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Randolph Theatre 1116 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA - 3D Presentation 1954
![Randolph Theatre 1116 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA - 3D Presentation 1954](https://photos.cinematreasures.org/production/photos/451792/1719039625/large.jpg?1719039625)
3D Presentation - Seventy years ago on May 18, 1954, Warner Brothers seventh 3-D feature DIAL M FOR MURDER premiered at the 2,200 seat Randolph Theatre in Philadelphia, PA.
The popular myth is that DIAL M was not originally announced for 3-D and the process was forced on a reluctant director at the eleventh hour. That is not true. The first announcement hit the trades on April 5, 1953, four months before the first day of filming. With the headline “Hitchcock to film WB’s ’M' in 3-D,” Jack Warner expressed his confidence in the future of 3-D movies. During pre-production, Hitchcock gave his thoughts on working in 3-D to Prevue magazine.
The Randolph Theatre was one of the few theaters in the Northeast with four projectors in the booth so they were able to run a 3-D film without an intermission. After one preview performance on Tuesday and four showings on the 19th, the manager frantically contacted the studio and said that people were staying away in droves. He asked for permission to drop 3-D and show it flat - Notes by 3-D Film Archive, LLC
Contributed by Greg Lynch -
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