Re the 2 postings of BAF on the photo section:The last time the Undersea Ballet was done. Another stage staple that disappeared early in the 70s and for which the Music Hall was known for its spectacular stage capabilities.
I remember sitting in the 2nd balc because the orch was full and there was a woman with a few children. At the end of it she literally turned her head to me and looked at me with amazement. Nobody remembers these spectacles any more but me. These are what defined the place equally to the Rockettes.
The best was Hawaii which somebody posted then it was taken down. Somebody should post a GIF of Those Magnificent Men which had moving planes, propellers and legs. I remember seeing this as a little boy. They really were Times Square spectaculars.
Of course those of the 20s must have really been mind blowing.
Sorry looks like it was the Colony. I probably got it confused because it looks like the Sheridan was Miami’s major Todd AO house so I assumed SOM played there. What kept it out?
Well before Dolly the Rivoli was playing films like The Trip and the De Sade movie with Keir Dullea. I don’t know if they’re considered B but they seem more like 42nd St grind movies to me.
Also I seem to remember though maybe I’m wrong before Fiddler this theater showing The Stewardesses in 3D. Maybe it was a nightmare.
Hello Dolly in a Todd AO print played the 70mm roadshow house The St James in Asbury Park in the summer of ‘70 with continuous performances. The summer before had reserved seat performances of Funny Girl at the St James and Oliver at the Lyric.
The roadshow presentation of big budget films was ending.
I went to a Sat mat of HD in July. Price for balc was cheaper than loge and orchestra but it was very empty so I moved from my balc seat. to center first row mezz.
Didn’t WSS, Hello Dolly, Fall of the Roman Empire and El Cid go from reserved seats to continuous perfs at their NY hard ticket theaters? Maybe there were others.
There was another book on roadshow film presentations which was pretty horrible. And to add insult to injury the guy never went to a roadshow presentation in his life and he was old enough. Have no idea why he considers himself such an expert. Maybe he spent a year looking at Variety on microfilm in his off hours. And he was looking for tenure at some University so he had to publish something, anything.
Thank you CC. It’s a theater I miss and I was only in it once when I saw a Todd AO print of Hello Dolly in the summer of 70.
A great 70mm roadshow house.I remember an aunt and uncle going to see MFL here and paying the outrageous sum of $4 a ticket. A crazy amount of money to see a movie in ‘65.
If you look at the diagram for the screens at the UA Cinema 150 in Long Island in its photo section you will see that the D150 screen is larger than the Todd AO/70mm screen.
This is the only reason I can figure out why that the first presentation of 2001 was so much more impressive. It might have been on the D150 screen rather than the 70mm screen. Obviously the same screen but as I stated above with different apertures.
Yes. I’ll never forget it. One of my all time great cinema experiences. Just too young to have seen it first run at the Capitol or Warner Cinerama.
I believe it was Columbus Day of ‘77. It played at the Rivoli twice. First time the print said Cinerama at the end. Second time the print said Super Panavision 70. The Cinerama print was so much more spectacular. I know this is confusing and obviously the Rivoli did not play Cinerama films but I’m sure Martin Hart would know why different 70mm prints would have different film process logos on them.
And then somebody once said the Rivoli had two different 70mm screen apertures. Ok I know this sounds crazy but you paid more money for the larger one which was the D150 screen. He said Universal refused to pay for the larger screen so Sweet Charity played on the smaller one. So I’m assuming the first 2001 print played using the larger aperture. Perhaps the difference was slight but I do remember during the second run it was less visually imposing. Or was it that the first impression was so overwhelming the second viewing couldn’t live up to it? Well it was over 40 years ago and the Rivoli is long gone so now who knows.
Which is why I haven’t seen 2001 since I last saw it at the Rivoli decades ago. What’s the point? Love reading about it and watching youtube docs about it though.
I guess you get the experience going to the Cinerama theaters on the west coast but it seems like it will never happen again in NY. I bet the Capitol Cinerama screen was larger than those anyway.
Interesting that the actor who was so brilliant as the voice of HAL Douglas Hain considered the two day recording session a joke and never bothered seeing the film. Huh? At least that’s what I found out on the internet. He died last year.
It is odd considering some of the disappointing films at the Hall in ‘66 it was not chosen. Even in the Times review of the film the critic wondered why it didn’t open there. It should have been a slam-dunk.
And the marquee says Music Hall’s Great Christmas Show. In other photo if you look super close I believe it says Stage Revue Hat’s Off. I guess you would have to look at Variety or daily newspaper ads to see when stage show changed. And then there is the added confusion of the times when the Hall would just lop off The Nativity if the Christmas film was successful enough to run well into Jan continuing with the rest of the holiday show. Was Random Harvest the only Christmas film to last beyond Jan?
I would say this might be a 1943 photo as the Christmas decorations are down and the film played until March. However if the stage show changed before Jan 1st as sometimes happened back then it might still be'42. I’m sure CC knows when it changed from the Christmas to a more secular show. In LeRoy’s autobio he was told by the Hall the film could have played another 11 weeks there but MGM wanted to get it into the nabes.
I assume Sunflower(the poster was recently added to photos) was the only dubbed film to ever play the Music Hall. It was not mentioned in any of the ads and there were some who were justifiably upset though I’m sure that whatever audience the Music Hall still had left the majority didn’t care and certainly didn’t want to see it in Italian. I saw it the first Saturday morning and I remember it being crowded with a full orchestra. There had been a lot of publicity on its opening day because Loren made a personal appearance and I believe Variety compared the crowd to those that showed up for a Disney film at holiday time.
How long did Hail Hero play? The opening seems to have been Oct 23rd but The Brain was the Thanksgiving film. Until the mid 70s ‘69 seems to have been the Music Hall’s worst selection of films. One dreadful film after another. Seems like the only watchable films were Love Bug and True Grit. The American New Wave took hold and even if a few style old films were made that fit the Hall they ended up on the upper East Side playing along with Loew’s State if they would even be seen among the hoi polloi of Times Square.
The Music Hall which always had the highest grosses no matter how low was even beaten out by I am Curious Yellow during its run of Mayerling.
I got the quotes from Bluray.com on a thread of people discussing the restoration. As I said myself I was surprised as I saw the film twice during the week when it was shown for its anniversary and I was pretty wowed as well.
I do though envy Haas seeing a new movie print struck by Fox and not a digital projection which I think is mostly what you get these days. I must admit though for a strict purist like myself I don’t hate some of the digital projections I’ve seen. Brief Encounter at FF was pretty wonderful.
Is that a record for shortest roadshow run in NY? Poor Half a Sixpence. It’s a stunningly designed Edwardian musical. Visually gorgeous with some sensational Gillian Lynne numbers who went on to gain fame as the choreographer of Cats and Phantom. I guess Tommy Steele on film was a bit much but it does have the wonderful Julia Foster straight from Alfie.
Re the 2 postings of BAF on the photo section:The last time the Undersea Ballet was done. Another stage staple that disappeared early in the 70s and for which the Music Hall was known for its spectacular stage capabilities.
I remember sitting in the 2nd balc because the orch was full and there was a woman with a few children. At the end of it she literally turned her head to me and looked at me with amazement. Nobody remembers these spectacles any more but me. These are what defined the place equally to the Rockettes.
I loved that DeMille(my era)wraparound billboard.
The best was Hawaii which somebody posted then it was taken down. Somebody should post a GIF of Those Magnificent Men which had moving planes, propellers and legs. I remember seeing this as a little boy. They really were Times Square spectaculars.
Of course those of the 20s must have really been mind blowing.
Don’t forget Marsha Hunt is still with us.
Interesting that the Sheridan was a Cinerama/Todd AO house.
Khartoum? Khartoum?!! But it didn’t open until the summer of ‘66 and SOM opened at the Colony March 17 '65.
Oh to have known Miami back in the 50s and 60s!
Sorry looks like it was the Colony. I probably got it confused because it looks like the Sheridan was Miami’s major Todd AO house so I assumed SOM played there. What kept it out?
Oh no! Is that true?!!! Nah, you were just pulling my leg. Wasn’t the Sheridan Miami’s The Sound of Music two year reserved seat engagement?
Well before Dolly the Rivoli was playing films like The Trip and the De Sade movie with Keir Dullea. I don’t know if they’re considered B but they seem more like 42nd St grind movies to me. Also I seem to remember though maybe I’m wrong before Fiddler this theater showing The Stewardesses in 3D. Maybe it was a nightmare.
Hello Dolly in a Todd AO print played the 70mm roadshow house The St James in Asbury Park in the summer of ‘70 with continuous performances. The summer before had reserved seat performances of Funny Girl at the St James and Oliver at the Lyric.
The roadshow presentation of big budget films was ending.
I went to a Sat mat of HD in July. Price for balc was cheaper than loge and orchestra but it was very empty so I moved from my balc seat. to center first row mezz.
Didn’t WSS, Hello Dolly, Fall of the Roman Empire and El Cid go from reserved seats to continuous perfs at their NY hard ticket theaters? Maybe there were others.
There was another book on roadshow film presentations which was pretty horrible. And to add insult to injury the guy never went to a roadshow presentation in his life and he was old enough. Have no idea why he considers himself such an expert. Maybe he spent a year looking at Variety on microfilm in his off hours. And he was looking for tenure at some University so he had to publish something, anything.
Thank you CC. It’s a theater I miss and I was only in it once when I saw a Todd AO print of Hello Dolly in the summer of 70.
A great 70mm roadshow house.I remember an aunt and uncle going to see MFL here and paying the outrageous sum of $4 a ticket. A crazy amount of money to see a movie in ‘65.
If you look at the diagram for the screens at the UA Cinema 150 in Long Island in its photo section you will see that the D150 screen is larger than the Todd AO/70mm screen.
This is the only reason I can figure out why that the first presentation of 2001 was so much more impressive. It might have been on the D150 screen rather than the 70mm screen. Obviously the same screen but as I stated above with different apertures.
Terrific film but a strange choice for the Roxy.
Yes. I’ll never forget it. One of my all time great cinema experiences. Just too young to have seen it first run at the Capitol or Warner Cinerama.
I believe it was Columbus Day of ‘77. It played at the Rivoli twice. First time the print said Cinerama at the end. Second time the print said Super Panavision 70. The Cinerama print was so much more spectacular. I know this is confusing and obviously the Rivoli did not play Cinerama films but I’m sure Martin Hart would know why different 70mm prints would have different film process logos on them.
And then somebody once said the Rivoli had two different 70mm screen apertures. Ok I know this sounds crazy but you paid more money for the larger one which was the D150 screen. He said Universal refused to pay for the larger screen so Sweet Charity played on the smaller one. So I’m assuming the first 2001 print played using the larger aperture. Perhaps the difference was slight but I do remember during the second run it was less visually imposing. Or was it that the first impression was so overwhelming the second viewing couldn’t live up to it? Well it was over 40 years ago and the Rivoli is long gone so now who knows.
Which is why I haven’t seen 2001 since I last saw it at the Rivoli decades ago. What’s the point? Love reading about it and watching youtube docs about it though. I guess you get the experience going to the Cinerama theaters on the west coast but it seems like it will never happen again in NY. I bet the Capitol Cinerama screen was larger than those anyway.
Interesting that the actor who was so brilliant as the voice of HAL Douglas Hain considered the two day recording session a joke and never bothered seeing the film. Huh? At least that’s what I found out on the internet. He died last year.
It is odd considering some of the disappointing films at the Hall in ‘66 it was not chosen. Even in the Times review of the film the critic wondered why it didn’t open there. It should have been a slam-dunk.
And the marquee says Music Hall’s Great Christmas Show. In other photo if you look super close I believe it says Stage Revue Hat’s Off. I guess you would have to look at Variety or daily newspaper ads to see when stage show changed. And then there is the added confusion of the times when the Hall would just lop off The Nativity if the Christmas film was successful enough to run well into Jan continuing with the rest of the holiday show. Was Random Harvest the only Christmas film to last beyond Jan?
I would say this might be a 1943 photo as the Christmas decorations are down and the film played until March. However if the stage show changed before Jan 1st as sometimes happened back then it might still be'42. I’m sure CC knows when it changed from the Christmas to a more secular show. In LeRoy’s autobio he was told by the Hall the film could have played another 11 weeks there but MGM wanted to get it into the nabes.
I assume Sunflower(the poster was recently added to photos) was the only dubbed film to ever play the Music Hall. It was not mentioned in any of the ads and there were some who were justifiably upset though I’m sure that whatever audience the Music Hall still had left the majority didn’t care and certainly didn’t want to see it in Italian. I saw it the first Saturday morning and I remember it being crowded with a full orchestra. There had been a lot of publicity on its opening day because Loren made a personal appearance and I believe Variety compared the crowd to those that showed up for a Disney film at holiday time.
How long did Hail Hero play? The opening seems to have been Oct 23rd but The Brain was the Thanksgiving film. Until the mid 70s ‘69 seems to have been the Music Hall’s worst selection of films. One dreadful film after another. Seems like the only watchable films were Love Bug and True Grit. The American New Wave took hold and even if a few style old films were made that fit the Hall they ended up on the upper East Side playing along with Loew’s State if they would even be seen among the hoi polloi of Times Square.
The Music Hall which always had the highest grosses no matter how low was even beaten out by I am Curious Yellow during its run of Mayerling.
Wasn’t Krakatoa continuous perfs in NY?
I wonder why LA was roadshow.
Legend of the Vikings must have been a lot of fun. Too bad it was never done again. I would have loved to have seen it.
I got the quotes from Bluray.com on a thread of people discussing the restoration. As I said myself I was surprised as I saw the film twice during the week when it was shown for its anniversary and I was pretty wowed as well.
I do though envy Haas seeing a new movie print struck by Fox and not a digital projection which I think is mostly what you get these days. I must admit though for a strict purist like myself I don’t hate some of the digital projections I’ve seen. Brief Encounter at FF was pretty wonderful.
Do Cheyenne Autumn, Hallelujah Trail and even Fall of the Roman Empire exist any longer in 70mm or are their negatives gone for good?
Is that a record for shortest roadshow run in NY? Poor Half a Sixpence. It’s a stunningly designed Edwardian musical. Visually gorgeous with some sensational Gillian Lynne numbers who went on to gain fame as the choreographer of Cats and Phantom. I guess Tommy Steele on film was a bit much but it does have the wonderful Julia Foster straight from Alfie.