New York's Paris Theatre Turns 60

The Paris Theatre, the nation's oldest continuously operating arthouse cinema, now owned by developer Sheldon H. Solow, is about to turn 60. So to celebrate its anniversary, on Sept. 13 the theater will commemorate its 1948 opening—when Marlene Dietrich cut the ribbon with the Ambassador to France—with a special showing of Claude Miller's A Secret, a film that follows a large French Jewish family from World War II to the present. Last October, the International Herald Tribune called the film "a movie about ordinary Jewish people in extraordinarily savage times," noting its success among French audiences. But if you're still not sold, maybe just go for the one-day-only free popcorn and soda. (If you think about it, that could mean a savings of about $20 by New York movie-going standards.) Also, there will be prizes, including a one-year pass for two to the theatre, for randomly selected ticketholders (or anyone who can prove he or she was born on Sept. 13 1948). The theater is currently showing Transsiberian starring Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley; A Secret opens on Sept. 5.