Rivoli Theatre
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
49 people
favorited this theater
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“Cleopatra” did pretty well here in Toronto, it ran at the magnificent University theatre for almost a year, from June 26 1963 until the end of March 1964. Ironically when it came out at “Regular Prices” a few months later it played at the Tivoli (as well as the Captiol, Birchcliff, Westwood) which up until then was one of Toronto’s exclusive Roadshow houses. For years it was advertised as the Home of Todd-AO. The Tivoli had a sad end and was closed in ‘65 and demolished. I was only in the Tivoli twice, to see a re-issue of “The Robe” in '63 and a re-issue of “Can-Can” in '64. I loved it and it still holds a fascination with me today. Must have been wonderful to see all of the big roadshows there in the 50s and early 60s.
What a brilliant idea for LOA at the Criterion. I hoped they sold lemonade!
Just one more comment about popcorn at the Rivoli during “Around the World…” Was anything sold at the concession stands? Was there a concession stand? And if so, how much were Milk Duds?
brucec: actually I always understood that “Cleopatra” nearly killled off Fox to the extent that they had to sell off some of their properties (I believe Century City in LA) is where the Fox backlot once was and was sold because of the cost of “Cleopatra”. Fox endured years of financial constraints until “The Sound of Music” roared into existance and literally saved the studio. Yes, I’ve read that “Cleopatra” eventually turned a profit near the end of the 60’s but it took awhile, obviously.
I saw “Cleopatra” about 10 years ago when it came on one of the cable stations without commercials. I had no intention of watching it but after about an hour or so, the damn thing sucked me in. I was very, very surprised at how genuinely good it was. It was shown in letterbox and I tried to imagine how this must’ve looked on the screen.
“and they knew they could get popcorn etc at intermission.” Small trivia point here, but M. Todd did not allow popcorn to be sold at the Rivoli during the “80Days” run. And you couldn’t find it at the Cinerama travelogues, either. Anecdotal, and I don’t know if it’s true, but rumors at the time alleged that during the “LOA” run at the Criterion, the water pressure of the drinking fountains was lowered so that the audiences had to purchase drinks at the concession stand.
Lets talk about “Cleopatra”. The film cost 44 million to make and in todays dollars would be 300 Million. The film wasn’t a big flop, it turned a profit before it was shown on television. The problem that Fox had was that filming took so long, a couple of years, and no money was coming in from the production. Filming originally began in London and while in production Elizabeth Taylor almost died and the production was shut down while waiting for Miss Taylor to recover. The London production was scrapped along with the 7 Million already spent and the production resumed in Rome with a new director and new co-stars. It took Fox a few years after release to recoup its investment. 20th-Century Fox at one point only had two pictures in production the forever money draining “Cleopatra” and the other troubled production “Somthing Gotta Give” with Marilyn Monroe in which the production was shut down and Miss Monroe fired. Both productions were troubled and if it wasn’t for “The Longest Day” Fox may have gone out of business. I wouldn’t say “Cleopatra” was a hit but it is not the big flop that is often associated with it.brucec
You’re so right CC it was such a different time back then. No computers, no VCRs, no DVDs so if you wanted to see these big budget roadshow movies you went to where they were. After the second run theatres you couldn’t see them again until they showed up on network television cut up by commercials. I couldn’t believe how some of these classics had scenes cut out to fit into a 3 hour TV time slot including commericals. That I guess is why it was such a big deal back then to make sure you saw the film during it’s roadshow run or at least it’s first release at regular prices. Then you knew you were seeing the whole film, the way it was meant to be shown. It seemed then that audiences paid more attention to what was on the screen and they knew they could get popcorn etc at intermission. Now I think that people forget that they aren’t at home at that’s part of the problem. It was such a different time back then.
CC brings up a good point. Before computers audiences saw the budget on screen. The production designs even for musicals like Fair Lady and Dolly are pretty staggering and certainly worth the $5.50 mezzanine price. Can you imagine how much it cost to create one Cecil Beaton dress or all of 14th Street?
Now even an historical movie uses the same computer design sofware one can see on the History Channel any night of the week. I assume that today a large part of the budget goes to star salaries and the caterer who is acknowledged in the clossing credits. Take a look at the original closing credits for Fair Lady or Sound of Music. Sheesh!
“The people used the old Fox Rosemary Theatre in the Ocean Park area of Santa Monica, California for demos of the D-150 process.”
“Do you happen to know during what time period this was…at the Fox Rosemary?”
The answer is here (scroll about 2/3rd the way down the page):
View link
It literally blows my mind to think that people would willingly schleep miles to see a big picture and think it’s such an event! I’m not putting this behavior down. Rather I think it’s so sad that today’s audiences are content with either seeing the dreck they’re offered by the “studios” in these wee little theaters (with a whopping max of 500 seats!) or waiting for it on DVD to watch in their home theaters which so many claim is just as good as seeing it in a theater.
It’s depressing…
To answer OConnolly’s question about audiences and roadshows…it all depends. Press releases of the time often mentioned that the longruns of “Spartacus” (DeMille) and “Cleopatra” (Rivoli) were more due to contractual demands than audience demands. On the other hand, both “This Is Cinerama” and “80 Days” were virtual sell-outs during the first year of their runs. Same for SOM.
To DennisZ: Regarding what seems like astronomical costs of movies today, remember that “Cleopatra” cost the unheard of price of $40 million dollars back in 1963. That was an outrageous amount that effectively sank 20th Century Fox for years even after it rebounded tremendously with “SOM”. But one thing that one critic says about “Cleopatra” (I forget exactly who…) is that if you compare the opulance in “Cleopatra” with today’s $140 million epic (Christ, did anyone see “Troy”? Ugh..don’t) with “Cleopatra” you could SEE where the $40 million dollars went. No digitalized extras, no cheapo-special effects. Yes, “Cleopatra” is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long and it’s a tad plodding at times but it’s made to be a spectacle.
Please don’t forget the Cinerama long runs: “This Is Cinerma,” a total of 125 weeks (from 9/30/52 at the Broaday; from 6/53 until 2/55 at the Warner); “Cinerama Holiday” (62 weeks); and “7 Wonders of the World” (70 weeks).
Sorry, I was writing something else.
It be November 4th for the premiere and November 5th for the opening.
William SON didn’t open until the fall of ‘70 at the Cinerama in Times Square. I didn’t go simply because somehow it wasn’t a Cinerama roadshow with Mrs. Brady in the lead.
I regret it now. I wonder if the movie is as bad as they said.
Pauline Kael said it seems to have been made by trolls.
Robert, Lost Horizon opened in continuous perfs at Loew’s State 1. Should have played at the Music Hall. Either way it still was one of those inexplicable 70s musical atrocities.
Here are the top Roadshows that played the Rivoli Theatre.
“Around the World in 80 Days” (103 weeks)
“The Sound of Music” (93 weeks)
“West Side Story” (77 weeks)
“Cleopatra” (64 weeks)
“Fiddler on the Roof” (58 weeks)
“Gone With the Wind” (54 weeks)
“South Pacific” (54 weeks total but opened Criterion then move-over
to the Rivoli)
“Oklahoma” (51 weeks)
“The Sand Pebbles” (35 weeks)
“Hello Dolly” (34 weeks)
“Can-Can” (33 weeks)
You’re right mjc, the Odeon Carlton was one of the Best movie theatres in all of Canada. James Bond movies after “From Russia with Love” opened here and it was a big event. The last James Bond movie at the Carlton was (i think) “Live and Let Die”. It was a sad, sad day indeed when they demolished this showplace. I took several pictures just before it closed. Too bad they didn’t turn it into a performing arts centre but it had no backstage area. It was always one of my very favourite theatres.
“Song of Norway” played that the Pacific East’s Cinerama (aka: Warner) starting April 5th 1970, with a premiere on April 4th.
Those two helped kill off the movie musical. In Toronto “Norway” played roadshow at the Glendale but “Horizon” was a non roadshow engagement at the Odeon Carlton. It played regular continuous performances and didn’t last long. I think after these the next successful musical was “Cabaret” which ran at the Glendale for about 9 months or so.
Tim Elliot wrote: “Those really were "events”.“
And don’t forget the James Bond movies that opened in the 60’s around Christmas at (IMHO) the best movie theatre in Toronto….and Canada…the Odeon Carlton (called the"Showplace of the Dominion” when it opened in 1948). The line ups were incredible. The coloured light changes and fantastic stage curtains in the 2500 seat theatre, the cheers and clapping when the organ came up out of the floor with the great Colin Corbett.
When the wreckers ball took care of the Carlton, it also took care of a good part of the great movie experiences Toronto had to offer back then.
I would also liked to have seen how the Rivoli presented its movies back in those days. Sounds like it was quite an experience too.
Let’s not forget those other roadshow turkies “Song of Norway” and “Lost Horizon”. My parents took me to see those two. I have no idea where Norway played but I believe Horizon was at Loews State.
CConnolly was right though when you said that the studio put out too many of these kinds of films, that helped kill off the roadshow format. After the success of “SOM” every studio tried to duplicate it’s success by finding some musical to produce. Some like “Paint Your Wagon” and “Finian’s Rainbow” were from Broadway shows in the 40s. It’s like everything else, something is a huge success and then everyone tries to copy it. Roadshows weren’t the only movies realeased that way. All movies usually played in one or two theatres downtown, ran for a few or several weeks and then eventually made it’s way to the neighbourhoods or suburban theatres. That’s the way it was. I think it was “Jaws” that changed the way movies were released forever. Opening weekends were not as important then, if a movie had legs, then it could play in some downtown theatres for weeks or months just like the roadshows. The only difference was there were no reserved seats and were at cheaper prices.
I am going to add my two cents to this “roadshow/reserved seat” discussion. When I was growing up in the 50’s and early 60’s, this was a big deal. My parents would take us from Lancaster, PA to Center City Philadelphia to see “My Fair Lady,” “Cleopatra”, “Around The World in 80 Days”, etc. etc. Simply because you knew the film would not be shown in the “hinderlands” until much later and the running time would be cut for continuous showings at these hinderland theatres. No theatres in Lancaster had 70mm, Cinerama, stereo sound capabilities. So we would make the 60 plus mile trip one way and many times, if it was a Saturday spend the day in Philadelphia. We would shop, eat dinner in some restaurant, and then go to the movie. They even supplied you with a “program” and you could also buy the souvenier programs from someone in the lobby. That was when moviegoing was special. People actually went to the movie to see the movie. Now they spend half the time talking, walking out to the rest room, refreshment stand, and just generally bothering the other people around them. Many people think they are still sitting in their living rooms! Of course, back then, it did not cost 100-200 million dollars to make a movie! So there was no need to have a 30-40 million opening weekend! Well, I have added my two cents. I personally miss the “event” method of film presentations! When the curtains, yes curtains, opened on that 70mm or Cinerama sized screen, you knew you were in for something special!
I find this whole Roadshow concept amazing because it’s completely different from the way movies are marketed today. There is absolutely NO WAY any studio or producer would or will expend the money, time and effort on something like this. The studios now make their HUGE money on the DVD sale. They look at a film’s theatrical release merely as a marketing tool.
Yes, Tim Elliot: those do sound like the good old days when movies in theaters, whether they were actually good or not, were considered worthy of being treated like an event. But what happened? From what I have read and you point out (without meaning to…) the studios simply put out too many EVENT pictures for the general audience to see. And a lot of them (without naming names…) were, quite frankly, turkeys. That combined with the changing tastes in films spelled the rather quick demise of the roadshow concept.
CC if you can get your hands at your library of Variety on microfilm you can see how well a film was doing during its entire run week by week at a specific theater in a major city.
Of course this is subject to if the theater was being honest or not about its grosses.
For example Mike Todd would put up the sold out sign in the Rivoli even when 80 Days was not sold out just to make it a bit more difficult to get into.
The Music Hall would close the third balconey even when it had the patronage to open it.