The Honeymoon Killers, which I recently re-saw on DVD, really is a great, if queasy-making, film. It is absolutely not trash as one could easily assume. French director François Truffaut called it his favorite American movie ever. The DVD features fascinating extras including an interview with one-time director Leonard Kastle, who was a serious composer, including of opera. The use of Gustav Mahler’s symnphonic music as background in the film is both eerie and inspired. Performers Shirley Stoler and a sleazy-issimo Tony Lo Bianco are perfection. If you’ve never seen this movie, rent it or buy it. You’ll never forget it.
John Ford’s The Quiet Man opened at the Capitol Theatre on August 21, 1952 and was reviewed the following day in the New York Times. I just found the review and it indicates the Capitol Theatre.
I’m also sick of the idiot “trivia slides” you have to put up with before the show, films that start 15 minutes after the announced times, and four or more previews of coming attractions, but then, it’s not only here, is it?
This is a repeat of an earlier posting of mine, but with an added photo. Loew’s State did not normally play foreign-language films, but they did run the Italian Tomorrow is Too Late in 1952 in a subtitled print to enormous business (Variety: ‘Tomorrow’ Smash 45G). It was a lovely but now forgotten movie featuring Pier Angeli and Vittorio De Sica and dealt with the sexual awakening of adolescents. The movie went on to play art houses around the country, and in a dubbed version was even shown at drive-ins. Click here for a photo of patrons in line for Tomorrow is Too Late.
Richard Chadbourne of Calgary, Alberta, sent me a recollection of his childhood in Providence and memories of the Liberty Theatre. He wrote:
“I was born in 1922 and grew up in South Providence, on Sackett St. between Broad St, and Elmwood Ave., not far from Roger Williams Pk. I remember many a delightful Sat. afternoon attending the Liberty Theatre…on Broad Street, just a couple of blocks from where I lived. I remember it cost 25¢ (or was it just 10¢?), often a double feature. Now and then in the earliest years there would be a silent film (with piano or organ). I still recall vividly today two horrifying scenes, one from Phantom of the Opera and the other from Frozen Justice. Lots of cowboy movies; my pals and I would leave the girls during the love scenes (boring!) and dash to the lobby for bubble gum.”
The premiere of Vittorio De Sica’s 1951-released Miracolo a Milano was held here. Newsreel footage of the premiere with many celebrities in attendance appeared in the 2001 documentary Così è la vita. That is included as an extra (That’s Life: Vittorio De Sica) on the Criterion DVD of Umberto D. Shots of the exterior and interior of the Barberini can be seen.
A brief scene filmed at the New York premiere here of De Sica’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis in December of 1971 appears in the Italian TV documentary That’s Life: Vittorio De Sica. It is included on the Criterion DVD of Umberto D. The director, others associated with the film, and moviegoers can be seen walking in. The Plaza marquee is clearly evident. We see the front of the theatre and inside the entrance. The scene appears toward the very end of the documentary.
The original 1,500 pipe organ was sold in 1963 to one Patsy Fucci of Waltham, Massachusetts. It had been in the theatre for a good 30-plus years. It was a four-manual Robert-Morton organ that had cost about $125,000 when new in 1928. A Providence Evening Bulletin article of March 16 that year reported manager William Trambukis as saying that Mr. Fucci had carted the organ away over a period of weeks, using big trailers. Some of the pipes were taller than a house. The instrument had only been used occasionally after the advent of sound movies. It had also been seriously damaged in the 1954 hurricane which flooded Loew’s. Mr. Fucci was a connoisseur of organs and a post office clerk and would set up the organ in his basement. It would be powered by a motor in his garage.
An photo of the front of the Carib Theatre was printed in the New York Sunday Times Magazine of October 9th. The 1959 film The Best of Everything, with Joan Crawford and Hope Lange, appears on the marquee.
The conversion of the Scenic Temple to the the Rialto Theatre was announced in early 1919, although the new name was not yet given. A Providence Journal article from March 1 reported that James Bartley of Seekonk had purchased the then-dormant theatre and was to spend $50,000 to remodel the place, which had been closed and on the market for some time. The changes would include a new pitched floor, an enlarged balcony, a new lobby of 20x40 feet and a new frontage of brick with limestone trim. The interior would be finished in stucco and marble as would the new lobby. The theatre would not have a stage but would be used exclusively for movies. The reconstruction work was being done by the construction firm of Timothy Coffey of East Providence. A September, 1919 opening of the reborn theatre was promised.
In May of 1965 the Avon was running the film The Cool World, directed by Shirley Clark and produced by Boston documentarian Frederick Wiseman. It was a harrowing portrayal of Harlem street life in the 1960s. From a distribution point of view it is very interesting to note that the Avon run of the film actually day-dated with showings at Johnston’s Pike Drive-In and the Seekonk Drive-In! The Avon sharing a program with two area drive-ins! So strange. But that was a movie that could appeal to both art house audiences and mass audiences, even youth audiences. So it was a clever marketing move by the distributor, Cinema V.
Here is a nicely-designed ad for a double bill from early 1967. Dear John is a Swedish film; Red Lanterns is Greek. Both had spicy content but were films of some class.
Just as David and Lisa moved over to the Art from its successful run at the Avon, so did Zorba the Greek in May, 1965. Before it arrived, the Art had been showing Lorna and Playgirl After Dark…sexy sizzlers starring Lorna Maitland and Jayne Mansfield respectively, but not porn.
Warren, I thought of that too, but on the Hollywood page, a poster refers to that engagement of Casablanca as a pre-release engagement. Perhaps it did move over to the Strand.
Marialivia, that Empire was the first Empire, the one that was demolished in 1915 to extend Empire Street, not the Empire that was formerly Keith’s and Victory and was demolished to build Grant’s Department Store, or the Empire that started out as the Westminster and became the Empire, then Bijou, then Empire again and was known as “The Sink.” So three Providence theatres were named “Empire.” One of them had that name in two different periods of its history.
In his Memoirs, famed playwright Tennessee Williams wrote amusingly of working as an usher at the Strand in 1943:
“A friend was employed in 1943 at the old Strand Theatre on Broadway as an usher, and, knowing that I was between profitable engagements, he told me that the Strand was in need of a new usher and that I might get the job provided I fit the uniform of my predecessor. Luckily it happened that this former usher was about my height and of similar build. I was put on the job. The attraction at the Strand was that World War II classic, Casablanca, which was an early starring vehicle for Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, both hot as blazes; the cast also included that fabulously charismatic ‘Fat Man,’ Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre and Paul Henreid, and there was Dooley Wilson playing and singing that immortal oldie, ‘As Time Goes By.’ In those days, with an attraction like that, the movie houses of Broadway were literally mobbed and aisles had to be roped off by the ushers to restrain the patrons till they could be seated. It was my job, at first, to guard the entrance to one of these aisles, and at an evening performance an enormously fat lady broke through the velvet rope and started to charge down the aisle, evidently intending to occupy a seat on the screen, and when I attempted to restrain her, she struck me over the head with a handbag that seemed to contain gold bricks. The next thing I remember I was still employed at the Strand but I was now situated near the entrance, in a spot of light, and directing traffic with white-gloved hands. ‘This way, ladies and gentlemen, this way, please,’ and ‘There will be a short wait for all seats.’ And somehow, during the several months' run of Casablanca, I was always able to catch Dooley Wilson and ‘As Time Goes By.’
“The pay was seventeen dollars a week, which covered my room at the ‘Y’ and left me seven dollars for meals. And I loved it…”
Baby Doll ran a total of 11 days and grossed $18,000 for the entire run. That was described by the management as a “good average but not a boxoffice record.” The less controversial Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman, followed.
The Castle and the Art Cinema on Broad Street shared a programming of the film of the La Scala production of Puccini’s La Bohème on November 3 & 4, 1965. An unusual bit of day-dating shared by the two theatres.
The Art Cinema and the Castle Theatre on Chalkstone Avenue shared a programming of the film of the La Scala production of Puccini’s La Bohème on November 3 & 4, 1965. An unusual bit of day-dating shared by the two theatres.
Vito, it’s Martin Scorsese.
Veyoung, it’s Martin Scorsese.
The Honeymoon Killers, which I recently re-saw on DVD, really is a great, if queasy-making, film. It is absolutely not trash as one could easily assume. French director François Truffaut called it his favorite American movie ever. The DVD features fascinating extras including an interview with one-time director Leonard Kastle, who was a serious composer, including of opera. The use of Gustav Mahler’s symnphonic music as background in the film is both eerie and inspired. Performers Shirley Stoler and a sleazy-issimo Tony Lo Bianco are perfection. If you’ve never seen this movie, rent it or buy it. You’ll never forget it.
Martin Scorsese.
Here is a link to the Warwick Mall Cinemas that used to exist at the other end of the mall, adjacent to Bald Hill Road, until 1999.
John Ford’s The Quiet Man opened at the Capitol Theatre on August 21, 1952 and was reviewed the following day in the New York Times. I just found the review and it indicates the Capitol Theatre.
I’m also sick of the idiot “trivia slides” you have to put up with before the show, films that start 15 minutes after the announced times, and four or more previews of coming attractions, but then, it’s not only here, is it?
This is a repeat of an earlier posting of mine, but with an added photo. Loew’s State did not normally play foreign-language films, but they did run the Italian Tomorrow is Too Late in 1952 in a subtitled print to enormous business (Variety: ‘Tomorrow’ Smash 45G). It was a lovely but now forgotten movie featuring Pier Angeli and Vittorio De Sica and dealt with the sexual awakening of adolescents. The movie went on to play art houses around the country, and in a dubbed version was even shown at drive-ins. Click here for a photo of patrons in line for Tomorrow is Too Late.
The Village Voice just voted this place the “Best House 0f Worship That Used to Be a Movie Palace.”
Richard Chadbourne of Calgary, Alberta, sent me a recollection of his childhood in Providence and memories of the Liberty Theatre. He wrote:
“I was born in 1922 and grew up in South Providence, on Sackett St. between Broad St, and Elmwood Ave., not far from Roger Williams Pk. I remember many a delightful Sat. afternoon attending the Liberty Theatre…on Broad Street, just a couple of blocks from where I lived. I remember it cost 25¢ (or was it just 10¢?), often a double feature. Now and then in the earliest years there would be a silent film (with piano or organ). I still recall vividly today two horrifying scenes, one from Phantom of the Opera and the other from Frozen Justice. Lots of cowboy movies; my pals and I would leave the girls during the love scenes (boring!) and dash to the lobby for bubble gum.”
The premiere of Vittorio De Sica’s 1951-released Miracolo a Milano was held here. Newsreel footage of the premiere with many celebrities in attendance appeared in the 2001 documentary Così è la vita. That is included as an extra (That’s Life: Vittorio De Sica) on the Criterion DVD of Umberto D. Shots of the exterior and interior of the Barberini can be seen.
A brief scene filmed at the New York premiere here of De Sica’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis in December of 1971 appears in the Italian TV documentary That’s Life: Vittorio De Sica. It is included on the Criterion DVD of Umberto D. The director, others associated with the film, and moviegoers can be seen walking in. The Plaza marquee is clearly evident. We see the front of the theatre and inside the entrance. The scene appears toward the very end of the documentary.
The original 1,500 pipe organ was sold in 1963 to one Patsy Fucci of Waltham, Massachusetts. It had been in the theatre for a good 30-plus years. It was a four-manual Robert-Morton organ that had cost about $125,000 when new in 1928. A Providence Evening Bulletin article of March 16 that year reported manager William Trambukis as saying that Mr. Fucci had carted the organ away over a period of weeks, using big trailers. Some of the pipes were taller than a house. The instrument had only been used occasionally after the advent of sound movies. It had also been seriously damaged in the 1954 hurricane which flooded Loew’s. Mr. Fucci was a connoisseur of organs and a post office clerk and would set up the organ in his basement. It would be powered by a motor in his garage.
An photo of the front of the Carib Theatre was printed in the New York Sunday Times Magazine of October 9th. The 1959 film The Best of Everything, with Joan Crawford and Hope Lange, appears on the marquee.
The conversion of the Scenic Temple to the the Rialto Theatre was announced in early 1919, although the new name was not yet given. A Providence Journal article from March 1 reported that James Bartley of Seekonk had purchased the then-dormant theatre and was to spend $50,000 to remodel the place, which had been closed and on the market for some time. The changes would include a new pitched floor, an enlarged balcony, a new lobby of 20x40 feet and a new frontage of brick with limestone trim. The interior would be finished in stucco and marble as would the new lobby. The theatre would not have a stage but would be used exclusively for movies. The reconstruction work was being done by the construction firm of Timothy Coffey of East Providence. A September, 1919 opening of the reborn theatre was promised.
In May of 1965 the Avon was running the film The Cool World, directed by Shirley Clark and produced by Boston documentarian Frederick Wiseman. It was a harrowing portrayal of Harlem street life in the 1960s. From a distribution point of view it is very interesting to note that the Avon run of the film actually day-dated with showings at Johnston’s Pike Drive-In and the Seekonk Drive-In! The Avon sharing a program with two area drive-ins! So strange. But that was a movie that could appeal to both art house audiences and mass audiences, even youth audiences. So it was a clever marketing move by the distributor, Cinema V.
Here is a nicely-designed ad for a double bill from early 1967. Dear John is a Swedish film; Red Lanterns is Greek. Both had spicy content but were films of some class.
Just as David and Lisa moved over to the Art from its successful run at the Avon, so did Zorba the Greek in May, 1965. Before it arrived, the Art had been showing Lorna and Playgirl After Dark…sexy sizzlers starring Lorna Maitland and Jayne Mansfield respectively, but not porn.
Starny, that sounds like the 1977 Outrageous. Info on it can be found by clicking here.
Warren, I thought of that too, but on the Hollywood page, a poster refers to that engagement of Casablanca as a pre-release engagement. Perhaps it did move over to the Strand.
Marialivia, that Empire was the first Empire, the one that was demolished in 1915 to extend Empire Street, not the Empire that was formerly Keith’s and Victory and was demolished to build Grant’s Department Store, or the Empire that started out as the Westminster and became the Empire, then Bijou, then Empire again and was known as “The Sink.” So three Providence theatres were named “Empire.” One of them had that name in two different periods of its history.
In his Memoirs, famed playwright Tennessee Williams wrote amusingly of working as an usher at the Strand in 1943:
“A friend was employed in 1943 at the old Strand Theatre on Broadway as an usher, and, knowing that I was between profitable engagements, he told me that the Strand was in need of a new usher and that I might get the job provided I fit the uniform of my predecessor. Luckily it happened that this former usher was about my height and of similar build. I was put on the job. The attraction at the Strand was that World War II classic, Casablanca, which was an early starring vehicle for Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, both hot as blazes; the cast also included that fabulously charismatic ‘Fat Man,’ Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre and Paul Henreid, and there was Dooley Wilson playing and singing that immortal oldie, ‘As Time Goes By.’ In those days, with an attraction like that, the movie houses of Broadway were literally mobbed and aisles had to be roped off by the ushers to restrain the patrons till they could be seated. It was my job, at first, to guard the entrance to one of these aisles, and at an evening performance an enormously fat lady broke through the velvet rope and started to charge down the aisle, evidently intending to occupy a seat on the screen, and when I attempted to restrain her, she struck me over the head with a handbag that seemed to contain gold bricks. The next thing I remember I was still employed at the Strand but I was now situated near the entrance, in a spot of light, and directing traffic with white-gloved hands. ‘This way, ladies and gentlemen, this way, please,’ and ‘There will be a short wait for all seats.’ And somehow, during the several months' run of Casablanca, I was always able to catch Dooley Wilson and ‘As Time Goes By.’
“The pay was seventeen dollars a week, which covered my room at the ‘Y’ and left me seven dollars for meals. And I loved it…”
Baby Doll ran a total of 11 days and grossed $18,000 for the entire run. That was described by the management as a “good average but not a boxoffice record.” The less controversial Anastasia, starring Ingrid Bergman, followed.
The Castle and the Art Cinema on Broad Street shared a programming of the film of the La Scala production of Puccini’s La Bohème on November 3 & 4, 1965. An unusual bit of day-dating shared by the two theatres.
The Art Cinema and the Castle Theatre on Chalkstone Avenue shared a programming of the film of the La Scala production of Puccini’s La Bohème on November 3 & 4, 1965. An unusual bit of day-dating shared by the two theatres.