“Daughter of Deceit” was Luis Buñuel’s “ La Hija del engaño.” The director’s more obscure Mexican films were being released for the first time in art and specialty houses in the U.S. Most had been shown already, but in unsubtitled showings in Spanish-language cinemas. The Little Theatre at the Public showed a few of them. I remember seeing “El Bruto” there.
Joe, you can also easily show those photos by posting them on a server such as Photobucket and simply linking to the URL. I and numerous others do that. Go to www.photobucket.com
It’s free up to a certain limit.
The only other possibility might have been the Columbus Theatre/Studio Cinema twin up on Broadway. At that time, before going into porno, they showed mostly first and second-run art product but could easily have thrown in a double bill like that. Small world, I used to go to Camille’s and Johnson’s Hummocks during those years and even…hmmmm!…the Fife and Drum on Weybosset Street.
I seem to remember an Evergreen Films distributorship from this period, theatrical and non-theatrical, specializing in off-beat product…associated with Evergreen Books, perhaps.
I live in neighboring Johnston and never heard of the area where the Park is located being called “downtown Cranston.” Maybe the “center” of Cranston or Rolfe Street area. Is there an “uptown Cranston?” When was the Park originally built? Was this really a vaudeville theatre at one time? (I’m just asking; I’d like to know.) In any case, this is all very good news.
Here is some updated news about plans to renovate the Park for concerts and theatrical productions. The theatre, closed for several years now, has been in limbo.
A program like that MIGHT have played the Avon Cinema on Thayer Street (the films definitely played there individually in first-run) or the Art Cinema on Broad Street. Both theatres are listed on Cinema Treasures. I cannot confirm, however, where in fact the program was shown in the time-frame you mention. You might be able to check the Providence Journal microfilm for movie ads around that time.
In this photo we can see, behind the trolley, a bit of the Rainbo Theatre. After the theatre was demolished, the vacant lot became used for decades as a turn-around for the Dyer-Pocasset bus line. An uneven short fragment of the theatre building remained like some kind of Roman ruin.
I agree, Jerry Kovar. Racy ads for art films does not automatically predestine a theatre for eventual pornship. And the redoubtable Paris Theatre showed Brigitte Bardot in “And God Created Woman” for over a year by peddling her breasts and butt outline, and it should be singled out as well as the “grandma of porn.” I walked by there yesterday. They are showing “Ladies in Lavender.”
I’d like to resign from the topic since the issue is so self-evident to me that it is becoming tedious. However, if AlAlvarez or anyone else has an extended listing of what was shown at the Apollo over their “great years” (e.g.: dates, lists of double bills) I would like to have access to that. I understand enough about their programming and went to enough films there to have a pretty good idea of what they did. Still, it is sketchy. I’m:
The Cinestudio is different from all the above mentioned places (Criterion, Cinema City, etc.) in that it programs a large number of revivals and re-issues of older films, including 70mm, interspersed with newer releases as well as thematic festivals. That’s what makes Cinestudio so special.
To AlAlvarez: Much of that phraseology was contained in the distributor press books! So what? It is a big damn leap from that to saying the Apollo was the granddad of porn. I have the original press book and newpaper ads for “The Bicycle Thief” put out by distributor Mayer-Burstyn, emphasizing the shapely leg of Antonio’s wife on a bicycle, which hardly reflects the nature of the film at all. Does that make “The Bicycle Thief” the granddad of porno movies?
And whether this kind of promotion was offered by the distributor publicity departments or the exhibitors themselves, sex, sexiness, sex appeal are widely used to promote entertainment, not to mention toothpaste. Sex sells, the hint of the illicit sells! But it’s not necessarily a rehearsal for pornography. When Colgate markets a toothpaste showing a sexy woman smiling provocatively at you, is that a preparation for their new line of porno-paste?
It’s a big leap that you are making. It is far-fetched. You are truly way off on this. Does that mean the Apollo could never have become a porn theatre??? Of course it could have, but it did not. It might have become one too if if had previously been showing only “The Sound of Music,” “Mary Poppins” and “Pinocchio.” On the other hand many Jerry Lewis cinemas, built for family entertainment, became porno houses less than a decade after they were built to entertain families. There is one in my town.
What I am telling you is that there is no connection between a theatre saying “Children of Paradise” exudes sex appeal and the ultimate programming of hard core. “Deep Throat,” incidentally, opened at New York’s World Theatre, which had made a reputation showing neo-realist classics and other worthy films in the postwar years. In conclusion, what you assert makes no sense at all. None at all. And nothing can detract from the historical fact that the Apollo was a fabulous place to catch some great international cinema.
When I was in Queenstown in July of 1996, I was looking for a movie to see and I came here. It seemed like the sole cinema in town. I didn’t really want to see the movie that was playing, “From Dusk Till Dawn,” with Harvey Keitel and Quentin Tarantino, but I went anyway…a 10:30 P.M. show. I had to walk up a narrow flight of steps to get to the theatre. The place seemed carved out of an existing building. A friendly young lady greeted me. All seats were assigned, and about the only one left was up in front, left side, nose under the screen. Seemed like a popular place with the younger crowd. I took a photo of the cinema’s entrance and part of the interior. Entrance Interior
I caught a film at this nice theatre during Auckland’s International Film Festival in July of 1996 when I was touring Australia and New Zealand. (I’m from New England.) The movie was “Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business.”
By some strange reason, every time I visited the Pacific Film Archive (I’m from the east coast), they were showing films by Ernst Lubitsch. I saw some rare German silents of his there as well as of original nitrate prints of things like “Trouble in Paradise” and “Heaven Can Wait.” This is one of the few places in the U.S. still able to safely and legally show original nitrate archive prints. They sparkle and glow on the screen as acetate prints never really did. In the days before home video, I once arranged to have private screenings in their study center of 16mm prints of some rarer films by Roberto Rossellini which were in their collection. They were very accomodating. The PFA is a great archive and a superbly programmed showplace.
Ron, I think the Harvard Film Archive is excellent too, inspired perhaps by the work of the PFA which had been going strong for decades before the Harvard one achieved the standard that it has now or owned the state-of-the-art facility that it has now.
Here is a Showbill program booklet distributed at the showings of the Italian film “Big Deal on Madonna Street” (“I soliti ignoti”) for its first-run engagement beginning in November of 1960. One-front cover Two-credit page
BoxOfficeBill, I think I have one for “I soliti ignoti,” a.k.a. “Big Deal on Madonna Street” at the Fine Arts. I’ll find that and post in on the Fine Arts page. I don’t have too many but someone gave me a small batch of Showbills for Italian films, knowing my interest in them.
I posted a Showbill for the opening program of the Carnegie Hall Cinema in May, 1961: Visconti’s “White Nights.” You might want to check it out: Carnegie Hall Cinema
Here are two pages from the classy “Showbill” program booklet distributed for the Carnegie Hall Cinema’s opening attraction in May, 1961: Luchino Visconti’s “White Nights,” starring Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Schell. One: cover page Two: first page of credits
The images can be enlarged.
I suppose this super-long-run phenomenon would have been less controversial if the cinemas of that time were multi-screened. Having other screens would have allowed more frequent changes of programs while continuing with this blockbuster. A recent example of this is “Gloomy Sunday,” the Hungarian film which was a hit at the West Newton Cinema (Newton, Massachusetts) and played for over a year, while other screens had regular changes. I believe the same thing happened there with “Cinema Paradiso.” Decades ago at the Central Square Cinema in Cambridge, “King of Hearts” became a cult hit and ran for something like four years on one of the two screens. Some pranksters one night re-arranged the wording on the marquee to voice their disapproval. (Don’t recall what the resulting wording was.)
“Daughter of Deceit” was Luis Buñuel’s “ La Hija del engaño.” The director’s more obscure Mexican films were being released for the first time in art and specialty houses in the U.S. Most had been shown already, but in unsubtitled showings in Spanish-language cinemas. The Little Theatre at the Public showed a few of them. I remember seeing “El Bruto” there.
Joe, you can also easily show those photos by posting them on a server such as Photobucket and simply linking to the URL. I and numerous others do that. Go to www.photobucket.com
It’s free up to a certain limit.
Is that located in Sandton, where they housed our tour group in 2000, or in central Johannesburg?
The only other possibility might have been the Columbus Theatre/Studio Cinema twin up on Broadway. At that time, before going into porno, they showed mostly first and second-run art product but could easily have thrown in a double bill like that. Small world, I used to go to Camille’s and Johnson’s Hummocks during those years and even…hmmmm!…the Fife and Drum on Weybosset Street.
I seem to remember an Evergreen Films distributorship from this period, theatrical and non-theatrical, specializing in off-beat product…associated with Evergreen Books, perhaps.
I live in neighboring Johnston and never heard of the area where the Park is located being called “downtown Cranston.” Maybe the “center” of Cranston or Rolfe Street area. Is there an “uptown Cranston?” When was the Park originally built? Was this really a vaudeville theatre at one time? (I’m just asking; I’d like to know.) In any case, this is all very good news.
Here is some updated news about plans to renovate the Park for concerts and theatrical productions. The theatre, closed for several years now, has been in limbo.
I believe Radley Metzger’s steamy “Camille 2000” got audiences hot and bothered there for a while in 1969.
I’m not positive, but I believe the Garrick was also used as a “legit” theatre and is where the off-Broadway hit “The Fantasticks” ran for many years.
A program like that MIGHT have played the Avon Cinema on Thayer Street (the films definitely played there individually in first-run) or the Art Cinema on Broad Street. Both theatres are listed on Cinema Treasures. I cannot confirm, however, where in fact the program was shown in the time-frame you mention. You might be able to check the Providence Journal microfilm for movie ads around that time.
Shouldn’t this be listed as “Criterion Theatre” rather than “The Criterion”? The definite article does not appear to be part of its name.
In this photo we can see, behind the trolley, a bit of the Rainbo Theatre. After the theatre was demolished, the vacant lot became used for decades as a turn-around for the Dyer-Pocasset bus line. An uneven short fragment of the theatre building remained like some kind of Roman ruin.
I agree, Jerry Kovar. Racy ads for art films does not automatically predestine a theatre for eventual pornship. And the redoubtable Paris Theatre showed Brigitte Bardot in “And God Created Woman” for over a year by peddling her breasts and butt outline, and it should be singled out as well as the “grandma of porn.” I walked by there yesterday. They are showing “Ladies in Lavender.”
I’d like to resign from the topic since the issue is so self-evident to me that it is becoming tedious. However, if AlAlvarez or anyone else has an extended listing of what was shown at the Apollo over their “great years” (e.g.: dates, lists of double bills) I would like to have access to that. I understand enough about their programming and went to enough films there to have a pretty good idea of what they did. Still, it is sketchy. I’m:
Saps, it’s Johnston, RI. It is no longer a porno cinema, just a porno shop. It is listed on Cinema Treasures as Johnston Cinema. Click here.
The Cinestudio is different from all the above mentioned places (Criterion, Cinema City, etc.) in that it programs a large number of revivals and re-issues of older films, including 70mm, interspersed with newer releases as well as thematic festivals. That’s what makes Cinestudio so special.
To AlAlvarez: Much of that phraseology was contained in the distributor press books! So what? It is a big damn leap from that to saying the Apollo was the granddad of porn. I have the original press book and newpaper ads for “The Bicycle Thief” put out by distributor Mayer-Burstyn, emphasizing the shapely leg of Antonio’s wife on a bicycle, which hardly reflects the nature of the film at all. Does that make “The Bicycle Thief” the granddad of porno movies?
And whether this kind of promotion was offered by the distributor publicity departments or the exhibitors themselves, sex, sexiness, sex appeal are widely used to promote entertainment, not to mention toothpaste. Sex sells, the hint of the illicit sells! But it’s not necessarily a rehearsal for pornography. When Colgate markets a toothpaste showing a sexy woman smiling provocatively at you, is that a preparation for their new line of porno-paste?
It’s a big leap that you are making. It is far-fetched. You are truly way off on this. Does that mean the Apollo could never have become a porn theatre??? Of course it could have, but it did not. It might have become one too if if had previously been showing only “The Sound of Music,” “Mary Poppins” and “Pinocchio.” On the other hand many Jerry Lewis cinemas, built for family entertainment, became porno houses less than a decade after they were built to entertain families. There is one in my town.
What I am telling you is that there is no connection between a theatre saying “Children of Paradise” exudes sex appeal and the ultimate programming of hard core. “Deep Throat,” incidentally, opened at New York’s World Theatre, which had made a reputation showing neo-realist classics and other worthy films in the postwar years. In conclusion, what you assert makes no sense at all. None at all. And nothing can detract from the historical fact that the Apollo was a fabulous place to catch some great international cinema.
Here is a photo I took of the Regent in July of 1996 on a rainy day in lovely Dunedin.
When I was in Queenstown in July of 1996, I was looking for a movie to see and I came here. It seemed like the sole cinema in town. I didn’t really want to see the movie that was playing, “From Dusk Till Dawn,” with Harvey Keitel and Quentin Tarantino, but I went anyway…a 10:30 P.M. show. I had to walk up a narrow flight of steps to get to the theatre. The place seemed carved out of an existing building. A friendly young lady greeted me. All seats were assigned, and about the only one left was up in front, left side, nose under the screen. Seemed like a popular place with the younger crowd. I took a photo of the cinema’s entrance and part of the interior.
Entrance
Interior
I caught a film at this nice theatre during Auckland’s International Film Festival in July of 1996 when I was touring Australia and New Zealand. (I’m from New England.) The movie was “Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business.”
By some strange reason, every time I visited the Pacific Film Archive (I’m from the east coast), they were showing films by Ernst Lubitsch. I saw some rare German silents of his there as well as of original nitrate prints of things like “Trouble in Paradise” and “Heaven Can Wait.” This is one of the few places in the U.S. still able to safely and legally show original nitrate archive prints. They sparkle and glow on the screen as acetate prints never really did. In the days before home video, I once arranged to have private screenings in their study center of 16mm prints of some rarer films by Roberto Rossellini which were in their collection. They were very accomodating. The PFA is a great archive and a superbly programmed showplace.
Ron, I think the Harvard Film Archive is excellent too, inspired perhaps by the work of the PFA which had been going strong for decades before the Harvard one achieved the standard that it has now or owned the state-of-the-art facility that it has now.
Here is a Showbill program booklet distributed at the showings of the Italian film “Big Deal on Madonna Street” (“I soliti ignoti”) for its first-run engagement beginning in November of 1960.
One-front cover
Two-credit page
Here is a newspaper ad for opening day, May 28, 1961.
BoxOfficeBill, I think I have one for “I soliti ignoti,” a.k.a. “Big Deal on Madonna Street” at the Fine Arts. I’ll find that and post in on the Fine Arts page. I don’t have too many but someone gave me a small batch of Showbills for Italian films, knowing my interest in them.
I posted a Showbill for the opening program of the Carnegie Hall Cinema in May, 1961: Visconti’s “White Nights.” You might want to check it out:
Carnegie Hall Cinema
Here are two pages from the classy “Showbill” program booklet distributed for the Carnegie Hall Cinema’s opening attraction in May, 1961: Luchino Visconti’s “White Nights,” starring Marcello Mastroianni and Maria Schell.
One: cover page
Two: first page of credits
The images can be enlarged.
I suppose this super-long-run phenomenon would have been less controversial if the cinemas of that time were multi-screened. Having other screens would have allowed more frequent changes of programs while continuing with this blockbuster. A recent example of this is “Gloomy Sunday,” the Hungarian film which was a hit at the West Newton Cinema (Newton, Massachusetts) and played for over a year, while other screens had regular changes. I believe the same thing happened there with “Cinema Paradiso.” Decades ago at the Central Square Cinema in Cambridge, “King of Hearts” became a cult hit and ran for something like four years on one of the two screens. Some pranksters one night re-arranged the wording on the marquee to voice their disapproval. (Don’t recall what the resulting wording was.)