Rivoli Theatre
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
49 people
favorited this theater
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Just as a side note, during the late 1950s/early 1960s, there was a mini trend in NYC to showcase so-called “films of class” in legit houses. I especially vividly remember the (at the time) notorious “La Dolce Vita” from Fellini having a long extended roadshow run at the Henry Miller Theatre (how appropriate!). This was I believe in the Spring of 1960, and the run extended several months. Astor Films was the distributor. It had less luck later that year with Visconti’s “Rocco and His Brothers” also roadshowed at the Henry Miller. I just remembered: I think Brando’s “Julius Caesar” a few years earlier playing roadshow at the Booth.
As far as I know, “Gigi” was the only film that played at the Royale. It opened in 1927 with an accent on comedy. Its first big hit was in 1928 with Mae West’s “Diamond Lil.” True, many films derived from plays that unfolded on its stage. But it was live theater all the way (except for “Gigi”).
So, the Royale should have a page of its own.
The Spanish-style design of the Royale seems right for movies. It must have been (one of) Laurence Olivier’s favorite NYC theater(s), because I saw him act twice there, just before “Gigi” in “The Entertainer” and a couple of years later in “Beckett” (with Anthony Quinn as Henry II). I also saw Bette Davis act there in “Night of the Iguana.” In recent years, the Royale has staged “Art” and “Copenhagen.” “Gigi” opened at the Royale on 15 May ‘58, and in the Fall moved to continuous performances at the Sutton where I saw it. Odd, then, that VM’s and CB’s splendid visuals premiered in NYC on relatively small screens. When “Gigi” finally came to the nabes, I saw it again at the Alpine, which boasted of having the largest screen in Broooklyn. The film looked great in that cavernous expanse.
I once heard the lyricist Sammy Cahn speaking about seeing Gigi and talking about the legit curtains opening on those splendid opening titles. I guess it was a great movie moment for him.
TCM has a short on widescreen movies pan and scan vs letterboxing featuring the entrance of Jourdan and Caron in Maxims. There isn’t a director or production designer alive today who can do anything half as good. Thank you VM and CB.
Gigi opened in the Broadway Royal, a legit house.
From IMDB.com regarding the World Premiere of “Oklahoma”:
The world premiere was preceded by a parade of fringed surreys, led by then-Oklahoma Gov. Raymond Gary (1908-1993, governor 1955-1959), which made its way from the St. James Theater, where the stage version of “Oklahoma” had opened 12 years earlier, to the Rivoli Theater for the film premiere. There, standing atop a carpet of transplanted Oklahoma soil, Gov. Gary helped raise the Oklahoma state flag from the theater staff and officially proclaimed the Rivoli to be Oklahoma territory.
“Oklahoma” blows on a TV screen, I don’t care how large it is. This film and many others like them were made for a LARGE screen. Seeing these films at home on TV screen destroys whatever “magic” they might’ve had and shows up all their limitations (story, characterization, etc.) Certain other musicals such as “West Side Story”, “Gigi”, “Funny Girl” and “Oliver” work OK on TV because their basic story structures and characterizations are more pronounced. They hold up better over the years. But it would be a wonder to see those on the BIG screen for the full impact.
One of my parent’s most beloved movies was “Gigi” which premiered at a theater called The Royale. I do not see it listed here. Does it go under a different name?
Re: Oklahoma. It is the Todd AO version that was used for the DVD transfer and that was shown on Turner Classic Movies.
CC. I was never a fan of the film Oklahoma either. But a friend forced me to go see it when in the late 70’s a Todd AO print was shown at the Penthouse(the balcony of the Warner Cinerama/Strand after twinning.)
I was, as they say, blown away. I thought it was glorious.
I saw it again at the Cinema 1(before twinning.) Again absolutely wonderful.
Had I been around when it was shown at the Rivoli I would have been there every couple of weeks. To have seen it on that curved screen!
Just so you know there are two films of Oklahoma. One filmed for Todd AO and one filmed for Cinemascope. Even Zinnemann thought the Todd AO was much better. I only wish he had done Carousel.
“Oklahoma” fared well in some places. As the first Todd-AO production, it ran for nearly a year on roadshow in Los Angeles in 2 theatres simultaneously. In other first runs it ran for shorter lengths of time because of the impending “80 Days” release which opened in most of the same houses. A 30 frames-per-second 70mm re-released played the Cinema I in Manhattan some years ago. I attended the first Sunday matinee and the house was jam packed.
Broadway as a two way street? Imagine that. Oye. The traffic would’ve been horrendous.
And to anyone who is a fan of “Oklahoma” I’d like to amend my comment disparaging the film. My comment calling it a musical mediocrity pertains soley for the FILM, not the play. The play might’ve broken new ground on the stage and is a classic. But the movie doesn’t do much.
52+ weeks of hearing “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” would send me to an asylum.
It amazes me and shows how viewing habits have changed that a musical mediocrity like “Oklahoma” (sorry fans) could remain in a place like The Rivoli for so long. Does anyone know if it was successful there over the whole engagement or did the audience peter out near the end of it’s run?
What I think has changed in Times Square is that (correct me if I’m wrong) the Movie Palaces exerted a “pull” much like the Broadway show houses did. People (tourists, suburbanites) willingly schlepped into the city to see a BIG movie like “Oklahoma” because they couldn’t wait for it to trickle down to a “theater-near-you” in what? Six months, maybe even a year?
And yes, it’s the distribution that has changed all that as well. I can’t tell you how educational this site has been.
It would be an interesting experiment if some studio tried to release a really BIG movie exclusively in Manhattan (say, The Ziegfeld) and refused to let it open wide for say, three months or so. Let’s say the final “Lord of the Rings” movie was held only at The Ziegfeld. Would the demand be great enough to pull people in like the “old days”? Honestly, I think YES. If the film is BIG enough and the audience anticipation is there, it could/would work.
But the studios, the agents, the stars want their $$$$ upfront. it would and will never happen again.
I used to love watching the Rivoli projectionist sitting in a lawn chair on the platform outside of the booth enjoying himself watching the film. 52+ week runs were not uncommon in the 1950 even in cities smaller than New York.
After looking at some nice pictures at www.historictheatres.org , I’m a little confused.
The photos show a movie called “Come to the Stable” there. I thought the entrance to The Rivoli was on Broadway. How come I see cars heading uptown when I thought that Broadway was/is a downtown street? Was it at one time both ways at that point?
I know this is a minor quibble but I’m curious. Or was the entrance somewher else?
I would like to add a brief word of praise for the projectionists who had to show the same movie for more than a year.
In one theatre where “South Pacific” played for months, I remember watching the projectionists using the dialogue, not the cue dots, for some of the changeovers to give themselves a challenge! Other than the overture and intermission, it was likely a long shift.
Just reading some of the older posts about how friggin' long some of these movies played The Rivoli, movies must’ve played in theaters for years! I mean, you had “Oklahoma” there for 51 weeks and then it was released out to the smaller theaters. This was followed by “Around the World In 80 Days” which also played for a year! Amazing! Think of how these movies over lapped one another.
These days, a “hit” movie plays out in a month or so?
If I remember correctly, it played for 65 weeks. On the inside cover of the DVD (which I don’t have available at this time)it tells you the date it opened at the Rivoli and how long it played.
I saw Sound of Music here with my parents and grandparents. I think it would up playing almost two years. The Syosset opened it hard ticket sometime in 1966.
Watched the end of “The Sound of Music” Christmas night (why the HELL ABC had to squeeze that movie into FOUR hours is beyond me. I think the commercial breaks were longer than the movie clips…).
Anyway, The Rivoli is where my Mom to my oldest brother to see “The Sound of Music” when it came out in ‘65. She said is was incredible.
Just wondering if anyone knows how long it played at The Rivoli? I’ve always heard that there were theaters (like some in the U.K.) that played “The Sound of Music” for upwards of five years!
People used to get dressed up to go in the SUBWAY – in an old ‘I Love Lucy’ (early 1950s) – Lucy and Ethel had to get somewhere quick, and Ethel said “Lucy, I can’t take the subway, I’m wearing blue jeans!” – The world has become far too casual… [sigh].
My Mom and Dad told me they would never be caught dead going to Penn Station to meet people coming into town without being dressed up!
And even I remember going to movies when I was very young and being dressed up. The one time I remember clearly was my first time at the Music Hall. Christ, I felt like I was going to church. But it added to the feeling that I was seeing and doing something unique and special.
My Mom and Dad told me they would never be caught dead going to Penn Station to meet people coming into town without being dressed up!
And even I remember going to movies when I was very young and being dressed up. The one time I remember clearly was my first time at the Music Hall. Christ, I felt like I was going to church. But it added to the feeling that I was seeing and doing something unique and special.
But I remember waiting on line in the late 70’s and early ‘80s for the Cinema 1 or the Baronet or the Coronet. It was great. The anticipation of seeing a hot new movie in an exclusive run and having to wait for it!
For CC I saw Fair Lady as a boy at the Criterion in the summer of ‘65(my only roadshow of the '60s. There were two more in the early '70’s.) I remember seeing people dressed up as if they were at a wedding or at church and being amazed. Also the souvenir book seller was in a tux! To this day I picture the Criterion as the ultimate in classy first run picture presention.
Some good interior photos of the Rivoli taken when it was being converted to 70mm at this website: View link