In one of the docs about early cinema on you tube there is pretty spectacular film footage of Noah’s Ark opening night outside this theater(I could swear it was the Winter
Garden though I couldn’t see the name.) Even in black and white you can tell these marquees and billboards with dazzling moving neon effects were wondrous to behold.
A bit sad though to see a very old Dolores Costello reminiscing. You want these people to be able to hold on to some vestige of their great beauty. Instead they turn into everyone else if they live long enough.
When the Capitol was torn down I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the auditorium was intact. It looked like they just built a smaller capacity Cinerama theater within it. Same with the Strand.
Like what happened with the El Capitan when it was modernized. Sad to think those great original auditoriums were unseen for so many years and then demolished before anyone could see them again. Who knows what treasures the demolitionists found and then destroyed.
This is the exact same problem the Music Hall had when it opened in ‘32. Nobody was interested in the stage show or the Roxyettes. It was a huge fiasco from which Roxy never recovered.
They had to add movies. And as was noted by Variety at the time crowds varied according to the popularity of the movie. Of course the stage show was a big plus and made going to see the film at the Hall an incentive but without a popular film the Hall had acres of empty seats.
And at todays prices it is ludicrous to think anybody outside of a big musical concert star is going to get people into the place.
Even an A house occasionally would have to play a B picture. Also didn’t the Roxy shortly before this play a double bill of Waterfront and another perhaps Brando film? Normally at this time what you’d find on 42nd Street.
An ignominious end to a glorious theater but they pretty much all ended that way. Especially if they made it to the 70s. They became mausoleums for exploitation films.
So when Windjammer played here what was the seating configuration? Did they seriously reduce the number of seats? Did they curtain off entire areas at the sides and back of the orchestra and the balc to bring it into more of a Capitol or Strand layout for roadshow films?
I really wish this place would only play films suitable for the entire family and when you consider what they play are classics there is no place in a great movie palace for utter trash like Rocky Horror.
I like early Almodovar and John Waters but I don’t want to see it at the Loew’s.
For a party like this it should be family friendly and Phantom should be the star feature WITH the color sequence. I don’t know what gets into the heads of people that plan this stuff.
As per How To Succeed ad NYer just posted'Coffee Break' filmed but cut and lost.
Stereo track also lost which is most unfortunate because what you hear of it on soundtrack album is terrific. So no stereo first run prints were saved. If anything has been found since I was told this years ago let me know.
Though it’s impossible at this point I imagine I’d like to know what the size of the Criterion screen was for 70 MM films like Lawrence and MFL and the size of the South Pacific ‘arcing panel.’
The Variety reviewer said something to the effect that looking at the heads in SP was like looking at Mt Rushmore.
Though he didn’t mean it as a compliment I would have loved to have seen that.
I feel fortunate to have seen a Todd AO print(maybe an original? Boy those cans were big) with magnificent 6 track analog sound at the Warner Cinerama. A great experience as was seeing there MFL and Paint Your Wagon(I know blow-up but the sound blew you out of the theater.) I must be the only person on the planet who loves Marvin singing Wanderin Star with that huge men’s chorus behind him. On stage it could never be like that(and it wasn’t at Encores.) Worth the entire film.
Well I don’t know. I just know that everytime I was in it until Alien it was flat. As I said I only read of a huge ‘arcing screen’ in the place was in the Times review of South Pacific available on line even if you don’t have a subscription.
Something is very confusing here. The Criterion never had a stage. It was built as a cinema. See the vintage photos of the auditorium from the 30s on one of the previous pages.
Well that sure is curious. Are you sure you’re not thinking of the Rivoli or Warner?
Throughout the 60s and 70s it was flat. Definitely flat in the 70s. First film I saw there in that decade was the 71 revival of MFL and the last was Alien.
The Criterion had a flat screen with curtains but seems to have had a curved screen once for South Pacific which is what I can glean from reviews of the world premiere.
Patton was a hit film and I remember walking as a boy in front of the theater when it was playing there and there was a large sign saying ‘This performance sold out.’
But for some reason I don’t think the roadshow engagement lasted very long. Either it died shortly thereafter or Fox wanted to get it into wide release right away.
I guess the answer would be in Variety which documented everything that was happening every week in all the Times Square theaters. It was my bad luck to have all this die just when I was old enough to go into the city on my own.
In fact when Dolly closed at the Rivoli that summer Variety mentioned that it would be Broadway’s first summer without a roadshow film in a very long time(maybe since ‘52?) And in fact there would only one more summer that would have a roadshow film on Broadway: Fiddler in '72.
Now this is a gorgeous 70MM screen. If one only existed still in the NYC area and it would have revivals of those films like they do on the west coast and in Europe.
Harry and Walter ended exclusive area bookings at the Hall. An old time cashier said that was it the place was over. She went back quite a ways. I asked her if she ever thought the place would come to this(hardly any audience, pathetic stage shows) and she said never.
Bullitt was in terms of its violence and gore a ‘freaky’ movie for the Hall especially as a Thanksgiving film. It doesn’t help that the plot if there is any is impossible to follow. They just cut out ‘bullshit’ for the theater which was put right back in after this engagement.
Barefoot is still a very funny film.
Fonda and Redford are one of the best looking romantic couples ever in the movies.
Maybe the last bright Technicolor New York comedy before they became gritty.
And though these are all ‘adult’ films this was the very end of when you could bring your children with you and not be concerned about what was going on. Even if something gave you pause you knew your children would have no idea what was going on.
Did that last of its kind Ross Hunter glossy Hollywood production ever look great in the Music Hall. The kind of film the Music Hall was meant to play rather than the blown up made for TV looking films it would show through much of the 70s.
Though there are those who question the idea of the Music Hall showing a disaster film for Easter.
As per CC’s posting of King Solomon’s Mines I believe I read once on here the magnascope screen was used for the stampede.
There should be a list of movies that used the screen and for which sequences. But I guess no one at this point would remember or that any record was kept.
In one of the docs about early cinema on you tube there is pretty spectacular film footage of Noah’s Ark opening night outside this theater(I could swear it was the Winter Garden though I couldn’t see the name.) Even in black and white you can tell these marquees and billboards with dazzling moving neon effects were wondrous to behold.
A bit sad though to see a very old Dolores Costello reminiscing. You want these people to be able to hold on to some vestige of their great beauty. Instead they turn into everyone else if they live long enough.
When the Capitol was torn down I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the auditorium was intact. It looked like they just built a smaller capacity Cinerama theater within it. Same with the Strand.
Like what happened with the El Capitan when it was modernized. Sad to think those great original auditoriums were unseen for so many years and then demolished before anyone could see them again. Who knows what treasures the demolitionists found and then destroyed.
This is the exact same problem the Music Hall had when it opened in ‘32. Nobody was interested in the stage show or the Roxyettes. It was a huge fiasco from which Roxy never recovered.
They had to add movies. And as was noted by Variety at the time crowds varied according to the popularity of the movie. Of course the stage show was a big plus and made going to see the film at the Hall an incentive but without a popular film the Hall had acres of empty seats.
And at todays prices it is ludicrous to think anybody outside of a big musical concert star is going to get people into the place.
Even an A house occasionally would have to play a B picture. Also didn’t the Roxy shortly before this play a double bill of Waterfront and another perhaps Brando film? Normally at this time what you’d find on 42nd Street.
An ignominious end to a glorious theater but they pretty much all ended that way. Especially if they made it to the 70s. They became mausoleums for exploitation films.
So when Windjammer played here what was the seating configuration? Did they seriously reduce the number of seats? Did they curtain off entire areas at the sides and back of the orchestra and the balc to bring it into more of a Capitol or Strand layout for roadshow films?
I really wish this place would only play films suitable for the entire family and when you consider what they play are classics there is no place in a great movie palace for utter trash like Rocky Horror.
I like early Almodovar and John Waters but I don’t want to see it at the Loew’s.
For a party like this it should be family friendly and Phantom should be the star feature WITH the color sequence. I don’t know what gets into the heads of people that plan this stuff.
And what’s up with the digital nonsense?
As per How To Succeed ad NYer just posted'Coffee Break' filmed but cut and lost.
Stereo track also lost which is most unfortunate because what you hear of it on soundtrack album is terrific. So no stereo first run prints were saved. If anything has been found since I was told this years ago let me know.
Though it’s impossible at this point I imagine I’d like to know what the size of the Criterion screen was for 70 MM films like Lawrence and MFL and the size of the South Pacific ‘arcing panel.’
The Variety reviewer said something to the effect that looking at the heads in SP was like looking at Mt Rushmore.
Though he didn’t mean it as a compliment I would have loved to have seen that.
I feel fortunate to have seen a Todd AO print(maybe an original? Boy those cans were big) with magnificent 6 track analog sound at the Warner Cinerama. A great experience as was seeing there MFL and Paint Your Wagon(I know blow-up but the sound blew you out of the theater.) I must be the only person on the planet who loves Marvin singing Wanderin Star with that huge men’s chorus behind him. On stage it could never be like that(and it wasn’t at Encores.) Worth the entire film.
Well I don’t know. I just know that everytime I was in it until Alien it was flat. As I said I only read of a huge ‘arcing screen’ in the place was in the Times review of South Pacific available on line even if you don’t have a subscription.
Something is very confusing here. The Criterion never had a stage. It was built as a cinema. See the vintage photos of the auditorium from the 30s on one of the previous pages.
I also saw Superman I here which may have been ‘78 after it moved over from the Astor Plaza and the screen was flat.
Had the theater been twinned before Divine Madness?
Well that sure is curious. Are you sure you’re not thinking of the Rivoli or Warner?
Throughout the 60s and 70s it was flat. Definitely flat in the 70s. First film I saw there in that decade was the 71 revival of MFL and the last was Alien.
That makes sense because I saw it that summer at the Fox in Hackensack(beautiful art deco house.)
Four months seems short for a hit roadshow film.
The Criterion had a flat screen with curtains but seems to have had a curved screen once for South Pacific which is what I can glean from reviews of the world premiere.
Patton was a hit film and I remember walking as a boy in front of the theater when it was playing there and there was a large sign saying ‘This performance sold out.’
But for some reason I don’t think the roadshow engagement lasted very long. Either it died shortly thereafter or Fox wanted to get it into wide release right away.
I guess the answer would be in Variety which documented everything that was happening every week in all the Times Square theaters. It was my bad luck to have all this die just when I was old enough to go into the city on my own.
In fact when Dolly closed at the Rivoli that summer Variety mentioned that it would be Broadway’s first summer without a roadshow film in a very long time(maybe since ‘52?) And in fact there would only one more summer that would have a roadshow film on Broadway: Fiddler in '72.
Now that’s what I call a movie screen! Smilebox for me seems kind of pointless.
Now this is a gorgeous 70MM screen. If one only existed still in the NYC area and it would have revivals of those films like they do on the west coast and in Europe.
Harry and Walter ended exclusive area bookings at the Hall. An old time cashier said that was it the place was over. She went back quite a ways. I asked her if she ever thought the place would come to this(hardly any audience, pathetic stage shows) and she said never.
Bullitt was in terms of its violence and gore a ‘freaky’ movie for the Hall especially as a Thanksgiving film. It doesn’t help that the plot if there is any is impossible to follow. They just cut out ‘bullshit’ for the theater which was put right back in after this engagement.
Barefoot is still a very funny film. Fonda and Redford are one of the best looking romantic couples ever in the movies. Maybe the last bright Technicolor New York comedy before they became gritty.
What does that mean? They are reserving the seats in the second 2nd mezz? They didn’t do that for the biggest holiday shows.
Sounds like made up PR.
And though these are all ‘adult’ films this was the very end of when you could bring your children with you and not be concerned about what was going on. Even if something gave you pause you knew your children would have no idea what was going on.
I never miss a Beulah Bondi Cinerama picture.
NYer posted two Airport ads.
Did that last of its kind Ross Hunter glossy Hollywood production ever look great in the Music Hall. The kind of film the Music Hall was meant to play rather than the blown up made for TV looking films it would show through much of the 70s.
Though there are those who question the idea of the Music Hall showing a disaster film for Easter.
Gorgeous photo! Too bad it no longer looks like that.
As per CC’s posting of King Solomon’s Mines I believe I read once on here the magnascope screen was used for the stampede.
There should be a list of movies that used the screen and for which sequences. But I guess no one at this point would remember or that any record was kept.