That very shallow stage looks like a very crowded off Broadway theater production supported by a symphony orchestra in front of it. It must have looked like a postage stamp in the mezz and balcony.
One can see on see on page 8 what the Rivoli live presentations looked like. It still involved a fair number of performers which would have required more than what you would find in a Broadway musical today. It looks like a small shallow proscenium stage. If the screen were behind that stage/platform rather than being brought down at the proscenium level than they would have had some sort of fly space along with common areas and dressing rooms for the performers no matter how cramped. One can go into any old Broadway theater and see how very cramped the facilties are. That is one big orchestra for a house the size of the Rivoli. Performers and musicians alone are close to 60 people. And did they do like 4 to 5 performances a day. That was quite an operation for that small space.
The Rivoli had a small shallow stage. Somebody posted pictures here of stage presentations. In its later years an electronics shop was built there where the lower long horizontal billboard used to be. It also had a large rear door/gate where I imagine sets and instruments were brought in. If you saw the rear you could see it was at one time a presentation house that would have had the facilities that it would have required for orchestral, performer and set needs. Much more modest though than the larger palaces. It’s possible it was added later if it was not part of the original design.
Yes that’s certainly the best way. Get it out of library and decide for yourself if you find it informative. For you if you do I’d find it surprising. I don’t remember the time span it covers.
Maybe I should read it as well. Maybe it’s better than I remembered, I mean it really can’t be as bad, and I’d have to eat my hat. Didn’t we discuss another one as well that was kind of a mess?
Well the book has been written since and puts the whole roadshow policy in a negative light never acknowledging its advantages in terms of presentation. Dolly got good reviews too and Sound of Music got some staggeringly bad ones. In some ways worse in that there were those who felt that Wise were attackingly them personally. I haven’t looked at his book in a while but found simply reading certain sections all he did was quote others who didn’t like them.
Does he give the history of the roadshow film from the beginning of the 20th Century? Does he talk about the theaters where they played and what the experience was like? How it motivated a certain kind of filmmaking? I got the impression from what I saw he took no sense of the showbusiness historical sense of how it developed and why it fell out of use. It was in its dogged way a poorly thought out lazy book.
Remember the critics of the time for some reason turned on this kind of prestige filmmaking(oddly one who did Pauline Kael loved Oliver! Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof.) But they turned with viciousness on David Lean with Ryan’s Daughter which certainly fit the description of a hardticket film traumatizing this man who you know had to have an ego the size of a continent to achieve what he did depriving us the films of a master for more than a decade. And this movie today is draw dropping with the storm sequence one of the greatest put ever put on film with no CGI or special effects.
Mr. Kennedy never went to a roadshow movie in his life. Though he’s certainly old enough. His research was other people’s books and Variety on microfilm.
He probably never even knew the Rivoli existed until he compiled his paste and copy ‘book.’ I assume he’s seen most of the movies he talks about in some video format. Probably vhs tape.
It begins with another dinosaur brain remark by Matthew Kennedy who knows as much about roadshow movies as Helen Keller knew about the works of Egon Schiele.
Mikeoakland park it seems you went a few times to see Dolly at the Virginia. You should have traveled up to the Asbury Park St James to see it there. A very classy elegant large screen, borders, curtain 70mm roadshow house. As I’ve said I was only there once but had I been older I would have gone probably several times to every roadshow picture there. If I were a billionaire I would rebuild it as a revival house.
I had a friend who was a big fan of Sabatini. He much preferred the Ramon Navarro Scaramouche to the Granger(I love it but I’ve never seen the silent.) He went to look it up at the Lincoln Center library and came back to show me a copy he made of an ad for it. It was for the St James. I thought that was pretty cool. Who needed Granada when they could have had Asbury Park?
Thank you David Zornig for these great 60s photos of the boardwalk. I didn’t get there until the latter part of the 60s but it still looked pretty much the same. It’s like I like to remember it. Visited one more time in ‘76 and the blight had taken over.
But I’m dismayed to say the least that people claim its premiere 70mm roadshow house the Virgina was during all those years a run down dump. So it’s been said.
Note that when the Music Hall opened there were 46 Roxyettes on stage. This was shortly reduced to 36 Rockettes(not sure exactly when the number and the name were changed) and in the 70s it was reduced to 30.
What a peculiar schedule. Nanette must be the only time until Mr Billion for the Music Hall to have pulled a film but kept the stage show. And then to switch the stage show on a day other than a Thursday? That I assume is a singular event in the Hall’s history.
One of Freed’s best musicals including two of MGM’s best production numbers staged by the amazing Robert Alton. Too bad they didn’t use the Magnascope screen for the spectacular Varsity Drag finale. Comden and Green called it their Battleship Potemkin(it was a joke.) The wonderful Patricia Marshall(‘I wish somebody loved me the way you love you.’ Said by Allyson) the last cast member died last December shortly before her 95th birthday.
On Christmas day the city got hit by the blizzard of ‘47(the worst since ‘88, more than 2 feet) bringing the city to a standstill for several days killing business everywhere. But I bet the Music Hall staff had to show up.
As per CC’s The Brain ad this was the last Thanksgiving film at the Hall. The following year’s Billy Wilder disaster Sherlock Holmes which was considered the Thanksgiving film had to be pulled so Scrooge and the Nativity entered a couple of weeks early and precipitated the entire early/mid November Christmas cultural change.
First movie I saw here was Mary Poppins about Christmas of ‘64.Then SOM summer of '67 on the film’s first Jersey non reserved seat engagement roll out. Maybe it had just ended its 2 year run at the Bellevue in Montclair. Also war movies like Patton and Midway. I also saw Rollercoaster in Sensurround. Others as well.
Airport played at the Oritani which I saw there after seeing it at Radio City. As opposed to the art deco Fox it was rather detailed ornate in the 20s fashion but at that point very shabby unlike the Fox whose interior which was maintained and quite beautiful and designed with gorgeous concealed lighting to show of its detailed art deco craftmanship. Look at the black and white interior photo and imagine it colorfully lit. One thing one does not get when looking at the interior photos of these theater at their completion is how beautifully they were lit. Certainly a lost art when they are restored. It’s usually lights on/lights off.
Funny how still in ‘67 the newly posted picture could be from the 50s except for the film and the women’s clothes. In a matter of only a few years this was sadly going to drastically change. And films on the boardwalk would be movies like Klute and Shaft.
The winter photo with Oliver on the marquee actually looks like'69.
Is that the Krakatoa East of Java 45th to 46st billboard going up?
They knew Star was being pulled early at the Rivoli so that had to come down but I believe it made it through the holiday season. I saw it then. Looks like Ice Station Zebra is still at the Cinerama or at least the billboard is still up.
That very shallow stage looks like a very crowded off Broadway theater production supported by a symphony orchestra in front of it. It must have looked like a postage stamp in the mezz and balcony.
One can see on see on page 8 what the Rivoli live presentations looked like. It still involved a fair number of performers which would have required more than what you would find in a Broadway musical today. It looks like a small shallow proscenium stage. If the screen were behind that stage/platform rather than being brought down at the proscenium level than they would have had some sort of fly space along with common areas and dressing rooms for the performers no matter how cramped. One can go into any old Broadway theater and see how very cramped the facilties are. That is one big orchestra for a house the size of the Rivoli. Performers and musicians alone are close to 60 people. And did they do like 4 to 5 performances a day. That was quite an operation for that small space.
The Rivoli had a small shallow stage. Somebody posted pictures here of stage presentations. In its later years an electronics shop was built there where the lower long horizontal billboard used to be. It also had a large rear door/gate where I imagine sets and instruments were brought in. If you saw the rear you could see it was at one time a presentation house that would have had the facilities that it would have required for orchestral, performer and set needs. Much more modest though than the larger palaces. It’s possible it was added later if it was not part of the original design.
Yes that’s certainly the best way. Get it out of library and decide for yourself if you find it informative. For you if you do I’d find it surprising. I don’t remember the time span it covers.
Maybe I should read it as well. Maybe it’s better than I remembered, I mean it really can’t be as bad, and I’d have to eat my hat. Didn’t we discuss another one as well that was kind of a mess?
Well the book has been written since and puts the whole roadshow policy in a negative light never acknowledging its advantages in terms of presentation. Dolly got good reviews too and Sound of Music got some staggeringly bad ones. In some ways worse in that there were those who felt that Wise were attackingly them personally. I haven’t looked at his book in a while but found simply reading certain sections all he did was quote others who didn’t like them.
Does he give the history of the roadshow film from the beginning of the 20th Century? Does he talk about the theaters where they played and what the experience was like? How it motivated a certain kind of filmmaking? I got the impression from what I saw he took no sense of the showbusiness historical sense of how it developed and why it fell out of use. It was in its dogged way a poorly thought out lazy book.
Remember the critics of the time for some reason turned on this kind of prestige filmmaking(oddly one who did Pauline Kael loved Oliver! Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof.) But they turned with viciousness on David Lean with Ryan’s Daughter which certainly fit the description of a hardticket film traumatizing this man who you know had to have an ego the size of a continent to achieve what he did depriving us the films of a master for more than a decade. And this movie today is draw dropping with the storm sequence one of the greatest put ever put on film with no CGI or special effects.
bigjoe59
Mr. Kennedy never went to a roadshow movie in his life. Though he’s certainly old enough. His research was other people’s books and Variety on microfilm.
He probably never even knew the Rivoli existed until he compiled his paste and copy ‘book.’ I assume he’s seen most of the movies he talks about in some video format. Probably vhs tape.
It begins with another dinosaur brain remark by Matthew Kennedy who knows as much about roadshow movies as Helen Keller knew about the works of Egon Schiele.
Mikeoakland park it seems you went a few times to see Dolly at the Virginia. You should have traveled up to the Asbury Park St James to see it there. A very classy elegant large screen, borders, curtain 70mm roadshow house. As I’ve said I was only there once but had I been older I would have gone probably several times to every roadshow picture there. If I were a billionaire I would rebuild it as a revival house.
I had a friend who was a big fan of Sabatini. He much preferred the Ramon Navarro Scaramouche to the Granger(I love it but I’ve never seen the silent.) He went to look it up at the Lincoln Center library and came back to show me a copy he made of an ad for it. It was for the St James. I thought that was pretty cool. Who needed Granada when they could have had Asbury Park?
70mm rarely shown: CCBB, Dr Dolittle, Barrabas, Magnificent Men, Cheyenne Autumn, The Hallelujah Trail, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Lord Jim.
Cleopatra most underrated epic ever. What a raw deal it got. Oh to have seen the original 6 hour cut. ‘I asked it of Caesar, I demand it of you!’
When Time Square still had some class and dignity before it started looking like Coney.
Thank you David Zornig for these great 60s photos of the boardwalk. I didn’t get there until the latter part of the 60s but it still looked pretty much the same. It’s like I like to remember it. Visited one more time in ‘76 and the blight had taken over.
But I’m dismayed to say the least that people claim its premiere 70mm roadshow house the Virgina was during all those years a run down dump. So it’s been said.
Maybe The Wiz?
Note that when the Music Hall opened there were 46 Roxyettes on stage. This was shortly reduced to 36 Rockettes(not sure exactly when the number and the name were changed) and in the 70s it was reduced to 30.
I thought Loew’s State held the world premiere.
What a peculiar schedule. Nanette must be the only time until Mr Billion for the Music Hall to have pulled a film but kept the stage show. And then to switch the stage show on a day other than a Thursday? That I assume is a singular event in the Hall’s history.
Ok. I wonder which film broke 300k.
One of Freed’s best musicals including two of MGM’s best production numbers staged by the amazing Robert Alton. Too bad they didn’t use the Magnascope screen for the spectacular Varsity Drag finale. Comden and Green called it their Battleship Potemkin(it was a joke.) The wonderful Patricia Marshall(‘I wish somebody loved me the way you love you.’ Said by Allyson) the last cast member died last December shortly before her 95th birthday.
On Christmas day the city got hit by the blizzard of ‘47(the worst since ‘88, more than 2 feet) bringing the city to a standstill for several days killing business everywhere. But I bet the Music Hall staff had to show up.
I thought Charade broke the 300k mark.
Another rather odd Music Hall coupling of film and stage show. I guess you had to be there.
As per CC’s The Brain ad this was the last Thanksgiving film at the Hall. The following year’s Billy Wilder disaster Sherlock Holmes which was considered the Thanksgiving film had to be pulled so Scrooge and the Nativity entered a couple of weeks early and precipitated the entire early/mid November Christmas cultural change.
First movie I saw here was Mary Poppins about Christmas of ‘64.Then SOM summer of '67 on the film’s first Jersey non reserved seat engagement roll out. Maybe it had just ended its 2 year run at the Bellevue in Montclair. Also war movies like Patton and Midway. I also saw Rollercoaster in Sensurround. Others as well.
Airport played at the Oritani which I saw there after seeing it at Radio City. As opposed to the art deco Fox it was rather detailed ornate in the 20s fashion but at that point very shabby unlike the Fox whose interior which was maintained and quite beautiful and designed with gorgeous concealed lighting to show of its detailed art deco craftmanship. Look at the black and white interior photo and imagine it colorfully lit. One thing one does not get when looking at the interior photos of these theater at their completion is how beautifully they were lit. Certainly a lost art when they are restored. It’s usually lights on/lights off.
Last summer of Palisades Park. The up coming Winston Towers condos will cost you 22k a pop.
Funny how still in ‘67 the newly posted picture could be from the 50s except for the film and the women’s clothes. In a matter of only a few years this was sadly going to drastically change. And films on the boardwalk would be movies like Klute and Shaft.
The winter photo with Oliver on the marquee actually looks like'69. Is that the Krakatoa East of Java 45th to 46st billboard going up? They knew Star was being pulled early at the Rivoli so that had to come down but I believe it made it through the holiday season. I saw it then. Looks like Ice Station Zebra is still at the Cinerama or at least the billboard is still up.
And I wonder in what cities they played in D150 theaters. NY wasn’t one of them.