In a March 27, 1986 piece in the R.I. Italo-American weekly The Echo, writer Joe Fuoco reports a conversation with Elmo Vendettuoli.
EV: “My father and mother started the movie business in the family. They operated a theatre still standing as an empty building* in Silver Lake. It was called the Star Theatre and it ran silent movies. My sister Mary ran the three turntables and I was the projectionist at the age of 13. I had to stand on a can to operate the machine.”
JF: “What are you talking about when you say three turntables?”
EV: “Phonograph recordings that my sister would play according to what was going on in the picture. If it was a horse scene, she’d play the horse music; if it was a love scene, she’d turn on the sweet old-fashioned love music. Each 78 rpm had its own music and you had to know which one to play. These were days following the end of piano accompaniment and long before the days of sound.”
*The Star has since been demolished. This neighborhood of Cranston and just-over-the-line Providence is known as Silver Lake. The Vendettuolis later operated the Rainbo, further down Dyer Avenue. (My note)
In a March 27, 1986 piece in the R.I. Italo-American weekly The Echo, writer Joe Fuoco reports a conversation with Elmo Vendettuoli.
EV: “My parents, Carmen and Laura Vendettuoli built a theatre called the V.C. Theatre. My father took his initials and reversed them. It later became known as the Rainbo, spelled without the ‘W.’ It seated 350 people and we played every serial there was. The serials ran about 18 to 20 minutes. All action! Now the Rainbo is gone. Demolished! Nothing there.”
JF: I’ve heard there were actual dangers running the old movies."
EV: “Sure there were. We had a couple of fires. You have to understand that old films were [nitrate] 35-millimeter. Combustible. And we used those big carbon arc lights. Well, a film would break and suddenly catch fire. A lot of films were lost that way.”
My note: the Vendettuolis had previously run the Star, just up the street. This neighborhood of Cranston and nearby Providence is called Silver Lake.
Several decades ago the theatre, which is located next to the public library was rented by the late Mario Votolato of Johnston for the purpose of showing films during the warmer months. He also used to own or run over the years the Myrtle, Johnston and Jamestown Theatres in Rhode Island. No doubt this theatre has other history besides Mr. Votolato’s ventures, and I would like to learn of them from any locals who are so acquainted.
In December of 1980 the Art ran a series of somewhat rare British films in great 35mm prints. I remember catching the 1936 Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street on a double bill with Joseph Losey’s infrequently seen Time Without Pity from 1957.
Charles Chaplin’s The Gold Rush opened at the Strand on August 16, 1925, with Chaplin in attendance. He later recalled in his 1964 My Autobiography, “From the moment the film started, showing me blithely rounding a precipice unconscious of a bear following, the audience yelled and applauded. Throughout the laughter there was sporadic applause till the end of the picture.”
Charles Chaplin rented this theatre for the New York premiere run of his City Lights beginning on February 6, 1931. In his 1964 My Autobiography Chaplin recalled:
“The only [theatre] available in New York was the George M. Cohan Theatre with a seating capacity of eleven hundred and fifty, and that was of the beaten path and considered a white elephant. It was not even a cinema house. I could hire the four walls for seven thousand dollars a week, guaranteeing eight weeks rental, and I would have to supply everything else: manager, cashier, ushers, projectionist, stagehands and the expense of electric signs and publicity. As I was financially involved to the extent of two million dollars—-and my own money at that—-I might as well take the full gamble and hire the theatre.”
Astounded that United Artists had hardly publicized the opening at all, the angry Chaplin took out half-page ads in the New York papers:
CHARLES CHAPLIN
AT THE COHAN THEATRE
IN
CITY LIGHTS
CONTINUOUS ALL DAY AT 50 CENTS AND ONE DOLLAR
Chaplin wrote:
“I spent $30,000 extra with the newspapers, then rented an electric sign for the front of the theatre costing another $30,000. As there was little time and we had to hustle, I was up all night, experimenting with the projection of the film, deciding the size of the picture and correcting distortion. The next day I met with the press and told them the whys and wherefores of my making a silent picture. (…)
“At the premiere the picture went off very well. But premieres are not indicative. It is the ordinary public that would count. Would they be interested in a silent picture? These thoughts kept me awake half the night. In the morning, however, I was awakened by my publicity man, who came bursting into my bedroom at eleven o'clock, shrieking with excitement: ‘Boy, you’ve done it! What a hit! There’s been a line running round the block ever since ten o'clock this morning and it’s stopping the traffic. There are about ten cops trying to keep order. They’re fighting to get in. And you should hear them yell!’”
I’m wondering if the Lyric in nearby Pawcatuck/Westerly hovered over water also, since city directories gave its address as West Broad and added “on the bridge.”
For a time in 1983, after the Cinerama I & II on Hope Street in Providence had closed, this theatre planned to run some of the foreign films that people were accustomed to seeing at the Cinerama. In an article in the Providence Journal of March 16, 1983, Michael Janusonis wrote:
“[George] Mansour, who operates his Cinema Selections in Boston’s Park Square Building, said one of the Four Seasons' six screens will show foreign and specialized films on a trial basis. Films include Lianna, a highly praised American film about a lesbian relationship.”
A September 29, 1957 article in the Providence Journal discussed the installation of Todd-AO equipment at the Elmwood:
“The Elmwood Theater in Providence is experiencing a transformation now that would bring joy to [Mike] Todd’s showmanlike soul.
“All of the old equipment has been dismantled and removed. In its place a crew of more than 10 men is placing the brand new machines and materials to show Around the World in 80 Days which opens on a reserved seat basis on October 10. (…)
“All of this equipment cost the Elmwood Theater about $30,000, James Randall, theater manager, reported.
“‘We are going to make this as close as possible to a performance on the legitimate stage,’ he said. ‘No popcorn will be sold and soda will be sold only during intermission.’
“After installation is complete, a Todd representative will make a final check and have seats removed where the view of the screen is not quite perfect. The first five rows of seats have already been taken out.”
Two August, 1978 double bills playing at the same time were Corvette Summer & Coma on the south screen (John Street entrance) and The Cheap Detective & The Boys in Company C on the north screen (Lonsdale Avenue entrance.) The drive-in was located on Route 122 in Lincoln.
This theatre was renamed Cinema I at some point and was showing the X-rated The Senator’s Daughter, with John Holmes and Leslie Bovee (“Complete uncut-uncensored version”) in August, 1978, according to an ad giving that address.
Lostmemory, this drive-in was also called the Cranston Drive-In late in its career but Cranston Auto Theatre earlier on. I have a newspaper ad in front of me from August, 1978, when it was showing Corvette Summer & Coma. The ad says Cranston Drive-In, Rte. 5, Cranston. It was to close about 15 months later.
A July 1, 1947 article in the Westerly Sun reported:
“Removal of a three-foot brass bar regulating an emergency exit in the balcony of the Central Theatre is being viewed by Stonington police and theatre officials as a serious matter…”
The article went on to say that the vandalism by unknown perpetrators was subsequently corrected. For me, the important fact here is the reference to Stonington police. This clearly shows that the Central was in Pawcatuck, in the town of Stonington, Connecticut, and not in Westerly, RI. Westerly and Pawcatuck are essentially one village, separated by a state border.
Roger, the article didn’t mention them by name but they must have been the Lyric and the Central. But that’s just my educated guess. What else was there? The Central was definitely on the Pawcatuck side of the Pawcatuck River, placing it in Stonington, Connecticut and not in Westerly, RI. And the Lyric, “on the bridge,” but with a “West Broad” address also must have also been in Pawcatuck. I walked the area yesterday but could not see even a smidgen of evidence that suggested the two former theatres.
There is no West Broad Street in Westerly. At the bridge Broad Street in Westerly becomes West Broad in Pawcatuck, with numbers ascending in opposite directions. When the Bliven burned, I believe it was the only theatre in Westerly proper. I am having the listings for the Lyric and the Central corrected to read “Pawcatuck, Stonington, CT” from “Westerly, RI.” So I am giving Connecticut two theatres! The confusion arises from the fact that Pawcatuck and Westerly are essentially one village, and newspaper ads never specified whether a theatre was actually in Westerly or Pawcatuck. The Westerly Library has a card file with references under “Theatres” that refer you to articles in the Westerly Sun.
As for the Bliven location today, there is a long building with a stone that reads 1926 (a year after the fire) with the name Morrone. It looks like it may have been a car garage at the outset. Today it houses shops and a liquor store. Main Street runs parallel to the Pawcatuck River, on the Westerly side. All three theatres were only a couple of minutes' walk from each other.
The United Theater, erected by Samuel Nardone, opened on Monday, January 18, 1926, a little more than a year after the tragic fire that had leveled the Bliven Opera House, over on Main Street. The program included five big acts of Paramount vaudeville plus the movie Tessie with Many McAvoy. After opening night, prices would range from 15 cents to 75 cents. In addition to the orchestra, there was mezzanine and loge seating. The total capacity was 1100. The stage is said to have been the largest of any city or town between Providence and New London. The theatre was initially part of the chain United Theatres of America. The building block that was constructed along with the theatre had room for several shops.
Ironically, and without my previous knowledge, the above posting about a January 2, 1925 program had another sad reality. In the early morning hours of January 3, 1925, after the final presentation of North of ‘36 and 4 acts of vaudeville, the historic Bliven Opera House burned to the ground! It was one of the most spectacular blazes in the history of Westerly and it destroyed not only the theatre but two tenement houses and gutted a third. No lives were reported lost.
The Westerly Sun wrote on January 4, 1925:
“David Novogrod, owner of a chain of three theaters in Westerly and Pawcatuck, including the Bliven Opera House…was in New York when the fire broke out, on a trip to book engagements for the theater…
“The Bliven Opera House was constructed in 1884 for C.B. Bliven, and for many years was the only place in Westerly used for theatrical performances, fairs, and indoor sports. In 1904 the C. B. Bliven Opera House company was formed and took over the house, making extensive improvements. David Novogrod purchased the theater last September and it was closed for some time while extensive alterations were made…”
The house was never rebuilt, although the following year saw the opening of a new theatre, the United, over a couple of blocks on Canal Street.
In his 1964 My Autobiography Charles Chaplin wrote of having performed at the Empress circa 1910:
“We played at the Empress, owned by Sid Grauman and his father, friendly, gregarious people. It was the first time I was featured alone on a poster with no mention of Karno. And the audience—-what a delight! In spite pf The Wow-wows being a dull show, there were packed houses every performance and screams of laughter. Grauman said enthusiastically, ‘Any time you’re through with the Karno outfit, come back here and we’ll put on shows together.’ This enthusiasm was new to me. In San Francisco one felt the spirit of optimism and enterprise.”
Westerly, Rhode Island and Pawcatuck, Connecticut (part of Stonington) border on each other, separated by the Pawcatuck River. I’m coming to the conclusion that the Lyric, at West Broad Street (“on the bridge,” as directories indicate) places it…and the Central as well, geographically on the Connecticut side. Westerly has Broad Street, no West Broad Street. When you cross to Pawcatuck, it becomes West Broad. “Westerly” is generic rather than true geographical reality. The Westerly city directories of the time add the symbol “PA,” which means Pawcatuck, in referring to these theatres. This might have implications for the listing information.
Westerly, Rhode Island and Pawcatuck, Connecticut (part of Stonington) border on each other, separated by the Pawcatuck River. I’m coming to the conclusion that the Central, at 41 West Broad Street, places it…and the Lyric as well, geographically on the Connecticut side. Westerly has Broad Street, no West Broad Street. When you cross to Pawcatuck, it becomes West Broad. “Westerly” is generic rather than true geographical reality. The Westerly city directories of the time add the symbol “PA,” which means Pawcatuck, in referring to these theatres. This might have implications for the listing information.
In a March 27, 1986 piece in the R.I. Italo-American weekly The Echo, writer Joe Fuoco reports a conversation with Elmo Vendettuoli.
EV: “My father and mother started the movie business in the family. They operated a theatre still standing as an empty building* in Silver Lake. It was called the Star Theatre and it ran silent movies. My sister Mary ran the three turntables and I was the projectionist at the age of 13. I had to stand on a can to operate the machine.”
JF: “What are you talking about when you say three turntables?”
EV: “Phonograph recordings that my sister would play according to what was going on in the picture. If it was a horse scene, she’d play the horse music; if it was a love scene, she’d turn on the sweet old-fashioned love music. Each 78 rpm had its own music and you had to know which one to play. These were days following the end of piano accompaniment and long before the days of sound.”
*The Star has since been demolished. This neighborhood of Cranston and just-over-the-line Providence is known as Silver Lake. The Vendettuolis later operated the Rainbo, further down Dyer Avenue. (My note)
In a March 27, 1986 piece in the R.I. Italo-American weekly The Echo, writer Joe Fuoco reports a conversation with Elmo Vendettuoli.
EV: “My parents, Carmen and Laura Vendettuoli built a theatre called the V.C. Theatre. My father took his initials and reversed them. It later became known as the Rainbo, spelled without the ‘W.’ It seated 350 people and we played every serial there was. The serials ran about 18 to 20 minutes. All action! Now the Rainbo is gone. Demolished! Nothing there.”
JF: I’ve heard there were actual dangers running the old movies."
EV: “Sure there were. We had a couple of fires. You have to understand that old films were [nitrate] 35-millimeter. Combustible. And we used those big carbon arc lights. Well, a film would break and suddenly catch fire. A lot of films were lost that way.”
My note: the Vendettuolis had previously run the Star, just up the street. This neighborhood of Cranston and nearby Providence is called Silver Lake.
Several decades ago the theatre, which is located next to the public library was rented by the late Mario Votolato of Johnston for the purpose of showing films during the warmer months. He also used to own or run over the years the Myrtle, Johnston and Jamestown Theatres in Rhode Island. No doubt this theatre has other history besides Mr. Votolato’s ventures, and I would like to learn of them from any locals who are so acquainted.
In December of 1980 the Art ran a series of somewhat rare British films in great 35mm prints. I remember catching the 1936 Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street on a double bill with Joseph Losey’s infrequently seen Time Without Pity from 1957.
This theatre was called the Criterion Center 4 when, around Christmas of 1980, I saw Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull here in a kind of basement cinema.
Charles Chaplin’s The Gold Rush opened at the Strand on August 16, 1925, with Chaplin in attendance. He later recalled in his 1964 My Autobiography, “From the moment the film started, showing me blithely rounding a precipice unconscious of a bear following, the audience yelled and applauded. Throughout the laughter there was sporadic applause till the end of the picture.”
Charles Chaplin rented this theatre for the New York premiere run of his City Lights beginning on February 6, 1931. In his 1964 My Autobiography Chaplin recalled:
“The only [theatre] available in New York was the George M. Cohan Theatre with a seating capacity of eleven hundred and fifty, and that was of the beaten path and considered a white elephant. It was not even a cinema house. I could hire the four walls for seven thousand dollars a week, guaranteeing eight weeks rental, and I would have to supply everything else: manager, cashier, ushers, projectionist, stagehands and the expense of electric signs and publicity. As I was financially involved to the extent of two million dollars—-and my own money at that—-I might as well take the full gamble and hire the theatre.”
Astounded that United Artists had hardly publicized the opening at all, the angry Chaplin took out half-page ads in the New York papers:
CHARLES CHAPLIN
AT THE COHAN THEATRE
IN
CITY LIGHTS
CONTINUOUS ALL DAY AT 50 CENTS AND ONE DOLLAR
Chaplin wrote:
“I spent $30,000 extra with the newspapers, then rented an electric sign for the front of the theatre costing another $30,000. As there was little time and we had to hustle, I was up all night, experimenting with the projection of the film, deciding the size of the picture and correcting distortion. The next day I met with the press and told them the whys and wherefores of my making a silent picture. (…)
“At the premiere the picture went off very well. But premieres are not indicative. It is the ordinary public that would count. Would they be interested in a silent picture? These thoughts kept me awake half the night. In the morning, however, I was awakened by my publicity man, who came bursting into my bedroom at eleven o'clock, shrieking with excitement: ‘Boy, you’ve done it! What a hit! There’s been a line running round the block ever since ten o'clock this morning and it’s stopping the traffic. There are about ten cops trying to keep order. They’re fighting to get in. And you should hear them yell!’”
I’m wondering if the Lyric in nearby Pawcatuck/Westerly hovered over water also, since city directories gave its address as West Broad and added “on the bridge.”
I came here in June of 1982 to see Partners with Ryan O'Neal and John Hurt.
I saw E.T. a number of times in various places when it came out. Once here. It was just another mall theatre, but one hates to lose anything at all.
In June of 1940 Hitchcock’s Rebecca with Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier played here. There, isn’t that an earth-shaking fact?
JakeGittes, weren’t you the character played by Jack Nicholson in Roman Polanski’s Chinatown?
For a time in 1983, after the Cinerama I & II on Hope Street in Providence had closed, this theatre planned to run some of the foreign films that people were accustomed to seeing at the Cinerama. In an article in the Providence Journal of March 16, 1983, Michael Janusonis wrote:
“[George] Mansour, who operates his Cinema Selections in Boston’s Park Square Building, said one of the Four Seasons' six screens will show foreign and specialized films on a trial basis. Films include Lianna, a highly praised American film about a lesbian relationship.”
This policy did not last a very long time.
A September 29, 1957 article in the Providence Journal discussed the installation of Todd-AO equipment at the Elmwood:
“The Elmwood Theater in Providence is experiencing a transformation now that would bring joy to [Mike] Todd’s showmanlike soul.
“All of the old equipment has been dismantled and removed. In its place a crew of more than 10 men is placing the brand new machines and materials to show Around the World in 80 Days which opens on a reserved seat basis on October 10. (…)
“All of this equipment cost the Elmwood Theater about $30,000, James Randall, theater manager, reported.
“‘We are going to make this as close as possible to a performance on the legitimate stage,’ he said. ‘No popcorn will be sold and soda will be sold only during intermission.’
“After installation is complete, a Todd representative will make a final check and have seats removed where the view of the screen is not quite perfect. The first five rows of seats have already been taken out.”
Two August, 1978 double bills playing at the same time were Corvette Summer & Coma on the south screen (John Street entrance) and The Cheap Detective & The Boys in Company C on the north screen (Lonsdale Avenue entrance.) The drive-in was located on Route 122 in Lincoln.
This theatre was renamed Cinema I at some point and was showing the X-rated The Senator’s Daughter, with John Holmes and Leslie Bovee (“Complete uncut-uncensored version”) in August, 1978, according to an ad giving that address.
Lostmemory, this drive-in was also called the Cranston Drive-In late in its career but Cranston Auto Theatre earlier on. I have a newspaper ad in front of me from August, 1978, when it was showing Corvette Summer & Coma. The ad says Cranston Drive-In, Rte. 5, Cranston. It was to close about 15 months later.
A July 1, 1947 article in the Westerly Sun reported:
“Removal of a three-foot brass bar regulating an emergency exit in the balcony of the Central Theatre is being viewed by Stonington police and theatre officials as a serious matter…”
The article went on to say that the vandalism by unknown perpetrators was subsequently corrected. For me, the important fact here is the reference to Stonington police. This clearly shows that the Central was in Pawcatuck, in the town of Stonington, Connecticut, and not in Westerly, RI. Westerly and Pawcatuck are essentially one village, separated by a state border.
Roger, the article didn’t mention them by name but they must have been the Lyric and the Central. But that’s just my educated guess. What else was there? The Central was definitely on the Pawcatuck side of the Pawcatuck River, placing it in Stonington, Connecticut and not in Westerly, RI. And the Lyric, “on the bridge,” but with a “West Broad” address also must have also been in Pawcatuck. I walked the area yesterday but could not see even a smidgen of evidence that suggested the two former theatres.
There is no West Broad Street in Westerly. At the bridge Broad Street in Westerly becomes West Broad in Pawcatuck, with numbers ascending in opposite directions. When the Bliven burned, I believe it was the only theatre in Westerly proper. I am having the listings for the Lyric and the Central corrected to read “Pawcatuck, Stonington, CT” from “Westerly, RI.” So I am giving Connecticut two theatres! The confusion arises from the fact that Pawcatuck and Westerly are essentially one village, and newspaper ads never specified whether a theatre was actually in Westerly or Pawcatuck. The Westerly Library has a card file with references under “Theatres” that refer you to articles in the Westerly Sun.
As for the Bliven location today, there is a long building with a stone that reads 1926 (a year after the fire) with the name Morrone. It looks like it may have been a car garage at the outset. Today it houses shops and a liquor store. Main Street runs parallel to the Pawcatuck River, on the Westerly side. All three theatres were only a couple of minutes' walk from each other.
The United Theater, erected by Samuel Nardone, opened on Monday, January 18, 1926, a little more than a year after the tragic fire that had leveled the Bliven Opera House, over on Main Street. The program included five big acts of Paramount vaudeville plus the movie Tessie with Many McAvoy. After opening night, prices would range from 15 cents to 75 cents. In addition to the orchestra, there was mezzanine and loge seating. The total capacity was 1100. The stage is said to have been the largest of any city or town between Providence and New London. The theatre was initially part of the chain United Theatres of America. The building block that was constructed along with the theatre had room for several shops.
Ironically, and without my previous knowledge, the above posting about a January 2, 1925 program had another sad reality. In the early morning hours of January 3, 1925, after the final presentation of North of ‘36 and 4 acts of vaudeville, the historic Bliven Opera House burned to the ground! It was one of the most spectacular blazes in the history of Westerly and it destroyed not only the theatre but two tenement houses and gutted a third. No lives were reported lost.
The Westerly Sun wrote on January 4, 1925:
“David Novogrod, owner of a chain of three theaters in Westerly and Pawcatuck, including the Bliven Opera House…was in New York when the fire broke out, on a trip to book engagements for the theater…
“The Bliven Opera House was constructed in 1884 for C.B. Bliven, and for many years was the only place in Westerly used for theatrical performances, fairs, and indoor sports. In 1904 the C. B. Bliven Opera House company was formed and took over the house, making extensive improvements. David Novogrod purchased the theater last September and it was closed for some time while extensive alterations were made…”
The house was never rebuilt, although the following year saw the opening of a new theatre, the United, over a couple of blocks on Canal Street.
Here is a drawing of the Bliven Opera House in its early days.
There is an article with color photos in today’s New York Times.
In his 1964 My Autobiography Charles Chaplin wrote of having performed at the Empress circa 1910:
“We played at the Empress, owned by Sid Grauman and his father, friendly, gregarious people. It was the first time I was featured alone on a poster with no mention of Karno. And the audience—-what a delight! In spite pf The Wow-wows being a dull show, there were packed houses every performance and screams of laughter. Grauman said enthusiastically, ‘Any time you’re through with the Karno outfit, come back here and we’ll put on shows together.’ This enthusiasm was new to me. In San Francisco one felt the spirit of optimism and enterprise.”
Westerly, Rhode Island and Pawcatuck, Connecticut (part of Stonington) border on each other, separated by the Pawcatuck River. I’m coming to the conclusion that the Lyric, at West Broad Street (“on the bridge,” as directories indicate) places it…and the Central as well, geographically on the Connecticut side. Westerly has Broad Street, no West Broad Street. When you cross to Pawcatuck, it becomes West Broad. “Westerly” is generic rather than true geographical reality. The Westerly city directories of the time add the symbol “PA,” which means Pawcatuck, in referring to these theatres. This might have implications for the listing information.
Westerly, Rhode Island and Pawcatuck, Connecticut (part of Stonington) border on each other, separated by the Pawcatuck River. I’m coming to the conclusion that the Central, at 41 West Broad Street, places it…and the Lyric as well, geographically on the Connecticut side. Westerly has Broad Street, no West Broad Street. When you cross to Pawcatuck, it becomes West Broad. “Westerly” is generic rather than true geographical reality. The Westerly city directories of the time add the symbol “PA,” which means Pawcatuck, in referring to these theatres. This might have implications for the listing information.