Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
116 people
favorited this theater
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veyoung— what an awful thing, that “constant width” that you mention. I never heard of it, but the words send a knife through me. At least RCMH never contemplated going that route, did it?
SimonL— I know of no web archive or site that offers Variety’s grosses, much less its reviews, articles, and other data.
Variety.com charges an annual subscription rate of $259 for access to its on-line archives— whew, no thanks, can’t go there.
The NY Times on-line archive charges $2.95 per article (or a reduced bulk rate of $25.95 for twenty-five articles)— um, no thanks, unless perhaps the article mentions me by name and I’m feeling vain enough to want it. You can get free previews of the first few lines of many articles. But I find that its key-word cataloguing is spotty.
So, for me (for now) archival work in a good library is the only possibility. Microfilms aren’t all that awkward to use, are they?
For rapid reference to release dates in NYC, I use the NY Times Directory of the Film (up to 1969), and then the NY Times Film Reviews (through 1982), and then Variety Film Reviews (1983-86). From there, I track down the specifics in relevant issues of the NY Times, Variety, or NY Herald Tribune (to its demise in ‘67).
Like the rest of us, I enjoy thumbing through “Marquee.” And I also like the journal “Theatre Catalog” (note the idiosyncratic spelling for this American publication!), which is chock full of data about projection, exhibition, and theater design, with swell pictures of the real stuff up to the mid-1960s.
One of the most enduring myths about widescreen/stereo sound presentation is that the horrid curses of mono sound and incorrect aspect ratios are something new. Not so. As early as December 1953, scarcely 3 months after The Robe premiered, some chains, notably Walter Reade, Jr. steadfastly refused to install stereo screen speakers or surrounds. Reade, in particular, used a “mixer” which mixed the output from the 4 mag tracks into one single signal which went on its way to the one single loudspeaker with no one being any wiser. Likewise, I distinctly remember as far back as 1954 being in a major theatre (Philadelphia, Stanton) with that god-awful “constant width” masking which rendered the anamorphic image actually smaller than the pre-Scope screen. Bad showmanship has been around for decades!
Question for BoxOfficeBill: Other than going to the library to view Variety’s grosses through the years on microfilm, is there a web archive or site that offers that data? I know that Variety’s own site does not offer that even to subscribers.
Bill, it must then cause you much pain to see what the theatre owners are doing to aspect ratios in todays movies house boxes.
I have seen some real nightmares out there.
Between “Shane” and “Kiss Me Kate,” RCMH simply used its old Magnascope screen, framed at the standard but by-then unfashionable ratio of 1.33. When RCMH introduced a wider frame on an evidently new screen for its Christmas ‘53 show (the anemic “Easy to Love,” preceding the CinemaScope “Knights”), you could see black lines on its surface where its horizontal panels has been sewn together.
I know I’ve complained about this before (above, on 21 July '04 and 1 Sept '04), but as a pint-sized nut about film projection, I was enraged by what had been happening at that theater. Humpf.
RCMH continued for several years afterward to show its newsreels and announcements-of-next-attraction on its older-size screen, and that was a nice, nostalgic touch.
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
Warren: The nice thing about the presentation of “Shane” at the Music Hall was that the opening credits appeared on the regular size screen before the screen widened. This was an impressive effect. It’s too bad all the subsequent wide-screen and Cinemascope films weren’t presented that way as it helped to create a sense of awe as the screen widened.
REndres, I remember the fire curtain very well. As one of the last patrons to leave I watched it slowly decend and then immediately go back up. I remenber thinking what the heck was that? I asked a staff member and was told it was a fire department regulation to test the curtain twice a day. Sorry I did not get to see the “fire drop”. Once again, you have brought back great memories of RCMH.
A couple of notes: “The Bells of St. Mary’s” was the 1945 Christmas Show, but ran for nine weeks, starting 12/6/45 and ending 2/6/46. The stage show was “The Nativity” and “Heigh Ho!” produced by Leon Leonidoff, for four weeks and just “Heigh Ho!” for the remaining five weeks of the run. While in the twenty-two years of the Hall’s life, 109 out of 348 films were from RKO, “Bells” was the only RKO film played in 1945.
The fire curtain referred to in an earlier e-mail is (or was when I was there) asbestos. It is in two huge sections that completely seal off the 60' x 100' proscenium opening. It was brought in every morning before the first show and evening after the last show by motor in the movie/stage show days. Far more dramatic however, is when it is cut loose in a “fire drop”. Then the curtain comes hurtling at the stage with a roar in free fall until a short distance above the deck when hydraulic pistons hit fluid which slows it to a stop. Nothing is supposed to be placed on the fire curtain line which is marked on the deck with brads. Rumor has it that one person did leave his briefcase on the line just before a test drop and it was crushed! The curtain was tested in free fall mode before every concert load-in, and the test was dramatic enough that everything stopped on stage (for safety reasons)and everyone watched. When we did the 50th Anniversary show, it started with the curtain down, and the 50th Anniversary logo projected on it from a loop of 35mm film in the booth.
That’s probably true for that time, Bill. But don’t you think those figures I quoted above for this weekend’s event are just slightly ridiculous?
It’s time for the unions to work with the management of these venues. Show business is a seven-day-a-week operation, I don’t understand their position of “overtime” for a Saturday afternoon on a week when they had maybe one other event. And it’s time for the management to reduce their overhead as well – many do earn some outrageous numbers not always tied to profits, I’d love to see bonuses reduced/eliminated if a venue is running at a loss (as the MH does every single year). There’s plenty of room on both sides to make these things work. My point was strictly about that one event, not the entirety of the operation.
Um, I wouldn’t tell any union member to get lost. I’d chip away at the CEOs and smarmy management honchos who pull in much bigger bucks than any union member could imagine, for doing much less with no loss to fingers or thumbs. The RCMH audience in the ‘30s through '60s was largely union affiliated, and better off because of it.
Peter…Thanks for the clarification of costs. Figured as much, but did not realize that the costs would be so astronomical… Thank you NYTOS for a great show.
I think your estimate is probably correct – I didn’t think to take a closer count prior to the playing.
To lower the curtain would have cost NYTOS close to $4000 – the union demanded 4 stagehands for 8 hours at overtime rate to press 4 buttons. To have a PA system would have cost another couple thousand – the union demanded at least one electrician and a soundman for 8 hours at overtime rate. Same goes for the lights. The Hall would not absorb these costs nor tell the union to get lost – which they should do immediately.
Yes Peter, I was there too. It was great to hear the organ again after the last time which was a Xmas Spectacular about ten years ago prior to the restoration. I thought it went quite well also and look forward to the next one. I estimated attendance close to 200, which was rather good for an event on such short notice. However, I think that the current owners of RCMH could have used a little more showmanship by providing a PA system, lowering the contour curtain and splurging for the amber house lights. I do understand that this would have probably negated the cost effectiveness of the event, but it certainly would have been nice to capture the ambience of
the “olden days”.
So – did anybody else from here go to the organ concert Saturday afternoon? I thought the event went pretty well – it looked like around 100-150 people attended.
The main problem is the company Cablevision who are the operators of the Music Hall and Madison Square Garden, their cable company and former operators of the WIZ stores in New York.
The Radio City Music Hall should be a public institution like any other great New York landmark. It should not be holding basketball games or religious fundamentalist pageants to make money. With corporate and city funds a summer show based on Markert and Leonidoff is not impossible. If the Hall had survived solely on commercial considerations it would have closed up shop in ‘55. After that it was the Rockefellers who propped it up.
The Ohio Theatre (CAPA) and the Wang Center are both non-profit organizations – they survive through donations, public monies, and tickets sales, as well as volunteer staffing. The RCMH is not, I believe, a non-profit organization. There isn’t any public money available for them, nor would volunteers be allowed to work due to union regulations.
The facility operations are no way comparable.
Ron…Thanks for the correction.
Erwin’s link for the organ concert is not correct. It should be www.nytos.org
In Boston, the Wang Center’s occasional films are free. They are shown on Mondays when the house would otherwise be dark.
In Columbus, the Ohio Theatre’s summer film series has a $3.50 admission. Here is last summer’s schedule.
I consider these to be comparable to Radio City — in each case, they are the most ornate and largest theatres in their cities, which once showed movies all the time but now do so only on rare occasions. All of them have organs, too.
$12.00 for RCMH? No way. Movie ticket prices for an average movie theater in Manhattan are about $10.00. I think for the priviledge of seeing a movie at the Hall + the needs of the management for upkeep, they would at least charge $15, possibly $18 or $20. Would this scare people off? Yep. But, like I’ve said before, IF and only IF the movie is a true “Event”, you will find people willing and ready to shell out that amount. Who would’ve thought people would pay $10? Hell, my Mom was shocked when the top ticket price went up to $4 at the Lynbrook in 1977 to see “Rocky” there (one of my most memorable film experiences in that grand old theater…packed with people screaming their lungs out at the end!…now that’s what I miss about movie going!)
Does anyone remember the RCMH fire curtain that used to be in place when the doors opened? It then majestically rose and disappeared into the flies about 15 minutes before show time. As I recall it had a bronze color to it.
To reply to William’s question. A fair admission price for a film only format would be $12.00. For a film and stage show $20.00 general admission and $22.50 for the first mezzanine.
Reminder to everyone in the New York area…tomorrow’s 3PM organ concert on the RCMH’s mighty Wurlitzer. Further details at www.nytos.com
If the the Music Hall did a film festival like some of the above posts. What do you think would be a fair admission price per show?
1) Film only format
2) Film with stage show