Rivoli Theatre
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1620 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
31 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 791 comments found
Seventy-three years ago tonight, Samuel Goldwyn’s filmization of Emily Bronte’s classic novel, “Wuthering Heights,” debuted at the Rivoli Theatre with a “Popular Price Premiere” open to the public. Directed by William Wyler, the B&W United Artists release starred Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, and David Niven. Continuous performances started the next day, with last screening at midnight throughout the run.
LOGAN5…Somewhere on this site are pictures of opening night..I was there….
“The Great Waldo Pepper” premiered at the Rivoli Theatre (1620 Broadway) on Wednesday March 12, 1975 and went into wide release in the U.S. the next day.
sorry, I should have clarified that I knew that the 1969 X was not on par w/ XXX. But in 1969 X still was something. And this film was in wide release at multiple theatres, including the 42nd St House. Again, my apologies
“X” as in “Midnight Cowboy’s rating. Equivalent to today’s "NC-17” – although now would probably get an “R” rating – and by no means tantamount to XXX or pornography.
“De Sade” was an American International Release that played mainstream theatres and drive-in nationwide when X was still mild.
Seems the Rivoli went X back in 1969. Before the December 1969 premiere of “Hello,Dolly!”,in November a film starring Kier Dullea entitled “de Sade” was playing the theatre. That same film could also be seen at one of the 42nd St grindhouses.
As per the Village Voice, April 3, 1969-“Sweet Charity” at the UA Rivoli, 3 shows everyday Easter Week! Showtimes: 10:00 AM, 2:30, and 8:30 PM. You could get tickets at the box office or by mail
September 11, 1978, as per The Village Voice, 2001: A Space Odyssey was playing at the UA Rivoli Theatre in 70 MM-6 Track Stereo
A re-issue of Gone With The Wind was the attraction before the Gala Premiere of Star! which was on October 22, 1968
Phone number for the theatre was CI 7-1699.There are glimpses of the Rivoli marquee at night in the opening credits of an ABC television show from 1967 called N.Y.P.D..A police car is crusing down Broadway at night-rather quickly- and the theatre appears on the left side of the screen,right after a shot of The Winter Garden,where Mame was playing at the time. The theatre also shows up in an Al Pacino film, cant recall the title,but Al is walking down Broadway late at night,and walks under the marquee of the Rivoli, Star! was playing there at the time, so late 1968 to early 1969 is the time frame
I loved this theatre from the moment I saw it at age 13 in 1968, The film Star! was playing its Roadshow Engagement and the theatre was decked out!. That was always the good thing about the Rivoli,the marquee and outdoor displays for the roadshow engagements were great.
I was only in the theatre once, in 1969 to see Sweet
Charity. If I recall correctly there was an orchestra level as well as a lodge and balcony. And ushers to seat you.
Over the years I took many pics of the theatre, of course for Star!, but also for Sweet Charity, Hello, Dolly! and a little something called Justine. It really upset me when the theatre was twinned, and then torn down for that awful skyscraper w/ Carolines Comedy Club on street level.
I miss road shows! Saw THE SOUND OF MUSIC and GONE WITH THE WIND at the Rivoli. Such a beautiful theatre. We just didn’t have anything like it in Springfield, Mo where I grew up. I live in Kansas City now and all the picture palaces have been multiplexed (Main Street), torn down (Glenwood) or turned into live venues like the Midland.
It’s up and running now:
http://cinematreasures.org/blog/2011/10/21/happy-50th-west-side-story
Saps: I was six years old on 10/18/1961, so any memories I have will be second-hand. The soundtrack album was played in my house several times a week for years. I was aware that it was playing at the Rivoli and I really wanted to go, but couldn’t find anyone to take me. My Aunt Connie saw it there and told me how great it was. I almost saw it in its exclusive North Jersey run at the Bellevue in Upper Montclair NJ in the summer of 1962 with my older cousin, but that fell through. I had to wait till April 1963 to see it in 35mm at the Route 3 Drive-In in Rutherford NJ, but it was worth the wait. Just two weeks ago I finally saw it in 70mm in Seattle. That too was worth waiting for, even if it took 50 years.
Looks like there are technical problems at CT. The photos at the top of each theater page are gone. Maybe this has something to do with Michael Coate’s West Side Story page not being posted yet?
I’d like to read it too. WEST SIDE STORY is being shown in theatres for one night only Wed, Nov 9th sponsored in part by Turner Classic Movies. As I never got to see this in 70mm, I figure that this showing, digital presentation will be the closest as far as sharp images go. Can’t wait to see it. And the blu ray comes out a week later.
POST IT CT! Many of us want to read it.
I would like to mention to any interested parties that I had prepared and submitted a 50th anniversary tribute article for “West Side Story” for posting in today’s news section to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the film’s world premiere at the Rivoli. I have no idea why the CT folks have chosen not to post it.
Ross, Patrick, Zoldessy… What happened???
Happy 50th anniversary, West Side Story, which premiered here on October 18, 1961.
Any memories or background on this event would be appreciated.
Sometimes the answer to a question is hiding in plain sight. In this case, I would venture to guess that the Douglas Fairbanks ribbon cutting ceremony, referred to in my previous post, was for the premiere of his film “A Modern Musketeer,” which opened the Rivoli Theatre back in 1917 – as clearly stated in the opening paragraph to the introductory comments at the top of this page!
According to the September 14th, 1981, issue of New York Magazine, looks like the Rivoli closed on September 11 of that year, to begin work on dividing the theater into a twin. The last movie to play in the big single screen house was the gimmicky 3-D western pastiche “Coming At Ya!,” which opened on August 21st.
A week or so later, an article in the New York Times, dated September 19th, notes that the clock was turned back to the 1950’s near Broadway and 50th Street for the filming of the movie “My Favorite Year” – a movie inspired by Mel Brooks' memories of an appearance by Errol Flynn on Sid Ceasar’s Your Show of Shows. The article goes on to state: “To make it all look authentically 50’s in the 80’s, the marquee on the Rivoli Theater facing north within the camera angle read ‘'House of Wax’‘ – the very movie then playing; to the south, the marquee told the truth – the Rivoli is being converted into a twin-cinema house.”
There are no further listings for the Rivoli Theatre in New York Magazine until the December 14th, 1981, issue, which notes that the movies “Heartbeeps” (Andy Kauffman comedy about robots) and “Ghost Story” were opening, respectively, at the Rivoli #1 and #2 on December 16th.
Interesting factoid related to the movie “Ghost Story”: A December 17th, 1981, article in the Times mentions that one of the film’s stars, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., was asked to cut a ribbon at the theatre as part of a promotion for the film, which publicists told him echoed a similar ceremonial task his father, silent film star Douglas Fairbanks Sr., had performed for one of his own films. Per the article: “Mr. Fairbanks said he remembered nothing of that years-ago Rivoli event. ‘I presume they’re going to tell me about it,’ he said. ‘I guess I’ll have to pretend I do.’ ”
I wonder if the “Ghost Story” promotion was, in part, to mark the re-opening of the Rivoli as a twin cinema. No mention as to which Fairbanks Sr. movie was associated with that earlier ribbon cutting.
The Roxy Theatre was Fox’s number one prestige house and the Rivoli got the rest .
In the late 1940s, did Twentieth Century Fox book the Rivoli for its prestige pictures? i.e, “Captain from Castile” opened there on Christmas Day, 1947.
Here’s a link to B&W newsreel coverage of the “Cleopatra” premiere: Britishpathe