Remembering Cinerama (Part 20: Philadelphia)

REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part 20: Philadelphia

The following is Part Twenty in a series of retrospectives on Cinerama, the legendary motion picture process that kicked off the widescreen revolution. The series focuses on providing a market-by-market, film-by-film, historical record of when and where Cinerama and its multi-panel clones were exhibited. The easy-to-reference articles also serve to provide nostalgia to those who experienced the Cinerama presentations when they were new and to highlight the movie palaces in which the memorable events took place.

Part 1: New York
Part 2: Chicago
Part 3: San Francisco
Part 4: Houston
Part 5: Washington, D.C.
Part 6: Los Angeles
Part 7: Atlanta
Part 8: San Diego
Part 9: Dallas
Part 10: Oklahoma City
Part 11: Syracuse
Part 12: Toronto
Part 13: Columbus
Part 14: Montreal
Part 15: Northern New Jersey
Part 16: Charlotte
Part 17: Vancouver
Part 18: Salt Lake City
Part 19: Boston

And now...Part 20: Cinerama Presentations in Philadelphia!

*** A Work in Progress ***

THIS IS CINERAMA
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: October 5, 1953 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Engagement Duration: 72 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Promotional Hype: “The Only Really All-New Wonder Of The Entertainment World”

CINERAMA HOLIDAY
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: February 16, 1955
Duration: 63 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “You’ve never lived until you’ve sat in a specially equipped CINERAMA theatre!”

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: April 24, 1956
Duration: 68 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The New...The 3rd CINERAMA!”

THRILLARAMA
Theater: Fox
Premiere: January 21, 1957 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 1 week
Format: Thrillarama
Hype: “You’re In The Biggest Screen You’ve Ever Seen!”

SEARCH FOR PARADISE
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: October 2, 1957 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 21 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)

WINDJAMMER
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: October 27, 1958
Duration: 16 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “Never before such a wide, wide world of sight... sound... and fabulous adventure! Produced in CINEMIRACLE, Presented in CINERAMA”

SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: February 1959
Duration: 35 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: August 8, 1962
Duration: 30 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The first dramatic story-telling motion picture in fabulous CINERAMA!”

HOW THE WEST WAS WON
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: March 7, 1963 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 39 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The Great Dramatic Motion Picture That Puts You In Every Scene!”

IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: December 19, 1963
Duration: 27 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The Biggest Entertainment Ever To Rock The CINERAMA Screen With Laughter!”

CIRCUS WORLD
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: June 25, 1964 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 9 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “CINERAMA Surrounds You With The Greatest Thrill-Packed Story Ever Filmed!”

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: March 1965
Duration: 20 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: None

THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: July 1965
Duration: 8 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “CINERAMA Sends You Roaring With Laughter And Adventure Down That Wide, Wonderful, Fun-Trail!”

MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: September 1965 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 4 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)

BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Theater: Boyd
Premiere: December 1965 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 11 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The super action show in Super Cinerama. Unlike anything you have ever seen!”

GRAND PRIX
Theater: Randolph
Premiere: February 1, 1967 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 37 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “CINERAMA sweeps YOU into a drama of speed and spectacle!”

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Theater: Randolph
Premiere: May 22, 1968 (Pennsylvania Premiere)
Duration: 30 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “An astounding entertainment experience a dazzling trip to the moon, the planets and the stars beyond.”

ICE STATION ZEBRA
Theater: Randolph
Premiere: December 18, 1968
Duration: 10 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “Ice Station Zebra...remember the name, your life may depend on it!”

NEVER SHOWN IN CINERAMA:
HOLIDAY IN SPAIN
THE BEST OF CINERAMA
RUSSIAN ADVENTURE
KHARTOUM
CUSTER OF THE WEST
KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA (70mm reserved-seat engagement at Stanley)
THIS IS CINERAMA 1973 re-issue

TRIVIA:
The Boyd was Cinerama installation #6.

Compiled by Vince Young & Michael Coate

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer and Variety