In
his recent review of the Nitehawk Cinema’s splendid and rare 35mm showing of
the James Bond film, “A View to a Kill,†our intrepid correspondent Hank
Reineke was skeptical of a claim made that night that the movie played on its
first-run at Manhattan’s notoriously déclassé (circa 1985) Selwyn Theater on
West 42nd Street. According to a newspaper display ad from May
24, 1985, and held in his own files, Reineke determined that the only midtown
Manhattan theaters showing “A View to a Kill†on its original release were the
Loews Astor Plaza on West 44th, the Loews 84th Street Six, the Loews
New York Twin, the Loews 34th Street Showplace, and the Orpheum on
86th and 3rd Avenue.
Following
Reineke’s metaphorical throwing down of the gauntlet (however accidental!), Joe
Berger, one of the presenters of the Nitehawk’s wonderful film series, “The
Deuce,†was quick to contact Cinema Retro to defend their claim. Berger,
in a friendly but firm manner – provided us with a scan from the Village
Voice newspaper from that same week in 1985. The listing leaves
little doubt the fourteenth James Bond did, in fact, play the Selwyn, as one part of a twin bill with “The House
Where Evil Dwells.†As Berger would go on to explain, the row of
aging theaters comprising “The Deuce,†such as the “Selwyn, Lyric, Harris, and
Liberty, VERY FREQUENTLY premiered A-list films on their regular release dates,
with a second, [and] sometimes third film as part of the cheaper ticket
price.†Berger explained that multi-bill attractions would, naturally,
bring in “a smaller box office gross†since all profits were now “split amongst
two or three titles.†But such campaigns were studio “loss leaders†to
some degree as distributors were aware a new film's presence on the Deuce would
“attract a younger, more 'inner-city' crowd.†The one stipulation for the
bargain, according to Berger, was “that the theatre COULD NOT advertise†their
showing through the usual marketing methods- such as a display in a print
advertisement.
As
for Reineke’s contention that the film played “two blocks north†of the Selwyn
at the Loews Astor, Berger went on to explain that the film’s distributor would
only want the Astor (and similar high-end cinema establishments) to be
prominently advertised as these venues could charge a “larger ticket price†for
“a single feature.†This, naturally, would result in greater
profits for all involved.
This
all sounds right to us. As a mea culpa, we intended to fire Reineke,
until we realized that he has been donating his services to us on an unpaid
basis. We were then going to sentence him to a terrible fate: 24 hours of
around the clock screenings of “The Man With the Golden Gunâ€- until we
remembered he likes the damned film. We’ve settled on making him watch Jerry
Lewis in “Which Way to the Front?†three times in succession (unless the
Supreme Court rules this is truly “cruel and unusual punishment.â€)- Lee Pfeiffer