Patrick and Ross… I agree with Ron Newman and must take issue with your 2nd bullet point regarding the attack of “theater management, or local preservation officials — even if you have a legitimate grievance, this website isn’t the place for it."
First… I think we should define “attack”. If by that you mean criticism, then I have to disagree. The masthead of the website commands “Discover. Preserve. Protect.” What better forum than here for people to discuss and analyze (and criticize if need be) the efforts of those individuals, corporations or agencies who hold oversee the daily operation of these “treasures” and hold in their hands the power to “preserve” and “protect” our cinematic heritage?
I’m all for the elimination of personal attacks between members, but if you were to ban all those on this website who have zealously complained about shoddy presentation at a given theater or poor programming or careless neglect and those who have railed against the blatant disregard from local politicians that have met certain preservation efforts, this site would lose its vitality along with a lot of good poeple who have contributed much to the success and enjoyment of Cinema Treasures over the last 3 years.
I mean, if one doesn’t think that the present situations involving the RKO Keith’s and Trylon Theater in Queens, NY, don’t represent acts of politically sanctioned vandalism on the scale of the old Penn Station travesty, then I would have to question one’s very belief in and dedication to the concept of cinema preservation.
Man, Bill Huelbig… You just reminded me of the old World Almanac’s that used to come out yearly. I remember having the 1976 edition as a kid. I loved that movie section! There was a recap of all the movies issued in the previous year (so all of 1975 in my case) and the star ratings as per the Daily News reviews. Plus I remember in the back of the book a listing of nearly every celebrity you could imagine with dates of birth, birthplaces and – if appropriate – dates of death! I wonder if I held onto that almanac anywhere. I have to dig around my Mom’s house and see!
Anyway… lots of critics missed the boat on “2001”… only to offer reappraisals in the months and years following its initial release. Most famous of these is probably the venerated Pauline Kael of the New Yorker.
Bill… I wonder if the headline refers to the theater while playing on the meaning of the word “paramount” as well. As far as I can determine, Paramount Studios had nothing to do with this release.
How on earth did this critic think he was “abiding” by Hitchcock’s plea not to give away the ending??? He couldn’t have spelled it out more clearly had he printed an actual copy of the shooting script!
RobertR… What is the Olympia Theater advertised at the bottom of the clipping playing what looks like revival/art with “Strangers on a Train” and “Contempt”? Could it be the venerable theater at B'way and 107th that was torn down a couple of years back?
Thanks for posting that image for me, longsislandmovies… It’s a bitch trying to cover all the theaters listed in those ads I have! That clipping is from Newsday, by the way, dated 10/5/85. Looks like it also gives us a location as “a mile east from Wantagh St. Pkwy”.
Jeez… just look at Demi Moore’s hair in that ad for “St. Elmo’s Fire”! Could it be piled any higher? And how about Rob Lowe’s mullet!!! Hair styles that have gone the way of the single screen nabe!
Thanks, Warren. I actually have a few editions of the LI Star-Journal from late 1963 and early 1964 – as you might have noted from ads I’ve posted around the site. My grandfather saved a number of newspapers regarding the JFK assassination… luckily, a number of those papers are complete editions, rather than just specific clippings or special sections.
Great ad, Warren. At long last, a clipping about this theater! I wonder if the anniversary refers to the first year of operation for the Victory Theater itself? The research I did for this page seems to point towards a construction date circa 1929 (with permits having been filed as early as 1926), but records are a bit sketchy. It’s possible this would have been a 2nd anniversary for the theater, but I would think they’d have made mention of that in the ad. If you don’t mind, I’d like to poach that clipping for my Victory Theater photobucket album. What paper did it appear in?
Were these XXX hardcore films? Or “soft” X? Either way, I imagine a number of local teens probably found their way to St. Louis Ave on the perimeter of the drive-in lot to try and peer at the exotic images that filled the giant screen!
Oustanding, B.O. Bill! Thanks for all that great info and those wonderful vintage news clippings. Are those from a ProQuest subscription or did you fetch those from a physical Library archive?
That’s a debatable point, Bway. The old Sunrise Drive-In in Valley Stream was demolished and replaced with the Sunrise Multiplex, yet both of these theaters have separate listings on CT.
That is sad, indeed, mikemovies. Is that a confirmed story? I would be supremely disappointed with CT management over that course of action. Did anyone from CT contact him to discuss the situation or was he tried, convicted and sentenced in absentia? Even if you eliminate those controversial “off topic” posts he made, he was far and away the most prolific contributor to this site and offered plenty of helpful “brick and mortar” information regarding C of O’s, organ installation dates, etc. If he is truly gone from this site, I will definitely miss him.
A nice article appears in today’s NY Times about the Colonial. Here’s a link to the online version (which includes several expandable photos), though I’m not sure how long it will last.
Yes, Bway. I agree with you completely. I only offered that I was optimistic as to the possibility of restoration for the Keith’s based on what I knew about the condition of the New Amsterdam at the time Disney took over. I’m sure the Keith’s lobby is in far better shape than the auditorium, but I’ll wager that it would not be impossible to restore the entire interior to its former glory. I am, however, utterly pesimistic about the likelihood of such a restoration if only because, to the typical developer, downtown Flushing is not as appealing a location for the restoration of a performing arts venue as is Times Square.
It would be great if Queens had its own magnificent cultural center, much like Brooklyn has its Academy of Music… However, BAM has had the good fortune of being located in an area that is very convenient to lower Manhattan and surrounded by areas like Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights whose inhabitants are more likely to support such a venue than I suspect those who reside in Whitestone, Bayside and Flushing would. Maybe I’m wrong about that.
Very sad. In many ways, it is rather amazing that this theater was able to hang on as long as it has. Further on up the Maine coast in Bar Harbor, there is also a beautifully preserved art deco specimen named the Criterion Theater that continues to thrill locals and summer vacationers with a bill of current films that changes two or three times a week. I had the pleasure of visiting the Criterion a few weeks back and snapped a bunch of photos which I posted on its page here.
By this time, fewer and fewer porn ads were found in the local papers (and only the Post and News had been publishing them since the Times ditched them entirely in the late ‘70’s). By the early '90’s, only the greatly diminished “Neighborhood Movie Guide” feature in either paper featured listing for porn theaters.
Life… the “factor” you are missing is the fact that Tommy Huang evidently hired a crew to start recklessly demolishing the place at some point and they made a shambles of the mezzanine and orchestra. To what extent I cannot be entirely sure, since I’ve not been in the place since it closed. However, I point you to the very descriptive post above by Ed Baxter on February 27th, 2005, for a detailed accounting of what he saw when he managed to get inside a few years back.
I’m still optimistic that the theater is salvagable – using as a guide the story of the New Amsterdam in Manhattan – but I’m not as optimistic that anyone will be found willing to take a chance on the old gal.
Patrick and Ross… I agree with Ron Newman and must take issue with your 2nd bullet point regarding the attack of “theater management, or local preservation officials — even if you have a legitimate grievance, this website isn’t the place for it."
First… I think we should define “attack”. If by that you mean criticism, then I have to disagree. The masthead of the website commands “Discover. Preserve. Protect.” What better forum than here for people to discuss and analyze (and criticize if need be) the efforts of those individuals, corporations or agencies who hold oversee the daily operation of these “treasures” and hold in their hands the power to “preserve” and “protect” our cinematic heritage?
I’m all for the elimination of personal attacks between members, but if you were to ban all those on this website who have zealously complained about shoddy presentation at a given theater or poor programming or careless neglect and those who have railed against the blatant disregard from local politicians that have met certain preservation efforts, this site would lose its vitality along with a lot of good poeple who have contributed much to the success and enjoyment of Cinema Treasures over the last 3 years.
I mean, if one doesn’t think that the present situations involving the RKO Keith’s and Trylon Theater in Queens, NY, don’t represent acts of politically sanctioned vandalism on the scale of the old Penn Station travesty, then I would have to question one’s very belief in and dedication to the concept of cinema preservation.
“The Twelve Chairs” was released October 28, 1970, in the U.S. per imdb.com.
Man, Bill Huelbig… You just reminded me of the old World Almanac’s that used to come out yearly. I remember having the 1976 edition as a kid. I loved that movie section! There was a recap of all the movies issued in the previous year (so all of 1975 in my case) and the star ratings as per the Daily News reviews. Plus I remember in the back of the book a listing of nearly every celebrity you could imagine with dates of birth, birthplaces and – if appropriate – dates of death! I wonder if I held onto that almanac anywhere. I have to dig around my Mom’s house and see!
Anyway… lots of critics missed the boat on “2001”… only to offer reappraisals in the months and years following its initial release. Most famous of these is probably the venerated Pauline Kael of the New Yorker.
Bill… I wonder if the headline refers to the theater while playing on the meaning of the word “paramount” as well. As far as I can determine, Paramount Studios had nothing to do with this release.
How on earth did this critic think he was “abiding” by Hitchcock’s plea not to give away the ending??? He couldn’t have spelled it out more clearly had he printed an actual copy of the shooting script!
RobertR… What is the Olympia Theater advertised at the bottom of the clipping playing what looks like revival/art with “Strangers on a Train” and “Contempt”? Could it be the venerable theater at B'way and 107th that was torn down a couple of years back?
Thanks for posting that image for me, longsislandmovies… It’s a bitch trying to cover all the theaters listed in those ads I have! That clipping is from Newsday, by the way, dated 10/5/85. Looks like it also gives us a location as “a mile east from Wantagh St. Pkwy”.
Jeez… just look at Demi Moore’s hair in that ad for “St. Elmo’s Fire”! Could it be piled any higher? And how about Rob Lowe’s mullet!!! Hair styles that have gone the way of the single screen nabe!
Will the true theatre historians please stand up!
Thanks, Warren. I actually have a few editions of the LI Star-Journal from late 1963 and early 1964 – as you might have noted from ads I’ve posted around the site. My grandfather saved a number of newspapers regarding the JFK assassination… luckily, a number of those papers are complete editions, rather than just specific clippings or special sections.
Great ad, Warren. At long last, a clipping about this theater! I wonder if the anniversary refers to the first year of operation for the Victory Theater itself? The research I did for this page seems to point towards a construction date circa 1929 (with permits having been filed as early as 1926), but records are a bit sketchy. It’s possible this would have been a 2nd anniversary for the theater, but I would think they’d have made mention of that in the ad. If you don’t mind, I’d like to poach that clipping for my Victory Theater photobucket album. What paper did it appear in?
Were these XXX hardcore films? Or “soft” X? Either way, I imagine a number of local teens probably found their way to St. Louis Ave on the perimeter of the drive-in lot to try and peer at the exotic images that filled the giant screen!
Oustanding, B.O. Bill! Thanks for all that great info and those wonderful vintage news clippings. Are those from a ProQuest subscription or did you fetch those from a physical Library archive?
We have an address per Lost Memory’s post on Jun 7th, 2006.
That’s a debatable point, Bway. The old Sunrise Drive-In in Valley Stream was demolished and replaced with the Sunrise Multiplex, yet both of these theaters have separate listings on CT.
Thanks again, Ken, for yet another great series of photographs.
The Capri was one of a number of porn houses to list its attractions in the Post’s Neighborhood Movie Guide feature well into the 1980’s:
NY Post – 12/11/80
NY Post – 3/8/82
NY Post – 1/30/86
NY Post – 10/28/86
That is sad, indeed, mikemovies. Is that a confirmed story? I would be supremely disappointed with CT management over that course of action. Did anyone from CT contact him to discuss the situation or was he tried, convicted and sentenced in absentia? Even if you eliminate those controversial “off topic” posts he made, he was far and away the most prolific contributor to this site and offered plenty of helpful “brick and mortar” information regarding C of O’s, organ installation dates, etc. If he is truly gone from this site, I will definitely miss him.
I captured the images from the Times article, in case the link to the full article expires:
Interior shot
Carved Cherub detail
Before and After detail work
A nice article appears in today’s NY Times about the Colonial. Here’s a link to the online version (which includes several expandable photos), though I’m not sure how long it will last.
Great idea, Jeffrey. It would be a monument to lipservice, corruption and shameless hucksterism. Perhaps it could be named after Donald Manes.
Yes, Bway. I agree with you completely. I only offered that I was optimistic as to the possibility of restoration for the Keith’s based on what I knew about the condition of the New Amsterdam at the time Disney took over. I’m sure the Keith’s lobby is in far better shape than the auditorium, but I’ll wager that it would not be impossible to restore the entire interior to its former glory. I am, however, utterly pesimistic about the likelihood of such a restoration if only because, to the typical developer, downtown Flushing is not as appealing a location for the restoration of a performing arts venue as is Times Square.
It would be great if Queens had its own magnificent cultural center, much like Brooklyn has its Academy of Music… However, BAM has had the good fortune of being located in an area that is very convenient to lower Manhattan and surrounded by areas like Cobble Hill, Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights whose inhabitants are more likely to support such a venue than I suspect those who reside in Whitestone, Bayside and Flushing would. Maybe I’m wrong about that.
Very sad. In many ways, it is rather amazing that this theater was able to hang on as long as it has. Further on up the Maine coast in Bar Harbor, there is also a beautifully preserved art deco specimen named the Criterion Theater that continues to thrill locals and summer vacationers with a bill of current films that changes two or three times a week. I had the pleasure of visiting the Criterion a few weeks back and snapped a bunch of photos which I posted on its page here.
RobertR… that ad is for the B'klyn Fox, not the Paramount.
Here’s an ad from 1985:
Preppy Summer – Daily News 9/23/85
I wonder what the “second surprise feature” was?
By this time, fewer and fewer porn ads were found in the local papers (and only the Post and News had been publishing them since the Times ditched them entirely in the late ‘70’s). By the early '90’s, only the greatly diminished “Neighborhood Movie Guide” feature in either paper featured listing for porn theaters.
Life… the “factor” you are missing is the fact that Tommy Huang evidently hired a crew to start recklessly demolishing the place at some point and they made a shambles of the mezzanine and orchestra. To what extent I cannot be entirely sure, since I’ve not been in the place since it closed. However, I point you to the very descriptive post above by Ed Baxter on February 27th, 2005, for a detailed accounting of what he saw when he managed to get inside a few years back.
I’m still optimistic that the theater is salvagable – using as a guide the story of the New Amsterdam in Manhattan – but I’m not as optimistic that anyone will be found willing to take a chance on the old gal.