Veyoung; many of the 3-D features released in 1953 had interlocked magnetic stereo tracks, so you had 3 film elements running in (hopefully) perfect sync! Stereo titles include Fort Ti, Stranger Wore a Gun, Miss Sadie Thompson, The Maze, Second Chance, It Came from Outer Space, Wings of the Hawk, Devil’s Canyon, Cease Fire, and many more.
Vito; if you don’t mind my asking, where did you project 3-D in NYC? I’d love to hear any stories you could share of those days.
Deester; the Ziegfeld will not get the same pristine and archival 35mm prints as the Lafayette or the Loew’s Jersey. The reason is because they are not running reel to reel, and studios will not send their pristine prints to a platter house. That’s why they can’t get many of the 70mm prints as well. In most cases, there is only one available 70mm print and it’s reserved for archival screenings and special venues.
Vito; those 2 Warnerphonic titles were originally presented with full coat magnetic interlock as well. The full coat had the left, center, right channels, and the right print only had the surround mono optical track. The left print had a mono optical composite of the 4 tracks which served as an emergency back-up in case the interlock went out of sync.
None of the dual-strip 3-D films from that period had magnetic stereo tracks on the actual print. By the time mag/optical prints were introduced (late 1954) 3-D was dead. If you did play KISS ME KATE in stereo, it would certainly have been via mag/full coat interlock.
However, I should point out that KISS ME KATE was never presented in Perspecta. It was originally shown in stereophonic sound with an interlocked full coat 35mm magnetic track which had the left, center and right channels. KATE opened at Radio City Music Hall (flat only) in November, 1953 and then played wide (in 3-D) on the New York Loew’s circuit for Christmas, 1953.
MGM’s first Perspecta release in the U.S. was BETRAYED with Clark Gable, which opened in September, 1954.
If the good folks at Clearview want to see how a classic film should be presented (i.e. showmanship) I suggest they make the trip out to Suffern, New York.
The Lafayette Theatre kicks off their annual Big Screen Classics series this Saturday, February 25, with THE BAND WAGON. You’ll learn how to use entrance music; when to dim the lights; when to open a curtain before the vintage shorts/trailers as opposed to the main feature, etc. You’ll also see that modern commercials and coming attractions are most certainly NOT part of the classic movie going experience.
If you can’t make it on Saturday mornings, they have an excellent Movie Musicals weekend on March 10-11-12 with loads of rare prints, including KISS ME KATE in dual-strip Polaroid 3-D with stereophonic sound, and LOVING YOU in an archival dye-transfer Technicolor print!
Stuart; if you take the time to read previous posts, you’ll read several eyewitness accounts, including some fascinating contributions from a famous entertainer who played at this fabulous, lost showplace. He is Ralph Heid – the “Hurricane on the Xylophone” -and he posted on January 20, 2006.
Would sure be nice to see that new 70mm print which was recently struck of IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD.
When I was programming classic film at Loew’s Jersey, I played an original 35mm dye-transfer Technicolor print, and recreated the overture, intermission and police radio calls. We played it on a Saturday night back in 2001 and had over 700 people! This film hasn’t played in the New York area since, and I think would do quite well.
I have to smile at the folks responding as if no other theater in the Metro area has been doing classic film on a regular basis. Ever hear of the Lafayette in Suffern, or the Loew’s Jersey in Jersey City?
Sorry, but classic film on a big screen in a movie palace is not a new concept folks. Check the Loew’s Jersey thread and see what I was doing there 5 years ago.
Vincent; MFF was restored and preserved, and the current copyright holder has all of the preservation materials. However they have allowed their release prints to fall apart, and have been booking the same worn out prints for years. They are too cheap to strike new ones. But, they have preservation printing elements if they should ever decide to do so.
For this type of high profile booking in New York City, the distributor should have struck a new print, and the exhibitor should have checked the print they received prior to showing it.
To present this beat up version to a paying audience is poor showmanship and a reel shame.
Paramount didn’t sue, but Hal Wallis (who had M&L under contract) threatened to. Dean could have cared less, but Jerry was a bit annoyed. After all, he had spotted Petrillo on the street in New York and hired him to play his son in a Colgate Comedy Hour sketch!
In the early 80’s when he was promoting his auto-biography, Jerry appeared on the Today Show. Bryant Gumbel tells Jerry that “we dug into the vaults and have some vintage footage.” What’s the first clip you see? Eddie Cantor with…Sammy Petrillo! Jerry laughed and said that not only did he never do a comedy sketch with Cantor, but he was “never quite that good looking!”
I met Petrillo about ten years ago when he was doing a comedy act in New York. A nice man, although somewhat bitter that his career never quite took off.
Often times – in revival houses – they would just place an intermission at the end of a reel, whether it belonged there or not. I saw many revivals of 1950’s 3-D films with the intermission incorrectly presented that way.
I understand, I just couldn’t figure out the reason for links to a Dean Martin fan club as well as Dean Martin day in Steubenville.
By the way, what the heck happened to Steubenville? The parade photos are quite surprising: boarded up stores and a “celebrity” roster consisting of a really bad Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley impersonators. At least Dean’s daughter was there, but she was promoting a book.
And the Dean Martin look-a-like(?) performing in the high school auditorium is doing the older Dean with the large oversized Robert Mitchum glasses. Why don’t these “tribute artists” ever impersonate a celebrity in their prime?
Everybody is so amazed that the Ziegfeld is using its curtain. After attending all the classic films at the Lafayette Theater in Suffern New York over these past several years, I’ve gotten used to seeing movies presented with curtains, pre-show organ music, and all the other bells and whistles which constitute good showmanship. I guess the Lafayette has gotten me spoiled for a true movie palace experience.
And the Lafayette doesn’t run commercials, unless it’s a vintage trailer for one of their upcoming classics. Friends, f you think the Ziegfeld is doing a good job, you don’t know what you’re missing!
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
To promote his new film “The Ladies Man,” Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 12, 1961.
Veyoung; many of the 3-D features released in 1953 had interlocked magnetic stereo tracks, so you had 3 film elements running in (hopefully) perfect sync! Stereo titles include Fort Ti, Stranger Wore a Gun, Miss Sadie Thompson, The Maze, Second Chance, It Came from Outer Space, Wings of the Hawk, Devil’s Canyon, Cease Fire, and many more.
Vito; if you don’t mind my asking, where did you project 3-D in NYC? I’d love to hear any stories you could share of those days.
Deester; the Ziegfeld will not get the same pristine and archival 35mm prints as the Lafayette or the Loew’s Jersey. The reason is because they are not running reel to reel, and studios will not send their pristine prints to a platter house. That’s why they can’t get many of the 70mm prints as well. In most cases, there is only one available 70mm print and it’s reserved for archival screenings and special venues.
Vito; those 2 Warnerphonic titles were originally presented with full coat magnetic interlock as well. The full coat had the left, center, right channels, and the right print only had the surround mono optical track. The left print had a mono optical composite of the 4 tracks which served as an emergency back-up in case the interlock went out of sync.
None of the dual-strip 3-D films from that period had magnetic stereo tracks on the actual print. By the time mag/optical prints were introduced (late 1954) 3-D was dead. If you did play KISS ME KATE in stereo, it would certainly have been via mag/full coat interlock.
Vito, thanks for the compliment!
However, I should point out that KISS ME KATE was never presented in Perspecta. It was originally shown in stereophonic sound with an interlocked full coat 35mm magnetic track which had the left, center and right channels. KATE opened at Radio City Music Hall (flat only) in November, 1953 and then played wide (in 3-D) on the New York Loew’s circuit for Christmas, 1953.
MGM’s first Perspecta release in the U.S. was BETRAYED with Clark Gable, which opened in September, 1954.
If the good folks at Clearview want to see how a classic film should be presented (i.e. showmanship) I suggest they make the trip out to Suffern, New York.
The Lafayette Theatre kicks off their annual Big Screen Classics series this Saturday, February 25, with THE BAND WAGON. You’ll learn how to use entrance music; when to dim the lights; when to open a curtain before the vintage shorts/trailers as opposed to the main feature, etc. You’ll also see that modern commercials and coming attractions are most certainly NOT part of the classic movie going experience.
If you can’t make it on Saturday mornings, they have an excellent Movie Musicals weekend on March 10-11-12 with loads of rare prints, including KISS ME KATE in dual-strip Polaroid 3-D with stereophonic sound, and LOVING YOU in an archival dye-transfer Technicolor print!
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Stuart; if you take the time to read previous posts, you’ll read several eyewitness accounts, including some fascinating contributions from a famous entertainer who played at this fabulous, lost showplace. He is Ralph Heid – the “Hurricane on the Xylophone” -and he posted on January 20, 2006.
Would sure be nice to see that new 70mm print which was recently struck of IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD.
When I was programming classic film at Loew’s Jersey, I played an original 35mm dye-transfer Technicolor print, and recreated the overture, intermission and police radio calls. We played it on a Saturday night back in 2001 and had over 700 people! This film hasn’t played in the New York area since, and I think would do quite well.
I have to smile at the folks responding as if no other theater in the Metro area has been doing classic film on a regular basis. Ever hear of the Lafayette in Suffern, or the Loew’s Jersey in Jersey City?
Sorry, but classic film on a big screen in a movie palace is not a new concept folks. Check the Loew’s Jersey thread and see what I was doing there 5 years ago.
Vincent; MFF was restored and preserved, and the current copyright holder has all of the preservation materials. However they have allowed their release prints to fall apart, and have been booking the same worn out prints for years. They are too cheap to strike new ones. But, they have preservation printing elements if they should ever decide to do so.
For this type of high profile booking in New York City, the distributor should have struck a new print, and the exhibitor should have checked the print they received prior to showing it.
To present this beat up version to a paying audience is poor showmanship and a reel shame.
In an earlier discussion on the Mayfair/DeMille/Embassy 2,3,4 – didn’t somebody suggest contacting Bruce Goldstein and Donald Trump?
Paramount didn’t sue, but Hal Wallis (who had M&L under contract) threatened to. Dean could have cared less, but Jerry was a bit annoyed. After all, he had spotted Petrillo on the street in New York and hired him to play his son in a Colgate Comedy Hour sketch!
In the early 80’s when he was promoting his auto-biography, Jerry appeared on the Today Show. Bryant Gumbel tells Jerry that “we dug into the vaults and have some vintage footage.” What’s the first clip you see? Eddie Cantor with…Sammy Petrillo! Jerry laughed and said that not only did he never do a comedy sketch with Cantor, but he was “never quite that good looking!”
I met Petrillo about ten years ago when he was doing a comedy act in New York. A nice man, although somewhat bitter that his career never quite took off.
Often times – in revival houses – they would just place an intermission at the end of a reel, whether it belonged there or not. I saw many revivals of 1950’s 3-D films with the intermission incorrectly presented that way.
I understand, I just couldn’t figure out the reason for links to a Dean Martin fan club as well as Dean Martin day in Steubenville.
By the way, what the heck happened to Steubenville? The parade photos are quite surprising: boarded up stores and a “celebrity” roster consisting of a really bad Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley impersonators. At least Dean’s daughter was there, but she was promoting a book.
And the Dean Martin look-a-like(?) performing in the high school auditorium is doing the older Dean with the large oversized Robert Mitchum glasses. Why don’t these “tribute artists” ever impersonate a celebrity in their prime?
Everybody is so amazed that the Ziegfeld is using its curtain. After attending all the classic films at the Lafayette Theater in Suffern New York over these past several years, I’ve gotten used to seeing movies presented with curtains, pre-show organ music, and all the other bells and whistles which constitute good showmanship. I guess the Lafayette has gotten me spoiled for a true movie palace experience.
And the Lafayette doesn’t run commercials, unless it’s a vintage trailer for one of their upcoming classics. Friends, f you think the Ziegfeld is doing a good job, you don’t know what you’re missing!