As a note of interest…the Valentine Theater, which became the “new home” of Cinerama in 1964 after the Paramount Theater closed had to mothball the Cinerama equipment after Cinema I got the exclusive rights to show 70mm Cinerama films in early 1966. For a very brief time the Cinerama screen was brought back in April of 1973 through 1974. They showed the following in 70mm… Hello Dolly, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Fiddler On The Roof (blow-up), This Is Cinerama and Song of Norway. These were the only 70mm films I can recall them showing. The Valentine closed as a movie theater in 1975. The Valentine’s installation blew away the Cinema I installation…better screen, better sound system.
Some Cinerama films were shown at the Falls Theater in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. Were you planning to to consider this as a separate market or include it in the Cleveland retrospective?
I thought it would be interesting at this stage in the series to provide an updated list, arranged alphabetically, of the completed and yet-to-be-completed North American Cinerama markets. The completed entries have been courtesy-linked to their dedicated page.
Note that Fargo, Tacoma and Tucson are unconfirmed; it has not been definitively determined if those markets had an official Cinerama venue and/or showed any Cinerama presentations.
In time, some international markets will be featured in the series.
I cannot end this post without thanking my collaborators on this project, in particular Al Alvarez, Kirk Besse, Bill Huelbig, Mark Huffstetler, Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Stan Malone, Gabriel Neeb, Jim Perry, Bob Throop, and Vince Young.
And, finally, if any Cinema Treasures readers have access to the relevant resources and would like to contribute to the completion of the yet-to-be-completed Cinerama markets, please contact me.
I knew that this was the case with regard to D-150 equipped houses, but I was not aware that Cinerama, Inc. had a similar policy. I guess the fee must have been exorbitant or exhibitors did not in general think it was worth it as I cannot recall very many instances of 70mm non-Cinerama films being promoted this way.
During that time as long as you paid the fee to Cinerama or D-150. You could say Presented in Cinerama or Presented in or on the D-150 screen. So if you paid the fee you could advertise and use the full screen. This was for the 70MM presentations. The masking contols in the booth had an extra masking stop marked.
I assume that advertising “Around the World in Eighty Days” as being shown in Cinerama was a local promotional idea. The screen at the Cinema 1 (later the Showcase Cinemas) was not that deeply curved (compared to the Paramount’s) and only 70mm Cinerama films played there; I suppose any 70mm film could have been shown there with minimal distortion. There were a couple cases I have read about, especially in Europe, where a few other films (such as “Song of Norway”) were advertised as being “presented in Cinerama” or “playing on the big Cinerama screen”. I don’t know if the Cinerama, Inc. folks knew about this or if they objected.
I assume that advertising “Around the World in Eighty Days” as being shown in Cinerama was a local promotional idea. The screen at the Cinema 1 (later the Showcase Cinemas) was not that deeply curved screen (compared to the Paramount’s) and only showed 70mm Cinerama films played there; I suppose any 70mm film could have been shown there with minimal distortion. There were a couple cases I have read about, especially in Europe, where a few other films (such as “Song of Norway”) were advertised as being “presented in Cinerama” or “playing on the big Cinerama screen”. I don’t know if the Cinerama, Inc. folks knew about this or if they objected.
“One of these things is not like the other,
One of these things just doesn’t belong,
Can you guess which thing is not like the other,
Before I finish my song.”
As a note of interest…the Valentine Theater, which became the “new home” of Cinerama in 1964 after the Paramount Theater closed had to mothball the Cinerama equipment after Cinema I got the exclusive rights to show 70mm Cinerama films in early 1966. For a very brief time the Cinerama screen was brought back in April of 1973 through 1974. They showed the following in 70mm… Hello Dolly, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Fiddler On The Roof (blow-up), This Is Cinerama and Song of Norway. These were the only 70mm films I can recall them showing. The Valentine closed as a movie theater in 1975. The Valentine’s installation blew away the Cinema I installation…better screen, better sound system.
1960 ad at View link
also have a look at the front section for another ad for Cinerama.
Cuyahoga Falls is in the Akron market.
Some Cinerama films were shown at the Falls Theater in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. Were you planning to to consider this as a separate market or include it in the Cleveland retrospective?
I thought it would be interesting at this stage in the series to provide an updated list, arranged alphabetically, of the completed and yet-to-be-completed North American Cinerama markets. The completed entries have been courtesy-linked to their dedicated page.
Akron
Albany
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Baltimore
Birmingham
Boston
Buffalo
Calgary
Charlotte
Chattanooga
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Dallas
Dayton
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
Edmonton
El Paso
Fargo
Erie
Fresno
Harrisburg
Hartford
Honolulu
Houston
Huntsville
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Knoxville
Las Vegas
Lawrence, MA
London, ON
Long Island
Los Angeles
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milan, IL/Quad Cities
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Montreal
Nanuet/Lower Hudson Valley
Nashville
New Haven
New Orleans
New York City
Norfolk/Hampton Roads
Northern New Jersey
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Orange County, CA
Orlando
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
Portland
Providence
Reno
Rochester
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose
Scranton
Seattle
Springfield, MA
Syracuse
Tacoma
Tampa
Toledo
Toronto
Tucson
Tulsa
Vancouver
Washington, DC
Wichita
Winnipeg
Worcester
Note that Fargo, Tacoma and Tucson are unconfirmed; it has not been definitively determined if those markets had an official Cinerama venue and/or showed any Cinerama presentations.
In time, some international markets will be featured in the series.
I cannot end this post without thanking my collaborators on this project, in particular Al Alvarez, Kirk Besse, Bill Huelbig, Mark Huffstetler, Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Stan Malone, Gabriel Neeb, Jim Perry, Bob Throop, and Vince Young.
And, finally, if any Cinema Treasures readers have access to the relevant resources and would like to contribute to the completion of the yet-to-be-completed Cinerama markets, please contact me.
I knew that this was the case with regard to D-150 equipped houses, but I was not aware that Cinerama, Inc. had a similar policy. I guess the fee must have been exorbitant or exhibitors did not in general think it was worth it as I cannot recall very many instances of 70mm non-Cinerama films being promoted this way.
During that time as long as you paid the fee to Cinerama or D-150. You could say Presented in Cinerama or Presented in or on the D-150 screen. So if you paid the fee you could advertise and use the full screen. This was for the 70MM presentations. The masking contols in the booth had an extra masking stop marked.
I assume that advertising “Around the World in Eighty Days” as being shown in Cinerama was a local promotional idea. The screen at the Cinema 1 (later the Showcase Cinemas) was not that deeply curved (compared to the Paramount’s) and only 70mm Cinerama films played there; I suppose any 70mm film could have been shown there with minimal distortion. There were a couple cases I have read about, especially in Europe, where a few other films (such as “Song of Norway”) were advertised as being “presented in Cinerama” or “playing on the big Cinerama screen”. I don’t know if the Cinerama, Inc. folks knew about this or if they objected.
I assume that advertising “Around the World in Eighty Days” as being shown in Cinerama was a local promotional idea. The screen at the Cinema 1 (later the Showcase Cinemas) was not that deeply curved screen (compared to the Paramount’s) and only showed 70mm Cinerama films played there; I suppose any 70mm film could have been shown there with minimal distortion. There were a couple cases I have read about, especially in Europe, where a few other films (such as “Song of Norway”) were advertised as being “presented in Cinerama” or “playing on the big Cinerama screen”. I don’t know if the Cinerama, Inc. folks knew about this or if they objected.
“One of these things is not like the other,
One of these things just doesn’t belong,
Can you guess which thing is not like the other,
Before I finish my song.”
Sure is one BIG surprise in this list!