Movieland
1567 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1567 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 140 comments
After the Central Theatre was opened in 1918, J.J. “Jake” Shubert lived in an apartment up over the lobby entrance. In later years, many of the windows up there were covered with ads. I went to a Saturday afternoon movie showing there in the mid-1980s just to get into the place. There were about 100-plus patrons, maybe more. The house was a little shabby, but not too bad. There was a lot of interesting detail to be seen. Halfway thru the film, a big cat came down the aisle, hopped onto the apron of the stage and padded off into the wings at stage-left. Obviously, the theatre’s mouse patrol.
To add to Don’s story: Sinatra wanted Mia Farrow to walk off “Rosemary’s Baby”, even though it was almost half finished, in order to star with him in “The Detective”. When she refused, that was the end of their marriage. They did remain friends, however, right up to the end of Sinatra’s life.
The Detective was not a moveover. It’s opened at both. Story: Sinatra handed Mia Farrow divorce papers on the set of Rosmary’s Baby. To get even Paramount opened Rosemary’s Baby opposite The Detective and kicked ass.
“The Detective” also on moveover.
View link
Seems “How The West Was Won” moved here after it’s Cinerama run.
View link
I love the box at the bottom of that ad offering free admission to “Freedomland” for the first 25 kids to show up at the 9:30am showing. Freedomland was a short lived disaster of an amusement park in The Bronx that celebrated American History. It was demolished in the mid ‘60’s to make way for the sprawling Co-Op City apartment complex. Here is a very cool site about Freedomland (and some World’s Fair content as well): View link
This 1959 sci-fi film was a Japanese import. I don’t know why they were bragging that it was in the much inferior Eastman Color.
View link
In 1961 “Picnic” was re-released here with a second feature called “Twinkle & Shine”. In small letters it says formely knows as “It Happened to Jane”. They must have returned it to it’s original title later on because I once saw it at the Thalia in the 70’s that way.
View link
In the late 60s, the Forum 47th Street played lots of Paramount product:
Goodbye Columbus
The Odd Couple (after Radio City)
Ace High/Italian Job
Tropic of Cancer
Yes, it was directly across the street, on the opposite corner and where the W Hotel is currently located.
Was this theater across the street from the Palace?
Saw ‘The Bird With The Crystal Plumage’ when this moviehouse was known as ‘The Forum Theatre’.
In February of 1972 Paramount re-released “The Ten Commandments” again here (as New Forum 47th St.) and Guild 50th. A month later it opened on a wider release and moved over to the Astor, Delancy, Loews 83rd St, Lyric 42, Juliet 1, New Alpine, Roosevelt 145 St. Also a seperate section of the ad announces in Spanish that it is also playing in Spanish language at the Paramount at 61st & Broadway. 6 weeks later when it went on a mass second run it still stayed at the Paramount and Astor.
“I am surprised this was operated as a cinema as late as 1988 because I can’t really remember going here, though I think I saw STAR WARS here in the summer of ‘83.” (hardtop)
“On July 29th of 1983, "Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back” was re-released as a double feature at the RKO Warner Twin in 70MM.“ (William)
“What theater is the RKO Warner Twin?” (saps)
“The RKO Warner Twin, saps, was the former Strand Theatre” (br91975)
“Oh!…then it was actually the Warner Twin, without the RKO, that had me stumped. I remember the Cinerama and the Penthouse (and the Cine Orleans!) but I don’t remember when it went (back) to Warner. What years were those and who ran it then?” (saps)
[This info was gathered during the research phase of preparing “70mm In New York,” which appears on the FromScriptToDVD.com website. I’ll provide what I can in an attempt to clarify the questions asked. Obviously, anyone in the know, feel free to elaborate.]
From the 1950s through the ‘80s, the sequence of names appear to have been:
Warner / Warner Cinerama / Cinerama / RKO Cinerama / RKO Cinerama Twin** / RKO Warner Twin
*during this phase, Screen #2 was called Penthouse and/or Cinerama 2
**during this phase, sometimes noted in newspaper ads as Cinerama 1 and Cinerama 2, depending on which screen a film was playing
The operators were:
Stanley-Warner (? – 1968)
Pacific East (1968 – early 1970s)
RKO/Stanley-Warner (mid-70s)
RKO (late ‘70s – early '80s)
RKO Century (early-80s – close)
An image of how the re-christened Cinerama auditorium of the former Warner Twin appeared (and, I’d guess, as well, in similar design the upstairs Penthouse and backstage Orleans), post-retrofitting, in 1968, accompanied by a brief article from the August 5, 1968 issue of Boxoffice magazine, can be found at the bottom of this page: http://cinerama.topcities.com/ctwarner.htm At the top, one can catch a small glimpse of how a portion of the lobby looked at the time, followed by a series of exterior shots and images of some of the projection equipment used in the presentation of Cinerama-based productions at the Warner. (I’m also posting this message, appropriately enough, on the Strand Theatre – /theaters/2975/ – page.)
What was the physical appearance of the lobby and auditoriums of the Warner Twin after all those renovations over the years had been brought forth?
Oh!…then it was actually the Warner Twin, without the RKO, that had me stumped. I remember the Cinerama and the Penthouse (and the Cine Orleans!) but I don’t remember when it went (back) to Warner. What years were those and who ran it then? I do remember the Rialto revamped by Cineplex Odeon and called the Warner, so I guess that was after the Warner Twin closed.
The RKO Warner Twin, saps, was the former Strand Theatre – /theaters/2975/
What theater is the RKO Warner Twin?
On July 29th of 1983, “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back” was re-released as a double feature at the RKO Warner Twin in 70MM.
I am surprised this was operated as a cinema as late as 1988 because I can’t really remember going here, though I think I saw STAR WARS here in the summer of ‘83. It is the only time I can remember going here.
Florian Zabach, the Fiddler. He was a wonderful classically trained violinist who’d make your hair stand on end with his performance of “Hot Canary.”
My dad,Iz Zatkin, owned the Holiday theatre. The movie that opened this new theatre was FIVE. I am trying to get info on this movie and the exact date the Holiday opened. Any information would be appreciated.
Carol B.
So Elliot Forbes and his “nurses” were all illusionists! Knowledge is indeed power! I believe, however, that Rudy Vallee had the gift of bi-location: in the 1930s he allegedly appeared in stage shows at both the Times Square and Brooklyn Paramounts for a regular stint, using the BMT as a reliable conduit.
The two Bow Tie Cinemas share the name of former B.S. Moss Times Square properties and are located in New Haven, Connecticut (the five-screen Criterion Cinemas) and Basalt, Colorado (the seven-screen Movieland).