It was the $6.50 I had trouble making out but that’s what I figured. Maybe the highest movie ticket price ever adjusted for inflation for a non benefit performance? In fact taking inflation into account My Fair Lady seems to have had the highest ticket prices ever overall. Even Sound of Music at the Rivoli was cheaper. $1.25 cheaper for a loge seat on a Saturday night in 1965 dollars was a big difference.
Anybody have the prices of This is Cinerama or Cleopatra at hand for comparison?
This must have been where my parents took us to see My Fair Lady though we usually went to the Nyack or 303. Children under 12 free.
Definitely saw Finian’s Rainbow here and I remember the lights from the Garden State Plaza being a distraction.
Moviebuff you left off the Century which was a beautiful single screen theater on the edge of the Plaza parking lot until they split it down the middle in the early 70s and it became a dump.
Great stuff grindhouse. I love these ads. Thank you. Now if I had been older I would have been going to these gilt edged roadshow presentations several times per film.
A film that should have played at the family friendly Music Hall rather than the stupefyingly bad Darling Lili. Not one of Disney’s better live action film but you weren’t thinking did Andrews and Edwards set out to make a film this awful? It finished off her meteoric film career for good. Her legendary legacy is still just Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. Though there is a gay cult following for Victor/Victoria.
A theater that lasted until the waning days of the city when New York was New York. It is sorely missed. I remember waiting on the lines that would stretch east on 57th.
If Fantasia was shown in it’s correct ratio at the Music Hall(I saw it and it was wonderful)what I don’t understand was why when Singing in the Rain was shown in its correct ratio in ‘75 the screen was very small which all films seem to have been at the time until Shane. It was a surprise. Fantasia was a larger image almost the size of the magnascope screen and yet held its clarity and brilliance. Other films I saw that were on the larger screen with the old ratio but which were dismayingly washed out and grainy were Show Boat and Good News. I felt they would would have been improved visually if they had been shown on that postage stamp screen.
Why did Fantasia looks so good and those others did not? In fact why were all the old films from the 30s to the early 50s shown on such a small screen? Flower Drum Song and Seven Brides seem to have been old prints but were still impressive in their respectively Panavision and Cinemascope 2.55 ratios. The Vistavision Funny Face was an absolute knock out.
As per CC’s photo posted today I think I remember Sinatra saying, perhaps on Larry King, that when he was in NY he would drive by the Paramount building. Too bad he never got out perhaps late at night and had his picture taken in the area of the former entrance.
What a terrible frightening photo CC.
I’m not complaining that you put it up.
It’s just very upsetting and depressing.
Never in a million years did I think I’d feel this way.
How was that presentation of Ben Hur? Large screen? Excellent 65mm print? Sound? Was screen slightly tilted up as somebody said it was for Kwai?
I’ve only seen musicals at the Palace so though it was a movie theater for decades it’s hard for me to imagine it.
First time was 5th row on the center aisle for Bacall in Applause. More than a year after it opened and she played it like it was opening night. Pure electricity.
Years later I was helping her in a store and she was kind of unpleasant so I decided not to tell her how great she was. I thought she would have bitten my head off.
CC just posted the opening day ad of 64’s The Chalk Garden.
This is the last stage show I’ve seen featuring the Serenade to the Stars spectacle. Maybe there was one after it? I have never seen pictures of it nor do I know what it involved or what the music was. If anybody saw it perhaps you could give us a description?
I think somebody once wrote it involved a lot of lights which often enough failed. A cause of amusement for the ushers who would place bets on what would happen at performances.
I did see Superman II here. But it did in the very early 70s start showing a lot of exploitation fare unlike the Ziegfeld which for the most part played Hollywood A films. The Ziegfeld was never an exploitation house which all the great Times Square houses were at some point if not all the time. The one that remained for the most part a class act until the end was Loew’s State. I don’t know why exactly.
Kino Lorber is releasing Song of Norway on bluray. No information except that it is a new 2K master. From a 70mm negative? No specifics. Normally I would have run to a roadshow film like this but after the reviews I stayed clear. Still haven’t seen it except for a bit where Florence Henderson is rolling around in the grass. I thought no wonder the great Strand/Cinerama theater did a 180 from a prestigious first run roadshow theater straight to 42nd street grind house.
AlAlvarez explained why this hit roadshow film had such a short run at the Criterion. Had it had a regular run I would have been able to see it here. Frustrating.
Second to last successful roadshow film.
Clicking on the My Fair Lady article brings you to a beautiful picture of the Criterion at night playing the film which had to be early ‘65 because no Oscar yet and it looks like a Jan or Feb snow fall. What you of course you cannot tell is the marquee had lights which I believe went on and off from left to right. I saw it very long ago online. On you tube there is a very nice Pathe film of the premiere in London. In black and white with sound. There is also some silent color footage. Beaton writes in his diaries the response was disappointingly not enthusiastic. Well he didn’t think it was very good anyway. I wish as much had survived of the NY premiere. I can’t even remember who the host was. And with typical NY courtesy on one of the professionally most exciting nights of her life he confronts Hepburn about who did her singing in the film. She should have hauled off and flattened him but doesn’t even flinch and responds graciously.
I have most of them but I haven’t had a chance to sit and watch them. Also somebody said they aren’t worth watching unless you have a 10 ft screen. Well that’s not happening.
There was a screening of SP a number of years ago where I saw a photo of Gaynor, Kerr and Nuyen posing in front of the theater. Kerr looked very old which is always surprising when you only know how a person looked in their youth. Nuyen and Gaynor looked really good.
Was that the SP screening that was also attended by Kerr and Nuyen? Interesting that the cast of WSS was there.
Anybody see Planet of the Apes here? Did it use only a portion of the Cinerama screen? As well when Heat of the Night played was it shown on the curved screen but masked for the proper screen ratio?
I didn’t realize that. Thanks. The projectionist invited me into the booth at the Ziegfeld when the Robert Harris restoration of Lawrence was shown. He was very proud. And rightfully so. He told me on opening night Lean, O'Toole and Sharif came to see him in it. I would have been floored.
Were any of the stars of the film who are still living as of 2020 in attendance; Eden, Bloom, Tamblyn, Mimieux?
Also how many reels of film would this involve because I’ve never really thought about it before. Exactly how did the film break down as actually 3 films were being shown simultaneously. How did this print survive and how did this collector get his hands on it? Was this risky in that Warners or whomever could claim it as their property? Are all these cans of film just languishing in somebody’s garage in Australia? Shouldn’t efforts be made to preserve them considering they are nearly 60 years old? Sounds like a story in and of itself.
It was the $6.50 I had trouble making out but that’s what I figured. Maybe the highest movie ticket price ever adjusted for inflation for a non benefit performance? In fact taking inflation into account My Fair Lady seems to have had the highest ticket prices ever overall. Even Sound of Music at the Rivoli was cheaper. $1.25 cheaper for a loge seat on a Saturday night in 1965 dollars was a big difference.
Anybody have the prices of This is Cinerama or Cleopatra at hand for comparison?
Grindhouse could you list the prices for MFL for NY’s Eve which are difficult to make out?
This must have been where my parents took us to see My Fair Lady though we usually went to the Nyack or 303. Children under 12 free. Definitely saw Finian’s Rainbow here and I remember the lights from the Garden State Plaza being a distraction. Moviebuff you left off the Century which was a beautiful single screen theater on the edge of the Plaza parking lot until they split it down the middle in the early 70s and it became a dump.
Great stuff grindhouse. I love these ads. Thank you. Now if I had been older I would have been going to these gilt edged roadshow presentations several times per film.
And it was most likely in 35mm.
The Agony and the Ecstasy was the third of 20th Century’s triple reserved seat play for 1965.
Well grindhouse you belie your name with all those SOM ads. They are much appreciated.
A film that should have played at the family friendly Music Hall rather than the stupefyingly bad Darling Lili. Not one of Disney’s better live action film but you weren’t thinking did Andrews and Edwards set out to make a film this awful? It finished off her meteoric film career for good. Her legendary legacy is still just Mary Poppins and Sound of Music. Though there is a gay cult following for Victor/Victoria.
A theater that lasted until the waning days of the city when New York was New York. It is sorely missed. I remember waiting on the lines that would stretch east on 57th.
If Fantasia was shown in it’s correct ratio at the Music Hall(I saw it and it was wonderful)what I don’t understand was why when Singing in the Rain was shown in its correct ratio in ‘75 the screen was very small which all films seem to have been at the time until Shane. It was a surprise. Fantasia was a larger image almost the size of the magnascope screen and yet held its clarity and brilliance. Other films I saw that were on the larger screen with the old ratio but which were dismayingly washed out and grainy were Show Boat and Good News. I felt they would would have been improved visually if they had been shown on that postage stamp screen.
Why did Fantasia looks so good and those others did not? In fact why were all the old films from the 30s to the early 50s shown on such a small screen? Flower Drum Song and Seven Brides seem to have been old prints but were still impressive in their respectively Panavision and Cinemascope 2.55 ratios. The Vistavision Funny Face was an absolute knock out.
I hope you reported it to the ushers. Unless they were dealing it along with the souvenir programs.
As per CC’s photo posted today I think I remember Sinatra saying, perhaps on Larry King, that when he was in NY he would drive by the Paramount building. Too bad he never got out perhaps late at night and had his picture taken in the area of the former entrance.
What a great collection of movies to go to see. But why no Fay Wray?
What a terrible frightening photo CC. I’m not complaining that you put it up. It’s just very upsetting and depressing. Never in a million years did I think I’d feel this way.
How was that presentation of Ben Hur? Large screen? Excellent 65mm print? Sound? Was screen slightly tilted up as somebody said it was for Kwai? I’ve only seen musicals at the Palace so though it was a movie theater for decades it’s hard for me to imagine it.
First time was 5th row on the center aisle for Bacall in Applause. More than a year after it opened and she played it like it was opening night. Pure electricity. Years later I was helping her in a store and she was kind of unpleasant so I decided not to tell her how great she was. I thought she would have bitten my head off.
Sounds like Leonidoff and Markert were feeling no pain when they came up with this one.
CC just posted the opening day ad of 64’s The Chalk Garden. This is the last stage show I’ve seen featuring the Serenade to the Stars spectacle. Maybe there was one after it? I have never seen pictures of it nor do I know what it involved or what the music was. If anybody saw it perhaps you could give us a description? I think somebody once wrote it involved a lot of lights which often enough failed. A cause of amusement for the ushers who would place bets on what would happen at performances.
I did see Superman II here. But it did in the very early 70s start showing a lot of exploitation fare unlike the Ziegfeld which for the most part played Hollywood A films. The Ziegfeld was never an exploitation house which all the great Times Square houses were at some point if not all the time. The one that remained for the most part a class act until the end was Loew’s State. I don’t know why exactly.
yeah Mike(saps) I miss them too. And I never thought I’d say that.
Kino Lorber is releasing Song of Norway on bluray. No information except that it is a new 2K master. From a 70mm negative? No specifics. Normally I would have run to a roadshow film like this but after the reviews I stayed clear. Still haven’t seen it except for a bit where Florence Henderson is rolling around in the grass. I thought no wonder the great Strand/Cinerama theater did a 180 from a prestigious first run roadshow theater straight to 42nd street grind house.
AlAlvarez explained why this hit roadshow film had such a short run at the Criterion. Had it had a regular run I would have been able to see it here. Frustrating.
Second to last successful roadshow film. Clicking on the My Fair Lady article brings you to a beautiful picture of the Criterion at night playing the film which had to be early ‘65 because no Oscar yet and it looks like a Jan or Feb snow fall. What you of course you cannot tell is the marquee had lights which I believe went on and off from left to right. I saw it very long ago online. On you tube there is a very nice Pathe film of the premiere in London. In black and white with sound. There is also some silent color footage. Beaton writes in his diaries the response was disappointingly not enthusiastic. Well he didn’t think it was very good anyway. I wish as much had survived of the NY premiere. I can’t even remember who the host was. And with typical NY courtesy on one of the professionally most exciting nights of her life he confronts Hepburn about who did her singing in the film. She should have hauled off and flattened him but doesn’t even flinch and responds graciously.
I have most of them but I haven’t had a chance to sit and watch them. Also somebody said they aren’t worth watching unless you have a 10 ft screen. Well that’s not happening.
There was a screening of SP a number of years ago where I saw a photo of Gaynor, Kerr and Nuyen posing in front of the theater. Kerr looked very old which is always surprising when you only know how a person looked in their youth. Nuyen and Gaynor looked really good.
Was that the SP screening that was also attended by Kerr and Nuyen? Interesting that the cast of WSS was there.
Anybody see Planet of the Apes here? Did it use only a portion of the Cinerama screen? As well when Heat of the Night played was it shown on the curved screen but masked for the proper screen ratio?
I didn’t realize that. Thanks. The projectionist invited me into the booth at the Ziegfeld when the Robert Harris restoration of Lawrence was shown. He was very proud. And rightfully so. He told me on opening night Lean, O'Toole and Sharif came to see him in it. I would have been floored.
To have something like this in the NY area!
Were any of the stars of the film who are still living as of 2020 in attendance; Eden, Bloom, Tamblyn, Mimieux?
Also how many reels of film would this involve because I’ve never really thought about it before. Exactly how did the film break down as actually 3 films were being shown simultaneously. How did this print survive and how did this collector get his hands on it? Was this risky in that Warners or whomever could claim it as their property? Are all these cans of film just languishing in somebody’s garage in Australia? Shouldn’t efforts be made to preserve them considering they are nearly 60 years old? Sounds like a story in and of itself.