“War and Peace,” which opened at the Capitol on August 22nd, 1956, following an invitational VIP screening the previous evening. It was treated as a “normal” release, with no roadshow or reserved seats, and at the Capitol’s regular price scale of $1 to $2.50 tops (depending on time of day). Though running time was 3 hours and 26 minutes, “War and Peace” was shown at the Capitol without an intermission to enable four performances per day.
One rarely sees the Music Hall in this configuration, with the waterfall curtain at its highest position, and the orchestra bandwagon at stage level, and both organ consoles exposed. And the cove lighting like this. Thanks for posting…very interesting.
I meant to say in my post above “at the bottom of the page. ” For the record: CT offers no option to correct or delete mistakes and to start again after posting photos. This is so frustrating, as no one is perfect.
In anyone is interested, I have posted ads for all nine of the program changes at RCMH in1964. This was first year of the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65 (hard to believe it was 50 years ago) from April into October. You can find the ads in the RCMH photos section.
Among the Broadway shows that were rehearsed in the Japanese Gardens space above the Rivera was “Prettybelle,” starring Angela Lansbury, directed by Gower Champion and with a score by Jule Styne. The show was a disaster and it closed in Boston.
When I was 12, I attended the Storm King School that was in walking distance from this little theater. I remember seeing Judy Garland’s A Star is Born here in January, 1955. What I don’t remember if I saw the edited version.
I wonder if, perhaps, VistaVision was the causing the grosses to soar? (just kidding). But North by Northwest and High Society were the only two MGM movies to be filmed in the process and Paramount’s White Christmas, the first movie to be shot in VV, did very good business when it opened
at the Music Hall.
This is one of my favorite places to see movies. Perfect sight lines, comfortable seating and very good projection. They have excellent curved screens too and the auditoriums are not too small either. I love this movie complex!
To the best of my knowledge,a new RKO 23rd Street Theater, specifically designed as a movie house, opened in 1962 with a showing of Orson Welles’s THE TRAIL. The theater was located on 23rd, between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhatttan’s Chelsea district. I believe the first film to be shown was Orson Welles’s THE TRIAL and there was an invited midnight screening for all the working actors on Broadway at the time, yours truely among them, and during that screening, someone had accidently screwed up order of the reels, hense the picture was not seen with its scenes in the proper order. The sad part of this story is that nobody seemed to notice! The good part was that neither Welles nor Anthony Perkins, the star of the movie, were in attenance. The theater functioned as a second run movie house for many years until it was converted into an off-broadway playhouse and housed a local repertory company, if my memory serves me correctly.
Regarding my post above: Warren is absolutely correct…The Ziegfeld should not be called “Loews
Ziegfeld” on this website. Not in the headline. The theater started as the Ziegfeld and ended its life as the Ziegfeld, hence it should be referred to as that. Period. Anything else is an “insult” and misinformation, to add “insult to injury.”
It may be an “insult” to call it “Loew’s Ziegfeld,” but that’s the way it was when Loew’s leased the theater in the 1930s. They even erected a “Loew’s” style marquee and I have the photos to prove it. When Loew’s gave up the lease, the “Loew’s” marquee was dismanted and the name of the theater became “The Ziegfeld” once again. That is, until NBC leased the theater and it was known as the NBC Ziegfeld for a few years.
Edd:
Marty Hart, curator of the Wide Screen Museum website, is probably the most knowledgable man in the world about the early wide-screen processes, and if he says “Carousel” and “The King and I” were never released in the 55mm format, he knows of what he speaks. (He also knows punctuation—“afraid” as used in the context of your post should not be capitalized.
(The original) ZIEGFELD THEATRE on 54th & Sixth Avenue.
Opened: Feb. 2, 1927 with Florenz Ziegfeld’s production of “Rio Rita.” Seating: 1628.
This was not a typical Broadway playhouse. Situated east and uptown of the concentration of most of the Broadway playhouses, the Ziegfeld was deco, inside and out. Joseph Urban, Ziegfeld’s favorite designer, built it in conjunction with Thomas Lamb, the architect who specialized in movie palaces.
After Ziegfeld’s death, the theater became LOEW’S ZIEGFELD in 1933. It was a second run movie house. The first film to be screened was “Rasputan and the Empress.” When Loew’s gave up it’s lease, a final celebratory stage show featured Jimmy Durante, the Frank & Milt Britton Band and Senator Huey Long. In 1944, Billy Rose bought the theater and returned it to legit with Cole Porter’s “Seven Lively Arts.” “Gentleman Prefer Blondes” and “Kismet” were among the hits to open at the theater when it was owned by Rose. Refitted by NBC in 1955 for color television, Perry Como’s Saturday night variety program originated here among several other programs. Converted back to legit in 1963 for “An Evening With Maurice Chevalier,” this show was followed by Bert Lahr in the musical “Foxy” and then a special appearance by Jack Benny, and then personal appearence by Danny Kaye were mong the last attractions before the flop musical, “Anya,” directed by George Abbott, closed the theater in 1965. A new Ziegfeld, which was only a movie theater, was built a few hundred feet west on 54th Street, and it is still showing movies today.
Witty photo. I love it. I loved the movie too.
“War and Peace,” which opened at the Capitol on August 22nd, 1956, following an invitational VIP screening the previous evening. It was treated as a “normal” release, with no roadshow or reserved seats, and at the Capitol’s regular price scale of $1 to $2.50 tops (depending on time of day). Though running time was 3 hours and 26 minutes, “War and Peace” was shown at the Capitol without an intermission to enable four performances per day.
One rarely sees the Music Hall in this configuration, with the waterfall curtain at its highest position, and the orchestra bandwagon at stage level, and both organ consoles exposed. And the cove lighting like this. Thanks for posting…very interesting.
I meant to say in my post above “at the bottom of the page. ” For the record: CT offers no option to correct or delete mistakes and to start again after posting photos. This is so frustrating, as no one is perfect.
In anyone is interested, I have posted ads for all nine of the program changes at RCMH in1964. This was first year of the New York World’s Fair of 1964-65 (hard to believe it was 50 years ago) from April into October. You can find the ads in the RCMH photos section.
“Henry Orient” opened as part of the Easter Holiday Show on March 19th, 1964.
“The Pink Panther” opened on April 23rd, 1964.
“The Chalk Garden” opened on May 21st, 1964.
“The Unsinkable Molly Brown” opened at the Radio City Music Hall on July 16th, 1964.
“Mary Poppins” opened on September 24th, 1964
“Send Me No Flowers” opened on November 12th, 1964 as the Thanksgiving holiday attraction.
Among the Broadway shows that were rehearsed in the Japanese Gardens space above the Rivera was “Prettybelle,” starring Angela Lansbury, directed by Gower Champion and with a score by Jule Styne. The show was a disaster and it closed in Boston.
When I was 12, I attended the Storm King School that was in walking distance from this little theater. I remember seeing Judy Garland’s A Star is Born here in January, 1955. What I don’t remember if I saw the edited version.
I wonder if, perhaps, VistaVision was the causing the grosses to soar? (just kidding). But North by Northwest and High Society were the only two MGM movies to be filmed in the process and Paramount’s White Christmas, the first movie to be shot in VV, did very good business when it opened at the Music Hall.
This is one of my favorite places to see movies. Perfect sight lines, comfortable seating and very good projection. They have excellent curved screens too and the auditoriums are not too small either. I love this movie complex!
To the best of my knowledge,a new RKO 23rd Street Theater, specifically designed as a movie house, opened in 1962 with a showing of Orson Welles’s THE TRAIL. The theater was located on 23rd, between 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhatttan’s Chelsea district. I believe the first film to be shown was Orson Welles’s THE TRIAL and there was an invited midnight screening for all the working actors on Broadway at the time, yours truely among them, and during that screening, someone had accidently screwed up order of the reels, hense the picture was not seen with its scenes in the proper order. The sad part of this story is that nobody seemed to notice! The good part was that neither Welles nor Anthony Perkins, the star of the movie, were in attenance. The theater functioned as a second run movie house for many years until it was converted into an off-broadway playhouse and housed a local repertory company, if my memory serves me correctly.
Regarding my post above: Warren is absolutely correct…The Ziegfeld should not be called “Loews
Ziegfeld” on this website. Not in the headline. The theater started as the Ziegfeld and ended its life as the Ziegfeld, hence it should be referred to as that. Period. Anything else is an “insult” and misinformation, to add “insult to injury.”
It may be an “insult” to call it “Loew’s Ziegfeld,” but that’s the way it was when Loew’s leased the theater in the 1930s. They even erected a “Loew’s” style marquee and I have the photos to prove it. When Loew’s gave up the lease, the “Loew’s” marquee was dismanted and the name of the theater became “The Ziegfeld” once again. That is, until NBC leased the theater and it was known as the NBC Ziegfeld for a few years.
Edd:
Marty Hart, curator of the Wide Screen Museum website, is probably the most knowledgable man in the world about the early wide-screen processes, and if he says “Carousel” and “The King and I” were never released in the 55mm format, he knows of what he speaks. (He also knows punctuation—“afraid” as used in the context of your post should not be capitalized.
After the Roxy was razed in 1960, some of it’s very plush and comfortable seats were moved to this theater.
(The original) ZIEGFELD THEATRE on 54th & Sixth Avenue.
Opened: Feb. 2, 1927 with Florenz Ziegfeld’s production of “Rio Rita.” Seating: 1628.
This was not a typical Broadway playhouse. Situated east and uptown of the concentration of most of the Broadway playhouses, the Ziegfeld was deco, inside and out. Joseph Urban, Ziegfeld’s favorite designer, built it in conjunction with Thomas Lamb, the architect who specialized in movie palaces.
After Ziegfeld’s death, the theater became LOEW’S ZIEGFELD in 1933. It was a second run movie house. The first film to be screened was “Rasputan and the Empress.” When Loew’s gave up it’s lease, a final celebratory stage show featured Jimmy Durante, the Frank & Milt Britton Band and Senator Huey Long. In 1944, Billy Rose bought the theater and returned it to legit with Cole Porter’s “Seven Lively Arts.” “Gentleman Prefer Blondes” and “Kismet” were among the hits to open at the theater when it was owned by Rose. Refitted by NBC in 1955 for color television, Perry Como’s Saturday night variety program originated here among several other programs. Converted back to legit in 1963 for “An Evening With Maurice Chevalier,” this show was followed by Bert Lahr in the musical “Foxy” and then a special appearance by Jack Benny, and then personal appearence by Danny Kaye were mong the last attractions before the flop musical, “Anya,” directed by George Abbott, closed the theater in 1965. A new Ziegfeld, which was only a movie theater, was built a few hundred feet west on 54th Street, and it is still showing movies today.