Have any Chinese or Indian movie chains or producers ever considered turning the Keith’s into a cultural center for the massive Asian communities of the Flushing area?
I was in the third row of RCMH for the first show of Bambi August 13, 1942. I was six, and it was the first time at the Hall. What an impression! I’m still in awe of the building and the film.
I was there opening night. A raucous crowd on the sidewalk was hooting and holllering at Dorothy Kilgallen as she entered the theater in front of us. Those Broadway celebrity hounds were at their best that night.
Was the stage show with The Greatest Show on Earth the shortest in RCMH history and the feature the longest shown? The stage presentation was barely 20 minutes. The usual newsreel was dispensed with. In fact, I recall the feature began over a large oval screen (a circus ring?) on stage right so that there was a seamless integration of stage show and film. The Paramount logo filled the oval and then I believe the credits were projected on the main screen which was lowered over the show finale.
Yes. The roof was entirely removed, open to the air for a few weeks in the spring. The entire roof is now horizontal, rather than the original stepped shape of the 1942 construction. Perhaps Michael Perlman’s entry (flickr fotoset of Dec 25) can display both. I’ll take a look. The interior shots from the rear of the balcony displayed on previous entries in this blog can give you an idea of the stepped shape.
The entire building was enlarged. The sloping roof was removed and extended to the end of the structure. The original balcony provided the stadium seating for the two largest theaters. The expansion of the theater in front of the original balcony allows three smaller theaters on the balcony level.
Perhaps the Atlas Mall restaurant ad is part of a generic video produced for both Regal/UA theaters. Kudos to Michael Perlman for a very effective link of comprehensive materials.
I saw “Great Is My Country” in Paris in 1960. The poor Soviet color made this production inferior to the Cinerama productions of the US. “Windjammer” was sensational, especially because it was in the giant Roxy, and because of its original score.
Check out the New York Times metro section for 9/9/08 for a comprehensive story on the current renovation project and some excellent photos of the process.
Yesterday, 9/3/08, I attempted to see “Dark Night” at a 3:45 PM showing. For at least a half-hour after the announced starting time, digital “film facts” and AMC audio source were repeated and there was no film. No management was in sight, the concession folks were disinterested, and I went down the six escalators to the box office for a refund. They were aware of the problem but unconcerned. Without projectionists or apparent management, multi-million dollar complexes like this are bound to become extinct very soon, even on the world’s greatest city’s major entertainment street. Farewell, AMC and Loew’s.
There was an MGM/Hal Roach “Our Gang” short, possibly from the early 40’s, called “Mighty Lak A Goat” in which the Little Rascals go to the movies after having being splashed with mud and horse manure. The stench is so great that the actors on the screen are nauseated and leave the film they’re in!
The Midway was air-conditioned from the start. I recall the “air-conditioned by Carrier” banners were hung from the marquee all summer during the war years.
Friday evening, May 23, 2008, a support column in the basement gave way during a sold-out appearance by Barbara Walters, promoting her book “Audition.” 900 people were evacuated after the balcony dropped 4 to 5 inches. The building has undergoing renovations.
Thank you, Lost Memory, for the great research. In myflorida.com there’s reference to Mary Hayes Davis as owner of a group of south Florida theaters, and this building is one of the few “moderne” structures in the area.
You’re referring to the RKO Keith’s Flushing. There’s a link to that theater in the main database. You’ll be astonished at the size and scope of the entries, as well as the extraordinary history of this very important building and the forces that have prevented its rehabilitation.
Three nights in advance of the NY premiere, I attended the first press screening of 2001 at the Capitol at its full-length. I believe it clocked in at 161 minutes. The place was packed, but after intermission several hundred people were missing. During the closing credits, there were just two of us left, the other being Gene Shalit who was “conducting” “The Blue Danube”. I turned around at the end and waved to Kubrick in the booth and gave him a thumbs up. In the lobby, I joined a heated conversation with Judith Crist, Bruce Bahrenberg and other critics, who were loudly putting the picture down. I told them about “The Sentinel,” the landmark Clarke short story, and what the possible meaning of the picture was. They laughed me out of the lobby! The director cut the film, supposedly on the print, over the next few days, and the shortened version was the one which opened at the premiere. I’m still a great fan of 2001 with its enormous impact on future motion pictures, and the Capitol Cinerama as it was on that night with that gigantic curved screen, even in sharp focus from my third row seat!
In Bruce1’s post on December 7, he says the original C of O seating was 3,692, reduced to 3,192 in the sixties. Is it likely that the 3,692 figure was a typo or misreading from long ago, and that the theater always had 3,192 seats?
“Christmas” movies weren’t necessarily released at that time of year during the 30’s and 40’s. “Holiday Inn,” which introduced the song “White Christmas” was a summer attraction at the Paramount, and “Miracle on 34th Street” opened at the Roxy in July.
Have any Chinese or Indian movie chains or producers ever considered turning the Keith’s into a cultural center for the massive Asian communities of the Flushing area?
Thanks, Tinseltoes, for unearthing this material. Michael Pearlman may want to add this to the Midway site.
I sat in the third row for the first show of Bambi opening morning. Not a bad way for a 6-year-old to be introduced to the Music Hall!
Cine Payret is mentioned in Oscar Hijuelos' new novel “Beautiful Maria of My Soul,” along with a few other theaters in Havana and other parts of Cuba.
I was in the third row of RCMH for the first show of Bambi August 13, 1942. I was six, and it was the first time at the Hall. What an impression! I’m still in awe of the building and the film.
I was there opening night. A raucous crowd on the sidewalk was hooting and holllering at Dorothy Kilgallen as she entered the theater in front of us. Those Broadway celebrity hounds were at their best that night.
Was the stage show with The Greatest Show on Earth the shortest in RCMH history and the feature the longest shown? The stage presentation was barely 20 minutes. The usual newsreel was dispensed with. In fact, I recall the feature began over a large oval screen (a circus ring?) on stage right so that there was a seamless integration of stage show and film. The Paramount logo filled the oval and then I believe the credits were projected on the main screen which was lowered over the show finale.
See today’s (January 11) New York Post site for an article about the Loew’s Canal as a future performing arts center in Chinatown.
Yes. The roof was entirely removed, open to the air for a few weeks in the spring. The entire roof is now horizontal, rather than the original stepped shape of the 1942 construction. Perhaps Michael Perlman’s entry (flickr fotoset of Dec 25) can display both. I’ll take a look. The interior shots from the rear of the balcony displayed on previous entries in this blog can give you an idea of the stepped shape.
The entire building was enlarged. The sloping roof was removed and extended to the end of the structure. The original balcony provided the stadium seating for the two largest theaters. The expansion of the theater in front of the original balcony allows three smaller theaters on the balcony level.
Perhaps the Atlas Mall restaurant ad is part of a generic video produced for both Regal/UA theaters. Kudos to Michael Perlman for a very effective link of comprehensive materials.
I saw “Great Is My Country” in Paris in 1960. The poor Soviet color made this production inferior to the Cinerama productions of the US. “Windjammer” was sensational, especially because it was in the giant Roxy, and because of its original score.
Check out the New York Times metro section for 9/9/08 for a comprehensive story on the current renovation project and some excellent photos of the process.
Yesterday, 9/3/08, I attempted to see “Dark Night” at a 3:45 PM showing. For at least a half-hour after the announced starting time, digital “film facts” and AMC audio source were repeated and there was no film. No management was in sight, the concession folks were disinterested, and I went down the six escalators to the box office for a refund. They were aware of the problem but unconcerned. Without projectionists or apparent management, multi-million dollar complexes like this are bound to become extinct very soon, even on the world’s greatest city’s major entertainment street. Farewell, AMC and Loew’s.
The original flourescent colors of the Midway lettering, for the record, were pink and baby blue.
There was an MGM/Hal Roach “Our Gang” short, possibly from the early 40’s, called “Mighty Lak A Goat” in which the Little Rascals go to the movies after having being splashed with mud and horse manure. The stench is so great that the actors on the screen are nauseated and leave the film they’re in!
The Midway was air-conditioned from the start. I recall the “air-conditioned by Carrier” banners were hung from the marquee all summer during the war years.
Friday evening, May 23, 2008, a support column in the basement gave way during a sold-out appearance by Barbara Walters, promoting her book “Audition.” 900 people were evacuated after the balcony dropped 4 to 5 inches. The building has undergoing renovations.
Thank you, Lost Memory, for the great research. In myflorida.com there’s reference to Mary Hayes Davis as owner of a group of south Florida theaters, and this building is one of the few “moderne” structures in the area.
You’re referring to the RKO Keith’s Flushing. There’s a link to that theater in the main database. You’ll be astonished at the size and scope of the entries, as well as the extraordinary history of this very important building and the forces that have prevented its rehabilitation.
No listings in the newspapers for this theater the first week in April, not in the movie clocks or in advertisements.
Three nights in advance of the NY premiere, I attended the first press screening of 2001 at the Capitol at its full-length. I believe it clocked in at 161 minutes. The place was packed, but after intermission several hundred people were missing. During the closing credits, there were just two of us left, the other being Gene Shalit who was “conducting” “The Blue Danube”. I turned around at the end and waved to Kubrick in the booth and gave him a thumbs up. In the lobby, I joined a heated conversation with Judith Crist, Bruce Bahrenberg and other critics, who were loudly putting the picture down. I told them about “The Sentinel,” the landmark Clarke short story, and what the possible meaning of the picture was. They laughed me out of the lobby! The director cut the film, supposedly on the print, over the next few days, and the shortened version was the one which opened at the premiere. I’m still a great fan of 2001 with its enormous impact on future motion pictures, and the Capitol Cinerama as it was on that night with that gigantic curved screen, even in sharp focus from my third row seat!
The New York Times Escape section, February 15, 2008, in an article about Berkley Springs, has a photo of the Star Theater.
In Bruce1’s post on December 7, he says the original C of O seating was 3,692, reduced to 3,192 in the sixties. Is it likely that the 3,692 figure was a typo or misreading from long ago, and that the theater always had 3,192 seats?
“Christmas” movies weren’t necessarily released at that time of year during the 30’s and 40’s. “Holiday Inn,” which introduced the song “White Christmas” was a summer attraction at the Paramount, and “Miracle on 34th Street” opened at the Roxy in July.