The screen in the photo is gorgeous.
The Rivoli and the Warner had huge curved screens though to be honest I don’t don’t know to what extent.
Seeing 2001 at the Rivoli was such an overwhelming experience for me that I don’t want to see it again on a flat screen. It was one of the greatest movie experiences of my life. It gave you a sense of 3 D but it was better. Things did not pop out at you like a gimmick.
The Warner also showed 3 strip Cinerama. I would like to know however if their screen of the 60’s and 70’s was different. Also the Capitol when it was showing movies like Zhivago and Planet of the Apes.
If distortion is a problem I thought you could rectfy most of it with lens. Who would notice?. Yes the movie aficiandos, but who else in today’s day and age? I mean we are not in 1952. I’ve seen some pretty lousy presentations and it seems I’m the only one who complains so they just think I’m being difficult.
OK so if they have to change the screen to have 3 strip couldn’t they have as someone said above showing at the same time films like Lawrence, Magnificent Men, 2001 SOM and many others so that the curved screen could be utilized for longer periods of time once a year?
Otherwise Cinerama in the name of the theater is considerably less than accurate.
And I hope they use curtains otherwise an important effect is thrown away.
At the Rivoli when you suddenly see that Hal is reading their lips the curtains started to close with the screen getting narrower slowly focusing on Hal.
Shocking and unbelievably chilling.
And if you were never in the Rivoli, Warner, or Criterion in New York to see 70mm than you have nothing to tell your grandchildren.
Frank Rowley had slightly larger houses to deal with and was great with old Hollywood films. I loved his progamming.
Does anybody know what he is doing now?
And he had curtains! Does anybody today know what those are?
The only naked thing which is obscene is a movie screen.
Film Forum programming ain’t chopped liver either but I if only they had movie theaters to show their films in. A screen in a black box is like kids in a basement with a sheet and projector. Professional it ain’t. Why did Roxy even bother?
I love it when they trumpet scope films and they aren’t much bigger than what you would see on TCM on a 36 inch TV. And they only use a portion of the screen. In actuality they are smaller than films in 1.33 or 1.85 ratios!
Talk about caveat emptor.
When do you think they’ll have a 70mm fesival?
Personally I am waiting for a 3 screen Cinerama salute.
Of course they’ll have to do one screen in each theater for that.
Reading above comments about the flat screen and the curved screen behind it why in the world are they showing 2001 on a flat screen when they have the only Cinerama screen in the country?
Too much assembly required is a pretty lame excuse. Then why have a Cinerama screen if you hardly ever use it?
And what I especially don’t get is the fact that The Capitol and the Warner Cinerama, and Rivoli in NY often had 35 mm presentations between their 70mm films. And when I saw the salute to 70mm in the late 70’s at the Warner I hardly think they went to such trouble to present it. Also I saw Superman 2 there and it was the same screen.
The Rivoli occasionally showed 70mm in the 70' which I saw on the wide curved screen. I never heard of a screen change and it would not have been worth it especially over night.
Somebody at the Seattle needs to think out of the box.
With the Wall-E salute to HD(and I am not refering to High Def)
I think I should point out that this was the last genuine 70mm film to open at the Rivoli.
Too bad it was such a failure and only lasted 7 months at the theater. It’s a much better film than the critics gave it credit for and gets better as the years go on.
It should have run at least a year but the people writing reviews then hated musicals. And as Ethan Mordan has written they reviewed these mammoth films as if they were personally billed for them.
How else to explain why they trashed movies like PYW, SC, and HD.
All three are terrific and I only wish we could still see them as they were first seen on their hard ticket runs.
Thank god they were made so we have them and their lavishness to enjoy today.
So REndres is that the reason that the orchestra doesn’t move all over the place as it once did and it never will again?
And the organ needs major work? They let it get into such a stage of repair or is it age and it needs a major restoration?
It is like the the railings they put up at corners all over Rockefeller center.
I am sure in the Music Hall’s heyday the crowds were much worse filling the theater 4 times a day with 6,000 people and then spilling out all over the Center with traffic just as bad.
Also the Music Hall should have a trained production staff at all times. 45 years of film and stage show and I never heard of such a serious accident.
Are people that idiotic today? They can’t stand on a curb or have the orchestra up when production activity occurs?
One of the joys of the Music Hall was seeing the orchestra come from out of nowhere with the musicians tuning up. It gave a wonderful sense of anticipation.
Why is the stupidity of those in charge rewarded?
OK so you are talking about the Leonidoff Nativity which started the stage portion of the show.
It began beautifully with the orchestra rising from below and the chimes playing the first notes of Silent Night with the lights in the arches turning a deep blue in the darkeness of the house. The chorus in their peaasant garb would appear on the choral steps and sing Silent Night. The curtain would rise depicting a night sky and an Angel would appear and sing Oh Holy Night. The choristers would descend to the stage staring in wonder at her. They would then join her at the end at which point she would disappear and the star of Bethlehem would appear and travel across the sky. The chorus would exit following and the orchestra would start a fanfare intruction to Oh Come all Ye Faithful. The minute the carol itself would start the last of the chorus would have left the stage and the march to Bethlehem would begin. At the end when the last person left the stage the sky would turn transparent revealing all the crowd kneeling before the manger and then would rise as the magi entered bearing there gifts. They then would kneel as the curtain covering interior of the manger would become transparent and rise revealing Mary, Joseph and the baby. These final moments would be accompanied by the music you are citing at which point the magi would raise their gifts in homage, the orchestra would swell along with chorus, thousands of light bulbs would flash and the Music Hall curtain would descend.
I think there might have been times when the curtain would go back up for a few moments to reveal again the tableaux in it’s quiet stillness. I’m not a hundred percent sure though.
Then the orchestra would rise to it’s full height and play Sleigh Ride while the sets were being changed(I always think of the old Christmas shows when I hear it during the holidays)
and then would then descend and the curtain would go up on the secular portion of the show.
Was there in the 70’s for revivals of Disneys Sleeping Beauty in 70mm and was very annoyed that the full stereo was for the final reel.
Also 70mm GWTW and a not very good 35mm print of Camelot which did not utilize the entire screen.
Don’t remember any outside noise.
Hypothetically speaking if one had the money would it be possible to convert the theater back to the great single screen theater it once was?
Would be nice if they still had the 70mm equipment and would show 70mm films. I don’t know if the Claridge is still there and the beautiful Bellevue has been chopped up.Would be nice if that would be part of their programming.
Love the Record ads. Bill give us some more of the Record Jersey roadshow ads. When I was very young this is what I read everyday. You can see on the timetable the Hackensack Fox was showing The Sound of Music. This was during the summer of ‘67 and that is when and where I saw the film for the first time. It was still some time before the film came to the local small town theaters.
I think its first run was 5 years.
When you say BIG MISTAKE do you mean not doing it or mentioning it to them.
Also by talking about the ending do you mean the Nativity that began the Christmas show?
It is completely different now than it was during the film era.
First time I saw Kong complete with the censored parts.
Interesting that when this opened at the Music Hall in ‘33 nobody was bothered by these elements including the families that were bringing their children.
Even Sign of the Cross has some racy parts that would be considered strong today.
How about the Cherry Blossom curtain?
Does that still exist? Where is it now?
I believe it was first used for the first Mary Poppins and I remember seeing it in the 70’s.
Wish somebody could post the photos of the stage shows by film that were taken and put at the outside of the boxoffice along with the movie posters. If these have been saved in the archives it would be wonderful if the woman who runs it could set up a web sight with them.
How about this: a list of all films to play there then you click on the film title and you get the opening day ad from the times or News and then attached to that all photos in high resolution of the stage show that accompianied it.
Of course a copy of both sides of the program would be nice but I don’t want to ask for too much.
I’ve read to that Leonidoff(not me but my great great ancestor, hah!) filmed all the stage shows but I doubt if any of those exist. Would be nice to have all the classic production numbers, ballet, Rockettes and finales on a you tube kind of site.
Anybody know the name of the woman in charge of the archives and how I may get in touch with her?
Of course I am sure if anyone would endeavor to do this Cablevision in the corporate stupidity that has taken over the country like a fever would put a stop to it.
A single theater roadshow for the mezz should be $48.00 if it is figured out compared to Broadway prices today. This does not figure in premium pricing for a hit film which would then bring it to 100.00 to 150.00.
Would I pay that to see some of my favorite 70mm films at the old Odeon Leicester, NY Criterion or Rivoli?
Yeah. I mean I ’d rather spend money on that than todays Broadway musicals.
Summertime and right about now until the 60’s the biggest roadshow movie of the previous autumn season would open here on a reserved seat basis for the tourists.
A day on the beach and then in the evening dinner and 70mm showing of South Pacific, WWS or MFL. Then after the movie a walk on the Boardwalk and maybe a belgian waffle.
I assume the basement theates were built in what was once the very elegant edwardian foyer where the restrooms were located.
My last time there as a single theater was as well when Alien played. Would have prefered a much classier 50’s or 60’s film.
Went once after the first division and was so disgusted immediately left and never went back.
Watched a bit of MFL the other night on TCM. Sure wish I could see it there again.
Anybody got a color photo of the marquee during the first engagement?
It was terrific.
I guess I am the only one who if I go to the Hall and there’s not a movie and a stage show the place seems kind of empty even if there is a sold out audience.
David you were lucky going there during that period. It was still regularly playing good Hollywood films that one wanted to see. It was in ‘69 that the Hall started regularly showing duds with a rare good one.
If you go to the orch pit and look up at the entire theater it looks quite beautiful.
Also the proscenium is much more ornate than that of the San Francisco Fox which I was disappointed to find was on the dull side.
The most beautiful of all of the NY theaters at least according to the pictures in the Best Remaining Seats seems to be the Brooklyn Paramount.
Very nice showing of King Kong Sat night with a very large crowd.
Now if only they could get a sponsor to pay for airconditioning for weekends during the summer…
Beautiful shot of the Beacon. I never saw one of those old marquees but they were definately designed to give a a feeling of excitement before you entered the theater. They really must have been something at night especially when you had one after the other.
By the way I wonder how many of you have seen all that remains of the 1rst Goldiggers movie playing there. I saw the technicolor finale once at the Film Forum and it was great. Though shot pretty much head on it is wonderfully designed and staged(I’d like to know who the brilliant person was who designed that amazing set.) This is the kind of spectacle that I wish could be staged at the Music Hall.
You can see it on You Tube but of course it has none of the impact of seeing it in 35mm on a screen.
Getting rid of the ballet was a big mistake. They were the backbone of the Music Hall’s spectacles. From then on there was nothing to see but the Rockettes. The rest was pretty bleak.
I saw the Christmas show with the Sunshine Boys and all I remember was a Raggedy Ann doll dancing on a small set on that huge stage.
Then with Petrovka there was an obvious plug for a home organ with a guy playing it at the center of the revolving stage against a cyclorama with absolutely nothing else.
That might have been the lowest point.
Though I do remember once the elevator stage going up and nothing was covering the cross view. You saw a cutaway of the mechanical working of the stage. As embarrassing as a naked screen.
Vito
With all the shows you saw at the Hall were there a few film stage combos that were favorites and you saw more than once?
I would have wished they had played Meet Me In St Louis(Astor) for Christmas of 44 instead of NV. Probably would have been the best Christmas show ever at the Hall.
Also as the summer attraction in 48 Easter Parade(Loews State) instead of A Date with Judy. That again would have been something.
Also roadshow films of the 60’s which would have done much better at the Hall and had a terrific sendoff there like Half a Sixpence, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Sweet Charity.
One of the strangest non picks for the Hall was Walk Don’t Run(I think Loew’s State.) The last Grant film and the Hall’s biggest
star. Instead they had Kaleidascope!
And there were quite a few that opened in New York in the 70’s Radio City should have had but they ended up in small east side houses. Very strange and unfortunate. This was why the Hall was playing such unbelievable drek.
Try watching The Girl from Petrovka(it had the cheesiest, worst, most embarrassing stage show ever. People were in shock.) or Hennessy.
At that point I knew not to go to most movies there.
Fo those who saw Cinemascope in the mid 50s at both the Roxy and Music Hall which was the more impressive presentation?
Also when the Roxy was showing this format was it entirely in the proscenium and were any seat sections cut off like they did at the Capitol when it became a road show house?
The screen in the photo is gorgeous.
The Rivoli and the Warner had huge curved screens though to be honest I don’t don’t know to what extent.
Seeing 2001 at the Rivoli was such an overwhelming experience for me that I don’t want to see it again on a flat screen. It was one of the greatest movie experiences of my life. It gave you a sense of 3 D but it was better. Things did not pop out at you like a gimmick.
The Warner also showed 3 strip Cinerama. I would like to know however if their screen of the 60’s and 70’s was different. Also the Capitol when it was showing movies like Zhivago and Planet of the Apes.
If distortion is a problem I thought you could rectfy most of it with lens. Who would notice?. Yes the movie aficiandos, but who else in today’s day and age? I mean we are not in 1952. I’ve seen some pretty lousy presentations and it seems I’m the only one who complains so they just think I’m being difficult.
OK so if they have to change the screen to have 3 strip couldn’t they have as someone said above showing at the same time films like Lawrence, Magnificent Men, 2001 SOM and many others so that the curved screen could be utilized for longer periods of time once a year?
Otherwise Cinerama in the name of the theater is considerably less than accurate.
And I hope they use curtains otherwise an important effect is thrown away.
At the Rivoli when you suddenly see that Hal is reading their lips the curtains started to close with the screen getting narrower slowly focusing on Hal.
Shocking and unbelievably chilling.
And if you were never in the Rivoli, Warner, or Criterion in New York to see 70mm than you have nothing to tell your grandchildren.
Frank Rowley had slightly larger houses to deal with and was great with old Hollywood films. I loved his progamming.
Does anybody know what he is doing now?
And he had curtains! Does anybody today know what those are?
The only naked thing which is obscene is a movie screen.
Film Forum programming ain’t chopped liver either but I if only they had movie theaters to show their films in. A screen in a black box is like kids in a basement with a sheet and projector. Professional it ain’t. Why did Roxy even bother?
I love it when they trumpet scope films and they aren’t much bigger than what you would see on TCM on a 36 inch TV. And they only use a portion of the screen. In actuality they are smaller than films in 1.33 or 1.85 ratios!
Talk about caveat emptor.
When do you think they’ll have a 70mm fesival?
Personally I am waiting for a 3 screen Cinerama salute.
Of course they’ll have to do one screen in each theater for that.
Reading above comments about the flat screen and the curved screen behind it why in the world are they showing 2001 on a flat screen when they have the only Cinerama screen in the country?
Too much assembly required is a pretty lame excuse. Then why have a Cinerama screen if you hardly ever use it?
And what I especially don’t get is the fact that The Capitol and the Warner Cinerama, and Rivoli in NY often had 35 mm presentations between their 70mm films. And when I saw the salute to 70mm in the late 70’s at the Warner I hardly think they went to such trouble to present it. Also I saw Superman 2 there and it was the same screen.
The Rivoli occasionally showed 70mm in the 70' which I saw on the wide curved screen. I never heard of a screen change and it would not have been worth it especially over night.
Somebody at the Seattle needs to think out of the box.
With the Wall-E salute to HD(and I am not refering to High Def)
I think I should point out that this was the last genuine 70mm film to open at the Rivoli.
Too bad it was such a failure and only lasted 7 months at the theater. It’s a much better film than the critics gave it credit for and gets better as the years go on.
It should have run at least a year but the people writing reviews then hated musicals. And as Ethan Mordan has written they reviewed these mammoth films as if they were personally billed for them.
How else to explain why they trashed movies like PYW, SC, and HD.
All three are terrific and I only wish we could still see them as they were first seen on their hard ticket runs.
Thank god they were made so we have them and their lavishness to enjoy today.
So REndres is that the reason that the orchestra doesn’t move all over the place as it once did and it never will again?
And the organ needs major work? They let it get into such a stage of repair or is it age and it needs a major restoration?
It is like the the railings they put up at corners all over Rockefeller center.
I am sure in the Music Hall’s heyday the crowds were much worse filling the theater 4 times a day with 6,000 people and then spilling out all over the Center with traffic just as bad.
Also the Music Hall should have a trained production staff at all times. 45 years of film and stage show and I never heard of such a serious accident.
Are people that idiotic today? They can’t stand on a curb or have the orchestra up when production activity occurs?
One of the joys of the Music Hall was seeing the orchestra come from out of nowhere with the musicians tuning up. It gave a wonderful sense of anticipation.
Why is the stupidity of those in charge rewarded?
OK so you are talking about the Leonidoff Nativity which started the stage portion of the show.
It began beautifully with the orchestra rising from below and the chimes playing the first notes of Silent Night with the lights in the arches turning a deep blue in the darkeness of the house. The chorus in their peaasant garb would appear on the choral steps and sing Silent Night. The curtain would rise depicting a night sky and an Angel would appear and sing Oh Holy Night. The choristers would descend to the stage staring in wonder at her. They would then join her at the end at which point she would disappear and the star of Bethlehem would appear and travel across the sky. The chorus would exit following and the orchestra would start a fanfare intruction to Oh Come all Ye Faithful. The minute the carol itself would start the last of the chorus would have left the stage and the march to Bethlehem would begin. At the end when the last person left the stage the sky would turn transparent revealing all the crowd kneeling before the manger and then would rise as the magi entered bearing there gifts. They then would kneel as the curtain covering interior of the manger would become transparent and rise revealing Mary, Joseph and the baby. These final moments would be accompanied by the music you are citing at which point the magi would raise their gifts in homage, the orchestra would swell along with chorus, thousands of light bulbs would flash and the Music Hall curtain would descend.
I think there might have been times when the curtain would go back up for a few moments to reveal again the tableaux in it’s quiet stillness. I’m not a hundred percent sure though.
Then the orchestra would rise to it’s full height and play Sleigh Ride while the sets were being changed(I always think of the old Christmas shows when I hear it during the holidays)
and then would then descend and the curtain would go up on the secular portion of the show.
Was there in the 70’s for revivals of Disneys Sleeping Beauty in 70mm and was very annoyed that the full stereo was for the final reel.
Also 70mm GWTW and a not very good 35mm print of Camelot which did not utilize the entire screen.
Don’t remember any outside noise.
Hypothetically speaking if one had the money would it be possible to convert the theater back to the great single screen theater it once was?
Would be nice if they still had the 70mm equipment and would show 70mm films. I don’t know if the Claridge is still there and the beautiful Bellevue has been chopped up.Would be nice if that would be part of their programming.
Love the Record ads. Bill give us some more of the Record Jersey roadshow ads. When I was very young this is what I read everyday. You can see on the timetable the Hackensack Fox was showing The Sound of Music. This was during the summer of ‘67 and that is when and where I saw the film for the first time. It was still some time before the film came to the local small town theaters.
I think its first run was 5 years.
When you say BIG MISTAKE do you mean not doing it or mentioning it to them.
Also by talking about the ending do you mean the Nativity that began the Christmas show?
It is completely different now than it was during the film era.
Does the theater resemble at all the photo in the book on the making of Lawrence of Arabia and the photo above of the fire curtain?
First time I saw Kong complete with the censored parts.
Interesting that when this opened at the Music Hall in ‘33 nobody was bothered by these elements including the families that were bringing their children.
Even Sign of the Cross has some racy parts that would be considered strong today.
How about the Cherry Blossom curtain?
Does that still exist? Where is it now?
I believe it was first used for the first Mary Poppins and I remember seeing it in the 70’s.
Wish somebody could post the photos of the stage shows by film that were taken and put at the outside of the boxoffice along with the movie posters. If these have been saved in the archives it would be wonderful if the woman who runs it could set up a web sight with them.
How about this: a list of all films to play there then you click on the film title and you get the opening day ad from the times or News and then attached to that all photos in high resolution of the stage show that accompianied it.
Of course a copy of both sides of the program would be nice but I don’t want to ask for too much.
I’ve read to that Leonidoff(not me but my great great ancestor, hah!) filmed all the stage shows but I doubt if any of those exist. Would be nice to have all the classic production numbers, ballet, Rockettes and finales on a you tube kind of site.
Anybody know the name of the woman in charge of the archives and how I may get in touch with her?
Of course I am sure if anyone would endeavor to do this Cablevision in the corporate stupidity that has taken over the country like a fever would put a stop to it.
A single theater roadshow for the mezz should be $48.00 if it is figured out compared to Broadway prices today. This does not figure in premium pricing for a hit film which would then bring it to 100.00 to 150.00.
Would I pay that to see some of my favorite 70mm films at the old Odeon Leicester, NY Criterion or Rivoli?
Yeah. I mean I ’d rather spend money on that than todays Broadway musicals.
Warren your photos don’t stay up very long. Could you send the interior vintage photos?
Summertime and right about now until the 60’s the biggest roadshow movie of the previous autumn season would open here on a reserved seat basis for the tourists.
A day on the beach and then in the evening dinner and 70mm showing of South Pacific, WWS or MFL. Then after the movie a walk on the Boardwalk and maybe a belgian waffle.
I assume the basement theates were built in what was once the very elegant edwardian foyer where the restrooms were located.
My last time there as a single theater was as well when Alien played. Would have prefered a much classier 50’s or 60’s film.
Went once after the first division and was so disgusted immediately left and never went back.
Watched a bit of MFL the other night on TCM. Sure wish I could see it there again.
Anybody got a color photo of the marquee during the first engagement?
It was terrific.
I guess I am the only one who if I go to the Hall and there’s not a movie and a stage show the place seems kind of empty even if there is a sold out audience.
David you were lucky going there during that period. It was still regularly playing good Hollywood films that one wanted to see. It was in ‘69 that the Hall started regularly showing duds with a rare good one.
If you go to the orch pit and look up at the entire theater it looks quite beautiful.
Also the proscenium is much more ornate than that of the San Francisco Fox which I was disappointed to find was on the dull side.
The most beautiful of all of the NY theaters at least according to the pictures in the Best Remaining Seats seems to be the Brooklyn Paramount.
Very nice showing of King Kong Sat night with a very large crowd.
Now if only they could get a sponsor to pay for airconditioning for weekends during the summer…
If you go to the orch pit and look up at the entire theater it looks like the interior faberge' easter egg.feei
Beautiful shot of the Beacon. I never saw one of those old marquees but they were definately designed to give a a feeling of excitement before you entered the theater. They really must have been something at night especially when you had one after the other.
By the way I wonder how many of you have seen all that remains of the 1rst Goldiggers movie playing there. I saw the technicolor finale once at the Film Forum and it was great. Though shot pretty much head on it is wonderfully designed and staged(I’d like to know who the brilliant person was who designed that amazing set.) This is the kind of spectacle that I wish could be staged at the Music Hall.
You can see it on You Tube but of course it has none of the impact of seeing it in 35mm on a screen.
Getting rid of the ballet was a big mistake. They were the backbone of the Music Hall’s spectacles. From then on there was nothing to see but the Rockettes. The rest was pretty bleak.
I saw the Christmas show with the Sunshine Boys and all I remember was a Raggedy Ann doll dancing on a small set on that huge stage.
Then with Petrovka there was an obvious plug for a home organ with a guy playing it at the center of the revolving stage against a cyclorama with absolutely nothing else.
That might have been the lowest point.
Though I do remember once the elevator stage going up and nothing was covering the cross view. You saw a cutaway of the mechanical working of the stage. As embarrassing as a naked screen.
Vito
With all the shows you saw at the Hall were there a few film stage combos that were favorites and you saw more than once?
I would have wished they had played Meet Me In St Louis(Astor) for Christmas of 44 instead of NV. Probably would have been the best Christmas show ever at the Hall.
Also as the summer attraction in 48 Easter Parade(Loews State) instead of A Date with Judy. That again would have been something.
Also roadshow films of the 60’s which would have done much better at the Hall and had a terrific sendoff there like Half a Sixpence, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Sweet Charity.
One of the strangest non picks for the Hall was Walk Don’t Run(I think Loew’s State.) The last Grant film and the Hall’s biggest
star. Instead they had Kaleidascope!
And there were quite a few that opened in New York in the 70’s Radio City should have had but they ended up in small east side houses. Very strange and unfortunate. This was why the Hall was playing such unbelievable drek.
Try watching The Girl from Petrovka(it had the cheesiest, worst, most embarrassing stage show ever. People were in shock.) or Hennessy.
At that point I knew not to go to most movies there.
Fo those who saw Cinemascope in the mid 50s at both the Roxy and Music Hall which was the more impressive presentation?
Also when the Roxy was showing this format was it entirely in the proscenium and were any seat sections cut off like they did at the Capitol when it became a road show house?