Rivoli Theatre

Vincent – I am the one who emailed the picture to Robert.I just emailed it to you. Hope you receive it. I look at that picture on my screen saver and wish I could walk back into the Rivoli Theatre again to see a 70mm presentation! Of course, it would be nice to walk into any theatre and see a 70mm presentation again!

Robert could you post that photo of the Rivoli with the GWTW marquee?
Any othe roadshows would be great too that we haven’t seen like Sweet Charity, West Side Story, and Star.
And how about the great back wall billboard with its smaller billboard underneath? We haven’t seen any of those.
And then there’s that great billboard of Star above the Astor and Victoria in the fall of ‘68.

“StereoVision was a new attempt at 3D which only required one camera and one projector. The left/right images were on a single 35mm frame, one above the other.” (vito, Jun 22, 2005)

Some StereoVision (and other similar) productions had 70mm prints struck, in which case the images were side-by-side rather than one on top of the other.

Although not advertised as a 70mm presentation in the Boston area newspaper ads at the time, Variety reported that a 70mm print of the X-rated 3-D flick “The Stewardesses” had been prepared for its Music Hall engagement. (The use of a 70mm print in a large screen situation is likely an attempt to recover some of the light loss that occurs during 3-D projection; perhaps this explains the lack of presentation format notations in the ads since its use wasn’t “prestige” or “excellent performance” oriented.)

It’s doubtful that the Rivoli’s engagement of “The Stewardesses” mentioned somewhere in this thread was 70mm since it began prior to the Boston run and the Variety article referenced mentioned x (no pun intended) number of 35mm prints struck plus the one special 70 for Boston.

3 Roadshows
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“Song of Bernadette” opened at the Rivoli in January of 1944. I went to Catholic school and every month or so they would rent 16mm prints and run them in the auditorium. This was one we saw every year along with “The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima”.
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Great nostalgia there! Wouldn’t it be spooky if after you printed out the form, filled it, and mailed it in with a check, the tickets arrived in a few days!? You would go and there would be a magic Rivoli showing Oklahoma in Todd-AO.
…Trouble is, you would then wake up.

Thanks Dennis I would love to see it

I remember reading that when MGM re-released GWTW in the 70 mm stereo version they expected it to do well. They never expected though how incredibly successful that reissue would be. The roadshows were extended in most cities. I still have the souvenir program my parents bought me in the lobby.

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Fox saluted Andrews for her Mary Poppins Oscar win while she was packing them in at the Rivoli in Sounf of Music.

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Yes, I’ve seen this many times over the years. It can be useful in small to medium auditoriums to achieve maxium screen size, and is called “sissors masking.” Loews 34th St. in Manhattan uses top, bottom and side masking in the smaller theaters to achieve the proper projected aspect ratio.

StereoVision was a new attempt at 3D which only required one camera and one projector. The left/right images were on a single 35mm frame, one above the other. A specal lens was required to fit over the prime projection lens to super-impose the two images together on the screen. Many theatres rented the lens along with the movie, however United Artist’s projection and sound tech Joe Kelly had them made up and purchased them for his theatres. Many UA theatres had these lenses in the booth ready for up coming releases but the
3-D fad died quicker than it did in the 50s.

Well I just finished the mix of my latest feature, “Soft Money”,
and am preparing it for release both theatrically and DVD so I
decided to log on here and see what’s posted.

As I suspected, another attempt by Coates to discredit me in our
feud.

I guess the main reason most film directors
or historians bother to post on film related sites is that there
is usually a heckler on each of them which makes discussion a
waste of time.

I’ll clear up one matter which I have mentioned on other sites.
My neice was visting me and playing on the Dell under my name and
saw the listing of my book so she said she’s give a review. It was
originally poster under her name but then for whatever reason, it was
changed to my name. At first I thought it was amusing but then got
negative feedback from it so I’m glad it was removed. Other reviews
by her are listed under her name elsewhere I believe. So much for that.

One final comment is that my last manuscript was not intended as a ‘book of lists’. I even note that in some sections stating that
it’s a list of notable titles not every title in a category. The lists I made were based on information I had at the time and were used to illustrate a point You can get into debates about what
titles should be included in each category but that is really missing the point. Book of lists are better suited for the internet since you have to constantly update them. If I were to re-write the chapter on 70mm I would update the lists based on new information but that is really missing the point of the subject matter. What I was illustrating was that the appex of 70mm was in the mid-eighties. It fizzled out in the mid-nineties not because the format fell out of favor with audiences but for economic reasons. Many theater chains assumed it’s major attribute was six track stereo sound rather than the improved image quality. Thus when six track 35mm digital sound systems were developed, they lost interest in the 70mm blow up prints even though they increased boxoffice revenue in houses that booked them at the time. Also, the newly built megaplexes refused to install the equipment to keep their staff to a minimum in the multiple 35mm platter systems on each screen. The loss of 70mm and the brief revival and demise of dye transfer printing represented the last gasp of showmanship for theatrical exhibition, at least in a general sense. There are still isolated
cinemas that put on a good show.

Back to the Rivoli,

As I recall, after twinning (renamed UA Twin), only the bottom
theater had 70mm capability. The curved screen was removed and replaced with a flat one but the presentations were still quite good.
I would guess that the above mentioned sound system was only installed on this screen. The balcony screen was not as large and probably limted 35mm since I don’t recall a 70mm print ever playing there. The UA Twin didn’t last for long and was being demolished with construction gear outside the fascade even while
they continued to play new features until it’s end. I have pictures of it from that era.

We saw Arnold Schwartznegger’s PREDITOR here on their big screen. About 30 minutes into the show, about 4 or 5 jive-turkeys came in and began making noise as if nobody else was there. Several shush! shush! sounds from the audience yielded the agonizingly familiar “We paid our money and we won’t shut up.. blah, blah, blah!” Then I heard one Negro voice say out loud, “You’re the reason us N…… don’t never have nuthin' cuz people like you ruin it for ev'body!” I’ll never forget that, never forget the guy who said it. AMEN.