we’re having an interesting discussion aren’t we? I was
just trying to make the point that a number of people who
refer to certain roadshow films as “bombs” probably have never
thru them and are just reiterating the long held off
reputation. also The Wizard of Oz and Vertigo may have
eventually broke even but what people fail to mention is
that in their original 1st run engagements they were
considered flops.
thanks to Al A. for your reply. as I said in my original
comment in my opinion Tora Tora Tora is one of the best
large scale historical I’ve ever seen and one of the best
films on WW II. many people love to classify big roadshow
films as bombs I bet without having actually seen them.
for instance people love to classify Hello Dolly as a
bomb and in my opinion its one of the best musical films
ever made. we might as well refer to The Wizard of Oz and'
Vertigo as “bombs” since both films were big box office
disappointments in their initial release.
in reference to vindanpar’s 9/9/18 comment about
Tora-Tora-Tora. i happen to think its a first
rate action drama and one of the best films I’ve
seen on WW II. so i wish people would stop referring
to films as bombs as if to infer the actual quality
of the film. some of the best regarded most loved
classics were bombs when they first opened.
I went to see Hawaii twice during its roadshow engagement
and The Shoes of the Fisherman once during its roadshow
engagement. my point being simple. when it was a prime
roadshow I’m sure they kept it immaculate. but as I
have said before in its last 2/3 years of its operation
the men’s restroom on the orchestra level and the
men’s room for the upper and lower balcony were in
horrid condition. I’m surprised the theater was never
closed down for being a public health hazard.
I admit I tend to repeat myself but for someone who might
be reading the intro for the first time I just wanted to
make the point the Plaza was never hard to find.
to Al A. thanks for your seconding my thought that the Plaza was by no means “hard to find” as stated in the intro. again since the address was clearly stated in the ads for whatever film anyone who could see should have had no trouble finding it.
in tis last years of operation whenever I went it was always
well attended. so why did it close? this is especially
perplexing since they didn’t demolish the building.
also my fondest memory of the Plaza. I went to see the
highly acclaimed film Hester Street and was sitting in the
downstairs lobby which I am sure you agree was gorgeous
waiting for the next showing to begin. I was chatting with
an older couple in the few minutes I was waiting. when
we went up after the previous audience and left I suddenly
realized who the older gentleman was I had been chatting
with- Richard Rodgers.
i object to the statement in the intro that this theater was “hard to find”. how in God’s name was it hard to find when the address was clearly stated in the ads?
I am assuming Paramount must have done some sort of market
research before the ads for Romeo and Juliet’s roadshow
engagement at this theater first appeared in NYC newspapers.
I wonder how many other people kept the postcard you
received when you sent in your reserved ticket order and then the letter you got when they changed the exhibition policy.
I thank everyone for replying to my post about Circus
World’s roadshow run at this theater “in Cinerama”. its
run of only 3 weeks still baffles me. did it not have any
advance sale?
to Peter A.– I thank you for your reply. if I remember
correctly theaters scheduling the least amount of time
between showings of a film lasted till the early 90s.
patrons whop are slops night be the reason. weren’t people
back in the 60s and 70s slops as well?
a question for my fellow moviegoers. i’m dating myself
but i remember a time when theaters would schedule the
least amount of time between showings of a film during
they figured they could get the old audience out and the
new audience in. for instance when The Godfather opened
at the Loews State I & 11 March of 1972 each auditorium
scheduled showings every3 hours for a film that was
2hrs. 50mins.. likewise when The Planet of the Apes
opened at the Loews Capitol Feb. of 1968 they scheduled
showings every 3 hours for a film that was 1hr. 44mins..
my point being simple. nowadays it seems theaters
schedule and inordinately large amount of time
between showings of a film. what gives?
many thanks to Comfortably Cool for the info. Sept. of
1973 to May of 1975 I went to Pratt Institute to get
my Masters degree. if it was early enough after school
I spent time in the Downtown Brooklyn shopping center.
at that time this theater, the Loews Metropolitan and
the Ablemarle were still in operation. I even shopped in
the Abraham and Strauss Dept. store.
another question since you are a font of knowledge. isn't
the Alpine in Bay Ridge the oldest continually operated
movie theater in all of NYC?
I did in fact ask the question a while back and I mean
a while back but it was kind of you to answer the question
again. the one bit of info on the list that still has me
scratching my head is the roadshow run of Circus World
“in Cinerama” at this theater which lasted only 3 weeks.
I admit it wasn’t exactly Oscar material but I watched
an HD transfer on YouTube and thoroughly enjoyed its
colorful hokey-ness. the film’s roadshow run “in Cinerama”
in Manhattan lasted I think 14? weeks.
the escalator at this theater as been out of order since
2nd week of Oct.. I saw Tolkien at this theater a few weeks
ago and it was still out of order. what the ****** is the
problem?
to Mike(saps)~ no offense against Brooklyn its a great
borough but. I find it interesting that after The Robe’s
1st run engagement at the Roxy Fox would have booked
it even if only for a week exclusively into the Albee. was
there some special business relationship between Fox and the management of the Albee?
on pg. 1 of the photo section is an ad for The Robe’s run
at this theater after finishing its exclusive 1st run in
Manhattan. now from the wording in the ad am I to understand
during the film’s run at this theater it was the only
movie theater in all of NYC showing the film?
I remember when Paramount first announced Romeo and Juliet
would be opening here exclusively it was on a roadshow
engagement. I sent in my order right away and within a week
received a postcard thanking me for my order. I still have
the postcard. but within a week or so since the pre-sale
wasn’t very strong they sent out a letter stating they were
switching to a continuous performance engagement. I cashed
the refund check and still have the letter.
in the intro it states that in 1973 this theater started to show X rated films. does that mean legitimate X rated films like The Last Tango in Paris or do does it mean actual “adult” films.
during the prime roadshow period(1952-1972) which theaters
in D.C. aside from this one and the Warner did the studios
use on a regular basis for their roadshow engagements?
Manhattan had 7.
during the prime roadshow period(1952-1972)what Seattle
theaters did the studios use on a regular basis for their
roadshow engagements? Manhattan had 7.
Hello Again-
we’re having an interesting discussion aren’t we? I was just trying to make the point that a number of people who refer to certain roadshow films as “bombs” probably have never thru them and are just reiterating the long held off reputation. also The Wizard of Oz and Vertigo may have eventually broke even but what people fail to mention is that in their original 1st run engagements they were considered flops.
Hello-
thanks to Al A. for your reply. as I said in my original comment in my opinion Tora Tora Tora is one of the best large scale historical I’ve ever seen and one of the best films on WW II. many people love to classify big roadshow films as bombs I bet without having actually seen them. for instance people love to classify Hello Dolly as a bomb and in my opinion its one of the best musical films ever made. we might as well refer to The Wizard of Oz and' Vertigo as “bombs” since both films were big box office disappointments in their initial release.
Hello-
in reference to vindanpar’s 9/9/18 comment about Tora-Tora-Tora. i happen to think its a first rate action drama and one of the best films I’ve seen on WW II. so i wish people would stop referring to films as bombs as if to infer the actual quality of the film. some of the best regarded most loved classics were bombs when they first opened.
Hello-
at 87mins. The Old Man and the Sea was the shortest
roadshow film i can remember. how long did the roadshow
run last?
Hello-
in the interior pics from Ed S.’s 7/17/06 post the theater interior was rather nice. it was by no means plain.
Hello-
I went to see Hawaii twice during its roadshow engagement and The Shoes of the Fisherman once during its roadshow engagement. my point being simple. when it was a prime roadshow I’m sure they kept it immaculate. but as I have said before in its last 2/3 years of its operation the men’s restroom on the orchestra level and the men’s room for the upper and lower balcony were in horrid condition. I’m surprised the theater was never closed down for being a public health hazard.
Hello-
I admit I tend to repeat myself but for someone who might be reading the intro for the first time I just wanted to make the point the Plaza was never hard to find.
Hello-
to Al A. thanks for your seconding my thought that the
Plaza was by no means “hard to find” as stated in the intro.
again since the address was clearly stated in the ads for
whatever film anyone who could see should have had no trouble
finding it.
in tis last years of operation whenever I went it was always well attended. so why did it close? this is especially perplexing since they didn’t demolish the building.
also my fondest memory of the Plaza. I went to see the highly acclaimed film Hester Street and was sitting in the downstairs lobby which I am sure you agree was gorgeous waiting for the next showing to begin. I was chatting with an older couple in the few minutes I was waiting. when we went up after the previous audience and left I suddenly realized who the older gentleman was I had been chatting with- Richard Rodgers.
Hello-
i object to the statement in the intro that this theater
was “hard to find”. how in God’s name was it hard to find
when the address was clearly stated in the ads?
Hello-
to Al A.–
I am assuming Paramount must have done some sort of market research before the ads for Romeo and Juliet’s roadshow engagement at this theater first appeared in NYC newspapers.
I wonder how many other people kept the postcard you received when you sent in your reserved ticket order and then the letter you got when they changed the exhibition policy.
Hello-
I thank everyone for replying to my post about Circus World’s roadshow run at this theater “in Cinerama”. its run of only 3 weeks still baffles me. did it not have any advance sale?
Hello-
the Paris has been a gem in NYC’S cultural life for
71 years. it would be obscene for it to close. do we really
need another deluxe condo tower?
Hello-
to Peter A.– I thank you for your reply. if I remember correctly theaters scheduling the least amount of time between showings of a film lasted till the early 90s. patrons whop are slops night be the reason. weren’t people back in the 60s and 70s slops as well?
Hello-
a question for my fellow moviegoers. i’m dating myself but i remember a time when theaters would schedule the least amount of time between showings of a film during they figured they could get the old audience out and the new audience in. for instance when The Godfather opened at the Loews State I & 11 March of 1972 each auditorium scheduled showings every3 hours for a film that was 2hrs. 50mins.. likewise when The Planet of the Apes opened at the Loews Capitol Feb. of 1968 they scheduled showings every 3 hours for a film that was 1hr. 44mins.. my point being simple. nowadays it seems theaters schedule and inordinately large amount of time between showings of a film. what gives?
Hello-
many thanks to Comfortably Cool for the info. Sept. of 1973 to May of 1975 I went to Pratt Institute to get my Masters degree. if it was early enough after school I spent time in the Downtown Brooklyn shopping center. at that time this theater, the Loews Metropolitan and the Ablemarle were still in operation. I even shopped in the Abraham and Strauss Dept. store.
another question since you are a font of knowledge. isn't
the Alpine in Bay Ridge the oldest continually operated movie theater in all of NYC?
Hello-
I did in fact ask the question a while back and I mean
a while back but it was kind of you to answer the question again. the one bit of info on the list that still has me scratching my head is the roadshow run of Circus World “in Cinerama” at this theater which lasted only 3 weeks. I admit it wasn’t exactly Oscar material but I watched an HD transfer on YouTube and thoroughly enjoyed its colorful hokey-ness. the film’s roadshow run “in Cinerama” in Manhattan lasted I think 14? weeks.
Hello-
the escalator at this theater as been out of order since 2nd week of Oct.. I saw Tolkien at this theater a few weeks ago and it was still out of order. what the ****** is the problem?
Hello-
to Mike(saps)~ no offense against Brooklyn its a great borough but. I find it interesting that after The Robe’s 1st run engagement at the Roxy Fox would have booked it even if only for a week exclusively into the Albee. was there some special business relationship between Fox and the management of the Albee?
Hello-
to RHETT52~ how is the Cinema ½/3 showing “the local crap” more than any other theater?
Hello-
on pg. 1 of the photo section is an ad for The Robe’s run at this theater after finishing its exclusive 1st run in Manhattan. now from the wording in the ad am I to understand during the film’s run at this theater it was the only movie theater in all of NYC showing the film?
Hello-
I remember when Paramount first announced Romeo and Juliet would be opening here exclusively it was on a roadshow engagement. I sent in my order right away and within a week received a postcard thanking me for my order. I still have the postcard. but within a week or so since the pre-sale wasn’t very strong they sent out a letter stating they were switching to a continuous performance engagement. I cashed the refund check and still have the letter.
Hello from NYC-
in the intro it states that in 1973 this theater started
to show X rated films. does that mean legitimate X rated
films like The Last Tango in Paris or do does it mean
actual “adult” films.
Hello from NYC-
during the prime roadshow period(1952-1972) which theaters in D.C. aside from this one and the Warner did the studios use on a regular basis for their roadshow engagements? Manhattan had 7.
Hello from NYC-
during the prime roadshow period(1952-1972)what Seattle theaters did the studios use on a regular basis for their roadshow engagements? Manhattan had 7.
Hello from NYC-
during the prime roadshow period of (1952-1972) which Denver theaters did the studios regularly use for their roadshow engagements? Manhattan had 7.