Yes, “Ben-Hur” premiered at the Loew’s State, New York. It is said that the entire theatre was renovated in early 1959 specifically to get it ready for “Ben-Hur.” Loews allegely also opened a theatre in Washington,DC, the Columbia. If you check “Variety,” magazine, you will see that a number of Cinerama houses opened “BH” in late 1959. DC, Warner; Pittsburgh, Warner; Philly, Boyd. The list goes on.
yes, the day after it left the Chinese, it moved over to the New Fox. Can get the dates for you if want. But it was probably in January'59 (or very late ‘57). Your questions are my questions. From what I learned, “WJ” ran until the Christmas booking of “Auntie Mame.” Without going thru all my notes, it ran at the NF for at least 2 or 3 months. Didnt do well. Any comments, pls?
can anybody inform us how the presentation of “Windjammer” in 1958 in its moveover after the run at the Henry Fonda (then called the New Fox) was done? True 3-panel? Curved screen? curtains? 7 channel or 1-channel mixdown.
Why do i seem to remember that it all started to go way downhill when Universal-International booked a film into the Hall (I think “Swashbuckler” was the feature) and also opened it simultaneously in the boroughs, or at least, Long Island? RCMH no longer was “exclusive.” Someone pls enlighten me on this.
I am well aware of the Music Hall in Detroit. What I am NOT aware of is any evidence that 3-strip “Russian Adventure” played anywhere else ouside of Paris and Brussels, and, of course, Russia. YOur logic is false, btw. That the 70mm version of “TIC” played ANYWHERE is no indication of how the original film ran.
Is Mr. Rober Enders (sp?) still with us. He was (is) the master RCMH projectionist, who said the famous line: “you aint been boo'ed until you been boo'ed by 6000 people.” And I was the one who, as an Army projectionist in Ft. Totten (Queens, NY), who said, “and you ain’t been boo'ed until you been boo'ed buy 500 drunk army guys on a Friday night.”
DennisZ, more Boyd info. (It’s getting late, and I didnt think of just pulling this source…) From the International Cinerama Society, Listing of United States Cinerama Theatres.
“Philadelphia (PA) – Boyd Theatre (Sam Eric I) 3s/70 [meaning it was equipped for both 3panel and 70mm Cinerama). Theatre no. 5. 3s:10-05-53 to 10-25-59. Screen: 76ft x 26 ft. Cinerama removed and Flat 70m installed from 11-24-59. 3-strip restored 08-07-62 to 12-01-63. 70m Cinerama from 12-19-63. Now Theatre I of Sam Eric multiplex. Original red curtains still in use. The remains of a poster for CINERAMA HOLIDAY visible on the rear wall 1993. Theatre has survived two demolition schemes and is now officially protected. Enlarged B booth still in use. Now no sign of A & C booths. 19th at Chestnut."
The above was from the 2001 Cinerama/CineMiracle/Kinopanorama/D-150 theatre listings. I know the author slightly, but am well acquainted with one of his best friends. If you would like, I can find out through Australian contacts if Keith Swadkins, president of the Intl C'rama Society is still operating. But with very few exceptions, his listings are flawless, and his information unassailable. Sorry I didnt think to use this resource until now.
DennisZ, this is relatively easy to check out. First of all, as for a sign above the marquee. There had always been a smaller one during the Cinerama travelogues, but was substantially enlarged for “B-H.” Check the newspapers and “Variety.” There were many printed reports that Cinerama was being removed at that time, for one reason, by dent of the Agreement between SWCinerama and the Dept of Justice in June of 1953, SW was no longer allowed to show C'rama in most theatres after Dec, 1958, later adjusted to Dec, 1959. Second, there were no more new travelogues to show. The 3 booths were dismantled, 70/35mm projectors put in upstairs, a FLAT screen was hung forward of the proscenium behind the original Cinerama curtain on a FLAT rigging. In contrast to the Boyd, the SW Warner in Washington DC retained the curtain on the curved track, but installed a flat screen behind it . You are right in that SamEric took out a curved screen when it took over operation, but THAT curved screen was not the one that was installed in 1953…it was the one that was installed in 1962. If you remember the size of the 1962 installation, and then go to a library and check out the Phila “Bulletin” photos taken in 1953 and published that Fall, you will see that there was a VAST difference in screen sizes. There is a gentleman who I will try to get to comment here. He lives in Cherry Hill, NJ, and was, along with his father, business agent of the IATSE projectionist local 307, no longer in existence, and has vivid memories of visiting the Boyds booth(s) and backstage.
Back to Cinerama, I dont know where the Philly equipment went in 1959…possibly to Europe. I have published reports of the SW Warner in New York, where the equipment was de-installed and then in a short time removed to the Syosset in Long Island. You can find other clues in “Variety,” by checking in the “theatre grosses” section and compare the seating capacities both before and after Nov 24, 1959 when “B-H” opened. As I said in my earlier post, seeing that vast red curtain, hearing the phenomenal 6-track sound system, and memory can trick you into thinking the 11/59-7/62 screen was curved. One other thing comes to mind: like many other theatres, when “Search For Paradise” (travelogue #3) tanked, many houses either closed down (the Houston Melba) or showed non-Cinerama product. From 3/58 to 10/58, the Boyd utilized the upstairs booth, having installed new vertical masking, 4-track mag soundheads, to show 35mm product On The Curved Screen. Opening film was Fox' “The Long, Hot Summer,” and this policy continued up through the Summer 58 roadshow run of “Gigi.” The downstairs booths weren’t touched. After “Gigi,” the house returned to 3-projector operation with “Windjammer.” Possibly you saw one of those films during that season when the screen, the original Cinerama one, was deeply curved.
DennisZ, you are absolutely correct. I looked up the International Cinerama Society listing of CineMiracle theatres, and it was indeed at the King where “WJ” ran beginning 10/26/60. Sorry about that.
DennisZ, have to amiably disagree with you on “Ben-Hur” at the Boyd. When the final Cinerama travelogue, “South Seas Adventure” ended in Sept/Oct 1959, the 3-panel equipment was removed, and 70/35mm projectors installed in the original booth. The Cinerama curtain (and this is what may have confused you) was retained, but placed on a flat track that stretched across the entire width of the auditorium. I don’t know the exact width, but the Boyd (which reopened with BH) was one of the few 70mm houses that used the anamorphic lens for MGM Camera 65 (or UltraPanavision 70) that included a 1.25x squeeze rendering an approximate 2.7:1 screen aspect ratio. The screen, of course, was in front of the proscenium. Now, if the present day width for 70mm projection in 2.2:1 ratio is 56' (verified on a recent Boyd tour), then the 2.7:1 image had to be in the area of 75 feet.(The original 3-panel Cinerama with its 2.7:1 ratio was 76 feet wide.) But it was flat. And stayed that way through “Exodus,” “King of Kings,” and a number of other 70mm roadshows until Summer of 1962, when Cinerama was reinstalled for the “Bros Grimm” and “How the West Was Won.”
Mikeoaklandpark, I didnt mean to imply that Cinerama was shown at the Goldman. I meant that in its 1959 installation of 70mm, the screen was virtually wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, deeply curved, and with reddish curtains….just like NYC’s Loews Capitol in 1962. Strange what you say about their being a flat screen in the 60’s because, as I said, the 1959 install featured a deeply curved one. By the early 70’s the screen was “flattened.” By the mid 70s the house was horribly twinned.
Prior to the beginning of the above list, this was the house that Paramount moved “10 Commandments” into on a semi-continuous basis after that film had failed to catch on at the RKO Keiths.
Used to be operated by the Stiefel family which at one time also operated the Philadelphia Uptown. The son, Arnold Stiefel, became an Hollywood agent, including among his clients Clint Eastwood. Mr. Stiefel was also the producer of the film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”
The Randolph was also one of the very few theatres in the Northeast that used 4 projectors for 3-D projection. Its ads for stereoscopic films in the early 1950’s always proudly stated “No Intermission!” There is also anecdotal evidence that the Randolph was one of the theatres to which Paramount leased horizontal VistaVision projectors for the roadshow “Ten Commandments” engagement in 1956.
During the 50’s, it was actually the first second-run house in Philadelphia. Immediately following a downtown run, a feature would moveover to the Palace, and the Palace only, and then, 28 days after the downtown run had expired the feature would spread to numerous of what were actually third-run houses of the Stanley-Warner, Goldman, and Ellis chains, though most histories consider those neighborhood venues to be second-run.
Yes, “Ben-Hur” premiered at the Loew’s State, New York. It is said that the entire theatre was renovated in early 1959 specifically to get it ready for “Ben-Hur.” Loews allegely also opened a theatre in Washington,DC, the Columbia. If you check “Variety,” magazine, you will see that a number of Cinerama houses opened “BH” in late 1959. DC, Warner; Pittsburgh, Warner; Philly, Boyd. The list goes on.
i meant to say late December 58 or early Jan 59. probably in Dec.
yes, the day after it left the Chinese, it moved over to the New Fox. Can get the dates for you if want. But it was probably in January'59 (or very late ‘57). Your questions are my questions. From what I learned, “WJ” ran until the Christmas booking of “Auntie Mame.” Without going thru all my notes, it ran at the NF for at least 2 or 3 months. Didnt do well. Any comments, pls?
can anybody inform us how the presentation of “Windjammer” in 1958 in its moveover after the run at the Henry Fonda (then called the New Fox) was done? True 3-panel? Curved screen? curtains? 7 channel or 1-channel mixdown.
Why do i seem to remember that it all started to go way downhill when Universal-International booked a film into the Hall (I think “Swashbuckler” was the feature) and also opened it simultaneously in the boroughs, or at least, Long Island? RCMH no longer was “exclusive.” Someone pls enlighten me on this.
Just for the record, this was the theatre that ran the much-maligned 70mm version of “This Is Cinerama” in 1973.
i think all of you guys/gals are magnificent.I am gathering a list of questions for Mr. Enders, and anybody else. Me: I',m just an audience member.
And I am so happy that you are still with us.I got a number of questions to ask of you, if you don’t mind.
I am well aware of the Music Hall in Detroit. What I am NOT aware of is any evidence that 3-strip “Russian Adventure” played anywhere else ouside of Paris and Brussels, and, of course, Russia. YOur logic is false, btw. That the 70mm version of “TIC” played ANYWHERE is no indication of how the original film ran.
Is Mr. Rober Enders (sp?) still with us. He was (is) the master RCMH projectionist, who said the famous line: “you aint been boo'ed until you been boo'ed by 6000 people.” And I was the one who, as an Army projectionist in Ft. Totten (Queens, NY), who said, “and you ain’t been boo'ed until you been boo'ed buy 500 drunk army guys on a Friday night.”
DennisZ, more Boyd info. (It’s getting late, and I didnt think of just pulling this source…) From the International Cinerama Society, Listing of United States Cinerama Theatres.
“Philadelphia (PA) – Boyd Theatre (Sam Eric I) 3s/70 [meaning it was equipped for both 3panel and 70mm Cinerama). Theatre no. 5. 3s:10-05-53 to 10-25-59. Screen: 76ft x 26 ft. Cinerama removed and Flat 70m installed from 11-24-59. 3-strip restored 08-07-62 to 12-01-63. 70m Cinerama from 12-19-63. Now Theatre I of Sam Eric multiplex. Original red curtains still in use. The remains of a poster for CINERAMA HOLIDAY visible on the rear wall 1993. Theatre has survived two demolition schemes and is now officially protected. Enlarged B booth still in use. Now no sign of A & C booths. 19th at Chestnut."
The above was from the 2001 Cinerama/CineMiracle/Kinopanorama/D-150 theatre listings. I know the author slightly, but am well acquainted with one of his best friends. If you would like, I can find out through Australian contacts if Keith Swadkins, president of the Intl C'rama Society is still operating. But with very few exceptions, his listings are flawless, and his information unassailable. Sorry I didnt think to use this resource until now.
DennisZ, this is relatively easy to check out. First of all, as for a sign above the marquee. There had always been a smaller one during the Cinerama travelogues, but was substantially enlarged for “B-H.” Check the newspapers and “Variety.” There were many printed reports that Cinerama was being removed at that time, for one reason, by dent of the Agreement between SWCinerama and the Dept of Justice in June of 1953, SW was no longer allowed to show C'rama in most theatres after Dec, 1958, later adjusted to Dec, 1959. Second, there were no more new travelogues to show. The 3 booths were dismantled, 70/35mm projectors put in upstairs, a FLAT screen was hung forward of the proscenium behind the original Cinerama curtain on a FLAT rigging. In contrast to the Boyd, the SW Warner in Washington DC retained the curtain on the curved track, but installed a flat screen behind it . You are right in that SamEric took out a curved screen when it took over operation, but THAT curved screen was not the one that was installed in 1953…it was the one that was installed in 1962. If you remember the size of the 1962 installation, and then go to a library and check out the Phila “Bulletin” photos taken in 1953 and published that Fall, you will see that there was a VAST difference in screen sizes. There is a gentleman who I will try to get to comment here. He lives in Cherry Hill, NJ, and was, along with his father, business agent of the IATSE projectionist local 307, no longer in existence, and has vivid memories of visiting the Boyds booth(s) and backstage.
Back to Cinerama, I dont know where the Philly equipment went in 1959…possibly to Europe. I have published reports of the SW Warner in New York, where the equipment was de-installed and then in a short time removed to the Syosset in Long Island. You can find other clues in “Variety,” by checking in the “theatre grosses” section and compare the seating capacities both before and after Nov 24, 1959 when “B-H” opened. As I said in my earlier post, seeing that vast red curtain, hearing the phenomenal 6-track sound system, and memory can trick you into thinking the 11/59-7/62 screen was curved. One other thing comes to mind: like many other theatres, when “Search For Paradise” (travelogue #3) tanked, many houses either closed down (the Houston Melba) or showed non-Cinerama product. From 3/58 to 10/58, the Boyd utilized the upstairs booth, having installed new vertical masking, 4-track mag soundheads, to show 35mm product On The Curved Screen. Opening film was Fox' “The Long, Hot Summer,” and this policy continued up through the Summer 58 roadshow run of “Gigi.” The downstairs booths weren’t touched. After “Gigi,” the house returned to 3-projector operation with “Windjammer.” Possibly you saw one of those films during that season when the screen, the original Cinerama one, was deeply curved.
DennisZ, you are absolutely correct. I looked up the International Cinerama Society listing of CineMiracle theatres, and it was indeed at the King where “WJ” ran beginning 10/26/60. Sorry about that.
DennisZ, have to amiably disagree with you on “Ben-Hur” at the Boyd. When the final Cinerama travelogue, “South Seas Adventure” ended in Sept/Oct 1959, the 3-panel equipment was removed, and 70/35mm projectors installed in the original booth. The Cinerama curtain (and this is what may have confused you) was retained, but placed on a flat track that stretched across the entire width of the auditorium. I don’t know the exact width, but the Boyd (which reopened with BH) was one of the few 70mm houses that used the anamorphic lens for MGM Camera 65 (or UltraPanavision 70) that included a 1.25x squeeze rendering an approximate 2.7:1 screen aspect ratio. The screen, of course, was in front of the proscenium. Now, if the present day width for 70mm projection in 2.2:1 ratio is 56' (verified on a recent Boyd tour), then the 2.7:1 image had to be in the area of 75 feet.(The original 3-panel Cinerama with its 2.7:1 ratio was 76 feet wide.) But it was flat. And stayed that way through “Exodus,” “King of Kings,” and a number of other 70mm roadshows until Summer of 1962, when Cinerama was reinstalled for the “Bros Grimm” and “How the West Was Won.”
Mikeoaklandpark, I didnt mean to imply that Cinerama was shown at the Goldman. I meant that in its 1959 installation of 70mm, the screen was virtually wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, deeply curved, and with reddish curtains….just like NYC’s Loews Capitol in 1962. Strange what you say about their being a flat screen in the 60’s because, as I said, the 1959 install featured a deeply curved one. By the early 70’s the screen was “flattened.” By the mid 70s the house was horribly twinned.
Was this the theatre that, upon being remodeled in 1959/60, became one of the “RKO International 70” operations?
I have heard that this was the Crescent City’s first 70mm house.
Located on U Street, NW, within blocks of 2 other fine houses, the Republic and the Booker T.
Prior to the beginning of the above list, this was the house that Paramount moved “10 Commandments” into on a semi-continuous basis after that film had failed to catch on at the RKO Keiths.
The Loews chain opened a new Columbia, replacing the old one, in early 1960 specifically for the “Ben-Hur” engagement.
You used to be able to get a good view of the marquee from the train (Amtrak or SEPTA) heading southbound through Chester station.
Used to be operated by the Stiefel family which at one time also operated the Philadelphia Uptown. The son, Arnold Stiefel, became an Hollywood agent, including among his clients Clint Eastwood. Mr. Stiefel was also the producer of the film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”
The Randolph was also one of the very few theatres in the Northeast that used 4 projectors for 3-D projection. Its ads for stereoscopic films in the early 1950’s always proudly stated “No Intermission!” There is also anecdotal evidence that the Randolph was one of the theatres to which Paramount leased horizontal VistaVision projectors for the roadshow “Ten Commandments” engagement in 1956.
During the 50’s, it was actually the first second-run house in Philadelphia. Immediately following a downtown run, a feature would moveover to the Palace, and the Palace only, and then, 28 days after the downtown run had expired the feature would spread to numerous of what were actually third-run houses of the Stanley-Warner, Goldman, and Ellis chains, though most histories consider those neighborhood venues to be second-run.
I believe this was the original Todd-AO house in Pittsburgh.