Were the three films in the recent Alliance Française French Film Festival 35mm prints??? Since I had read that they were being shown in the balcony, I suspected video projection would be used.
Another later name for the Belmont seems to have been “Cinema 48.” A New York Times ad for the Italian film “Under the Olive Tree” refers to it as the Belmont Cinema 48. The New York Times review of that film on October 5, 1951 calls it simply “Cinema 48.” That would mean that the description information about its closing in 1950 and being razed a year later could be inaccurate or approximate, assuming this is the same place, and one would surmise that it is. The address in the ad is 121 W. 48th Street (not 123 as described above) between 6th and 7th Avenues. So it must be the same place. Perhaps “Cinema 48” should be added to the “also known as” list here.
There is a remarkable photo of Columbus Circle, with a view of the exterior of Loew’s Circle Theatre in the book of photographs called “New York, Empire City 1920-45” by Daniel Stravitz. The photo must be from the 1920s silent era because the signage on the theatre reads “Photoplays: Symphony Orchestra and Organ.”
BoxOfficeBill, De Sica’s “Shoe Shine” did not open at the World. It premiered at the Avenue Playhouse on 6th Avenue and 47th Street on August 26, 1947 where it settled in for a long run.
I think I visited this place once or twice in my youth but am not positive. I certainly drove by it often enough. It is located just up the road from the former Jerry Lewis Cinema/Johnston Cinema, which is now an Amazing Express porno shop. I’m looking now at a newspaper ad for the Pike dating back to May, 1963 when they were showing an odd double-bill of Italian films (dubbed in English.) The program was “Rice Girl” with Elsa Martinelli, in the tradition of the earlier “Bitter Rice,” and “Fatal Desire” with Anthony Quinn. “Fatal Desire” was actually “Cavalleria Rusticana,” famed as an opera by Pietro Mascagni.
The come-on was “2 explosive motion pictures – 1 big show!” For “Rice Girl” we read: “Pietro worshipped her…Mario wanted her…Gianni took her.” For “Fatal Desire” it says, “There is a special kind of payment for ‘borrowing’ another man’s wife. As a fan of Italian cinema I’m only familiar with "Rice Girl” and have never seen “Fatal Desire.” It is interesting that a program of imported films like this would make the rounds of drive-ins and exploitation houses of the time. Both are pretty hard to see today. The distributor was Ultra Pictures.
Decades ago I used to go to this theatre from time to time when in New York. My stronget memories go back to the summer of 1965 when AFFS (the American Federation of Film Societies) had a number of special morning 35mm screenings at this then-very-spiffy place for members during one week. Among the films I saw there in those screenings were Munk’s “The Passenger,” Bertolucci’s “Before the Revolution,” Buñuel’s “Nazarin,” and Rossif’s “To Die in Madrid.” They were all revelations. The AFFS also had 16mm screenings that year in a room at the U.N. building.
re: “It isn’t used anymore for movies"
Well, technically that’s not entirely so. On November 2, 2002 I saw Godfrey Reggio’s "Koyaanisqatsi” here in a special event with composer Philip Glass conducting a live performance of his score for the film. I don’t know if the projection equipment was specially installed for that show or if there is still equipment in the booth. From the visual and musical standpoint I thought the whole event was top-notch.
For nice views of the Cinema Barberini, outside and inside, see the Criterion Collection DVD set of Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard.” Disc 2 features newsreels of the gala premiere of that film here in March 1963.
Jean Renoir’s landmark film masterpiece “Grand Illusion” opened here in September 1938, when the theatre was called the Filmarte. That alone would give this place significance.
Yes, Ron, that is truly sad. Imagine a similar situation in New York, where all Manhattan residents could see such movies only in Brooklyn, Queens, or Westchester.
The Beacon Hill was indeed one of Boston’s prime art houses in the 1950s and 1960s and, I believe, earlier, with many of the top foreign films playing here. I remember movies like the French version of “Gigi” playing here in the early 50s. I was too young to come to Boston to see it at the time, but I used to like to check out movie ads in the Boston papers. I believe the first movie I ever saw here was Nanni Loy’s “The Four Days of Naples” in 1963. I came up from Providence as a college student just to see that. The other art houses in the period of the 1950s and 1960s were the Kenmore Cinema (torn down to build I-90), the Exeter Street Theatre, and the Telepix (later Park Square Cinema), the West End Cinema (1960s). I would love to hear other people’s memories of Boston art houses in the pre-1960s era.
I can tell you with certainty that the Beacon Hill was indeed one of Boston’s prime art houses in the 1950s and 1960s and, I believe, earlier, with many of the top foreign films playing here. I remember movies like the French version of “Gigi” playing here in the early 50s. I was too young to come to Boston to see it at the time, but I used to like to check out movie ads in the Boston papers. I believe the first movie I ever saw here was Nanni Loy’s “The Four Days of Naples” in 1963. I came up from Providence as a college student just to see that. I too saw “Casanova” here, but I don’t remember it as being reserved seat at the time. The other art houses in the period of the 1950s and 1960s were the Kenmore Cinema (torn down to build I-90), the Exeter Street Theatre, and the Telepix (later Park Square Cinema), the West End Cinema (1960s).
To CConnolly:
I’m not positive, but from your description it sounds like it could have been the Cinema Rendezvous (57th Street Playhouse, etc.) It is now the Directors Guild of America Theatre and is listed at: /theaters/7049/
To veyyoung:
I am certain you are wrong about “Rocco and His Brothers” roadshowing at the Henry Miller. “Rocco” opened simultaneously at the Beekman and Pix on June 27, 1961 and not as a roadshow. The review and ads attest to that. Could you be thinking of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses?”
Many historic Italian films premiered here. For the record, Vittorio De Sica’s landmark “Ladri di biciclette” (“The Bicycle Thief,” “Bicycle Thieves”) opened here and at the Cinema Barberini on November 24, 1948.
Many historic Italian films premiered here. For the record, Vittorio De Sica’s landmark “Ladri di biciclette” (“The Bicycle Thief,” “Bicycle Thieves”) opened here and at the Cinema Metropolitan on November 24, 1948.
I saw “Heaven’s Gate” there during that week because it became must-see movie among many serious film buffs. Although I have some reservations about the picture, it is in many aspects quite extraordinary. Since then the “director’s cut” has become a bit of a cult movie and is available on DVD.
Yes, this should be listed as 1723 Washington Street. It is the NEIGHBORHOOD Olympia, NOT THE DOWNTOWN Olympia/Pilgrim. I am glad Boris confirmed my memory. The address should be changed!
Boris, the Brattle did indeed show CinemaScope anamorphic films in the 1960s and beyond. I can recall seeing “Jules and Jim,” “The 400 Blows,” “La Dolce Vita”…all Scope ratio films…and others here during that period. And they show them today, via rear projection and without distortion…e.g. “The Leopard” and the revival of “La Dolce Vita.”
Regarding spelling and to confuse the issue further: I have in front of me a 1982 newspaper ad for The Public Theatre (not “theater”) and a ticket stub as well from the showing of “Careless” I attended in 1982. On it is printed: Public Theatre and Little Theatre—-both “-tre.” Their program flyer for the same period, however, says “Public Theater.”
When it was Anthology Film Archives (now located on 2nd Avenue) they were such purists here that, whenever possible, they avoided showing foreign language film prints that had subtitles, because they would distract from the integrity of the image. Rossellini’s “Francesco, giullare di Dio,” for example, was only shown in an Italian-language print without subtitles. I believe they owned it. You had to either know the language or rely on a synopsis.
I have no problems with calling it Little Theatre, since that was the designation used to refer to it within the larger complex, although that was NOT its name. No New York theatre was known as “Little Theatre.” If you asked someone in New York where they had seen a movie, and they said “Little Theatre,” that would be a puzzling response indeed. If they said “The Public Theatre,” you would know what they were talking about. Some special film programs, incidentally, took place not at the “Little Theatre” but at a larger one in the complex. None of this would be an issue if ALL the auditoriums were film venues and “The Public Theatre” meant “The Public Cinema.” But because live theatre is predominant, it seems we have to somehow separate the cinema portion for a site called Cinema Treasures.
Should the Museum of Modern Art auditoriums be listed as Roy and Niuta Titus Theatres I & II?
The Little Theatre at the Public had a steep stadium-style rake long before that became the thing in multiplex movie-houses.
Were the three films in the recent Alliance Française French Film Festival 35mm prints??? Since I had read that they were being shown in the balcony, I suspected video projection would be used.
Another later name for the Belmont seems to have been “Cinema 48.” A New York Times ad for the Italian film “Under the Olive Tree” refers to it as the Belmont Cinema 48. The New York Times review of that film on October 5, 1951 calls it simply “Cinema 48.” That would mean that the description information about its closing in 1950 and being razed a year later could be inaccurate or approximate, assuming this is the same place, and one would surmise that it is. The address in the ad is 121 W. 48th Street (not 123 as described above) between 6th and 7th Avenues. So it must be the same place. Perhaps “Cinema 48” should be added to the “also known as” list here.
There is a remarkable photo of Columbus Circle, with a view of the exterior of Loew’s Circle Theatre in the book of photographs called “New York, Empire City 1920-45” by Daniel Stravitz. The photo must be from the 1920s silent era because the signage on the theatre reads “Photoplays: Symphony Orchestra and Organ.”
BoxOfficeBill, De Sica’s “Shoe Shine” did not open at the World. It premiered at the Avenue Playhouse on 6th Avenue and 47th Street on August 26, 1947 where it settled in for a long run.
I think I visited this place once or twice in my youth but am not positive. I certainly drove by it often enough. It is located just up the road from the former Jerry Lewis Cinema/Johnston Cinema, which is now an Amazing Express porno shop. I’m looking now at a newspaper ad for the Pike dating back to May, 1963 when they were showing an odd double-bill of Italian films (dubbed in English.) The program was “Rice Girl” with Elsa Martinelli, in the tradition of the earlier “Bitter Rice,” and “Fatal Desire” with Anthony Quinn. “Fatal Desire” was actually “Cavalleria Rusticana,” famed as an opera by Pietro Mascagni.
The come-on was “2 explosive motion pictures – 1 big show!” For “Rice Girl” we read: “Pietro worshipped her…Mario wanted her…Gianni took her.” For “Fatal Desire” it says, “There is a special kind of payment for ‘borrowing’ another man’s wife. As a fan of Italian cinema I’m only familiar with "Rice Girl” and have never seen “Fatal Desire.” It is interesting that a program of imported films like this would make the rounds of drive-ins and exploitation houses of the time. Both are pretty hard to see today. The distributor was Ultra Pictures.
Decades ago I used to go to this theatre from time to time when in New York. My stronget memories go back to the summer of 1965 when AFFS (the American Federation of Film Societies) had a number of special morning 35mm screenings at this then-very-spiffy place for members during one week. Among the films I saw there in those screenings were Munk’s “The Passenger,” Bertolucci’s “Before the Revolution,” Buñuel’s “Nazarin,” and Rossif’s “To Die in Madrid.” They were all revelations. The AFFS also had 16mm screenings that year in a room at the U.N. building.
Beacon Hill.
jboger, I wholeheartedly share your enthusiasm for the Bleecker and Carnegie in that period and I don’t want to be a nitpicker, but the film you refer to was “Le Million” and it was not directed by Jean Renoir but by René Clair.
re: “It isn’t used anymore for movies"
Well, technically that’s not entirely so. On November 2, 2002 I saw Godfrey Reggio’s "Koyaanisqatsi” here in a special event with composer Philip Glass conducting a live performance of his score for the film. I don’t know if the projection equipment was specially installed for that show or if there is still equipment in the booth. From the visual and musical standpoint I thought the whole event was top-notch.
For nice views of the Cinema Barberini, outside and inside, see the Criterion Collection DVD set of Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard.” Disc 2 features newsreels of the gala premiere of that film here in March 1963.
Jean Renoir’s landmark film masterpiece “Grand Illusion” opened here in September 1938, when the theatre was called the Filmarte. That alone would give this place significance.
Patsy, it’s listed as the Publix, its last name as a movie theatre.
Yes, Ron, that is truly sad. Imagine a similar situation in New York, where all Manhattan residents could see such movies only in Brooklyn, Queens, or Westchester.
The Beacon Hill was indeed one of Boston’s prime art houses in the 1950s and 1960s and, I believe, earlier, with many of the top foreign films playing here. I remember movies like the French version of “Gigi” playing here in the early 50s. I was too young to come to Boston to see it at the time, but I used to like to check out movie ads in the Boston papers. I believe the first movie I ever saw here was Nanni Loy’s “The Four Days of Naples” in 1963. I came up from Providence as a college student just to see that. The other art houses in the period of the 1950s and 1960s were the Kenmore Cinema (torn down to build I-90), the Exeter Street Theatre, and the Telepix (later Park Square Cinema), the West End Cinema (1960s). I would love to hear other people’s memories of Boston art houses in the pre-1960s era.
I can tell you with certainty that the Beacon Hill was indeed one of Boston’s prime art houses in the 1950s and 1960s and, I believe, earlier, with many of the top foreign films playing here. I remember movies like the French version of “Gigi” playing here in the early 50s. I was too young to come to Boston to see it at the time, but I used to like to check out movie ads in the Boston papers. I believe the first movie I ever saw here was Nanni Loy’s “The Four Days of Naples” in 1963. I came up from Providence as a college student just to see that. I too saw “Casanova” here, but I don’t remember it as being reserved seat at the time. The other art houses in the period of the 1950s and 1960s were the Kenmore Cinema (torn down to build I-90), the Exeter Street Theatre, and the Telepix (later Park Square Cinema), the West End Cinema (1960s).
To CConnolly:
I’m not positive, but from your description it sounds like it could have been the Cinema Rendezvous (57th Street Playhouse, etc.) It is now the Directors Guild of America Theatre and is listed at:
/theaters/7049/
To veyyoung:
I am certain you are wrong about “Rocco and His Brothers” roadshowing at the Henry Miller. “Rocco” opened simultaneously at the Beekman and Pix on June 27, 1961 and not as a roadshow. The review and ads attest to that. Could you be thinking of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses?”
Many historic Italian films premiered here. For the record, Vittorio De Sica’s landmark “Ladri di biciclette” (“The Bicycle Thief,” “Bicycle Thieves”) opened here and at the Cinema Barberini on November 24, 1948.
Many historic Italian films premiered here. For the record, Vittorio De Sica’s landmark “Ladri di biciclette” (“The Bicycle Thief,” “Bicycle Thieves”) opened here and at the Cinema Metropolitan on November 24, 1948.
Re: Oklahoma. It is the Todd AO version that was used for the DVD transfer and that was shown on Turner Classic Movies.
I saw “Heaven’s Gate” there during that week because it became must-see movie among many serious film buffs. Although I have some reservations about the picture, it is in many aspects quite extraordinary. Since then the “director’s cut” has become a bit of a cult movie and is available on DVD.
Yes, this should be listed as 1723 Washington Street. It is the NEIGHBORHOOD Olympia, NOT THE DOWNTOWN Olympia/Pilgrim. I am glad Boris confirmed my memory. The address should be changed!
Boris, the Brattle did indeed show CinemaScope anamorphic films in the 1960s and beyond. I can recall seeing “Jules and Jim,” “The 400 Blows,” “La Dolce Vita”…all Scope ratio films…and others here during that period. And they show them today, via rear projection and without distortion…e.g. “The Leopard” and the revival of “La Dolce Vita.”
Regarding spelling and to confuse the issue further: I have in front of me a 1982 newspaper ad for The Public Theatre (not “theater”) and a ticket stub as well from the showing of “Careless” I attended in 1982. On it is printed: Public Theatre and Little Theatre—-both “-tre.” Their program flyer for the same period, however, says “Public Theater.”
When it was Anthology Film Archives (now located on 2nd Avenue) they were such purists here that, whenever possible, they avoided showing foreign language film prints that had subtitles, because they would distract from the integrity of the image. Rossellini’s “Francesco, giullare di Dio,” for example, was only shown in an Italian-language print without subtitles. I believe they owned it. You had to either know the language or rely on a synopsis.
I have no problems with calling it Little Theatre, since that was the designation used to refer to it within the larger complex, although that was NOT its name. No New York theatre was known as “Little Theatre.” If you asked someone in New York where they had seen a movie, and they said “Little Theatre,” that would be a puzzling response indeed. If they said “The Public Theatre,” you would know what they were talking about. Some special film programs, incidentally, took place not at the “Little Theatre” but at a larger one in the complex. None of this would be an issue if ALL the auditoriums were film venues and “The Public Theatre” meant “The Public Cinema.” But because live theatre is predominant, it seems we have to somehow separate the cinema portion for a site called Cinema Treasures.
Should the Museum of Modern Art auditoriums be listed as Roy and Niuta Titus Theatres I & II?
The Little Theatre at the Public had a steep stadium-style rake long before that became the thing in multiplex movie-houses.