" 'The Sound of Music' opened at the Riverview theater on April 7, 1965. It ran there for nearly three years reportedly breaking all national records for the longest continuous run of this musical." -- posted by bufffilmbuff on Mar 18, 2008
"This theater is noteworthy as having the longest run on record for any USA theater for the original release of 'The Sound of Music' in 1965." -- posted by JeffreyK on Aug 2, 2008
I’m curious why some people believe the RIVERVIEW was the host theater for the longest running engagment of “The Sound Of Music” and what sources are claiming such? I ask because I’ve done some research on the matter and the info I come up with is “The Sound Of Music” played the RIVERVIEW Playhouse from April 7, 1965 – June 19, 1967. If I’ve done the math correctly that would be a run of 115 weeks, an incredible feat, for sure, but certainly not the longest. My research reveals that longer North American runs took place in Portland (116 weeks), Seattle (117 weeks), Omaha (118 weeks), San Diego (133 weeks), and Toronto (146 weeks).
Tim… I parted ways with FromScriptToDVD.com before completing a “70mm in Chicago” project. I had also at one time considered such a project for the In70mm.com website. Perhaps some day I will revisit the project and complete it. In the meantime, I posted for you some of the info that had been researched, and I’ll also post a list of the Chicago area theaters known to have been equipped with 70mm projection capability not just during the roadshow era of the 1950s and ‘60s but through the 1980s and early '90s when the equipped venues and number of 70mm prints circulating was at its peak. I suspect looking the list over will bring back good memories for many of the Chicagolanders.
*The following is a list of theaters equipped for 70-millimeter film presentations in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area. This is not a list of theaters currently in operation that have 70mm presentation capability; many of the theaters are no longer in business, have been demolished, or have been stripped of their 70mm projection capability. This is a historical list which documents those theaters with 5-perf 70mm capability at one time or another between 1955 and the present. Many of the venues listed are closed and/or have been demolished. Some, however, are currently in operation and may still have 70mm projection capability. The chain/owners, number of screens, years of operation, etc. have not been included. *
BLOOMINGDALE
Stratford Square
CALUMET CITY
River Oaks
CHICAGO
900 N. Michigan
Biograph
Bricktown Square
Carnegie
Chestnut Station
Chicago
Cinestage / Todd’s Cinestage
Esquire
Fine Arts
Ford City
Lincoln Village
McClurg Court
McVickers / McVickers Cinerama
Michael Todd
Music Box
Navy Pier IMAX
Nortown
Palace / Eitel’s Palace / Bismarck
Pipers Alley
Plaza
Roosevelt
State Lake / State-Lake
United Artists
THIS IS CINERAMA — Palace — 98 weeks
THE SOUND OF MUSIC — Michael Todd — 93 weeks
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS — Cinestage — 90 weeks
CINERAMA HOLIDAY — Palace — 78 weeks
BEN-HUR — Michael Todd — 74 weeks
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD — Palace — 70 weeks
SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE — Palace — 59 weeks
SOUTH PACIFIC — McVickers — 56 weeks
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF — McClurg Court — 57 weeks
OKLAHOMA! — McVickers — 47 weeks
HOW THE WEST WAS WON — McVickers — 37 weeks
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY — Cinestage — 36 weeks
Some others…
PORGY AND BESS — McVickers
SCENT OF MYSTERY — Cinestage
CAN-CAN — Palace
SPARTACUS — McVickers
THE ALAMO — Palace
EXODUS — Cinestage
KING OF KINGS — Michael Todd
EL CID — Cinestage
WEST SIDE STORY — Michael Todd
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY — Michael Todd
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA — Cinestage
55 DAYS AT PEKING — Michael Todd
CLEOPATRA — State Lake
BECKET — Cinestage
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE — Michael Todd
MY FAIR LADY — Palace
CHEYENNE AUTUMN — McVickers
This was the first theater in North Carolina to be equipped with a Dolby Stereo sound system. It was installed in June 1977 for the theater’s booking of “Star Wars.”
“Star Wars,” by the way, went on to run at JANUS 7 for a staggering 64 weeks (June 17, 1977 – Sep. 7, 1978). At the conclusion of its run, the local newspaper included a blurb in the ad indicating that “Star Wars” had been the longest-running movie in Greensboro’s history. I imagine the record still holds considering changes in distribution and moviegoing trends that prohibit movies from playing as long as they did in decades past.
Yes, Ian, I intend to cover the Cinerama presentations in London and other international locales. However, my focus right now is on markets in North America, so I cannot put a timeframe on when a London list might appear.
In the meantime, I can highlight the following bits about London:
— The first Cinerama install was at the Casino with THIS IS CINERAMA premiering on 30 September 1954 and running for 70 weeks.
— Also Cinerama-capable were the Coliseum and Royalty cinemas.
— London hosted the world premiere of the Cinerama films HOW THE WEST WAS WON, KHARTOUM and CUSTER OF THE WEST. The Casino’s run of HOW THE WEST WAS WON ran for 123 weeks, the longest for any city running that film.
— London played every Cinerama film, a feat few North American markets matched. In addition to playing everything, London played some Cinerama product that never ran in North America, such as THE GOLDEN HEAD (1964).
— London, arguably, was the most successful roadshow city in the world.
— For a list of the 70mm-era Cinerama films (1963-69), I recommend John Sharp’s 70mm in London list from in70mm.com.
I’m certain the Toronto run of “2001” was the longest, but I’ve not come across such a claim explicitly expressed in a credible publication.
The five longest-running bookings of “2001” during its original roadshow release, based on tracking the playdates through the original newspaper advertisements, were:
1) Toronto, 127 weeks (Glendale)
2) Los Angeles, 103 weeks (Warner Hollywood + Beverly Hills moveover)
3) San Francisco, 88 weeks (Golden Gate + Penthouse moveover)
4) San Jose, 88 weeks (Century 21)
5) Seattle, 77 weeks (Cinerama)
The longest international engagement I’ve been able to track was a 47-week run in London (Casino).
As for “Windjammer,” yes, Toronto had the most successful run in North America. I’m not sure if that was the world record, though. I imagine the film did well in the Scandinavian nations.
Good catch, Tim! The duration of the “2001” engagement was 127 weeks.
The Glendale’s incredibly long run was indeed the reason “Ice Station Zebra” didn’t play there. “Custer Of The West,” though, was released before “2001” and simply didn’t play many of the Cinerama markets. The Glendale was playing at the time a long run of “Far From The Madding Crowd.”
Despite the typo with the “2001” duration, I hope you enjoyed this flashback to Toronto’s Cinerama days.
DIE HARD (1988)
THE BIG BLUE (1988)
THE ABYSS (1989)
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)
BACKDRAFT (1991, moveover booking)
APOCALYPSE NOW (1992 re-issue)
FAR AND AWAY (1992)
HOFFA (1992)
HOWARDS END (1993 moveover booking)
GERONIMO: AN AMERICAN LEGEND (1993)
Note that DIE HARD and THE BIG BLUE were in release at the same time, confirming that two separate screens in the complex were equipped to handle 70mm presentation.
Boston and Philadelphia, among others, are on my radar. My research on those markets, however, is incomplete. Patience… I prefer to post completed lists rather than a partial list or work in progress.
I’ll keep the series going as long as there remains Cinema Treasures reader support and the site owners and moderators allow it.
This theater indeed hosted the premiere of “Brainstorm.” However, the premiere event took place one week after the film had already opened in much of the country.
The world premiere of “Brainstorm†was held on 06 October [1983] in Raleigh at the Mission Valley Cinemas as a token of appreciation to the state of North Carolina for granting filming locations. The west coast premiere was held on 29 September in Los Angeles at the Cinerama Dome. (The reason the world premiere took place one week *after* the film’s release was because its distributor, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, planned to release the movie on 07 October 1983, but citing positive exhibitor response to their plans for an exclusive 70mm launch, the company in mid-September pushed up the release by one week but were unable to alter their plan on short notice for the 06 October world premiere event.)
I’m curious why some people believe the RIVERVIEW was the host theater for the longest running engagment of “The Sound Of Music” and what sources are claiming such? I ask because I’ve done some research on the matter and the info I come up with is “The Sound Of Music” played the RIVERVIEW Playhouse from April 7, 1965 – June 19, 1967. If I’ve done the math correctly that would be a run of 115 weeks, an incredible feat, for sure, but certainly not the longest. My research reveals that longer North American runs took place in Portland (116 weeks), Seattle (117 weeks), Omaha (118 weeks), San Diego (133 weeks), and Toronto (146 weeks).
Tim… I parted ways with FromScriptToDVD.com before completing a “70mm in Chicago” project. I had also at one time considered such a project for the In70mm.com website. Perhaps some day I will revisit the project and complete it. In the meantime, I posted for you some of the info that had been researched, and I’ll also post a list of the Chicago area theaters known to have been equipped with 70mm projection capability not just during the roadshow era of the 1950s and ‘60s but through the 1980s and early '90s when the equipped venues and number of 70mm prints circulating was at its peak. I suspect looking the list over will bring back good memories for many of the Chicagolanders.
*The following is a list of theaters equipped for 70-millimeter film presentations in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area. This is not a list of theaters currently in operation that have 70mm presentation capability; many of the theaters are no longer in business, have been demolished, or have been stripped of their 70mm projection capability. This is a historical list which documents those theaters with 5-perf 70mm capability at one time or another between 1955 and the present. Many of the venues listed are closed and/or have been demolished. Some, however, are currently in operation and may still have 70mm projection capability. The chain/owners, number of screens, years of operation, etc. have not been included. *
BLOOMINGDALE
Stratford Square
CALUMET CITY
River Oaks
CHICAGO
900 N. Michigan
Biograph
Bricktown Square
Carnegie
Chestnut Station
Chicago
Cinestage / Todd’s Cinestage
Esquire
Fine Arts
Ford City
Lincoln Village
McClurg Court
McVickers / McVickers Cinerama
Michael Todd
Music Box
Navy Pier IMAX
Nortown
Palace / Eitel’s Palace / Bismarck
Pipers Alley
Plaza
Roosevelt
State Lake / State-Lake
United Artists
CHICAGO RIDGE
Chicago Ridge Mall
DOWNERS GROVE
Grove
Tivoli
ELGIN
Elgin Fox
EVANSTON
Evanston
EVERGREEN PARK
Evergreen
FOREST PARK
Forest Park Mall
HILLSIDE
Hillside Square 4
HINSDALE
Hinsdale
HOFFMAN ESTATES
Century
HOMEWOOD
Diana
LANSING
River Run
LOMBARD
Yorktown
MT. PROSPECT
Randhurst
NILES
Golf Mill
Niles Square
NORRIDGE
Norridge
NORTHBROOK
Edens
OAK BROOK
Cinema 150
Oakbrook
ORLAND PARK
Orland Square
SCHAUMBURG
Woodfield
SKOKIE
Old Orchard
TINLEY PARK
Bremen
WOODRIDGE
Woodgrove Festival
Long-running Chicago roadshow engagements:
THIS IS CINERAMA — Palace — 98 weeks
THE SOUND OF MUSIC — Michael Todd — 93 weeks
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS — Cinestage — 90 weeks
CINERAMA HOLIDAY — Palace — 78 weeks
BEN-HUR — Michael Todd — 74 weeks
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD — Palace — 70 weeks
SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE — Palace — 59 weeks
SOUTH PACIFIC — McVickers — 56 weeks
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF — McClurg Court — 57 weeks
OKLAHOMA! — McVickers — 47 weeks
HOW THE WEST WAS WON — McVickers — 37 weeks
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY — Cinestage — 36 weeks
Some others…
PORGY AND BESS — McVickers
SCENT OF MYSTERY — Cinestage
CAN-CAN — Palace
SPARTACUS — McVickers
THE ALAMO — Palace
EXODUS — Cinestage
KING OF KINGS — Michael Todd
EL CID — Cinestage
WEST SIDE STORY — Michael Todd
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY — Michael Todd
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA — Cinestage
55 DAYS AT PEKING — Michael Todd
CLEOPATRA — State Lake
BECKET — Cinestage
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE — Michael Todd
MY FAIR LADY — Palace
CHEYENNE AUTUMN — McVickers
This was the first theater in North Carolina to be equipped with a Dolby Stereo sound system. It was installed in June 1977 for the theater’s booking of “Star Wars.”
“Star Wars,” by the way, went on to run at JANUS 7 for a staggering 64 weeks (June 17, 1977 – Sep. 7, 1978). At the conclusion of its run, the local newspaper included a blurb in the ad indicating that “Star Wars” had been the longest-running movie in Greensboro’s history. I imagine the record still holds considering changes in distribution and moviegoing trends that prohibit movies from playing as long as they did in decades past.
Yes, Ian, I intend to cover the Cinerama presentations in London and other international locales. However, my focus right now is on markets in North America, so I cannot put a timeframe on when a London list might appear.
In the meantime, I can highlight the following bits about London:
— The first Cinerama install was at the Casino with THIS IS CINERAMA premiering on 30 September 1954 and running for 70 weeks.
— Also Cinerama-capable were the Coliseum and Royalty cinemas.
— London hosted the world premiere of the Cinerama films HOW THE WEST WAS WON, KHARTOUM and CUSTER OF THE WEST. The Casino’s run of HOW THE WEST WAS WON ran for 123 weeks, the longest for any city running that film.
— London played every Cinerama film, a feat few North American markets matched. In addition to playing everything, London played some Cinerama product that never ran in North America, such as THE GOLDEN HEAD (1964).
— London, arguably, was the most successful roadshow city in the world.
— For a list of the 70mm-era Cinerama films (1963-69), I recommend John Sharp’s 70mm in London list from in70mm.com.
I’m certain the Toronto run of “2001” was the longest, but I’ve not come across such a claim explicitly expressed in a credible publication.
The five longest-running bookings of “2001” during its original roadshow release, based on tracking the playdates through the original newspaper advertisements, were:
1) Toronto, 127 weeks (Glendale)
2) Los Angeles, 103 weeks (Warner Hollywood + Beverly Hills moveover)
3) San Francisco, 88 weeks (Golden Gate + Penthouse moveover)
4) San Jose, 88 weeks (Century 21)
5) Seattle, 77 weeks (Cinerama)
The longest international engagement I’ve been able to track was a 47-week run in London (Casino).
As for “Windjammer,” yes, Toronto had the most successful run in North America. I’m not sure if that was the world record, though. I imagine the film did well in the Scandinavian nations.
Good catch, Tim! The duration of the “2001” engagement was 127 weeks.
The Glendale’s incredibly long run was indeed the reason “Ice Station Zebra” didn’t play there. “Custer Of The West,” though, was released before “2001” and simply didn’t play many of the Cinerama markets. The Glendale was playing at the time a long run of “Far From The Madding Crowd.”
Despite the typo with the “2001” duration, I hope you enjoyed this flashback to Toronto’s Cinerama days.
According to Bill Kretzel’s Cinerama and Large-Frame Motion Picture Exhibition in Canada, the 70mm bookings at GRANVILLE were:
DIE HARD (1988)
THE BIG BLUE (1988)
THE ABYSS (1989)
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)
BACKDRAFT (1991, moveover booking)
APOCALYPSE NOW (1992 re-issue)
FAR AND AWAY (1992)
HOFFA (1992)
HOWARDS END (1993 moveover booking)
GERONIMO: AN AMERICAN LEGEND (1993)
Note that DIE HARD and THE BIG BLUE were in release at the same time, confirming that two separate screens in the complex were equipped to handle 70mm presentation.
The MISSION VALLEY CINEMA I & II is absent from the list of 70mm presentations included in this retrospective article on RETURN OF THE JEDI, suggesting JEDI was shown in Raleigh in 35mm.
Boston and Philadelphia, among others, are on my radar. My research on those markets, however, is incomplete. Patience… I prefer to post completed lists rather than a partial list or work in progress.
I’ll keep the series going as long as there remains Cinema Treasures reader support and the site owners and moderators allow it.
Part IX: Dallas
Part X: Oklahoma City
Part VIII: San Diego
Part IX: Dallas
Part X: Oklahoma City
Part IX: Dallas
Part X: Oklahoma City
Part IX: Dallas
Part X: Oklahoma City
Part IX: Dallas
Part X: Oklahoma City
Part IX: Dallas
Part X: Oklahoma City
Part IX: Dallas
Part X: Oklahoma City
This theater opened as a four-plex during the summer of 1985. I worked at this theater during the timeframes of 1988-90 and 1993-95.
A complete rundown of the Cinerama presentations in Atlanta can be found here.
Part VII: Atlanta
Part VIII: San Diego
Part VII: Atlanta
Part VIII: San Diego
Part VII: Atlanta
Part VIII: San Diego
Part VII: Atlanta
Part VIII: San Diego
Part VII: Atlanta
Part VIII: San Diego
This theater indeed hosted the premiere of “Brainstorm.” However, the premiere event took place one week after the film had already opened in much of the country.
More on the matter from the article The 25th Anniversary of ‘Brainstorm’: Remembering The Ultimate Experience: