Hi, JSA:-
Cinerama premiered at the Broadway Theater here in 1952. It is the only motion picture to be reviewed on the front page of the NY Times. And today, when Cinerama is being revived in LA, Seattle and other ciies around the world, NY, “the capital of the world,” does not have a Cinerama theatre. The only single screen house left in NY is the Ziegfeld, which has a terrific projection and sound system. In the late 70’s or early 80’s, they showed a 70mm print of “This is Cinerama” in a curved screen they installed in front of the regular screen — the regular screen is pretty big, wall to wall, but is not curved.
The only big movie palace of old left here is the Mayfair (later renamed as the DeMille and then triplexed and became the Embassy 2-3-4 — The Embassy 1 was a block down the street and is now te NY visitors center. It is on 7th Ave. and 47th St. and has been closed or years. The marquee says it is for rent, but nothing has happened. I have suggested on its page here at Cinema Treasures that it be renovated as a 3-strip Cinerama/70mm house. I have also written to “everyone” from a contact I have at City Hall, to the president of the NY Tourism Co. whom I happen to know, to members of the City Council of the culture/film/theater commitee, to Donald Trump, to no avail. Now I am thinking of writing to former mayor Ed Koch who is a die hard movie fan and writes a movie column in a local community paper, The Villager. I think a Cinerama house here would be a terrific tourism attraction.
By the way, JSA, feel free to contact me directly at
Best, Andres.
After posting the above comment I went into the web and there was an item aboout Mapita Cortes, that she passed away last Sunday in Mexico. I have not seen anything about her death on the PR papers. She was beautiful. Rest in peace, Mapita. God Bless. Andres.
PS: Sorry for the bad news.
Miguel Angel Cortes was one of the most decent persons I ever met. He was the brother of Fernando Cortes, the Puerto Rican film director who became famous in Mexico and married Mapy Cortes (Maria del Pilar Cordero) a famous PR vedette who made several films in Hollywood and was my neighbor when I was a child; and the aunt of Mapita Cortes (born Maria de Pilar Mercado) who married Chilean singer Lucho Gatica and is the mother of Luis Gatica a Mexican TV soap opera star.
When TV came to PR, Telemundo, the first TV station in PR, hired Fernando as program director. So much for antique hstory.
Miguel Angel Cortes distributed Mexican and Spanish films and in the 60’s bought or leased the Encanto theater on Fernandez Juncos Ave. in the Miramar section of San Juan, renovated it and renamed it the Cortes Cinema. It was a charming little theater with 70mm equipment but the screen was small, so he lost all the bids for spectaculats like Lawrence of Arabia and Cleopatra to Cobian’s Metropolitan, a bigger theater with a big screen and a very good track record for spectacular films. He eventually played them in second run after they premiered at the Metropolitan. The rest of the story is above posted by Jose Mendez. Miguel Angel, you were a good competior and a good friend. Rest in peace my friend. Andres.
Hello, JSA, and a Happy New Year to you too!!!!!
You know, you are probably right after all. Before home video the studios re-released their top movies on first run theaters. Also, schools used to rent theaters in the morning to show special films to the students. On Easter, some first run theaters played biblical films up to Good Friday — though some played them up to Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, more on this later — and then opened their Easter attraction on Holy Saturday. The first 70mm film to play in PR was South Pacific at the Metropolitan. The following year Ben-Hur premiered there so it was probably the 70mm print. The Metropolitan was renovated and opened as a roadshow (2 shows a day) house with Around The World in 80 Days in 35 mm scope with a terrific stereo soundtrack. The “first” 70mm film was Oklahoma, filmed in both Cinemascope and Todd-AO 70mm because at the time they could not do 35mm reduction prints because of the different frame-per-second speed. Later the problem was solved and 35mm prints could be made fom 70mm negatives. You probably know all this and that 70mm films were made in the early 1930’s such as The Big Trail with John Wayne and The Bat in Grandeur 70. Back to PR:
The Puerto Rico and then the Metro and the Cortes installed 70mm. The Puerto Rico never showed 70mm, its equipment was later transferred to the Cinerama when they stopped making 3-strip Cinerama films and “Cinerama” films began to be filmed in 70mm Super Panavision. During the first Easter that the Plaza 1 and 2 where open, the 1 was showing Sweet Charity and the 2 — the smaller house — The 10 Commandments. At about noon on Easter Sunday, the manager called me and told me there was a “motin” at the box office because 10 Commandments was full and Charity had sold less tan a 100 tickets. I told him to switch the films and Commandemts went in the 1 and Charity to the 2. We made a lot of money, Commandments played for about 2 weeks, I think.
It’s a shame that NY, “the capital of the world” — where Cinerama was born — does not have a Cinerama theater. Best, Andres.
Before the Lorraine became a porno house it played major releases and on Wednesdays they had a preview of the next attraction which you could see as a double bill with the current attraction. Its first wide screen was huge, wall to wall, later they had a smaller wide screen. Shane premiered there, The film was shot in the academy ratio but was cropped at the top and bottom for its releas as a wide screeen film at NY’s Radio City Music Hall. It looked beautiful on the big wide screen the Lorraine had at the time. It was operated at the time by Jack Odell and Victor Carrady, who later became partners with Cobian and formed Commonwealth Theaters. Carrady went on to form Regency Caribbean, now the biggest circuit in PR, when Wometco bought Commonwealth Andres.
It was so sad to see the Paramount in its present state during my recent visit to PR. And the Ponce de Leon Ave. is so dark with all the businesses and theatres that are closed now. The only lit marquees were the Ambassador and Metro. Any updates on the Paramount renovation? Andres.
Any pictures of the inside? I went into the website several times (www.elteatropuertorico.com) but it was under construction and now the web shows the Club Lazer in Old San Juan. The pictures are of club customers, nothing on the Puerto Rico. Andres.
Have they finished the renovation?
To JSA: The Music Hall did not have 70mm equipment. Ben Hur premiered at the Metropolitan. However, it was the first theater in PR to install CinemaScope. When Cobian took it over from Llamas he renovated it, changed the name from Oriente to Music Hall and opened it with The Robe. Years later, Cobian took back his original circuit which he had leased when he temporarily retired from the movie business to go into politics and baseball == yes, baseball, he owned the San Juan Senadores team for a while == and gave the theater and the other Llamas theaters back to the Llamas Circuit.
When Cobian took back his theaters he joined the persons who had leased them from him and formed Commonweat Theaters. Andres.
Trivia: When then Senator John F. Kennedy and wife Jackie first visited PR they stayed at Cobian’s penthouse apartment at Condomino San Luis next to the Caribe Hilton.
Anecdote: When I first started working with Cobian/Commonwealth, the Holiday was a second run house before it went porno. The ushers' supervisor, “MR.” de la Cruz, was a good friend and associate but a strict supervisor. The Holiday wa showing “7 Thieves” with Edward G. Robisnon == a good heist movie == and one of the ushers was sititng on the last row, when a character in the film shouted to another character “DE LA CRUZ !!!!!!!!!”. and the usher stood in attention. Those were the good old days in San Juan. Best, Andres.
In October I stayed with Annie, my companion, at the hotel. It’s a lovely no frills litttle hotel but the rooms are small and have no windows. And beware: watch out for the “hanky panky”, the noises can be heard from room to room. The staff is terrific, very friendly. We had a full free breakfast in the package which was delivered promptly everyday at the room == the omelette with country ham is excellent. Room service was terrific. The restaurant is excellent and the appetizers feed two. It’s a shame it is not doing much busimess and before I returned to NY I read in a local paper that it was up for sale. Another problem is that downtown Ponce is dead, there is nothing to do in the evenings. Unless you have friends or relatives in Ponce == which luckily I had == forget about it. However, if you happen to go by Ponce, if the hotel is still open, by all means try the restaurant. Best, Andres.
I was in San Juan in October and saw the Ambassador from the outside and it looked great. The marquee was announcimg the salsa star Gilberto Santa Rosa. Has anyone of the above contributors been inside? In the earlyit 60’s Cobian/Commonwealth renpvated it and opened as the “New” Ambassador with a George Chakiris movie == The Empire of the Sun or something like that == with I believe, Yul Brynner and Christopher Plummer co-starring. Happy New Year, Andres.
Hi, JSA:-
Cinerama premiered at the Broadway Theater here in 1952. It is the only motion picture to be reviewed on the front page of the NY Times. And today, when Cinerama is being revived in LA, Seattle and other ciies around the world, NY, “the capital of the world,” does not have a Cinerama theatre. The only single screen house left in NY is the Ziegfeld, which has a terrific projection and sound system. In the late 70’s or early 80’s, they showed a 70mm print of “This is Cinerama” in a curved screen they installed in front of the regular screen — the regular screen is pretty big, wall to wall, but is not curved.
The only big movie palace of old left here is the Mayfair (later renamed as the DeMille and then triplexed and became the Embassy 2-3-4 — The Embassy 1 was a block down the street and is now te NY visitors center. It is on 7th Ave. and 47th St. and has been closed or years. The marquee says it is for rent, but nothing has happened. I have suggested on its page here at Cinema Treasures that it be renovated as a 3-strip Cinerama/70mm house. I have also written to “everyone” from a contact I have at City Hall, to the president of the NY Tourism Co. whom I happen to know, to members of the City Council of the culture/film/theater commitee, to Donald Trump, to no avail. Now I am thinking of writing to former mayor Ed Koch who is a die hard movie fan and writes a movie column in a local community paper, The Villager. I think a Cinerama house here would be a terrific tourism attraction.
By the way, JSA, feel free to contact me directly at
Best, Andres.
After posting the above comment I went into the web and there was an item aboout Mapita Cortes, that she passed away last Sunday in Mexico. I have not seen anything about her death on the PR papers. She was beautiful. Rest in peace, Mapita. God Bless. Andres.
PS: Sorry for the bad news.
Miguel Angel Cortes was one of the most decent persons I ever met. He was the brother of Fernando Cortes, the Puerto Rican film director who became famous in Mexico and married Mapy Cortes (Maria del Pilar Cordero) a famous PR vedette who made several films in Hollywood and was my neighbor when I was a child; and the aunt of Mapita Cortes (born Maria de Pilar Mercado) who married Chilean singer Lucho Gatica and is the mother of Luis Gatica a Mexican TV soap opera star.
When TV came to PR, Telemundo, the first TV station in PR, hired Fernando as program director. So much for antique hstory.
Miguel Angel Cortes distributed Mexican and Spanish films and in the 60’s bought or leased the Encanto theater on Fernandez Juncos Ave. in the Miramar section of San Juan, renovated it and renamed it the Cortes Cinema. It was a charming little theater with 70mm equipment but the screen was small, so he lost all the bids for spectaculats like Lawrence of Arabia and Cleopatra to Cobian’s Metropolitan, a bigger theater with a big screen and a very good track record for spectacular films. He eventually played them in second run after they premiered at the Metropolitan. The rest of the story is above posted by Jose Mendez. Miguel Angel, you were a good competior and a good friend. Rest in peace my friend. Andres.
Hello, JSA, and a Happy New Year to you too!!!!!
You know, you are probably right after all. Before home video the studios re-released their top movies on first run theaters. Also, schools used to rent theaters in the morning to show special films to the students. On Easter, some first run theaters played biblical films up to Good Friday — though some played them up to Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, more on this later — and then opened their Easter attraction on Holy Saturday. The first 70mm film to play in PR was South Pacific at the Metropolitan. The following year Ben-Hur premiered there so it was probably the 70mm print. The Metropolitan was renovated and opened as a roadshow (2 shows a day) house with Around The World in 80 Days in 35 mm scope with a terrific stereo soundtrack. The “first” 70mm film was Oklahoma, filmed in both Cinemascope and Todd-AO 70mm because at the time they could not do 35mm reduction prints because of the different frame-per-second speed. Later the problem was solved and 35mm prints could be made fom 70mm negatives. You probably know all this and that 70mm films were made in the early 1930’s such as The Big Trail with John Wayne and The Bat in Grandeur 70. Back to PR:
The Puerto Rico and then the Metro and the Cortes installed 70mm. The Puerto Rico never showed 70mm, its equipment was later transferred to the Cinerama when they stopped making 3-strip Cinerama films and “Cinerama” films began to be filmed in 70mm Super Panavision. During the first Easter that the Plaza 1 and 2 where open, the 1 was showing Sweet Charity and the 2 — the smaller house — The 10 Commandments. At about noon on Easter Sunday, the manager called me and told me there was a “motin” at the box office because 10 Commandments was full and Charity had sold less tan a 100 tickets. I told him to switch the films and Commandemts went in the 1 and Charity to the 2. We made a lot of money, Commandments played for about 2 weeks, I think.
It’s a shame that NY, “the capital of the world” — where Cinerama was born — does not have a Cinerama theater. Best, Andres.
Wasn’t this theater oriiginally called the “F”, owned and operated by the Llamas family?
Happy New Year, Andres.
Before the Lorraine became a porno house it played major releases and on Wednesdays they had a preview of the next attraction which you could see as a double bill with the current attraction. Its first wide screen was huge, wall to wall, later they had a smaller wide screen. Shane premiered there, The film was shot in the academy ratio but was cropped at the top and bottom for its releas as a wide screeen film at NY’s Radio City Music Hall. It looked beautiful on the big wide screen the Lorraine had at the time. It was operated at the time by Jack Odell and Victor Carrady, who later became partners with Cobian and formed Commonwealth Theaters. Carrady went on to form Regency Caribbean, now the biggest circuit in PR, when Wometco bought Commonwealth Andres.
It was so sad to see the Paramount in its present state during my recent visit to PR. And the Ponce de Leon Ave. is so dark with all the businesses and theatres that are closed now. The only lit marquees were the Ambassador and Metro. Any updates on the Paramount renovation? Andres.
Any pictures of the inside? I went into the website several times (www.elteatropuertorico.com) but it was under construction and now the web shows the Club Lazer in Old San Juan. The pictures are of club customers, nothing on the Puerto Rico. Andres.
Have they finished the renovation?
To JSA: The Music Hall did not have 70mm equipment. Ben Hur premiered at the Metropolitan. However, it was the first theater in PR to install CinemaScope. When Cobian took it over from Llamas he renovated it, changed the name from Oriente to Music Hall and opened it with The Robe. Years later, Cobian took back his original circuit which he had leased when he temporarily retired from the movie business to go into politics and baseball == yes, baseball, he owned the San Juan Senadores team for a while == and gave the theater and the other Llamas theaters back to the Llamas Circuit.
When Cobian took back his theaters he joined the persons who had leased them from him and formed Commonweat Theaters. Andres.
Trivia: When then Senator John F. Kennedy and wife Jackie first visited PR they stayed at Cobian’s penthouse apartment at Condomino San Luis next to the Caribe Hilton.
Any latest news about the Matienzo? Is it succesful as a theater venue? Andres.
Anecdote: When I first started working with Cobian/Commonwealth, the Holiday was a second run house before it went porno. The ushers' supervisor, “MR.” de la Cruz, was a good friend and associate but a strict supervisor. The Holiday wa showing “7 Thieves” with Edward G. Robisnon == a good heist movie == and one of the ushers was sititng on the last row, when a character in the film shouted to another character “DE LA CRUZ !!!!!!!!!”. and the usher stood in attention. Those were the good old days in San Juan. Best, Andres.
In October I stayed with Annie, my companion, at the hotel. It’s a lovely no frills litttle hotel but the rooms are small and have no windows. And beware: watch out for the “hanky panky”, the noises can be heard from room to room. The staff is terrific, very friendly. We had a full free breakfast in the package which was delivered promptly everyday at the room == the omelette with country ham is excellent. Room service was terrific. The restaurant is excellent and the appetizers feed two. It’s a shame it is not doing much busimess and before I returned to NY I read in a local paper that it was up for sale. Another problem is that downtown Ponce is dead, there is nothing to do in the evenings. Unless you have friends or relatives in Ponce == which luckily I had == forget about it. However, if you happen to go by Ponce, if the hotel is still open, by all means try the restaurant. Best, Andres.
I was in San Juan in October and saw the Ambassador from the outside and it looked great. The marquee was announcimg the salsa star Gilberto Santa Rosa. Has anyone of the above contributors been inside? In the earlyit 60’s Cobian/Commonwealth renpvated it and opened as the “New” Ambassador with a George Chakiris movie == The Empire of the Sun or something like that == with I believe, Yul Brynner and Christopher Plummer co-starring. Happy New Year, Andres.