When it Played in Albany: November 6, 1972

I don’t know why I picked this day of all days to search the vintage newspaper archives. But I haven’t done one of these “When It Played in Albany” blog posts in a long time, so let’s travel back 50+ years and see what was showing on the big screens.

And back in 1972, the big entertainment deal in Albany was the arrival of the Cine 1-2-3-4, a trailblazing concept that drew shoppers and patrons to Northway Mall. Look, it wasn’t a big deal that there were twin cinemas out there, but FOUR screens in one location? And you could shop at Montgomery Ward afterward? Now that’s a pull.

Now on this day, the Cine 1-2-3-4 offered the following mixed options – two G-rated films, Fiddler on the Roof and Elvis On Tour, with two R-rated films on the other screens – a double feature of Fat City with Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, as well as the Woody Allen sex romp Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex * But Were Afraid To Ask. There’s some serious offers for you.

The local papers also noted that the Cine 1-2-3-4 would swap out two of those films with the G-rated picture Brother of the Wind, and the X-rated Andy Warhol film Heat.

In 1972, several companies owned and operated different theaters under the same umbrella company. The Hellman Theater on Washington Avenue Extension offered the Disney classic Fantasia, while its sister theater, the Towne, was finishing up a double feature of Jack Lemmon’s film The War Between Men & Women, with Gene Hackman in Prime Cut, and would start the film A Separate Peace that coming Wednesday. Hellman’s other property, the Center in Colonie Center, announced its final showsings of Barbra Streisand’s Funny Girl to make room for the Diana Ross vehicle Lady Sings the Blues.

Not to be outdone, Caroll’s cinemas – yes, the same Carroll’s that owned a chain of fast-food burger restaurants in the area – had two films at their Mohawk Mall location – the British sex romp Danny Jones, and the George C. Scott action film The New Centurions, while the Cinema 7 on Troy-Schenectady Road had the Academy Award-winning film Ryan’s Daughter on the screen.

Other theaters in the area offered some of the modern classics – the Madison held over their showing of 2001: A Space Odyssey, while the Cinema Delaware (today’s Spectrum) kept Doctor Zhivago on for one more week. And Proctor’s in Schenectady promised that their showing of Roman Polanski’s Macbeth would run only for two more days.

And in case you’re wondering, there were some other more titillating offers for discernible adults. The Fox Colonie on Wolf Road had a double feature of “School Girls” and “Love Doctors,” while the Colonie Art in Schenectady promised the X-rated film “Private, Private” and another unnamed x-rated hit. It must have been such a big hit, that they couldn’t mention its name in the newspaper. Hmm.

Meanwhile, the State Theater in downtown Albany had their own double feature of Peter Sellers’ Where Does It Hurt? with Cliff Robertson’s movie Charly, and if you went to the State, they offered free parking. Nice option.

I gotta tell you … I forgot how much fun this “When It Played in Albany” blog series was. I should do more of these. 😀