The Narragansett was previously known as the Pier Cinema, and is not to be confused with the earlier single-screen Pier, formerly located in a nearby spot, directly across from the ocean, and demolished before this one was built. In 1982 this theatre had two screens and at one point was showing Annie and E.T.
Rarnold, The Paramount has a page and I would be interested in any additional recollections you may have about the place. As far as period photos of the Paramount go, there were a considerable number seen in the opening day article in the Newport Daily News for August 10, 1929. The paper is available on microfilm at the Newport Public Library. I have been trying to get good quality photos from the Newport Historical Society, so far without luck. I am posting now, on that page, low-quality photos of the theatre front and interior, made from the newspaper microfilm.
Teenage boy comic book blockbusters? Yes, I’m sick of seeing them, or being given scant choice besides them. I saw Stealth last week and almost threw up from the vapid, stupid emptiness. Artie indie? Well, “artie” can be a put-down. Artistic? I’d actually love to see more movies that are truly so. Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Ingmar Bergman’s Saraband with the great Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. It wasn’t exactly “pleasure” or “entertainment” in the conventional sense, but it was joy, enrichment, and a challenge. What a change after all the summer pap and pablum, a movie that presumes I may have an iota of sensibility, of intelligence. It’s an unusual feeling.
Teenage boy comic book blockbusters? Yes, I’m sick of seeing them, or being given scant choice besides them. I saw Stealth last week and almost threw up from the vapid, stupid emptiness. Artie indie? Well, “artie” can be a put-down. Artistic? I’d actually love to see more movies that are truly so. Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Ingmar Bergman’s Saraband with the great Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. It wasn’t exactly “pleasure” or “entertainment” in the conventional sense, but it was joy, enrichment, and a challenge. What a change after all the summer pap and pablum, a movie that presumes I may have an iota of sensibility, of intelligence. It’s an unusual feeling.
It should be clearly noted that this place is closed as a cinema. It is a porno shop with videos, magazines, paraphernalia, and booths. It could have been opened anywhere. Instead it was opened inside a former movie theatre.
Yeah, that ridiculous “leg ad” was the common one used for the film in America. Antonio’s wife Maria hardly appears for a moment on the bicycle, and you really don’t see much of her legs. It also carries the implication that she is being abducted by bicycle: bicycle thief = snatcher of women. This poignant tragedy is not about that at all, of course, but sex does sell tickets.
In response to Boxofficebill:
Yes, it refers to the the M.P.A.A.’s refusal to issue a production code seal. Joseph I. Breen, vice president and chief of its production code administration sent a letter to the distributors (Mayer-Burstyn) saying that the movie would receive a “Certificate of Approval” provided that (1) the scene of the little boy [peeing] against the wall, and (2) all the interior shots in the bordello, into which the man chases the thief, were cut out of the picture. I paraphrase from article I have from the New York Times dated March 2, 1950. Burstyn fought, won, and ultimately the seal was granted.
When I first found that picture (I think on the “Images of R.I.” website) I couldn’t make out was the name was…then I went through a list of known Pawtucket theatres and finally made the connection and posted it. Yes, I agree, I’d give all the ugliplexes away for one day at a characterful theatre like this Globe.
I believe I visited this legendary theatre only once, on July 1, 1973, when the James Bond film Live and Let Die was playing. I just realized this place is number 1 on Cinema Treasures, as it may be understandably number one in many people’s affections.
Love the “climactic” finale. Is the name a double-entendre? No matter. Those ads would certainly be nice to look at. I used to clip ads too, but lost a lot of them. I plan to pop into the Fall River Library one of these weeks to peruse microfilm. Some libraries have indexing to articles and I may be able to find additional info, although R.I. theatres occupy most of my scavenging time. If I find nothing else ever on Fall River, I would really like to see photos of the Durfee.
Yes, I always thought it was tragic what happened to downtown Fall River and know that I-195 going right through the belly of the city was responsible for a good deal of it. The place exudes tristesse, if not outright catatonic depression. Tragic too that not even one of its theatres could have been saved and opened as a venue for touring Broadway shows and other entertainments, as Loew’s State (PPAC) is in Providence and the Zeiterion is in New Bedford and even the itsy-bitsy Orpheum in Foxborough. The Durfee might have suited the bill perfectly, had there not been that Godzillian rampage of civic destruction.
Here is a recent photo I took of the rear of the Strand Theatre. I took some of the front, which is now a furniture store entrance and show window, but I don’t think they are worth posting. Many decades ago, before Route 195 existed between Providence and New Bedford, I remember seeing this theatre when being driven through the city on the way to New Bedford, perhaps on the way to Lincoln Park, an amusement park near New Bedford. Perhaps Pleasant Street might have been part of Route 6? I know I saw it several times and filed it away in my memory, but I never had or found the opportunity to actually go there to see a film.
There are a couple on this site. Look above to my links, especially the postcard of June 16. There is one in the kiosk at the corner of Mathewson and Fountain Streets. The Rhode Island Historical Society may have some. The Providence Journal archives will certainly have some. The book Temples of Illusion by Roger Brett has a history under the theatre names of Emery and Carlton.
The theatre doesn’t have any real charm like the older Empire Theatre at Old Harbor and is less accessible than the Empire and is rather haphazard about promotion. There was no poster or exterior sign indicating Stealth was playing here when I went to see it. During the entire movie, the house lights were only half-dimmed, resulting in an over-bright house and creating an annoying glare on the screen. The screen had an irregular-edged black border. The sound seemed to emit from one inadequate overhead speaker. I counted approximately 175 seats in the theatre. The audience for the Sunday night movie consisted almost entirely of about 10 teenagers.
The Empire is not alone, as I erroneously asserted in my description. The Oceanwest Theatre at Champlin’s Marina also programs films during the summer season. Films are shared between the two theatres. What appears one day at the Empire will often be shown the next day at the Oceanwest. The juggling is all done by arrangement with the distributors. Something similar occurs with the theatres on Martha’s Vineyard. Management says the theatre has 300 seats. This theatre has an enormous ammount of charm and it boasts an restored antique ticket booth within the doorway.
The Narragansett was previously known as the Pier Cinema, and is not to be confused with the earlier single-screen Pier, formerly located in a nearby spot, directly across from the ocean, and demolished before this one was built. In 1982 this theatre had two screens and at one point was showing Annie and E.T.
As the Pier Cinema in March, 1970, one of the double bills was the adultish Russ Meyer program of Good Morning…and Goodbye! & Vixen.
A 1929 city directory lists a theatre at this address under the name of Circle Theatre. That must have been the Broadway’s earlier name.
Here are two low-quality photos of the Paramount at the time of its opening in 1929:
EXTERIOR
INTERIOR
Rarnold,
The Paramount has a page and I would be interested in any additional recollections you may have about the place. As far as period photos of the Paramount go, there were a considerable number seen in the opening day article in the Newport Daily News for August 10, 1929. The paper is available on microfilm at the Newport Public Library. I have been trying to get good quality photos from the Newport Historical Society, so far without luck. I am posting now, on that page, low-quality photos of the theatre front and interior, made from the newspaper microfilm.
Teenage boy comic book blockbusters? Yes, I’m sick of seeing them, or being given scant choice besides them. I saw Stealth last week and almost threw up from the vapid, stupid emptiness. Artie indie? Well, “artie” can be a put-down. Artistic? I’d actually love to see more movies that are truly so. Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Ingmar Bergman’s Saraband with the great Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. It wasn’t exactly “pleasure” or “entertainment” in the conventional sense, but it was joy, enrichment, and a challenge. What a change after all the summer pap and pablum, a movie that presumes I may have an iota of sensibility, of intelligence. It’s an unusual feeling.
Teenage boy comic book blockbusters? Yes, I’m sick of seeing them, or being given scant choice besides them. I saw Stealth last week and almost threw up from the vapid, stupid emptiness. Artie indie? Well, “artie” can be a put-down. Artistic? I’d actually love to see more movies that are truly so. Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Ingmar Bergman’s Saraband with the great Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. It wasn’t exactly “pleasure” or “entertainment” in the conventional sense, but it was joy, enrichment, and a challenge. What a change after all the summer pap and pablum, a movie that presumes I may have an iota of sensibility, of intelligence. It’s an unusual feeling.
Shouldn’t someone add the Cinémathèque Française at the Palais de Chaillot to Cinema Treasures? I have a photo I took in 1970 of Henri Langlois walking up the steps and I would like to post it.
It should be clearly noted that this place is closed as a cinema. It is a porno shop with videos, magazines, paraphernalia, and booths. It could have been opened anywhere. Instead it was opened inside a former movie theatre.
Yeah, that ridiculous “leg ad” was the common one used for the film in America. Antonio’s wife Maria hardly appears for a moment on the bicycle, and you really don’t see much of her legs. It also carries the implication that she is being abducted by bicycle: bicycle thief = snatcher of women. This poignant tragedy is not about that at all, of course, but sex does sell tickets.
In response to Boxofficebill:
Yes, it refers to the the M.P.A.A.’s refusal to issue a production code seal. Joseph I. Breen, vice president and chief of its production code administration sent a letter to the distributors (Mayer-Burstyn) saying that the movie would receive a “Certificate of Approval” provided that (1) the scene of the little boy [peeing] against the wall, and (2) all the interior shots in the bordello, into which the man chases the thief, were cut out of the picture. I paraphrase from article I have from the New York Times dated March 2, 1950. Burstyn fought, won, and ultimately the seal was granted.
Idiocy that boggles the mind!
Ooops, the ads are right here.
Here are a couple of ads for The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di biciclette) at the World in 1950.
Here is an ad for Shoe Shine (Sciuscià ) from November 22, 1947.
Marialivia, I posted an old Main Street theatre called the Globe. Here it is and with a photo link.
When I first found that picture (I think on the “Images of R.I.” website) I couldn’t make out was the name was…then I went through a list of known Pawtucket theatres and finally made the connection and posted it. Yes, I agree, I’d give all the ugliplexes away for one day at a characterful theatre like this Globe.
At the Fox Hollywood on July 2, 1973, I saw Billy Jack. Only time I visited.
I believe I visited this legendary theatre only once, on July 1, 1973, when the James Bond film Live and Let Die was playing. I just realized this place is number 1 on Cinema Treasures, as it may be understandably number one in many people’s affections.
Love the “climactic” finale. Is the name a double-entendre? No matter. Those ads would certainly be nice to look at. I used to clip ads too, but lost a lot of them. I plan to pop into the Fall River Library one of these weeks to peruse microfilm. Some libraries have indexing to articles and I may be able to find additional info, although R.I. theatres occupy most of my scavenging time. If I find nothing else ever on Fall River, I would really like to see photos of the Durfee.
Yes, I always thought it was tragic what happened to downtown Fall River and know that I-195 going right through the belly of the city was responsible for a good deal of it. The place exudes tristesse, if not outright catatonic depression. Tragic too that not even one of its theatres could have been saved and opened as a venue for touring Broadway shows and other entertainments, as Loew’s State (PPAC) is in Providence and the Zeiterion is in New Bedford and even the itsy-bitsy Orpheum in Foxborough. The Durfee might have suited the bill perfectly, had there not been that Godzillian rampage of civic destruction.
Here is a recent photo I took of the rear of the Strand Theatre. I took some of the front, which is now a furniture store entrance and show window, but I don’t think they are worth posting. Many decades ago, before Route 195 existed between Providence and New Bedford, I remember seeing this theatre when being driven through the city on the way to New Bedford, perhaps on the way to Lincoln Park, an amusement park near New Bedford. Perhaps Pleasant Street might have been part of Route 6? I know I saw it several times and filed it away in my memory, but I never had or found the opportunity to actually go there to see a film.
Roland, you mention the Globe a few times. I posted it on Cinema Treasures along with a photo I found. It’s here.
Here is a photo of the Globe Theatre from early in the 1900s.
There are a couple on this site. Look above to my links, especially the postcard of June 16. There is one in the kiosk at the corner of Mathewson and Fountain Streets. The Rhode Island Historical Society may have some. The Providence Journal archives will certainly have some. The book Temples of Illusion by Roger Brett has a history under the theatre names of Emery and Carlton.
The theatre doesn’t have any real charm like the older Empire Theatre at Old Harbor and is less accessible than the Empire and is rather haphazard about promotion. There was no poster or exterior sign indicating Stealth was playing here when I went to see it. During the entire movie, the house lights were only half-dimmed, resulting in an over-bright house and creating an annoying glare on the screen. The screen had an irregular-edged black border. The sound seemed to emit from one inadequate overhead speaker. I counted approximately 175 seats in the theatre. The audience for the Sunday night movie consisted almost entirely of about 10 teenagers.
The Empire is not alone, as I erroneously asserted in my description. The Oceanwest Theatre at Champlin’s Marina also programs films during the summer season. Films are shared between the two theatres. What appears one day at the Empire will often be shown the next day at the Oceanwest. The juggling is all done by arrangement with the distributors. Something similar occurs with the theatres on Martha’s Vineyard. Management says the theatre has 300 seats. This theatre has an enormous ammount of charm and it boasts an restored antique ticket booth within the doorway.