Comments from sasheegm

Kenroe & Lostmemory: It’s amazing the way you fellows come up with these very interesting facts…….I wish more info was available on the old Rogers Movie house, furthur west on Broadway, as that seemed to look like the oldest, from what I recall, in the old neighborhood…….Joe From Florida…P,S, waiting for the wind and rain to pick up down here from “Katrina”

PKoch: There is one started before I came on board……..Just look it up in US theaters——then NYC——and enter Rogers————There were two of them, so make sure you get the one on Broadway in Brooklyn——also the following movie-houses are listed—Alba, Sun, Rivoli, Monroe, Loews Gates, RKO-Bushwick, Madison, Parthanon. Ridgewood, Wycoff, Willimasburg, Colonial, Starr….and all of the Downtown theaters like the Bklyn-Fox, Strand—etc etc——Joe From Florida

Beautiful Jerry & Gerry: I wish I had that car…….Looks like an old, or new! Kaiser/Frazier…….look at all that glitter…..wonderful……Joe From Florida

That’s some task Jerry…….So many films were seen there, but certain ones stick out in my mind, especially those two, that I saw for the first time…..Now I have both on video……..I also remember going to the sneak previews that they used to have on the Bway theaters……..I saw “East of Eden”…I believe at the Astor(not quite sure of the theater) but anyway, they had a sneak preview afterwards, and it was a “Bowery Boys” film……what a combination——-Could not tell you what Bowery Boys, as I remember leaving before most of it got started————They used to give you preview cards to fill out———Not for me, as i left early———-I saw the film I paid to see……Well its past my sack time——-Funny when your younger you could go to a midnight show and think nothing of it……..Now I cannot keep my eyes open after 11pm……Keep up the great posting and memories Jerry……Joe From Florida

Thanks RobertR for taking the time to post them…….Joe From Florida……

Hello Lostmemory: Nice article for somebody like me that collects Classic Films on Video and DVD……….and it hits home when you read about all of the lost films from those Golden Years………Most of my 500 plus titles are 1930s titles……The others, films i saw at the Theaters we talk about here!……….I wonder sometimes, what would have happened to the Library of films in the Huge MGM library, had Ted Turner not purchased them………He immediatly set out to restore many of them, and they became the Corner-Stone of his Turner Classic Movie Channel………One would hope that when he is no longer in the picture, Time_Warner will continue to rejuvenate what still amounts to thousands of titles waiting to be restored……and that someday, MCA/Universal which owns all of the pre-1954 Paramount titles plus Universal, will do the same thing——-They are only marginally involved at this point in Restoration and showing of the Huge Paramount Library——At this point, thousands of titles just sit in their warehouses collecting dust———-Great Article Lost-One——-Joe From Florida—-sasheegm

Hi Gerry: Eli Wallach was a Customer of mine, when I worked for Sears Auto Center as asst. Mgr back in the mid 60s in Hicksville,L.I.————He and wife Ann Jackson lived close on L.I., and every once in a while, he would pop in to look over some of the items we had in our racks, since we had 60 bays, which at the time, was the largest Auto service Station in the Country………He was a regular guy who almost felt embarresed by all the attention folks would give him……..and I think for him to go to Europe and become one of the biggest names in World Cinema in the 60s, might have given him pleasure to be talked about with the likes of all the greats of European Cinema you mentioned……..I have alot of info On Mr. Wallach, who I feel is one(still with us) of the finest character actors ever to grace a Movie Theaters screen…..will try to e-mail you privatly later on more…….and I am sure many young and old Actors & Actresses who graced the Bway Stage for so many years, would take in a show at the Apollo…………Too bad we could not have a time machine for about 3hours, just to return to those magical days……Ciao, Joe From Florida——sasheegm

Jack D: It was great reading your recollections of old 42nd st and its Movie Houses…….I dont know if you were the booking agent back in the 50s when I went there, but if you were, a heart felt Thank You, for all the memories you supplied for me & many others at the Apollo and the other houses on that strip……..Joe From Florida—-sasheegm

The Mysterians was originally supposed to be released theatrically by RKO——-Toho had leased them the rights to show the film in the USA……….But at that time, in 1958, RKO had lost most of its booking houses, so RKO turned over the theatrical rights to MGM with Toho’s approval, and the results were terrific………However RKO retained the rights to the TV distribution which is about all it had left———-MGM re-dubbed the film, and re-colorized the negatives with their Metro Color process which turned pink within a year………So for many years, all you could see on TV were B&W prints……..When RKO-TV finally released a color version of the film, it was washed out ,looking with very warbely sound track…………………Toho released it on Pal video first in Japan then on Laser disc in the 90s…….Finally about 3 years ago they released it on dvd in Japan, and reached an agreement last year with Media-Blasters to release it here———-A new English Dubbed track was used on the dvd….and of course you have the option to see it in original Japanese with English subtitles……….As far as I know, all of the original MGM 70mm prints are gone with the wind——turned to dust———-I only knew one collector who had a 16mm MGM print…..and that was back in the 1960s…….but even the Original Toho negative was damaged some=———-if you take a close look at the first combat scene between the Jet Planes and the Dome’s laser beam, you will see heavy lines for about 5 to 10 seconds———That was a flaw in the original negative, that was never fixed………Good talking with you Richard——-By the way; for about 5 years, when i lived in Levittown, in the early 70s, I would take out my 16mm projector and show the entire neighborhood The Mysterians on the back of my house which was white————My Daughters were small then and they grew up watching The Mysterians on the 4th of July for about 5 years with about 50 kids———My poor wife had to clean up the mess the morning after——but what fun we had, as I made my own fireworks showing The Mysterians on the back of my house….Joe

I noticed that no posting was made on this Theater that had to compete with all of the attractions surrounding it in Coney Island; my guess is that it was mostly frequented my locals——I was there once, and here is how………In 1953, my Father worked for a company that was contracted by 20th Century Fox to make Cinemascope screens for the NY theaters that were going to show their first 70mm film in over 33 years( the first was Fox’s,The Big Trail in 1930 with John Wayne)——My Father had already helped to make(he was a sewer-putting the screen pieces together) the big screen at the Roxy in Manhattan………This time he was to go along and hlp install the new screen at the Tilyou and he took me with him——-at the time, it was the RKO-Tilyou——-I sat in the balcony while my father and a group of others assembled the screen on the stage area……….It was the only time he took me with him———-when all the screens that his company was contracted to make and install were finished, all or most of the employees were let go, or laid off as they used to say…….With the screen in place, we left before the test run of a 70mm film clip was to be run————but my Dad did get a chance to see The Robe at the Roxy in its trial run at the Roxy before its premier——and I remember him saying how beautiful the picture was——-Luckily a few years ago, Fox located a negative that had not deteriorated and was able to restore the Print with the help of the Technicolor Corp, as their Deluxe process, while being cheaper, but just as radiant as technicolor at first, faded very quickly and only pinkish negatives remained in their Vaults…..Now Fox is in the expensive process of restoring many of their old films for dvd & showing on their Fox Movie Channel…….Joe From Florida—-sasheegm——P.S. Many of the early Deluxe 70mm titles had sufferd a similar fate, circa 1953/1956

Thanks Jerry: My Cousin Rose lived on 13th Street, and I used to pass this place everytime I went to visit…….and as you mentioned, posters and lobby cards all over the place, with round windows possibly on the doors…..and they had photos on them……Like you, I never ventured in……but in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn, I think we had an even older house called the Rogers on Broadway……..It showed predominantly b-westerns in the late 40s and early 50s, when I used to go there, and my Cousin Carmine who now lives in Buffalo, NY, used to go there as a kid to see westerns in the 1930s—————and I listed one other old house on the lower east side, The American on 3rd st. which had a painted Brick Wall for a screen———It almost looked like it adjoined the side or back of another building……and in 1957 when I was working in that area, I went there, and told my Dad, who was born on Elizabeth St. In Little Italy in 1911(may God rest his soul)..and he said he went there to see Tom Mix & Joe Bonomo when he was a kid in the 20s!————-It is too bad that a more detailed document cannot be found on these very old Movie Theaters, that were most likely Vaudeville or neighborhood Playhouses before they became Movie Theaters……..My Father said there was one place in Little Italy that used to have Italian Plays…..and i believe on 1st Ave or near there, was the Yiddish Playhouse where so many familiar names and faces started like Sylvia Sidney, Marc Lawrence, Molly Picon, Zero Mostel, etc etc…….There were many Ethnic theaters all over NY——After all it was called the “Melting Pot”…..and the aromas coming from the Women of the house preparing Supper…..or I remember one aroma so well, I think of it every time I see the film “Naked City”-1948 advertised (of course I have it on dvd) that is the Essex St Market with barrels of Pickles, Herring, White-Fish etc etc——what a place——what a neighborhood——Joe From Florida—-sasheegm

I attended the Rivoli with my Parents many times…….It was not as expensive as the RKO or Loews Theaters, but always had a good double feature……….They also had “dish” night and “glass”, where they would give away dishes and glasses to all the Ladies in attendance……My earliest recollection of the Rivoli on Myrtle Ave, was going with my parents to see “Abbott & Costello-Meet Frankenstein”………I was about 7 or 8 years old and could sleep all night as the film scared the hell out of me———-Years later I would realize that it was the musical score that did that trick……..Also the Rivoli would show 3rd run Double features…..and I remember very clearly when the RKO Madison showed the Double Feature of “King Kong” & “The Leopard Man”———-We( my neighborhood friends & I) waited on line for it seemed like n eternity to see the big Gorilla——a few weeks later, the Rivoli was showing the same twin bill……and as you guessed it, we saw it again………I believe that was the last Major theatrical showing prior to the TV debut on Channel 9’s Million Dollar Movie"….It was a very comfortable theater, as the seats were nice and soft in comparison to the Starr a few blocks away——-Great little theater———Joe From Florida—-sasheegm

The few times I went to the Empire, I remeber that they had Cliffhanger Serials showing 7 days a week…..One such Serial that I saw parts of there was, Republic’s Federal Agents VS. The Underworld Inc……..The feature films were usually 3rd run……At the same time these last of the old Cliffhanger serials were being shown at the Empire, NYC’s Serial Theater was on TV with the much superior older Cliffhangers such as Flash Gordon……..Each time I went there with my father in the evenings, the movie house was almost empty…..Joe From Florida—-sasheegm—–