Interesting to see the old street names used for the location of the Prospect in that ad. Prospect at Jagger. I assume Prospect was the former name of Main Street and that Jagger is either 41st Ave or 41st Rd. I know that numbered streets had previously been named, but I had no idea that Main Street was ever known by any other name. At least not as relatively recent as 1928. Or, could one of these names refer to what is now known as Kissena Blvd?
Well said Robbie… I’ve been saying the same thing for a while now. There’s room for it all… until and unless the site’s creators address the membership directly and let us know that voluminous tangential threads are crashing the server and threatening the future of CT. I think we’d have heard long ago if that were the case.
This, regarding “Song of My Heart” from the first link: <<A strange film as the songs were sung but the dialogue was silent with title cards.>>
Sounds pretty bizarre, but then, that aptly describes “The Jazz Singer” as well – Jolson’s unintentionally recorded ad-lib “You aint seen nothin' yet…” notwithstanding. Of course, you would think that after going through the expense of filming in the new process and it being 1930 already that it would have been an all-talking film!
Yogurt… ha! Like all those 104 year old Russians in the old Dannon ads, PKoch? God, this discussion is bringing back such memories of “Robot Monster”… Didn’t this movie also use that cheapo stock footage of lizards with glued on dorsal fins standing in as fighting dinosaurs that was used in so many low budget ‘50’s flicks. And how about those shots of Ro-man’s boss communicating over that old Philco TV set – the guy playing him under the gorilla suit would keep on “acting” and gesturing with his hand long after the line he was supposed to be saying was delivered! A gem. And I agree, BklynJim, li'l Johnny was an annoying brat.
Anyone remember that horrible old flick – shown on Channel 11, I think, in only the grainiest prints – that had to do with that walking tree that had a knife stuck in its heart?!?
Mister Ralph… I don’t think anyone is ignoring you. I would presume that no one who has a recollection of your performances at the Roxy has read your comment yet. As for myself, I wasn’t even a twinkle in my father’s eye when this magnificent showplace was pounded to dust.
William… do you know any good resources for information on the Grandeur process and the films exhibited under that banner? Unfortunately, the excellent Widescreen Museum website only passes a glancing notice.
Thanks for the update, E. Summer. The newer Loew’s State quad that replaced the old above-ground Loew’s State discussed on this page has its listing on Cinema Treasures, which may be found here as the Loews State Theater 4. Folks have been confusing the two pages forever on this site.
From PKoch: <<mikemovies, that would be “Robot Monster”, the movie so horrible, it wasn’t released … it escaped ! Watch Ro-Man tune his WW II surplus radio bubble-machine on a kitchen table outside his cave in the Western desert.>>
Yes… and all in the glory of 3-D, although I only ever saw this hilariously awful classic (second perhaps only to “Plan 9 From Outer Space” for most brilliantly inept film ever) on local TV – I can’t recall if this one played on WNEW channel 5, WOR channel 9 or WPIX channel 11, but I know I suffered through it on numerous occasions as a young'un.
Mantan Moreland played Chan’s chauffer during the Sidney Toler years in the 1940’s, long after Warner Oland retired his Oriental make-up job and the series had shifted from Fox to Monogram. Moreland’s particular acting “style” and the characters he played would certainly not be looked upon favorably in today’s society.
Interesting, Ron. As best as I can recall, the two levels that were opened as The Ritz (“there’s a little bit of Ritz in every club, but there’s only one Ritz”) held a capacity of about 800 – most of that standing room only on the main dance floor level (which was up one narrow flight of stairs from the street). There was a bar-room off to the side running parallel to the dance floor (was there one on either side?) accessed through archways cut in the wall. I remember seeing Jerry Garcia and John Kahn play a pair of acoustic sets there the night the Challenger exploded on January 28th, 1986. They did have a fairly big screen that would fly above the stage on which they’d project odd film clips edited together to accompany/juxtapose with the music they’d blast between sets. I remember they showed the complete version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video during the intermission at a South Side Johnny and the Asbury Jukes show back in ‘83 or so. Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers completed that all-Jersey bill.
OK… Off topic bilge alert. Apologies, but we did go off on a tangent and there is no Webster Hall page. We may now return to regularly scheduled programming.
Was the Grandeur Screen actually installed for that early 70mm widescreen process of the same name that had been experimented with in films such as Raoul Walsh’s “The Big Trail” starring John Wayne? Was the Roxy NYC’s exclusive Grandeur theater?
When I used to attend concerts at the Ritz, I never thought that place was a former “theater” proper. It looks more like an old dance hall or ball room: the rectangular shaped room featuring a flat hard wood floor with a small stage at one end; plus a 2nd level mezzanine level for tables running along the perimeter with no raking or sloping as one would find in a typical theater. I could be wrong, of course.
I thought someone had previously mentioned Club USA, LuisV, but perhaps that was on a different theater page. In fact, it might have been a post by you sometime back on another page when you were trying to identify the proper theater listing! Anyway, we now have your colorful description of the place during its disco days and we thank you!
By the way, when I passed by the former theater a couple of weeks back, the martial arts outlet that currently occupies the building appeared finally to be open to the public.
“Ran” is Kurosawa’s version of “King Lear”. “Rashomon” is an early masterpiece from the great director – and one of the most beautiful motion pictures ever shot.
Al. The Columbia discussed above was gutted to make way for the RKO Mayfair, so it must be a different theater altogether – particularly since you reference the film as a move-over FROM the Mayfair. Actually, it is probably the old Central Theater right across Duffy Square that you are talking about. It was later known as the Forum and closed as Movieland under B.S. Moss, but did operate for a time in 1934 as the Columbia.
Thanks, Warren. As per that Saturday Night Fever ad, it was still with Interboro as late as ‘78. When did that company fold? I know they operated a number of small nabes – including my old childhood haunt the Laurelton Theater.
I remember this under the Loew’s banner for along time and I know it was once part of the Interboro chain as well. Was this originally an independent? And if so, how long did it operate that way and what were some of the other chains that ran it?
Meanwhile… Native, here’s an assortment of clippings from my collection of old newspapers featuring ads for attractions at the Trylon:
A lot of the films advertised above appear to be late in their runs and possible moveovers – you can check release dates for each title on imdb.com to try and ascertain if any of these were initial release bookings.
I have a number of local papers (including the Long Island Press and Long Island Star Journal) from September and November of 1963 and May 1964 that include the old fashioned block ads for the big chains (Loew’s, RKO, Century’s, Skouras) as well as individual ads for many independent nabes like the Cinemart, Hobart, Earle, Fair, Polk, etc. Curiously, the Trylon is not listed in any of those, for some reason.
I have a few more papers from the ‘80’s and early '90’s to digitize… when I find more Trylon listings I’ll be sure to post them here.
Bonacker… that is a rare occurrence, particularly for that area. The crime rate in NYC – especially for violent crimes – has been at 30 and 40 year lows this last decade or so. I hazard to say that walking the streets of New York these days (or nights) is probably far safer than it was back when you attended the Waverly.
Wow! That is an astonishing collection of autographs, Frank P! Were all of these signatures obtained during that narrow period of 1947-1950? That would certainly make the challenge of compiling dates and other anectdotal information a lot easier… and I’m sure there are at least a couple of amatuer historians here who would be glad to research Roxy that data and share it here. And perhaps even a few who could recount first hand experience.
And I have to wonder, how “beautiful” and “perfect” could the old Columbia have been if it was to be completely gutted just a couple of years later?! Does the Columbia have a page here? Or was it strictly a live performance venue?
I should have known all of those, mike… but I missed #2 (though I remembered the scene as soon as I scrolled down to the answer) and I did struggle with the 5th before the image of Will Paxton in “Aliens” came to me.
Lost… <<I used to be PKoch but now EdSolero is PKoch. mikemovies is really BrooklynJim except on Tuesday when PKoch is mikemovies and EdSolero at the same time. Every other Monday I’m really Frankie until 3pm at which time I’m EdSolero again.>>
Well, that explains all the voices in my head. Thanks.
I wonder how much (if anything) was shot with the three lens process. Or did they switch processes before photography began? Anyway, even if the footage ever existed, it is doubtful any of it survives – particularly when one thinks of all the difficulties Bob Harris has encountered trying to track down the trims from IAMMMMW’s original 70mm road show engagements. Didn’t production on George Stevens' “The Greatest Story Ever Told” also begin in three lens Cinerama before the format was abandoned for the single lens Ultra Panavision process? I believe photography had actually begun on that biblical epic before the switch was made.
Ha. I got 4 of 5 on the Tor Trivia. A very humorous – and obviously loving – tribute site.
I really wish I had a virtual bucket of cold water to splash on the heated battle currently raging in CT land. I don’t plan on engaging in any sparring here. However, I have no intentions of curbing myself from making contributions to this site in any manner I see fit – whether it be posting a movie ad, sharing a photo, recalling a fond memory pertaining to a particular theater or – yes – making a jovial comment in the course of a friendly and casual off topic thread.
“Don’t mind Lobo, he’s as harmless as a kitten."
"Pull the string! Pull the string!”
Interesting to see the old street names used for the location of the Prospect in that ad. Prospect at Jagger. I assume Prospect was the former name of Main Street and that Jagger is either 41st Ave or 41st Rd. I know that numbered streets had previously been named, but I had no idea that Main Street was ever known by any other name. At least not as relatively recent as 1928. Or, could one of these names refer to what is now known as Kissena Blvd?
Well said Robbie… I’ve been saying the same thing for a while now. There’s room for it all… until and unless the site’s creators address the membership directly and let us know that voluminous tangential threads are crashing the server and threatening the future of CT. I think we’d have heard long ago if that were the case.
Thanks a lot William.
This, regarding “Song of My Heart” from the first link: <<A strange film as the songs were sung but the dialogue was silent with title cards.>>
Sounds pretty bizarre, but then, that aptly describes “The Jazz Singer” as well – Jolson’s unintentionally recorded ad-lib “You aint seen nothin' yet…” notwithstanding. Of course, you would think that after going through the expense of filming in the new process and it being 1930 already that it would have been an all-talking film!
Yogurt… ha! Like all those 104 year old Russians in the old Dannon ads, PKoch? God, this discussion is bringing back such memories of “Robot Monster”… Didn’t this movie also use that cheapo stock footage of lizards with glued on dorsal fins standing in as fighting dinosaurs that was used in so many low budget ‘50’s flicks. And how about those shots of Ro-man’s boss communicating over that old Philco TV set – the guy playing him under the gorilla suit would keep on “acting” and gesturing with his hand long after the line he was supposed to be saying was delivered! A gem. And I agree, BklynJim, li'l Johnny was an annoying brat.
Anyone remember that horrible old flick – shown on Channel 11, I think, in only the grainiest prints – that had to do with that walking tree that had a knife stuck in its heart?!?
Mister Ralph… I don’t think anyone is ignoring you. I would presume that no one who has a recollection of your performances at the Roxy has read your comment yet. As for myself, I wasn’t even a twinkle in my father’s eye when this magnificent showplace was pounded to dust.
William… do you know any good resources for information on the Grandeur process and the films exhibited under that banner? Unfortunately, the excellent Widescreen Museum website only passes a glancing notice.
Thanks for the update, E. Summer. The newer Loew’s State quad that replaced the old above-ground Loew’s State discussed on this page has its listing on Cinema Treasures, which may be found here as the Loews State Theater 4. Folks have been confusing the two pages forever on this site.
Forgot to add that each of the main features in those ads was obviously on a late run – a good 6 months or so from initial release.
Here are some vintage ads from the Fair’s pre-porn days in the early 1960’s:
Thrill of it All – LI Star Journal 11/23/63
L-Shaped Room – LI Star Journal 11/25/63
The Prize – LI Star Journal 5/18/64
I’ll have to pass by and see if that Gulf Station is still there on the corner of 92nd.
From PKoch: <<mikemovies, that would be “Robot Monster”, the movie so horrible, it wasn’t released … it escaped ! Watch Ro-Man tune his WW II surplus radio bubble-machine on a kitchen table outside his cave in the Western desert.>>
Yes… and all in the glory of 3-D, although I only ever saw this hilariously awful classic (second perhaps only to “Plan 9 From Outer Space” for most brilliantly inept film ever) on local TV – I can’t recall if this one played on WNEW channel 5, WOR channel 9 or WPIX channel 11, but I know I suffered through it on numerous occasions as a young'un.
Mantan Moreland played Chan’s chauffer during the Sidney Toler years in the 1940’s, long after Warner Oland retired his Oriental make-up job and the series had shifted from Fox to Monogram. Moreland’s particular acting “style” and the characters he played would certainly not be looked upon favorably in today’s society.
I think it’s a modern interpretation of a vintage looking sign, Ron, using computer driven fiber optic technology for illumination.
Interesting, Ron. As best as I can recall, the two levels that were opened as The Ritz (“there’s a little bit of Ritz in every club, but there’s only one Ritz”) held a capacity of about 800 – most of that standing room only on the main dance floor level (which was up one narrow flight of stairs from the street). There was a bar-room off to the side running parallel to the dance floor (was there one on either side?) accessed through archways cut in the wall. I remember seeing Jerry Garcia and John Kahn play a pair of acoustic sets there the night the Challenger exploded on January 28th, 1986. They did have a fairly big screen that would fly above the stage on which they’d project odd film clips edited together to accompany/juxtapose with the music they’d blast between sets. I remember they showed the complete version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video during the intermission at a South Side Johnny and the Asbury Jukes show back in ‘83 or so. Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers completed that all-Jersey bill.
OK… Off topic bilge alert. Apologies, but we did go off on a tangent and there is no Webster Hall page. We may now return to regularly scheduled programming.
Was the Grandeur Screen actually installed for that early 70mm widescreen process of the same name that had been experimented with in films such as Raoul Walsh’s “The Big Trail” starring John Wayne? Was the Roxy NYC’s exclusive Grandeur theater?
When I used to attend concerts at the Ritz, I never thought that place was a former “theater” proper. It looks more like an old dance hall or ball room: the rectangular shaped room featuring a flat hard wood floor with a small stage at one end; plus a 2nd level mezzanine level for tables running along the perimeter with no raking or sloping as one would find in a typical theater. I could be wrong, of course.
I thought someone had previously mentioned Club USA, LuisV, but perhaps that was on a different theater page. In fact, it might have been a post by you sometime back on another page when you were trying to identify the proper theater listing! Anyway, we now have your colorful description of the place during its disco days and we thank you!
By the way, when I passed by the former theater a couple of weeks back, the martial arts outlet that currently occupies the building appeared finally to be open to the public.
“Ran” is Kurosawa’s version of “King Lear”. “Rashomon” is an early masterpiece from the great director – and one of the most beautiful motion pictures ever shot.
Al. The Columbia discussed above was gutted to make way for the RKO Mayfair, so it must be a different theater altogether – particularly since you reference the film as a move-over FROM the Mayfair. Actually, it is probably the old Central Theater right across Duffy Square that you are talking about. It was later known as the Forum and closed as Movieland under B.S. Moss, but did operate for a time in 1934 as the Columbia.
Thanks, Warren. As per that Saturday Night Fever ad, it was still with Interboro as late as ‘78. When did that company fold? I know they operated a number of small nabes – including my old childhood haunt the Laurelton Theater.
I remember this under the Loew’s banner for along time and I know it was once part of the Interboro chain as well. Was this originally an independent? And if so, how long did it operate that way and what were some of the other chains that ran it?
Meanwhile… Native, here’s an assortment of clippings from my collection of old newspapers featuring ads for attractions at the Trylon:
Saturday Night Fever – Daily News 1/25/78
Ordinary People 12th Smash Week! – Daily News 12/12/80
Absence of Malice – Daily News 3/6/82
Compromising Positions – Daily News 9/12/85
Compromising Positions (still there) – Daily News 9/23/85
Compromising Positions (going strong) – Newsday 10/5/85
Out of Africa – NY Post 1/29/86
Children of a Lesser God – Daily News 10/16/86
Children of a Lesser God (still going)– NY Times 10/27/86
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – NY Post 7/4/86
A lot of the films advertised above appear to be late in their runs and possible moveovers – you can check release dates for each title on imdb.com to try and ascertain if any of these were initial release bookings.
I have a number of local papers (including the Long Island Press and Long Island Star Journal) from September and November of 1963 and May 1964 that include the old fashioned block ads for the big chains (Loew’s, RKO, Century’s, Skouras) as well as individual ads for many independent nabes like the Cinemart, Hobart, Earle, Fair, Polk, etc. Curiously, the Trylon is not listed in any of those, for some reason.
I have a few more papers from the ‘80’s and early '90’s to digitize… when I find more Trylon listings I’ll be sure to post them here.
Hands raised! I just don’t know my html, Lost, or I’d respond in kind. That was much easier, mikemovies. I got all three in a cinch!
Bonacker… that is a rare occurrence, particularly for that area. The crime rate in NYC – especially for violent crimes – has been at 30 and 40 year lows this last decade or so. I hazard to say that walking the streets of New York these days (or nights) is probably far safer than it was back when you attended the Waverly.
Wow! That is an astonishing collection of autographs, Frank P! Were all of these signatures obtained during that narrow period of 1947-1950? That would certainly make the challenge of compiling dates and other anectdotal information a lot easier… and I’m sure there are at least a couple of amatuer historians here who would be glad to research Roxy that data and share it here. And perhaps even a few who could recount first hand experience.
Thanks, Warren. That Kinopanorama ad is great.
And I have to wonder, how “beautiful” and “perfect” could the old Columbia have been if it was to be completely gutted just a couple of years later?! Does the Columbia have a page here? Or was it strictly a live performance venue?
I should have known all of those, mike… but I missed #2 (though I remembered the scene as soon as I scrolled down to the answer) and I did struggle with the 5th before the image of Will Paxton in “Aliens” came to me.
Lost… <<I used to be PKoch but now EdSolero is PKoch. mikemovies is really BrooklynJim except on Tuesday when PKoch is mikemovies and EdSolero at the same time. Every other Monday I’m really Frankie until 3pm at which time I’m EdSolero again.>>
Well, that explains all the voices in my head. Thanks.
I wonder how much (if anything) was shot with the three lens process. Or did they switch processes before photography began? Anyway, even if the footage ever existed, it is doubtful any of it survives – particularly when one thinks of all the difficulties Bob Harris has encountered trying to track down the trims from IAMMMMW’s original 70mm road show engagements. Didn’t production on George Stevens' “The Greatest Story Ever Told” also begin in three lens Cinerama before the format was abandoned for the single lens Ultra Panavision process? I believe photography had actually begun on that biblical epic before the switch was made.
Ha. I got 4 of 5 on the Tor Trivia. A very humorous – and obviously loving – tribute site.
I really wish I had a virtual bucket of cold water to splash on the heated battle currently raging in CT land. I don’t plan on engaging in any sparring here. However, I have no intentions of curbing myself from making contributions to this site in any manner I see fit – whether it be posting a movie ad, sharing a photo, recalling a fond memory pertaining to a particular theater or – yes – making a jovial comment in the course of a friendly and casual off topic thread.
“Don’t mind Lobo, he’s as harmless as a kitten."
"Pull the string! Pull the string!”