Criterion Theatre
1514 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1514 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
27 people
favorited this theater
Showing 426 - 450 of 606 comments
Vincent— I’d bet my last dollar that the Criterion did not change the size or shape of its screen (except for appropriate masking)between 1956 and 1966, the era that encompassed its most remembered road shows. Except for “The Mille Commandments,” I saw none of them there. But I did see a few conventional films that played there in the intervals. “Sleeping Beauty” (‘59), “Anatomy of a Murder” ('59), and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” ('66) spring to mind. In each case, the screen was exactly the same as it was when Charlton climbed Mount Sinai.
Despite the adjectives I used above, the screen was, in fact, not all that impressive, not nearly as wide or curved as the Rivoli’s nor as massive as the Paramount’s. Its curvature has the conventional ratio of those as most theaters of the day (12:1, I believe), and its entire compass sat behind the theater’s original red traveler curtain (the curtain’s fabric was replaced in ‘56, I recall, but not its tracking). Since the theater’s proscenium was wider than most, but not exceptionally so, the screen seemed big alright, but not uncommonly stupendous. “Commandments” used up its entire surface in the classic VistaVision ratio. Masking reduced its height for the SuperTechnirama70 Disney cartoon. And some top and side masking slightly reduced its overall size for both Judge Welch’s movie debut and the Taylor-Burton debauch.
I can’t imagine that the management installed and re-installed a deeply-curved Rivoli-style ToddAO screen for “South Pacific,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” and “My Fair Lady,” removing it each time between those engagements. It surely replaced the screen’s fabric periodically, but without altering its shape as far as I could see. Thanks, Warren, for the names of those useful trade magazines.
So 10 Commandments had a giant curved screen? According to Variety South Pacific had a giant curved Todd AO screen. Any body know if there are any pics of the auditorium with the various screen sizes exposed like there are of the Capitol and the Rivoli?
Here’s a Souvenir Program from January 1957 at the Criterion:
View link
View link
View link
View link
Unlike other souvenir programs from the period, this one for “The Ten Commandments†offered no behind-the-scenes views of production details or film-making logistics. Nor did it present stills from the film. Instead, it offered painterly renderings by an Artiste Détaché depicting key scenes from the movie, with captions drawn from the Books of Books. No matter that the script itself had flagrantly debased that Good Book. De Mille’s intentions were sincere. If he could have filmed “The Thousand Commandments,†he would have. He nearly did.
Besides Scripture, the program incorporated De Mille’s inspirational statement (scanned here last) and a few pages about the major actors. It didn’t take Michael Moore to remind us of Charlton Heston’s addiction to the NRA: this photo reveals a lot. I wonder whether anyone ever mistook Anne Baxter for Nefertiti? And I don’t believe that Yul ever got to direct a feature film, though I know that he did direct a lot of TV spots (that’s how he got the role opposite Gertrude Lawrence as The King).
I saw the film at a 9:30 am Saturday showing at reduced prices. One of my first posts on this site recorded my experience at the theater. To save you the trouble of scrolling back to 7 August ‘04, I’ll repeat it here with modifications:
My visit to “The Ten Commandments†in ’57 left me with wounds still borne today: To accommodate an extra reserved-seat showing, they ran an early-bird 9:30am Saturday screening that suited my teen-age wallet. I purchased the ticket a few days in advance, and then went to see Tyrone Guthrie’s “Oedipus Rex†at the 55th Street Playhouse, which oddly enough I remember today better than the movie in question. On the appointed Saturday, I arrived at 9:29:59 and sprinted past the usher-women to find my seat (knowing where it was, thanks to Stubs). The lights were already down and Mr. DeMille’s prologue had begun. I crashed loudly into an industrial-size trash-can left in the far aisle after the previous night’s showing. A thousand eyes turned to me in the darkness, lit only by light shining from the screen. The can rolled toward the proscenium. Usher-women fanned out down the aisle on a witch-hunt. I darted into my seat, terror-stricken that I’d be ejected for causing a ruckus (not the least for being an unaccompanied 14-y.o.). I survived ejection, but limped for several weeks with what might have been a fractured shin. Shoudda sued ‘em. O, and I thought “The Ten Commandments” looked great on the Criterion’s giant curved VistaVision screen. Who could ever forget the theater’s bright red traveler curtain?
How great is that marquee in ‘53? I also found the modernized streamlined version pretty wonderful as well and couldn’t believe when they destroyed it when it became a United Artists multiplex. Just look at the Funny Girl premiere photo. Also on the marquee for that film were two revolving logos only one of which you can make out in the picture. I remember seeing that marquee a couple of times as a boy walking through Times Square and it seemed to me the epitomy of show biz excitement and color(that whole block along with the Bond neon and the Gordon’s Gin display was at night the most beautiful thing you’d ever want to see.)
Too bad I couldn’t walk into the outside lobby and go to the reserved seat boxoffice with the grill which was situated on the inside to the left and buy a ticket. Still remember the old man(well to a young teenager) in that box office who sold me my advance ticket to Nick and Alex. He might very well have worked there since 10 Commandments.
The following link brings you to a panaramic photo Times Square (using your mouse to move left, right or up and down within the photo) that shows the Criterion still in business (when it was under UA as the Criterion Center). The image isn’t the sharpest so I can’t really make out what’s on the marquee to properly date the photo, but MTV is clearly in business which probably places this during the Criterion’s last days.
Anyway… here’s the link: View link
One of the films (advertised in the top right corner of the marquee) might be the Sharon Stone remake of Cassavete’s “Gloria” which would date this to early 1999.
2/70 “Patton” was in this block ad of current attractions
View link
March of 1955 “The Country Girl” was here and at the Brooklyn Paramount
View link
1982 the Criterion had “Making Love” in the main house.
View link
Here is a great night shot of the Criterion in 1972 showing “The Possession of Joel Delaney"
View link
I can recall one scene in the 1958 version of ‘The Fly’ that brought gales of laughter from a Canadian audience. It’s where Vincent Price mentions that “…soon it will be spring….” The audience is treated to a view outside of green grass, trees in full leaf and birds twittering. Anyone who has lived through a Montreal winter (where the action is supposed to take place) must have wondered what on earth was going on. Does this come under the heading of artistic licence?
And the audience for the opening night of “The Fly”, which I attended, was very enthusiastic (and also very afraid). I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. I went it expecting a big stinker, an insult to the memory of the beloved 1958 version. I still think it’s one of the few remakes ever made that were just as good as the original.
At least the main screen was running “Space Camp” in 70MM 6-Track Dolby Stereo.
Warren, the ad reads: “Be afraid, be very afraid”, where they refering to what they did to that theatre?
Pablo—
I saw “Sleeping Beauty” there in Feb. ‘59 and can vouch that it appeared on the conventional behind-the-proscenium screen that the theater had used for “The Ten Commandments.” Ditto for “Anatomy of a Murder” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” which appeared on the conventional screen in roadshow era.
Vincent—-
In 1962 I saw “Lawrence of Arabia” at the Criterion and all subsequent 70MM presentations there except for “Patton” (D-150 presentation?). All were presented as in my post above. However, I have often wondered if “Sleeping Beauty” and “South Pacific” were presented on a larger curved screen with appropriate drapery treatment as befit the early Technirama and Todd-AO presentations.
Anyone remember?
Pablo,
I thought that the proscenium was somewhat wider and the traveler curtains overlapped the corners when it became a 70mm roadshow house. I could be wrong but I believe that when South Pacific opened there it had a huge curved screen which would have needed a new opening and curtains.
Anybody else who was there during the roadshow era remember if it was the same as in Warren’s photo or if it had been remodeled?
Vincent—-
The theater looked exactly the same as a 70MM roadshow house as depected in Warren’s photo. Imagine opening those drapes completely and inscribe a flat 2.2 to 1 screen in the lower area of the procenium and what you see is what you got.
Warren that’s a wonderful photo(boy do I miss this theater, it sould have been treated like the Ziegfeld.) Do you have one just as good from when it was a 70mm roadshow house?
Warren—
Thanks for the photo of the proscenium. It supplements the wonderful photos from ‘36 that you posted over a year ago, on your entry for July 20 2004 above. In my memory, the '56 renovation spruced up the lighting and bright red color design, but made no substantial changes upon the Criterion I knew in the '40s. And so it remained until the last film I saw there, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolff,” a decade later in '66.
SECOND CHANCE-1954-
View link
PEPE-1960
View link
YOUR NEVER TO YOUNG-1956
View link
LIVING IT UP-1954
View link
THE COUNTRY GIRL-1954
View link
THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR T-1953
View link