Loew's Jersey Theatre

JodarMovieFan on January 25, 2010 at 1:37 pm

MPol, I didn’t see titles mentioned for the Spring shows, which is why I posted the same question. Wouldn’t it be nice? They’ve got the 35/70mm proector, I surmise its just a matter of them obtaining the 70mm titles (good ones). We know they’ve struck a new 70mm print of WSS, lets hope they can get that and some other treasures. I wouldn’t mind travelling to Jersey for this, its only 3 hours or so from DC. Lets cross our fingers…and stay tuned. As to why the Ziegfeld isn’t having a Spring Retrospective…. :P

mdvoskin on January 25, 2010 at 10:25 am

This coming weekend of January 29th and 30th, The Landmark Loews Jersey Theatre located on Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, continues its 80th Birthday Jubilee and 10th consecutive year of classic films with its first screenings of 2010. This season, we are saluting the decades that the Landmark Loews Jersey has been entertaining us, starting with some classic films from the 1930’s.

Located directly across from the PATH subway station connecting Manhattan with Jersey City, it is also easy to reach from most area highways. Secure discounted parking is located directly behind the theatre. Have your parking ticket validated at the theatre’s boxoffice.

All Show Are Presented In 35mm With Genuine Carbon Arc Projection On Our Giant 50 Foot Wide Screen.

Friday January 29th at 8:00pm â€" The Thin Man (1934)

Starring William Powell & Myrna Loy. Also starring Maureen O’Sullivan, Nat Pendleton. Cesar Romero.
Directed by W.S. Van Dyke (93 minutes)

This adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s novel defined the genre of movie that succeeds in the unlikely but exquisitely entertaining mix of mystery and sophisticated comedy. Nick Charles (Powell) is a private investigator who has just retired after marrying wealthy socialite Nora (Loy) â€" only to be goaded by his thrill-seeking bride into investigating the recent disappearance of an inventor. The film succeeds in no small part because of the electric chemistry between Powell and Loy â€" who as Nick and Nora remain one of Hollywood’s most legendary on-screen couples. Their witty repartee, which often makes them seem more like saucy secret lovers than a married couple, is still great fun to listen to 76 years later. The film’s stylish Deco sets and wardrobe also gave a much needed taste of glamour to Depression-era audiences. Though originally planned as a “B picture” it proved immensely popular and inspired five sequels plus countless imitations.

Saturday January 30th at 6:30pm â€" Top Hat (1935)

Starring Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. Also starring Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Eric Blore.
Music by Irving Berlin. (99 minutes)

“Top Hat” is classy, Depression-era escapism at its best. If the storyline is a typical mistaken-identity romantic comedy, what puts the movie in a class all its own is the stunning combination of an Irving Berlin score, the incomparable choreography and dance of Fred Astaire, the charismatic screen chemistry between Astarie and Ginger Rogers, and a dynamite supporting cast. (Look for Lucille Ball in a small role.) The Deco-infused sets, plus Mark Sandrich’s deft direction â€" which can best be described as effervescent â€" burnish the luster of “Top Hat” to a fine sheen and have made the film the epitome of 1930s glamour.

Saturday January 30th at 8:40pm â€" Gold Diggers Of Broadway 1933

Starring Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Guy Kibbee, Warren Williams, Ginger Rogers, Sterling Holloway. Choreography by Busby Berkeley. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy. (96minutes)

If Busby Berkeley’s name is still synonymous with over-the-top musical numbers, “Gold Diggers of 1933” is one of the best showcases of the outrageously lavish choreography, seemingly endless chorus lines, fluid camera work and dizzying overhead compositions that were his hallmark. And in addition to Berkeley’s signature talent, the movie also boasts an amazing mix of comedy, gritty Depression-era commentary, romance and pre-Production Code sex. A sweet love story between Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell unfolds while unemployed showgirls struggle to survive hard times by pragmatically using their “assets” to charm backers for a new show. There’s the cheekily salacious “Pettin’ in the Park” number, Berkeley’s jaunty “We’re in the Money” extravaganza that features coin-clad chorus girls and Ginger Rogers singing in Pig Latin, and the downbeat finale “Remember My Forgotten Man” that is firmly rooted in the grim realities of the 1930s. All of this makes “Gold Diggers of 1933” one of the best pre-Production Code musicals, and one of the best remembered movies of the 1930s.

Charlie Daniels GEICO Commercial Filmed At The Landmark Loews Jersey

GEICO Lizard Visits The Landmark Loews Jersey

Visit The Landmark Loews Jersey web site for details.

[size=1]The Landmark Loews Jersey Theatre[/size]

mdvoskin on January 21, 2010 at 8:37 am

Bernie Anderson is my personal favorite of all the GTOS organists. I wish they would use him more often at their events. Here is a clip of Bernie Anderson playing the Wonder Morton Theatre Organ at The Landmark Loews Jersey:

Bernie Anderson at The Landmark Loews Jersey

After all, this is The Landmark Loews Jersey thread…

spectrum on January 18, 2010 at 4:08 pm

To get an idea of how a silent film sounds with excellent organ accompaniment, check out these recent Youtube videos of a 1926 film “The winning of Barbara Worth” with magnificent organ accompaniment by Bernie Anderson – real original silent film-type music!

This was recorded during a showing at the Bound Brook theater in September 2009.

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That’s over 20 minutes of film and organ bliss!

gabedellafave on November 26, 2009 at 4:26 pm

Interesting comparison between Loew’s Midland (by Thomas Lamb) and the Loew’s Jersey (by Rapp & Rapp). First, it looks as though the design came from the same source book, to the paint color in the coves. Second, which architect used a heavier hand with detail? In this view, the Jersey looks more refined and delicate. The Midland came 6 years before the Jersey. It almost looks as though whom ever the architects were, they had refined their style by the time the Jersey was built.

View link

In 1929, both Rapp bros. were long gone, but Thomas Lamb was very much alive.

Just wondering…

mdvoskin on November 15, 2009 at 12:33 pm

This coming weekend of November 20th and 21st, The Landmark Loews Jersey Theatre located on Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey, will continue its 80th Birthday Jubilee and 9th consecutive year of classic films.

Located directly across from the PATH subway station connecting Manhattan with Jersey City, it is also easy to reach from most area highways. Secure discounted parking is located directly behind the theatre. Have your parking ticket validated at the theatre’s boxoffice.

All Show Are Presented In 35mm With Genuine Carbon Arc Projection On Our Giant 50 Foot Wide Screen.

Friday November 20th at 8:00pm â€" Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Starring Charlie Chaplin. Also starring Mady Correll, Isobel Elsom, Audrey Betz, Ada May and Martha Ray. Directed by Charlie Chaplin. (124mins.)

Chaplin called this film his “cleverest and most brilliant,” but he is certainly not portraying his familiar “Little Tramp.” Here, he plays a suave serial killer who makes his living marrying and murdering lonely rich women. Chaplin turned this shocking conceit into a black comedy that seems surprisingly modern to us today — especially in its presentation of the hypocrisy of societies that condemn murder committed by individuals but glorify war.

Saturday November 21th at 2:00pm â€" For Whom The Bell Tolls (1943)

Starring Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman, Akim Tamiroff, Katina Paxinou. Directed by Sam Wood. (157mins.)

Based on the novel by Ernest Hemingway, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a romantic drama set against the turbulent tapestry of the Spanish Civil War. Though downplaying the extreme ideological aspects of the war (which Hollywood found uncomfortable), the film is otherwise largely faithful to Hemingway’s writing and boasts excellent performances, torrid love scenes and first-rate Technicolor photography.

Saturday November 21th at 7:30pm â€" Forbidden Planet (1956, CinemaScope)

Starring Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen. Directed by Fred Wilcox. (98 mins.)

One of the most famous science fiction movies ever made. A pre-comedy Leslie Nielsen as a space traveler who discovers the planet where expatriate Earth-man Pidgeon has built a one-man empire with his daughter and Robby the Robot — which became a sci-fi icon and progenitor of robotic portrayals on both the big and small screens. Great special effects for the day, the film also boasted lavish use of the wide-screen CinemaScope and Perspecta Stereo.

Visit The Landmark Loews Jersey web site for details.

[size=1]The Landmark Loews Jersey Theatre’s Vitaphone Projector[/size]

mahermusic on November 11, 2009 at 6:34 pm

Hector: The Loews Jersey Saga is a screenplay by itself! In 1986, Hartz Mountain bought the Loews Jersey to tear it down and build their own office tower on the site. It took years and years of work by preservationists (actually just regular people) that formed into a non-profit group aimed at saving the theatre called “Friends of the Loew’s” to stop the demolition until, finally, Hartz Mountain gave up. Colin Egan, the Managing Director, tells a great story about how, after years of fighting against Hartz Mountain to save the Loew’s, Hartz finally decided it wasn’t in “their best interest” to try and tear it down. (This is after offering to save the lobby portion with chandelier, and tear down the rest of the theatre… thoughts were that this would placate the preservationists… but Friends of the Loew’s wasn’t in it to save a theatre lobby), so, long story short, the Hartz Mountain attorney ended up having lunch with Friends of the Loew’s to best facilitate selling off the theatre. The cost was $400,000… and it came down to a single City Council vote well past Midnight in a sardine-packed city council chambers… and the vote was FOR saving the Loew’s Jersey. Man, you can’t make this stuff up. Someone should write a book…

beardbear31 on November 10, 2009 at 11:09 pm

mahermusic, the reason the Loews name was taken off of the marquee at the Kings was because right after Loews stopped showing movies there it was briefly ran for a year or two under different ownership as just The Kings

TLSLOEWS on November 10, 2009 at 11:03 am

Is this going to be at the LOEWS JERSEY it does not say on the post listed above?

TLSLOEWS on November 10, 2009 at 10:03 am

You can take the Loews name off the theater, but most people will call it that anyway.The Sears Tower is still called Sears although they have nothing to do with it anymore.

mahermusic on November 9, 2009 at 7:16 pm

In answering MarkDHite’s post above from Oct 4th inquiring how Loew’s Jersey can still be called LOEW’S Jersey… the answer is actually quite interesting, and deals with a law on the books in the State of NJ. When a building is sold, or there’s a change of location of a store, the name of the business or store must be removed from said building.

An example:

A Boscov’s department store had to close one of it’s locations because of the current economic climate. The last thing they did was to pull the name and logos off the exterior. If they didn’t, the new owners could open up a store called “Boscov’s”.

In 1986, when Hartz Mountain bought th Loew’s Jersey from the Loew’s Corporation, the end result wasn’t that the building was going to be shuttered and sold to a new tenant… it was to be demolished. There was NO REASON to pay for a company to come in and remove the word “Loew’s” off the marquee, since, in a matter of months, it was going to come down with a wrecking ball anyways… RIGHT???

Well… WHOOPS… It didn’t come down… and Hartz Mountain sold it (Loew’s name intact) to the City of Jersey City, who then signed a long term lease with F.O.L.

F.O.L. (and Jersey City, for that matter) get to, you guessed it… call the Loew’s Jersey the LOEW’S JERSEY!

Last little tidbit:

The “Loew’s” name WAS removed from the Loew’s Kings. Only “Kings” was left on the marquee, however “Loew’s Paradise” WAS left intact, and I believe it was restored, although I don’t believe they were actually calling it with the Loew’s name attached like the Jersey does.

Bill Huelbig on October 23, 2009 at 8:06 pm

“Carrie” was a lot of fun tonight. Judging from the screams and gasps near me during the final scene, there were some people there who’d never seen it. Probably the biggest gasp came when the teacher played by Betty Buckley slapped the student played by Nancy Allen. Back in 1976 that wasn’t yet grounds for a major lawsuit.

George Stevens Jr. is coming to the Loew’s to introduce one of his dad’s masterpieces, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, on Sunday 11/15 at 3 PM. It should look fantastic in CinemaScope on the Loew’s big screen.