Architecturally speaking the Majestic, which was totally gutted by Trinity Rep, suffered a much worse fate than the Strand. The Strand interior remains virtually intact.
In response to the above post on the Stadium, there was another use of a RI theatre in a movie production. Michael Corrente’s film American Buffalo, with Dustin Hoffman, had several scenes shot outside the decaying marquee of the Leroy Theatre in Pawtucket, RI. It was Pawtucket’s most beautiful movie palace and no plans to save it ever came to fruition. It was demolished not long after the film’s completion.
Here is an old postcard view of North Main Street with the Bijou Theatre seen on the right. The card was mailed in 1912 and probably dates from around 1910 or a bit earlier. Expand image for more detail.
Warren, the Rossellini film, The Greatest Love (also known as Europe ‘51) is not the stinker you assert it to be. Many now consider it one of his best works, an essay on the nature of goodness and whether its extremes can become insanity. Martin Scorsese admires this film a great deal, and his 35mm print of it was shown at the New York Film Festival in 1980 as a revival-tribute. Vincent Canby in The New York Times of October 12 that year called it “One of this festival’s bravest —maybe even finest— moments.” I attended that showing and the audience reaction was a very good one. I have watched it many times in 16mm and on video and am always moved by this key Italian film of the 1950s and its moving, even mystical, qualities. The film is indeed peculiar, has its detractors, but it has great admirers as well. It was a movie very much ahead of its time and had a great influence, along with Rossellini’s Voyage to Italy, another trashed masterpiece, on the French new wave directors. Read Tag Gallagher’s volume on Rossellini for an elaborate discourse. My point is a simple one…problematic? Perhaps. A stinker? Absolutely not! Absolutely not!
Symphony Hall was built as a concert hall. But films have been shown there in the past, especially during the silent era. There is a display case inside showing some of the films from that were shown there…such as a silent version of Carmen, some Russian silents like Potemkin and, I believe, Ten Days That Shook the World. More recently when the Boston Symphony performed Prokofiev’s film-cantata Alexander Nevsky, Eisenstein’s film was projected and the live orchestra substituted for the recorded soundtrack film score.
This 1941 photo of the marquee and front of the Royal, though from a photocopy of very poor quality, gives an idea of what the place looked like. It is from the M.G.M. Theatre Photograph and Report. The condition was described as good, the type of patronage was stated as “mill and low income.” The seating at the time was 600 with 550 on the main floor and 50 in the balcony. The Royal had been playing M.G.M. product for three years. A competing theatre was given as the Strand.
Photos of the exterior and interior of the United in the process of renovation/restoration and taken by John Koulbanis, can be seen (now at least) in the Westerly Sun’s online photo page. Find event ID: 99240. The photos are available for sale.
In a personal blog called GaraLog, the author Gara LaMarche recalls living in Westerly some thirty-plus years ago and wrote this about the United Theatre:
“A short walk from the station will take you past the old United Theatre, where I spent almost every Saturday afternoon at the movies — admission about 35 cents, if I recall correctly. They actually ran Flash Gordon serials before the feature. (I feel as if I should be writing this from a rocking chair.) The United marquee is still up, but the theatre has been closed for at least twenty years.”
According to a recollection of Fall River theatre manager John McAvoy, another one of the top-grossing films to play the Capitol in the 1940s was the B-movie Black Market Babies.
According to a recollection of manager John McAvoy, the Durfee’s biggest hits were The Sound of Music, which played for 37 weeks, Boys Town, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which played in 1938 to many sold-out showings.
The film that broke records at the Center was Jaws, which played for nine weeks for four or five shows daily in 1975. The second biggest attraction, according to manager John McAvoy, was The Godfather.
The THSA tour in Providence allowed me to tag along yesterday. There were three busloads of about 140 who saw Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, the Majestic (Trinity Rep), Strand, PPAC (Loew’s State), Columbus, Avon, Stadium in Woonsocket. The Strand (Diesel) was a surprise to me, even as a local, since I had not been able to see it for several decades. The entire interior is virtually intact: proscenium, balcony with seats, projection booth (covered over) stairwells, many decorative details, other decorations. Sure, there is painting over, and leveled orchestra floor, but that place could easily be returned to its former beauty with a few million dollars, which, of course, would never happen. But I was glad to see so much remains and was reminded of the many good times there.
Architecturally speaking the Majestic, which was totally gutted by Trinity Rep, suffered a much worse fate than the Strand. The Strand interior remains virtually intact.
In response to the above post on the Stadium, there was another use of a RI theatre in a movie production. Michael Corrente’s film American Buffalo, with Dustin Hoffman, had several scenes shot outside the decaying marquee of the Leroy Theatre in Pawtucket, RI. It was Pawtucket’s most beautiful movie palace and no plans to save it ever came to fruition. It was demolished not long after the film’s completion.
Here is an old postcard view of North Main Street with the Bijou Theatre seen on the right. The card was mailed in 1912 and probably dates from around 1910 or a bit earlier. Expand image for more detail.
Warren, the Rossellini film, The Greatest Love (also known as Europe ‘51) is not the stinker you assert it to be. Many now consider it one of his best works, an essay on the nature of goodness and whether its extremes can become insanity. Martin Scorsese admires this film a great deal, and his 35mm print of it was shown at the New York Film Festival in 1980 as a revival-tribute. Vincent Canby in The New York Times of October 12 that year called it “One of this festival’s bravest —maybe even finest— moments.” I attended that showing and the audience reaction was a very good one. I have watched it many times in 16mm and on video and am always moved by this key Italian film of the 1950s and its moving, even mystical, qualities. The film is indeed peculiar, has its detractors, but it has great admirers as well. It was a movie very much ahead of its time and had a great influence, along with Rossellini’s Voyage to Italy, another trashed masterpiece, on the French new wave directors. Read Tag Gallagher’s volume on Rossellini for an elaborate discourse. My point is a simple one…problematic? Perhaps. A stinker? Absolutely not! Absolutely not!
Symphony Hall was built as a concert hall. But films have been shown there in the past, especially during the silent era. There is a display case inside showing some of the films from that were shown there…such as a silent version of Carmen, some Russian silents like Potemkin and, I believe, Ten Days That Shook the World. More recently when the Boston Symphony performed Prokofiev’s film-cantata Alexander Nevsky, Eisenstein’s film was projected and the live orchestra substituted for the recorded soundtrack film score.
This 1941 photo of the marquee and front of the Royal, though from a photocopy of very poor quality, gives an idea of what the place looked like. It is from the M.G.M. Theatre Photograph and Report. The condition was described as good, the type of patronage was stated as “mill and low income.” The seating at the time was 600 with 550 on the main floor and 50 in the balcony. The Royal had been playing M.G.M. product for three years. A competing theatre was given as the Strand.
Photos of the exterior and interior of the United in the process of renovation/restoration and taken by John Koulbanis, can be seen (now at least) in the Westerly Sun’s online photo page. Find event ID: 99240. The photos are available for sale.
In a personal blog called GaraLog, the author Gara LaMarche recalls living in Westerly some thirty-plus years ago and wrote this about the United Theatre:
“A short walk from the station will take you past the old United Theatre, where I spent almost every Saturday afternoon at the movies — admission about 35 cents, if I recall correctly. They actually ran Flash Gordon serials before the feature. (I feel as if I should be writing this from a rocking chair.) The United marquee is still up, but the theatre has been closed for at least twenty years.”
According to a recollection of Fall River theatre manager John McAvoy, another one of the top-grossing films to play the Capitol in the 1940s was the B-movie Black Market Babies.
According to a recollection of manager John McAvoy, the Durfee’s biggest hits were The Sound of Music, which played for 37 weeks, Boys Town, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which played in 1938 to many sold-out showings.
The film that broke records at the Center was Jaws, which played for nine weeks for four or five shows daily in 1975. The second biggest attraction, according to manager John McAvoy, was The Godfather.
This theatre appears to have been in operation only seasonally, to serve the summer influx of vacationers and summer residents.
The THSA tour in Providence allowed me to tag along yesterday. There were three busloads of about 140 who saw Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, the Majestic (Trinity Rep), Strand, PPAC (Loew’s State), Columbus, Avon, Stadium in Woonsocket. The Strand (Diesel) was a surprise to me, even as a local, since I had not been able to see it for several decades. The entire interior is virtually intact: proscenium, balcony with seats, projection booth (covered over) stairwells, many decorative details, other decorations. Sure, there is painting over, and leveled orchestra floor, but that place could easily be returned to its former beauty with a few million dollars, which, of course, would never happen. But I was glad to see so much remains and was reminded of the many good times there.
Here is an old postcard booklet image from the 1930s or 1940s showing the relationship of the Academy (marquee on the right) to Fall River City Hall.
Here is an old postcard booklet image from the 1930s or 1940s showing the relationship of the Durfee to Fall River City Hall.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gave the capacity as 550 cars.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gave the seating capacity of the Strand as 800.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gave the seating capacity of the Paramount as 1,150.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gave the seating of the Opera House as 1,000.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gives the seating capacity as 280.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gives the address of the Central as 85 Central Street and with a seating capacity of 600.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gives the seating capacity of the Assembly as 254.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gives the seating capacity of the Midway as 350.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gives the seating capacity of the Palace as 250.
The 1949 Film Daily Yearbook gives the seating capacity as 2,445.