Wow! “Mr. Billion”! That sticks in my mind because that was the movie that was playing when I toured the Music Hall. We were literally backstage while it was playing and it was amazing to be standing there right behind the screen. You could hear the entire film booming backstage. That was the tour where we were shown that weird little room in the auditorium that the audience could not see.
I would love to see a picture of this theater with the balcony. Like I mentioned before, this place was a virtual twin to the Century’s Franklin Square. Only the Franklin Square still had the balcony.
One of the things that shocked and still shocks me about “Candidate” is that brain splattering scene. This is a film made in 1962! The late great movie critic Pauline Kael called “The Manchurian Candidate” one of the most exciting American films of the 60s.
As for “Oliver”, in my opinion, it’s the very last of the great movie musicals. Remarkable that it’s kind of forgotten but it really is an excellent film. Dramatically speaking, it’s better than “The Sound of Music”. “Music” is pretty thin material if you look very closely at it. “Oliver” has a much more compelling storyline and characters. The mood and music are perfect.
Scorcese did a fine, fine job with “The Age of Innocence”.
Hey Vincent, don’t go knocking the 70s Scorcese and Coppolla. Yes, today their creativity is pretty much gone but back then, they literally (IMO) saved film. I don’t think I would be as big a movie fan or even on THIS site if it were not for them. They created some of the most exciting and original film making of all time. I’m not a big fan of Altman, though. I find his films phony and overly self reverential. “Kids” today talk about Scorcese and Coppola as Gods. They do not know much about Altman.
The issue that may be dragging you down about the 70s American “New Wave” is how dramatically different it was from the films released just a few years before. As bad a critic as he is, Jeffrey Lyons once made an interesting point that there was barely a four year difference between “The Sound of Music” and “Midnight Cowboy”, two films as different as night and day.
But like you, I LOVED that ad that RobertR posted. What I found surprising was that “The Manchurian Candidate” (hands down, the absolute BEST political thriller EVER made!) was in re-release. I thought Sinatra had pulled it out of circulation after the Kennedy assasination.
Vincent says: “The mass audience tastes had completely changed and it was painful to see.”
Yes, unfortunately, that’s what I figured. I think it depended upon the film and the venue. I saw “The Sound of Music” at our local theater on LI (Century’s Baldwin) and the place was packed. It played there for a week and there was almost always a line. The timing was crucial as well. The re-releases “Music” during the summer of 1973, kids are off, parents are desperate for something to amuse them, etc. Perfect combo.
Did “My Fair Lady” go into a wide re-release nationally or just in Times Square?
Just curious, how did the 1971 re-release of “My Fair Lady” do at the boxoffice? My guess is not well because by that time (1971) film was just entering it’s 70s golden age (arguable) and a film like Fair Lady just would'nt “jive” with audiences.
There’s no audience for a stage show and a movie now days. But…if the Hall could play a movie exclusively for a couple of weeks, then you would have people going there.
The Baldwin also played “The Sound of Music” upon it’s 1973 re-release. I know because that’s where I saw it. Me, my older brother, my Mom and what seemed like a thousand neighborhood kids. Loved the movie but I remember there was pandemonium during the intermission. Kids (a lot of them my friends) were running around the theater like a bunch of lunatics. I didn’t because my Mom would’ve clobbered me. One of my friends (and I can remember this like it was yesterday) had the audacity to run up the the curtain and life it up to reveal the white screen behind it! I swear to God, I was shocked. I thought it was some kind of blasphemy. Ok, at 7 years old, I was already a movie-stick in the mud.
Another thing I find interesting about the ads, especially from the late 60s, is that they do not look very different from the ads I grew up with in the 70s. It appears that back in the 50s, the theaters were divided up by the owner of the circuit: Brandt, Century, etc. Then, around the mid 60s, it looks like that changed to simply listing the theater by location. The latter option obviously makes more sense, at least to me.
Bill, I also have work to do which unfortunately keeps me off the site for hours at a time. So someone might post a cool ad and by the time I get back to the site, it’s off the recent comment listing. And another thing is my company’s firewall prevents me from viewing these ads at work. I have to write down where they’ve been posted and take a look when I get home. What’s so cool is that the people posting these ads are doing them for the places I grew up with on Long Island AND where I now live (northern NJ). I get the best of both.
Ok…to RobertR, Bill Huelbig and anyone else who has been posting these old movie ads…
First off, I LOVE these things! It’s brought a whole new level of interest to this site. I can’t wait to see where any new ones have been posted.
BUT…it’s driving me nutty clicking on all these theaters trying to determine where they are.
Is there any way we could get the site administrator to set something up so we can have easy access to these? As much as I like trolling around on the various sites and it’s fun to stumble on to a newly posted ad, it’s time consuming.
But please, PLEASE keep doing it. We all must be of the same mind set because we’re getting a kick out of these ads!
As “bad” as the Hyway may seem, you get better service there and at the Teaneck 4 (or whatever it’s called these days…) than you get at the mega-multi-whatever-plexes. Perhaps it’s private ownership but these types of places are getting more appealing.
And the Hyway gets all the first run films. The presentation might be a tad shoddy but this place still gets crowds.
I’ve never been in this place as it looks pretty sad. But I have to say the habit of the one word movie descriptions on the marquee provides my wife and I with a fun game driving up Route 17.
In a lot of ways, THIS is the ideal location for a multiplex and sure enough, THIS is where the next big one is going and it’s only Bergen county’s second stadium seating theater.
When and if they get the Xanadu complex up and running, I’ve heard rumors that a 20+ theater complex is going up down there.
Wasn’t “Gentlemen’s Agreement” a Zanuck production like “Wilson”? And if so, I wonder why “Gentlemen’s Agreement” premiered at The Mayfair and not The Roxy? Was the material considered inappropriate for it? Just curious….
I got those photos from DennisZ also and I would recommend them to everyone here if they’re interested. They’re clear and show everything. I particularly like the shot of The Rivoli. Amazing that they even got the title of “Gone With the Wind” up on the vertical marquee!
Somewhere on this board, someone posted an ad for a roadshow and I could just barely make out the phone number to call for tickets. So I called it just to see what would happen and all I got was a busy signal.
All things change. And in the constant battle for real estate, even a former slum or an area that’s fallen on hard times can be brought back to life.
NYC is a perfect example. There are places now in all five boroughs that 10, 15, 20 years ago were some of the most vile places in the U.S. Now? They’re filled with boutiques, restaurants and sky high rents. It hasn’t been good for the movie palaces though.
Intersting stuff above. “Barefoot in the Park” is a classic. It’s amazing how often it’s shown on TV (I have one of those cable systems with what appears to be 500 channels and my wife and I joke around that it’s like there’s a “Barefoot in the Park” channel…all Barefoot, 24 hours a day…it’s on that much). Great movie…should never, EVER be remade. The original too’s perfect.
Question: what was the last genuine hit film to play at the Hall? Was it “The Odd Couple”?
Judging from some of the more objective reviews (not the ridiculous hack critics like Joel Siegel) “War of the Worlds” sounds techically impressive but emotionally thin and uninvolving on a real human emotional level like “E.T.” or even “Close Encounters”. In other words, audiences might be “wowed” by it much like they do at a very expensive interactive theme park ride but they won’t walk away with much to remember it by. And THAT (IMO) is exactly what is so wrong with American films today. They’re all $200 million spectacles without an ounce of anything to relate to.
Ugh, Bosley Crowther. It just goes to show that there were hack critics back then as there are now. And that dope worked at the NY Times. Actually, even today, the Times is not known for it’s film criticism.
Wow! “Mr. Billion”! That sticks in my mind because that was the movie that was playing when I toured the Music Hall. We were literally backstage while it was playing and it was amazing to be standing there right behind the screen. You could hear the entire film booming backstage. That was the tour where we were shown that weird little room in the auditorium that the audience could not see.
And yeah, what’s up with the Hall’s page here?
I would love to see a picture of this theater with the balcony. Like I mentioned before, this place was a virtual twin to the Century’s Franklin Square. Only the Franklin Square still had the balcony.
One of the things that shocked and still shocks me about “Candidate” is that brain splattering scene. This is a film made in 1962! The late great movie critic Pauline Kael called “The Manchurian Candidate” one of the most exciting American films of the 60s.
As for “Oliver”, in my opinion, it’s the very last of the great movie musicals. Remarkable that it’s kind of forgotten but it really is an excellent film. Dramatically speaking, it’s better than “The Sound of Music”. “Music” is pretty thin material if you look very closely at it. “Oliver” has a much more compelling storyline and characters. The mood and music are perfect.
Scorcese did a fine, fine job with “The Age of Innocence”.
Hey Vincent, don’t go knocking the 70s Scorcese and Coppolla. Yes, today their creativity is pretty much gone but back then, they literally (IMO) saved film. I don’t think I would be as big a movie fan or even on THIS site if it were not for them. They created some of the most exciting and original film making of all time. I’m not a big fan of Altman, though. I find his films phony and overly self reverential. “Kids” today talk about Scorcese and Coppola as Gods. They do not know much about Altman.
The issue that may be dragging you down about the 70s American “New Wave” is how dramatically different it was from the films released just a few years before. As bad a critic as he is, Jeffrey Lyons once made an interesting point that there was barely a four year difference between “The Sound of Music” and “Midnight Cowboy”, two films as different as night and day.
But like you, I LOVED that ad that RobertR posted. What I found surprising was that “The Manchurian Candidate” (hands down, the absolute BEST political thriller EVER made!) was in re-release. I thought Sinatra had pulled it out of circulation after the Kennedy assasination.
Vincent says: “The mass audience tastes had completely changed and it was painful to see.”
Yes, unfortunately, that’s what I figured. I think it depended upon the film and the venue. I saw “The Sound of Music” at our local theater on LI (Century’s Baldwin) and the place was packed. It played there for a week and there was almost always a line. The timing was crucial as well. The re-releases “Music” during the summer of 1973, kids are off, parents are desperate for something to amuse them, etc. Perfect combo.
Did “My Fair Lady” go into a wide re-release nationally or just in Times Square?
Just curious, how did the 1971 re-release of “My Fair Lady” do at the boxoffice? My guess is not well because by that time (1971) film was just entering it’s 70s golden age (arguable) and a film like Fair Lady just would'nt “jive” with audiences.
I could be wrong but I’m curious…
There’s no audience for a stage show and a movie now days. But…if the Hall could play a movie exclusively for a couple of weeks, then you would have people going there.
The Baldwin also played “The Sound of Music” upon it’s 1973 re-release. I know because that’s where I saw it. Me, my older brother, my Mom and what seemed like a thousand neighborhood kids. Loved the movie but I remember there was pandemonium during the intermission. Kids (a lot of them my friends) were running around the theater like a bunch of lunatics. I didn’t because my Mom would’ve clobbered me. One of my friends (and I can remember this like it was yesterday) had the audacity to run up the the curtain and life it up to reveal the white screen behind it! I swear to God, I was shocked. I thought it was some kind of blasphemy. Ok, at 7 years old, I was already a movie-stick in the mud.
Another thing I find interesting about the ads, especially from the late 60s, is that they do not look very different from the ads I grew up with in the 70s. It appears that back in the 50s, the theaters were divided up by the owner of the circuit: Brandt, Century, etc. Then, around the mid 60s, it looks like that changed to simply listing the theater by location. The latter option obviously makes more sense, at least to me.
Bill, I also have work to do which unfortunately keeps me off the site for hours at a time. So someone might post a cool ad and by the time I get back to the site, it’s off the recent comment listing. And another thing is my company’s firewall prevents me from viewing these ads at work. I have to write down where they’ve been posted and take a look when I get home. What’s so cool is that the people posting these ads are doing them for the places I grew up with on Long Island AND where I now live (northern NJ). I get the best of both.
Ok…to RobertR, Bill Huelbig and anyone else who has been posting these old movie ads…
First off, I LOVE these things! It’s brought a whole new level of interest to this site. I can’t wait to see where any new ones have been posted.
BUT…it’s driving me nutty clicking on all these theaters trying to determine where they are.
Is there any way we could get the site administrator to set something up so we can have easy access to these? As much as I like trolling around on the various sites and it’s fun to stumble on to a newly posted ad, it’s time consuming.
But please, PLEASE keep doing it. We all must be of the same mind set because we’re getting a kick out of these ads!
“Matilda”? The boxing kangaroo movie? A pretty good example of where the Hall was circa 1978.
As “bad” as the Hyway may seem, you get better service there and at the Teaneck 4 (or whatever it’s called these days…) than you get at the mega-multi-whatever-plexes. Perhaps it’s private ownership but these types of places are getting more appealing.
And the Hyway gets all the first run films. The presentation might be a tad shoddy but this place still gets crowds.
Where exactly on Route 46 was this located?
I’ve never been in this place as it looks pretty sad. But I have to say the habit of the one word movie descriptions on the marquee provides my wife and I with a fun game driving up Route 17.
In a lot of ways, THIS is the ideal location for a multiplex and sure enough, THIS is where the next big one is going and it’s only Bergen county’s second stadium seating theater.
When and if they get the Xanadu complex up and running, I’ve heard rumors that a 20+ theater complex is going up down there.
Wasn’t “Gentlemen’s Agreement” a Zanuck production like “Wilson”? And if so, I wonder why “Gentlemen’s Agreement” premiered at The Mayfair and not The Roxy? Was the material considered inappropriate for it? Just curious….
I got those photos from DennisZ also and I would recommend them to everyone here if they’re interested. They’re clear and show everything. I particularly like the shot of The Rivoli. Amazing that they even got the title of “Gone With the Wind” up on the vertical marquee!
Somewhere on this board, someone posted an ad for a roadshow and I could just barely make out the phone number to call for tickets. So I called it just to see what would happen and all I got was a busy signal.
All things change. And in the constant battle for real estate, even a former slum or an area that’s fallen on hard times can be brought back to life.
NYC is a perfect example. There are places now in all five boroughs that 10, 15, 20 years ago were some of the most vile places in the U.S. Now? They’re filled with boutiques, restaurants and sky high rents. It hasn’t been good for the movie palaces though.
Intersting stuff above. “Barefoot in the Park” is a classic. It’s amazing how often it’s shown on TV (I have one of those cable systems with what appears to be 500 channels and my wife and I joke around that it’s like there’s a “Barefoot in the Park” channel…all Barefoot, 24 hours a day…it’s on that much). Great movie…should never, EVER be remade. The original too’s perfect.
Question: what was the last genuine hit film to play at the Hall? Was it “The Odd Couple”?
Judging from some of the more objective reviews (not the ridiculous hack critics like Joel Siegel) “War of the Worlds” sounds techically impressive but emotionally thin and uninvolving on a real human emotional level like “E.T.” or even “Close Encounters”. In other words, audiences might be “wowed” by it much like they do at a very expensive interactive theme park ride but they won’t walk away with much to remember it by. And THAT (IMO) is exactly what is so wrong with American films today. They’re all $200 million spectacles without an ounce of anything to relate to.
Ugh, Bosley Crowther. It just goes to show that there were hack critics back then as there are now. And that dope worked at the NY Times. Actually, even today, the Times is not known for it’s film criticism.
Gee, which would YOU choose?
A saintly Ingrid Bergman or a homicidal Gene Tierney?
I’d go with Tierney. She was painfully beautiful in “Leave Her to Heaven”.
I wanted to strangle that annoying kid brother because he dared to interupt Tierney’s advances in one scene with Wilde. No wonder she killed him….
What I’m saying then is the next single screener to go, we should plan a sit in.
Hmmmm…well, I’m back to the Island in mid July. I shall make a point of driving by. This is most likely the same theater.
Sorry, re-reading my post, I didn’t mean to sound so pompous “No, a sit in is the only thing that would work.”