Remembering Cinerama (Part 40: Calgary)

posted by Coate on September 9, 2009 at 10:43 am

REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part 40: Calgary

The following is Part Forty in a series of retrospectives on Cinerama, the legendary motion picture process that kicked off the widescreen revolution. The series focuses on providing a market-by-market historical record of when and where Cinerama and its multi-panel clones were exhibited. The easy-to-reference articles serve to provide nostalgia to those who experienced the Cinerama presentations when they were new and to highlight the movie palaces in which the memorable screenings took place.

Part 1: New York City
Part 2: Chicago
Part 3: San Francisco
Part 4: Houston
Part 5: Washington, DC
Part 6: Los Angeles
Part 7: Atlanta
Part 8: San Diego
Part 9: Dallas
Part 10: Oklahoma City
Part 11: Syracuse
Part 12: Toronto
Part 13: Columbus
Part 14: Montreal
Part 15: Northern New Jersey
Part 16: Charlotte
Part 17: Vancouver
Part 18: Salt Lake City
Part 19: Boston
Part 20: Philadelphia
Part 21: Fresno
Part 22: Detroit
Part 23: Minneapolis
Part 24: Albuquerque
Part 25: El Paso
Part 26: Des Moines
Part 27: Miami
Part 28: Orange County
Part 29: Pittsburgh
Part 30: Baltimore
Part 31: Long Island
Part 32: Kansas City
Part 33: Milwaukee
Part 34: Nanuet/Rockland County
Part 35: Denver
Part 36: Worcester
Part 37: Toledo
Part 38: St. Louis
Part 39: Tampa

And now…Part 40: Cinerama Presentations in Calgary, Alberta!

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Theater: North Hill
Premiere Date: June 26, 1968
Engagement Duration: 14 weeks
Projection Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Promotional Hype: “At Last! CINERAMA Comes to Calgary” “Western Canada Exclusive Engagement” “An astounding entertainment experience!” “See it at the only CINERAMA theatre in Alberta”

ICE STATION ZEBRA
Theater: North Hill
Premiere: December 18, 1968
Duration: 8 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “ICE STATION ZEBRA…remember the name, your life may depend on it!”

KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA
Theater: North Hill
Premiere: August 6, 1969
Duration: 6 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The New CINERAMA hurls you into the incredible day that shook the earth to its core!”

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (Return Engagement)
Theater: North Hill
Premiere: February 11, 1970
Duration: 3 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The first CINERAMA showings at regular prices”

MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY
Theater: North Hill
Premiere: March 11, 1970
Duration: 1 week
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “You sail away and live all the excitement your mind ever imagined in…CINERAMA”

GRAND PRIX
Theater: North Hill
Premiere: March 18, 1970
Duration: 1 week
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The first and only Calgary showing in CINERAMA”

THIS IS CINERAMA (Re-Issue)
Theater: North Hill
Premiere: August 3, 1973
Duration: 1 week
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “THIS IS CINERAMA Is Back To Entertain A Whole New Generation”

NOT SHOWN IN CINERAMA IN THE CALGARY MARKET:
THIS IS CINERAMA original 3-strip version
CINERAMA HOLIDAY
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
SEARCH FOR PARADISE
WINDJAMMER
SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE
HOLIDAY IN SPAIN
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM (35mm general release)
HOW THE WEST WAS WON (35mm general release)
THE BEST OF CINERAMA
IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD (35mm general release)
CIRCUS WORLD (35mm general release)
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (35mm general release)
THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL (35mm general release)
BATTLE OF THE BULGE (35mm general release)
KHARTOUM (35mm general release)
RUSSIAN ADVENTURE
CUSTER OF THE WEST (35mm general release)

Compiled by Bill Kretzel & Michael Coate

Reference: The Calgary Herald

Theaters in this post

Comments (2)

Mark_L
Mark_L on September 13, 2009 at 6:24 pm

Calgary sets 3 records with this listing….for the shortest runs. The runs of MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY, GRAND PRIX and the 70mm version of THIS IS CINERAMA had 1 week runs…no one can beat that, they can only tie.

If you were a CINERAMA fan in Calgary, you sure needed to move fast in order not to miss things. I guess Mike is getting down to some of the smaller locations now.

Congratulations, Mike, on bringing us 40 CINERAMA cities! Many of us out here appreciate it very much.

Coate
Coate on September 14, 2009 at 10:56 am

Thank you.

While most of the major markets have been accounted for, there still are a few biggies remaining, like Seattle and Cleveland.

I just realized with the Calgary posting that the series started one year ago to the week. Which means that there has been a new entry in the series posted on average every week and a half. Not bad when you consider I originally planned only a few postings as a test and most of the info has NEVER BEFORE BEEN PUBLISHED ANYWHERE.

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