I thank my fellow posters for any info about Circus
World’s Cinerama reserved seat engagement at the
Uptown. granted its not Oscar material but I found it
even on vhs to be a corny hokey enjoyable popcorn
movie. so I should think on a giant curved screen
with stereophonic sound it would have been that much
more enjoyable. to which its roadshow run of only
3 weeks at the Uptown is just utterly bizarre when
you consider its roadshow runs in other cities lasted
from 15 to 23 weeks.
since this is the movie theater in Manhattan
today i have a question for my fellow Ziegfeld
devotees. the 1st time movies or flickers as they
were called were projected on screen in a
theater before a paying audience was the night
of April 25, 1896 at Koster and Bail’s Music
Hall on 34th St.. and the rest as they say is
history. now for the first several of the biz
whatever “movie theaters” existed in Manhattan
were music halls, vaudville theaters, legitmate
theaters or decent sized unused retail spaces
that were simply converted top show movies.
which is where my question comes in. i have been
trying to determine what was the 1st theater built
in Manhattan brick by brick by the ground up with
the purpose of being a picture house to use the old term. anyone have any clues?
I always thought the Cinema Village which has
been a beacon for film goers for at 50?
years was built from the ground up as a movie
theater. but I read it was actually built within
the gutted skeletal structure of an 1890s
firehouse. how much of the firehouse actually
exists?
thanks for all the replies. I know I set a rather
tight parameter but I was interested in what grand old time theaters other than the Chinese that were
built from the get go as 1st run venues have continued
to operate as such since the day they opened. the area in an around Hollywood is luck they have 3 that fit my criteria, Manhattan doesn’t have any.
thanks for your quick reply. unfortunately the
grand El Capitan doesn’t qualify since it wasn’t
built as a movie theater. it opened in 1926 as
a legitimate theater for live shows and didn’t
start showing films till Citizen Kane in 1941.
so based on your reply other than the Chinese the
Village and Bruin theaters both in Westwood are
the only old time movie theaters in or around Hollywood
that were built from the get go as 1st run venues and
have continued to operate as such since the day they opened?
I know what you mean about Oscar bait films not
living up to the hype. I saw Birdman based on all
the Oscar juggernaut/hoopla talk. well it was 2hrs.
of my life wasted i’ll never get back. and the final
third or resolution section of Gone Girl totally ruined the film for me.
I saw the film last weekend but not at this
theater which I had planned to but as they say
things happen. now I thought the sound at the
theater I saw it at was fine. so might someone
explain to me what the complaints are about.
if I am not mistaken its been everyone’s assumption
that the reason the curtains at the Ziegfeld hadn’t
been used in God knows how long was because the
mechanism to open and close them was broken. plus
neither Clearview nor Bow Tie wanted to spend the
money to fix said mechanism. but apparently said
mechanism isn’t broken so why haven’t the curtains
been used in God knows how long?
several months back I posted a question and I was
wondering if anyone had any new info. the question
was simple. April 25, 1896 was a pivotal point in
movie history , it was the 1st time movies were
projected on a screen in a theater before a paying
audience. the theater being Koster Bail’s Music
Hall at Bway & 34 St.. now whatever “movie theaters”
existed in Manhattan in the first several years
of the biz were music halls, vaudeville theaters,
legitimate theaters or decent sized unused retail
spaces simply converted to show “flickers”. so
wouldn’t the 1st theater built brick by brick from
the ground up as a “picture house” been made note
of in the press at the time?
the first i was able to find was the Crescent which
was located at 36 W. 135 St. and opened on the nite
of Dec. 16 ,1909.
the reason the Ziegfeld is never “packed” to use
your term no matter how good the film might be is
quite simple- whatever big film opens here also
opens at countless other theaters in Manhattan. and
people naturally go to theaters closest to them.
thanks for the reply to my question. I knew
when the Roxy was closed but had no idea what the
last film was. I had never heard of the “The Wind
Cannot Read” so I naturally assumed it was a B
movie but according to MarkD. that’s not the case.
I had no idea “The Gazebo” was the last big studio
film to debut at the Roxy.
I first posted this question some time ago so
I was wondering if anyone had additional info.
at the point the Roxy was closed the movie biz
was still operating on the A Level, B and even
C Levels of movie production. so what was the
last big A Level studio film to play the Roxy?
i am a tad confused. at the top of this
page there are- Home,Theaters,Photos,Video,
Blog and About. so is just the page denoted
by “Blog” going on hiatus or is the entire
wonderful site going puff?
like Bill H. I hope the film is as good as all
the hype its getting. also I know I will get into
whatever showing I want. the film will be playing
at several other theaters in Manhattan and for
some reason people consider this theater “off the
beaten path”.
i have a question for my fellow L.A film buffs.
this theater is the only one of the grand old movie
theaters built in the hayday of such construction
that was as built as a 1st run venue and has continued
to operate as such since the day it opened. so
i was wondering what is the second oldest movie
theater in L.A. that was built from the get go as
a 1st run venue and as continued to operate as
such since the day it opened.
i made a big OPPS! in my last post. i said
Patrick Adriatre would be the only major cast
member of TKAI still with us. so i apologize to
Rita Moreno and Rex Thompson for not including
them.
as always thank you for your reply. I just read the
Wikipedia articles on both films and its still
a bit confusing. the site states the 3 songs from
The King and I were just recorded but never actually filmed which is confusing. I remember seeing a
stills montage to go along with what Deborah Kerr
and Marni Nixon recorded for “Shall I Tell…”. so if
there are stills from “Shall I Tell….” doesn’t that
indicate it was actually shot contradicting what
Wikipedia says. i guess the definitive answer would
come from Patrick Adriarte who played the King’s
oldest son who is I believe the only major cast
member of the film still alive.
also the Wikipedia article on Carousel is likewise
confusing. it says the two songs i mentioned were
left out of the release print of the film because
Fox wanted to keep the film at 2hrs. 8mins. they
don’t actually say the songs were never filmed which
leads me to believe the two songs were in fact shot.
I suppose the definitive answer to my query could
be asked of Shirley Jones the only major cast member
of the film still alive.
one of my favorite musicals ever is
The King and I which premiered at this
theater. to which a question. on the
soundtrack album are three tracks/scenes
which never appeared in any release of
the film-a)My Lord and Master sung by
Tuptim, b)Shall I Tell You What I Think
Of You sung by Mrs. Anna and one of the two
duets between Tuptim and Long Tu. now for
devotees of this film- were those 3
tracks recorded but never filmed or were
recorded and filmed but 20th Century Fox
for whatever reason in the post-production
process decided not to use them. it must
have seemed strange at the time for them
to release a soundtrack album with songs
not in the film. you figure they’d only
put songs on the album that were in the
film.
20th Century Fox did this again with
Carousel which also premiered at this
theater in 1956. two songs on the soundtrack
album a)You’re A Queer One Julie Jordan and
b)Stonecutters Cut It In Stone were never
included in any release print of the film.
so like The King and I were these two songs
recorded but never filmed or were they
filmed as well and the footage for whatever
reason was never used.
I always wondered what the comments referred to. I
always assumed it was on the quality of the projection
and sound. so are all the comments about The Master’s
screening at this theater about the film itself or
the projection and sound?
I saw The Master its opening weekend at the
main auditorium of the Village East Cinemas
on 2nd Ave. and 12t St.. the 70MM projection
and sound were first rate. what went wrong at
the Ziegfeld since everyone seems to be
commenting on it.
I do hope Interstellar gives this theater a nice
boost. but is it really necessary to order tickets
in advance? since the studios started opening films
at 2,000-3,000 theaters on the same I don’t think
its necessary. I have found that no matter how well
received a film is critically you know you’ll get
a seat even on Sat. and Sun.. in the past few years
the only time I have seen a substantial crowd was
the day after Christmas 2012 when I saw Les Miserables.
the theater was approx. a 3rd full.
you make a most interesting suggestion in that
CT should have a page devoted just to souvenir
programs. to which i have a question for you.
the prime roadshow period as i have stated was
the October 1955 opening of “Oklahoma” to the
Dec. 1972 opening of “Man of La Mancha”. now i
didn’t go to every such film in that period but
everyone i did go to had a souvenir program. so
here’s my question- during this period the
studios still opened their continuous performance
films in 1 maybe 2 theaters in Manhattan. so
of these films how do you think the studios decided
which would have souvenir programs?
i thank you for your take on the statement made
in the doc. and the souvenir program. you have to
admit said statement could have been worded better
since it does give the impression that there
were purpose built movie theaters in Manhattan prior
to the Spring of 1913.
Hello-
I thank my fellow posters for any info about Circus World’s Cinerama reserved seat engagement at the Uptown. granted its not Oscar material but I found it even on vhs to be a corny hokey enjoyable popcorn
movie. so I should think on a giant curved screen with stereophonic sound it would have been that much more enjoyable. to which its roadshow run of only 3 weeks at the Uptown is just utterly bizarre when you consider its roadshow runs in other cities lasted from 15 to 23 weeks.
Hello-
since this is the movie theater in Manhattan today i have a question for my fellow Ziegfeld devotees. the 1st time movies or flickers as they were called were projected on screen in a theater before a paying audience was the night of April 25, 1896 at Koster and Bail’s Music Hall on 34th St.. and the rest as they say is history. now for the first several of the biz whatever “movie theaters” existed in Manhattan were music halls, vaudville theaters, legitmate theaters or decent sized unused retail spaces that were simply converted top show movies.
which is where my question comes in. i have been trying to determine what was the 1st theater built in Manhattan brick by brick by the ground up with the purpose of being a picture house to use the old term. anyone have any clues?
Hello-
I always thought the Cinema Village which has been a beacon for film goers for at 50? years was built from the ground up as a movie theater. but I read it was actually built within the gutted skeletal structure of an 1890s firehouse. how much of the firehouse actually exists?
Hello Again From NYC-
thanks for all the replies. I know I set a rather tight parameter but I was interested in what grand old time theaters other than the Chinese that were built from the get go as 1st run venues have continued to operate as such since the day they opened. the area in an around Hollywood is luck they have 3 that fit my criteria, Manhattan doesn’t have any.
also where is the Vista?
to Roger A.–
thanks for your quick reply. unfortunately the grand El Capitan doesn’t qualify since it wasn’t built as a movie theater. it opened in 1926 as a legitimate theater for live shows and didn’t start showing films till Citizen Kane in 1941. so based on your reply other than the Chinese the Village and Bruin theaters both in Westwood are the only old time movie theaters in or around Hollywood that were built from the get go as 1st run venues and have continued to operate as such since the day they opened?
to Bill H.–
I know what you mean about Oscar bait films not living up to the hype. I saw Birdman based on all the Oscar juggernaut/hoopla talk. well it was 2hrs. of my life wasted i’ll never get back. and the final third or resolution section of Gone Girl totally ruined the film for me.
Hello From NYC-
I would greatly appreciate it someone answered my question of Oct. 14. thanks.
Hello-
I saw the film last weekend but not at this theater which I had planned to but as they say things happen. now I thought the sound at the theater I saw it at was fine. so might someone explain to me what the complaints are about.
Hello to All-
if I am not mistaken its been everyone’s assumption that the reason the curtains at the Ziegfeld hadn’t been used in God knows how long was because the mechanism to open and close them was broken. plus neither Clearview nor Bow Tie wanted to spend the money to fix said mechanism. but apparently said mechanism isn’t broken so why haven’t the curtains been used in God knows how long?
Hello Again-
did I understand correctly that the curtains were
used for the 1st time in God knows how long?
Hello to All-
several months back I posted a question and I was wondering if anyone had any new info. the question was simple. April 25, 1896 was a pivotal point in movie history , it was the 1st time movies were projected on a screen in a theater before a paying audience. the theater being Koster Bail’s Music Hall at Bway & 34 St.. now whatever “movie theaters” existed in Manhattan in the first several years of the biz were music halls, vaudeville theaters, legitimate theaters or decent sized unused retail spaces simply converted to show “flickers”. so wouldn’t the 1st theater built brick by brick from the ground up as a “picture house” been made note of in the press at the time?
the first i was able to find was the Crescent which was located at 36 W. 135 St. and opened on the nite of Dec. 16 ,1909.
to MarkP.–
the reason the Ziegfeld is never “packed” to use your term no matter how good the film might be is quite simple- whatever big film opens here also opens at countless other theaters in Manhattan. and people naturally go to theaters closest to them.
Hello Again-
thanks for the reply to my question. I knew when the Roxy was closed but had no idea what the last film was. I had never heard of the “The Wind Cannot Read” so I naturally assumed it was a B movie but according to MarkD. that’s not the case. I had no idea “The Gazebo” was the last big studio film to debut at the Roxy.
Hello-
I first posted this question some time ago so I was wondering if anyone had additional info. at the point the Roxy was closed the movie biz was still operating on the A Level, B and even C Levels of movie production. so what was the last big A Level studio film to play the Roxy?
Hello-
i am a tad confused. at the top of this page there are- Home,Theaters,Photos,Video, Blog and About. so is just the page denoted by “Blog” going on hiatus or is the entire wonderful site going puff?
Hello-
like Bill H. I hope the film is as good as all the hype its getting. also I know I will get into whatever showing I want. the film will be playing at several other theaters in Manhattan and for some reason people consider this theater “off the beaten path”.
Hello From NYC-
i have a question for my fellow L.A film buffs. this theater is the only one of the grand old movie theaters built in the hayday of such construction that was as built as a 1st run venue and has continued to operate as such since the day it opened. so i was wondering what is the second oldest movie theater in L.A. that was built from the get go as a 1st run venue and as continued to operate as such since the day it opened.
Hello Again-
i made a big OPPS! in my last post. i said Patrick Adriatre would be the only major cast member of TKAI still with us. so i apologize to Rita Moreno and Rex Thompson for not including them.
to Escott N.–
as always thank you for your reply. I just read the Wikipedia articles on both films and its still a bit confusing. the site states the 3 songs from The King and I were just recorded but never actually filmed which is confusing. I remember seeing a stills montage to go along with what Deborah Kerr and Marni Nixon recorded for “Shall I Tell…”. so if there are stills from “Shall I Tell….” doesn’t that indicate it was actually shot contradicting what Wikipedia says. i guess the definitive answer would come from Patrick Adriarte who played the King’s oldest son who is I believe the only major cast member of the film still alive.
also the Wikipedia article on Carousel is likewise confusing. it says the two songs i mentioned were left out of the release print of the film because Fox wanted to keep the film at 2hrs. 8mins. they don’t actually say the songs were never filmed which leads me to believe the two songs were in fact shot. I suppose the definitive answer to my query could be asked of Shirley Jones the only major cast member
of the film still alive.
Hello to All-
one of my favorite musicals ever is The King and I which premiered at this theater. to which a question. on the soundtrack album are three tracks/scenes which never appeared in any release of
the film-a)My Lord and Master sung by Tuptim, b)Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You sung by Mrs. Anna and one of the two duets between Tuptim and Long Tu. now for devotees of this film- were those 3 tracks recorded but never filmed or were recorded and filmed but 20th Century Fox for whatever reason in the post-production process decided not to use them. it must have seemed strange at the time for them to release a soundtrack album with songs not in the film. you figure they’d only put songs on the album that were in the film.
20th Century Fox did this again with Carousel which also premiered at this theater in 1956. two songs on the soundtrack album a)You’re A Queer One Julie Jordan and b)Stonecutters Cut It In Stone were never included in any release print of the film. so like The King and I were these two songs recorded but never filmed or were they filmed as well and the footage for whatever reason was never used.
Hello Again-
I always wondered what the comments referred to. I always assumed it was on the quality of the projection and sound. so are all the comments about The Master’s screening at this theater about the film itself or the projection and sound?
Hello-
I saw The Master its opening weekend at the main auditorium of the Village East Cinemas on 2nd Ave. and 12t St.. the 70MM projection and sound were first rate. what went wrong at the Ziegfeld since everyone seems to be commenting on it.
Hello-
I do hope Interstellar gives this theater a nice boost. but is it really necessary to order tickets in advance? since the studios started opening films at 2,000-3,000 theaters on the same I don’t think its necessary. I have found that no matter how well received a film is critically you know you’ll get a seat even on Sat. and Sun.. in the past few years the only time I have seen a substantial crowd was the day after Christmas 2012 when I saw Les Miserables. the theater was approx. a 3rd full.
to techman707-
you make a most interesting suggestion in that CT should have a page devoted just to souvenir programs. to which i have a question for you.
the prime roadshow period as i have stated was the October 1955 opening of “Oklahoma” to the Dec. 1972 opening of “Man of La Mancha”. now i didn’t go to every such film in that period but everyone i did go to had a souvenir program. so here’s my question- during this period the studios still opened their continuous performance films in 1 maybe 2 theaters in Manhattan. so of these films how do you think the studios decided which would have souvenir programs?
to Howard B. –
i thank you for your take on the statement made in the doc. and the souvenir program. you have to admit said statement could have been worded better since it does give the impression that there were purpose built movie theaters in Manhattan prior to the Spring of 1913.