The Marty Kaplan I knew owned an ad agency that did advertising and PR for Warner Bros. and those topless faux-French flesh and feather reviews that played in high class Miami Beach Hotel ballrooms in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. He may have also represented talent.
The Paramount Antitrust case had ruled that companies such as Loews and Paramount (Publix, then ABC Florida State Theatres)could not build or buy new theatres first getting without government approval as they had been monopolizing the industry. This put them at a disadvantage in lucrative growing markets such as South Florida where new theatres deals were still hot.
Marty would build the theatres, open them and then sell them off once the courts approved. I don’t know who fronted the cash or whether there were behind the scenes contracts. I do know he was well liked and respected in the industry. I don’t know whether he was the same man associated with the Paris.
In August 1966 this theatre was part of the Loews circuit release of the Spanish film “Every Day Is A Holidayâ€, known around the world as “Cabriola†and starring child star Marisol. Released as a co-feature to “Born Free†on a wide sub-run break, the project was designed to launch Marisol into the U.S. market by hiring Mel Ferrer to direct and dubbing the film into English using Marisol herself in both languages. Although the egomaniacal Ferrer claimed to have discovered her, Marisol was already the top Spanish box office star in the world and this was her eighth film. Her previous films had played only in Spanish language theatres in the US.
In a rare recent interview, the reclusive and retired Marisol (Pepa Flores) claims that Ferrer was cold and distant but that his wife, Audrey Hepburn could not have been more supportive when visiting the set, giving Marisol beauty tips and even sending her to Paris for a haircut with a recommended stylist.
Since “The People vs. Dr. Kildare” was advertised to follow and then delayed a week, I doubt that “A Woman’s Face†was held as only as filler.
Now to more recent history.
Loews sold the theatre under the provision that it would not remain a movie house. The buyer had arranged to flip it over to a third party who did not have a contract with Loews but had already agreed to lease it to Cineplex Odeon. Although Loews threatened to sue when the CO house was announced, nothing ever came of it.
When CO went in, the theatre still had the original wooden seats, a testament to how neglected some Loews houses were in the late eighties. These seats had mostly been destroyed to avoid any possibility of an immediate re-opening by anyone else. This actually expedited the remodel as CO had no intention of opening the place “as isâ€. Loews got the last laugh, though. Although the theatre was often busy, CO never made a profit due to high rent it had agreed to.
In October 1993 there was a gang shooting inside screen one which lead to several innocent bystanders getting hurt. The local media latched on to the story as another example of Hollywood product leading to teenage violence and blaming the film, (â€Judgment Nightâ€) for inciting the shooting. The following day picketers lined up in front of the theatre demanding it be closed.
In reality, the trailers were still running at the time of the shooting and the film had not yet started. I don’t think the Met ever really recovered from that incident and the politically motivated scandal it generated.
My mistake. I got my education reading fabricated dead star biographies written by hack writers who plagiarized gossip columns and then sold the info as their own at discount book racks.
The Marty Kaplan I knew owned an ad agency that did advertising and PR for Warner Bros. and those topless faux-French flesh and feather reviews that played in high class Miami Beach Hotel ballrooms in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. He may have also represented talent.
The Paramount Antitrust case had ruled that companies such as Loews and Paramount (Publix, then ABC Florida State Theatres)could not build or buy new theatres first getting without government approval as they had been monopolizing the industry. This put them at a disadvantage in lucrative growing markets such as South Florida where new theatres deals were still hot.
Marty would build the theatres, open them and then sell them off once the courts approved. I don’t know who fronted the cash or whether there were behind the scenes contracts. I do know he was well liked and respected in the industry. I don’t know whether he was the same man associated with the Paris.
Could this be a Marty Kaplan you are referring to? Was involved with building the Bay harbor and Plantation theatres?
The Moulin Rouge porn triple operated from this address in 1985. Does that jog any memories?
In early 1937 there was a 47th Street Cinema operating at 104 West 47th Street and showing Irish films. Could this have been the Miami?
The Globe was showing movies between shows at least as early as 1915 when it premiered ‘The Whirl of Life".
This became the Paris in 1961.
The Town was already operating in 1949 and closed in 1974.
I think the name here should be changed to Sun-Sun Cinema which was the actual name in 1975. I can’t find any record of the ‘Sun Theatre’ name.
The Strand was already showing movies in 1924.
The State was already operating in 1934 and closed in 1950.
The Ritz was already operating in 1934 and shut down in 1964.
The Dixie was already operating in 1949. It became the Rio in 1965 and closed in 1979.
The Le Jeune had room for 800 cars and operated from at least 1949 to 1970.
The Essex closed in 1977 and was already operating by 1949.
The Coral Way only had room for 250 cars. It was already open by 1949 and closed in 1977.
The 22nd Avenue shut down sometime in 1969.
The Arrow address was 3007 N. State Road 7. It operated from 1962 to 1978.
The address for this drive-in was 6900 N.W. 22nd Avenue. It had room for 700 cars.
Images of the Bijou can be found here;
http://www.ibdb.com/VenueImages.asp?Id=1065
There is a slight spelling error in the intro.
“The Olympia’s other playhouse, the LYRIC, was re-named Criterion.”
The actual address was 2039 Collins Avenue.
In August 1966 this theatre was part of the Loews circuit release of the Spanish film “Every Day Is A Holidayâ€, known around the world as “Cabriola†and starring child star Marisol. Released as a co-feature to “Born Free†on a wide sub-run break, the project was designed to launch Marisol into the U.S. market by hiring Mel Ferrer to direct and dubbing the film into English using Marisol herself in both languages. Although the egomaniacal Ferrer claimed to have discovered her, Marisol was already the top Spanish box office star in the world and this was her eighth film. Her previous films had played only in Spanish language theatres in the US.
In a rare recent interview, the reclusive and retired Marisol (Pepa Flores) claims that Ferrer was cold and distant but that his wife, Audrey Hepburn could not have been more supportive when visiting the set, giving Marisol beauty tips and even sending her to Paris for a haircut with a recommended stylist.
Since “The People vs. Dr. Kildare” was advertised to follow and then delayed a week, I doubt that “A Woman’s Face†was held as only as filler.
Now to more recent history.
Loews sold the theatre under the provision that it would not remain a movie house. The buyer had arranged to flip it over to a third party who did not have a contract with Loews but had already agreed to lease it to Cineplex Odeon. Although Loews threatened to sue when the CO house was announced, nothing ever came of it.
When CO went in, the theatre still had the original wooden seats, a testament to how neglected some Loews houses were in the late eighties. These seats had mostly been destroyed to avoid any possibility of an immediate re-opening by anyone else. This actually expedited the remodel as CO had no intention of opening the place “as isâ€. Loews got the last laugh, though. Although the theatre was often busy, CO never made a profit due to high rent it had agreed to.
In October 1993 there was a gang shooting inside screen one which lead to several innocent bystanders getting hurt. The local media latched on to the story as another example of Hollywood product leading to teenage violence and blaming the film, (â€Judgment Nightâ€) for inciting the shooting. The following day picketers lined up in front of the theatre demanding it be closed.
In reality, the trailers were still running at the time of the shooting and the film had not yet started. I don’t think the Met ever really recovered from that incident and the politically motivated scandal it generated.
The Gayety was at 2004 Collins and was mostly a Burlesque strip club that rarely showed movies.
My mistake. I got my education reading fabricated dead star biographies written by hack writers who plagiarized gossip columns and then sold the info as their own at discount book racks.
That must be why the ads read: “FIRST PICTURE IN YEARS TO HOLD A THIRD WEEK AT THE MET!”