P.S. 152, how old are you, and when did you move out of Flatbush ? I estimate your age as about 53 years, from you being nine when “Thirteen Ghosts” was in theaters.
I am from Ridgewood, Queens, and am 49 years of age.
According to my dad, and people of his generation (he was born in 1919) television seems to have done away with many small neighborhood movie theaters. That, too : what a loss to us all !
Thanks, Warren. It’s probably in the “I Have Often Walked …” column of the Queens Chronicle, in which are published images of familiar locales as they appeared many years ago.
Good to meet you, westsidegirl, and welcome to Cinema Treasures !
How early were the films you learned to love at the Alden / Regency ? Any silent films, perhaps with live piano accompaniment at certain screenings ? What was the West Side like then ? Anything like the film and stage musical “West Side Story” ?
Thank you. If indeed the image is from 1951, that may explain the absence of the tower above the el in the background, because it marked the turnout to the Lexington Avenue el, which ran for the last time on Friday, October 13, 1950.
Thanks, Jerry Kovar, for posting the link to that great old image of the Empire. The film, “Cry Of The City”, being shown then by the Empire in that image, released in 1948, dates the image to either that year or 1949.
I remember a DJ on WNEW-102.7 FM in NYC in summer 1971 saying that there was this great old cinema in Manhattan where you could see “Lady In A Car” starring Samantha Eggar, for 75 cents. I wonder what cinema that might have been.
Bway and I once did similar detective work on Loew’s Hillside, an image that we thought was from November 1964 but was actually February 1961 right after the blizzard of the 4th and 5th of that month.
With the help of others on this site, we figured out that, at that time, as seen in that image, the Hillside was showing “Hell Is A City” and “Let No Man Write My Epitaph”.
It is also obviously false, because I saw “Mr. Holland’s Opus” at the Cameo in Brewster with my wife and two friends of ours, a married couple, in February 1996. I liked the decor of classic movie posters in the inner lobby. I am sorry that it is now closed.
Joe G, Fred M, and anyone else interested in sharing memories of Bushwick with other former or current Bushwick residents, please contact Eleanor Phillips of the Bushwick Buddies website at :
On the Embassy Theater page, I just asked Karl B to help us out with the Adelphi on this page. He may have heard or learned about it from people older than him, in the neighborhood he grew up in.
There is neither a Ridgewood Folly theater nor a Ridgewood Bill nor a TomScott. I’m an atheist !
P.S. 152, how old are you, and when did you move out of Flatbush ? I estimate your age as about 53 years, from you being nine when “Thirteen Ghosts” was in theaters.
I am from Ridgewood, Queens, and am 49 years of age.
According to my dad, and people of his generation (he was born in 1919) television seems to have done away with many small neighborhood movie theaters. That, too : what a loss to us all !
Thanks, Warren. It’s probably in the “I Have Often Walked …” column of the Queens Chronicle, in which are published images of familiar locales as they appeared many years ago.
No, but they are fun, sometimes.
The Gimmick-O-Rama that I remember attending was September 1988, at the 57 Watts Street Film Forum.
Shaken, not stirred ?
Here’s looking at you, kid !
Thanks, westsidegirl. Well put !
What older movies did you learn to love at the Alden / Regency back then ?
Good to meet you, westsidegirl, and welcome to Cinema Treasures !
How early were the films you learned to love at the Alden / Regency ? Any silent films, perhaps with live piano accompaniment at certain screenings ? What was the West Side like then ? Anything like the film and stage musical “West Side Story” ?
Oh, that’s beautiful, Matt ! Thanks so much for posting that link !
You’re welcome. Yes, I meant the past, in Bklyn, about a century ago.
P.S. 152, what about the Yiddish Theater scene in Brooklyn : Brownsville (“The Prince Of Pitkin Avenue”), Williamsburg, Boro Park ?
Indeed !
Yes ! Leo Fuchs, Theodore Bikel, Molly Picon, Minasha Skulnick, where are you now ?
Thank you. If indeed the image is from 1951, that may explain the absence of the tower above the el in the background, because it marked the turnout to the Lexington Avenue el, which ran for the last time on Friday, October 13, 1950.
Take it, Bway !
Thanks, Jerry Kovar, for posting the link to that great old image of the Empire. The film, “Cry Of The City”, being shown then by the Empire in that image, released in 1948, dates the image to either that year or 1949.
Yes, maybe so.
I remember a DJ on WNEW-102.7 FM in NYC in summer 1971 saying that there was this great old cinema in Manhattan where you could see “Lady In A Car” starring Samantha Eggar, for 75 cents. I wonder what cinema that might have been.
Thank you, woody and Warren.
Bway and I once did similar detective work on Loew’s Hillside, an image that we thought was from November 1964 but was actually February 1961 right after the blizzard of the 4th and 5th of that month.
With the help of others on this site, we figured out that, at that time, as seen in that image, the Hillside was showing “Hell Is A City” and “Let No Man Write My Epitaph”.
lostmemory, thanks for posting that old photo.
What can you deduce from the words on the marquee that ARE visible ? What are those words ? Would you care to post them here ?
It is also obviously false, because I saw “Mr. Holland’s Opus” at the Cameo in Brewster with my wife and two friends of ours, a married couple, in February 1996. I liked the decor of classic movie posters in the inner lobby. I am sorry that it is now closed.
Joe G, Fred M, and anyone else interested in sharing memories of Bushwick with other former or current Bushwick residents, please contact Eleanor Phillips of the Bushwick Buddies website at :
Thanks so much, Karl, for posting all these wonderful details !
Thank you also for your attention to detail and your truthfulness. I appreciate both very much.
I have the “Atom Man vs. Superman” serial at home on VHS and have enjoyed watching it with my son. In it, Superman becomes a cartoon when he flies !
If I offended you by mentioning your birth date here, I apologize.
I think the house in Ridgewood I grew up in was built around 1918 also.
Any ideas, even vague ones, about the Adelphi Theater ?
So am I. Let’s be careful not to burn up this stretch of the Fulton Street of the past in cyber-space !
On the Embassy Theater page, I just asked Karl B to help us out with the Adelphi on this page. He may have heard or learned about it from people older than him, in the neighborhood he grew up in.
There is neither a Ridgewood Folly theater nor a Ridgewood Bill nor a TomScott. I’m an atheist !
Just joking !
Ah, Karl B, good to have you on this page. Thanks for being here !
Can you help us out with the Adelphi Theater, a silent movie theater, which may have preceded the Gem Theatre at its selfsame location ?
Not directly, but he may have some knowledge of it, just as we have some knowledge of the Ridgewood Folly.