Comments from BrooklynJim

Showing 176 - 200 of 432 comments

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Embassy Theatre on Aug 22, 2006 at 7:51 am

LM, do you think Jack Nicholson is using the pseudonym of “robbie dupree” on CT?

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Ridgewood Theatre on Aug 22, 2006 at 7:44 am

Everything you elaborated on IS definitely important, Peter, but we sometimes tend to ignore the human element. When intellectual erudition is all that’s put forth in posts, it becomes rather dry and leaves very little for the heart and/or personality. This site has the potential for both, and should have the tolerance to allow both.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Embassy Theatre on Aug 22, 2006 at 7:27 am

Peter, I’m pretty certain I shipped the “Matinee” video to my Brooklyn casa. (Not available on DVD yet.) I’ll get it to you as a loaner, along with “Half Human” and the “Gojira” sampler. Be patient, amigo.

robbie dupree (a name ‘way too similar to Bobby Dupea, Nicholson’s character in “Five Easy Pieces”), I got “Tingled” by that electro-buzzer gimmick at the RKO Bushwick in the late '50s. Cussed like a bandit!

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Ridgewood Theatre on Aug 22, 2006 at 7:14 am

Peter, do NOT post a snailmail addy or even a P.O. Box here. I’ll contact you by year’s end via e-mail and get it to you in person or by USPS at that time. Will be bringing in about 2 dozen for my pals and you guys.

Frankie, I’ll have a copy for you, too. Now get out your MetroCard and take a ride over to the “Rodgewood.” LOL! Great neighborhood, BTW. You’ll love it! :)

LM, I read your posts above and strongly urge the true CT webmeisters not to bounce you or anyone from here. I “lurked” for well over a year before I joined, so I was pretty aware of some of the problems of this list. (I’ve been a member of several lists since 1998, and I’m convinced that it’s the nature of the beast. Really tough to control human nature and the need for attention and recognition without coming off as a wild-eyed, fanatical paperhanging S.O.B. from Austria.)

But I do not advocate anyone’s forfeiture of membership unless, of course, there is absolutely no other alternative to behavior inimical to the good of all. Being off-topic occasionally does not fall into this category. How childish to think so! Unfortunately, there are those who tend to misread some O/T posts and cannot see the enthusiasm and love of movies that are behind them, and that’s truly their loss. There’s only so much one can say about plaster, masonry, design, etc. without putting the rest of the membership into a coma.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about New "Preserve Me a Seat" movie review on Aug 21, 2006 at 3:03 pm

Creepy has a top-notch suggestion, Jim. I just viewed “Dark Days,” an obscure documentary by first-time director Marc Singer, and it’s on imdb with several excellent and positive reviews. (It even won two awards at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. Perhaps you’re next…)

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about New Amsterdam Theatre on Aug 21, 2006 at 2:56 pm

Just got my socks knocked off over on eBay. I put in a search for Famous Funnies Comics. Up pops FF #210, beautiful Buck Rogers cover by Frazetta, CGC 9.6 NM+ condition. Buy It Now price through 8/30 – with no interest until 2007???

$5,700.00

choke

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Ridgewood Theatre on Aug 21, 2006 at 11:39 am

OK, Peter, a DVD sampler has been reserved for you. The scene you referenced (“…scorched flesh permeating the air…”) is on this thing, BTW. Got one for EdS, Bway Chris and mikemovies if they want it…

In the ‘56 Burr version, the dubbing was hysterically awful. One of the elder Japanese guys (the dubbee) had a translator (the dubber) who could not pronounce the word “phenomenon.” Not once, not twice, but three times it was “phe-mom-eh-nah.” The group of people I last saw it with instantly broke into the Muppets’ “Manha Manha.” Priceless!

LM, despite Patsy’s (or Sybil’s) grand entrances on Ladies' Night, you still get only ONE copy. Nice try, pal! LMAO!

And mikemovies, I’m failing your quizzes at an alarming rate! :(

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Ridgewood Theatre on Aug 21, 2006 at 8:09 am

That’s the best part, LM: NO Raymond Ironsides! In viewing the sampler, we spotted a number of scenes that were not in the altered U.S. release. Half of the original trailers are in Japanese (with no subtitles at this point.) Would ya like some sushi with yer freebie?

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Sunrise Drive-In on Aug 21, 2006 at 7:50 am

[Rats! I hit the #@%&!?* “Submit” button too soon…]

Ed, last month in a local paper was a superb re-cap of drive-ins in San Diego County, all but two of which are gone. Author Jay Allen Sanford has provided The Reader’s archive link on the Campus Drive-In page (10460) for anyone who’d care to read it. More importantly, he also listed his e-mail addy for the nationwide timeline history of drive-ins, which was not included in the paper’s link. He’ll send the text to anyone who requests it. The Quebec/Catholic Church story alone is worth the effort.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Ridgewood Theatre on Aug 21, 2006 at 7:39 am

There’s a 15-minute DVD sampler available as a preview for the 9/5 release of the original “Gojira” (1954), directed by Inoshiro Honda. Who wants a copy? (Sorry, only one to each multiple-personality poster.) I’ll bring ‘em in to Ridgewood before year’s end.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Sunrise Drive-In on Aug 21, 2006 at 7:30 am

Love those ads, Ed! The only ones to jumpstart my brain were “Parrish” (Troy Donahue, last seen as Merle, the pathetic boyfriend of Connie Corleone in “Godfather II”), “Village of the Damned” (well done chiller by the Brits) and “Flipper” (whom I always remember whenever I order Mahi Mahi). “Larry of Batavia” (almost 4 hours of it) was excellent in any format, but I preferred to see that in NYC upon its initial release.

I cannot recall the name of that Port Jeff Drive-In, but I suspect any heaters they may have had were on the fritz. Never went back…

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Ridgewood Theatre on Aug 19, 2006 at 1:42 pm

LM, sorry to have “lost” you there. I must’ve been having a Twilight Zone moment when I imagined all of us are one or two posters under different screen names. As for EdS, that lovable guy is in a class all by himself. LOL!

Hey, all you “Ridgewood Regular Rascals,” here’s a tip my late son gave me to save money on DVDs and CDs. And get this: beyond the already L=O=W prices, there are no fees, tax or shipping charges.

Peter, here’s yer chance to score “Horrors of the Black Museum” in Widescreen!

www.deepdiscountdvd.com

www.deepdiscountcd.com

BTW, in case anyone perceives the 2nd URL as O/T, just think “movie soundtracks.” :)–

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Ridgewood Theatre on Aug 19, 2006 at 12:43 pm

Not a single Ridgewood post mine on since 8/9! Everyone cleared outta Dodge while “star wars” are in progress elsewhere. It looks like a…

FIGHT TO THE FINISH

In my neighborhood of West Philadelphia, there were two reject stores – the New York Bargain House and the American Bargain House. They were right next door to each other, and the owners were bitter enemies. They were having price wars constantly.

In one window would appear the handwritten sign: “For sale. Irish linen sheets, with such minor flaws that not even the hawkeye of Mrs. Betty Reba could find them. Ask her. The ridiculous low price of $6.50.” Everyone would then traditionally await the reply from the other bargain house, and in about two hours it would appear in the window: “Mrs. Reba needs glasses. My sheets are as close to first as Romeo is to Juliet and only $5.95.”

In addition to the sign war, the two owners would often appear outside their stores, screaming and cursing at each other, and oftentimes coming to actual blows. Finally one of the owners would stop competing in the price war, claiming the other one was crazy and so was anyone who bought from him. That was the starter’s gun going off. Everyone in the neighborhood would rush into the winning bargain store and buy out the entire stock of sheets and pillowcases. Their feud was one of the most intense and lasting in the neighborhood, and everyone living there profited from it by getting all kinds of wonderful bargains.

One day one of the owners passed away. A few days later, the other owner had a going-out-of-business sale. He moved out of the neighborhood, never to be seen again.

When the new occupants of the stores checked out their properties more closely, they discovered a secret passageway between the two, as well as a connecting door between the two apartments above the stores where the previous owners had lived.

Further research revealed that these two arch-enemies were brothers.

The swearing, cursing, threats, and all other personal abuses were all play-acting. All the price wars were fake. Whoever outlasted the other would just take all the other’s stock and sell it with his. For more than thirty years these two brothers had conned an entire neighborhood, a neighborhood made up mostly of cons. Their merchandise may have been seconds, but their brains were first-run.

  • David Brenner, “Nobody Ever Sees You Eat Tuna Fish” (Arbor House)

Now, is there a moral to this real-life fable? Perhaps. Just suppose a bunch of us posters are just two brothers… or even ONE guy…

“Gentlemen, have your IP numbers ready!”

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Loew's Willard Theatre on Aug 18, 2006 at 11:58 am

Ridgewood, RKO Madison, Willard and any 3 of your choice where roaches breed and bilge gets sumped ‘n’ pumped. LOL!

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Loew's Willard Theatre on Aug 18, 2006 at 11:42 am

Got 100%, mikemovies, but with a brief explanation: 2 I had known; 2 I knew because of discussions on CT; and 1 lucky guess (#3). Have already shared your URL with some Tor aficianados. Good catch! THX!

Speaking of sites and percentages, I’ll just throw this out as a math problem in perspective. The CT website boasts the listing of over 14,300 theaters. 6 are railed at for being having members considered to be OT: movie or actor discussions, and to a lesser extent, neighorhood friends and memories. Dividing the number of listings into the “bilge group” yields 0.0004195%, hardly worth getting anyone’s BVDs – or panties – into a knot.

It’s my hope that we can all try to understand that most members bring a little different expertise, knowledge, personality and even humorous and human viewpoints onto a pretty unique site, itself a treasure.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Embassy Theatre on Aug 18, 2006 at 7:41 am

Had I known that the Embassy was also geared for the Castle gimmick films, robbie, I could’ve saved a couple of el tokens and walked. Saw most of them at the RKO Bushwick on Broadway near Gates. Between 6/8-22/06, PKoch, Bway, Moondog and I posted a bunch of memories from that era on that page. You might have some additional thoughts on these films as well.

Charlie S., I don’t recall Mary Clayton, your grandmother, but if she sold candy at the Embassy, I probably bought it from her. LOL! Also, I wasn’t pulling your leg about that 1963 Brian Hyland hit, “I’m Afraid To Go Home.” It was a pretty strong Civil War folk song with a good soft-rock background. Not shabby at all, perhaps his best.

Peter, save yer shekels, kiddo. I can foresee some of us pooling our (eventual) retirement/Social Security resources and opening a small theater somewhere in B'klyn or Queens to revive the sci-fi, horror and schlock movies we’ve all described here and elsewhere.

“I HAVE A DREAM!” – Dr. MLK, Jr.

(…and me, too! Seriously!)

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Loew's Metropolitan Theatre on Aug 16, 2006 at 3:07 pm

Anniegirl: No on the State @ Franklin & DeKalb. Yes on the State downtown. Most of the other items you mentioned are also a Yes: Cino’s on Dekalb & Vanderbilt (mid-block), the Clinton Hill Apts. (we called them “the projects,” but they were pretty upscale when built in the spring of ‘47), Fort Greene Park and Sailors Monument, S. Portland Ave. (my uncle owned a butcher shop there, and I passed by last April!) and Presley records (now worth a decent price to sell). Ah, you got it right: the movies, the music and the magic of growing up in Brooklyn…

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Colón Theater on Aug 16, 2006 at 1:58 pm

If I had owned this theater back in its heyday… Dunno. Would really have rethought long, hard and diligently for a name change. “Colon” may very stand for “Columbus,” but it’s way too easy a cheapshot target, as we have seen above.

“Colony?” “Cologne?” “Color?” (as in “De Colores” and in keeping with the Tex-Mex flavor of the city?) Too late for it now, but it was a thought… :(

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Loew's Willard Theatre on Aug 16, 2006 at 1:45 pm

whew!

An admirable job, mikemovies, on that Tor Johnson list. I sincerely thank you for your efforts (which, BTW, did not look sloppy at all). We can always refer folks over here if they need any TJ info.

“A sure sign of insanity is to do the same thing twice and expect different results.” – Anon./Unk.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Brooklyn Heights Cinema I & II on Aug 16, 2006 at 6:49 am

“Mangia la galinga morte.” – Old Italian expression (“Eat the dead chicken.”)

Your live chickens vs. KFC comment, mikemovies, is referring to KenRoe’s cutline beneath his 8-13 photo directly above. During the last century, several of the boroughs raised chickens (and ducks, for fat rendering) for poultry stores. If you have a local library or bookstore (Barnes & Noble) that stocks a softbound copy of “New York in the Thirties” by Berenice Abbott (Dover Press), flip through it to see a few detailed pictures of some of the front windows of these poultry stores down on Manhattan’s lower east side.

I’m amazed that Brooklyn Heights eventually produced a small, intimate movie theater from a building that had quite a different history years ago.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Embassy Theatre on Aug 15, 2006 at 11:55 am

Wayside Baptist, Philadelphian Sabbath Cathedral, Christ Tabernacle, the Rock Church… Peter, when I return, I guess I can trust you to get me to a church on time. The good Lord must love old movie houses!

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Embassy Theatre on Aug 15, 2006 at 11:38 am

Don’t forget Edelman’s on Fulton. Clothes ranged from sporty to garish!

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Loew's Willard Theatre on Aug 15, 2006 at 11:32 am

Welcome back, EdSolero! (Hope you either drove or ditched your tube of toothpaste with TSA and all the other Bushketeers.)

LM, rumors abound that “Black Sleep” will be released on DVD later this month or next. Previously available only on a bootleg video from PA.

Peter (“Kill! Kill!! KILL!”) Punster, yer killin' ME! AAARRRRGGGHHHH!

I’m pushing for a Tor Johnson Film Festival. 31 movies, I’m told. Care to do the research on this, mikemovies? :)–

The Lugosi clips were filmed when Ed Wood still had a few coins in his pocket back in ‘56 and later inserted into “Plan 9” with Wood’s dentist. It’s now available on DVD in a colorized version.

In 1957, with the advent of “Shock Theatre” on NY TV Channel 7 (ABC), we nutsy kids actually would use a pay phone booth at a dime a pop to call the station. We’d ask to speak to Karloff and/or Lugosi. We were told that Boris was filming something-or-other in England, and that Lugosi was also out of the country. You bet he was – with the undead. They were sharp receptionists who didn’t want to shatter l'il kids' dreams: the dissipated Lugosi had finally crapped out a year earlier from the ravages of las drogas.

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Embassy Theatre on Aug 14, 2006 at 3:39 pm

Charlie S., the Haven Theater has its own page. The CT internal search engine is generally a hit-or-miss proposition. Better to just enter the Haven’s number, 4613, at the top of the page where 5796 is now. You’ll get there faster than an old-time magic carpet ride…

BrooklynJim
BrooklynJim commented about Embassy Theatre on Aug 14, 2006 at 1:00 pm

Virtually all of those gin mills, taverns and wiseguy joints are gone now, robbie, although a few “clubs” have sprung up on streets running between Fulton & Atlantic.

Charlie S., I stand corrected on the location of the White Horse Tavern. I stated Forest “Hills.” Duh. Should’ve been Forest Park – Jamaica Ave. near 87th St. ‘Scusa. :)