Little Carnegie Theatre
146 W. 57th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
146 W. 57th Street,
New York,
NY
10019
10 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 76 comments
miclup, we knew eachother,too.
nyer13 we generally sold 550 seats. We worked together in the seventies.
I was there when the theatre closed, with Atlantic City. It was an extremely difficult day. Fortunately the WRO, keep some of it’s other locations open. To the east, the Festival and in lower Manhattan, the Bay Cinema, not to mention the Ziegfeld.
Please update, theatre open November 3, 1928 and closed April 8, 1982 with Atlantic City
The Little Carnegie theatre opened on November 3rd, 1928. Grand opening ad posted http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6451/photos/320021
The sidewalk canopy of this theater can be seen in the movie Tootsie during the scene where Dustin Hoffman & Sydney Pollack are standing outside of The Russian Tea Room. The film must have been shot right before the theater closed, as it was released in 1982.
This became a Walter Reade location in October 1966.
A theater that lasted until the waning days of the city when New York was New York. It is sorely missed. I remember waiting on the lines that would stretch east on 57th.
Any info on when the Walter Reade Organization began operating this theatre?
Hello-
the last time I can remember seeing a film here
was the 40th anniversary re-issue of Disney’s
Pinocchio.
Reading about the New York premiere of Sergei Eisenstein’s “October: Ten Days That Shook the World,” Alfred Barr Jr. wrote in The Arts (Volume 13-14, p. 316) that the film opened at the Little Carnegie on November 2, 1928. Barr doesn’t mention whether there was a musical accompaniment to “Ten Days” – one of the last silent films – but one has to assume there was.
If your an avid follower of this site you will find countless situations where policy has not been observed. Generally, however, all the options are listed so regardless of how you do the look up you’ll get what you want.
Micahel Mindlin’s fledgling circuit of theaters were anti-palace and frowned upon Hollywood mainstream fare. Starting a small cinema, art movement, Mindlin’s most important stake in the ground was the Carnegie “Junior”. Though Mindlin had theaters in Brooklyn, Rochester and Buffalo, the Carnegie was the most high profile.
The modernity of the original Carnegie “junior” upon opening in 1928 was reflected in the architecture of Wolfgang Hoffman, decoration of Pola Hoffman, and staging and design from Beatrice D. Mindlin, the Carnegie was a place not only to watch a film but to dance, play bridge, chess and ping pong, and for some period have a cocktail.
But within a year, new controlling operators sacked Mindlin who also would exit his other locations. While the art cinema movement would eventually catch on, Mindlin’s control was no longer in evidence.
@ nyer13
It’s great to hear from someone who worked there. Can you tell us any more about John Wolgamot, please?
I worked there for many years, one of my favorite jobs. It was an exciting place where I got to meet and speak to my favorite movie stars; Jodie Foster, Anthony Perkins, etc. Those were the days, with blockbuster movies that sold out in an hour and a half! Management staff was steady with a mature manager staff. John Crisman was the nicest manager we had. It was during this time the home company was the Walter Reade Organization, a name that confused customers as they associated it with the hospital. It was run strictly as a business for them. Walter Reade Organization which owned roughly eight theaters within the theater circuit, never once closed early for Christmas or even Thanksgiving. After they closed their doors, I worked at nearby location. Over the years, I worked within the circuit at The New Yorker, the Ziegfield, the Waverly and the Festival. I was offered two jobs after they closed. What I enjoyed most about the job was the wonderful friendships I made that endured for years, that made it a great job.
In the ‘70s we usually sold out @ approx. 480 seats. We also day dated with either the Baronet or Coronet depending on the movie.
The most disappointed audiences I saw were for “La Grande Bouffe.”
I worked at the Little Carnegie from ‘71 to '77 (usher/doorman). Among other notables – We played new Woody Allen films & his agents/producers had offices further east on the block. We did a screening for WNEW-FM of “Catch My Soul” – a rock Othello with Iago played by the actor who later played the colonel chasing “The A Team.” We also did screenings for Richard Brown’s film appreciation course which was then associated with The New School. As an unofficial perk I got to attend the course & met Peter Yates of “Robbery” “Bullitt” chase fame, a very nice fellow whose UK movie history is interesting as there are a few precursors to both Robbery & Bullitt in his earlier & often non-directorial work.
& John & Yoko did come in one time when I was working. John Wolgamot was the long-term mgr when I was at the theater.
There are probably few people who remember the original 1928 look of the Little Carnegie Playhouse. It was a strikingly modern design, most likely inspired, at least in part, by the work of the German Bauhaus. Here are two photos from the December 1, 1928, issue of Motion Picture News showing the auditorium and lounge.
I don’t know how much of the original design was lost in the early 1940s remodeling by Thomas Lamb’s office, but whatever might have remained after that was wiped out in the gut renovation designed by John McNamara that was undertaken in 1952. So far I’ve been unable to discover who the theater’s original architect was.
Most of the films that Played at The Little Carnegie Theater in the seventies and eighties, were a big sucess: Annie Hall, Tess, Tommy, The French Lieutenant’s Woman. I would like to see a photo.
“The Talented Mr Ripley” is actually a very fine movie.
Loved Purple Noon. Didn’t see the English remake. They never hold up.
“Plein Soleil” was later successfully remade in English as “The Talented Mr. Ripley”.
I was very fortunate to work at the Little Carnegie as a teenager in the late 70s/early 80s. What a magnificent place! Like a smaller version of the Beekman but even better. The doors to the theater were amazingly deco. Seeing the photo of the interior posted in one of the comments was shocking. In my mind, this place was huge. It was actually quite teanie. But what programming! Because they were a premiere platform theater, everything opened here to huge crowds, celebrities, and very long runs. I worked there for several years during high school and the only 2 films I remember are PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK and MANHATTAN. They were hugely successful and played for months.
Here is a fresh link to the picture of the Little Carnegie on the cover of Boxoffice, October 4, 1952.
World’s Wonder News theatre:
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