Here is a photo of the Cinema Augusteo which I took in the summer of 1989. I believe I was more interested in getting a shot of the flower shop bearing my name than in capturing the cinema. The theatre was probably closed for the summer as most movie theatres were and, to a great extent, still are. Italians prefer open air cinemas during the summer, and a number of Italian cinemas, in addition to an indoor auditorium, have an open-air space for the warmer months with separate seating and a separate screen.
TWO PHOTOS HERE! Here is an exterior shot I took of the Pavone in 1971 when taking courses at the Università per Stranieri. To the left is the office of the local Italian Communist Party. To the right is an anti-communist graffito on the wall. It says “Prague teaches us, you red murderers!” It’s a reference, of course, to the Soviet crackdown on the liberal movement in Czechoslovakia. This second picture is a web shot of the interior. As you can see, it’s quite a beautiful theatre. I saw a movie here in August of 1971 called “Una città chiamata bastarda” which is the western “A Town Called Hell,” with Telly Savalas, Robert Shaw, and Stella Stevens. Movies from abroad that are shown in Italy are universally dubbed into Italian. In the bigger cities there has been a movement in recent years to show some movies, especially American and French ones, in their original languages on certain days, sometimes with, sometimes without subtitles. This is not motivated by purism but by the opportunity to add to the boxoffice receipts because there is a large number of Anglophones and Francophones in Rome and other big cities who would go enjoy the oportunity to see films spoken in their own languages.
Do you know exactly when it closed? I know it opened as the Art in 1958 because I went to the first film under that policy, “Gervaise.” How about when the theatre first opened as the Liberty? World War I era, I would guess.
I wonder if Lyric and Central were successive names for the same theatre. The recorded addresses for both are Broad Street, a very short street, I believe.
I wonder if Lyric and Central were successive names for the same theatre. The recorded addresses for both are Broad Street, a very short street, I believe.
Here is a link to the CT page for the Lyric Theatre, about a block from the Capitol. More precise information on both these Warren theatres and their histories would be appreciated.
The former theatre, no longer an antique store, is now a retail outlet called Lyric Twist. It has been given a new exterior look and specializes in china, giftware, children’s items, and other stuff. Here is a photo. The Lyric was located about a block from the Capitol Theatre on Market Street and replaced it as the sole town movie theatre by the time the sound era rolled in. More precise and detailed information on this and the Capitol Theatre of Warren would be appreciated.
I happened to visit this theatre once when touring Ottawa in August of 1983. That’s why I decided to post it. I went to see Eric Rohmer’s “Pauline at the Beach.” Sorry to hear the place is gone, but this is not a new story.
Here is a photo of the former Cercle Jacques Cartier which used to house the Capitol Theatre on the second floor many decades ago. The building is now owned by 2nd Story Theatre.
This photo shows Ingmar Bergman (right) with other officials at the opening of the Smultronstället Cinema. I’m guessing it was in the late 60s or early 70s. The film “Hets” on the poster was a 1944 film that was directed by Alf Sjöberg and written by Bergman. It played the U.S. as “Torment.”
Other cinemas I thought of that were named after movies are Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) in Stockholm, named after the Ingmar Bergman movie, and Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale, named after the Italian movie or else the theatre portrayed in it.
Nice to read about a cinema named after a great movie classic, in this case Jean Renoir’s 1937 masterpiece. There is a cinema in Paris called Accattone in honor of the Pasolini film. Is there a “Citizen Kane Cinema” somewhere, a “Psycho Theatre” or a “Ben Hur Multiplex”? I think it’s a wonderful idea. Anyone know of others?
I visited the drive-in and took these four photos. The address of the Ponta del Gada is 70 Shove Street, which is at the corner of Walnut Street. It is a block away from the center of North Tiverton, a neighborhood in the town of Tiverton. North Tiverton’s main street is Main Street, which is also Route 138. The drive-in, in its heyday, must have attracted lots of filmgoers from the Tiverton/Fall River area. The screen is no longer there, only the projection/concession building and the entry sign and marquee. Photo of entrance marquee Marquee and concession and projection booth Projection booth exterior Projection booth interior
The only think I didn’t like about this theatre was that the auditoriums (when they were a twin theatre) had screens that had sort of funnel-like metallic sides. I believe they were grayish. When the left-as-you-enter auditorium was twinned, I believe each then had fixed black masking. There were no curtains and no variable masking in the house. CinemaScope films filled the screen, but in standard aspect-ratio movies, there was a blank area of white screen on either side. As a purist, I’ve always felt that correct screen masking is essential to full enjoyment of what you were watching and part and parcel of a good projection system as much as good focus, brightness, and sound quality.
These were really: Gina Lollobrigida in “La provinciale”; Silvana Mangano in “Il brigante Musolino”; Eleonora Rossi-Drago and Silvana Pampanini in “La tratta delle bianche”. These girls were making the rounds not only of U.S. art houses and naughty houses but of drive-ins.
This was a popular place during its not-long life. The newspaper ads all said “STRAIGHT OUT SMITH STREET” so that people from Providence would know how to get there. Smith Street (Rte. 44) leads out to Putnam Pike, where the drive-in was. Because of my life-long interest in Italian films I’ve saved ads of movies that played various theatres, including this drive-in. In 1953 they ran “Bitter Rice,” a hit with siren Silvana Mangano with the clarification “NOW! IN ENGLISH.” In 1958 they ran the rarely-seen “Woman”, i.e. Rossellini’s “Desiderio”…“There’s a girl like her in every town!” It was paired with “Shamed”….“a whole town knew her sin!” I’d love to have seen this double bill here. Both films are completely unfindable now.
In May of 1959 they had a “daring” double bill called “Wasted Lives” (about unwed mothers) along with an interwoven color featurette called “The Birth of Twins.” A group of us went to see this program when we were seniors in high school. It pretty much played only at drive-ins like numerous similar packages of exploitation films masquerading as serious sex-ed.
The Rustic still operates and shows first run movies during the warm months around the same time some of the multiplexes get them. I believe admission is around $17 per car. In the 1970s it operated as a porno theatre for a time. Hard and soft. I believe this is where I saw Sylvester Stallone in his early semi-infamous “Italian Stallion” where he is seen in full frontal nudity.
Here is a photo of the Cinema Augusteo which I took in the summer of 1989. I believe I was more interested in getting a shot of the flower shop bearing my name than in capturing the cinema. The theatre was probably closed for the summer as most movie theatres were and, to a great extent, still are. Italians prefer open air cinemas during the summer, and a number of Italian cinemas, in addition to an indoor auditorium, have an open-air space for the warmer months with separate seating and a separate screen.
TWO PHOTOS HERE! Here is an exterior shot I took of the Pavone in 1971 when taking courses at the Università per Stranieri. To the left is the office of the local Italian Communist Party. To the right is an anti-communist graffito on the wall. It says “Prague teaches us, you red murderers!” It’s a reference, of course, to the Soviet crackdown on the liberal movement in Czechoslovakia. This second picture is a web shot of the interior. As you can see, it’s quite a beautiful theatre. I saw a movie here in August of 1971 called “Una città chiamata bastarda” which is the western “A Town Called Hell,” with Telly Savalas, Robert Shaw, and Stella Stevens. Movies from abroad that are shown in Italy are universally dubbed into Italian. In the bigger cities there has been a movement in recent years to show some movies, especially American and French ones, in their original languages on certain days, sometimes with, sometimes without subtitles. This is not motivated by purism but by the opportunity to add to the boxoffice receipts because there is a large number of Anglophones and Francophones in Rome and other big cities who would go enjoy the oportunity to see films spoken in their own languages.
Both those photos are of the interior and identical.
Do you know exactly when it closed? I know it opened as the Art in 1958 because I went to the first film under that policy, “Gervaise.” How about when the theatre first opened as the Liberty? World War I era, I would guess.
I wonder if Lyric and Central were successive names for the same theatre. The recorded addresses for both are Broad Street, a very short street, I believe.
I wonder if Lyric and Central were successive names for the same theatre. The recorded addresses for both are Broad Street, a very short street, I believe.
Finally. Hallelujah!
Here is a link to the CT page for the Lyric Theatre, about a block from the Capitol. More precise information on both these Warren theatres and their histories would be appreciated.
The former theatre, no longer an antique store, is now a retail outlet called Lyric Twist. It has been given a new exterior look and specializes in china, giftware, children’s items, and other stuff. Here is a photo. The Lyric was located about a block from the Capitol Theatre on Market Street and replaced it as the sole town movie theatre by the time the sound era rolled in. More precise and detailed information on this and the Capitol Theatre of Warren would be appreciated.
I happened to visit this theatre once when touring Ottawa in August of 1983. That’s why I decided to post it. I went to see Eric Rohmer’s “Pauline at the Beach.” Sorry to hear the place is gone, but this is not a new story.
Funny, but I too saw “Desperate Characters” there in December of 1970, according to my film-viewing log.
Here is a photo of the former Cercle Jacques Cartier which used to house the Capitol Theatre on the second floor many decades ago. The building is now owned by 2nd Story Theatre.
This photo shows Ingmar Bergman (right) with other officials at the opening of the Smultronstället Cinema. I’m guessing it was in the late 60s or early 70s. The film “Hets” on the poster was a 1944 film that was directed by Alf Sjöberg and written by Bergman. It played the U.S. as “Torment.”
Other cinemas I thought of that were named after movies are Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) in Stockholm, named after the Ingmar Bergman movie, and Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale, named after the Italian movie or else the theatre portrayed in it.
Here’s an excellent article with photos on the cinema, published in The Seattle Times.
Nice to read about a cinema named after a great movie classic, in this case Jean Renoir’s 1937 masterpiece. There is a cinema in Paris called Accattone in honor of the Pasolini film. Is there a “Citizen Kane Cinema” somewhere, a “Psycho Theatre” or a “Ben Hur Multiplex”? I think it’s a wonderful idea. Anyone know of others?
Here is a photo of the auditorium exterior. For a time the theatre was a bowling alley.
I visited the drive-in and took these four photos. The address of the Ponta del Gada is 70 Shove Street, which is at the corner of Walnut Street. It is a block away from the center of North Tiverton, a neighborhood in the town of Tiverton. North Tiverton’s main street is Main Street, which is also Route 138. The drive-in, in its heyday, must have attracted lots of filmgoers from the Tiverton/Fall River area. The screen is no longer there, only the projection/concession building and the entry sign and marquee.
Photo of entrance marquee
Marquee and concession and projection booth
Projection booth exterior
Projection booth interior
Hardbop, you must be thinking of the Boro Drive-In in North Attleboro on Route 1.
The theatre was used by Sock and Buskin, the Brown University theatre group, for a number of years until they had their own campus theatre.
The only think I didn’t like about this theatre was that the auditoriums (when they were a twin theatre) had screens that had sort of funnel-like metallic sides. I believe they were grayish. When the left-as-you-enter auditorium was twinned, I believe each then had fixed black masking. There were no curtains and no variable masking in the house. CinemaScope films filled the screen, but in standard aspect-ratio movies, there was a blank area of white screen on either side. As a purist, I’ve always felt that correct screen masking is essential to full enjoyment of what you were watching and part and parcel of a good projection system as much as good focus, brightness, and sound quality.
March, 1962: TRIPLE SHOCK-SHOW! “Wayward Wife”…“Girls Marked Danger”…“Outlaw Girl.”
These were really: Gina Lollobrigida in “La provinciale”; Silvana Mangano in “Il brigante Musolino”; Eleonora Rossi-Drago and Silvana Pampanini in “La tratta delle bianche”. These girls were making the rounds not only of U.S. art houses and naughty houses but of drive-ins.
This was a popular place during its not-long life. The newspaper ads all said “STRAIGHT OUT SMITH STREET” so that people from Providence would know how to get there. Smith Street (Rte. 44) leads out to Putnam Pike, where the drive-in was. Because of my life-long interest in Italian films I’ve saved ads of movies that played various theatres, including this drive-in. In 1953 they ran “Bitter Rice,” a hit with siren Silvana Mangano with the clarification “NOW! IN ENGLISH.” In 1958 they ran the rarely-seen “Woman”, i.e. Rossellini’s “Desiderio”…“There’s a girl like her in every town!” It was paired with “Shamed”….“a whole town knew her sin!” I’d love to have seen this double bill here. Both films are completely unfindable now.
In May of 1959 they had a “daring” double bill called “Wasted Lives” (about unwed mothers) along with an interwoven color featurette called “The Birth of Twins.” A group of us went to see this program when we were seniors in high school. It pretty much played only at drive-ins like numerous similar packages of exploitation films masquerading as serious sex-ed.
RobertR, that is not a photo of the Rustic!
The Rustic still operates and shows first run movies during the warm months around the same time some of the multiplexes get them. I believe admission is around $17 per car. In the 1970s it operated as a porno theatre for a time. Hard and soft. I believe this is where I saw Sylvester Stallone in his early semi-infamous “Italian Stallion” where he is seen in full frontal nudity.