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Remembering Cinerama (Part 31: Long Island)
posted by
Coate
on
May 18, 2009 at 10:53 am
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part 31: Long Island
The following is Part Thirty-One 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 City
Part 2: Chicago
Part 3: San Francisco
Part 4: Houston
Part 5: Washington, DC
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
Part 20: Philadelphia
Part 21: Fresno
Part 22: Detroit
Part 23: Minneapolis
Part 24: Albuquerque
Part 25: El Paso
Part 26: Des Moines
Part 27: Miami
Part 28: Orange County
Part 29: Pittsburgh
Part 30: Baltimore
And now… Part 31: Cinerama Presentations on Long Island, New York!
THIS IS CINERAMA
Theater: Syosset
Premiere Date: June 25, 1959
Engagement Duration: 16 weeks
Projection Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Promotional Hype: “CINERAMA Comes To Oyster Bay, Home Of CINERAMA!”
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Theater: Syosset
Premiere: October 13, 1959
Duration: 27 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “There’s Nothing In The World Like It!” “Beyond the Vastest Horizons of Imagination!”
CINERAMA HOLIDAY
Theater: Syosset
Premiere: April 17, 1960
Duration: 10 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The New Jazzy, Joyous, Razzle-Dazzle CINERAMA Presentation!”
WINDJAMMER
Theater: Syosset
Premiere: June 28, 1960
Duration: 20 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “CINERAMA Puts You Right in the Middle of Thrill-Packed Adventure!” “Produced in CINEMIRACLE and Presented in CINERAMA”
SEARCH FOR PARADISE
Theater: Syosset
Premiere: February 9, 1961
Duration: 15 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “Newest CINERAMA Thrills!”
SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE
Theater: Syosset
Premiere: May 23, 1961
Duration: 21 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “New…Never To Be Forgotten” “CINERAMA Transports You To Lush Tropic Islands…Adventure-Splashed With A Thousand Excitements!”
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
Theater: Syosset
Premiere: January 11, 1963
Duration: 10 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The First Dramatic Film In Fabulous CINERAMA!”
HOW THE WEST WAS WON
Theater: Syosset
Premiere: August 6, 1963
Duration: 42 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: Syosset
Premiere: May 27, 1964
Duration: 30 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The World’s Critics Go Stark Raving Mad! Mad! Mad! Mad!” “The Biggest Entertainment Ever To Rock The CINERAMA Screen With Laughter!”
GRAND PRIX
Theater: Twin South
Premiere: March 22, 1967
Duration: 22 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “CINERAMA sweeps YOU into a drama of speed and spectacle!”
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Theater: Twin South
Premiere: June 26, 1968
Duration: 39 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “An astounding entertainment experience, a dazzling trip to the planets and beyond the stars!”
ICE STATION ZEBRA
Theater: Twin South
Premiere: March 26, 1969
Duration: 9 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “Ice Station Zebra…remember the name, your life may depend on it!”
KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA
Theater: Twin South
Premiere: August 20, 1969
Duration: 11 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The New CINERAMA Hurls You Into The Incredible Day That Shook The Earth To Its Core!”
THIS IS CINERAMA (Re-Issue)
Theater: Cinema 150
Premiere: August 8, 1973
Duration: 9 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “THIS IS CINERAMA Is Back To Entertain A Whole New Generation”
NOT SHOWN IN CINERAMA IN THE LONG ISLAND MARKET:
HOLIDAY IN SPAIN
THE BEST OF CINERAMA
CIRCUS WORLD (35mm general release)
MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY (70mm CineVision engagement at Syosset)
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (35mm general release)
THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL (35mm general release)
BATTLE OF THE BULGE (35mm general release)
RUSSIAN ADVENTURE
KHARTOUM (35mm general release)
CUSTER OF THE WEST (35mm general release)
TRIVIA:
Long Island was the 23rd U.S. market and 42nd worldwide market to equip for Cinerama presentations.
The world press preview of IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD was held at the Syosset on October 22, 1963.
Compiled by Bill Huelbig & Michael Coate
Reference: Newsday
Comments (3)
None of the Long Island venues exist today. The Syosset and Twin South were demolished. The UA 150 was converted into a high end health club.
I worked at the Syosset Theater while in college during the early 1960’s and it was one of the great experiences of my life. It operated as a reserved-seat house, with advance reservations available, and the films would play for several months at a time. By the time “La Dolce Vita” ended its run, I think I was able to speak Italian! When “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” was ready to open, Stanley Kramer came out personally to check all of the technical conditions. “How the West Was Won” and “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” both played and they also brought back all of the classic early Cinerama films. The screen was magnificent and the three projection booths had been built as part of the original structure. We presented each showing as if it was a Broadway show. I worked at various times as a ticket taker, usher and reservations clerk and even ran the candy stand. I had to wear a tuxedo and the theater’s manager always wore a suit and tie. Boy, have times changed!
I recall (with awe) viewing “2001” at least twice, at Hicksville’s Twin South. (Sill have my ticket stub from 1968). The Syosset was a class act, as I can recall.