Synopsis
The story behind the rise and fall of New York's 42nd Street. The cinemas, the films, the people, the crime and the rebirth of the block as "New 42nd Street" - this is the document of the world's most notorious movie strip.
42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street
Cast
Matt Cimber Joe Dante Veronica Hart Roy Frumkes Buddy Giovinazzo Richard W. Haines Frank Henenlotter Tom Holland Joe Kane Lloyd Kaufman Terry Levene Jeff Lieberman Lynn Lowry Jim Markovic Debbie Rochon Samuel M. Sherman John Skipp Anthony Timpone Meir Zarchi 42nd Street Pete Larry Cohen William Lustig Greydon Clark
Director
Producers
Writer
Editor
Executive Producer
Composer
Genre
Releases by Date
Theatrical
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Slovenia
Physical
20 Jul 2015
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UK
Releases by Country
Slovenia
15 Jul 2015
- Theatrical Source: IMDB
UK
20 Jul 2015
- Physical Source: IMDB
Popular reviews
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"Uh, the Lyric I got stabbed in front of."
Though very amusing, Calum Waddell's feature-length documentary 42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street is less ambitious in scope than its lengthy subtitle indicates. Continuous talking heads (mostly by filmmakers and producers) take the place of a traditional narrator to eulogize the scandalous cauldron of prurience that once comprised New York City's 42nd Street between 7th & 8th Avenue. The resulting tone is loosely jocular but also pretty frothy as far as particulars go.
Scant attention is paid to the venues' pre-Depression history as live performance halls, but once the focus settles on the squalid heyday of grindhouse and porn theaters many of the interviewees come to…
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Shoutout to Will Sloan of the incomparable film podcast, Important Cinema Club, for inspiring this watch—entry #28 in the month-long NYC movie marathon with my sugarpie.
42nd St Memories: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Notorious Street is a feature-length documentary from Calum Waddell that is a fluffy primer on the history of 42nd St cinemas in New York City, particularly during the grindhouse phenomenon from the mid-60s to the late-80s. An impressive lineup of horror, action, exploitation and sexploitation industry personnel present a first-hand oral history and recall anecdotes about the scuzzy glory days of the now-Disneyfied theatres. A “grindhouse expert” cheekily monikered 42nd St Pete was among the most colorful of the bevy of talking heads and…
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We need to bring back the moviegoing experience - specifically, the experience of being robbed and/or stabbed and/or pissed on at an all-night grindhouse where derelicts blow each other while some desultory porno starring Rene Bond flickers across the screen.
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A reliable comfort watch for me. As much fun as PIECES is, I revisit this Calum Waddell-directed documentary housed on disc 2 of the Grindhouse Releasing edition way more often. It's a standard talking heads documentary, but collects a number of great B movie raconteurs to do the talking: Bill Lustig, Frank Henenlotter, Sam Sherman, Joe Dante, Larry Cohen, Pete Chiarella, Lloyd Kaufman, Veronica Hart, John Skipp, Greydon Clark, Jeff Lieberman, Matt Cimber, etc. This should probably be mandatory viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in exploitation films.
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Feels more like a clip show of convention interviews as opposed to a documentary, but it was still an informative experience. I recommend it especially for those who are unaware of 42nd Street’s significance in film history or grindhouse films in general.
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Always fascinated to learn about this time in history...from a distance. My favorite story is Frank Henenlotter talking about a man urinating vertically into the air, and describing him as a "gentleman".
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Since I'm no New Yorker (nor New York historian), what a great way for me to learn about 42nd Street from none other than many people I respect: Tom Holland, William Lustig, Frank Hennenlotter, Joe Dante, Larry Cohen, Veronica Hart, Lloyd Kaufman, and many more! Available on Tubi.
[talking about going to the theater to see War of the Worlds] I was there as a film fan. They were there to have sex!
—Tom HollandThe cannibal films blew people away, 'cause who the fuck knew? I mean, Cannibal Holocaust, people were, like, actually crying at the end. You know, 'cause it was so fucked up. And even, you know, dependin' on what you saw at Last Cannibal World, Last…
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A cheap and cheerful talking heads documentary about the mecca for exploitation movie fans that was New York City's sleaziest street. Any lover of grindhouse cinema will envy the fact that Calum Waddell's interviewees were actually there when 42nd Street was lined on both sides by dozens of theatres with matching marquees advertising screenings of Cannibal Ferox, Pieces and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, along with a ton of porn and filth. Waddell isn't seen or heard at any point, with all the talking done mainly by film directors whose flicks played those cinemas - William Lustig, Frank Henenlotter, Lloyd Kaufman, etc - and a nod to gender balance provided by the likes of scream queen Debbie Rochon and…
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A little repetitive but great fun and very interesting. Veronica Hart is a sweetie!
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I've worked on this block for 18 years, in large measure so I can go to the movies soon as work ends, so this is a treat, with a wealth of historical footage. The interviewees in sleeveless tees exposing their armpits are apropos to the subject matter but still gross. Troma star Debbie Rochon steals the show with the best quotes.
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Nice little watchlist filler. Some good info, but nothing crazy or super insightful. Wish they would’ve went into specifics rather than nostalgic reminiscing.
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Couple of white dudes, including Dante, Kaufmann, and Henenlotter talk about their history with the theaters in the infamous New York neighborhood.