The Cranford Theater was a few towns over from where I lived. I saw a few movies there but Alien is the only one I remember. A nice single theater that eventually went the way of the ‘split’.
The Westfield Cinema was like watching a movie on an airplane. Long theater, small screen. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Seven Beauties there in the mid 70’s.
The Rialto was in the next town over from where I lived. Saw many films there, The Sting, Earthquake, American Graffiti, Rollercoaster, Smokey and the Bandit and of course the big one, Jaws. Very nice old style theater with a balcony. The box office had a small cabinet where reserve tickets were stored when the reserve seat policy was in place, probably in the 30’s and 40’s. It wasn’t the same after they split it into a multiplex.
The Menlo Park Theater was the big one in central Jersey for the General Cinema Corporation. A beautiful theater with a nice contemporary look. I saw a few movies there (All the President’s Men, Shampoo, Harry and Walter Go to New York) but Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were the big ones. I sat in the fourth row on the first night of Star Wars, blown away by the opening scene.
I used to work nights in New York occasionally in the early 80’s and part of my job was to get dinner for the other workers at the company. (I had the least seniority) I used to walk down 49th street to Time Square to get the food and would pass by this theater. What was interesting to me was it seemed like a regular ‘legitimate’ theater, (clean, well maintained) not like the hole in the wall adult theaters on 42nd street. I remember one of Seka’s movies playing there for a while. (Inside Seka, Rockin’ with Seka, one of those films) It was several years later that I found out that it had been a ‘legit’ theater 20-30 years prior to that time.
I saw Oliver! there in 1969. We had to buy tickets in advance. I think they came in the mail, packed in a small envelope. I posted a picture of the marquee that my dad took on Good Friday, 1969.
I saw my first movie at the Brook, the 1960 (or 61) re-issue of Pinocchio. I remembered how big the screen was and how fancy the theater was. I was 5 years old.
The Cranford Theater was a few towns over from where I lived. I saw a few movies there but Alien is the only one I remember. A nice single theater that eventually went the way of the ‘split’.
The Westfield Cinema was like watching a movie on an airplane. Long theater, small screen. I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Seven Beauties there in the mid 70’s.
The Rialto was in the next town over from where I lived. Saw many films there, The Sting, Earthquake, American Graffiti, Rollercoaster, Smokey and the Bandit and of course the big one, Jaws. Very nice old style theater with a balcony. The box office had a small cabinet where reserve tickets were stored when the reserve seat policy was in place, probably in the 30’s and 40’s. It wasn’t the same after they split it into a multiplex.
The Menlo Park Theater was the big one in central Jersey for the General Cinema Corporation. A beautiful theater with a nice contemporary look. I saw a few movies there (All the President’s Men, Shampoo, Harry and Walter Go to New York) but Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were the big ones. I sat in the fourth row on the first night of Star Wars, blown away by the opening scene.
I used to work nights in New York occasionally in the early 80’s and part of my job was to get dinner for the other workers at the company. (I had the least seniority) I used to walk down 49th street to Time Square to get the food and would pass by this theater. What was interesting to me was it seemed like a regular ‘legitimate’ theater, (clean, well maintained) not like the hole in the wall adult theaters on 42nd street. I remember one of Seka’s movies playing there for a while. (Inside Seka, Rockin’ with Seka, one of those films) It was several years later that I found out that it had been a ‘legit’ theater 20-30 years prior to that time.
I saw Oliver! there in 1969. We had to buy tickets in advance. I think they came in the mail, packed in a small envelope. I posted a picture of the marquee that my dad took on Good Friday, 1969.
I saw my first movie at the Brook, the 1960 (or 61) re-issue of Pinocchio. I remembered how big the screen was and how fancy the theater was. I was 5 years old.