Salisbury Theatre

The Salisbury Theater was forced to censor the adult films they showed. A fellow projectionist who I used to picket the UA theaters with in the early nineties worked that theater and confirmed for me that they had to cut the hardcore out or color in the more salacious scenes with a black magic marker. And I did witness this because it was the closest adult theater to me and I saw Female Athletes there and it was cut and colored in! Talk about killing a mood! Westbury had strict rules, Pink Flamingos was banned from being shown theatrically there. Later, they went to video projection and started showing hardcore. They went out of business shortly there after.

I worked there spring and summer 1970. Artsy then, for sure. The movie Z, directed by Constantin Costa-Gravas, with Yves Montand and Irene Papas, played for months. Ben Hur for a couple weeks. Yes, then Sicilian Clan in the summer before I left for college.
I remember 600 seats, (no multiplex around here then!) because we kept some tabs on busy nights to warn people they’d be in the first two rows, or we were close to sold out.
Reeses Peanut Butter cups sometimes sold out, too!
General trivia: minimum wage went up from $1.50 to $1.85! But they didn’t have to give our 16 year old co worker the raise.
At that point there was a management or ownership(?) tie in with the recently opened Jerry Lewis Twin Cinemas on Hempstead Tnpk. We were the expensive theatre-they were 99cents admission! (Friend rvb -previous post-says that one is listed on this site by last name used- FLICK.)
Regarding his comment-I’ve often said I wish I had a photo of the place. It was my first job. Anyone have one?
Is Michael my manager still out there?!
Also,

I only went there once…OMG, I was so naive…I took a date there to see the animated “Fritz The Cat”…I had NO idea!

I think “The Salisbury” is named after Westbury’s little village of Salisbury that was long ago part of a vast area known as Salisbury Plain. Also Charles Lindeberg on his solo flight to Paris choose to travel over a road where the theater was to be built which was (and is) Old Country Rd. He would probably be at a hundred feet soon to turn left towards Long Island Sound.

I was an usher in the Spring of 1967 when it was an “Arts Cinema”. Fairly classy – I wore my own black shoes/slacks white shirt and the theatre loaned me a nice fitting black jacket with bow tie. I was told to stand straight and never ever lean against the wall. Saturday matinees for the kids. It kind of felt like 1947 not 67. A Chech movie “Loves of a Blond” (I own in VHS), “Georgie Girl” (which I later named my cat) and Persona. Bergman directing Ullmann and Andersson was one of those experience that I can relive whenever I want – like the lunar landing or 9/11. Just last week a very young persona of ulimate beauty introduced the New England premier of the doc. “Liv and Ingmar” – following the showing the forever young Liv gave such a generous Q&A that even a bumbleing guy like me got in a one-on-one afterwards. Liv also announced that she would be directing her own translation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1875 play “A. Dolly’s House” on Broadway. RLMcG

I saw The Night Porter with Dirk Bogart there,but never went back again.