Casolaro Films, a distributor of Italian films to ethnic houses and some art houses, had its offices at 106 W. 39th Street, in the Princess Theatre building, and might have supplied some of the programs for the theatre under its incarnations as Little CineMet/Cinema Verdi in the 1940s-50s. Casolaro later became Casolaro Giglio Films, moved to Lafayette Street off Canal, and supplied the Cinema Giglio (which they must have leased) with Italian product.
I don’t know why they named this theatre the “Zeotrope” (sic) since the word they were after is correctly spelled “zoetrope, ” which the dictionary defines as a mechanical toy offering visual illusion, consisting of a slotted drum that, when whirled, makes objects within the drum give the illusion of continuous motion. The programming and admission prices here are very good, but all three of the auditoriums are fairly weatherbeaten. There was talk of this theatre’s being scheduled for demolition. Anyone know what its status is now?
Two photos of the Princess Theatre, one exterior and one interior, can be found in the book “Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture” by William Morrison, pages 84 & 85. The Princess had various names over the years. It was also called “Little CineMet” at one time because of its proximity to the old Metropolitan Opera and “Cinema Verdi” when it ran Italian films exclusively.
This was a first-run movie theatre programming American films. In January of 1947, however, they did show Rossellini’s neo-realist Italian film OPEN CITY.
Bits of programming esoterica for the theatre when it was called the Liberty. Shown in January of 1933: MAZELTOV with Molly Picon, a reworking with Yiddish narration and framing sequence of the 1923 silent OST UND WEST. Shown in March of 1937: HIS WIFE’S LOVER, a 1931 Yiddish film.
Work on the place seemed to have come to a halt last time I went by. I’ve been to this theatre hundreds of times, both as a single screen place and when it became a triplex.
I haven’t been in it under this incarnation. I thought it was just booths, but you may be right. Perhaps I should take a peek and verify. There was a police raid here a couple of years ago or less, where some men were arrested because of sexual activity. One commited suicide right after. And before that, when it was just a porno theatre, Town of Johnston officials tried to close the place down several times. One of the movies I remember seeing here when the theatre was still new is IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD.
Information I received a few years ago (through Lido Cantarutti of Marin County) for a research project on Italian film exhibition in San Francisco said that during the 1930s and up until 1941, as the Milano Theatre, this site featured English language films during the day, but then during the evening, and even with shows at midnight, it presented Italian language films and plays. This would have ended with the start of the war, when Italian, German, and Japanese films were considered illegal enemy alien property and were confiscated and sequestered by the U. S. government. If anyone has information on the Verdi Theatre and Liberty Theatre on Broadway in North Beach which showed Italian films during that era, I would be glad to hear of it. The Green Street Theatre is supposed to have featured silent films from Italy. Also the Acme Theatre, at Stockton and Broadway is suppposed to have shown Italian films on a once-in-a-while basis.
Yes, a commercial building has taken its place. I went by this theatre a thousand times but never saw a movie there. The Cathedral of the Holy Cross (J.F.K. funeral) isn’t all that far down Washington Street in Boston’s South End.
As a regular cinema, no! Symphony Hall was built as a concert hall. But films have been shown there in the past, especially during the silent era. There is a display case inside showing some of the films from that were shown there…such as a silent versions of CARMEN, some Russian silents like POTEMKIN. Also more recently when the Boston Symphony performed Prokofiev’s film-cantata “Alexander Nevsky”, Eisenstein’s film was projected and the live orchestra was used in place of the recorded soundtrack film score.
I remember a very enjoyable evening at this delightful theatre while passing through in August, 1997. The film was MY BEST FRIEND’S WIFE. Can any locals post recollections about the Criterion’s past?
I came down from Providence to visit the Garde last night for a performance of the Verdi Requiem by the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, with chorus and soloists. I had never seen the inside of this marvelous theatre, and it is a joy. A north African desert motif inspires the lavish murals and decorations. The balcony lobby area is an especially pleasant space. The theatre is a complete delight, and anyone visiting New London should make a point of checking out this terrific place. Now if the nearby long-dormant Capitol can be reborn!
MAMELE (above, year corrected) was shown in 1939. The Swedish SOUTH OF THE HIGHWAY appeared in 1937. ELI ELI (“Jewish talking film program”) was shown in 1941. In the 1950s I believe the theatre became the “Westminster Playhouse” and showed some art fare of the type shown at the Avon.
Newspaper ads from 1935 publicize programs from the “Modern Theatre of Fine Arts.” Among the offerings for that month were UNFINISHED SYMPHONY, Duvivier’s POIL DE CAROTTE, the German BARBERINA, the Swedish THE GIRLS FROM THE OLD TOWN, Flaherty’s MAN OF ARAN, Conrad Veidt in POWER, Leni Riefenstahl’s THE BLUE LIGHT. The theatre seems to have been renamed the “Playhouse” and in 1937 sporadic programs of foreign-language films were shown. The Yidddish THE HOLY MARTYR with Maurice Schwartz appeared in 1937, the Swedish comedy SKANOR-FALSTERBO that same year, Molly Picon in the Yiddish musical MAMELE in 193, the Swedish RENA RAMA SANNINGEN in 1939, the Yiddish TEVYE in 1940, the Italian THE LIFE OF GIUSEPPE VERDI in 1940.
The theatre, formerly Keith’s New Theatre, was located opposite Shepard’s Department Store (now U.R.I. Providence campus) on Westminster Street. It may later have been called the Empire, but there are indications from newspaper ads that another theatre at one time called the Empire was further up on Westminster Street at number 368. Can someone explicate the names, name changes, and locations of these Westminster Street Theatres in downtown Providence?
When this was a legitimate art house in June of 1966, I made my way here from Providence to see Luchino Visconti’s very moody and doomed-to-be-unseen film SANDRA (a.k.a. OF A THOUSAND DELIGHTS, VAGHE STELLE DELL'ORSA) with the incomparable Claudia Cardinale and the comparable Jean Sorel. This murky yet strangely compelling Italian tale of implied brother-sister incest was oddly paired with the American drug-rehabilitation drama SYNANON.
The Strand/Capri was a popular place under Sack when I used to go there in the 1960s. That’s where I first saw ZORBA THE GREEK. I had only been to the Copley Square/Capri once, as a teenage film buff in July of 1959, for a revival of Chaplin’s MODERN TIMES. The Copley Square/Capri should be added as a new theatre to supplement the historical record.
I only went there a couple of times in 1965…once to see Ingmar Bergman’s then-new ALL THESE WOMEN on a double bill with TWO-WAY STRETCH. At the time the theatre seemed very dingy. I returned for a revival program of CYRANO DE BERGERAC with OPEN CITY. Strange combo! OPEN CITY was projected as though it were a wide screen film…heads cut off or part of the subtitles. For a wannabee rep house, they clearly didn’t grasp the concept of aspect ratio.
As an art house, the Art Cinema was doomed. It was located in what was even then a semi-depressed part of Providence. The clientele was never really of local or neighborhood origin. People would have to get there from other parts of town. It was not like the Avon which had and still has a nearby affluent patron-base, and of course being located next to Brown University, the Avon benefitted from the perpetual foot-traffic on busy Thayer Street. I believe the Lockwood Gordon chain, which used to run the Avon in the 1950s, took over the Liberty to be used as an sister venue, renaming it the Art Cinema.
Casolaro Films, a distributor of Italian films to ethnic houses and some art houses, had its offices at 106 W. 39th Street, in the Princess Theatre building, and might have supplied some of the programs for the theatre under its incarnations as Little CineMet/Cinema Verdi in the 1940s-50s. Casolaro later became Casolaro Giglio Films, moved to Lafayette Street off Canal, and supplied the Cinema Giglio (which they must have leased) with Italian product.
I don’t know why they named this theatre the “Zeotrope” (sic) since the word they were after is correctly spelled “zoetrope, ” which the dictionary defines as a mechanical toy offering visual illusion, consisting of a slotted drum that, when whirled, makes objects within the drum give the illusion of continuous motion. The programming and admission prices here are very good, but all three of the auditoriums are fairly weatherbeaten. There was talk of this theatre’s being scheduled for demolition. Anyone know what its status is now?
Two photos of the Princess Theatre, one exterior and one interior, can be found in the book “Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture” by William Morrison, pages 84 & 85. The Princess had various names over the years. It was also called “Little CineMet” at one time because of its proximity to the old Metropolitan Opera and “Cinema Verdi” when it ran Italian films exclusively.
Federico Fellini’s LA DOLCE VITA played here in February of 1962. But foreign films were not the standard fare.
There is also a listing for a Lincoln Theatre on Broad Street in Valley Falls. Could it be the same as this theatre?
This was a first-run movie theatre programming American films. In January of 1947, however, they did show Rossellini’s neo-realist Italian film OPEN CITY.
Bits of programming esoterica for the theatre when it was called the Liberty. Shown in January of 1933: MAZELTOV with Molly Picon, a reworking with Yiddish narration and framing sequence of the 1923 silent OST UND WEST. Shown in March of 1937: HIS WIFE’S LOVER, a 1931 Yiddish film.
Work on the place seemed to have come to a halt last time I went by. I’ve been to this theatre hundreds of times, both as a single screen place and when it became a triplex.
I haven’t been in it under this incarnation. I thought it was just booths, but you may be right. Perhaps I should take a peek and verify. There was a police raid here a couple of years ago or less, where some men were arrested because of sexual activity. One commited suicide right after. And before that, when it was just a porno theatre, Town of Johnston officials tried to close the place down several times. One of the movies I remember seeing here when the theatre was still new is IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD.
The first movie I ever saw in New York was at the Palace, THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK in August, 1959.
Information I received a few years ago (through Lido Cantarutti of Marin County) for a research project on Italian film exhibition in San Francisco said that during the 1930s and up until 1941, as the Milano Theatre, this site featured English language films during the day, but then during the evening, and even with shows at midnight, it presented Italian language films and plays. This would have ended with the start of the war, when Italian, German, and Japanese films were considered illegal enemy alien property and were confiscated and sequestered by the U. S. government. If anyone has information on the Verdi Theatre and Liberty Theatre on Broadway in North Beach which showed Italian films during that era, I would be glad to hear of it. The Green Street Theatre is supposed to have featured silent films from Italy. Also the Acme Theatre, at Stockton and Broadway is suppposed to have shown Italian films on a once-in-a-while basis.
The spelling of Coliseum seems to be incorrect in the theatre name entry.
Yes, a commercial building has taken its place. I went by this theatre a thousand times but never saw a movie there. The Cathedral of the Holy Cross (J.F.K. funeral) isn’t all that far down Washington Street in Boston’s South End.
Michael, why this monomaniacal obsession? YOU buy it and turn it into a concert hall.
As a regular cinema, no! Symphony Hall was built as a concert hall. But films have been shown there in the past, especially during the silent era. There is a display case inside showing some of the films from that were shown there…such as a silent versions of CARMEN, some Russian silents like POTEMKIN. Also more recently when the Boston Symphony performed Prokofiev’s film-cantata “Alexander Nevsky”, Eisenstein’s film was projected and the live orchestra was used in place of the recorded soundtrack film score.
I remember a very enjoyable evening at this delightful theatre while passing through in August, 1997. The film was MY BEST FRIEND’S WIFE. Can any locals post recollections about the Criterion’s past?
I came down from Providence to visit the Garde last night for a performance of the Verdi Requiem by the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, with chorus and soloists. I had never seen the inside of this marvelous theatre, and it is a joy. A north African desert motif inspires the lavish murals and decorations. The balcony lobby area is an especially pleasant space. The theatre is a complete delight, and anyone visiting New London should make a point of checking out this terrific place. Now if the nearby long-dormant Capitol can be reborn!
Then the Modern may have been named the Victory at one point after the Victory at the above address was razed. The Modern/Playhouse was at 440.
MAMELE (above, year corrected) was shown in 1939. The Swedish SOUTH OF THE HIGHWAY appeared in 1937. ELI ELI (“Jewish talking film program”) was shown in 1941. In the 1950s I believe the theatre became the “Westminster Playhouse” and showed some art fare of the type shown at the Avon.
Newspaper ads from 1935 publicize programs from the “Modern Theatre of Fine Arts.” Among the offerings for that month were UNFINISHED SYMPHONY, Duvivier’s POIL DE CAROTTE, the German BARBERINA, the Swedish THE GIRLS FROM THE OLD TOWN, Flaherty’s MAN OF ARAN, Conrad Veidt in POWER, Leni Riefenstahl’s THE BLUE LIGHT. The theatre seems to have been renamed the “Playhouse” and in 1937 sporadic programs of foreign-language films were shown. The Yidddish THE HOLY MARTYR with Maurice Schwartz appeared in 1937, the Swedish comedy SKANOR-FALSTERBO that same year, Molly Picon in the Yiddish musical MAMELE in 193, the Swedish RENA RAMA SANNINGEN in 1939, the Yiddish TEVYE in 1940, the Italian THE LIFE OF GIUSEPPE VERDI in 1940.
The theatre, formerly Keith’s New Theatre, was located opposite Shepard’s Department Store (now U.R.I. Providence campus) on Westminster Street. It may later have been called the Empire, but there are indications from newspaper ads that another theatre at one time called the Empire was further up on Westminster Street at number 368. Can someone explicate the names, name changes, and locations of these Westminster Street Theatres in downtown Providence?
When this was a legitimate art house in June of 1966, I made my way here from Providence to see Luchino Visconti’s very moody and doomed-to-be-unseen film SANDRA (a.k.a. OF A THOUSAND DELIGHTS, VAGHE STELLE DELL'ORSA) with the incomparable Claudia Cardinale and the comparable Jean Sorel. This murky yet strangely compelling Italian tale of implied brother-sister incest was oddly paired with the American drug-rehabilitation drama SYNANON.
The Strand/Capri was a popular place under Sack when I used to go there in the 1960s. That’s where I first saw ZORBA THE GREEK. I had only been to the Copley Square/Capri once, as a teenage film buff in July of 1959, for a revival of Chaplin’s MODERN TIMES. The Copley Square/Capri should be added as a new theatre to supplement the historical record.
I only went there a couple of times in 1965…once to see Ingmar Bergman’s then-new ALL THESE WOMEN on a double bill with TWO-WAY STRETCH. At the time the theatre seemed very dingy. I returned for a revival program of CYRANO DE BERGERAC with OPEN CITY. Strange combo! OPEN CITY was projected as though it were a wide screen film…heads cut off or part of the subtitles. For a wannabee rep house, they clearly didn’t grasp the concept of aspect ratio.
As an art house, the Art Cinema was doomed. It was located in what was even then a semi-depressed part of Providence. The clientele was never really of local or neighborhood origin. People would have to get there from other parts of town. It was not like the Avon which had and still has a nearby affluent patron-base, and of course being located next to Brown University, the Avon benefitted from the perpetual foot-traffic on busy Thayer Street. I believe the Lockwood Gordon chain, which used to run the Avon in the 1950s, took over the Liberty to be used as an sister venue, renaming it the Art Cinema.