engaging in any flame wars either. Every once in a while, I try to referee a point of consideration for both sides, but I think I might hang that up as well for now.

AntonyRoma
AntonyRoma on August 25, 2006 at 1:25 am

EdSolero: I enjoyed your comment. I too am apt to go off-topic, but it’s mostly nostalgic recollections of my theaters in the hope of finding kindred spirits if not long lost friends. I have differnt recollections of my “favorites” list which I have described in their sections. I believe I saw most of the movies ever made from the ‘40s through the early '60s. As well as many made in the '30s which I saw in “re-runs” at the Acme or Belvedere, where I spent a few summers. I don’t consider myself a movie or theater expert to the extent some on this list are.

You made a good suggestion regarding deselecting the notification button on the Ridgewood page.

LM’s tongue in cheek remark about ‘Plaster’ was lost on me. It did however remind me of something my Industrial Design instructor at Brooklyn Tech had us memorize: “Portland cement is the product obtained by calcining to incipient fusion intimate and properly proportioned mixtures of argillaceous and calcareous materials without the subsequent addition of anything except water and calcined or uncalcined gypsum.” And that is from memory.!!! Not a copy and paste job.

And I won’t engage in flame wars.

Shalom, ciao, and excelsior.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on August 24, 2006 at 11:41 am

‘Tonino… I definitely see your point. But it’s an impossible thing to contain. I try to exercise a modicum of self control, but you can’t always rely on that. And I’m the first to admit that I am guilty of getting caught up in OT discussions from time to time. Unless CT management is going to administer some sort of editorial control – and I perceive that as being unlikely – I think we’re all going to have to accept OT threads as inevitability. The thing is, I think we may have now taken up just as much bandwidth arguing about OT ramblings as the OT threads have themselves!

I’ve turned off my notification on the Ridgewood page, opting to check in from time to time and see what’s going on 0- particularly since the theater’s CT number (4021) is now permanently imbedded in my memory.

Personally, I’d love to see a forum page here on CT where folks can take those threads that veer completely off course (i.e. the deep discussions of sci-fi flicks and movie quizzes and stuff like that), but some of the waxing nostalgic about movies seen at a particular theater or related neighborhood memories SHOULD be a part of the theater page. Such recollection can often provide social context and give folks from other parts of the country or world something human and emotional to which they may be able to relate on a personal level. That’s the stuff you miss when all you concern yourself with are dates and statistical figures. But I do agree, when it comes to “Hey, did you know so-and-so from Jr. High”, perhaps its time to take the conversation to email. Unfortunately, to have one, you have to have a tolerance for the other. If not, this becomes a dry scholarly site for research only and would read like a text book. And who the hell wants to read a text book? I think that was the whole point of Lost Memory’s tongue-in-cheek dissertation on plaster. Am I the only one who “got” that joke?

Signing off on the topic now… Your resident moderate.

AntonyRoma
AntonyRoma on August 24, 2006 at 10:15 am

Voluminous tangential threads don’t belong on this site because it clutters the users' mail box with dozens of unwanted posts in a day. The feature where users are advised when a post has been received in a theater of interest is great for its intended use but is meaningless in the presence of off-topic replies. This happens too frequently in the Ridgewood section.

CSI: NY, get a life. You appear to be a real movie and theater afficiondo, but your inflammatory posts, constant bitching, and dissertations on Plaster are a nuisance to most users.

PKoch
PKoch on August 23, 2006 at 1:26 pm

Well-said, robbie dupree and EdSolero. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on August 23, 2006 at 1:15 pm

Well said Robbie… I’ve been saying the same thing for a while now. There’s room for it all… until and unless the site’s creators address the membership directly and let us know that voluminous tangential threads are crashing the server and threatening the future of CT. I think we’d have heard long ago if that were the case.

robbiedupree
robbiedupree on August 23, 2006 at 5:36 am

Point of View- I know little or nothing about the history or technical information about movie theatres. I come to this wonderful site to learn, and more importantly, to share memories. The movie theatres of my youth are all gone. Also gone are buildings like The Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field , old Madison Square Garden and countless other treasures . No matter how grand they were, they were only buildings, and buildings get torn down. What keeps them alive is the dialogue that takes place between us. We are the ones who bring them back to life. We are the ones who lived it. This site may have begun with the goal of collecting technical data on theatres, but it has evolved into much more than it’s creators could have imagined. True, sometimes we ramble on- but I have seen how this connection has brought great joy to many, who without Cinema Treasures, would have lost touch with the wonder of their youth- much of which was spent at the movies.There is room here for it all .
Robbie

mikemorano
mikemorano on August 18, 2006 at 10:00 pm

Count me in fellas. I am fed up with crank case myself. I will help to take the fight to crank case. BrooklynJim your mathematical skills astound me. I agree that it is hardly worth getting anyone’s BVD’s, panties, thong or perhaps pamper’s into a knot. Power to the people. Let’s talk movies. I hope that no one cheated on the Tor Johnson test. ‘fess up. haha

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on August 18, 2006 at 9:47 pm

Ha. I got 4 of 5 on the Tor Trivia. A very humorous – and obviously loving – tribute site.

I really wish I had a virtual bucket of cold water to splash on the heated battle currently raging in CT land. I don’t plan on engaging in any sparring here. However, I have no intentions of curbing myself from making contributions to this site in any manner I see fit – whether it be posting a movie ad, sharing a photo, recalling a fond memory pertaining to a particular theater or – yes – making a jovial comment in the course of a friendly and casual off topic thread.

“Don’t mind Lobo, he’s as harmless as a kitten."
"Pull the string! Pull the string!”

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim on August 18, 2006 at 7:58 pm

Ridgewood, RKO Madison, Willard and any 3 of your choice where roaches breed and bilge gets sumped ‘n’ pumped. LOL!

PKoch
PKoch on August 18, 2006 at 7:48 pm

You’re welcome, Lost Memory. And thank YOU !

BklynJim, 6 / 14,300 = 0.0004196 = 0.04196 %, which is 4.2 percent of a percent. I agree, hardly worth getting anyone’s BVD’s, panties, thong or otherwise, into a knot.

Just for chuckles, what six theaters are those ?

“It’s my hope …” Yes, mine, too, and I couldn’t agree with you more !

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim on August 18, 2006 at 7:42 pm

Got 100%, mikemovies, but with a brief explanation: 2 I had known; 2 I knew because of discussions on CT; and 1 lucky guess (#3). Have already shared your URL with some Tor aficianados. Good catch! THX!

Speaking of sites and percentages, I’ll just throw this out as a math problem in perspective. The CT website boasts the listing of over 14,300 theaters. 6 are railed at for being having members considered to be OT: movie or actor discussions, and to a lesser extent, neighorhood friends and memories. Dividing the number of listings into the “bilge group” yields 0.0004195%, hardly worth getting anyone’s BVDs – or panties – into a knot.

It’s my hope that we can all try to understand that most members bring a little different expertise, knowledge, personality and even humorous and human viewpoints onto a pretty unique site, itself a treasure.

PKoch
PKoch on August 18, 2006 at 5:09 pm

I got 4 out of 5 correct on the Tor trivia test. Better than I thought I would do. Thanks, mikemovies.

Lost Memory, rather than guess, I will let Warren speak for himself.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on August 18, 2006 at 5:09 pm

Don’t ask me, I’m guilty of both offenses!

mikemorano
mikemorano on August 17, 2006 at 4:22 pm

I found a website for Tor Johnson BrooklynJim. Try the trivia test. Very easy. Perhaps PKoch would like to try also. See who gets the best score.
http://www.lethargiclad.com/tor/

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim on August 16, 2006 at 9:45 pm

whew!

An admirable job, mikemovies, on that Tor Johnson list. I sincerely thank you for your efforts (which, BTW, did not look sloppy at all). We can always refer folks over here if they need any TJ info.

“A sure sign of insanity is to do the same thing twice and expect different results.” – Anon./Unk.

mikemorano
mikemorano on August 15, 2006 at 9:18 pm

It looks kind of messy but I don’t know why.

mikemorano
mikemorano on August 15, 2006 at 9:18 pm

This is what I could find for Tor Johnson on IMDB BrooklynJim.

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) …. Joseph Javorsky/The Beast
… aka Girl Madness (USA: reissue title)
… aka The Atomic Monster: The Beast of Yucca Flats
“Bonanza”
… aka Ponderosa (USA: rerun title)
– San Francisco Holiday (1960) TV Episode …. Busthead Brannigan
“Peter Gunn”
– See No Evil (1960) TV Episode …. Bruno

“Adventures in Paradise”
– The Lady from South Chicago (1959) TV Episode
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) …. Insp. Dan Clay
Night of the Ghouls (1959) …. Lobo
… aka Revenge of the Dead
The Unearthly (1957) …. Lobo
Journey to Freedom (1957)
“The Adventures of Hiram Holliday”
… aka Hiram Holliday
– Dancing Mouse (1956) TV Episode (as Thor Johnson) …. Strongman
The Black Sleep (1956) …. Mr. Curry
… aka Dr. Cadman’s Secret (USA: reissue title)
Carousel (1956) (uncredited) …. Strong Man
… aka Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel (USA: complete title)
The Magnetic Moon (1956) (TV) …. Naboro
You’re Never Too Young (1955) (unconfirmed)
Bride of the Monster (1955) …. Lobo
… aka Bride of the Atom
“Rocky Jones, Space Ranger”
… aka Silver Needle in the Sky (USA: reissue title)
– Inferno from Space (1954) TV Episode …. Naboro
“General Electric Theater”
… aka G.E. Theater (USA: informal short title)
– To Lift a Feather (1954) TV Episode …. Bald-headed Man
Houdini (1953) (uncredited) …. Strong man
Lady in the Iron Mask (1952)
The San Francisco Story (1952) …. Buck
Angels in the Outfield (1951) (uncredited) …. Wrestler on TV
… aka Angels and the Pirates (UK)
Dear Brat (1951) (uncredited)
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) …. Super Swedish Angel (wrestler)
The Reformer and the Redhead (1950) (uncredited) …. Guest at Finnish-American Rally
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) …. Abou Ben
… aka Foreign Legion (USA: short title)

Alias the Champ (1949) (as Super Swedish Angel) …. Super Swedish Angel
Behind Locked Doors (1948) (uncredited) …. ‘The Champ’, a patient
… aka Hinter verschlossenen Türen
… aka The Human Gorilla (USA: reissue title)
State of the Union (1948) (uncredited) …. Wrestler
… aka The World and His Wife (UK)
Road to Rio (1947) (uncredited) …. Samson
Sudan (1945) (uncredited) …. Slaver
Lost in a Harem (1944) (uncredited) …. Majordomo
The Canterville Ghost (1944) (uncredited) …. Bold Sir Guy
Ghost Catchers (1944) (uncredited) …. Mug
Swing Out the Blues (1943) …. Weightlifter
The Meanest Man in the World (1943) …. Vladimir Pulasky
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) (uncredited) …. Jack the Ripper

Under Two Flags (1936) (uncredited) …. Bidou
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935) (uncredited) …. Tosoff (the wrestler)
… aka The Memory Expert (UK)
Kid Millions (1934) (uncredited) …. Torturer
Registered Nurse (1934) (uncredited) …. Sonnevich