Roxy Theatre

153 W. 50th Street,
New York, NY 10020

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Myron
Myron on December 12, 2004 at 12:34 pm

I have fond memories of the Roxy. I remember seeing “The King & I”, “Carousel”, “A Man Called Peter” and several others. They started at one point to give programs out, imitating the Radio City Music Hall. The programs, I believe were printed in green ink. I have several in my collection, if I could find them. I was unaware that the Roxy was unable to screen these films in Cinemacope 55. I recall how magnificent the theater was inside and it didn’t have long lines like the Music Hall to buy tickets. It’s true that “Oklahoma” never played at the Roxy; it was at the Rivoli, because it was in Todd AO. Most films at the Roxy were from 2oth Century Fox. The marquis was more attractive than the Music Halls'. I regret to this day that I never saw “The Robe” at the Roxy. I cried when it was demolished; I pass the spot almost every day where it once stood and get sad.

Tierney
Tierney on December 7, 2004 at 3:20 pm

ken roe and jim rankin
Thank you for name of book now i have ordered through library and seems to be copy on E bay
David Robertson

Tierney
Tierney on December 7, 2004 at 3:19 pm

ken roe and jim rankin
Thank you for name of book now i have ordered through library and seems to be copy on E bay
David Robertson

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on December 6, 2004 at 10:31 am

PS— the book “Times Square Style” provides a rare color photo of a stage show at the Roxy, on page 35, upper right, with sixteen Roxyettes balancing themselves on beach balls, while a jazz band (Louis Armstrong?) plays behind them; as a kid, I had a post-card of that image in my collection, which identified it as a Roxy performance.

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on December 6, 2004 at 10:27 am

Warren— About movie attendance in Manhattan: I found a few leads (though nothing specific to Manhattan by browsing under the following Subject Headings in the Library of Congress, on-line catalogue: “Motion picture audiences—United States” and “Motion picture industryâ€"United Statesâ€"Finance—Statistics” (though the latter focuses mostly on studio production) and “Motion picture theatersâ€"United Statesâ€"History.” The trick is to type in “Motion picture” rather than “Movie.” Ahh, yes, the Motion Picture!
Two older books are: Leo Handel, Hollywood Looks at Its Audience: A Report of Film Audience Research, Univ of Illinois P, 1950; and Bruce Austin, The Film Audience: An International Bibliography of Research, Scarecrow Press, 1983. Both are likely outdated. But there’s been a flurry of academic publications on movie attendance in the past few years.
Here are some recent titles:
Michael Putnam, Silent Screens: The Decline and Transformation of the American Movie Theater, Johns Hopkins UP, 2000
Tom Stempel, American Audiences on Movies and Movie-going, Univ Press of Kentucky, 2001
Douglas Gomery, Shared Pleasures: A History of Movie Presentation in the US, Univ of Wisconsin P, 1992
Richard Haines, The Moviegoing Experience, McFarland Press, 2003
Barbara Wilinsky, Sure Seaters: The Emergence of the Art House Cinema, Univ of Minnesota P, 2001
Charles Acland, Screen Traffic: Movies, Multiplexes, and Global Culture, Duke Univ P, 2003
Personally, I wouldn’t celebrate much that issues from Duke Univ P these days. Whoever thought that the plateresque Roxy and so many gothic halls of ivy could wind up on the same web page?

JimRankin
JimRankin on December 6, 2004 at 8:33 am

Warren: The murder Ben M. Hall, author of the book THE BEST REMAINING SEATS: THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE MOVIE PALACE, was never solved to the best of my knowledge, but then I am not a New Yorker, so may have missed hearing of it. Incidentally, the date I gave was wrong; a news item about his murder appears in the New York Times of Dec. 16, 1970, page 54, titled: “WRITER FOUND SLAIN IN VILLAGE ROOMS” and reads:

“Benjamin M. Hall III, a writer and historian of American movie theaters and an expert on old theater organs, was found dead in his apartment early today with his throat slashed, according to the police. Mr. Hall, who was 47 years old, occupied the upper two floors of a house at 181 Christopher St. in Greenwich Village.

“The police said that a neighbor, who lived on a lower floor, became suspicious when he heard Mr. Hall’s telephone ringing for almost an hour late last night and early today. He went upstairs and, the police said, found three days' mail piled near Mr. Hall’s door. The neighbor summoned the owner of the building and, together, they found Mr. Hall’s body in his bed.

“Mr. Hall, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, was active in the American Theater Organ Enthusiasts [now: [,]www.ATOS.org],](http://www.ATOS.org) a group that sought to restore and preserve the huge pipe organs that once graced many movie theaters across the nation.”

One might contact the NYC police as to the disposition of the case, since there is no statute of limitations on murder, but it is somewhat doubtful that they retain records from that long ago date. Since he founded the THEATRE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA [www.HistoricTheatres.org] in 1969, it is possible that his friends there may know more of this. I always liked the blurb about him on the back jacket flap of his book: “…now lives in New York in a large and unorthodox apartment. It contains (among other odds and ends) a baby grand Pianola, a two manual organ, some murals rescued from the late lamented Loew’s 72nd St. Theater, an electric fountain, a collection of vintage telephones, and enough stereo and recording equipment to make his neighbors wish he lived somewhere else.”

kelley
kelley on December 5, 2004 at 3:30 pm

There is a nice reprint of the color photo of Swanson standing in the rubble of the Roxy in the book EVERYTHING WAS POSSIBLE..THE BIRTH OF THE MUSICAL FOLLIES. Supposedly this picture which was published in Life Magazine was the inspiration for the Sondheim Broadway musical FOLLIES.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on December 5, 2004 at 10:49 am

David;
The book you refer to is titled “The Best Remaining Seats” – The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace by Ben M. Hall Published by Bramhall House in 1961

It has ben re-printed a couple of times since then and there are copies to be found in 2nd hand book stores and on the internet.

JimRankin
JimRankin on December 5, 2004 at 10:42 am

David: the title you are looking for is the landmark book: THE BEST REMAINING SEATS, THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE MOVIE PALACE written in 1961 by Ben M. Hall who was murdered in 1971. It is available from most libraries or on Inter-Library Loan. Sometimes it, or one of its two successive editions (minus the color plates of the ‘61 first edition) can sometimes be found at www.Amazon.com Some used book stores also carry the issue of AMERICAN HERITAGE magazine (actually a hard bound) of October, 1961, which has the color plates in an article titled: “The Best REE=maining Seats” but not Swanson’s photo which you found in his book. See more at www.HistoricTheatres.org the organization founded as a result of his book.

Tierney
Tierney on December 5, 2004 at 10:17 am

Someone mentioned the picture of Gloria Swanson standing in the ruins of the Roxy.He mentioned seeing it in Live Magazine but I saw it in a book that I think was called Fading Movie Palaces It was the last page of a wonderful book that I have never been able to find again. It was out about 1959 Can anyone give me any help.
David Robertson

JimRankin
JimRankin on November 29, 2004 at 8:34 am

Warren, I know that some studies of markets were done even back in the 20s, and likely the Theatre Historical Society, if anyone, has these studies or knows where to find them. You might inquire of them via their Ex. Director, Richard Sklenar whose address is given on their web site’s front page at: www.HistoricTheatres.org

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on November 28, 2004 at 1:01 pm

The huge CineMiracle screen sat in front of the proscenium, over the orchestra pit, on an extended thrust stage. It had a temporary look to it, not at all like the subsequently remodelled Capitol or Loew’s State, which appeared as though management had planned for the long haul. Upon exiting from “Windjammer,” I remember signs in the lobby announcing the next CineMiracle film then in production, the disasterous “The Miracle” with Carroll Baker. The latter, of course, was finally released in a shrunken Technirama in November ‘59, when it had a brief three-week run as the Thanksgiving show at RCMH.

irajoel
irajoel on November 27, 2004 at 2:59 pm

I’m fascinated by all the rich material on the Roxy that I read. I grew up going to the Roxy in the mid and late 50’s saw Peyton Place, A Farewell to Arms, Imitation Of Life, The Tunnel Of love and a few others. At that age I much prefered the great Hall but how wonderful it would be to still have those theatres with us.

veyoung52
veyoung52 on November 27, 2004 at 1:49 pm

Thanks, BoxOfficeBill. One further question: did the curtain/screen installation cover the entire front wall like, say, the Loew’s Capitol, or was the installation more or less just in front of the proscenium on an extended thrust stage like the original Cinerama engagements?

BoxOfficeBill
BoxOfficeBill on November 27, 2004 at 1:38 pm

I saw “Windjammer” at the Roxy during Easter Week just after it opened, and, yes, I’m absolutely certain about the proper use of screen curtains and masking. It was a quality presentation. I had also seen “The King and I” in CinemaScope55 at the Roxy (with a ice-stage show developed on the theme of airplane travel, ice-skates and all) in late Spring ‘56. They used the projection booth at the mezzanine level for a less distorted image. The masking apparatus at the Roxy must have been quite versatile, since the ratio changed for newsreels (projected at 1.33) and wide-screen short subjects (at 1.6; between Sept '53 and Oct '56, the Roixy showed only CinemaScope features; the exception was “Giant” in Oct '56) and no doubt for various small calibrations of CinemaScope as well.

veyoung52
veyoung52 on November 24, 2004 at 10:38 pm

In September this year, J. F. Lundy mentioned that he saw
“Windjammer” in the CineMiracle process at the Roxy. Lundy
may then be the only person on earth who can answer the following
question. It’s a simple one: were screen curtains and masking
used during this particular ultra-large-screen presentation, or was the screen “bare”?
I ask this because there is evidence that National Theatres,
the distributor and exhibitor, spared themselves the expense
of curtains during subsequent CineMiracle engagements at the
huge Chicago Opera House as well as in both small and large venues
using “portable” CineMiracle equipment in locations such as Lancaster, PA and Atlantic City, NJ.
And one final (hopefully) word on CinemaScope 55 at the Roxy
and elsewhere. It is true that in the States only 35mm
reduction anamorphic prints were used in theatres where
“CS 55” was advertised as such. However, all of these engage-
ments used interlocked 6-track magnetic sound (as opposed to 4-track sound-on-film), and, most importantly, were projected in the original CinemaScope aspect ratio of 2.55:1 (as opposed to the post 1954 ratio of 2.35:1). Take note that the first 4 theatres in the US that premiered CinemaScope 55 were also the first 4 theatres in
the US that premiered CinemaScope (35), and presumably still
had the requisite screen material and masking to present
a 2.55:1 image. These houses other than the Roxy are the
Grauman’s Chinese, the Chicago State-Lake, and the Philadelphia
Fox.

chconnol
chconnol on November 12, 2004 at 10:57 am

I have two very interesting shots of the Roxy taken from the corner of 50th and Seventh (the SW corner). One shows “My Friend Flicka” showing while the other is for “Stormy Weather”. How do I get them onto this site for all to see? What is so interesting about the shots is that they clearly show where the entrance was. And the building is still there with a lot of the architectural details still intact to this day (the arches in the windows). What’s sicker is to consider what replaced the Roxy: this awful looking Sports Illustrated building. You can see exactly where the Roxy was.

Vito
Vito on November 7, 2004 at 6:07 am

Jim, thanks for that link. It is exactally what I was looking for and more. I will be spending many more happy hours researching all the links that page took me to. I had forgotten many of the wonderful neon signs that graced Times Square, it was a wonderful reminder. It also took me back to the days of the Automat were one could have a complete dinner for less than a buck

JimRankin
JimRankin on November 6, 2004 at 6:58 am

Vito, go to this page: View link
It says there are about 1,800 images of 42nd St. Pack a lunch and enjoy the trip!

Vito
Vito on November 6, 2004 at 6:45 am

Back in the 50s I worked at 52th and 10th but I would take the subway every morning to 42nd St. and walk to 52nd so I could see all those wonderful marquees on 42nd between B'way/7th Ave and 8th. I would start by having coffee across from the Paramount. Some times I would come home the same way walking down B'way, starting with the Rivoli on one side and The Capital on the other, down to the Times Square subway station, passing all those magnificent theatres along the way.I can’t stand to see 42nd street now with all those theatres gone. I cherish those photos of the pre 70s Times Square if anyone knows were to find some.

IanJudge
IanJudge on November 5, 2004 at 3:33 pm

Might that be Barbara “Baba Wawa” Walters, Warren?

William
William on November 5, 2004 at 1:32 pm

Just look at how 42nd Street looked with all those theatres too.

chconnol
chconnol on November 5, 2004 at 1:25 pm

I just took a walk past these theaters and was wondering about the one with the American Girl ad. What was that one called? Jeez, so many theaters, one right after the other so close together.

RobertR
RobertR on November 5, 2004 at 12:56 pm

I think Lace is the Old Cine 1 & 2

William
William on November 5, 2004 at 12:18 pm

The Mayfair/DeMille/Embassy 2,3,4 is the one that is located heading south. The one with the american girl ad is at 711 7th ave. and there is another theatre located one block north. It now houses a gentlemans club “Lace”.