Vincent, I respectfully disagree with you. When was the last time you saw “Citizen Kane” on a screen as big or almost as big as the one it premiered on at the Palace in 1941? Probably never. Well, this is your chance. Same goes for “Cabaret” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.
OK, they’re not showing the films you want to see, but who’s to say they won’t show them sometime in the future? If we show them our support by attending some (or all) of these shows, Classics at the Ziegfeld can become a twice-a-year ongoing event.
Now that’s the best news I’ve heard all summer. “Cabaret” is an especially good choice, since it was one of the biggest hits the Ziegfeld had in its early years. In fact all the choices are great, just like the last time. Thanks, Craig!
Thanks, Ed. I have a good/bad memory of “Mad World” at the Warner in November 1963. I was 9 years old. My dad took us to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that year, and we stood right in front of the Warner. It was about 20 degrees, and I begged my dad to take us to see that big new Cinerama comedy movie instead – it would be much more comfortable. But he said no, we were there to see the parade, etc. He finally did take my sister and I to New York to see “Mad World”, but more than a year later!
Ed: Did you get the Daily News ads from the New York Public Library? I’d love to re-read the half-column, **½ dismissal of “2001: A Space Odyssey” in the News during the first week of April 1968. I was positive it would be one of the rare sci-fi movies to rate 4 stars.
Ed: did you get the Daily News ad from the New York Public Library? I’d love to re-read the half-column **½ dismissal of “2001: A Space Odyssey” from the News in the first week of April 1968. I was positive that would be one of the rare sci-fi movies to rate 4 stars.
To answer Vincent’s question about “West Side Story”: it did move out into the suburbs sooner than that, and in 70mm to boot. The 35mm engagements in theaters all over the area didn’t begin until April 1963:
From Michael Coate and William Kallay’s excellent website, which all Cinema Treasures fans will enjoy:
Thanks, Warren. I wonder if that 8:30 AM showing was the one Richard Brooks attended, when he stormed into the projection booth and made them crank up the volume for “Rock Around the Clock”.
Another great picture from Robert R! Thanks very much. Gee, about the only thing that looks the same today as it did then is the iron fence running down the middle of the Square.
On the left side of the picture, above the State, is an ad for a movie ending in “LE” or “DE” that’s being sold as The Most Startling Film in Years. I wonder what it was – maybe Warren or William could tell us?
This is the closest drive-in to the New York City/Northern New Jersey area (about 50 miles from Manhattan). Drive-ins were once situated all over Bergen and Hudson Counties. Fans of those good old days should patronize the Warwick for a really fun time-warp experience.
Don, you’re probably right. That ad was from the picture’s 33rd week but in this one from the first week, the Cinerama logo is there and the Cinerama lens was no doubt being used:
Don: I wondered about that too. When “2001” played the Clairidge Theater in Montclair, some of the ads have the Cinerama logo on display and some do not. This one only says Super Panavision:
I recall a Times Square automat being on the same block as the Howard Johnson’s. I may be one or two blocks off here. Back in 1962 my parents took the family there after seeing “That Touch of Mink” at Radio City. The movie featured several scenes that took place in an Automat. The Audrey Meadows character worked there and gave free food to her friend and roommate Doris Day.
Klass: Didn’t the Howard Johnson’s in Times Square close down about a year ago? When Star Wars Episode III opened in May 2005, I had dinner there before going to the Ziegfeld and the waiter was talking about the imminent end of the restaurant. I believe that was the last one left in New York City.
I moved to a town near Lyndhurst in 1963. Sadly, my only contact with the Ritz was after it had closed. It was being used as a bathroom and plumbing supplies showroom.
I was at the AMMI screening of “2001” that Peter T. wrote about. The print did have some flaws and there was some noticeable flickering, especially in the lower corners of the screen. But it was still a 70mm screening of my all-time favorite movie, and you can really see the difference between 70mm and 35mm. Some of the menu items posted on the wall of the space shuttle kitchen were actually readable from the front row (Apricot Nectar, Apple Cider, etc.) And the sound was fantastic: HAL’s voice seemed to emanate from all corners of the ship … I mean, the theater.
It was one of the prints that Pete A. described: it had a Warner Bros. logo at the very end of the credits.
The Chinese Theater was an awesome and amazing sight for someone from the New York area like me. Almost all our movie palaces have been destroyed. A famous Chinese-American actor, Keye Luke, designed and painted the murals, wall and ceiling decorations in the theater, and they are truly beautiful.
Rhett: Clearview exec Craig O'Connor said the Classics will be back in the fall. A manager also announced this to the audience right before the showing of “Ben-Hur”, which was fairly early in the Classics series. I guess it was a success right away. So when the dud summer “blockbusters” have run their course in a couple of weeks, we’ll have REALLY good movies up on the Ziegfeld screen again. I saw “The Da Vinci Code” last night and, believe me, word of mouth on that one is not going to be good.
Thanks JSA – I really appreciate your report on “80 Days”, and I’m glad you and your son had a good time in spite of the fading. Just yesterday I was searching around for any comments or reviews in the usual places, and didn’t find any.
I believe the first time it was shown on CBS (1972?), the Ed Murrow sequence was cut completely. The movie started with David Niven as Fogg entering the Reform Club.
I’d better not go see MI:3. I’d be rooting for the bad guy, Philip Seymour Hoffman. If Superman Returns gets booked into the Ziegfeld, I’ll be there for that.
About 20 years ago I went to the Daily News building on 42nd St. somewhere on the east side, and asked them about access to their microfilm collection. They told me no, but maybe that has changed. The New York Public Library may have it as well – I should investigate. I’d love to read those original Daily News reviews – I think they were the first publication to use the 4-star rating system.
Vincent, I respectfully disagree with you. When was the last time you saw “Citizen Kane” on a screen as big or almost as big as the one it premiered on at the Palace in 1941? Probably never. Well, this is your chance. Same goes for “Cabaret” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.
OK, they’re not showing the films you want to see, but who’s to say they won’t show them sometime in the future? If we show them our support by attending some (or all) of these shows, Classics at the Ziegfeld can become a twice-a-year ongoing event.
Now that’s the best news I’ve heard all summer. “Cabaret” is an especially good choice, since it was one of the biggest hits the Ziegfeld had in its early years. In fact all the choices are great, just like the last time. Thanks, Craig!
Thanks, Ed. I have a good/bad memory of “Mad World” at the Warner in November 1963. I was 9 years old. My dad took us to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that year, and we stood right in front of the Warner. It was about 20 degrees, and I begged my dad to take us to see that big new Cinerama comedy movie instead – it would be much more comfortable. But he said no, we were there to see the parade, etc. He finally did take my sister and I to New York to see “Mad World”, but more than a year later!
Sorry for the double post – the first one didn’t show up for some reason, until now.
Ed: Did you get the Daily News ads from the New York Public Library? I’d love to re-read the half-column, **½ dismissal of “2001: A Space Odyssey” in the News during the first week of April 1968. I was positive it would be one of the rare sci-fi movies to rate 4 stars.
Ed: did you get the Daily News ad from the New York Public Library? I’d love to re-read the half-column **½ dismissal of “2001: A Space Odyssey” from the News in the first week of April 1968. I was positive that would be one of the rare sci-fi movies to rate 4 stars.
To answer Vincent’s question about “West Side Story”: it did move out into the suburbs sooner than that, and in 70mm to boot. The 35mm engagements in theaters all over the area didn’t begin until April 1963:
From Michael Coate and William Kallay’s excellent website, which all Cinema Treasures fans will enjoy:
View link
October 19:
West Side Story
Super Panavision 70 / Six-Track Stereo
Reserved Seat Engagement
United Artists
Manhattan: [uA] Rivoli
Includes World Premiere on October 18, 1961
Expanded release on April 13, 1962:
Asbury Park: [Walter Reade] St. James
Syosset: [Skouras] Syosset
Upper Montclair: [uA] Bellevue
Expanded release on June 28, 1962:
Nanuet: [Skouras] Route 59
Thanks, Warren. I wonder if that 8:30 AM showing was the one Richard Brooks attended, when he stormed into the projection booth and made them crank up the volume for “Rock Around the Clock”.
Thanks, William. That tagline was quite accurate – the scene where Richard Kiley brings his record collection to school still disturbs me!
Another great picture from Robert R! Thanks very much. Gee, about the only thing that looks the same today as it did then is the iron fence running down the middle of the Square.
On the left side of the picture, above the State, is an ad for a movie ending in “LE” or “DE” that’s being sold as The Most Startling Film in Years. I wonder what it was – maybe Warren or William could tell us?
This is the closest drive-in to the New York City/Northern New Jersey area (about 50 miles from Manhattan). Drive-ins were once situated all over Bergen and Hudson Counties. Fans of those good old days should patronize the Warwick for a really fun time-warp experience.
Don, you’re probably right. That ad was from the picture’s 33rd week but in this one from the first week, the Cinerama logo is there and the Cinerama lens was no doubt being used:
View link
Don: I wondered about that too. When “2001” played the Clairidge Theater in Montclair, some of the ads have the Cinerama logo on display and some do not. This one only says Super Panavision:
View link
Doesn’t matter, Ed – you made them available in the best possible place. I never would have found the French website, most likely.
Thanks Ed – thought I’d never see the old Astor Plaza again …
I recall a Times Square automat being on the same block as the Howard Johnson’s. I may be one or two blocks off here. Back in 1962 my parents took the family there after seeing “That Touch of Mink” at Radio City. The movie featured several scenes that took place in an Automat. The Audrey Meadows character worked there and gave free food to her friend and roommate Doris Day.
Klass: Didn’t the Howard Johnson’s in Times Square close down about a year ago? When Star Wars Episode III opened in May 2005, I had dinner there before going to the Ziegfeld and the waiter was talking about the imminent end of the restaurant. I believe that was the last one left in New York City.
I moved to a town near Lyndhurst in 1963. Sadly, my only contact with the Ritz was after it had closed. It was being used as a bathroom and plumbing supplies showroom.
Wally: “Woodstock” played on Broadway at the Trans-Lux West. Was that the name of the theater that became the Pussycat?
I was at the AMMI screening of “2001” that Peter T. wrote about. The print did have some flaws and there was some noticeable flickering, especially in the lower corners of the screen. But it was still a 70mm screening of my all-time favorite movie, and you can really see the difference between 70mm and 35mm. Some of the menu items posted on the wall of the space shuttle kitchen were actually readable from the front row (Apricot Nectar, Apple Cider, etc.) And the sound was fantastic: HAL’s voice seemed to emanate from all corners of the ship … I mean, the theater.
It was one of the prints that Pete A. described: it had a Warner Bros. logo at the very end of the credits.
The Chinese Theater was an awesome and amazing sight for someone from the New York area like me. Almost all our movie palaces have been destroyed. A famous Chinese-American actor, Keye Luke, designed and painted the murals, wall and ceiling decorations in the theater, and they are truly beautiful.
Rhett: Clearview exec Craig O'Connor said the Classics will be back in the fall. A manager also announced this to the audience right before the showing of “Ben-Hur”, which was fairly early in the Classics series. I guess it was a success right away. So when the dud summer “blockbusters” have run their course in a couple of weeks, we’ll have REALLY good movies up on the Ziegfeld screen again. I saw “The Da Vinci Code” last night and, believe me, word of mouth on that one is not going to be good.
Thanks JSA – I really appreciate your report on “80 Days”, and I’m glad you and your son had a good time in spite of the fading. Just yesterday I was searching around for any comments or reviews in the usual places, and didn’t find any.
I believe the first time it was shown on CBS (1972?), the Ed Murrow sequence was cut completely. The movie started with David Niven as Fogg entering the Reform Club.
I’d better not go see MI:3. I’d be rooting for the bad guy, Philip Seymour Hoffman. If Superman Returns gets booked into the Ziegfeld, I’ll be there for that.
About 20 years ago I went to the Daily News building on 42nd St. somewhere on the east side, and asked them about access to their microfilm collection. They told me no, but maybe that has changed. The New York Public Library may have it as well – I should investigate. I’d love to read those original Daily News reviews – I think they were the first publication to use the 4-star rating system.