REMEMBERING CINERAMA (Part 56: Honolulu)

posted by Michael Zoldessy on January 18, 2013 at 8:01 am

Back by popular demand!

The following is an ongoing, semi-regular series of retrospectives on CINERAMA, the legendary motion picture process that kicked off the widescreen revolution. The series focuses on providing a market-by-market historical record of when and where Cinerama and its multi-panel clones were exhibited. These easy-to-reference articles serve to provide nostalgia to those who experienced the Cinerama presentations when they were new and to honor the movie palaces in which the memorable screenings took place.

And now… Part 56: Cinerama Presentations in Honolulu, Hawaii!

Compiled by Bill Huelbig & Michael Coate

THIS IS CINERAMA
Theater: Princess
Premiere Date: July 22, 1958
Engagement Duration: 10 weeks
Projection Format: 3-strip / 26 frames per second / 7-track stereo
Promotional Hype: “The only really new wonder of the motion picture world!”

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Princess
October 3, 1958
10 weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD as seen through the greatest wonder: CINERAMA”

CINERAMA HOLIDAY
Princess
December 12, 1958
7 weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“The New CINERAMA Hit!”

SEARCH FOR PARADISE
Princess
January 30, 1959
8 weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“Far Beyond the Limits of Human Imagination! Your Most Fabulous Adventure Dreams Come True…TOP NOTCH ENTERTAINMENT! whisks you to the far corners of the earth…through the unmatched magic of CINERAMA”

SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE
Princess
March 26, 1959
9 weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“Hawaii is the Star of the New Cinerama Production”

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
Cinerama
December 12, 1962
13 weeks
3-strip / 24fps / 7-track stereo
“At the Cinerama Theatre (formerly Pawaa Theatre): THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM” “Holiday Fun for All the Family! The first full-length dramatic story with a dazzling array of stars in fascinating roles!” “The [Cinerama is the] Only Theatre in Hawaii That Will or Can Show Cinerama Productions.”

HOW THE WEST WAS WON
Cinerama
March 12, 1963
27 weeks
3-strip / 24fps / 7-track stereo
“Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Cinerama present HOW THE WEST WAS WON”

WINDJAMMER
Cinerama
September 18, 1963
6 weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“YOU’LL GO to Holland’s Curacao, Norway, New York…to Funchal, Madeira for the New Year celebration. YOU’LL SEE Portuguese Festivals…Dutch Caribbean Dances…Calypso Singers…THRILL to the spine tingling dancers and singers in Trinidad’s fabulous Port of Spain…the haunting music of Puerto Rico…and More and More and More! In Glorious COLOR by Eastman”

THIS IS CINERAMA (Return Engagement)
Cinerama
November 1, 1963
2weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“The First Attraction in the GIANT CINERAMA FESTIVAL”

CINERAMA HOLIDAY (Return Engagement)
Cinerama
November 15, 1963
2 weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“The Second Attraction in the GIANT CINERAMA FESTIVAL”

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Return Engagement)
Cinerama
November 28, 1963
2 weeks
3-strip / 26fps / 7-track stereo
“The Third Attraction in the GIANT CINERAMA FESTIVAL”

IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD
Cinerama
December 20, 1963
28 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“DON’T JUST PROMISE THEM THE WORLD…GIVE IT TO THEM! Make them MAD about you Christmas morning. Be sure they find gift tickets under the tree to the season’s MADDEST entertainment!” “The Biggest Entertainment Ever To Rock The CINERAMA Screen With Laughter!”

CIRCUS WORLD
Cinerama
July 1, 1964
14 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Special Benefit for the American Red Cross. In Person JOHN WAYNE now on location for Otto Preminger’s IN HARM’S WAY” “CINERAMA Puts You in the Middle of the Most Action-Filled Story You’ve Ever Seen!”

THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL
Cinerama
July 27, 1965
12 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Cinerama Sends You Roaring With Laughter and Adventure Down That Wide, Wonderful Fun Trail!”

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Cinerama
October 20, 1965
17 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Presented in CINERAMA”

BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Cinerama
February 16, 1966
14 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Super Cinerama’s Greatest Picture! These Men and Women…and Thousands of Others…Make You Gasp With Reality! Bigger Than HOW THE WEST WAS WON! BATTLE OF THE BULGE Has Been Highly Recommended for Children”

KHARTOUM
Cinerama
June 29, 1966
12 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“The Great CINERAMA Adventure!”

GRAND PRIX
Cinerama
April 19, 1967
27 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“BRACE YOURSELF FOR CINERAMA THRILLS YOU’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED! CINERAMA WEDGES YOU behind the wheel of a Grand Prix racing car! You feel the tension in every muscle…smell the burnt castor oil…taste the gas fumes! CINERAMA ROCKETS YOU through dark tunnels at blinding speeds! CINERAMA SCALES YOU up the side of a sheer cliff – car and all! CINERAMA EMBRACES YOU with the loves and the triumphs of the drivers and their women from Monaco to Monza, via Mexico City and the U.S.A. CINERAMA SWEEPS YOU inside the world of fashion – for a full-color showing of the latest in Parisian haute couture. CINERAMA SWINGS YOU into an international Mod party, to join the miniskirts and hip-huggers at play. CINERAMA SKIMS YOU in a helicopter over the clifftops and rooftops of fabulous Monaco! CINERAMA SUNS YOU on the colorful Bikini-dotted beaches of the Riviera. CINERAMA WRAPS YOU in the beauty of a Japanese tea ceremony, amidst lush English greenery.”

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Cinerama
June 7, 1968
29 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Be One Of The First To Go To The Moon & Beyond” “An astounding entertainment experience. It takes you on a dazzling trip of discovery into the great age of exploration that is opening up for mankind among the planets and beyond.”

ICE STATION ZEBRA
Cinerama
December 23, 1968
13 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Ice Station Zebra…remember the name, your life may depend on it!”

KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA
Cinerama
June 25, 1969
14 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Gala Invitational Premiere Tonight At 8:00 PM…Sal Mineo In Person…Mayors and Other Celebrities…Free Pupus and Refreshments at Intermission …You are there with the treasure hunters locked together in fantastic adventure! The Movie for Everyone”

THIS IS CINERAMA (Re-Issue)
Cinerama
May 24, 1973
4 weeks
70mm / 24fps / 6-track stereo
“Life Is Moments … Moments that are unforgettable. One such moment was 20 years ago when Lowell Thomas stunned the entertainment world with this announcement: ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Cinerama!’ As the great curtains opened … and opened … and opened, Cinerama put YOU – the audience – into the picture. It revolutionized motion pictures, and THIS IS CINERAMA went on to set long-run records in every city. 1973 Premiere Tonight At 7:30 PM” “THIS IS CINERAMA Is Back To Entertain A Whole New Generation”

CINERAMA FILMS NOT SHOWN IN THE HONOLULU MARKET:
HOLIDAY IN SPAIN
THE BEST OF CINERAMA
MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY (roadshow at Queen)
RUSSIAN ADVENTURE
CUSTER OF THE WEST (general release only)

TRIVIA / NOTES:
Honolulu was the 22nd market in the United States to equip for Cinerama presentations.

The Cinerama Theater was a renovation of the Pawaa Theater.

The Cinerama Theater’s projectors are currently installed in the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles.

REFERENCES:
Various issues of Boxoffice, The Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and Variety.

OTHER ENTRIES IN THIS SERIES:
Part 1: New York
Part 2: Chicago
Part 3: San Francisco
Part 4: Houston
Part 5: Washington, DC
Part 6: Los Angeles
Part 7: Atlanta
Part 8: San Diego
Part 9: Dallas
Part 10: Oklahoma City
Part 11: Syracuse
Part 12: Toronto
Part 13: Columbus
Part 14: Montreal
Part 15: Northern New Jersey
Part 16: Charlotte
Part 17: Vancouver
Part 18: Salt Lake City
Part 19: Boston
Part 20: Philadelphia
Part 21: Fresno
Part 22: Detroit
Part 23: Minneapolis
Part 24: Albuquerque
Part 25: El Paso
Part 26: Des Moines
Part 27: Miami
Part 28: Orange County
Part 29: Pittsburgh
Part 30: Baltimore
Part 31: Syosset / Long Island
Part 32: Kansas City
Part 33: Milwaukee
Part 34: Nanuet / Lower Hudson Valley
Part 35: Denver
Part 36: Worcester
Part 37: Toledo
Part 38: St. Louis
Part 39: Tampa
Part 40: Calgary
Part 41: Hartford
Part 42: Albany
Part 43: New Haven
Part 44: Sacramento
Part 45: Las Vegas
Part 46: Seattle
Part 47: Phoenix
Part 48: Orlando
Part 49: Cleveland
Part 50: Portland
Part 51: Rochester
Part 52: New Orleans
Part 53: San Jose
Part 54: Omaha
Part 55: Buffalo

(Thanks to Honolulu Magazine for providing the photo.)

Theaters in this post

• Cinerama Hollywood
• Hawaii Cinerama
• Princess Theatre
• Queen Theater