i thank Techman707 for the inside info. two
new-ish questions. your additional thoughts
are appreciated. many thanks in advance.
i agree with you that the Demille suffered
the worst tri-plexing ever of a former movie
palace. but would you have any info as to
why since it was in such horrid condition it
was never closed for building or health
violations previous to its actual closing?
also as i have said i have been to the Times
Square area for either films or Broadway
shows for virtually my entire adult so i would
notice signage that was different from my
previous visit.i know when the theater
was tri-plexed the new operators were thinking
of renaming it the Mark 1,2,3 but did the
name ever actually make it on the marquee?
if it did actually make it onto the marquee
it most have lasted like a day.
to Tinseltoes- you have been most hopeful with
previous questions so here goes with a new one.
as you stated above THE ALAMO moved from its
Todd-AO roadshow run of many months at the
Rivoli to a continuous performance run at
popular prices at the Astor in May of 1961.
but the ads for this engagement made no note
of the fact the print was 25 mins. shorter
than the roadshow Todd-AO print. therein lies
mu question. after a Cinerama roadshow engagement of many months at the Warner Theater
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD moved to a
popular price continuous performance run at
the Astor. what was the running time of the
continuous performance print as opposed to
the roadshow print? also it obviously wasn’t
in Cinerama so what was the Astor run
advertised as being in? many thanks in advance.
i’m asking a question i asked several months
ago and would appreciate it if my fellow
posters have any additional info/thoughts on
the matter. during Oct.1955 thru Dec.1972 seven
large grand old movies were used as roadshow
houses by the studios-Criterion, Loews State,
RKO Palace, DeMille, Warner, Rivoli and the
Loews Capitol. now the Palace was originally
built as a stage theater so my question will
pertain to the other six. the Criterion was in
fairly decent shape after a redo by United
Artists theaters before being gutted for the
Toys R' Us. the Loews State which had been
twinned in 1968 was in fairly decent shape
before the building which housed it was torn
down. the Warner which had been tri-plexed
in 1967? was still in fairly decent shape
before the building which housed it was torn down. this was also the case with the Rivoli
which had been twinned and the Loews Capitol
which wasn’t. so here’s my question- who the
hell owned/operated/managed the Embassy1,2,3
before it closed for good? in contrast to
the other five theaters just noted the Embassy
1,2,3 was in absolutely horrid shape. this
was especially true not only of the 3
auditoriums but the men’s rooms on both the
orchestra and mezzanine/balcony level. i can’t
believe the theater hadn’t already closed
because of building or health code violations.
to either see a new film at one of the
large movie theaters or a Broadway show i
have been a frequent visitor to the Times
Square area most of my adult life. to which
my question- i don’t remember the former
Mayfair/DeMille ever having The Mark as its
name on the marquee. so i’m guessing it
was a proposed name change that never made
it to the marquee.
i find the photo posted by jflundy on
1/5/08 most interesting. first off it was
neat to see the theater with a big ornate
old fashion marquee. but what i find most
fascinating is that date given for the.
photo 6/23/29. unless NYC widened Houston
St. subsequent to the photo being taken
the street in front of the theater is
wayyyyyyyyyyyy to narrow to be Houston
Street. is it at all possible that the
photo is not of the Sunshine Cinema that
exists today?
as with older buildings in NYC i can’t help but wonder if the fire was a “business fire” as they are called.. many times even if an older building is in perfectly good shape the land the theater is on is even more valuable than the historical and or architectural aspect of the building.
i live in New York City and visited London in August of 1972. i attended an showing of “Nicholas and Alexandria” at this theater. it was the first movie theater i had seen with a coffee bar and cafe rather than just a concession stand selling soda and popcorn.
speaking of “Darling Lili”. aside from the quality of the film
as a whole it does contain two of the best musical sequences ever-
“Whistling Away The Dark” and “I’ll Give You Three Guesses”.
do any of my fellow posters know of a say 2 maybe 3 websites that
sell movie souvenir programs? of course there’s EBay but
i don’t want to bid and wait i just find to buy them outright.
was the Harris/Candler Theater torn down because it was in
such condition that it was unrepairable or because no one wanted
to spend the time and money to properly renovate it as they did with the New Amsterdam?
i have no complaint about the projection or sound in the
theaters but the men’s rooms at the Empire 25 like the men’s
rooms in most multiplexes are quite unevenly maintained.
whenever i mentioned there’s a problem they don’t seem to
give a damn. i guess most multiplex managers don’t think
maintaining a clean well kept men’s room is very important.
while this theater has been in the forefront of showing indie
films for almost 50 years they screwed up royally when they
did a modernizing/tri-plexing in 1999. the only rest room is
in the lower level and is simply to damn small for three
screens. for instance the men’s room has only one stall so
you’re stuck if there’s a long line. i should think when they
“renovated” the theater they should have said “hey we need a
larger men’s rest room”. this has got to be the smallest men's
room in any movie theater in NYC.
i wish to correct an earlier post in which a fellow poster
stated that although the Coronet played many an exclusive
engagement in its long storied career it never had a reserved
seat or to use the trade term roadshow film engagement. it
did. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW directed by Franco Zefferelli and
starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton opened at the
Coronet on a reserved seat engagement. the spring of 1967 if
i’m not mistaken.
i thank brucec for his reply. but i am intrigued by your
comment-“Radio City was stuck with product like The Happiest
Millionaire and was locked out of getting better product”. one
question. how was Radio City “stuck” with the film? films
ran just so long at the Music Hall to begin with so how could
one film not being a box office hit effect the Music Hall's
over all financial well being? also how did booking THM for the
Thanksgiving 1967 period prevent the Music Hall from booking
“better product” when THM’s run ended? hear from you soon.
i thank Michael C. for the info.one of course should never assume
things but i always assumed that THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE’s roadshow
run at the Pantages was a disappointment. i based this assumption
on the fact the film didn’t open in NYC till like 5 months later
with no intermission, 25mins. cut out and on a non-roadshow basis.
but an almost 7 month roadshow run at the Pantages seems decent
enough so i wonder why Disney chose to release it in NYC the way
they did.
since this theater is a decent size does anyone know if it
was ever used by the studios to present films on an exclusive
roadshow basis in the period 1955-1972?
its interesting the Fine Arts is the only art house in
Manhattan to have hosted 3 roadshow films-A MAN FOR ALL
SEASONS, THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE and THE TROJAN
WOMEN. all three films also had souvenir programs.
Hello. i hope someone has a knowledge of London’s Cinerama
theaters. the summer of 1972 i had the opportunity to travel
to London. while there i saw a re-release of THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS, this is where my question comes in. i could swear
the name of the theater was the Shaftsbury Cinerama but when
i looked it up zippo. does anyone know what Cinerama theaters
were operating in London in August of 1972? thanks for any info.
hello again. reading my fellow poster’s comments always prompts
new questions on my part. here goes. the 1/21/11 note by William
states that 70MM didn’t arrive at the Palace till the June 1969
roadshow re-issue of BEN-HUR. since it was a tiny bit before my
time i’ve always assumed the Oct.1963 exclusive roadshow engagement of 55 DAYS AT PEKING at the Palace was in 70MM. i make this
assumption because Samuel Bronston’s two previous roadshow epics
EL CID and KING OF KINGS were shot in 70MM Super Technirama. so
regardless of the name of the actual process they were shot in
55…. wasn’t shot in 70MM like the other two films?
was the auditorium of the nearby Candler/Harris Theater completely
torn down or is it locked up behind Madame’s Tussaud’s Wax Museum?
the reason i ask is that there seems to be the rear facades of 3
theaters on the north side of 41 St. if two are the Liberty and
the New Amsterdam what’s the third one?
i remember this theater showing gay porn when i first visited
L.A. May of 1980. when exactly did it close as a mainstream movie
house and after that when did it start showing gay porn?
any photos of the theater in its early years as the Audubon?
for instance when “Down To The Sea In Ships” played a neighborhood
engagement after an exclusive 3 month run in Times Square?
one can’t help but wonder if the fire in 1978 that heavily
damaged the theater and lead to its demolition was as we call
them in New York City a “business fire”(hint,hint).
i just became aware of this website like a month ago. so i have
3 quick questions for devotees of the late Tower East. none of the photo links for the old Loews 72 St. work. how
can i see photos of it? the Tower East was built as a movie theater with no freight
entrance so how in God’s name will convert it into a super-
market?
*also while we all lament the passing of a grand old movie theater
like the Loews 72 Street we must not forget that these grand old
theaters simply became economically unfeasible. :–(
i thank AlAlvarez for posting the street chart as to the situation
of which theaters were where. but it only prompts another question
on my part. so here goes. the Lew Fields/Anco Theater and the American were torn down, the Eltinge/Empire never went back to
41 St.,the Liberty auditorium is closed up,the New Amsterdam is
alive and well which leaves the Candler/Harris. now from the chart
the entrance/lobby of the theater ran alongside the Candler building and the body of the theater the auditorium was actually on
41 St. so when Madame Tussuad’s was built they completely torn
down not only the entrance/lobby area but the auditorium as well?
i thank Techman707 for the inside info. two new-ish questions. your additional thoughts are appreciated. many thanks in advance.
i agree with you that the Demille suffered the worst tri-plexing ever of a former movie palace. but would you have any info as to why since it was in such horrid condition it was never closed for building or health violations previous to its actual closing?
also as i have said i have been to the Times Square area for either films or Broadway shows for virtually my entire adult so i would notice signage that was different from my previous visit.i know when the theater was tri-plexed the new operators were thinking of renaming it the Mark 1,2,3 but did the name ever actually make it on the marquee? if it did actually make it onto the marquee it most have lasted like a day.
to Tinseltoes- you have been most hopeful with previous questions so here goes with a new one. as you stated above THE ALAMO moved from its Todd-AO roadshow run of many months at the Rivoli to a continuous performance run at popular prices at the Astor in May of 1961. but the ads for this engagement made no note of the fact the print was 25 mins. shorter than the roadshow Todd-AO print. therein lies mu question. after a Cinerama roadshow engagement of many months at the Warner Theater THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD moved to a popular price continuous performance run at the Astor. what was the running time of the continuous performance print as opposed to the roadshow print? also it obviously wasn’t in Cinerama so what was the Astor run advertised as being in? many thanks in advance.
i’m asking a question i asked several months ago and would appreciate it if my fellow posters have any additional info/thoughts on the matter. during Oct.1955 thru Dec.1972 seven large grand old movies were used as roadshow houses by the studios-Criterion, Loews State, RKO Palace, DeMille, Warner, Rivoli and the Loews Capitol. now the Palace was originally built as a stage theater so my question will pertain to the other six. the Criterion was in fairly decent shape after a redo by United Artists theaters before being gutted for the Toys R' Us. the Loews State which had been twinned in 1968 was in fairly decent shape before the building which housed it was torn down. the Warner which had been tri-plexed in 1967? was still in fairly decent shape before the building which housed it was torn down. this was also the case with the Rivoli which had been twinned and the Loews Capitol which wasn’t. so here’s my question- who the hell owned/operated/managed the Embassy1,2,3 before it closed for good? in contrast to the other five theaters just noted the Embassy 1,2,3 was in absolutely horrid shape. this was especially true not only of the 3 auditoriums but the men’s rooms on both the orchestra and mezzanine/balcony level. i can’t believe the theater hadn’t already closed because of building or health code violations.
to either see a new film at one of the large movie theaters or a Broadway show i have been a frequent visitor to the Times Square area most of my adult life. to which my question- i don’t remember the former Mayfair/DeMille ever having The Mark as its name on the marquee. so i’m guessing it was a proposed name change that never made it to the marquee.
i find the photo posted by jflundy on 1/5/08 most interesting. first off it was neat to see the theater with a big ornate old fashion marquee. but what i find most fascinating is that date given for the. photo 6/23/29. unless NYC widened Houston St. subsequent to the photo being taken the street in front of the theater is wayyyyyyyyyyyy to narrow to be Houston Street. is it at all possible that the photo is not of the Sunshine Cinema that exists today?
as with older buildings in NYC i can’t help but wonder if
the fire was a “business fire” as they are called.. many times
even if an older building is in perfectly good shape the land
the theater is on is even more valuable than the historical and
or architectural aspect of the building.
i live in New York City and visited London in August of 1972. i
attended an showing of “Nicholas and Alexandria” at this theater.
it was the first movie theater i had seen with a coffee bar and
cafe rather than just a concession stand selling soda and popcorn.
speaking of “Darling Lili”. aside from the quality of the film
as a whole it does contain two of the best musical sequences ever-
“Whistling Away The Dark” and “I’ll Give You Three Guesses”.
do any of my fellow posters know of a say 2 maybe 3 websites that
sell movie souvenir programs? of course there’s EBay but
i don’t want to bid and wait i just find to buy them outright.
was the Harris/Candler Theater torn down because it was in
such condition that it was unrepairable or because no one wanted
to spend the time and money to properly renovate it as they did with the New Amsterdam?
i have no complaint about the projection or sound in the
theaters but the men’s rooms at the Empire 25 like the men’s
rooms in most multiplexes are quite unevenly maintained.
whenever i mentioned there’s a problem they don’t seem to
give a damn. i guess most multiplex managers don’t think
maintaining a clean well kept men’s room is very important.
while this theater has been in the forefront of showing indie
films for almost 50 years they screwed up royally when they
did a modernizing/tri-plexing in 1999. the only rest room is
in the lower level and is simply to damn small for three
screens. for instance the men’s room has only one stall so
you’re stuck if there’s a long line. i should think when they
“renovated” the theater they should have said “hey we need a
larger men’s rest room”. this has got to be the smallest men's
room in any movie theater in NYC.
i wish to correct an earlier post in which a fellow poster
stated that although the Coronet played many an exclusive
engagement in its long storied career it never had a reserved
seat or to use the trade term roadshow film engagement. it
did. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW directed by Franco Zefferelli and
starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton opened at the
Coronet on a reserved seat engagement. the spring of 1967 if
i’m not mistaken.
i thank brucec for his reply. but i am intrigued by your
comment-“Radio City was stuck with product like The Happiest
Millionaire and was locked out of getting better product”. one
question. how was Radio City “stuck” with the film? films
ran just so long at the Music Hall to begin with so how could
one film not being a box office hit effect the Music Hall's
over all financial well being? also how did booking THM for the
Thanksgiving 1967 period prevent the Music Hall from booking
“better product” when THM’s run ended? hear from you soon.
i thank Michael C. for the info.one of course should never assume
things but i always assumed that THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE’s roadshow
run at the Pantages was a disappointment. i based this assumption
on the fact the film didn’t open in NYC till like 5 months later
with no intermission, 25mins. cut out and on a non-roadshow basis.
but an almost 7 month roadshow run at the Pantages seems decent
enough so i wonder why Disney chose to release it in NYC the way
they did.
since this theater is a decent size does anyone know if it
was ever used by the studios to present films on an exclusive
roadshow basis in the period 1955-1972?
its interesting the Fine Arts is the only art house in
Manhattan to have hosted 3 roadshow films-A MAN FOR ALL
SEASONS, THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE and THE TROJAN
WOMEN. all three films also had souvenir programs.
Hello. i hope someone has a knowledge of London’s Cinerama
theaters. the summer of 1972 i had the opportunity to travel
to London. while there i saw a re-release of THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS, this is where my question comes in. i could swear
the name of the theater was the Shaftsbury Cinerama but when
i looked it up zippo. does anyone know what Cinerama theaters
were operating in London in August of 1972? thanks for any info.
hello again. reading my fellow poster’s comments always prompts
new questions on my part. here goes. the 1/21/11 note by William
states that 70MM didn’t arrive at the Palace till the June 1969
roadshow re-issue of BEN-HUR. since it was a tiny bit before my
time i’ve always assumed the Oct.1963 exclusive roadshow engagement of 55 DAYS AT PEKING at the Palace was in 70MM. i make this
assumption because Samuel Bronston’s two previous roadshow epics
EL CID and KING OF KINGS were shot in 70MM Super Technirama. so
regardless of the name of the actual process they were shot in
55…. wasn’t shot in 70MM like the other two films?
was the auditorium of the nearby Candler/Harris Theater completely
torn down or is it locked up behind Madame’s Tussaud’s Wax Museum?
the reason i ask is that there seems to be the rear facades of 3
theaters on the north side of 41 St. if two are the Liberty and
the New Amsterdam what’s the third one?
i remember this theater showing gay porn when i first visited
L.A. May of 1980. when exactly did it close as a mainstream movie
house and after that when did it start showing gay porn?
any photos of the theater in its early years as the Audubon?
for instance when “Down To The Sea In Ships” played a neighborhood
engagement after an exclusive 3 month run in Times Square?
one can’t help but wonder if the fire in 1978 that heavily
damaged the theater and lead to its demolition was as we call
them in New York City a “business fire”(hint,hint).
i just became aware of this website like a month ago. so i have
3 quick questions for devotees of the late Tower East.
none of the photo links for the old Loews 72 St. work. how
can i see photos of it?
the Tower East was built as a movie theater with no freight
entrance so how in God’s name will convert it into a super-
market?
*also while we all lament the passing of a grand old movie theater
like the Loews 72 Street we must not forget that these grand old
theaters simply became economically unfeasible. :–(
i thank AlAlvarez for posting the street chart as to the situation
of which theaters were where. but it only prompts another question
on my part. so here goes. the Lew Fields/Anco Theater and the American were torn down, the Eltinge/Empire never went back to
41 St.,the Liberty auditorium is closed up,the New Amsterdam is
alive and well which leaves the Candler/Harris. now from the chart
the entrance/lobby of the theater ran alongside the Candler building and the body of the theater the auditorium was actually on
41 St. so when Madame Tussuad’s was built they completely torn
down not only the entrance/lobby area but the auditorium as well?