The Columbus, known for decades as the Uptown, is one of the two most beautiful Rhode Island theatres, the other being the former Loew’s State (now the Providence Performing Arts Center). As a lover of Italian films, I have a special interest in the history of the Columbus/Uptown for it was here that I saw Italian films for the first time in the early 50’s. I remember in particular going with my parents to see OUTCRY (IL SOLE SORGE ANCORA, Aldo Vergano) in 1951. Later I saw De Sica’s UMBERTO D and Visconti’s BELLISSIMA here for the first time. My researches show that from the early 30’s to the 50’s the theatre very often booked short runs of Italian-language films, often unsubtitled, for the Italian-speaking audience on Federal Hill, Providence’s “Little Italyâ€. They also had Italian-language stage shows. In the 30’s pro-Mussolini documentaries were occasionally featured: MUSSOLINI SPEAKS: STUDY OF THE DUCE AND ITALY IN RECENT YEARS in 1933, ITALO-ETHIOPIA WAR FILMS in 1936, THE STRENGTH OF THE NEW ITALY in 1937, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF MUSSOLINI in 1938. Generally, besides normal American second run double bills, they showed shorter runs of popular Italian films for the ethnic audiences, including in 1931 the first American-made Italian film (made in New Jersey): SEI TU L’AMORE, which proved so popular it was repeated in 1933. Other relatively significant Italian movies shown here in the 30’s-50’s were ZAPPATORE (silent), the grand Roman epic SCIPIO AFRICANUS, the Neapolitan/English New Jersey-made hybrid SANTA LUCIA LUNTANA, LA CANZONE DELL’AMORE (first Italian sound feature; the theatre still owns a poster!), Blasetti’s TERRA MADRE, ETTORE FIERAMOSCA, and TIMES GONE BY, Alessandrini’s FURIA (later remade by Cukor as WILD IS THE WIND, and dozens and dozens of films with the irrepressible Italian comic, Toto’. Sometimes they did move-overs of popular Italian films subtitled for general audiences, such as THE BICYCLE THIEF, BITTER RICE, SHOE SHINE, ANNA.
Footnote: In 1962 I had the pleasure of attending a recital here by legendary Italian Tenor Tito Schipa.
A scene from the 1996 film “American Buffalo”, directed by Rhode Islander Michael Corrente and starring Dustin Hoffman, was shot in front of the Leroy Theatre. I saw films in this beautiful theatre many times during the 1970s. It is a disgrace that the city of Pawtucket did not care enough to prevent the destruction of this wondrous place. Now Pawtucket has nothing, nothing at all. No more Capitol, Strand, Darlton, State, Broadway…and no more Leroy.
Was this theatre ever known as the Trans-Lux in the 1950s? If not, what else was the Trans-Lux? It was kind of a racy art house, judging from newspaper ads I remember from that time.
It was just a few hundred feet away from Symphony Hall. It also housed a small recital-hall sized little theatre called the “Fine Arts” and which was one of Boston’s best art/repertory houses in the 1960s, featuring many films by Fellini, Bergman, Antonioni, Truffaut, Visconti…generally in double-bill revivals.
The Columbus, known for decades as the Uptown, is one of the two most beautiful Rhode Island theatres, the other being the former Loew’s State (now the Providence Performing Arts Center). As a lover of Italian films, I have a special interest in the history of the Columbus/Uptown for it was here that I saw Italian films for the first time in the early 50’s. I remember in particular going with my parents to see OUTCRY (IL SOLE SORGE ANCORA, Aldo Vergano) in 1951. Later I saw De Sica’s UMBERTO D and Visconti’s BELLISSIMA here for the first time. My researches show that from the early 30’s to the 50’s the theatre very often booked short runs of Italian-language films, often unsubtitled, for the Italian-speaking audience on Federal Hill, Providence’s “Little Italyâ€. They also had Italian-language stage shows. In the 30’s pro-Mussolini documentaries were occasionally featured: MUSSOLINI SPEAKS: STUDY OF THE DUCE AND ITALY IN RECENT YEARS in 1933, ITALO-ETHIOPIA WAR FILMS in 1936, THE STRENGTH OF THE NEW ITALY in 1937, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF MUSSOLINI in 1938. Generally, besides normal American second run double bills, they showed shorter runs of popular Italian films for the ethnic audiences, including in 1931 the first American-made Italian film (made in New Jersey): SEI TU L’AMORE, which proved so popular it was repeated in 1933. Other relatively significant Italian movies shown here in the 30’s-50’s were ZAPPATORE (silent), the grand Roman epic SCIPIO AFRICANUS, the Neapolitan/English New Jersey-made hybrid SANTA LUCIA LUNTANA, LA CANZONE DELL’AMORE (first Italian sound feature; the theatre still owns a poster!), Blasetti’s TERRA MADRE, ETTORE FIERAMOSCA, and TIMES GONE BY, Alessandrini’s FURIA (later remade by Cukor as WILD IS THE WIND, and dozens and dozens of films with the irrepressible Italian comic, Toto’. Sometimes they did move-overs of popular Italian films subtitled for general audiences, such as THE BICYCLE THIEF, BITTER RICE, SHOE SHINE, ANNA.
Footnote: In 1962 I had the pleasure of attending a recital here by legendary Italian Tenor Tito Schipa.
A scene from the 1996 film “American Buffalo”, directed by Rhode Islander Michael Corrente and starring Dustin Hoffman, was shot in front of the Leroy Theatre. I saw films in this beautiful theatre many times during the 1970s. It is a disgrace that the city of Pawtucket did not care enough to prevent the destruction of this wondrous place. Now Pawtucket has nothing, nothing at all. No more Capitol, Strand, Darlton, State, Broadway…and no more Leroy.
Was this theatre ever known as the Trans-Lux in the 1950s? If not, what else was the Trans-Lux? It was kind of a racy art house, judging from newspaper ads I remember from that time.
It was just a few hundred feet away from Symphony Hall. It also housed a small recital-hall sized little theatre called the “Fine Arts” and which was one of Boston’s best art/repertory houses in the 1960s, featuring many films by Fellini, Bergman, Antonioni, Truffaut, Visconti…generally in double-bill revivals.