7thRowCenter7thRowCenter on August 18, 2026 at 9:54 am (remove)
This theater appears in the 1955 crime novel “Clean Break” by Lionel White, which was the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s 1956 film The Killing, adapted by Kubrick and Jim Thompson. The novel is set in NYC and Belmont Park, not southern California, where the movie takes place. The main character Johnny Clay (played by Sterling Hayden in the film) hides out in the newsreel theater in Grand Central Station following the big racetrack heist.
Before it was a twin it was just The Merrick Theatre. I’m certain I saw “Colossus: The Forbin Project” there. Also, Neil Young’s “Journey Through the Past” with a short (i.e. music video before music videos) of Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band”. They also sometimes showed foreign films. I saw “Going Places” there (incredibly raunchy for the time) and earlier they had Costa-Gavras’s “Sleeping Car Murders”.
A few blocks from my home growing up, so I practically lived there in the early-mid ‘70s. This was never part of the Jerry Lewis chain, as suggested, that was in Massapequa on Sunrise. Also, this was located downtown near the 5 & 10, far more than two blocks from the Wantagh Theatre on Jerusalem Ave as stated above, more like a mile. But that aside, this was a mostly second-run discount house, it usually ran double features (with the above noted “Where’s Poppa?” as a frequent second bill). It also sometimes had indie releases of that era, like “The Legend of Bigfoot”.
They also had children’s matinees on Saturday. I remember as a teenager seeing a re-release of “Jack the Giant Killer” at a matinee. I stayed for the end of the credits (as always) and when the curtain closed the doors suddenly opened and a stream of people came in. I sat and remained, scared I’d be caught, but no one noticed so I stayed for a double bill of “Charley Varrick” and “The Don is Dead” (thus it must have been 1973).
The staff were always very friendly. And at some point they were privately selling posters and pressbooks. I bought the pressbooks for “Chinatown” and Godfather II", along with the poster for “Taxi Driver”, each a buck or two.
7thRowCenter7thRowCenter on August 18, 2026 at 9:54 am (remove) This theater appears in the 1955 crime novel “Clean Break” by Lionel White, which was the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s 1956 film The Killing, adapted by Kubrick and Jim Thompson. The novel is set in NYC and Belmont Park, not southern California, where the movie takes place. The main character Johnny Clay (played by Sterling Hayden in the film) hides out in the newsreel theater in Grand Central Station following the big racetrack heist.
Before it was a twin it was just The Merrick Theatre. I’m certain I saw “Colossus: The Forbin Project” there. Also, Neil Young’s “Journey Through the Past” with a short (i.e. music video before music videos) of Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band”. They also sometimes showed foreign films. I saw “Going Places” there (incredibly raunchy for the time) and earlier they had Costa-Gavras’s “Sleeping Car Murders”.
A few blocks from my home growing up, so I practically lived there in the early-mid ‘70s. This was never part of the Jerry Lewis chain, as suggested, that was in Massapequa on Sunrise. Also, this was located downtown near the 5 & 10, far more than two blocks from the Wantagh Theatre on Jerusalem Ave as stated above, more like a mile. But that aside, this was a mostly second-run discount house, it usually ran double features (with the above noted “Where’s Poppa?” as a frequent second bill). It also sometimes had indie releases of that era, like “The Legend of Bigfoot”.
They also had children’s matinees on Saturday. I remember as a teenager seeing a re-release of “Jack the Giant Killer” at a matinee. I stayed for the end of the credits (as always) and when the curtain closed the doors suddenly opened and a stream of people came in. I sat and remained, scared I’d be caught, but no one noticed so I stayed for a double bill of “Charley Varrick” and “The Don is Dead” (thus it must have been 1973).
The staff were always very friendly. And at some point they were privately selling posters and pressbooks. I bought the pressbooks for “Chinatown” and Godfather II", along with the poster for “Taxi Driver”, each a buck or two.