Capitol Theatre
1645 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1645 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
36 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 808 comments found
Who knew that within a few years time, Lucille Ball would become Queen of the entertainment medium known as television?
Excerpt from Bosley Crowthers' NY Times' review of 11/14/47:
“What with Frank Sinatra as the star of the Capitol’s stage show, it wasn’t likely that much attention would be paid to the film on the screen. So the management has graciously provided the least temptation in this respect — a feather-weight farce, from Columbia, entitled ‘Her Husband’s Affairs’…But in nonsense as well as serious drama, there must be a pattern, a plan, to sustain the humor. This film has none. Mr. Sinatra, take it away!”
Sixty-five years ago today, Frank Sinatra left his traditional berth at the Paramount Theatre to headline the 28th anniversary program at the Capitol Theatre. Sinatra was now contracted for movies to MGM, whose parent company controlled the Capitol. Sharing the stage bill were comedienne Lorraine Rognan, Skitch Henderson & His Orchestra, and the Will Mastin Trio (with a future member of the Sinatra Rat Pack). Occupying the Capitol’s screen was Columbia’s B&W comedy, “Her Husband’s Affairs,” starring Lucille Ball and Franchot Tone. Doors opened daily (except Sunday) at 9:30am, with resident organist Ted Meyn performing at intermissions.
bigjoe59: Your inquiry has received responses on the Palace Theater page.
Hello To My Fellow Posters-
i have a request i hope you can help me with. the Oscar winning classic film “The Diary of Anne Frank” opened on an exclusive reserved seat engagement the fall of 1959 at the RKO Palace. how could i find out how long that exclusive reserved seat engagement at the RKO Palace lasted? thanks in advance.
Pictured in a two-page 1944 trade ad starting here: Boxoffice
What I really like about the photo selection system here on CT is that it is basically democratic; the photo that comes up is the one most visitors are currently choosing to look at as the photographic memory of choice, rather than just a fixed arbitrary view of what one person believes is the most representative view of the theater.
That shot of the Cinerama screen and the ones of its marquee showing “2001” are my favorite photos of the Capitol, so I am not going to join any crusade to change it. One can always click on the photos tab and savor any other photo one likes for as long as one likes. If the lead photo changes later on, I think that is just fine, but I do not think any photo should be locked in there as being the best or most representative way the theater should be remembered.
You’ll have a better shot of jacking up the numbers on one of the older photos. Like the marquee shot from the “2001” engagement. The current curved screen image has 355 hits!
I first complained about that photo being positioned in the introduction in a post here on September 6, 2011, at 6:39am, which is MORE THAN A YEAR AGO! Check it out if you don’t believe it.
I say we hit image three from Tinseltoes.
So lets all agree on which photo to hit and see if we can get it bumped up onto the main page.
The photo isn’t ‘fixed’. The way photos work on the site is that the one with the most ‘hits’ becomes the main photo, therefore giving an ever-changing look to the pages where there is more than a single photo.
Well said Tinseltoes there are some great photos of the magnificent auditorium before it was “covered” that would be much more appropriate. After all, the new look only lasted for a few years anyway!
Though the Photos Section for the Capitol Theatre now contains more than 80 images, the listing seems permanently fixed with a photo that could be any auditorium in the world. Can’t the photo be changed to something more revealing of the Capitol’s great architectural importance?
That will be rather difficult unless you have a time machine.
I’m going to have to get down to the Capitol and check it out myself.
Thanks for the info.guys. Obviously I was wrong about the Capitol and it figures HTWWW would play there as it was an MGM film, though I think Loew’s and Metro were completly separate corporations by then.
The only 3-panel Cinerama “story” films, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and How the West Was Won, were both MGM productions and played the Loew’s Capitol (then known as the Loew’s Cinerama). The first 70mm Cinerama film, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, opened at the Warner during the run of HTWWW. Those were the good old days, when NYC had two Cinerama theaters within 3 blocks of each other.
CINERAMA in NYC as best as I can tell.
Broadway
“THIS IS CINERAMA”
Warner/Warner Cinerama/RKO Cinerama/Cinerama/Strand
“THIS IS CINERAMA” move-over from the Broadway
“CINERAMA HOLIDAY”
“SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD”
“SEARCH FOR PARADISE”
“SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE”
“IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD”
“MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY”
“THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD”
“BATTLE OF THE BULGE”
“RUSSIAN ADVENTURE”
“KHARTOUM”
“GRAND PRIX”
“2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY” move-over from the Capital
“ICE STATION ZEBRA”
“KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA”
Roxy
“WINDJAMMER”
Loew’s Cinerama/Capital/Loew’s Capital
“THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM”
“HOW THE WEST WAS WON” Opened March 27, 1963 in Cinerama (3 strip) ran for 39 weeks.
“THE BEST OF CINERAMA”
“WINDJAMMER” return engagement
“CIRCUS WORLD”
“THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL”
“2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY”
Ziegfeld
“THIS IS CINERAMA” re-issue
Rivoli
“2001: A SPACE ODYSSSEY re-issue
I believe Tinseltoes is right. The oringal people involved were Lowell Thomas, Mike Todd, and the inventor of this process and the money people (could have been Warner’s). When they mentioned the Broadway Theater I thought the Warners on Broadway. It was not. Warners was not on Broadway. Hence the Broadway is where it opened. I wonder why Leow’s was late coming on board? Since they controlled a majority of movie houses in NY.
Tinseltoes, the documentary states that Warner Bros. was already a partner hence the opening at the Warner Theatre. Perhaps they simply forgot the Broadway.
Paul, “HTWWW” opened at the Capitol.
“How the West Was Won” played its NYC premiere engagement at the Capitol, which was then known as Loew’s Cinerama. NYT critic Bosley Crowther complained about the dividing lines in the screen image, so I would guess that three projectors were used.
To the best of my memory, Warner Bros. Theatres never had a financial stake in the Broadway Theatre. The first Cinerama feature opened at the “legit” Broadway because none of the midtown cinemas were available. After it proved a boxoffice hit, Stanley-Warner became a partner in the Cinerama corporation and moved “This Is Cinerama” to its own Warner (ex-Strand) as soon as it could.
I remember “How the West was Won” in Cinerama (3 strip) played at the Plaza Theatre, Sydney, Australia for about 2 years, a record run. Which theatre played it in NYC? I’m guessing it was probably the Strand/Warner, I don’t think the Capitol ever had the 3 strip Cinerama process.
By the way Bobby, the excellent documentary “CINERAMA ADVENTURE” had that fact wrong. “THIS IS CINERAMA” opened at the Broadway theatre and didn’t move to the Warner/Strand until a year later.
The documentary features both theatres but erroneously identifies both as “The Warners”. I do suspect the Broadway was managed by Warner Bros. Theatres at the time.