Savoy Theatre
152-04 Jamaica Avenue,
Jamaica,
NY
11433
152-04 Jamaica Avenue,
Jamaica,
NY
11433
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Showing 26 - 40 of 40 comments
One correction on the triple bill—the Jody McCrea western was THE BROKEN LAND, with a young Jack Nicholson.
This thread still has a life. Very cool. Those Steve Reeve’s “Hercules” movies really stuck in my head for some reason. —Lee
Curious—did you find that 1958 listing in the Long Island Press? Saw scores of movies at the Savoy in the 60s but don’t remember too many of the exact double bills. One choice one I do recall was
-Sam Fuller’s HOUSE OF BAMBOO
-THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN’T DIE
-THE SAVAGE LAND (western with, I believe, Jody McCrea)
That would have been around ‘63.
Another, odder one:
-1931’s PUBLIC ENEMY
-Same year’s LITTLE CAESAR
-THE BRAIN EATERS (1958 B sci-fi)
That was in 1960
The Savoy was fun indeed!
On 4/28/58 the Savoy was advertising the last day for the triple feature of
1- Jack Palance in “House of Numbers” in Cinemascope
2- Victor Mature in “Chief Crazy Horse” in Cinemascope
3- “Voodoo Woman” with an all star cast
This must have been a damn fun place to go :)
Thanks Warren for the explanation, That may be what it was because I only witnessed it once. However, I did run into a young projectionist at Fort Dix who had worked at the Savoy and he gave me an explanation, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was.
Unfortunately, that was some 41 years ago and I don’t have total recall.
Are there any projectionists out there who worked at the Savoy in the mid 50’s? Was there anything odd about the projection system at this theater?
The reason that I am asking is that I once got to the theater before the first show. The lights dimmed, the curtain opened and the picture appeared on a screen, which seemed to be at the back of the stage and then moved closer to the audience and the front of the stage. Does anyone else recall this and why it was done this way?
Didn’t frequent bars in my pre-teen years. ;O)
Was the corner bar called Taps?
jkane
What about that other old church on the other side of the street with the graveyard out in front of it just down the street for Sutphin Blvd? Still there? —-L
My dad closed the store sometime in the 70’s. He was there for 12 years, previously with Steinway $ Sons. I still can smell the popcorn, and feel the sticky floors on the sole of my sneakers at the Savoy. I remember a huge church nearby that was set back like 300 feet from the street. Furniture store next door. Bar on the corner that the owner was shot in a robbery. Also, King’s mansion across the street with those big cannons were cool. Memories are sweet but get elusive as the years go by and most folks don’t seem to give a shit anyway, Very sad and probably happens with every generation. See what a Google search can do? Get me all depressed! LOL CYA!!!!
Excellent—seem to remember that piano store. Any idea when the Savoy closed for good?
The Valencia did become a church for sure, don’t know if it’s still there.
JKane
The Valencia theatre is a now a church I believe, and has not been “murdered”. ;o)
My dad owned the piano store next door in the 60’s-70’s. He was friends with the manager/owner of the Savoy, Mr. Levy, which got us free movies, popcorn, hot dogs and cokes…..and Steve Reeves in “Hercules”, etc. Go ahead…beat that! —-Lee
Very interesting to hear comments and info about the Savoy, where I received the bulk of my early film education as a teen starting in 1960 and continuing through that decade. I did a memoir/short story centering on the Savoy in my book The Phantom of the Movies' VideoScope (Three Rivers Press/Random House, videoscopemag.com). I once ran into the indie distributor Joseph Brenner, who told me he used to supply the Savoy with films booked by the theater’s very creative movie-buff manager (whose name, unfortunately, I didn’t get). The Savoy also used to have elaborate coming attractions pamphlets in the lobby—extremely cool!
On a recent walk on Jamaica from 145th to the old Valencia, I noticed a building on the Southside of Jamaica whose facade looked a movie theater and was now used for retail. Was this the old Savoy? (I vaguely remember driving past it as a child and seeing it wide white plastic and neon-lit marquee.) Also diagonally across Jamaica from the Valencia is a now-covered marquee that advertizes the discount store it fronts. Was this once a theater? And if so, what was its name?