Remembering Cinerama Part III

REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part III: San Francisco

The following is Part Three of a series of retrospective postings on the revolutionary and historic Cinerama process (and copycat formats such as Cinemiracle and Kinopanorama), which provides a dose of nostalgia for those who experienced it when it was new and highlights the great movie palaces in which these memorable events took place.

Previous entries in the series:
Part I: New York City
Part II: Chicago

And now...Part III: San Francisco!

THIS IS CINERAMA
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: December 25, 1953
Engagement Duration: 84 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Promotional Hype: “Something Wonderful in motion picture entertainment! For the first time, a motion picture reaches out to bring you into the story to put you in the picture...with the intensely personal experience of all its excitement and thrills.”

CINERAMA HOLIDAY
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: August 2, 1955 (West Coast Premiere)
Duration: 68 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “It’s Every Holiday You Ever Dreamed Of...Come True!”

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: November 20, 1956 (West Coast Premiere)
Duration: 68 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “The New...The 3rd Cinerama!”

SEARCH FOR PARADISE
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: March 11, 1958 (West Coast Premiere)
Duration: 37 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “Far Beyond The Limits Of Human Imagination!”

SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: November 25, 1958
Duration: 51 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “Ride These Tickets To The Last Romantic Refuge Left On Earth! Escape With The New Cinerama To The South Seas!”

WINDJAMMER
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: November 17, 1959
Duration: 32 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “The New...the 6th Cinerama presentation! An Electrifying Breath-Taking Adventure and Glorious Romance! Produced in Cinemiracle, Presented in Cinerama”

THIS IS CINERAMA (Return Engagement)
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: June 28, 1960
Duration: 17 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “The Astounding Attraction That Revolutionized The Entertainment World... You Are Actually There... You Actually Visit These Fabulous Places Of The World!”

CINERAMA HOLIDAY (Return Engagement)
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: October 24, 1960
Duration: 9 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “It’s Every Holiday You Ever Dreamed Of...Come True!”

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Return Engagement)
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: December 25, 1960
Duration: 14 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “Only when you step into the fabulous world of Cinerama...will you actually live every breath-taking moment...experience every one of the seven hundred thrills of...Seven Wonders Of The World”

HOLIDAY IN SPAIN
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: May 29, 1962
Duration: 10 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “Now Cinerama Takes You On A Manhunt... A Suspense Hunt... A Thrill Hunt... Across An Exotic World Of Excitement!”

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: August 8, 1962
Duration: 29 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “For The First Time Cinerama Tells A Story!”

HOW THE WEST WAS WON
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: February 27, 1963
Duration: 41 weeks
Format: 3-Strip Cinerama
Hype: “The Great Dramatic Motion Picture That Puts You In Every Scene!”

IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: December 18, 1963
Duration: 52 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “Don’t Just Promise Them The World, Give It To Them!”

CIRCUS WORLD
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: December 21, 1964
Duration: 13 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “Cinerama Puts You In The Middle Of The Most Action-Filled Story You’ve Ever Seen!”

THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: March 23, 1965
Duration: 26 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: None

THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL
Theater: Golden Gate
Premiere: July 1, 1965
Duration: 13 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “Now Cinerama Sends Burt Lancaster, Lee Remick, Jim Hutton, Pamela Tiffin And YOU Roaring With Laughter And Adventure Down The Hallelujah Trail.”

MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: September 21, 1965
Duration: 19 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “You Sail Away And Live All The Excitement Your Mind Ever Imagined In The New Cinerama”

BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Theater: Golden Gate
Premiere: December 22, 1965
Duration: 14 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “The Super Action Show In Super Cinerama”

RUSSIAN ADVENTURE
Theater: Golden Gate
Premiere: March 31, 1966 (West Coast Premiere)
Duration: 7 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “With the plunk of a balalaika you’re in Russia...a world in itself. With a whirl of a ballerina...you’re in the Bolshoi Ballet. With the zoom of a helicopter...you’re over the North Pole. With the excitement of Cinerama...you’re part of the most wondrous show of all.”

KHARTOUM
Theater: Golden Gate
Premiere: June 22, 1966 (West Coast Premiere)
Duration: 13 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “Where the Nile divides...their mighty conflict begins!”

GRAND PRIX
Theater: Golden Gate
Premiere: January 25, 1967
Duration: 39 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “Cinerama Sweeps You Into A Drama Of Speed And Spectacle!”

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Theater: Golden Gate
Premiere: June 19, 1968
Duration: 73 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “An Epic Drama Of Adventure And Exploration!”

ICE STATION ZEBRA
Theater: Orpheum
Premiere: November 13, 1968
Duration: 9 weeks
Format: 70mm
Hype: “Ice Station Zebra...remember the name, your life may depend on it!”

Compiled by Michael Coate

Sources: San Francisco Chronicle and Variety

(Thanks to katerw for providing the photo.)