Roxy Theatre

CC Connolly is right, the Taft Hotel was not demolished but re-named as the Michelangelo. I passed by this week and it does look the same. It’s very depressing to remember all the good times we spent at the Roxy. By the way, the Roxy didn’t always offer a live show with the film. They were in competition with the RCMH, so had no choice. We often strolled over to the Roxy if the Music Hall’s line was too long. I preferred the Roxy because I preferred films from 20th Century-Fox and loved the Alfred Newman Cinemascope fanfare. Also, I felt the Roxy had a more attractive marquee, while the RCMH had an art-decor marquee. Which theatre had better popcorn, I don’t remember.

Bill, for a moment, while reading your notes I was able to forget the troubles of the world, travel thru time, and imagine myself watching the grand curtain rise at RCMH to the MGM logo on “Teahouse” and hear the Fox Fanfare at the Roxy for “Anastasia”. Thanks for that.

On the RCMH page yesterday, SimonL evoked the “Ave Maria” chorales that the Roxy had offered (inconsistently) in their Christmas shows. He rightly questioned my recall of that presentation with the screening of “Anastasia” in ‘57. But since after twenty-eight years I recently opened my sealed storage-box of programs and playbills from the '50s and '60s, I’ll act badly and quote from the souvenir of that show.

It was an expanded program celebrating the first anniversary of return of the Roxy’s stage shows, which had been suspended since CinemaScope overtook the proscenium in ‘53 (“The Robe,” et al.). The show was titled “Wide Wide World Holiday,” and Sandy Szabo, who last 10 October wrote on this page that she had skated at the Roxy, is listed among the Ice Roxyettes. It began with a segue from the Fox Movietone Newsreel, in which the then ubiquitous television personality Dave Garroway congratulated the theater’s Managing Director Robert C. Rothafel for his wisdom in resuming the live presentations. Next followed “the Roxy Orchestra under the baton of Robert Boucher and the Roxy Caroleers under the direction of Robert Nicholson” [at this point might it have been possible that the latter intoned “Ave Maria”? I remember this chorale from shows past, but might have transposed it here?].

Segment #2 was called “Happiness Street—Anywhere, U.S.A.” and it enlisted “the entire ensemble featuring the Ice Roxyettes” along with the Caroleers, first in a number entitled “Song to a Star,” and then in a number (confounding Cole Porter, Mary Martin, and Eartha Kitt) entitled “My Heart Belongs to Santa Baby,” the latter “introducting Miss Mae Edwards …a 1957 Chrvrolet Corvette … Manuel Del Toro [the lead male skater] … the Roxy Blades [the male skating corps] and Paula Newland, vocalist.” My memory of this scene goes quietly blank.

Segment #3 was called “Three Spots of Cheer” and it featured the Roxyettes, Blades, and Caroleers “in a holiday visit to Merrie London Town and Holand and … a touch of ‘Christmas in Killarney.’” Here my visual recall summons an image of those snow villages that you place on train sets at this time of year, with appropriate Victorian, Dutch, and Gaelic touches.

Segment #4 was called “The Bruises” and offered “holiday hilarity and nonsensical fun!” Clowns on skates, no doubt: don’t hold me to it.

Segment #4, “Winter Blossom Time,” introduced, with thanks to Eastman Kodak, “the scenic presentation of the innovation known as ‘SpectaColor.’” I recall that the latter was a gigantic projection device, like a 35 mm home-slide-show pumped up to unimaginable dimensions. Its three numbers were comprised of “The Jingle Belles of Ming in Fan Fare” with Miss Edwards, the Roxyettes, and Caroleers (hazy memories of the Tibetan Roof, Chongqing, Suzhou, the Great Wall, and the like), “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” with Miss Edwards and the Blades (the program notes “with apologies to the Kabuki and Noh plays of Japan”: but why apologize?), and “Geisha Gaiety” with “the entire ensemble in a holiday celebration.” Here SimonL recalls a striking image of Japan’s Matsumoto mountain as the curtain fell.

Two notes: (1)The Christmas film at RCMH that year was “Sayonara,” and the co-incidental Japanese thematics conveys a whiff of the rivalry that those theaters pitched coyly at the time. (2) The following year, Kodak photographed the Rockettes in their Christmas routine accompanying “Auntie Mame” (my Showplace program for the week of 4 Dec. ‘58 calls the number “Rocket to the Moon”). That enormous photomural was then put on exhibit at Grand Central Terminal, and in Dec. '61 was returned to the stage of RCMH as a self-referential backdrop for the Rockettes who were clad in the same outfits they had worn for the picture. By that time, as we all know, the Roxy had been razed, with a scant remainder of Kodak moments to remind us of what it had been.

There was a truly lame “Modern Marvels” program on the History Channel last Thursday evening about Times Square. My mouth salivated at the thought (before it started) that they would at least dwell in part on the great movie palaces in Times Square. But lo and behold, the program barely discussed the item touching upon it ever so briefly and never ONCE discussing any particular theater by name except for The Hippodrome(??!!) and showing still photographs of The State and some semi-interesting photos of The Capitol and The Rivoli. The stupid ass thing about it was that they showed the photographs but did not identify the theaters by name. Only because of this site did I know what I was looking at.

Why hasn’t someone done a documentary on the movie houses of NYC? You’d think PBS could do something amazing with it. The Roxy alone sounds like it could make a fascinating documentary. That’s just me, of course.

You’re right about “clearance.” As a kid visiting family in Quincy MA in the late ‘40s and early '50s, I remember a billboard at the local train station (the Red Line to Boston) advertising current attractions at RCMH (“Look For the Silver Lining,” “On the Town,” “Sunset Boulevard”) in the usual austere format (no pictorials, except for an abstract sketch of the proscenium arch and a single Rockette) with a starred notice: “Now playing at RCMH. Coming soon to Boston.”

I’ve got to agree with Vito about better screen and sound at the Roxy. Its screen was a tad smaller (60' seems about right), but it was gently curved, and the projection was sharp as a tack. And its stereo sound was perfect. On the RCMH page at this site, I’ve remarked about horizontal lines on its screen where the panels joined (and on a resolutely flat screen, too), along with a persistent echo (especially in a less-than-full house) and evident lack of magnetic stereophonic sound. Fly space at RCMH was too narrow for a curved screen and a multiple sound system. But because the Roxy sacrificed fly space for its film presentation, its stage shows offered fewer elaborate sets and a more static display. Win some, lose some.

How did the Music Hall and the Roxy compare in boxoffice during the Golden Era into the mid 1950’s. I noticed the Music Hall played a lot of MGM product during the 1950’s and the Roxy showed mostly Fox films. It seemed the Roxy was more progressive in 1950’s than the Music Hall,when Hollywood developed the wide screen format.I would also like to hear how the theatres compared in film presentaion and what theatre was more enjoyable to watch a film.I know the Music Hall had the better stage presentations by the comments I have read.I would love to hear your comments.brucec

I did research and found that the Hotel Taft, the neighbor of the Roxy was demolished,too, if that’s any consolation. It has been replaced by a new hotel, “The Michelangelo”!

Vito through Box Office Bill’s efforts I stand corrected. I remember having the album from the movie and thought it came from the Roxy. Thanks for the correction

“Picnic” began a five-week run at RCHM on 16 Feb ‘56, and “Duchin” played at RCMH for seven weeks beginning on 22 June '56.

As I recall, Columbia and RCMH agreed on a two picture deal of
“Picnic” and “Eddie Duchin Story” playing back to back.

That’s one of her favorite movies and I think she said she saw that there also. I guess the years mixes alot of things up. It shows how memorable theatres were in addition to the films that they showed. Nobody will remember twenty years from now seeing The Aviator at Cineplex Chelsea Cinemas.

Thanks for the kind words. Have sent my post to other ushers and usherettes who were there when I was. Maybe they will post their memories.