Comments from vindanpar

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vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Academy Cinema Oxford Street on Mar 15, 2021 at 9:27 am

I saw this at MOMA many years ago. At the time I had no idea who Annabella was. She was at the presentation and spoke afterwards. A very elegant soignee old woman.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Radio City Music Hall on Mar 13, 2021 at 5:28 pm

The stage show with the cars was a commercial for GM. They were also part of the finale ‘merry maypole romp.’ The ‘ballet’ was the dancers riding bicycles. The Matthau comedy festival would continue with the following feature Plaza Suite.

May was so furious with this cut of the film she demanded Paramount remove her name. They didn’t. If she had had her way the film would not have been the Easter movie. Though I have no idea at the time what they could have replaced it with as family films were no longer being made in this period.

Plaza Suite was not a family film and neither was the big summer film Murphy’s War which was a very depressing though not bad movie and the only time I heard f-ck in a Music Hall movie as I’ve already written about.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Central Park Theatre on Mar 7, 2021 at 11:35 am

This theater housed the original Broadway production of Kiss Me Kate for a year and a half at which point it moved to the Shubert. Why such a big Cole Porter Broadway musical would play here so far uptown mystifies me. It didn’t keep it from being a smash it but still. Nothing else was available?

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Radio City Music Hall on Mar 2, 2021 at 5:56 am

Anthony(Tony) Mordente was in the original cast of WSS, married Chita Rivera, is in the film of WSS and when Robbins was fired staged Peter Gennero’s Dance at the Gym choreography for the movie which I think is the highlight though others might prefer Robbin’s staging of America or Cool.

If you’ve seen the bluray of Hit the Deck that Hallelujah finale must have been mighty impressive on the Music Hall’s vast CinemaScope screen and in stereo.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Gaiety Burlesk on Feb 24, 2021 at 4:17 am

Jeez Louise that was longer than Gone With the Wind. Everything but the bloodhounds nipping at his rear end.

‘and in private exclusive appointments where I was paid handsomely by the hour, never expecting to engage in any activity that endangered me legally, physically, or morally.’ Then what were they paying you for afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches?

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about 4 Star Theatre on Feb 16, 2021 at 2:20 pm

What, no Mascagni? How peculiar.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about 1975 photo credit John P. Keating Jr. on Feb 8, 2021 at 9:59 am

I saw this here. Scraping the bottom of the barrel with anything it could get its hands on. But a very nice picture of the Hall when it was still showing movies.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Syosset Triplex on Jan 25, 2021 at 2:34 pm

This is very late for a roadshow run considering the film opened in Dec ‘65. A year later is very unusual especially that the film was already played out in its first run engagements and going wide in other markets. As you can see from grindhouse’s other ad 6 weeks later it was already showcase. I would have thought the Syosset would have gotten it in spring or early summer of '66 when other suburban hard ticket venues would have had it. Especially that it was shown in Panavision not even taking advantage of the theater’s 70mm capabilities.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Radio City Music Hall on Jan 21, 2021 at 2:06 pm

I do think it’s lousy they didn’t put Natwick in there.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Loew's State Theatre on Jan 15, 2021 at 8:37 pm

Where in the world is Franco Nero?

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Century Drive-In on Jan 12, 2021 at 7:42 am

Well now I’ve seen everything. A Cinerama drive in. Did you have to reserve your parking space in advance? Did they give you seven speakers for your car? How did they afford the three projectionists? And the putting up and dismantling of the screen for flat film must have been expensive and a pain.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Radio City Music Hall on Jan 4, 2021 at 4:03 pm

This stage show was the same that played with the ‘71 Wuthering Heights though the overture might have been different. The Rockettes Bayou Rhythm number was sensational and one of the best I saw them do in the 70s. It’s unfortunate these numbers have been lost and they only do Christmas routines now.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Deer Park Theatre on Dec 21, 2020 at 9:33 pm

Though its 70mm 6 track stereo days were over until its revival in the 70s. Unless you wanted to fly to see it at the Dominion in London where it was still on its first run hard ticket engagement.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Radio City Music Hall on Dec 21, 2020 at 9:29 pm

I don’t see the C condemned rating in the ad which was given by the catholic church to this film as in suitable for no one. In other words the Music Hall’s first Christmas film was a dirty picture. It played for two weeks a hit holiday film for the time and Gene Raymond spoke about riding past the Hall and seeing the crowds lined up for the film and thinking those poor people are going to see a turkey. I don’t know why he felt that way as it is a lot of fun with some terrific Youmans' songs.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Radio City Music Hall on Dec 16, 2020 at 3:34 pm

In The Godfather scene I believe there’s a news stand where there never had been a news stand because it would be in the way of pedestrian traffic and the area would most likely have been swarming with people either trying to get into the Hall or leaving it when the Christmas show was playing. I hate when they don’t get these things right. It throws me out of the movie.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about RKO Warner Twin Theatre on Dec 11, 2020 at 4:42 am

Yes Jack Valenti lamented at the time of Without a Stitch about porn coming to a first run Broadway house. Especially one that recently had a year long run of a family roadshow.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Rivoli Theatre on Dec 10, 2020 at 10:41 am

Beautiful photo. Wish there were many more like this of midtown marquees. Close enough to get a full picture of the marquee and all adjacent artwork surrounding entrance. And in color. They are all too few at least those that survive. I’m sure the theater and the studios made many of them when a film first opened.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Syosset Triplex on Dec 2, 2020 at 6:22 am

I find it interesting that this east side art house foreign film about a grown man’s obsession with a beautiful boy was playing at the Rivoli and the Fox in Hackensack. I saw my mother taking the DVD out of the library once and asked her if she knew what it is about and when I told her she immediately put it back. By the way it is a very beautiful film but it is no longer the 70s and things are very different.

CMBMN doesn’t count because it is such schlock and has all the passion and sensuality of the Guiding Light

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Radio City Music Hall on Nov 30, 2020 at 11:39 am

I remember Tanya quite well. Today it would not fly.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Egyptian Theatre on Nov 28, 2020 at 7:18 pm

On page 8 that is a very impressive screen. What years did that exist in the theater?

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about November 1970 Royal Premiere, 70MM print ad courtesy Patrick Hayward‎. on Nov 28, 2020 at 7:10 pm

Meanwhile it was playing continuous perfs at the Music Hall. From 4 to 6 performances a day.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Marbro Theatre on Nov 26, 2020 at 6:28 pm

Anybody have a good picture of the proscenium? The one scanned looks poor. It’s always the most beautiful theaters that get torn down. The few remaining are nice but not this breathtaking. And the Paradise looks like it had been the greatest of them all.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Criterion Theatre on Nov 24, 2020 at 1:01 pm

Indeed. I think the Orleans used the actual stage, wings and dressing rooms of the Strand as well. Lots of space went unused from the time those theaters stopped being presentation houses.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about Criterion Theatre on Nov 24, 2020 at 12:13 pm

But I believe though it used the Criterion name it actually was in the space of the very large Bonds clothing store which was next to the movie theater(I am of course not 100% sure.) All the movie theaters were in the actual Criterion space. After the main theater was split horizontally in two I could never go back though I did go to the Roundabout. The elegant oval lounge space in the basement…it’s unfortunate to think of it cut up into black shoebox spaces.

Twice walking on the opposite side of Broadway in the 80s I heard people saying something to the effect ‘I never thought that block would look like that.’ It really had gotten so cheap and tawdry looking after all those years of Bond/The Criterion/Woolworth.

vindanpar
vindanpar commented about 1955 photo. A reduced size image was used for the cover of the "Night People" by Mort Herbert. on Nov 18, 2020 at 7:50 pm

‘And the streetlamp light fills the gutter with gold.’

These old color Times Square at night photos are always so beautiful when they’re taken after rain.