Radio City Music Hall

1260 6th Avenue,
New York, NY 10020

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VincentParisi
VincentParisi on November 23, 2004 at 1:48 pm

Today Crowthers reviews are pretty uninteresting but he did write a Sunday essay in the Arts and Leisure section of the NYT’s after the opening of The Happiest Millionaire as the Christmas attraction in December of ‘67. He found the film so bad and the product at the Hall so poor that he wondered what was going on with the selection committee. Well things were only going to get considerably worse.

RobertR
RobertR on November 23, 2004 at 8:18 am

I saw Gone With the Wind here the time they blew it up to 70mm.

sethbook
sethbook on November 23, 2004 at 8:11 am

I’ve seen exactly two movies at Radio City. The first was “Robin and Marion” in the 1970s. My father’s cousin took me. It also featured a Rockettes show. The second movie was in 1989; the 50th Anniversary of Gone with the Wind. Since the movie was filmed in a smaller aspect ratio, the screen at Radio City was perfect for it. There’s not a bad seat in the house. THe last time I was there was 1991, for a Joe Jackson concert.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on November 22, 2004 at 10:49 am

Nice article to enjoy in today’s New York Daily News at this link: http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/big_town/

VincentParisi
VincentParisi on November 22, 2004 at 8:57 am

I doubt that the Music Hall would have played Guitar but Quiet Man would have been a great choice. John Ford had a couple of good movies at the Hall in the 30’s. They should have continued to show his films like they did with LeRoy, Wyler, Donen and Hitchcock. Does Mr. Roberts count as LeRoy or Ford?

Simon L. Saltzman
Simon L. Saltzman on November 22, 2004 at 8:06 am

Yes, Wayne battled an octopus in both “Wake…” and “Reap…” The only difference was the former was in black and white and the latter in Technicolor.

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on November 22, 2004 at 8:06 am

Vincent— right, it was “Reap,” not “Wake.”

VincentParisi
VincentParisi on November 22, 2004 at 7:40 am

Wasn’t the octopus in Reap the Wild Wind?
I think the boom years ended at the Music Hall in ‘55 which I’ve read was the last year it was in the black. It seems as well at that point that the quality of product became inconsistent though not as bad as it became in the latter 60’s after the success of Barefoot in the Park in '67.
Also the Hall started holding films a lot longer than they should have to avoid the costs of new stage shows. I’ll never forget how often the house was empty for Robin and Marion even before Easter.
I still can’t figure why anyone there saw this as a holiday film.
What a depressing, grainy, washed out, mediocre film( I won’t even go into the stage show.) Well that was the thinking that was going on in the exec offices of Rockefeller Center at the time.

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on November 21, 2004 at 8:37 pm

Right—Previously “Cavalcade” ran at the Gaiety (aka Victoria, aka Embassy 5—I never got used to that last name), where it had opened on 5 January 1933—so the film’s original run wasn’t more than three months. Less for “The Sign of the Cross,” which had opened on 30 November 1932 at the Rivoli and then on 2 February at RCMH. Its predecessor there was “State Fair” (Will Rogers!), which had opened on 26 January, and its successor was “Topaze,” which opened on 9 February. Charles Francisco mentions an on-stage chariot race, but does not link it to any specific film. If so, management was clearly experimenting with format. DeMille next took over its screen on 26 March ‘42 with “Wake of the Red Witch” at the start of the boom years, finishing with a till-then record of five weeks, and next with “The Greatest Show on Earth,” opening on 10 January '52 and running until “Singin’ in the Rain” dislodged it eleven weeks later for the Easter show at the middle of the boom years. Both “Wake” and “Greatest Show” used the MagnaScope screen for the climactic octopus and train-wreck sequences. (Simon: thanks for the tip about widescreenmuseum.com—the posse has finally retrieved me.)

Simon L. Saltzman
Simon L. Saltzman on November 21, 2004 at 5:43 pm

“Cavalcade” (Opened April 6, 1933 and closed April 19) was the first film to be held over for a second week at the Music Hall. It grossed $110,000 in its second week (Easter week) topping the first week gross of $105,000. It was the highest grossing film up to that point. The previous top week was “Topaz” (Feb 9-15) with the help of Amos and Andy in the stage show. “Cavalcade” held the record until “Little Women” opened on November 12 and grossed $118,000 (with a slight hike in the top admission price from .99 to $1.05. and played an unprecedented 3 weeks. No film came close to the record until “Top Hat” opened on August 29, 1935 and grossed $134,000. It also played 3 weeks. No other film came close for many years. In general, attendance at the Music Hall was very spotty (many weeks in the red) until the start of World War II. The boom years lasted about 18 years from 1942 to 1960).

VincentParisi
VincentParisi on November 21, 2004 at 9:58 am

Guys,
Before Cavalcade for Easter there was DeMilles Sign of the Cross(which presented on stage a march of the gladiators and a chariot race!) which like Cavalcade was hard ticket on Broadway first. Obviously the Music Hall was more flexible back then(King Kong was shared with a theater a block away) which I wish it had become during the 60’s considering the dreck they started playing later in the decade and the musicals they could have played like Thoroughly Modern Millie, Half a Sixpence and Chitty Chitty Banb Bang. Though if not great product(I happen to think the first two are wonderful) would have been better and bigger draws on second run than stuff like The Bobo, Sweet November, Hail Hero and the Brotherhood, and The Christmas Tree on first.)Also Oliver for Christmas ‘69 would have been 10x’s better than A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
The first film revival was Mary Poppins in '73 and when I read that earlier in that year I thought well now the Music Hall is getting a watchable movie.

Mike (saps)
Mike (saps) on November 20, 2004 at 10:43 am

Cavalcade is a great but mostly forgotten Best Picture winner, and there’s no shame in it moving over to RCMH! It still runs on the Fox Movie Channel (talk about moving over) so try to catch it if you can.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on November 20, 2004 at 8:43 am

Warren:
According to Charles Francisco’s bok “The Radio City Music Hall-An Affectionate History of the World’s Greatest Theater” (1979) the next time that RCMH played a movie that wasn’t first-run there (after Cavalcade in 1933) was in early 1975 when it played “Gone With the Wind”

PGlenat
PGlenat on November 20, 2004 at 8:43 am

Warren, over Roxy’s dead body, I’m thinking.

Vito
Vito on November 20, 2004 at 4:57 am

The Christmas show is again featuring the 3-D ride. I wondered if anyone knows what method of projection is being used. I know
IMAX 3-D is projected with two (left eye, right eye) 70mm prints.
It is oustanding.

chconnol
chconnol on November 12, 2004 at 8:51 am

What exactly “saved” Radio City from being demolished? I remember the hoopla back in 1977 (or 78?) when it looked like it was going the way of so many other theaters. It was in the papers EVERY SINGLE DAY. And I remember thinking, “no way…they can’t get rid of that.” And they didn’t. But I was too young to pay attention to the specifics as to how they managed to save it. Can someone fill me in?

Also, does anyone know how it’s doing these days, financially speaking? I work really close to this place and it’s almost always booked with something (HEY! Yanni’s coming on January 21st!!!!! Should be a sellout!!) so I assume it does OK at least.

Finally, (and this is such a stupid question) but…from looking at the theater from the outside (I work “above"it, so to speak) I just can’t seem to grasp "where” it is. From above, it just doesn’t seem that big but I know it is. Does the theater itself go into the ground or something? Because it just doesnt' seem that high from the outside. Please don’t think me stupid but it’s stumped me for years. It’s probably a question for an engineer.

William
William on November 4, 2004 at 7:02 am

The 70MM version of “The Jolson Story” did not premiere till August 22, 1975 and it opened at the nearby Ziegfeld Theatre. This was the first time this picture was released in the 70MM format. It was like what MGM did to “Gone With the Wind” in the mid 60’s, by cropping the picture.

Vito
Vito on November 4, 2004 at 3:47 am

The Rockettes could use a new act as well. Of course, I know this like beating a dead horse but a movie would be nice.

VincentParisi
VincentParisi on November 3, 2004 at 12:14 pm

The Music Hall seems to giving out so many free and steeply discounted tickets for the Christmas show that the people who run the place should seriously think about revamping the thing.(Like throwing out the junk with the midgets, the worst Nutcracker on the planet and the Las Vegas inspired Nativity.)

RobertR
RobertR on October 24, 2004 at 9:20 am

Warren
The live show proved so popular in October 79, that it was brought back for an encore run in February of 1980 for 6 more weeks. That is when I saw it. The tickets were $8- $15.

RobertR
RobertR on October 20, 2004 at 8:30 am

Warren
Thats so funny because two nights ago I came across the program from this show. This was one of the first live shows after the movie format was dropped. I can give you the dates when I get home.

HenryAldridge
HenryAldridge on October 6, 2004 at 6:36 am

Many thanks for the information about Dick Leibert.

MarkA
MarkA on September 30, 2004 at 5:45 pm

Henry,

According to a Westminster recording I have, Leibert at Home, “Dick Leibert studied the organ at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory of Music. He was from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and attended the Moravian Prep School there. He began to play the organ professionally at the age of 14 when he got a job as a theater organist for Loew’s in Washington, DC. Later, he toured for the Loew’s curcuit and played for two years at the Brooklyn Paramount. Against stiff competition, he won the auditions for the permanent post at Radio City Music Hall.”

It has been said that Leibert waited last to be auditioned for the Music Hall job. For his own audition piece, he improvised a medley of everything played by those before him. A friend of mine was an Associate Organist at the Music Hall in the 1950’s and told me that Leibert did the “Gala Supper Shows.”

During his tenure at the Music Hall, he lived in Westport CT. When he retired in 1971, leaving the position of Chief Organist to the late Ray Bohr, Leibert moved to Florida and continued to make appearances. I am not sure but I think he passed on around 1976.

Some of the music Leibert composed was Rosa Maria, Jasmine, English Lavender, Waltz to a Princess and Papa Won’t You Dance for Me? Although I never met him, his style at the Music Hall Grande Organ was his own. He know the instrument intimately and his style could be characterized as being “dark.”

I have also been told that Leibert and Bohr would spend time playing another Rockefeller Center organ before it was removed … the Center Theater’s. This organ was a 4/34 WurliTzer, a scaled down-version of the Music Hall’s (with many of the same ranks of pipes with the same type art-deco console, finished in natural cherry). The Music Hall organ wasn’t the only organ Leibert opened. He was loaned to the Rainbow Room to open its 3/10 WurliTzer (a residence model organ). I recently read that in Dan Okrent’s book, Great Fortune which is about the building of Rockefeller Center. He mentions Leibert a couple of times. Leibert more than likely used the Plaza Sound Studio 3/14 WurliTzer which was in Radio City Music Hall. (The organ, a custom model with a scaled down version of the big console downstairs, is in storage.)

I hope that you can used this information. Also, I hope you consider writing about the Music Hall’s last Chief Organist under the “old” show format, Raymond F. Bohr, Jr. Ray was an extremely talented organist and kindness personified. Ray passed away in 1986.

Simon L. Saltzman
Simon L. Saltzman on September 30, 2004 at 10:35 am

It’s worth mentioning that when “Gilda” played RCMH, they had no policy regarding children as long as they were accompanied by an adult. However, when “Gilda” went to the nabes, it was a different story. I remember my aunt being turned away by the manager who stood by the boxoffice at the Ritz Theater in Elizabeth, N.J. I remember him saying to her, “Sorry, this film is for adults only.” We did go to see “Forever Amber” at the Roxy, because she was afraid she would be turned away at Proctor’s in Newark, if she had me with her. (I had one of those wonderful aunts that mold your life) Nabes were much stricter about whom they sold tickets to.