I’ve always wanted to see this movie simply because it closed the Roxy. did the people in the audience know it was the last night of the Roxy or did it close without being announced? I wonder how many people were there.
Thank you.
I assume that was the lay out of the auditorium until ‘70? I wonder if the proscenium was widened for 70mm or if it was projected within it for films like MFL and Camelot.
I just noticed the ad for The Devils. This and Song of the South are the only 2 films I know of as banned.
Are there any pictures of the interior when it was Warner’s premiere house in London in the 60s? I only see the one of the band right at the lip of the proscenium but nothing of the auditorium itself. Above picture looks like after the twinning in ‘70.
As per CC’s ad Harry and Walter Go to New York was the first non exclusive NY area film for the Music Hall. When I mentioned this to a woman in the box office when I worked there before the film had opened she said to me ‘that’s it, it’s over.’
George Roy Hill was an odd choice to make this eagerly awaited epic(his previous film was the quirky Henry Orient popular with critics though not so much with audiences. It did so poorly as the usually enormously popular Music Hall Easter film that he declared he would never have one of his films play there again.) and it turned out to be a poor one.
Movie was playing drive ins by the summer of ‘67. Probably made it even that long as a roadshow because of the immense popularity of the book.
Eventually one of his films did play at the Music Hall, The Sting, though second run. It honestly would have been a suburb choice to open there. But Hollywood no longer wanted the theater. Films opening there were from hunger. It was an excellent presentation. Beautiful print with Joplin’s wonderful music very impressive through the Hall’s excellent sound system. Enjoyed it so much more there than I had than when the film first opened.
Yes but the Music Hall has about 6,000 seats. If 2 mezzanines are used that brings you down to more like 4,000.
When selling first mezzanine seats in advance for a holiday show for example the Music Hall would always say 5,000 general admission seats available for every performance. Here they are saying the exact same thing but reserved seats are in two mezzanines.
It’s pure hype.
When I worked there as a doorman they would sometimes create outside lines when the performance was far from sold out or even well attended.
I think Times Square theaters did the same thing.
I read Mike Todd sometimes had the sold out sign put up at the Rivoli for 80 Days even if the performance wasn’t.
Now on youtube I’ve been hearing that Disney has been known to buy out performances of ‘tentpole’ movies to inflate grosses and increase demand for tickets. The old showmanship is not completely dead.
But they were able to fly it so it couldn’t have been that curved and it had to be inside the proscenium so there couldn’t be any sense of enveloping the audience despite what the ads made it look like. Of course I’m not speaking from first hand experience. Is there anybody who can?
Yes all the theaters showed exploitation fare but the DeMille, Criterion and Cinerama got the worst of it. It was especially bewildering to me about the Criterion. I thought it was the classiest of the bunch on my all time favorite NY block with the spectacular Bonds sign above it and then the Gordon’s Gin above that. At least until the early 70s.
Both Tora Tora Tora and Nicholas and Alexandra were both very early 70s blips that had very poor runs. I remember going to Nicholas on a Saturday mat and there was hardly anyone in the audience.
As to CC’s current photo from Funny Girl to Myra Breckinridge in a matter of months shows you how Times Square and movies in general were changing very rapidly and not for the better. And then to come shortly trashy ordeals at the Criterion like Possession of Joe Delaney and Mandingo. One of the most important cinemas turned into an exploitation house in less than 6 months. More like 2 months if you include Patton as one of its more prestigious offerings. Places like Loews State and then the National and Astor Plaza managed to not wallow in the mud. Unfortunately the Criterion was the best of them.
It was the $6.50 I had trouble making out but that’s what I figured. Maybe the highest movie ticket price ever adjusted for inflation for a non benefit performance? In fact taking inflation into account My Fair Lady seems to have had the highest ticket prices ever overall. Even Sound of Music at the Rivoli was cheaper. $1.25 cheaper for a loge seat on a Saturday night in 1965 dollars was a big difference.
Anybody have the prices of This is Cinerama or Cleopatra at hand for comparison?
This must have been where my parents took us to see My Fair Lady though we usually went to the Nyack or 303. Children under 12 free.
Definitely saw Finian’s Rainbow here and I remember the lights from the Garden State Plaza being a distraction.
Moviebuff you left off the Century which was a beautiful single screen theater on the edge of the Plaza parking lot until they split it down the middle in the early 70s and it became a dump.
Great stuff grindhouse. I love these ads. Thank you. Now if I had been older I would have been going to these gilt edged roadshow presentations several times per film.
A film that should have played at the family friendly Music Hall rather than the stupefyingly bad Darling Lili. Not one of Disney’s better live action film but you weren’t thinking did Andrews and Edwards set out to make a film this awful? It finished off her meteoric film career for good. Her legendary legacy is still just Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. Though there is a gay cult following for Victor/Victoria.
A theater that lasted until the waning days of the city when New York was New York. It is sorely missed. I remember waiting on the lines that would stretch east on 57th.
If Fantasia was shown in it’s correct ratio at the Music Hall(I saw it and it was wonderful)what I don’t understand was why when Singing in the Rain was shown in its correct ratio in ‘75 the screen was very small which all films seem to have been at the time until Shane. It was a surprise. Fantasia was a larger image almost the size of the magnascope screen and yet held its clarity and brilliance. Other films I saw that were on the larger screen with the old ratio but which were dismayingly washed out and grainy were Show Boat and Good News. I felt they would would have been improved visually if they had been shown on that postage stamp screen.
Why did Fantasia looks so good and those others did not? In fact why were all the old films from the 30s to the early 50s shown on such a small screen? Flower Drum Song and Seven Brides seem to have been old prints but were still impressive in their respectively Panavision and Cinemascope 2.55 ratios. The Vistavision Funny Face was an absolute knock out.
I’ve always wanted to see this movie simply because it closed the Roxy. did the people in the audience know it was the last night of the Roxy or did it close without being announced? I wonder how many people were there.
Thank you. I assume that was the lay out of the auditorium until ‘70? I wonder if the proscenium was widened for 70mm or if it was projected within it for films like MFL and Camelot. I just noticed the ad for The Devils. This and Song of the South are the only 2 films I know of as banned.
Are there any pictures of the interior when it was Warner’s premiere house in London in the 60s? I only see the one of the band right at the lip of the proscenium but nothing of the auditorium itself. Above picture looks like after the twinning in ‘70.
That’s one of the shortest shows I’ve seen at the Hall. Movie must have been about 75 minutes when you think there was The March of Time.
As per CC’s ad Harry and Walter Go to New York was the first non exclusive NY area film for the Music Hall. When I mentioned this to a woman in the box office when I worked there before the film had opened she said to me ‘that’s it, it’s over.’
George Roy Hill was an odd choice to make this eagerly awaited epic(his previous film was the quirky Henry Orient popular with critics though not so much with audiences. It did so poorly as the usually enormously popular Music Hall Easter film that he declared he would never have one of his films play there again.) and it turned out to be a poor one.
Movie was playing drive ins by the summer of ‘67. Probably made it even that long as a roadshow because of the immense popularity of the book.
Eventually one of his films did play at the Music Hall, The Sting, though second run. It honestly would have been a suburb choice to open there. But Hollywood no longer wanted the theater. Films opening there were from hunger. It was an excellent presentation. Beautiful print with Joplin’s wonderful music very impressive through the Hall’s excellent sound system. Enjoyed it so much more there than I had than when the film first opened.
Considering The Sand Pebbles had its world premiere at the Rivoli Dec 20,‘66 this is probably '67.
A friend who has worked for years as an usher in Broadway theaters is saying it could be March.
Yes but the Music Hall has about 6,000 seats. If 2 mezzanines are used that brings you down to more like 4,000.
When selling first mezzanine seats in advance for a holiday show for example the Music Hall would always say 5,000 general admission seats available for every performance. Here they are saying the exact same thing but reserved seats are in two mezzanines. It’s pure hype. When I worked there as a doorman they would sometimes create outside lines when the performance was far from sold out or even well attended. I think Times Square theaters did the same thing. I read Mike Todd sometimes had the sold out sign put up at the Rivoli for 80 Days even if the performance wasn’t. Now on youtube I’ve been hearing that Disney has been known to buy out performances of ‘tentpole’ movies to inflate grosses and increase demand for tickets. The old showmanship is not completely dead.
If that is the case how did they come up with 5,000 general admission seats available? And how did this movie get a G rating?
You didn’t experience the curved screen at the Rivoli?
You can see a quite a number of seams. I wonder how noticeable it was when a film was on the screen.
But they were able to fly it so it couldn’t have been that curved and it had to be inside the proscenium so there couldn’t be any sense of enveloping the audience despite what the ads made it look like. Of course I’m not speaking from first hand experience. Is there anybody who can?
Yes all the theaters showed exploitation fare but the DeMille, Criterion and Cinerama got the worst of it. It was especially bewildering to me about the Criterion. I thought it was the classiest of the bunch on my all time favorite NY block with the spectacular Bonds sign above it and then the Gordon’s Gin above that. At least until the early 70s. Both Tora Tora Tora and Nicholas and Alexandra were both very early 70s blips that had very poor runs. I remember going to Nicholas on a Saturday mat and there was hardly anyone in the audience.
As to CC’s current photo from Funny Girl to Myra Breckinridge in a matter of months shows you how Times Square and movies in general were changing very rapidly and not for the better. And then to come shortly trashy ordeals at the Criterion like Possession of Joe Delaney and Mandingo. One of the most important cinemas turned into an exploitation house in less than 6 months. More like 2 months if you include Patton as one of its more prestigious offerings. Places like Loews State and then the National and Astor Plaza managed to not wallow in the mud. Unfortunately the Criterion was the best of them.
Looks like Preminger owned Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets.
It was the $6.50 I had trouble making out but that’s what I figured. Maybe the highest movie ticket price ever adjusted for inflation for a non benefit performance? In fact taking inflation into account My Fair Lady seems to have had the highest ticket prices ever overall. Even Sound of Music at the Rivoli was cheaper. $1.25 cheaper for a loge seat on a Saturday night in 1965 dollars was a big difference.
Anybody have the prices of This is Cinerama or Cleopatra at hand for comparison?
Grindhouse could you list the prices for MFL for NY’s Eve which are difficult to make out?
This must have been where my parents took us to see My Fair Lady though we usually went to the Nyack or 303. Children under 12 free. Definitely saw Finian’s Rainbow here and I remember the lights from the Garden State Plaza being a distraction. Moviebuff you left off the Century which was a beautiful single screen theater on the edge of the Plaza parking lot until they split it down the middle in the early 70s and it became a dump.
Great stuff grindhouse. I love these ads. Thank you. Now if I had been older I would have been going to these gilt edged roadshow presentations several times per film.
And it was most likely in 35mm.
The Agony and the Ecstasy was the third of 20th Century’s triple reserved seat play for 1965.
Well grindhouse you belie your name with all those SOM ads. They are much appreciated.
A film that should have played at the family friendly Music Hall rather than the stupefyingly bad Darling Lili. Not one of Disney’s better live action film but you weren’t thinking did Andrews and Edwards set out to make a film this awful? It finished off her meteoric film career for good. Her legendary legacy is still just Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. Though there is a gay cult following for Victor/Victoria.
A theater that lasted until the waning days of the city when New York was New York. It is sorely missed. I remember waiting on the lines that would stretch east on 57th.
If Fantasia was shown in it’s correct ratio at the Music Hall(I saw it and it was wonderful)what I don’t understand was why when Singing in the Rain was shown in its correct ratio in ‘75 the screen was very small which all films seem to have been at the time until Shane. It was a surprise. Fantasia was a larger image almost the size of the magnascope screen and yet held its clarity and brilliance. Other films I saw that were on the larger screen with the old ratio but which were dismayingly washed out and grainy were Show Boat and Good News. I felt they would would have been improved visually if they had been shown on that postage stamp screen.
Why did Fantasia looks so good and those others did not? In fact why were all the old films from the 30s to the early 50s shown on such a small screen? Flower Drum Song and Seven Brides seem to have been old prints but were still impressive in their respectively Panavision and Cinemascope 2.55 ratios. The Vistavision Funny Face was an absolute knock out.