I personally didn’t care for “Sweet Charity” but Shirley MacLaine gave it her all. It was a major Box Office flop. “Hello Dolly” was one of the top grossing films of the year but its cost of $24 Million which was triple of what most of the musicals cost during that era. The film lost $10 Million at the time but became very popular on VHS and DVD in later years. The following musicals were flops and poor grossers “Sweety Charity”, “Star”, “On A Clear Day”,“Half a Sixpense”,“Goodbye Mr Chips”,“Finnean’s Rainbow”,“The Happiest Millionaire”,“Darling Lili”,“Doctor Doolittle”, “Paint Your Wagon” and “Man of La Mancha”. The Major Hits of the 1960’s were “My Fair Lady”, “West Side Story”, “Mary Poppins”,“The Sound of Music”,“Thorougly Modern Millie”,“Funny Girl” and “Oliver”. The last successful roadshow musical was “Fiddler on the Roof”. “Hello Dolly” was the most expensive musical ever made during that era and if you take inflation into account no current musical comes close. It would probably cost $150 Million or more to produce today. Its ironic that 20thFoxproduced both “Cleopatra” and “Hello Dolly” in the same decade.Brucec
I have to commend you Bruce1 for all the dedication to the Loew’s Kings. I am sorry you are not getting the support I think you deserve.Is it because Brooklyn lives in the shadow of Manhattan? Of all the 30 theatres I toured in New York City a few years ago Loew’s Kings by far was my favorite. Even in its current state of faded elegance it took my breath away.Maybe someone with a little influence could get Turner Classic Movies to due a series on historic movie palaces and include the Kings, so it would get the exposure it deserves.brucec
Lets talk about “Cleopatra”. The film cost 44 million to make and in todays dollars would be 300 Million. The film wasn’t a big flop, it turned a profit before it was shown on television. The problem that Fox had was that filming took so long, a couple of years, and no money was coming in from the production. Filming originally began in London and while in production Elizabeth Taylor almost died and the production was shut down while waiting for Miss Taylor to recover. The London production was scrapped along with the 7 Million already spent and the production resumed in Rome with a new director and new co-stars. It took Fox a few years after release to recoup its investment. 20th-Century Fox at one point only had two pictures in production the forever money draining “Cleopatra” and the other troubled production “Somthing Gotta Give” with Marilyn Monroe in which the production was shut down and Miss Monroe fired. Both productions were troubled and if it wasn’t for “The Longest Day” Fox may have gone out of business. I wouldn’t say “Cleopatra” was a hit but it is not the big flop that is often associated with it.brucec
Sony’s deal to Purchase Metro-Goldywn-Mayer closed on Friday April 8th according to Daily Variety. The Capitol was MGM’s flagship theatre since 1924 until it showed its last MGM film “2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. The Capitol was a very successful Movie Palace during its lifetime. It didn’t suffer a decline the way many movie palaces in Times Square did during its lifetime. It was modernized for Cinerama but never twinned.brucec
Here are a couple of suggestions for a double bill of MGM musicals. On The Town/Its Always Fair Weather, Meet Me in St Louis/The Harvey Girls, Singing in the Rain/The Bandwagon, An American in Paris/Gigi, Showboat/Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun/Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, High Society/Silk Stockings, and Easter Parade/Take Me Out To The Ballgame.
PS Vincent I also liked “Von Ryan’s Express” as well as The Great Escape,Patton,Bridge On The River Kwai,The Longest Day,The Guns of Navarone,Battle of Britain,Stalog 17,From Here To Eternity,The Train and Saving Private Ryan.brucec
The Grand Lake is not chopped up into four screens.The main theatre has wonderful architecture and its theatre organ,and a second screen is in the former balcony with a large screen. Two additional screens were added next store in former retail spaces. The Grand Lake is the best movie palace to see first run films in the Bay Area and the Century 21 is the finest modern single screen theatre still showing first run fims in the Bay Area. The finest screen to see classic Hollywood movies is the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto and Castro in San Francisco. The 3000 seat Paramount is the best restored former movie palace which shows classic films a few times a year on Friday Nights and the newly restored California theatre in San Jose.brucec
I heard on a major news network that Brooklyn is one of the next hot spots in the nation for a real estate boom, along with Downtown Detroit near the water. A lot of people are being pushed out of Manhattan and moving to Brooklyn which is a lot cheaper and you get more for your money.brucec
I like the Ziegfeld and it is the best remaining theatre in New York City still showing movies. It does lack the showmanship that the exclusive reserved seat attractions it use to show. I went with a friend to see the “Road to Perdition” and was surprised at the lack professionalism at such a high profile industry theatre. The curtains never opened and closed during the presentation and the theate wasn’t as clean that you would expect. My friend owns a theatre complex of his own with an Egyptian theme and curtains in each auditorium and was surprised that this was the one of the top screens in New York City.brucec
I saw two wonderful shows at this theatre before and after the renovation. I saw “Anything Goes” with Elaine Page before the renovation and saw “Crazy For You” after the renovation. They did a wonderful job on the renovation.brucec
What is the current status of the Town? Is the city of Baltimore planning to do anything with this theatre. One restored movie palace doesn’t make a theatre district. I think that the New and the Town have lasted so long that the city should try to save them as part of there massive redevelopment of Downtown. I find that a group of restored theatres bring a lot more people downtown and help revive an area that had been dying and left for dead. Baltimore should look to Pittsburg,Cleveland,Columbus,Boston,Detroit,Seattle,San Francisco,Hollywood,Chicago,Minneapolis,Toronto and a few others.brucec
Radio City is not the tourist attraction it once was because the Rockettes and stage show are used only once a year. When people would visit New York City, Broadway and Radio City was one of there stops. Its sad Radio City is a shadow of its former self even though the theatre has been restored. What made Radio City famous in the first place is used only at Christmas. It is to bad the Disney Corporation didn’t buy Radio City becuase they at least would have shown a little showmanship that is sadly missing with Cablevision. Radio City could have showcased Disney films with stage shows featuring the Rockettes like they do with the El Capitan in Hollywood but on a much bigger scale. When the theatre was dark from the Disney fare the theatre could hold concerts and special events.Cablevision has not been in good financial shape so they are following a very safe but boring policy at Radio City.brucec
The Chicago Theatre should start a film series during its dark days. I think if it was done properly it could be a huge draw for this theatre. The Chicago was one of the most successful movie palaces in the country being the flagship house for Balaban and Katz.I think the Chicago has been underused since it was restored. The Chicago no longer has broadway shows since the Palace and the Oriental were restored so it has to rely on concerts and dance. I bet Roger Ebert would be a big supporter of a classic film series at the Chicago.Make sure you get a great film programmer.brucec
The Pantages was showcased on Good Morning America on ABC as the morning after the Oscars. They really showed off the theatre during the interviews which took place in the Lobby. The Oscars were held here from 1949-1959.They also took you into the Auditorium and mentioned the theatre during the whole hour of the telecast. brucec
How come the current marquee has not been restored or upgraded after all these years. The Fox is more successful now than at anytime in its history. I feel the marquee on the Atlanta Fox and the Detroit Fox are more spectacular and the St Louis Fox leaves something to be desired. Maybe they can charge an extra dollar on tickets sold to restore the marquee.I have stated this before when a grand movie palace is restored the marquee should should also be restored or at least improved to match its history from the 1920’s,1930’s,1940’s and 1950’s.brucec
Warren Im surprised that “Quo Vadis” didn’t do as well as expected at the Capitol becuase this was a huge hit for MGM.“Quo Vadis” was MGM’s biggest hit since “Gone With The Wind” up to that point in time.brucec
I saw the movie “Klute” with Jane Fonda and Danald Sutherland at the Pantages with my cousin Vic who passed away yesterday. He was head of the Audio Visual Dept at the LA County Museum of Art for a number of years. He introduced me to all the great movie palaces in the LA area when I would make trips to LA when I was a child.He worked with Ron Haber at the museum who was responsible for the restoration of “A Star is Born” with Judy Garland which had a huge premiere at the Pantages in 1954. I will miss my cousin who always took me to the movies in Hollywood and Westwood and sometimes Downtown.It will always be a magical time in my life and I was fortunate to have such a wonderful cousin.brucec
It would be a good thing if the Uptown was taken over by Landmark or another specialty chain. I don’t think Loew’s cares about any of there single screen theatres. Start making major complaints to Loew’s concerning presentation. If this was an industry house this wouldn’t be tolerated.The large theatre chains such as Loew’s only care about the megaplex that has between 14-20 screens.brucec
Clear Channel is looking at restoring more movie palaces for broadway shows and concerts. They are rumored to be looking at a movie palace in Salt Lake City could this be the Utah?It would also be great if they took over the Riverside and restored the Warner in Milwaukee as Jim suggested.Clear Channel has a lot of booking clout.Congrats to the Boyd,Philidelphia has saved its last downtown movie palace.brucec
I get the feeling from the discussion of the Roxy vs Music Hall that the Music Hall had the better stage shows and the Roxy has the better film presentation. The Music Hall grossed more than the Roxy with a couple of exceptions becuase it was a tourist attraction and it had the Rockettes. I get the feeling that Ben Hall preferred the Roxy over the Music Hall as an all around movie palace.The Roxy was built at the height of the movie palace boom where the Music Hall was built at the tail end during the great depression.The Roxy played many of the same films as the Chinese in Hollywood since they were both flagship houses for 20th Century Fox. Hollywood’s greatest film studio Loew’s MGM was divorced by 1960 and movies greatest movie palace the Roxy was demolished in 1960. It was the end of an era and the start of the demolition derby of our great movie palaces.brucec
Thanks Roger for the reply. I think Variety listed the Hipp as seating 4400 also. I would love to see photos of the interior as well as the marquee if someone from Cleveland would post them. Cleveland restored more movie palaces than most other cities. The Palace,State,Ohio and Allen are all right next to each other.They also added the Legit Hanna theatre to Playhouse Sqaure. Other cities should look at Cleveland on how to restore movie palaces that helped revive the greater downtown. Its a shame the Hippodrome wasn’t saved because it would have made a great concert hall with its huge seating capacity.brucec
How did the Music Hall and the Roxy compare in boxoffice during the Golden Era into the mid 1950’s. I noticed the Music Hall played a lot of MGM product during the 1950’s and the Roxy showed mostly Fox films. It seemed the Roxy was more progressive in 1950’s than the Music Hall,when Hollywood developed the wide screen format.I would also like to hear how the theatres compared in film presentaion and what theatre was more enjoyable to watch a film.I know the Music Hall had the better stage presentations by the comments I have read.I would love to hear your comments.brucec
The Oriental and the Palace were restored due to the demand for theatres of this size for touring broadway musicals.brucec
I personally didn’t care for “Sweet Charity” but Shirley MacLaine gave it her all. It was a major Box Office flop. “Hello Dolly” was one of the top grossing films of the year but its cost of $24 Million which was triple of what most of the musicals cost during that era. The film lost $10 Million at the time but became very popular on VHS and DVD in later years. The following musicals were flops and poor grossers “Sweety Charity”, “Star”, “On A Clear Day”,“Half a Sixpense”,“Goodbye Mr Chips”,“Finnean’s Rainbow”,“The Happiest Millionaire”,“Darling Lili”,“Doctor Doolittle”, “Paint Your Wagon” and “Man of La Mancha”. The Major Hits of the 1960’s were “My Fair Lady”, “West Side Story”, “Mary Poppins”,“The Sound of Music”,“Thorougly Modern Millie”,“Funny Girl” and “Oliver”. The last successful roadshow musical was “Fiddler on the Roof”. “Hello Dolly” was the most expensive musical ever made during that era and if you take inflation into account no current musical comes close. It would probably cost $150 Million or more to produce today. Its ironic that 20thFoxproduced both “Cleopatra” and “Hello Dolly” in the same decade.Brucec
I have to commend you Bruce1 for all the dedication to the Loew’s Kings. I am sorry you are not getting the support I think you deserve.Is it because Brooklyn lives in the shadow of Manhattan? Of all the 30 theatres I toured in New York City a few years ago Loew’s Kings by far was my favorite. Even in its current state of faded elegance it took my breath away.Maybe someone with a little influence could get Turner Classic Movies to due a series on historic movie palaces and include the Kings, so it would get the exposure it deserves.brucec
Lets talk about “Cleopatra”. The film cost 44 million to make and in todays dollars would be 300 Million. The film wasn’t a big flop, it turned a profit before it was shown on television. The problem that Fox had was that filming took so long, a couple of years, and no money was coming in from the production. Filming originally began in London and while in production Elizabeth Taylor almost died and the production was shut down while waiting for Miss Taylor to recover. The London production was scrapped along with the 7 Million already spent and the production resumed in Rome with a new director and new co-stars. It took Fox a few years after release to recoup its investment. 20th-Century Fox at one point only had two pictures in production the forever money draining “Cleopatra” and the other troubled production “Somthing Gotta Give” with Marilyn Monroe in which the production was shut down and Miss Monroe fired. Both productions were troubled and if it wasn’t for “The Longest Day” Fox may have gone out of business. I wouldn’t say “Cleopatra” was a hit but it is not the big flop that is often associated with it.brucec
Sony’s deal to Purchase Metro-Goldywn-Mayer closed on Friday April 8th according to Daily Variety. The Capitol was MGM’s flagship theatre since 1924 until it showed its last MGM film “2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. The Capitol was a very successful Movie Palace during its lifetime. It didn’t suffer a decline the way many movie palaces in Times Square did during its lifetime. It was modernized for Cinerama but never twinned.brucec
“The Great Dictator” would have made a nice double bill with “To Be Or Not To Be” which starred Carole Lombard and Jack Benny.brucec
Here are a couple of suggestions for a double bill of MGM musicals. On The Town/Its Always Fair Weather, Meet Me in St Louis/The Harvey Girls, Singing in the Rain/The Bandwagon, An American in Paris/Gigi, Showboat/Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun/Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, High Society/Silk Stockings, and Easter Parade/Take Me Out To The Ballgame.
PS Vincent I also liked “Von Ryan’s Express” as well as The Great Escape,Patton,Bridge On The River Kwai,The Longest Day,The Guns of Navarone,Battle of Britain,Stalog 17,From Here To Eternity,The Train and Saving Private Ryan.brucec
The Grand Lake is not chopped up into four screens.The main theatre has wonderful architecture and its theatre organ,and a second screen is in the former balcony with a large screen. Two additional screens were added next store in former retail spaces. The Grand Lake is the best movie palace to see first run films in the Bay Area and the Century 21 is the finest modern single screen theatre still showing first run fims in the Bay Area. The finest screen to see classic Hollywood movies is the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto and Castro in San Francisco. The 3000 seat Paramount is the best restored former movie palace which shows classic films a few times a year on Friday Nights and the newly restored California theatre in San Jose.brucec
I heard on a major news network that Brooklyn is one of the next hot spots in the nation for a real estate boom, along with Downtown Detroit near the water. A lot of people are being pushed out of Manhattan and moving to Brooklyn which is a lot cheaper and you get more for your money.brucec
I like the Ziegfeld and it is the best remaining theatre in New York City still showing movies. It does lack the showmanship that the exclusive reserved seat attractions it use to show. I went with a friend to see the “Road to Perdition” and was surprised at the lack professionalism at such a high profile industry theatre. The curtains never opened and closed during the presentation and the theate wasn’t as clean that you would expect. My friend owns a theatre complex of his own with an Egyptian theme and curtains in each auditorium and was surprised that this was the one of the top screens in New York City.brucec
I saw two wonderful shows at this theatre before and after the renovation. I saw “Anything Goes” with Elaine Page before the renovation and saw “Crazy For You” after the renovation. They did a wonderful job on the renovation.brucec
What is the current status of the Town? Is the city of Baltimore planning to do anything with this theatre. One restored movie palace doesn’t make a theatre district. I think that the New and the Town have lasted so long that the city should try to save them as part of there massive redevelopment of Downtown. I find that a group of restored theatres bring a lot more people downtown and help revive an area that had been dying and left for dead. Baltimore should look to Pittsburg,Cleveland,Columbus,Boston,Detroit,Seattle,San Francisco,Hollywood,Chicago,Minneapolis,Toronto and a few others.brucec
Radio City is not the tourist attraction it once was because the Rockettes and stage show are used only once a year. When people would visit New York City, Broadway and Radio City was one of there stops. Its sad Radio City is a shadow of its former self even though the theatre has been restored. What made Radio City famous in the first place is used only at Christmas. It is to bad the Disney Corporation didn’t buy Radio City becuase they at least would have shown a little showmanship that is sadly missing with Cablevision. Radio City could have showcased Disney films with stage shows featuring the Rockettes like they do with the El Capitan in Hollywood but on a much bigger scale. When the theatre was dark from the Disney fare the theatre could hold concerts and special events.Cablevision has not been in good financial shape so they are following a very safe but boring policy at Radio City.brucec
The Chicago Theatre should start a film series during its dark days. I think if it was done properly it could be a huge draw for this theatre. The Chicago was one of the most successful movie palaces in the country being the flagship house for Balaban and Katz.I think the Chicago has been underused since it was restored. The Chicago no longer has broadway shows since the Palace and the Oriental were restored so it has to rely on concerts and dance. I bet Roger Ebert would be a big supporter of a classic film series at the Chicago.Make sure you get a great film programmer.brucec
The Pantages was showcased on Good Morning America on ABC as the morning after the Oscars. They really showed off the theatre during the interviews which took place in the Lobby. The Oscars were held here from 1949-1959.They also took you into the Auditorium and mentioned the theatre during the whole hour of the telecast. brucec
How come the current marquee has not been restored or upgraded after all these years. The Fox is more successful now than at anytime in its history. I feel the marquee on the Atlanta Fox and the Detroit Fox are more spectacular and the St Louis Fox leaves something to be desired. Maybe they can charge an extra dollar on tickets sold to restore the marquee.I have stated this before when a grand movie palace is restored the marquee should should also be restored or at least improved to match its history from the 1920’s,1930’s,1940’s and 1950’s.brucec
Warren Im surprised that “Quo Vadis” didn’t do as well as expected at the Capitol becuase this was a huge hit for MGM.“Quo Vadis” was MGM’s biggest hit since “Gone With The Wind” up to that point in time.brucec
I just read that Andrew Loyd Webber’s “A Woman in White” musical will have its pre broadway tryout at the restored LaSalle Bank Theatre.brucec
I saw the movie “Klute” with Jane Fonda and Danald Sutherland at the Pantages with my cousin Vic who passed away yesterday. He was head of the Audio Visual Dept at the LA County Museum of Art for a number of years. He introduced me to all the great movie palaces in the LA area when I would make trips to LA when I was a child.He worked with Ron Haber at the museum who was responsible for the restoration of “A Star is Born” with Judy Garland which had a huge premiere at the Pantages in 1954. I will miss my cousin who always took me to the movies in Hollywood and Westwood and sometimes Downtown.It will always be a magical time in my life and I was fortunate to have such a wonderful cousin.brucec
Maybe Frank Lee could also take over the Metro since we all know Regal doesn’t want it.brucec
It would be a good thing if the Uptown was taken over by Landmark or another specialty chain. I don’t think Loew’s cares about any of there single screen theatres. Start making major complaints to Loew’s concerning presentation. If this was an industry house this wouldn’t be tolerated.The large theatre chains such as Loew’s only care about the megaplex that has between 14-20 screens.brucec
Clear Channel is looking at restoring more movie palaces for broadway shows and concerts. They are rumored to be looking at a movie palace in Salt Lake City could this be the Utah?It would also be great if they took over the Riverside and restored the Warner in Milwaukee as Jim suggested.Clear Channel has a lot of booking clout.Congrats to the Boyd,Philidelphia has saved its last downtown movie palace.brucec
I get the feeling from the discussion of the Roxy vs Music Hall that the Music Hall had the better stage shows and the Roxy has the better film presentation. The Music Hall grossed more than the Roxy with a couple of exceptions becuase it was a tourist attraction and it had the Rockettes. I get the feeling that Ben Hall preferred the Roxy over the Music Hall as an all around movie palace.The Roxy was built at the height of the movie palace boom where the Music Hall was built at the tail end during the great depression.The Roxy played many of the same films as the Chinese in Hollywood since they were both flagship houses for 20th Century Fox. Hollywood’s greatest film studio Loew’s MGM was divorced by 1960 and movies greatest movie palace the Roxy was demolished in 1960. It was the end of an era and the start of the demolition derby of our great movie palaces.brucec
Thanks Roger for the reply. I think Variety listed the Hipp as seating 4400 also. I would love to see photos of the interior as well as the marquee if someone from Cleveland would post them. Cleveland restored more movie palaces than most other cities. The Palace,State,Ohio and Allen are all right next to each other.They also added the Legit Hanna theatre to Playhouse Sqaure. Other cities should look at Cleveland on how to restore movie palaces that helped revive the greater downtown. Its a shame the Hippodrome wasn’t saved because it would have made a great concert hall with its huge seating capacity.brucec
How did the Music Hall and the Roxy compare in boxoffice during the Golden Era into the mid 1950’s. I noticed the Music Hall played a lot of MGM product during the 1950’s and the Roxy showed mostly Fox films. It seemed the Roxy was more progressive in 1950’s than the Music Hall,when Hollywood developed the wide screen format.I would also like to hear how the theatres compared in film presentaion and what theatre was more enjoyable to watch a film.I know the Music Hall had the better stage presentations by the comments I have read.I would love to hear your comments.brucec