I worked at the Alabama Theatre in Houston when it was managed by Howard Skelton. In the mid 1960’s Mr. Skelton was transferred to Tyler, Texas as the city manager. He was a terrific guy. Can anyone who lives in Tyler update me on what happened to Howard Skelton? I will always remember him as the first manager I ever worked for.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Vista the first 70mm roadshow reserved seat theater in Phoenix during the late 1950s and 60’s? I know it played BEN HUR, SPARTACUS, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. MUSIC played for over 2 years in the Vista. It was operated by Fox West Coast.
I’m doing some reseach on when and where some of the early Fox Cinemascope pictures opened in Manhattan in 54'55'. I have the Roxy dates. I’m looking for GARDEN OF EVIL, THE ADVENTURES OF HAJJI BADA, CARMEN JONES, PRINCE OF PLAYERS, WHITE FEATHER, VIOLENT SATURDAY, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, HOUSE OF BAMBOO & THE TALL MEN. Can anyone help me? I believe many of these played at the Rivoli
Besides SOUTH PACIFIC in 58' and WINDJAMMER in 61' did the Wynnewood get any other of the 70mm roadshow reserved seat pictures that were released during the late 50’s to middle 60’s? I know the Tower in downtown Dallas played many of them but not all. Were their other neighborhood theaters that were converted to 70mm roadshow houses? Houston for example, started with the Tower but then added the Uptown, Delman, Alabama, Windsor & Village. I’m sure Dallas did the same.
Wasn’t the Palace the first Cinemascope theater in Dallas? I saw THE ROBE at the Metropolitan in Houston and I remember seeing a sign in it’s lobby stating that the Palace and Metropolitan were the first two theaters to show Cinemascope in Texas. This was early 1954.
On a Saturday night, in the spring of 1975, Steven Spielberg and Universal choose the Lakewood Center for the second sneak preview of JAWS for an audience. The first being the UA Cine 150 in Dallas the night before. The 1200 seat theatre was full long before the picture started at 8PM. I know because I was there. In all my years of going to sneak previews, I had never witnessed a audience reaction like what I saw that night. I had read the novel, so I was prepared, but the audience certainly wasn’t. It scared the hell out of everyone. People were jumping out of their seats and screaming in fear. But they loved it. A night to remember.
On a Friday evening, in the spring of 1975, Steven Spielberg and the executives from Universal choose the UA Cine 150 to have the first sneak preview of JAWS for an audience. Spielberg was in attendance. The word got out in Dallas before the picture screened and there was pandemonium at the theatre with people trying to be admitted. There were so many people, Universal had to have a second screening later on that same evening. Something that’s rarely done. Needless to say, the audience loved the picture which went on to be a gigantic success. The following evening, Universal took the picture for a second sneak to the Lakewood Center Theatre in Lakewood , CA.
In October 1956, three friends and I traveled from Kerrville to San Antonio to see GIANT at the Majestic. We were all in our teens and big James Dean fans. It was a Saturday afternoon and you should have seen the crowds. After we purchased our tickets, we had to stand in line down the street for almost two hours before we could get in. That same line went almost around the entire block. Wow. What an exciting day. Once we found our seats, we were amazed at the beauty and size of the auditorium. The theater quickly filled up and the when the picture went on the screen, the audience went wild. This was one of my best movie experiences.
You are correct. The Eastwood was almost a carbon copy of the Tower Theater which was located on the west side of Houston. Both theaters opened around the same time and were operated by Interstate Circuit Inc. out of Dallas. The Eastwood closed it’s doors and was dismantled in December 1960. This beautiful art deco theater didn’t last 25 years….and again the people of Houston did nothing to try and save it. What a waste.
The Carthay Circle also opened THE LONGEST DAY on a reserved seat hard ticket policy in October of 1962. Although the picture was shot in Cinemascope, Mr Zanuck had a special blown up 70MM print made for the Rivoli in New York and the Carthay Circle. As I remember, the picture ran there for about 6 months. Fox had a big premiere the night before the film opened in the courtyard of the Carthay that was televised on a local LA station. What a party.
I know the Tower was the original 70MM Hard Ticket Reserved Seat Theatre in Dallas during the middle 1950’s. But what other theatres in Dallas did Interstate change over and put 70MM in so they could also play Hard Ticket Reserved Seat showings? In what theatres did the following pictures play on a Hard Ticket Reserved Seat policy. SPARTACUS, CAN CAN, WEST SIDE STORY, EL CID, THE LONGEST DAY, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, 55 DAYS AT PEKING, THE CARDINAL, MY FAIR LADY, CHEYENNE AUTUMN, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, THE GREAT RACE, THE AGONY & THE ECSTACY, THE BIBLE, HAWAII, THE SANDPEBBLES, FUNNY GIRL, DOCTOR DOLITTLE, PAINT YOUR WAGON, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS
This theatre was built and operated by General Cinema Theatres of Boston before they sold it along with Saddleback 3 to Edwards in the late 1970’s. The Fountain Valley Twin was the original GCC design for twins from the 1960’s. The theatre lobby was in the center with one screen going to the right of the lobby and the other to the left. The only other theatre in Southern California with this GCC design was the GCC Twin in Montclair, CA.
I was in this theatre several times during the 1970’s. It was then owned by Nace Theatres out of Phoenix. The theatre was a direct copy of the Kachina Theatre in Scottsdale except it didn’t have the large Cinerama screen that the Kachina had. This was Nace’s flagship in Flagstaff for many years. I believe it was built sometime in the middle 1960’s. Nace sold it in the 1980’s to an independent that put a wall down the middle and twinned it. It was never the same.
This theatre has long been gone. It became a Fred Astaire Dance Studio in the middle 1950’s. But I remember it as a theatre when I was a young boy in the 1940’s. I think the first film I remember was MY PAL TRIGGER in 46'. I was 6 years old. My mother & father loved to go to the movies in those days before television and many times would take my brother & I along. We all liked westerns and comedies. And the place was always busy. We loved THE PALEFACE in 48'. The theatre was part of the Interstate Circuit Inc out of Dallas. Every Saturday morning, my brother & I would go to the kids show and it was always full of kids. Great times.
I believe it was Christmas day 1963, when my girlfriend and I went to the Fox Wilshire to see THE VICTORS. The Fox was the only theatre in the country playing the film as I think the producers were trying to get it qualified for Oscar. A very nervous man was walking around the lobby when we come in and when we left. Someone said it was Carl Foreman. I remember the picture ran a little over 3 hours with no intermission. I guess the picture didn’t do that well. Several months later, I saw the picture again and almost 35 minutes had been cut out. I wonder what happened to the 35 minutes.
According to several articles I’ve read regarding Houston theatres, GONE WITH THE WIND opened at the Loew’s State in early 1940 and played for over a year in that one theatre. It then moved over to the Kirby for several more months.
This question is for William as I’m sure he will know. I was fortunate enough to see HOW THE WEST WAS WON when this theatre was part of the old Stanley Warner circuit back in 1963. When the picture first opened, I remember reading an article in one of the LA papers that showed a picture of the theatres CINERAMA screen giving the dimensions as 75w x 26h with a 146 degree curve on a louvered screen. This was the standard CINERAMA spects for screen size.
I must admit that this was the GREATEST presentation I have ever seen in a theatre and it continues to be today.
I recently saw the same picture at the Cinerama Dome and although the presentation was good, there was no comparsion with the old Warner. I read that the Dome has a CINERAMA screen size of 86h x 32h with a 126 degree curve. Maybe the degree curve made the difference. What are your thoughts?
That intersection of Washington & Vermont was known as “Film Row” for the LA Exchange Area. That area included Southern California from San Luis Obispo to Mexico, all of the state of Arizona and the southern tip of Nevada which included Las Vegas. I believe the building on the south east corner of Vermont still has the name “Film Row” on the outside of the building. In those days, each company had not only offices there but also a depot that housed all the physical film for their company. If you were an exhibitor, this was the place you had to go to make your film deal and pick up your prints. Many of the exchanges had their own screening rooms for exhibitor screenings.
That intersection also included concession companys, theater trucking lines, theater equipment companies, National Screen Service, art studios and even exhibitors. On the top floor of the Boulevard Theater was the home offices of Fox West Coast Theaters.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Roger. Houston is one of those cities that has never been preservation minded. Do they even have preservation laws? I’ve already joined the fight to save not only the River Oaks, but the Alabama, Tower, Garden Oaks, and any other art deco theater that’s still standing.
I knew Ross Vollone from the Majestic.
As I remember, Disney wanted an exclusive open end deal on SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON at Christmas 1960. The Majestic and Metropolitan were booked with important Christmas films and the Tower had THE ALAMO. A year early, the Tower had played SLEEPING BEAUTY on an open end (6 weeks) run of which Disney was very pleased and wanted a similiar run on ROBINSON. I believe the River Oaks was the only first run theater available. ROBINSON turned out to be the HIT at Christmas and ended up playing the River Oaks for some 10 weeks. The Disney people were also very pleased and wanted their next films in the same theater. 101 DALMATIONS followed ROBINSON for some 7 weeks, followed by THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR for 8, THE PARENT TRAP for 10 etc.. It all ended at Christmas 1961 with BABES IN TOYLAND which was a flop. After that, the River Oaks went back to Art.
In February 1949, Paramount Pictures Corporation along with MGM, RKO,Warner Bros. and 20th Century-Fox entered into a divorcement decree with the Justice Department of the United States. It was called the Paramount Consent Decree.
Paramount would be protected by it’s consent decree, but the terms were severe & specific. In addition to total separation of the studio from all domestic theaters, the Justice Department restricted the spin-off exhibition company to a maximum of 600 theaters. The Paramount circuit was then 1450 strong, of which over 1000 were still partially owned Paramount affiliates. Interstate Circuit Inc. of Texas was one of those affiliates. So Paramount decided to negotiate leeway to be able to acquire the controlling interests in several of it’s affiliates, while selling off its less desirable theaters. The Justice Department stipulated so long as Paramount created a free market with no local Paramount monopoly. Paramount still had an interest in Interstate after the decree and because of that, Interstate couldn’t expand without closing or selling a current theater.
How time changes everything. Back in the 1970’s & 80’s, Westwood was the center of first run film in Los Angeles. (Along with Hollywood). In those days, the Village, National, Bruin, Avco, Crest,etc would always have one of the highest weekly grosses in LA. Many of those films would play Westwood on an LA exclusive basis and it was important for the film companies to always play Westwood. Now, in 2005, the tide has turned once again where Westwood isn’t the center any longer. The glory days of Westwood are over. The film companies prefer to take the Grove, or Arclight or a run in Santa Monica instead of Westwood. Tomorrow, AMC opens
their NEW 15 plex stadium in Century City. This new complex will be another nail in Westwood’s side.
So, just as Westwood took the business from Beverly Hills in the 1970’s, Century City, Santa Monica, Hollywood and West Hollywood are doing the same to Westwood in 2005.
Does anyone have any information on the old Fox West Coast theater the VISTA that was very close to the Palms. I believe it was Arizona’s first roadshow 70MM house playing OKLAHOMA, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, SOUTH PACIFIC, BEN HUR, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY etc on a hard ticket policy? I believe it was torn down when the Bethany, Kachina, Christown and Cine Capri were built in the early 1960’s. Can’t get much information on this one.
I worked at the Alabama Theatre in Houston when it was managed by Howard Skelton. In the mid 1960’s Mr. Skelton was transferred to Tyler, Texas as the city manager. He was a terrific guy. Can anyone who lives in Tyler update me on what happened to Howard Skelton? I will always remember him as the first manager I ever worked for.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Vista the first 70mm roadshow reserved seat theater in Phoenix during the late 1950s and 60’s? I know it played BEN HUR, SPARTACUS, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. MUSIC played for over 2 years in the Vista. It was operated by Fox West Coast.
I’m doing some reseach on when and where some of the early Fox Cinemascope pictures opened in Manhattan in 54'55'. I have the Roxy dates. I’m looking for GARDEN OF EVIL, THE ADVENTURES OF HAJJI BADA, CARMEN JONES, PRINCE OF PLAYERS, WHITE FEATHER, VIOLENT SATURDAY, THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, HOUSE OF BAMBOO & THE TALL MEN. Can anyone help me? I believe many of these played at the Rivoli
Besides SOUTH PACIFIC in 58' and WINDJAMMER in 61' did the Wynnewood get any other of the 70mm roadshow reserved seat pictures that were released during the late 50’s to middle 60’s? I know the Tower in downtown Dallas played many of them but not all. Were their other neighborhood theaters that were converted to 70mm roadshow houses? Houston for example, started with the Tower but then added the Uptown, Delman, Alabama, Windsor & Village. I’m sure Dallas did the same.
Wasn’t the Palace the first Cinemascope theater in Dallas? I saw THE ROBE at the Metropolitan in Houston and I remember seeing a sign in it’s lobby stating that the Palace and Metropolitan were the first two theaters to show Cinemascope in Texas. This was early 1954.
On a Saturday night, in the spring of 1975, Steven Spielberg and Universal choose the Lakewood Center for the second sneak preview of JAWS for an audience. The first being the UA Cine 150 in Dallas the night before. The 1200 seat theatre was full long before the picture started at 8PM. I know because I was there. In all my years of going to sneak previews, I had never witnessed a audience reaction like what I saw that night. I had read the novel, so I was prepared, but the audience certainly wasn’t. It scared the hell out of everyone. People were jumping out of their seats and screaming in fear. But they loved it. A night to remember.
On a Friday evening, in the spring of 1975, Steven Spielberg and the executives from Universal choose the UA Cine 150 to have the first sneak preview of JAWS for an audience. Spielberg was in attendance. The word got out in Dallas before the picture screened and there was pandemonium at the theatre with people trying to be admitted. There were so many people, Universal had to have a second screening later on that same evening. Something that’s rarely done. Needless to say, the audience loved the picture which went on to be a gigantic success. The following evening, Universal took the picture for a second sneak to the Lakewood Center Theatre in Lakewood , CA.
In October 1956, three friends and I traveled from Kerrville to San Antonio to see GIANT at the Majestic. We were all in our teens and big James Dean fans. It was a Saturday afternoon and you should have seen the crowds. After we purchased our tickets, we had to stand in line down the street for almost two hours before we could get in. That same line went almost around the entire block. Wow. What an exciting day. Once we found our seats, we were amazed at the beauty and size of the auditorium. The theater quickly filled up and the when the picture went on the screen, the audience went wild. This was one of my best movie experiences.
You are correct. The Eastwood was almost a carbon copy of the Tower Theater which was located on the west side of Houston. Both theaters opened around the same time and were operated by Interstate Circuit Inc. out of Dallas. The Eastwood closed it’s doors and was dismantled in December 1960. This beautiful art deco theater didn’t last 25 years….and again the people of Houston did nothing to try and save it. What a waste.
The Carthay Circle also opened THE LONGEST DAY on a reserved seat hard ticket policy in October of 1962. Although the picture was shot in Cinemascope, Mr Zanuck had a special blown up 70MM print made for the Rivoli in New York and the Carthay Circle. As I remember, the picture ran there for about 6 months. Fox had a big premiere the night before the film opened in the courtyard of the Carthay that was televised on a local LA station. What a party.
I know the Tower was the original 70MM Hard Ticket Reserved Seat Theatre in Dallas during the middle 1950’s. But what other theatres in Dallas did Interstate change over and put 70MM in so they could also play Hard Ticket Reserved Seat showings? In what theatres did the following pictures play on a Hard Ticket Reserved Seat policy. SPARTACUS, CAN CAN, WEST SIDE STORY, EL CID, THE LONGEST DAY, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, 55 DAYS AT PEKING, THE CARDINAL, MY FAIR LADY, CHEYENNE AUTUMN, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, THE GREAT RACE, THE AGONY & THE ECSTACY, THE BIBLE, HAWAII, THE SANDPEBBLES, FUNNY GIRL, DOCTOR DOLITTLE, PAINT YOUR WAGON, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS
This theatre was built and operated by General Cinema Theatres of Boston before they sold it along with Saddleback 3 to Edwards in the late 1970’s. The Fountain Valley Twin was the original GCC design for twins from the 1960’s. The theatre lobby was in the center with one screen going to the right of the lobby and the other to the left. The only other theatre in Southern California with this GCC design was the GCC Twin in Montclair, CA.
I was in this theatre several times during the 1970’s. It was then owned by Nace Theatres out of Phoenix. The theatre was a direct copy of the Kachina Theatre in Scottsdale except it didn’t have the large Cinerama screen that the Kachina had. This was Nace’s flagship in Flagstaff for many years. I believe it was built sometime in the middle 1960’s. Nace sold it in the 1980’s to an independent that put a wall down the middle and twinned it. It was never the same.
This theatre has long been gone. It became a Fred Astaire Dance Studio in the middle 1950’s. But I remember it as a theatre when I was a young boy in the 1940’s. I think the first film I remember was MY PAL TRIGGER in 46'. I was 6 years old. My mother & father loved to go to the movies in those days before television and many times would take my brother & I along. We all liked westerns and comedies. And the place was always busy. We loved THE PALEFACE in 48'. The theatre was part of the Interstate Circuit Inc out of Dallas. Every Saturday morning, my brother & I would go to the kids show and it was always full of kids. Great times.
I believe it was Christmas day 1963, when my girlfriend and I went to the Fox Wilshire to see THE VICTORS. The Fox was the only theatre in the country playing the film as I think the producers were trying to get it qualified for Oscar. A very nervous man was walking around the lobby when we come in and when we left. Someone said it was Carl Foreman. I remember the picture ran a little over 3 hours with no intermission. I guess the picture didn’t do that well. Several months later, I saw the picture again and almost 35 minutes had been cut out. I wonder what happened to the 35 minutes.
According to several articles I’ve read regarding Houston theatres, GONE WITH THE WIND opened at the Loew’s State in early 1940 and played for over a year in that one theatre. It then moved over to the Kirby for several more months.
This question is for William as I’m sure he will know. I was fortunate enough to see HOW THE WEST WAS WON when this theatre was part of the old Stanley Warner circuit back in 1963. When the picture first opened, I remember reading an article in one of the LA papers that showed a picture of the theatres CINERAMA screen giving the dimensions as 75w x 26h with a 146 degree curve on a louvered screen. This was the standard CINERAMA spects for screen size.
I must admit that this was the GREATEST presentation I have ever seen in a theatre and it continues to be today.
I recently saw the same picture at the Cinerama Dome and although the presentation was good, there was no comparsion with the old Warner. I read that the Dome has a CINERAMA screen size of 86h x 32h with a 126 degree curve. Maybe the degree curve made the difference. What are your thoughts?
That intersection of Washington & Vermont was known as “Film Row” for the LA Exchange Area. That area included Southern California from San Luis Obispo to Mexico, all of the state of Arizona and the southern tip of Nevada which included Las Vegas. I believe the building on the south east corner of Vermont still has the name “Film Row” on the outside of the building. In those days, each company had not only offices there but also a depot that housed all the physical film for their company. If you were an exhibitor, this was the place you had to go to make your film deal and pick up your prints. Many of the exchanges had their own screening rooms for exhibitor screenings.
That intersection also included concession companys, theater trucking lines, theater equipment companies, National Screen Service, art studios and even exhibitors. On the top floor of the Boulevard Theater was the home offices of Fox West Coast Theaters.
That’s great news. I’ll have to visit it when it’s completed.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Roger. Houston is one of those cities that has never been preservation minded. Do they even have preservation laws? I’ve already joined the fight to save not only the River Oaks, but the Alabama, Tower, Garden Oaks, and any other art deco theater that’s still standing.
I knew Ross Vollone from the Majestic.
As I remember, Disney wanted an exclusive open end deal on SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON at Christmas 1960. The Majestic and Metropolitan were booked with important Christmas films and the Tower had THE ALAMO. A year early, the Tower had played SLEEPING BEAUTY on an open end (6 weeks) run of which Disney was very pleased and wanted a similiar run on ROBINSON. I believe the River Oaks was the only first run theater available. ROBINSON turned out to be the HIT at Christmas and ended up playing the River Oaks for some 10 weeks. The Disney people were also very pleased and wanted their next films in the same theater. 101 DALMATIONS followed ROBINSON for some 7 weeks, followed by THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR for 8, THE PARENT TRAP for 10 etc.. It all ended at Christmas 1961 with BABES IN TOYLAND which was a flop. After that, the River Oaks went back to Art.
In February 1949, Paramount Pictures Corporation along with MGM, RKO,Warner Bros. and 20th Century-Fox entered into a divorcement decree with the Justice Department of the United States. It was called the Paramount Consent Decree.
Paramount would be protected by it’s consent decree, but the terms were severe & specific. In addition to total separation of the studio from all domestic theaters, the Justice Department restricted the spin-off exhibition company to a maximum of 600 theaters. The Paramount circuit was then 1450 strong, of which over 1000 were still partially owned Paramount affiliates. Interstate Circuit Inc. of Texas was one of those affiliates. So Paramount decided to negotiate leeway to be able to acquire the controlling interests in several of it’s affiliates, while selling off its less desirable theaters. The Justice Department stipulated so long as Paramount created a free market with no local Paramount monopoly. Paramount still had an interest in Interstate after the decree and because of that, Interstate couldn’t expand without closing or selling a current theater.
How time changes everything. Back in the 1970’s & 80’s, Westwood was the center of first run film in Los Angeles. (Along with Hollywood). In those days, the Village, National, Bruin, Avco, Crest,etc would always have one of the highest weekly grosses in LA. Many of those films would play Westwood on an LA exclusive basis and it was important for the film companies to always play Westwood. Now, in 2005, the tide has turned once again where Westwood isn’t the center any longer. The glory days of Westwood are over. The film companies prefer to take the Grove, or Arclight or a run in Santa Monica instead of Westwood. Tomorrow, AMC opens
their NEW 15 plex stadium in Century City. This new complex will be another nail in Westwood’s side.
So, just as Westwood took the business from Beverly Hills in the 1970’s, Century City, Santa Monica, Hollywood and West Hollywood are doing the same to Westwood in 2005.
The Supervue Theater closed shortly after Labor Day 2005.
Does anyone have any information on the old Fox West Coast theater the VISTA that was very close to the Palms. I believe it was Arizona’s first roadshow 70MM house playing OKLAHOMA, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, SOUTH PACIFIC, BEN HUR, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY etc on a hard ticket policy? I believe it was torn down when the Bethany, Kachina, Christown and Cine Capri were built in the early 1960’s. Can’t get much information on this one.