Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
116 people
favorited this theater
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I respect all contributors to CT, drivel or otherwise. I will comment on those who constantly attack other contributors as trivial.
If you wish to list more show times for 1933 that is fine with me as well.
I haven’t been to RCMH in many years, but went to the “Splendor” show this February. The auditorium was painted in a pale beigh color which didn’t seem right. Was I hallucinating on it’s original color which was gold, or was pale beigh it’s original color?
It is a shame that this grand hall is under the control of cablevision. Everything they get their hands on turns to *&$@#!. Just look at the wiz, and how about a few years ago when they wouldn’t carry the yes network. Watch in a few years what will happen to the Beacon Theatre. They know nothing about the entertainment business, and anybody they have that does, usually gets the axe. I should know…
Footfall has always been a dubious figure in the industry with theatres keeping it secret so that comps, discounts, unsellable seats and footfall rent triggers did not get exposed.
You can get figures adjusted for inflation from boxofficemojo but for individual films, not theatres. Variety once speculated that BIRTH OF A NATION or DEEP THROAT, not GWTW, would probably hold the true attendance record.
I agree about tickets sold as opposed to actual grosses. Someone should do a report or something on tickets sold for all movies in all eras. Because of the increase in admissions, it’s impossible to compare something that opened last week to something that opened in say 1940. I’m sure GONE WITH THE WIND still had more ticket buyers than any other movie, but if you look at the grosses it falls way below that of any newer release, even if the movie is a bomb. One can’t possibly compare todays admission prices with those of the past, so naturally everything seems higher today. A five million dollar gross in the 40’s was a great big hit. Today it would be a great big flop.
Since Cablevision now controls the building, they don’t want the public to dig deeper into their hidden stuff, much like the company does with Clearview Cinemas and its cable operations, as well as its sports teams and arena.
Wow. Lots of interesting info. Nice to know the “inner” workings of such a gigantic corportation. Always nice to hear about what goes on “backstage” of any endeavor, especially the RCMH. Is there a list somewhere of every movie that played there with the number of weeks and gross week by week.? Would be very interesting and informative as well. I’m sure something like this exists SOMEWHERE in the archives. Maybe it’s not for public consumption, however.
Actually, the ties between RKO and Radio City continued in a way into the ‘50’s. The building over the Radio City entrance and lobby was RKO’s headquarters. We had two screening rooms in Radio City over the lobby auditorium on the executive level. One was Radio City’s and one was RKO’s. The two rooms had a common lobby with a staircase that extended down and onto the roof between the office building and the back wall of the Hall. There was a crosswalk area that led to a set of doors into the RKO building. Thus executives from RKO could go down to that floor in the office section, cross over outside for 10’ or so, and come up the staircase to their screening room. The first time “Citizen Kane” was screened in New York it was for the press in one of those screening rooms (probably Radio City’s since it was the larger of the two). Robert Wise, who was the “Kane” editor, remembered carrying the print in from California for the screening. I don’t know when RKO stopped using the room and it became Radio City’s, but I inherited a pair of “SuperScope” lenses from the room. SuperScope was RKO’s proprietary process designed to compete with CinemaScope. Their room (which became ours) was also equipped for 3-D presentation using two interlocked projectors with large 3-D film magazines, and an RKO sticker on one of the lamp ballasts. DC power for the arc lamps in the RKO room came from a generator in the Radio City generator room in the basement. I can’t remember whether the projectionists in both screening rooms were on Radio City’s payroll, but I know I had notebooks with the booth payroll hours listed that included the screening room crew.
The ties between RKO and Rockefeller Center were complex. The “R” in RKO was for RCA which was the Center’s leading tenant. There are also accounts of the Rockefellers using their clout to counter Hearst’s drive against “Citizen Kane”. Indeed, “Kane” was originally booked into the Hall before they moved it to the Palace. Had RKO continued in its original form, they would probably have still been using their space in the Hall.
Just wondering when did the program light on the back of the orchestra seating last function? I pressed the mother of pearl button on the seat back mid nineteen fifties and nothing happened.
Also remember labor was much cheaper during those days.
I never understood the policy of film and a stage show at the Hall or Roxy or anywhere else. By that I mean, what percentage was paid to the film companiesfor the actual movie itself? At least 50% for the first week I’d imagine. That would leave 50% for operating expenses, PLUS the huge amount of money for the stage show….dancers, orchestra, stage hands…etc.
Wonder what profit margin was left for the Theatre itself.
To this day, most people prefer to watch movies full-screen, even with the advent of HDTV and digital cinema, at home. Too bad the ratio used by HDTV is not as wide as Cinemascope/Panavision, leaving the user to zoom in on the 2:39 or greater ratio. The only studio that makes filmed stuff in 2:20:1 is Sony, who makes only trailers for the movies in the format, mostly for big movies.
The “Popular Price” run of CAVALCADE had already run two weeks in April of 1933 with no stage show but that may have been a planned engagement instead of a hold-over.
LITTLE WOMEN had a three week run advertising ‘an unusual 'Roxy’ stage show' in the NYT, but no headliner.
Let’s not underestimate the star power of Katherine Hepburn in 1933 or the fact that the film itself was a nationwide hit.
I don’t know if “Little Women” could have pulled the crowds in by itself or not, but in the 1930’s it was still a book extremely beloved by the public, much more so than today. When the stage version came out in 1912 it generated quite a bit of excitement. I can’t help but think that the movie would have done even more so.
lbnybill – Thanks for the compliment; I can see a short line (30) of Rockettes or a full one with nary a glance. You mention a warehouse in my neighborhood, Harlem. Is the Weehauken warehouse no longer being used? Has all that wonderful scenery from the past been destroyed?
WBNA liberty basketball has been on the great stage live – i think boxing also (?) althought that is usually at the wamu. The panasonic screen has not been used for television, though i think every guy who watched the christmas show has thought in the middle of the show what it would be like to watch the super bowl on that screen.
That’s too bad….have they showed a Super Bowl at the Music Hall? Or another sporting event? The only ones I can think of are the NFL Draft and that’s it. I think Cablevision is doing a better job profiting from Radio City than MSG, whose teams are in the dumps!!! As for that other theater, which is not a cinema treasure but located near the Garden, the Wamu (nee Paramount) Theater at the Garden is a decent playhouse known for showing the Xmas Carol show, which sadly is no longer playing there.
Four or five years ago, The landlord of the Harlem Warehouse did not renew lease – the property was sold to a developer who was going to build a condominium. It was for the best. The property was not cared for by landlord, unheated , many items lost to water damage.
How do they get these figures? Is it the star with the most films or the most weeks at the Music Hall or a combination? What about Audrey Hepburn and Doris Day? They should both be on the top 10 if memory serves me.
I have a question to ibnybill. You say that the show will be stored upstate this year. Do you know what happened to the wherehouse they had uptown I think in Harlem?
What a history for the RCMH. Sadly, because of the now high price for tickets, I haven’t visited since the 70’s. I miss when they showed a feature film with a great stage show. Now, films are not shown and the greedy owners charge an outrageous price for tickets. As a kid, we got-in for 75cents before noon on weekdays. We even got a program. Great memories. Some films that played here but were not mentioned I believe were: “The Ugly Dachshund” and “If It’s Tuesday, It Must be Belgium” with the late Suzanne Pleshette, “Arabesque”,“Interrupted Melody”, “Teahouse of the August Moon”, “Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?”. I think “The Singing Nun” was already mentioned. The expert who said that Greer Garson had the most films played at RCMH I disagree with. I would think that either Audrey Hepburn or Doris Day had the most films.
The bus is here to stay. David – good eye on the 36 rox up from 30 used previous years. the show will be stored in upstate NY this year – not sure where
I just noticed that Edward Durrell Stone was the architect of both Radio City and The Center Theater. Radio City, of course, is one of the most beautiful theater palaces ever built and The Center appeared to be a stunner as well. It appears that Stone did not design any other theaters (according to my architect search on CT). I wonder why not. I assume both of these theaters (certainly Radio City) were universally acclaimed by architecture critcs at the time. I would assume that Edward Durrell Stone would have been deluged with theater commission offers. I guess the depression would have greatly dampened the demand, but nonetheless, I still find it surprising that he never designed another theater. Any insights are appreicated.
I had the pleasure of seeing the Christmas Show on 12/27, being in the theater at the moment when they opened the doors for the first time in 1932. It was great to see the show “spruced up”. I enjoyed the new numbers, paricularly the way they keep the Rockettes current while honoring the past. I liked the restaging of the “Rag Doll” nummber to accomodate a full Rockette line of 36. I was also happy to see a restaged Nativity and that it did NOT close the show. The curtain call finale was a nice touch. I don’t quite understand why “Wooden Soldiers” is being performed in front of a blue screen or “starfield” backdrop as it has the last two seasons. I would love to see some of the old scenery. Is the scenery still stored in Weehauken, NJ? It was a great show this year; congratulations to all involved.
Thanks for that info, it sure looked like the ole traveler, did it not?. Oh well, maybe someday it will return. Darn shame the Hall had to suffer the embarrassment of so many failures with the bus. Quite frankly, I thought the routine was fun to look at but rather boring, all that waving and posing etc.
As for the film portion of the show, let us all hope for a return of all five projectors being used next year. Sometimes it’s just better to stick with what works. So, fire the bus and bring back projection. Ahem, at least the ole rear screen projector worked :))
I am sure you have Bob’s blessing in keeping us up to date on the backstage/booth goings on. I for one loved hearing Bob’s old war stories and look forward to yours.