PROVOCATIVE comments can initiate a discussion that, when positive, can stimulate and inform. I see nothing wrong with provocative comments nor the decision of others to stay anonymous by choosing nicknames or singular first names on this site. It is their right.
PROVACATIVE is a woman’s fragrance by Elizabeth Arden and therefore quite off-topic.
The 1934 Film Daily Yearbook shows a STAR theatre at 136 Third Avenue with 290 seats as well as the larger Lexington STAR location. Does anyone have any more info on this?
In spite of all the good intentions, near the end, Frank’s programming at the Biograph was delivering some of the worst grosses in the Cineplex Odeon chain. Say what you may about CO, they never walked away from a profitable venture and dwindling revival audiences were not even covering the costs of the new 35mm prints.
It is our good fortune in NY that the tiny Film Forum can meet current the demand without the melancholy burden of profit.
Then you should have written “…Your still off topic!”, otherwise you were paraphrasing and not quoting at all.
The description of this theatre fails to mention that it was built to service the Afro-Caribbean community of Coconut Grove and often ran stage shows along with the films. It operated from the mid-fifties through to the late seventies playing mostly late run double features.
The Bunche Park section of Miami-Dade dates back to the early fifties and was established for black WWII veterans and named after the then recent the Nobel Peace Prize winner. The theatre was closed by the late sixties.
Great website, Harvey. I also saved Miami movie ad clippings as a kid and you brought back some great memories. I later worked for an agency that placed many exploitation ads which were often censored by the Miami Herald.
If you adjust the 1965 dollar for 1978 inflation twice as many Americans saw THE SOUND OF MUSIC movie than the GREASE movie. However, THE SOUND OF MUSIC was a failure in most foreign countries and grossed less than 30% of the domestic take with markets such as Germany and Austria taking out the musical numbers altogether to try to break even. GREASE did even better in foreign market than in the US and ended up with almost the same world wide viewers in total.
The first Broadway musical production of GREASE ran for seven years from 1972. Unlike THE SOUND OF MUSIC which was a financial failure even after three years, GREASE has been performed somewhere non-stop since.
I guess if you combine the stage production with the movie GREASE has sold more tickets than any other musical in history including MARY POPPINS and SNOW WHITE.
I have seen GREASE more often than any other movie and I never get tired of it. It is not my favorite film but it is certainly the most tolerable for repeat viewings.
They were “soft core” sex films, the porn of the time. It opened with such films and was never mainstream. The gay screen started when they twinned it in the seventies.
Whatever one thinks of Cineplex and Garth to accuse him of spending undue expense in preserving, booking and keeping single screens open in major cities is hardly a crime profile on this site.
The reason all seats are never sold is that seats break, ticket holders show up late and people with hearing devices and sight impairments move around after the show starts to adjust for their specific needs.
Cineplex Odeon cared for theatres and kept many sites in good shape and open way past their profitable stage. They used their clout to book first runs films at sites that were no longer viable due to their location between zones. The Plaza was such a location.
Having stated that, they also booked all theatres the same with no care taken to audience profiles. As a result the Plaza often played horror and children’s films and wide release specialty titles such as DRIVING MISS DAISY might end up at the Kenmore in Brooklyn.
The New York 20 hour Columbia film marathon consisted of:
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
ON THE WATERFRONT
DR. STRANGELOVE
HIS GIRL FRIDAY
FUNNY GIRL
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
THE PROFESSIONALS
Prizes included movie posters, stills, poster books, soundtrack albums and a free showing of THE ODESSA FILE.
Still no comment from the English professor on CiNdi’s stream of consciousness post. Hmm.
He must be away in his CHALET.
PROVOCATIVE comments can initiate a discussion that, when positive, can stimulate and inform. I see nothing wrong with provocative comments nor the decision of others to stay anonymous by choosing nicknames or singular first names on this site. It is their right.
PROVACATIVE is a woman’s fragrance by Elizabeth Arden and therefore quite off-topic.
The 1934 Film Daily Yearbook shows a STAR theatre at 136 Third Avenue with 290 seats as well as the larger Lexington STAR location. Does anyone have any more info on this?
Ok, I’ll be the spoiler.
In spite of all the good intentions, near the end, Frank’s programming at the Biograph was delivering some of the worst grosses in the Cineplex Odeon chain. Say what you may about CO, they never walked away from a profitable venture and dwindling revival audiences were not even covering the costs of the new 35mm prints.
It is our good fortune in NY that the tiny Film Forum can meet current the demand without the melancholy burden of profit.
Then you should have written “…Your still off topic!”, otherwise you were paraphrasing and not quoting at all.
The description of this theatre fails to mention that it was built to service the Afro-Caribbean community of Coconut Grove and often ran stage shows along with the films. It operated from the mid-fifties through to the late seventies playing mostly late run double features.
The delay helped the Angelika establish itself as the top arthouse in NYC.
This first shows up in the NYT movie section as the 34th Street in 1923.
The Bunche Park section of Miami-Dade dates back to the early fifties and was established for black WWII veterans and named after the then recent the Nobel Peace Prize winner. The theatre was closed by the late sixties.
I find the use of the singular “LOEW” in the programs above interesting. I have not seen that elsewhere.
Great website, Harvey. I also saved Miami movie ad clippings as a kid and you brought back some great memories. I later worked for an agency that placed many exploitation ads which were often censored by the Miami Herald.
If you adjust the 1965 dollar for 1978 inflation twice as many Americans saw THE SOUND OF MUSIC movie than the GREASE movie. However, THE SOUND OF MUSIC was a failure in most foreign countries and grossed less than 30% of the domestic take with markets such as Germany and Austria taking out the musical numbers altogether to try to break even. GREASE did even better in foreign market than in the US and ended up with almost the same world wide viewers in total.
The first Broadway musical production of GREASE ran for seven years from 1972. Unlike THE SOUND OF MUSIC which was a financial failure even after three years, GREASE has been performed somewhere non-stop since.
On video and DVD, GREASE wins every time.
The stage version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC was not a big hit.
I guess if you combine the stage production with the movie GREASE has sold more tickets than any other musical in history including MARY POPPINS and SNOW WHITE.
Palace closings and twinning started way before 1979. GREASE played in shoe-box multiplex theatres all over the US.
I have seen GREASE more often than any other movie and I never get tired of it. It is not my favorite film but it is certainly the most tolerable for repeat viewings.
They were “soft core” sex films, the porn of the time. It opened with such films and was never mainstream. The gay screen started when they twinned it in the seventies.
Whatever one thinks of Cineplex and Garth to accuse him of spending undue expense in preserving, booking and keeping single screens open in major cities is hardly a crime profile on this site.
The reason all seats are never sold is that seats break, ticket holders show up late and people with hearing devices and sight impairments move around after the show starts to adjust for their specific needs.
BEAT THE DEVIL
There was a Turnpike Drive-In at 127th Street.
It is now the New World Stages, Ed.
Cineplex Odeon cared for theatres and kept many sites in good shape and open way past their profitable stage. They used their clout to book first runs films at sites that were no longer viable due to their location between zones. The Plaza was such a location.
Having stated that, they also booked all theatres the same with no care taken to audience profiles. As a result the Plaza often played horror and children’s films and wide release specialty titles such as DRIVING MISS DAISY might end up at the Kenmore in Brooklyn.
The NY one started at 12:01am Saturday night/Sunday morning, October 12/13.
The New York 20 hour Columbia film marathon consisted of:
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
ON THE WATERFRONT
DR. STRANGELOVE
HIS GIRL FRIDAY
FUNNY GIRL
THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
THE PROFESSIONALS
Prizes included movie posters, stills, poster books, soundtrack albums and a free showing of THE ODESSA FILE.
The intro should be corrected to reflect that Walter Reade, not Cineplex Odeon, tripled this theatre.