Rivoli Theatre

OK that explains it. I’ve mentioned before that I was walking with my father in front of the Criterion-maybe it was March 17 ‘70 when we went to see the parade and Airport at Radio City- and the Criterion had a huge sign out front saying the performance was sold out. I think that’s why I was surprised it was playing in the suburbs that summer. I thought it would have a long roadshow run.

But then Kubrick predicted a two year run on Broadway for 2001.

Fiddler was an anomaly in that roadshow musicals and epics were pretty much dead at that point. In ‘69 and '70 there weren’t any successful roadshow films that opened. Patton was a successful film but it didn’t seem to run very long at the Criterion on roadshow. By the summer of '70 it was playing in the suburbs.

And a number of films that were planned to be roadshow were cancelled or if completed changed their marketing strategy and opened continuous run. So by ‘71 Fiddler was a one off and as I said started to play reserved performances in a number of markets. And even though it had reserved seats it was playing from the beginning for all intensive purposes continuous performances on Saturday and Sunday with extra matinees during the week as opposed to Funny Girl and Oliver’s more traditional schedule.

MAN OF LA MANCHA played for about 18 weeks. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF played for a year and outgrossed both FUNNY GIRL and OLIVER!.

Hello-

thanks to Ed S. et all for your replies about souvenir programs. I was particularly interested in the prime roadshow period from the Oct. 1955 premiere of Oklahoma to the Dec. 1972 premiere of Man of La Mancha. during this period the studios still opened continuous performance films in single exclusive engagements. so generally how big did a non-reserve seat film have to be to have a souvenir program?

speaking of which the last souvenir program I bought at a theater was a specially designed souvenir program for the limited 2 week run of Hercules at the newly renovated New Amsterdam Theater.

Big Joe, I still have souvenir programs for movies like Reds, Star Wars, Rocky II, Moonraker, Octopussy, etc. And a number of those booklets were neighborhood engagements. Of course, distribution and roll out was much different in the latter ‘70’s and ‘80’s than it was during the roadshow period.

Well, I stand corrected. That La Mancha figure seems appropriately dismal, but I am really surprised at how low the SOM results were. Guess I was influenced by the local business. I do recall reading the weekly grosses in Variety at the time and the results for LaMancha were well behind the “year ago” results for Fiddler even though Fiddler had started in November ‘71 and LaMancha not until December '72.

Al, La Mancha played at the old Martin Cinerama, by then operated by Walter Reade as The Atlanta, and was a huge bust. When it moved to a suburban house it failed there as well. SOM, on the other hand, was a massive hit during its 70mm reissue run at Martin’s suburban Georgia Cinerama. While still doing sell out business it was pulled by Fox so that they could get the neighborhood release in before summer ended.

Of course I am speaking only for the Atlanta market and I assume you are talking nationally, but I still find it hard to believe that La Mancha beat the SOM reissue.

Man of LaMancha was the final nail in the coffin for Hollywood roadshow movies and theaters. It wasn’t even an exclusive NY engagement which would formerly at least last until the early summer before spreading out to suburban roadshow theaters.

The Century in Paramus was an abysmal theater. A beautiful single screen cut right down the middle so much of the theater was looking at a small screen at an angle.

Also if the Rivoli hadn’t booked this I bet 20th Century Fox would have gotten it for the re-release of The Sound of Music during Easter of ‘73. La Mancha ended well before that and SOM ended up in the dismal National.

Great photo of 7th Av Cleopatra billboard for Rivoli.

Don’t know if this is an urban legend or if it happened with the original ad campaign but I read it had to do with the this billboard.

Harrison was not included. He threatened to sue and they painted him in. It does look like he’s an afterthought.

Finally got to see it when they restored it in ‘13. Thought it was terrific. Great Mankiewicz script. 'Egyptian generosity, two heads for the price of one!’ And that final tableau which turns into a painting is a stunner on a large screen.

Lawrence at the Criterion and Cleopatra at the Rivoli. I envy those of you who were going to NY cinemas then.

Frenchman’s Creek photo. Sensational. Imagine that in color. No wonder people were movie crazy. Though to be honest never heard of it.

Great Rivoli photos with Moonraker marquee and 7th Av billboard. Thank you!

Only thing is I wish they hadn’t replaced the neon frame of the marquee with the plain boring chrome. Anyone know when it was changed?

I believe it was still there in the early 70s. Same thing happened with the very cool modern Criterion marquee. Again I believed it happened there sometime during the 70s.

Newly-published retrospective article which includes mention of the record-breaking two-year run at the Rivoli. Around the World in 60 Years: Remembering “Around the World in 80 Days” on its 60th Anniversary