Criterion Theatre
1514 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
1514 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10036
18 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 429 comments found
Here’s B&W newsreel coverage of the 1956 premiere of Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” at the Criterion Theatre: youtube
“The Country Girl” opened its exclusive NYC premiere engagement at the Criterion Theatre on the night of December 15th, 1954.
I think I saw “Country Girl” here during Christmas break when I was a kid in 1955. How can I be certain that it played here? Is there a list of films somewhere? Thanks.
Finian at Penthouse that’s where I saw it.
Loew’s Criterion was frequently Universal’s choice for the NYC premiere engagements of Deanna Durbin vehicles, including this 1945 “film noir”: blogspot
Long holiday hours as the Times Square flagship of the toy mecca: http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/19/pf/holiday_money_toys_r_us/index.htm?source=cnn_bin
bigjoe59 -Some roadshow info- at the Criterion- 1967 Thoroughly Modern Millie,1968 Funny Girl, At the Rivoli-1961 West Side Story, 1963 Cleopatra, 1968 Star!, 1969 Sweet Charity, 1970 Hello, Dolly! At the RKO Palace-1969 Goodbye Mr. Chips At Loews State 1- 1968 Oliver! At Loews State 2-1968 Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang In 1968 Finians Rainbow had a roadshow engagement at the Warner which by then had split to 3 theatres-cant recall if Finians played The Penthouse or the Cinerama.
Hope this was helpful
Sat in the lodge, taken to the seats by an usher. Loved it. After Funny Girl I wasnt in the theatre again until they multi-plexed it. A night showing of a Streep film, ruined by screaming, crying kids. I never returned after that.
saw my first big roadshow here when i was a kid. 1968 Funny Girl. I loved it. Show curtain overture, intermission,souvenir program, the works. I was hooked on roadshow engagements!
I saw Lawrence of Arabia at the Criterion on one of my yearly visits to New York and it was a revelation. I didn’t know movies could be so beautifully sharp and detailed. It was magnificent and I can still see images from the film in my centre row seat about half way back. Only the original IMAX could equal this.
I was only in the Criterion once, with a church group, to see the Ten Commandments. My only remembrance of the theatre were the overstuffed seats with very heavy, and uncomfortable, flocking.
“LAST TANGO IN PARIS” was released on a roadshow basis in 1973.
The Roadshow concept dates from at least 1914. They were often called “Specials” during the 20s and 30s. So the concept ran from at least 1914-1972.
I’m unaware of any studio released roadshows after 1972. Some films like “The Deer Hunter” screened on reserved performances but certainly were not true roadshows.
Excellent page,suprised I have'nt found this one before.
Chris, you will find that Michael Coate’s lists are extremely accurate. That would give you a good place to start. After that, nothing beats sitting down at a microfilm terminal and looking up ads in the New York Times. Many libraries have New York Times indexes that also might give you a clue.
And don’t assume that the Roadshow era began in ‘55 and ended in '72…there are many examples of roadshow screenings before and after those dates.
hello to my fellow film buffs. i am doing my best to gather as
complete a list as possible of the roadshow films that played
at the seven theaters(Criterion,Loew’s State,RKO Palace,Demille,Warner,Rivoli,Loew’s Capitol in the Times Square area that the studios used for said policy. so would anyone have
a complete list of all the films that played at the Criterion on
a roadshow engagement during 1955-1972. many thanks in advance.
A 1998 color view of the United Artists Theatres marquee can be found with this article. The B&W photo of the Paramount Theatre has been linked several times at the Paramount’s CT listing: View link
Thanks, Tinseltoes. “Pepe” when it premiered was around a half hour longer than the version we’ve seen all these years on TV. I think the original length was 3 hours 15 minutes (!). I wonder which guest stars wound up on the cutting room floor.
hdtv267 and saps: Thanks for posting the stuff about “Mighty Joe Young”. That’s always been a favorite of mine. When I saw it as a kid I actually did gape, gasp and wonder. I still do, actually.
Tonight marks the 50th anniversary of the Criterion’s opening of the world premiere engagement of Columbia’s “Pepe,” with Mexican superstar Cantinflas, Dan Dailey, and Shirley Jones, which was presented as a reserved-seat roadshow. The CinemaScope extravaganza, with prints by Technicolor, boasted a supporting cast of 35 stars, including Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, Bing Crosby, Maurice Chevalier, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jimmy Durante, Greer Garson, Edward G. Robinson,Debbie Reynolds, Jack Lemmon, and Judy Garland (in voice only). $3.50 was the top price for orchestra and loge seats on weekend nights and holidays.
Excerpt from NY Times review published July 28, 1949:
Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack, who merged their talents as producer and director to scare the daylights out of movie-goers with the fabulous “King Kong” (1933), have fashioned another fantastic show in “Mighty Joe Young.” But in the new picture, which was presented yesterday at the Criterion, the producers are endeavoring to make all the world love, or at the very least feel a deep sympathy for, their monstrous, mechanical gorilla.
Thanks, I’ll sure we’ll get the exact date sometime soon
:: eyeroll::
The film opened in NYC July of 1949.
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Not sure what date this was, but here is a shot of the marquee from the run of “Mighty Joe Young”
On this day in 1953, the Criterion Theatre opened one of its most unusual bookings, “Cease Fire,” a semi-documentary feature about the Koren War in black-and-white 3D requiring Polaroid viewers. Producer Hal Wallis had acquired the film for Paramount release from director Owen Crump, who made it with the cooperation of the Department of Defense. A New York Times review can be read here
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