The one I am thinking of was, as I’ve said, at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue. There is still an “Olympia” building or something there. The next time I drive into Boston I will check the street number at that spot. This was a NEIGHBORHOOD theatre, not in the downtown area of Washington Street (“combat zone”) which is where the Pilgrim was. You may be right about there being two different Olympias over the years which would confuse the issue. When I posted this theatre, I intended the neighborhood theatre, not the one downtown, because I never knew one downtown under that name, only this one I used to drive by coming in from Providence. I was never inside it.
Finding this former movie theatre was an amazing discovery for me, since I thought I knew all of the surviving cinema buildings in Rhode Island. I was tipped off to its existence by a listing in a 1935 state business directory. And it is virtually intact, with the upstairs level-floored former auditorium now filled with antique furniture instead of seats. One can visit it any time that the antique store is open and absorb the ghosts of the films that were shown here from 1917 for over thirty years.
It would have been great if some entrepreneur had been able to convert this place into a three-screen art/independent house. It might have done well since there is no competition for that type of fare in the area, the nearest being in Providence, about an hour away with its Avon and Cable Car cinemas. Westerly supports a theatre company and the amazing Westerly Chorus. Why not a movie theatre of this type which would complement, not compete with, the mainstream Stonington Cinemas megaplex across the border in Connecticut?
I’m from the east coast, but I happened to catch STAR WARS here in July of 1977. It was my first and only visit to that theatre and it was a most memorable one. A truly optimum presentation of that movie.
The Cranston Drive-In was located where there is now a collection of shops, including Marshall’s, I believe, between Oaklawn Avenue and Bald Hill Road. I think it was constructed in the late 1940s. It was not far from where Warwick Mall is, just over the city line. The main entrance was on the Oaklawn Avenue side. In the 1950s, when I was a young teen, I went there several times with my parents. I clearly remember seeing Disney’s documentary THE LIVING DESERT there and THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS with Bob Hope and James Cagney. It had a very large capacity, and the screen, especially after they widened it for CinemaScope, was immense.
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a 35mm presentation of Buster Keaton’s masterpiece using a complete and restored print, proper aspect ratio, and accompanied by the wonderful Alloy Orchestra of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The showing at the beautiful Columbus Theatre in Providence was a benefit for the Rhode Island International Film Festival. So much has been written on this wondrous comedy of Keaton, it seems silly to add more except to say that the audience was bowled over by it and vociferous in its enthusiasm. The train chase sequences are inimitable and have never been duplicated even with greater technical resources at hand in later decades. Yes, the music was tremendous, but the ability of this silent treasure to generate such audience excitement today was truly gratifying. And such a gem of a cinema treasure to see it in…what a joyous combination!
If the theatre name is that of a Pasolini movie, the name is misspelled…either the theatre itself, or this posting entry, or both. The correct spelling is ACCATTONE. It is the name of the main character, played by Franco Citti, in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1961 film masterpiece. The word “accattone” (two t’s) means street beggar. In the film, the character Accattone is a pimp of the Roman “borgate” or slum-suburbs.
I also believe that Jean-Luc Godard’s controversial HAIL MARY, protested by some conservative Catholic groups as it had been in New York and elsewhere, played here not long before the theatre’s demise.
Seth, thanks for the great information. Where precisely was it located? Was it on Madison Avenue at 85th Street? I have an address of 1144 Madison Avenue for a Trans-Lux theatre.
I believe I visited this theatre only once, in November of 1974, for a special revival engagement of the 1953 film THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF GIUSEPPE VERDI, presented by Opera Presentations, Inc.
And that wasn’t the end of it! From the Normandie I went to the New Yorker to see A CHAPLIN REVIEW which consisted of the three films: SHOULDER ARMS, A DOG’S LIFE, and THE PILGRIM.
One great day I spent at the Normandie, as it was known in 1964, was watching five great French films in a row. They had a French classic film marathon which was, I think, sponsored by distributor Brandon Films. So on March 31, 1964, from morning until evening, I watched Marcel Carne’s PORT OF SHADOWS, Rene' Clair’s LE MILLION, Robert Bresson’s LES DAMES DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE, Jean Renoir’s LE CRIME DE MONSIEUR LANGE, and finally Maurice Cloche’s MONSIEUR VINCENT. One after the other! I don’t know when or what I ate that day, but it was one of the best movie days of my entire life.
Richard, I think you are wrong. The Pilgrim was in the center of town, in the so-called Combat Zone on Washington Street. There is a listing for it. The Olympia was out further at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, a neighborhood theatre that ended its life as the Olympia and was never called the Pilgrim.
No, it was not not previously listed. I found that appalling. I checked every Manhattan theatre first before posting it. It certainly ought to be listed, and now I’ve done it. I have seen some great films here over the decades! It’s a truly important art house in the history of international film exhibition in New York City!
A truly lovely theatre in New Bedford and the last surviving of its downtown theatres. It does not have a balcony. This is the theatre where, appropriately enough, John Huston’s whale of a movie MOBY DICK, with Gregory Peck, had its world premiere in 1956.
I just found a fascinating little wallet-size flyer from October, 1970 that was issued by the Farnese. It refers to itself as the “Farnese – petit d'essai”, French for “little art house” and adds “nel cuore della vecchia Roma”—–“in the heart of old Rome.” The flyer asserts that the cinema was at the time aligned with AIACE, Associazione Italiana del Cinema d'Essai or Italian Association of Art Cinemas. Upcoming series planned for the cinema were listed. Among them were: Aspects of Italian cinema of yesterday and today (15 films), Power and repression in the trilogy of M. Jancso (3 films), Some problems of South America (3 films), Homage to Akira Kurosawa (3 films) Swedish Cinema Week (7 films). Admission prices were 300 liras (general), 200 liras (AIACE members) or from 30 to 50 cents, from what I can remember of exchange rates at the time.
Can any Roman film buffs or others acquainted with the history of this interesting theatre in its magnificent historic location provide further information?
This description reminds me of the hilarious 1957 British movie THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH (called “Big Time Operators” in the U.S.), directed by Basil Dearden. In it Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna are a young couple who inherit a dilapidated cinema and try to make a go of it. It is called the Bijou but commonly referred to by locals as the Flea Pit. Situated near train tracks, the theatre shakes when trains roar by; so the couple try to program a lot of westerns with train scenes! As dilapidated as the theatre are three attendants, played by Peter Sellers (the tipsy projectionist!), Bernard Miles, and Margaret Rutherford. Every self-respecting movie theatre buff has the obligation to see this rib-tickling comedy.
One of the films that has been often shown by Silvano Agosti at his theatre is, understandably, his own 1984 D'AMORE SI VIVE (“One Lives by Love”), started as a film series made for television (and running about nine hours) and later edited into a shorter feature length movie. Shot in the city of Parma, the movie examines in slow precise details the workings of love, especially among society’s rejected, physically and mentally challenged, socially excluded and otherwise loveless. It does this with a spirit of affection and not pity.
One has the sense in watching this film that one is peering surreptitiously into the privateness of others, their near-masturbatory ecstasies and very private joys. But instead of shock, the feeling is one of overall tenderness for love in all its varieties. Who does not deserve love? The almost voyeuristic nature of the movie aroused antipathy in some quarters.
It is worth a trip to the Azzurro Scipioni to see this film if it is ever being re-programmed, as it is from time to time. I saw it in a video projection of its shorter feature-length version at this cinema. I do not believe the movie has ever been shown in the United States.
The one I am thinking of was, as I’ve said, at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue. There is still an “Olympia” building or something there. The next time I drive into Boston I will check the street number at that spot. This was a NEIGHBORHOOD theatre, not in the downtown area of Washington Street (“combat zone”) which is where the Pilgrim was. You may be right about there being two different Olympias over the years which would confuse the issue. When I posted this theatre, I intended the neighborhood theatre, not the one downtown, because I never knew one downtown under that name, only this one I used to drive by coming in from Providence. I was never inside it.
Finding this former movie theatre was an amazing discovery for me, since I thought I knew all of the surviving cinema buildings in Rhode Island. I was tipped off to its existence by a listing in a 1935 state business directory. And it is virtually intact, with the upstairs level-floored former auditorium now filled with antique furniture instead of seats. One can visit it any time that the antique store is open and absorb the ghosts of the films that were shown here from 1917 for over thirty years.
It would have been great if some entrepreneur had been able to convert this place into a three-screen art/independent house. It might have done well since there is no competition for that type of fare in the area, the nearest being in Providence, about an hour away with its Avon and Cable Car cinemas. Westerly supports a theatre company and the amazing Westerly Chorus. Why not a movie theatre of this type which would complement, not compete with, the mainstream Stonington Cinemas megaplex across the border in Connecticut?
I’m from the east coast, but I happened to catch STAR WARS here in July of 1977. It was my first and only visit to that theatre and it was a most memorable one. A truly optimum presentation of that movie.
The Cranston Drive-In was located where there is now a collection of shops, including Marshall’s, I believe, between Oaklawn Avenue and Bald Hill Road. I think it was constructed in the late 1940s. It was not far from where Warwick Mall is, just over the city line. The main entrance was on the Oaklawn Avenue side. In the 1950s, when I was a young teen, I went there several times with my parents. I clearly remember seeing Disney’s documentary THE LIVING DESERT there and THE SEVEN LITTLE FOYS with Bob Hope and James Cagney. It had a very large capacity, and the screen, especially after they widened it for CinemaScope, was immense.
The Bijou Theatre has just announced that it will be closing. Very sad. See their web site for details.
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a 35mm presentation of Buster Keaton’s masterpiece using a complete and restored print, proper aspect ratio, and accompanied by the wonderful Alloy Orchestra of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The showing at the beautiful Columbus Theatre in Providence was a benefit for the Rhode Island International Film Festival. So much has been written on this wondrous comedy of Keaton, it seems silly to add more except to say that the audience was bowled over by it and vociferous in its enthusiasm. The train chase sequences are inimitable and have never been duplicated even with greater technical resources at hand in later decades. Yes, the music was tremendous, but the ability of this silent treasure to generate such audience excitement today was truly gratifying. And such a gem of a cinema treasure to see it in…what a joyous combination!
I just checked the web entry for the cinema. It is spelled Accattone, with two t’s. Therefore this entry should be corrected.
If the theatre name is that of a Pasolini movie, the name is misspelled…either the theatre itself, or this posting entry, or both. The correct spelling is ACCATTONE. It is the name of the main character, played by Franco Citti, in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1961 film masterpiece. The word “accattone” (two t’s) means street beggar. In the film, the character Accattone is a pimp of the Roman “borgate” or slum-suburbs.
The Sala Trevi Alberto Sordi opened on March 6, 2003.
I also believe that Jean-Luc Godard’s controversial HAIL MARY, protested by some conservative Catholic groups as it had been in New York and elsewhere, played here not long before the theatre’s demise.
Seth, thanks for the great information. Where precisely was it located? Was it on Madison Avenue at 85th Street? I have an address of 1144 Madison Avenue for a Trans-Lux theatre.
I believe I visited this theatre only once, in November of 1974, for a special revival engagement of the 1953 film THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF GIUSEPPE VERDI, presented by Opera Presentations, Inc.
And that wasn’t the end of it! From the Normandie I went to the New Yorker to see A CHAPLIN REVIEW which consisted of the three films: SHOULDER ARMS, A DOG’S LIFE, and THE PILGRIM.
One great day I spent at the Normandie, as it was known in 1964, was watching five great French films in a row. They had a French classic film marathon which was, I think, sponsored by distributor Brandon Films. So on March 31, 1964, from morning until evening, I watched Marcel Carne’s PORT OF SHADOWS, Rene' Clair’s LE MILLION, Robert Bresson’s LES DAMES DU BOIS DE BOULOGNE, Jean Renoir’s LE CRIME DE MONSIEUR LANGE, and finally Maurice Cloche’s MONSIEUR VINCENT. One after the other! I don’t know when or what I ate that day, but it was one of the best movie days of my entire life.
Richard, I think you are wrong. The Pilgrim was in the center of town, in the so-called Combat Zone on Washington Street. There is a listing for it. The Olympia was out further at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, a neighborhood theatre that ended its life as the Olympia and was never called the Pilgrim.
No, it was not not previously listed. I found that appalling. I checked every Manhattan theatre first before posting it. It certainly ought to be listed, and now I’ve done it. I have seen some great films here over the decades! It’s a truly important art house in the history of international film exhibition in New York City!
It’s listed as having been called the Baylies Square Theatre" at one time.
Isn’t the Cinema Rendezvous/Playboy/57th Street Playhouse/Trans-Lux Normandie/DGA Theatre listed anywhere? I can’t find it under any name.
I believe the Cinema Rendezvous was also the Trans-Lux Normandie at one time.
A truly lovely theatre in New Bedford and the last surviving of its downtown theatres. It does not have a balcony. This is the theatre where, appropriately enough, John Huston’s whale of a movie MOBY DICK, with Gregory Peck, had its world premiere in 1956.
I remember seeing CAR WASH here in its 1976 release and sitting in the sectioned-off balcony. The theatre must have been twinned at the time.
I just found a fascinating little wallet-size flyer from October, 1970 that was issued by the Farnese. It refers to itself as the “Farnese – petit d'essai”, French for “little art house” and adds “nel cuore della vecchia Roma”—–“in the heart of old Rome.” The flyer asserts that the cinema was at the time aligned with AIACE, Associazione Italiana del Cinema d'Essai or Italian Association of Art Cinemas. Upcoming series planned for the cinema were listed. Among them were: Aspects of Italian cinema of yesterday and today (15 films), Power and repression in the trilogy of M. Jancso (3 films), Some problems of South America (3 films), Homage to Akira Kurosawa (3 films) Swedish Cinema Week (7 films). Admission prices were 300 liras (general), 200 liras (AIACE members) or from 30 to 50 cents, from what I can remember of exchange rates at the time.
Can any Roman film buffs or others acquainted with the history of this interesting theatre in its magnificent historic location provide further information?
This description reminds me of the hilarious 1957 British movie THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH (called “Big Time Operators” in the U.S.), directed by Basil Dearden. In it Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna are a young couple who inherit a dilapidated cinema and try to make a go of it. It is called the Bijou but commonly referred to by locals as the Flea Pit. Situated near train tracks, the theatre shakes when trains roar by; so the couple try to program a lot of westerns with train scenes! As dilapidated as the theatre are three attendants, played by Peter Sellers (the tipsy projectionist!), Bernard Miles, and Margaret Rutherford. Every self-respecting movie theatre buff has the obligation to see this rib-tickling comedy.
One of the films that has been often shown by Silvano Agosti at his theatre is, understandably, his own 1984 D'AMORE SI VIVE (“One Lives by Love”), started as a film series made for television (and running about nine hours) and later edited into a shorter feature length movie. Shot in the city of Parma, the movie examines in slow precise details the workings of love, especially among society’s rejected, physically and mentally challenged, socially excluded and otherwise loveless. It does this with a spirit of affection and not pity.
One has the sense in watching this film that one is peering surreptitiously into the privateness of others, their near-masturbatory ecstasies and very private joys. But instead of shock, the feeling is one of overall tenderness for love in all its varieties. Who does not deserve love? The almost voyeuristic nature of the movie aroused antipathy in some quarters.
It is worth a trip to the Azzurro Scipioni to see this film if it is ever being re-programmed, as it is from time to time. I saw it in a video projection of its shorter feature-length version at this cinema. I do not believe the movie has ever been shown in the United States.