Joe,
The theater is the Variety PhotoPlays and there is an active thread at /theaters/288/
I never went in it (coward) during my time there in the early-mid 60s but I did look at the posters which were all over the place, it seemed like the booking changed 4-5 times a week if not daily. Very unusual programming of films, I recall. Jerry from Florida
As I mentioned earlier, I recall two marquees, one on the north side where there was a road that looped back to the entrance on the south side of RT 3. As a kid, I swore that there were 2 Drive-Ins since we drove by one night and the marquees were in the process of changing and there were two different double features shown.
One night, I remember getting stuck in traffic on our way home to Manhattan from a NJ trip and being thrilled that I got to see a lot of the movie; no sound but who cared.
The 1956 Movie Year Book lists it as the S-3 in Rutherford where an in-door theater, the Rivoli is also listed. East Rutherford has a listing for the Rex.
I don’t remember this one either. But with that programming, Dad probably made certain that my eyes focused on the main 42nd Street marquees.
Brings back a memory of seeing an action double feature at the Empire in the 50s but the “Coming Attractions” were for a nudist film at another theater. Dad put his hat in front of my eyes and laughed.
When Loew’s had the Spooner, the ads from the 50s show that it did not play the features paired in the “mainstream” Loew’s theaters but mainly, double features that had just completed the RKO circuit or double features that had not been booked anywhere else (revivals or a pairing of “B” films). The Bay Ridge & Boro Park seem to be two other Loews' theaters in the same pattern.
My time at the Bleecker goes back to the mid-60s and my first time there was for Robert Downing’s CHAFED ELBOWS which was like nothing I had ever seen before. I believe it was paired with Kenneth Anger’s SCORPIO RISING that Rudy mentioned earlier. I’d love to hear more from Rudy who is a poster on another site that I used to frequent. If he doesn’t respond to this posting, I’ll email him and ask (plead) for more Bleecker memories; especially the SCORPIO RISING story that he left us hanging with in November. Jerry the K
Benjamin,
I have a postcard from the Museum of the City of NY with a 1950 shot of a crowd going into the Garden. Send me your email address and I’ll try to get a scanned copy to you.
I just tried the link above to the video clip and it worked. After clicking on the link, it should take you to the getty images website then click on “play clip”. It’s a great clip (from 8mm in a moving car?) of the entire north side. Jerry
saps,
I guess in order to get more 42nd St-ish type fare like Columbia’s 1966 Matt Helm flic, Murderer’s Row and The Professionals (seen in the front of Marc Eliot’s book Down 42nd Street), they had to book Columbia’s ‘Roz & Hayley as nuns’ tripe.
The programming of Out of the Past & Tension at Table Rock was what made 42nd special to me. And those double features were the ones not advertised in the papers, so it was a treat to come up from the subway and scan the marquees. Jerry
I don’t recall a snack stand inside any of the entrances. There was a Nedicks next to the New Amsterdam (see the photo I posted under the New Amsterdam earlier this week). The only Nedicks that I recall on the north side was in the subway entrance at 8th ave.
See the video clip of the north side from the mid 50s that I posted earlier Here’s the link View link
And yes, Benjamin, the old MSG at 50th & 8th had a Davega Sporting Goods and a Nedick’s in the arcade entrance. Jerry
Here is a 1966 shot of the New Amsterdam and a partial view of some of the other theaters on The Deuce. Note the COOLED BY REFRIGERATION sign under the marquee. And CONTINUOUS to 4 AM above it. Grant’s bar & Nedicks to the left.
I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link: View link
For those interested, the films showing are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Here is a 1966 shot of The Deuce. Note the billboards over the Lyric. THey would display their coming attractions there. In this case…..THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (10th anniversary re-release) and the remake of STAGECOACH
I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link: View link
For those interested, the films showing are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Here is a 1966 shot of the The Deuce. Note the billboard over the Apollo…..HOME OF DISTINGUISHED FOREIGN FILMS. 55 CENTS WEEKDAYS….8AM TO ????
I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link: View link
For those interested, the films partially obscured are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Here is a 1966 shot of the Victory and a partial view of some of the other theaters on The Deuce. Nice program of two 42nd St favorites of the time UA’s Satan Bug & AIP’s Time Travelers. I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link: View link
Note the cameraman on the neon sign above the marquee. At night, the display was animated with the camerman cranking the projector.
For those interested, the films showing are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Thanks, Gerald but as a kid I was given subscriptions to Cue as a Christmas gift by a neighbor. I still had to call each theater to get the programming. And with one phone line at the theater (before recorded messages), this took a while. The New Amsterdam, Lyric may have been listed but definitely not the Empire, Victory, Anco.
I still may try to hunt down Cue archives for other theaters. Thanks.
That’s funny, Warren. How did Jane Eyre ever make it to The Deuce? I’m surprised they didn’t pair the East Side Kids with Career Girl.
I’m still looking for booking information of the 42nd St theaters in the 50s-60s. Newspapers did list some of the New Amsterdam-Lyric-Harris-Selwyn programming but not the others. If anyone can help, please let me know.
Don,
Even in the 1950s, some 42nd St theaters appeared in ads placed by the distributor (ala “showcase”). I’m looking at ads for Pinocchio (‘53 release) that lists the Selwyn; Some Like It Hot (New Amsterdam). Some ads (House on Haunted Hill) mention that the film is at the New A but will play the following week at the Harris.
The Apollo advertised a lot since its art-house programming was geared toward the “non-typical” 42nd Street crowd.
The re-release theaters (Empire, Victory, Anco, Liberty)with the most eclectic programming do not appear in any ads that I can find from the ‘50s. The Anco & Liberty pop-up on occasion in the 60s when they would do the 3rd week of a popular booking, after the New A. & Harris.
I am still looking for booking info on these “re-release” theaters from the 50s-60s. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Jerry
I also recall being stuck in traffic, going home from the Jersey shore in the early 60s, and watching a Drive-In screen from the car. I was the only one disappointed when traffic started to move.
The theater opened before 1970 but I don’t have a date for it. The date on Drive-ins.com is wrong. I have a newspaper listing showing ALFIE showing on April 12, 1967. And the image on the drive-in site shows SAYONARA a 50s film. http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/njtambo
The auction states that the images are from 1951. Here’s what they say:
1951 – …. the famous EMPIRE Theater of Brooklyn New York at Ralph Avenue and Quincy Street. These photos were taken for the last days of the trolley car. the movies are different on each marquee. One is from a 1946 Lucille Ball movie and the other a 1948 Victor Mature movie. Both re-releases.
Strange, RobertR, because it was a very popular “neighborhood” theater. As I mentioned earlier, for those of us further north (Chelsea section in the 50s-early 60s), you had to go here, or 42nd St, to see the MGM, Columbia, UA, Paramount flics. I recall seeing Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Martin & Lewis, Hitchcock’s MGM-Paramount films. Even a double feature of Artists & Models-Trouble with Harry. (I have some more 50s-60s double features-let me know me if interested)
Enclosed one-sheets of the Coming Attractions, with I believe 1-2 stills, lined the brick wall on Greenwich Ave and 7th Ave. The lot was triangular, as you can appreciate on mapquest.com. Draw a line from Bank St to 12th St and that should be the layout of the theater. The Greenwich Theater was at the point where 12th Street cut sharply west across Greenwich Ave.
And yes, the matron in her white nurses' outfit with flashlight. Every matron looked the same as the other theater’s…..spooky.
Great stuff, Bill. West Side Story & Psycho are two of my favorites. Did you find these images on-line or did you scan from newspapers? Jerry
Joe,
The theater is the Variety PhotoPlays and there is an active thread at /theaters/288/
I never went in it (coward) during my time there in the early-mid 60s but I did look at the posters which were all over the place, it seemed like the booking changed 4-5 times a week if not daily. Very unusual programming of films, I recall. Jerry from Florida
As I mentioned earlier, I recall two marquees, one on the north side where there was a road that looped back to the entrance on the south side of RT 3. As a kid, I swore that there were 2 Drive-Ins since we drove by one night and the marquees were in the process of changing and there were two different double features shown.
One night, I remember getting stuck in traffic on our way home to Manhattan from a NJ trip and being thrilled that I got to see a lot of the movie; no sound but who cared.
The 1956 Movie Year Book lists it as the S-3 in Rutherford where an in-door theater, the Rivoli is also listed. East Rutherford has a listing for the Rex.
Here are some nice shots of the Ruskin. Still going strong.
http://www.ruskinonline.com/DriveIn.htm
I don’t remember this one either. But with that programming, Dad probably made certain that my eyes focused on the main 42nd Street marquees.
Brings back a memory of seeing an action double feature at the Empire in the 50s but the “Coming Attractions” were for a nudist film at another theater. Dad put his hat in front of my eyes and laughed.
When Loew’s had the Spooner, the ads from the 50s show that it did not play the features paired in the “mainstream” Loew’s theaters but mainly, double features that had just completed the RKO circuit or double features that had not been booked anywhere else (revivals or a pairing of “B” films). The Bay Ridge & Boro Park seem to be two other Loews' theaters in the same pattern.
My time at the Bleecker goes back to the mid-60s and my first time there was for Robert Downing’s CHAFED ELBOWS which was like nothing I had ever seen before. I believe it was paired with Kenneth Anger’s SCORPIO RISING that Rudy mentioned earlier. I’d love to hear more from Rudy who is a poster on another site that I used to frequent. If he doesn’t respond to this posting, I’ll email him and ask (plead) for more Bleecker memories; especially the SCORPIO RISING story that he left us hanging with in November. Jerry the K
Warren,
What type of programming did the theater have and when did it close? Thanks. Jerry
Benjamin,
I have a postcard from the Museum of the City of NY with a 1950 shot of a crowd going into the Garden. Send me your email address and I’ll try to get a scanned copy to you.
I just tried the link above to the video clip and it worked. After clicking on the link, it should take you to the getty images website then click on “play clip”. It’s a great clip (from 8mm in a moving car?) of the entire north side. Jerry
saps,
I guess in order to get more 42nd St-ish type fare like Columbia’s 1966 Matt Helm flic, Murderer’s Row and The Professionals (seen in the front of Marc Eliot’s book Down 42nd Street), they had to book Columbia’s ‘Roz & Hayley as nuns’ tripe.
The programming of Out of the Past & Tension at Table Rock was what made 42nd special to me. And those double features were the ones not advertised in the papers, so it was a treat to come up from the subway and scan the marquees. Jerry
I don’t recall a snack stand inside any of the entrances. There was a Nedicks next to the New Amsterdam (see the photo I posted under the New Amsterdam earlier this week). The only Nedicks that I recall on the north side was in the subway entrance at 8th ave.
See the video clip of the north side from the mid 50s that I posted earlier Here’s the link View link
And yes, Benjamin, the old MSG at 50th & 8th had a Davega Sporting Goods and a Nedick’s in the arcade entrance. Jerry
Here is a 1966 shot of the New Amsterdam and a partial view of some of the other theaters on The Deuce. Note the COOLED BY REFRIGERATION sign under the marquee. And CONTINUOUS to 4 AM above it. Grant’s bar & Nedicks to the left.
I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link:
View link
For those interested, the films showing are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Here is a 1966 shot of The Deuce. Note the billboards over the Lyric. THey would display their coming attractions there. In this case…..THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (10th anniversary re-release) and the remake of STAGECOACH
I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link:
View link
For those interested, the films showing are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Here is a 1966 shot of the The Deuce. Note the billboard over the Apollo…..HOME OF DISTINGUISHED FOREIGN FILMS. 55 CENTS WEEKDAYS….8AM TO ????
I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link:
View link
For those interested, the films partially obscured are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Here is a 1966 shot of the Victory and a partial view of some of the other theaters on The Deuce. Nice program of two 42nd St favorites of the time UA’s Satan Bug & AIP’s Time Travelers. I won the item on ebay and will be loaded it on to my website soon. Here’s the temporary link:
View link
Note the cameraman on the neon sign above the marquee. At night, the display was animated with the camerman cranking the projector.
For those interested, the films showing are:
HARPER & SWINGER’S PARADISE (Lyric), OUT OF THE PAST & TENSION AT TABLE ROCK (Times Square), TROUBLE WITH ANGELS & MYSTERY OF THUG ISLAND (Selwyn), WEEKEND AT DUNKIRK & THAT MAN IN ISTANBUL (New Amsterdam); Apollo appears to have a Gina Lollobrigida film.
Thanks, Gerald but as a kid I was given subscriptions to Cue as a Christmas gift by a neighbor. I still had to call each theater to get the programming. And with one phone line at the theater (before recorded messages), this took a while. The New Amsterdam, Lyric may have been listed but definitely not the Empire, Victory, Anco.
I still may try to hunt down Cue archives for other theaters. Thanks.
That’s funny, Warren. How did Jane Eyre ever make it to The Deuce? I’m surprised they didn’t pair the East Side Kids with Career Girl.
I’m still looking for booking information of the 42nd St theaters in the 50s-60s. Newspapers did list some of the New Amsterdam-Lyric-Harris-Selwyn programming but not the others. If anyone can help, please let me know.
Here you go, Gerald:
Court Jester & Rainmaker (Coliseum)….Paramount
A Place in the Sun & St Louis Blues (Alhambra)
Night Passage & Son of Ali Baba (Yonkers) U-I
All About Eve & 13th Letter (White Plains) Fox
Kings Go Forth & Horse Soldiers (Madison) UA?
Monkey Business & White Witch Doctor (Strand) Fox
Don’t Go Near the Water & The Badlanders (Chester) MGM
And on and on it goes. Interesting mix. As I said, those were the days. Jerry
Looking at an interesting ad from 1959. All of the RKO theaters would book a different double feature for ONE DAY ONLY. Amazing. The ad reads :
TODAY ONLY
TAKE YOUR CHOICE
54 GREAT PICTURES * 27 DIFFERENT SHOWS.
My theater, the RKO 23rd St had PORK CHOP HILL & Brigitte Bardot in LA PARISIENNE. Now that’s programming.
Imagine the time & expense to pull this off at 27 theaters for 1 day. Those were the days!
Don,
Even in the 1950s, some 42nd St theaters appeared in ads placed by the distributor (ala “showcase”). I’m looking at ads for Pinocchio (‘53 release) that lists the Selwyn; Some Like It Hot (New Amsterdam). Some ads (House on Haunted Hill) mention that the film is at the New A but will play the following week at the Harris.
The Apollo advertised a lot since its art-house programming was geared toward the “non-typical” 42nd Street crowd.
The re-release theaters (Empire, Victory, Anco, Liberty)with the most eclectic programming do not appear in any ads that I can find from the ‘50s. The Anco & Liberty pop-up on occasion in the 60s when they would do the 3rd week of a popular booking, after the New A. & Harris.
I am still looking for booking info on these “re-release” theaters from the 50s-60s. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Jerry
I also recall being stuck in traffic, going home from the Jersey shore in the early 60s, and watching a Drive-In screen from the car. I was the only one disappointed when traffic started to move.
The theater opened before 1970 but I don’t have a date for it. The date on Drive-ins.com is wrong. I have a newspaper listing showing ALFIE showing on April 12, 1967. And the image on the drive-in site shows SAYONARA a 50s film. http://www.drive-ins.com/theater/njtambo
The second film, Great Plane Robbery, had two versions 1940 & 1950, for whatever that’s worth.
Here’s a second link on that auction. Dark Corner is 1946 but the Bowery Boys co-feature is 1948.
View link
The auction states that the images are from 1951. Here’s what they say:
1951 – …. the famous EMPIRE Theater of Brooklyn New York at Ralph Avenue and Quincy Street. These photos were taken for the last days of the trolley car. the movies are different on each marquee. One is from a 1946 Lucille Ball movie and the other a 1948 Victor Mature movie. Both re-releases.
Just came across some nice images of the Empire on “that auction site”. I’m not the seller, so I hope this is acceptable.
View link
Yes it’s the Sheridan layout and the stone half wall is dead-on.
Strange, RobertR, because it was a very popular “neighborhood” theater. As I mentioned earlier, for those of us further north (Chelsea section in the 50s-early 60s), you had to go here, or 42nd St, to see the MGM, Columbia, UA, Paramount flics. I recall seeing Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Martin & Lewis, Hitchcock’s MGM-Paramount films. Even a double feature of Artists & Models-Trouble with Harry. (I have some more 50s-60s double features-let me know me if interested)
Enclosed one-sheets of the Coming Attractions, with I believe 1-2 stills, lined the brick wall on Greenwich Ave and 7th Ave. The lot was triangular, as you can appreciate on mapquest.com. Draw a line from Bank St to 12th St and that should be the layout of the theater. The Greenwich Theater was at the point where 12th Street cut sharply west across Greenwich Ave.
And yes, the matron in her white nurses' outfit with flashlight. Every matron looked the same as the other theater’s…..spooky.