I knew years ago a guy who collected souvenir programs and there were so many variations of Birth of a Nation from this country and in Europe I couldn’t believe it.
Actually if you back far enough in the photo pages somebody posted pictures of the some of the souvenir programs for films at the Criterion and the Rivoli. Of course film souvenir programs go back very far at least as far back as Birth of a Nation. I had one for the Cukor R & J on which the original owner had written when they saw it.
I had no idea Lili and Great Race opened as roadshow in LA! Was the Cromwell souvenir program sold at the Rivoli and Toms Sawyer sold at the Music Hall? For some reason I don’t remember the Hall selling movie souvenir programs only its own for the theater. I do remember it selling the comic book version of The Happiest Millionaire but not the movie program. And the Decca lp of Airport. By the way when Canby reviewed Tom Sawyer he saw it at the Rivoli in a preview. The Music Hall sold the UK version? Things get confusing.
Also when you consider the Rivoli was surrounded by great theaters the nearby theater list here is very odd(The Pussycat and the Ramrod? Somebody was posting from 1980.) much as CC pointed out for the Music Hall. I mean these theaters (not the Music Hall of course) were referred to in The Great Gatsby.
It is interesting that buffs like you and I and others on Cinema Treasures know more than people who get published. They must be in good with somebody at a publishing house or university because their scholarly credentials are laughable. Their work must be a nightmare for a copyeditor who inevitably surrenders and throws in the work in appalled frustration.
This is some sort of Music Hall milestone as being perhaps the first independent film feature to play the Hall. Maybe somebody out there who knows more about film distribution and independent features can clarify this. A time of enormous transition and as one can see from the stage show desperation in a world where sadly the Music Hall no longer really belonged. A very depressing film in a depressing year for the Hall.
Concerning the Operation Crossbow ad Ponti must have given the Music Hall a very advantageous deal indeed. About as unlike an Easter movie as can be imagined in the 60s. And from the illustration of the stage show it looks like it might be the one included in the old souvenir program with a view of the entire interior, a spectacular stage finale at Leonidoff’s Russian gaudy best and the Rockettes in the front looking great. The swan is the tipoff.
When both performances are so good age doesn’t matter. People complain about Howard in GWTW but I can’t imagine anyone else in the role. And John Barrymore looking very middle aged, but does it matter?
This is a very beautiful film. Certainly one of the most beautifully designed. It could have been in color which would have been astounding as it’s MGM at its most grand and lush. I’m also sorry that Agnes DeMille’s dance at the Capulet ball was mostly cut. The glimpses of it one gets makes it look as if it was quite wonderful. It must have been very painful for her.
I read that the entr'acte or intermission music that is the music played before the second half begins was cut in this release along with the exit music. So it’s there?
Do you see the Astor when she is bouncing on I believe it’s a convertible bed in the Times Square Castro showroom? I know you can see the sign for Dr Dolittle which was on the block long sign above the Astor and Victoria right across from Loew’s State where it premiered. This then is right before the Astor Hotel was demolished because it was gone by Sept of ‘68.
I’ve never seen the alternate ending. I think the bittersweet ending is wonderful. Although I personally think it’s sad because you sense as she disappears into the city she will always be alone ‘hopefully ever after.’ Original audiences I think felt betrayed by it.
I kind of doubt they ran out. Somebody probably didn’t put them out at that performance and I was foolish not to ask. It was strange because they would usually hawk them like peanuts or hot dogs at the Garden.
As per CC’s new photo I wonder if The Hallelujah Trail negative still exists in the UA Archive or at least a Super Panavision print. I understand the bluray was taken from a 35mm print and is supposedly very poor and a big disappointment. One wonders why they waste such an opportunity and anger fans and lessen the possibility of a better release in the future.
Acronyms can be fun to figure out though I get your frustration. On Lynley’s death I emailed a friend about TPA. He had no idea what I was talking about and wrote me an annoyed email calling me inscrutable and asking me to explain it. It seemed pretty obvious to me.
Bigjoe I assure you I am not making this up! I was scandalized. If I knew how to post pictures I would find that image so you could see. Unfortunately the Criterion marquee is a bit in the distance but you get the idea.
Of course when I first walked into the Criterion the first thing I looked for was the program but I didn’t see it! Strange because when I walked in for the Jan revival of MFL earlier in the year there was a guy in a tux selling an abridged version in softcover of the ‘64 hardback.
I’ve learned about Twilight Time limited edition blu rays the hard way. I did get the Japanese edition of Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines because somebody wrote it was the exact same transfer and you could get rid of subtitles. Do you know if this is the same situation for Nicholas? That it is the exact same transfer and subtitles can be eliminated?
I’ve been reading that the kino Lorber Sweet Charity bluray is better than the French blue ray. The problem is they advertised it as the roadshow version yet they left out the entr'acte and exit music. I guess the young people who put these things together don’t know what a roadshow was and don’t really research what that entails. These things exist in earlier video releases of the film. Sloppy.
Oh by the way I think the blu ray is sold out and now goes for extortionist prices. Sadly I did not get it. I do remember walking up the aisle of the Criterion after the film was over very shaken.
Yes! I thought it was lousy for a roadshow film(I know why should I care?) that there wasn’t the art work but just the lettering. By the way did you get the souvenir program from there? I know there was one but they weren’t selling it at my performance. I’ve seen it on ebay or maybe someone posted it in the Criterion photo section.
Also if you pull up images Times Square 1970s you will see it in one of the images. Though to be honest someone stuck it in the images for the 60s which is where I saw it again all these decades later. Sadly the last roadshow film at that most prestigious of Times Square theaters which was a short while later to become an exploitation house before being sliced up into a slew of shoebox theaters. Superman looked great there before the theater ended up on the chopping block. Too bad its first very successful run was at the Astor Plaza.
I should mention the Criterion with Nich and Alex had no film artwork on any side except for the lettering itself. Yet I believe the Newman Judge Roy Bean did on all sides from what I remember. Or was it McCabe and Mrs Miller? I wish I had taken photos of all of this.
I knew years ago a guy who collected souvenir programs and there were so many variations of Birth of a Nation from this country and in Europe I couldn’t believe it.
Who owns a cell phone anymore?! That’s so 20th Century.
Just kidding bigjoe.
I’ve gotten a few I didn’t have on ebay and it was a mistake. Very worn.
Actually if you back far enough in the photo pages somebody posted pictures of the some of the souvenir programs for films at the Criterion and the Rivoli. Of course film souvenir programs go back very far at least as far back as Birth of a Nation. I had one for the Cukor R & J on which the original owner had written when they saw it.
I had no idea Lili and Great Race opened as roadshow in LA! Was the Cromwell souvenir program sold at the Rivoli and Toms Sawyer sold at the Music Hall? For some reason I don’t remember the Hall selling movie souvenir programs only its own for the theater. I do remember it selling the comic book version of The Happiest Millionaire but not the movie program. And the Decca lp of Airport. By the way when Canby reviewed Tom Sawyer he saw it at the Rivoli in a preview. The Music Hall sold the UK version? Things get confusing.
Also when you consider the Rivoli was surrounded by great theaters the nearby theater list here is very odd(The Pussycat and the Ramrod? Somebody was posting from 1980.) much as CC pointed out for the Music Hall. I mean these theaters (not the Music Hall of course) were referred to in The Great Gatsby.
It is interesting that buffs like you and I and others on Cinema Treasures know more than people who get published. They must be in good with somebody at a publishing house or university because their scholarly credentials are laughable. Their work must be a nightmare for a copyeditor who inevitably surrenders and throws in the work in appalled frustration.
This is some sort of Music Hall milestone as being perhaps the first independent film feature to play the Hall. Maybe somebody out there who knows more about film distribution and independent features can clarify this. A time of enormous transition and as one can see from the stage show desperation in a world where sadly the Music Hall no longer really belonged. A very depressing film in a depressing year for the Hall.
Concerning the Operation Crossbow ad Ponti must have given the Music Hall a very advantageous deal indeed. About as unlike an Easter movie as can be imagined in the 60s. And from the illustration of the stage show it looks like it might be the one included in the old souvenir program with a view of the entire interior, a spectacular stage finale at Leonidoff’s Russian gaudy best and the Rockettes in the front looking great. The swan is the tipoff.
Gee who’s Annie?
Matthew Kennedy’s book Roadshow. It’s quite the doozy.
I got that TFOTRE bluray. Haven’t seen it yet.
Too bad the fire curtain couldn’t be put on display in Hollywood studios in Orlando. But it’s not like it’s going to generate revenue.
When both performances are so good age doesn’t matter. People complain about Howard in GWTW but I can’t imagine anyone else in the role. And John Barrymore looking very middle aged, but does it matter?
This is a very beautiful film. Certainly one of the most beautifully designed. It could have been in color which would have been astounding as it’s MGM at its most grand and lush. I’m also sorry that Agnes DeMille’s dance at the Capulet ball was mostly cut. The glimpses of it one gets makes it look as if it was quite wonderful. It must have been very painful for her.
Cecil Kellaway hurts the film. Who wants to see him killed as the unwanted husband? It should have been Hume Cronyn.
Well that’s strange. Maybe that’s why people are confused. Is it the same with the exit music? It’s there but a bit tricky to find?
I read that the entr'acte or intermission music that is the music played before the second half begins was cut in this release along with the exit music. So it’s there?
Do you see the Astor when she is bouncing on I believe it’s a convertible bed in the Times Square Castro showroom? I know you can see the sign for Dr Dolittle which was on the block long sign above the Astor and Victoria right across from Loew’s State where it premiered. This then is right before the Astor Hotel was demolished because it was gone by Sept of ‘68.
I’ve never seen the alternate ending. I think the bittersweet ending is wonderful. Although I personally think it’s sad because you sense as she disappears into the city she will always be alone ‘hopefully ever after.’ Original audiences I think felt betrayed by it.
I kind of doubt they ran out. Somebody probably didn’t put them out at that performance and I was foolish not to ask. It was strange because they would usually hawk them like peanuts or hot dogs at the Garden.
As per CC’s new photo I wonder if The Hallelujah Trail negative still exists in the UA Archive or at least a Super Panavision print. I understand the bluray was taken from a 35mm print and is supposedly very poor and a big disappointment. One wonders why they waste such an opportunity and anger fans and lessen the possibility of a better release in the future.
Didn’t Melanie do a concert here in the 70s?
Didn’t Young Winston play reserved seats at the Columbia twin? Or was it reserved performances?
Acronyms can be fun to figure out though I get your frustration. On Lynley’s death I emailed a friend about TPA. He had no idea what I was talking about and wrote me an annoyed email calling me inscrutable and asking me to explain it. It seemed pretty obvious to me.
I assume that’s where the large elegant oval white lounge was on the lower level. Can anybody who remembers the original theater confirm that?
Bigjoe I assure you I am not making this up! I was scandalized. If I knew how to post pictures I would find that image so you could see. Unfortunately the Criterion marquee is a bit in the distance but you get the idea.
Of course when I first walked into the Criterion the first thing I looked for was the program but I didn’t see it! Strange because when I walked in for the Jan revival of MFL earlier in the year there was a guy in a tux selling an abridged version in softcover of the ‘64 hardback.
I’ve learned about Twilight Time limited edition blu rays the hard way. I did get the Japanese edition of Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines because somebody wrote it was the exact same transfer and you could get rid of subtitles. Do you know if this is the same situation for Nicholas? That it is the exact same transfer and subtitles can be eliminated?
I’ve been reading that the kino Lorber Sweet Charity bluray is better than the French blue ray. The problem is they advertised it as the roadshow version yet they left out the entr'acte and exit music. I guess the young people who put these things together don’t know what a roadshow was and don’t really research what that entails. These things exist in earlier video releases of the film. Sloppy.
Oh by the way I think the blu ray is sold out and now goes for extortionist prices. Sadly I did not get it. I do remember walking up the aisle of the Criterion after the film was over very shaken.
Yes! I thought it was lousy for a roadshow film(I know why should I care?) that there wasn’t the art work but just the lettering. By the way did you get the souvenir program from there? I know there was one but they weren’t selling it at my performance. I’ve seen it on ebay or maybe someone posted it in the Criterion photo section.
Also if you pull up images Times Square 1970s you will see it in one of the images. Though to be honest someone stuck it in the images for the 60s which is where I saw it again all these decades later. Sadly the last roadshow film at that most prestigious of Times Square theaters which was a short while later to become an exploitation house before being sliced up into a slew of shoebox theaters. Superman looked great there before the theater ended up on the chopping block. Too bad its first very successful run was at the Astor Plaza.
I should mention the Criterion with Nich and Alex had no film artwork on any side except for the lettering itself. Yet I believe the Newman Judge Roy Bean did on all sides from what I remember. Or was it McCabe and Mrs Miller? I wish I had taken photos of all of this.