Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
1260 6th Avenue,
New York,
NY
10020
118 people
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Showing 551 - 575 of 3,332 comments
We did run some trailers when I was at the Hall, and I found a trailer for “Cowboys” which played before I worked there, in the film cabinet. (I remember that one because there was a question about light levels on “Harry and Walter Go To New York” and I spliced the normal density “Cowboys” Tr. to one of their reels to show that it was a film problem, not a light problem with our projectors.)
We also ran the trailer for “That’s Entertainment” with the thought that we were going to get the picture which MGM ultimately gave to the Ziegfeld.
The snipes you refer to which promoted special shows at individual theatres were common in the industry. In Illinois the Filmack Company turned them out quickly and cheaply and I have a whole reel of them I saved from a theatre I worked in out there. The Hall used them as noted to not only promote the upcoming feature, but also plug the stage show that accompanyed it. While cheaply made (image you saw projected was actually the camera negative so there was no print cost)the personalized snipes added a touch of class and individuality to a promotional presentation.
I recall seeing a trailer at the Hall, followed by the scroll advertising the name of the stage show with the upcoming feature film.
I would imagine our resident RCMH expert REndres has the answer to the trailer question. In addition to the trailers the Music Hall also made up their own news reel; rather than just show one from a major studio they would take bits and pieces from many of the news reels from Paramount, MGM and Fox and make up a special RCMH newsreel.
I suppose one might say the answer as to why they did those things would be, hey, we are Radio City Music Hall and we are very special in everything we do :)
It’s funny that you mention that. I don’t know the answer but I was going through the film vault a few weeks ago and found that snipe along with many others.
For years I have enjoyed all the comments from people who have intimate knowledge and information about RCMH. I have attended the theatre many, many times when it was operating as a movie theatre ( and for the last some 30 years as a concert venue and for the Christmas show). I have a very trivial question to ask. Why did they run a specially made trailer (rather than the studio trailer) to advertise the next feature to play? If I remember correctly it was a simple graphic presentation or scroll accompanied by the organ. Was it to personalize the information and to also say something about the next stage presentation? Just wondering. I mean it was not an introduction to a studio trailer (as most theatres did at the time) but and entity to itself.
A view of the foyer taken in 2000 here:–
RADIO CITY FOYER
Both “Gunga Din” and “Stagecoach” are bona fide all-time greats. Two bright and shiny jewels in the magnificent crown that was 1939 for the motion picture industry. “Made For Each Other,” its legendary stars notwithstanding, perhaps not so much.
The use of more film is good to hear, Digital has it’s place to be sure but 35/70mm has a quality all it’s own and cannot be allowed to simply vanish. Please keep us informed on any develops regarding the use of film at the Music Hall
I guess it doesn’t look better to the people that tested film and digital last year. According to them, the film 3D looked better on the huge screen. Digital couldn’t even fill it. As far as the 2D, there was no clear winner between the 2. We still run film for the Christmas show too.
Really rcdt55b? Film at RCMH in 2013, when digital looks so much better in this barn of a venue.
Talk about too much time on your hands….
I wish I could get copies of those pictures to add to my collection. This projectionist of 37 years only has memories left now that theatres have gone digital. All i have left is a gig in the Count Basie theatre in red bank NJ. Simplex XL’s reel to reel. (20 min.)
The film projectors may be used some more in the upcoming future. We will be testing some film elements in a few weeks.
rcdt55b, some people have way too much time on their hands. I loved your booth photos. I still wish someday I could get up there to see it, but I know its next to impossible. Christmas show ends next weekend so my wife will be finished there till probably next year.
NBC TV’s 1st look show is right now doing an inside look at Radio City’s Christmas show
I wish it was easier to get someone up here. It’s hard enough getting in myself sometimes. I do the same thing when I go to theaters. Always looking to the booth.
rcdt55b, I wish someday, this ol projectionist of almost 37 years could somehow pay a visit and see the projection booth. My wife works the Christmas show every year as a dresser for the Rockettes. I saw the show a few weeks ago, on the 8th. Great as always. I found myself several times looking back up to the portholes. I was 8 rows from the stage. Funny how you tend to do that when your a projectionist.
We get 2 new prints, at the beginning of the run, when they change any of the sponsors. The current print started at the beginning of last years show. We just started using the backup print a few days ago.
how old is the film print?
Interestingly, very few issues so far this year. They seem to have fixed the bus (finally) and video wall. Thank goodness the film is still in………
i remember standing in line with my parents in the early 1960’s, in the bitter, nyc, winter cold, waiting to enter the music hall and enjoy the xmas show. i had no idea that, in an already forgotten era, such lines were common at the “premier” houses, where patrons would be entertained by small, “lobby organs” while they waited to be seated. in my case, my father would send my mother and me down to the underground concourse that connected all of rockefeller center to seek warmth while he endured the cold. once inside, i was mesmerized by the organ and its power. all i wanted was to play it. fortunately, i was afforded the chance in 1980, when i played 8 performances of the stage show “america” as a substitute at the opposite prompt (stage right) console. i was supporting my good friend, bob maidhof, who, at the time, was the head organist. as a friend of mine remarked at the time, “if you were a baseball player, this would have been your night in yankee stadium.”
I like the diagram in that article, Tinseltoes. I remember queuing up in lines like that for holiday shows at RCMH, as a child in the ‘70’s. At that time, the line went east down 50th Street, as depicted in the Boxoffice article, but then it would zig-zag back and forth in the Plaza behind the building, like the queue for a popular Disney World attraction.
As some folks know The Elliot Hall of Music is part of Purdue University so the level of talent was superb.
The Elliot Hall of Music used to have an annual Christmas Show that was pre-recorded for PBS an it was as massive at the show at RCMH. My only complaint with the shows were instead of letting the home audience see the eleborate scene changes during the show the video technical directors were so busy zooming and moving the camera shots that it made one dizzy. I wish I could have been there to see the beautifully coordinated scenic crews doing their art at its best.The sets were splendidly eleborate and magical, as often as the moving shots would pause for 30 seconds.
Is there anything other than the marquee title to commemorate the 85th Anniversary of the Rockettes? I assume the “85th” designation goes back to the debut of the Roxyettes at the Roxy Theater.
No changes this year including the 70MM 3-D.