I’m not sure about that. This latest version that I saw at the Ziegfeld was incredible. I seem to recall thinking back in ‘77 that the film dragged a bit in the mid section. I think Spielberg succeeded in tightening up the film with his edits. Again, I only saw the original once and then the “Special Edition” once in 1980 (the ending of which left me non-plussed).
As I stated earlier, I think the place might have been recently repainted for the premier of “Walk the Line” this past November. The place is certainly cleaner and brighter than I can recall from concerts I attended a couple of years ago. I was actually there again last night for the Allman Brothers. I couldn’t say how closely the color scheme adheres to the original, but it seems pretty authentic to me. Lots of earth tones plus the red hues of the carpet and tent effect in the auditorium and green in the rear ceiling over the upper balcony. Of course, to be off by even just a shade or two can make a significant difference in ambience.
Hal T… The series at the Ziegfeld is actually quite an exciting and enjoyable affair. There is still nothing like seeing a great movie on a nice sized screen in a big theater like the Ziegfeld. There are many aspects of the presentation that have come under the scrutiny of our collective purist’s eye, but I think most of us will agree that Clearview has been very responsive to these criticisms and suggestions. There are still some kinks to be worked out (the whole intermission business and getting hold of good 70mm prints) but on the whole, I think the reaction here on this board has been overwhelmingly positive.
If you look carefully in both photos, just above where the marquee meets the building facade, you will see one of the cables that holds up the marquee anchored to the masonry. I would say that – as with so many other theaters – the 1950’s or 1960’s era boxy marquee in the 1997 photo was built out over the original seen in the 1930 shot. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the original frame is still there supporting the current marquee.
Movieguy718… My lady and I paid $30 for a pair of tickets to the 1pm “2001” as well as the 4:30 “Close Encounters” on Sunday and, since I was settling in for a day of classic movie-going, we brought with us a sandwich from our local deli to split for lunch between shows. I also purchased a medium popcorn, a bag of M&M’s and 2 large soft drinks from the Ziegfeld’s candy counter. I felt no shame. What I felt was well fed and fiscally responsible!
Having said that, I also felt immensely entertained by these two terrific movies! “2001” is absolutely a magnificent work of art unlike any other film and stands as my all time favorite motion picture. My lady fair – having never seen the film before and not being particularly fond of anything avant-garde, let alone sci-fi – did not share my enthusiasm for the movie. In fact, she hated it. To each their own, but happily, she did very much enjoy “Close Encounters” (another film she had never before seen).
As for presentation, they played the usual interminable ads (no trailers) along with a short commercial presentation called “the clearview” or something that I suspect runs before every feature along the chain. That started about 15 minutes before each show time, so that the movies themselves started at the advertised times. The curtain was closed completely for the “2001” overture, but the house lights seemed to remain at full strength. As others have commented about previous screenings, the film played straight through the Intermission card into the entr'acte music in complete darkness and with the curtains fully open. The print for “2001” was very scratchy with signs of serious wear at the real changes and at least two instances of dropped frames, but the sound was strong and clear and in full surround. “Close Encounters” was a positively perfect print; as if it were struck just for this occasion. Impeccable picture quality and sound presentation (and no pesky overtures or intermissions to muck about with the projectionist).
The theater was not as filled as it was for either “West Side Story” or “Ben-Hur” – the other classics I’ve taken in during the series. I’d say the theater was ¼ to 1/3 full at most, but the crowd was extremely enthusiastic and respectfully quiet throughout both films. Oh, and someone had mentioned above that the weekday showings did not feature commercials and I forgot to respond that the Tuesday night “West Side Story” did include a number of ads prior to the screening. Perhaps they dropped showing them during the week at a later date?
Gary… do you have a copy of your comments that you can post here on CT for those of us who were unable to make it down? Finally, the sign on the door regarding “Alien” states that the screenings were cancelled due to a “damaged” print. Next stop, Arabia!
Too bad about “Alien” – and so much for my thoughts of making it a triple feature on Sunday – but better they scrap the showing than present a poor print. Any details on this print problem? Was it a matter of someone actually checking the print and rejecting it for quality or something else?
And I’m dying to hear word of the print quality and presentation of “2001” and “CE3K” tonight or tomorrow. In any event, once again let me wish you good luck tonight Gary. Or should I say, ‘break a leg’?
I have a freind whose cousin was involved in a movie that was accepted for the Long Island Film Festival that played here last year. I was in attendance and all of the films were projected from digital media (like DVD, etc). I didn’t notice an overhead unit in front of the screen, so I assume there was a video projector in the booth. The movies themselves (one feature and several shorts) appeared to have been shot on 35mm, but there was some tell tale “letterboxing” and at one or two points a blue screen with a digital counter in the corner was projected for a few seconds before and after some of the films.
Anyway, I didn’t get the feeling that this was a very old theater at all. The auditorium is a long and narrow rectangle featuring a two aisle configuration, dividing the seating into a central main section and two smaller side sections. There is no decor to speak of, just plain, flat, unadorned walls and ceiling. The lobby space is similarly plain with a low ceiling and small candy counter to one side. I got the feeling there might have been another auditorium running parallel to the one I was in, but I might be mistaken – I was too preoccupied with congratulatory conversations to make much note of the theater’s layout.
A freind told me that this theater recently had a policy (and may still) of playing older films during off-hourse – like matinees. Can anyone confirm that?
Stan… I have to believe that Clearview and the staff at the Ziegfeld want to do better than that and have a keen interest in providing a good moviegoing experience for its patrons. They seem to have particular interest in monitoring this board and taking into consideration our suggestions and criticisms – because I think they understand that we (and others like us) are the target audience for this series and that our word of mouth is the most powerful advertising tool they have for the program.
We can be happy to have these films screened, but I think we should still keep our voices loud and the message clear that we would really like to see these movies presented as close to as originally intended as possible – meaning 70mm wherever possible and with complete overture/entr'acte and full intermission break (including appropriate curtain and house light cues). I pose it as a challenge to bring back a level of showmanship to an industry that has been sorely lacking in professionalism for far too long.
Gary… Sorry I won’t be able to make your introduction to “Close Encounters” on Friday night due to conflicting plans from which I cannot wiggle free. Good luck. I hope you find a receptive audience there (I understand they were a bit impatient towards the Time Out Magazine critic who attempted a few words prior to the “Godfather” films that kicked off the series. I plan on getting down to the Ziegfeld on Sunday and catch both “2001” and “Close Encounters” – with a possibility of making it a triple feature if I can find the strenght to stick around for “Alien”.
The Center is still there on the north side of Queens Blvd alongside the elevated Flushing IRT line, Gary. Don’t know what the fare was back in the late ‘50’s, but today it is a 6-screen multiplex. Here is the CT page for the Center Cinemas (as it is known today) that includes a recent exterior photo – which I took about a week before I snapped the Bliss.
Ross posted an article in today’s Newsreel on the CT home page that involves this theater. Apparently, the owner (George Androtsakis) is the same person who owns the Montauk Theater in Newark, NJ, which is facing a similar situation due to the City’s desire to build a grade school on the adjacent block. Androtsakis also owns the Fair Theater in Jackson Heights, NY, a former nabe that has been running porn for decades with little or no controversy.
Looks like the person who owns this theater also has a couple of other XXX theaters outside of NYC that are involved in a bit of controversy. Apparently, there is a decade old battle being waged in Pittsburgh, PA, over the Garden Theater, which the City is now fighting to condemn via eminent domain in the name of urban redevelopment. More recent is the Montauk Theater in Newark, NJ, which has been getting similar attention due to the City’s plans to build a grade school on an adjacent block. While the theater’s owner (George Androtsakis) hasn’t commented on the situation just developing in Newark, he has been making a First Amendment argument to defend his Pittsburgh theater’s right to exist as a porn house.
Here is the article that Ross linked to from today’s Newsreel item on the CT home page.
Gary… the Sunnyside has been bulldozed and a big drug store stands on its site. Meanwhile, the Bliss is still standing and is serving as a Jehovah’s Witness church. I snapped a few exterior photos late last year and posted them on the CT page for the Bliss – which you can open right here.
According to posts on that page, the interior has been pretty much stripped of original decor and streamlined in appearance, but the exterior appears to be in good shape. I’ve always been curious if the nice wood doors that are now in the entrance were original or installed by the church. Perhaps you could shed some light on that if you visit the page.
Gary… When did you ask Monique about doing this? It wouldn’t have been at the Sunday matinee showing of “Ben-Hur” the other week, would it have? I only ask because after that showing, I went up to Monique (who, before the show, offered me free passes if I wasn’t happy with the print quality) to thank her and compliment the excellent job being done by all Ziegfeld hands and I noticed a couple of gentlemen discussing with her the possibility of one of them saying a few introductory words before an upcoming feature. She explained that her manager thought it would be OK if they were able to get a copy of the comments before hand.
I didn’t catch the title of the film in question (as I didn’t really want to eavesdrop) so it might not have been you. If it wasn’t, isn’t it interesting that this series is attracting such a passionate crowd – including folks who have an interest in offering some public comments to preface the presentations? Nothing lasts forever, but I hope this series – and the grass-roots spirit that makes it so exciting – continues to prosper for many years to come.
Irv… We all know what is TRULY missing from the NY scene – a proper three-strip Cinerama house for the City! Is that just a lost cause? Either the Ziegfeld would have to renovate or the shuttered Mayfair/Demille in Times Square would have to be refurbished and rescued from oblivion. Neither one of these options appears to be a good bet at this point, so I imagine I’ll have to travel across country for that particular cinematic experience.
It almost restores my faith in the Democratic process! Kudos to all involved in steering the plans in this new direction and I hope with all my heart that it actually comes to fruition.
Vito… I remember back in the days before VHS and Beta, a company called Castle Films (I always wondered if the great B-movie showman William Castle had anything to do with this outfit) used to issue Readers Digest-like versions of old theatrical films on single 8mm and Super 8mm reels for viewing at home. They may have had 16mm as well, but I defintely had (indeed might STILL have) many 8mm reels from Castle Films for films like the original “Frankenstein”, “Bride of Frankenstein”, “Son of Frankenstein”, “House of Frankenstein” (see a theme developing here?) and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”. That last title was my favorite because it was a Super 8 reel with SOUND! The silent reels all had subtitles. I also had a color reel featuring a condensed “Dr. Cyclops” as well as the ‘50’s sci-fi flick “Tarantula” and “Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Some of the titles were on the short 50 foot reels which pared down 90 minute features to the best 3 or 4 minutes while still retaining some semblence of a story line. Some titles also came in the bigger 200 foot reels which ran more like 12-13 minutes.
The films used to be sold in camera stores (or in department stores that had camera sections) and I remember the cover art was always fantastic. In some cases, even more so than the films themselves. My Dad would drag the home movie screen out into the gutter during our annual block parties and run a few extension cords end-to-end from the stoop light fixture to the fire up the projector and he’d run the movies for the neighborhood kids (myself and my brother among them). It was always a big hit. Man, thinking of those old films brings back such awesome memories. I remember how often the film would jam in my Dad’s projector and start to bubble under the heat of the lamp. I became quite the expert splicer under my Dad’s tutelage.
Sure, I’ve got thousands of full length, crisp quality, surround sound movie titles at my fingertips via cable-TV, On Demand services, Netflix, Blockbuster, even the local Library… but nothing will ever replace the experience of watching a familiar old flick with freinds – be it on the bottom of a double bill in some faded grind-house palace, or at the run-down nabe for 80 cents, or when boiled down to a precious few minutes in a heavily spliced silent 8mm print on my Dad’s noisy projector while sitting on a few folding chairs out in the gutter under the stars courtesy of Castle Films.
Hmmm. Thanks for the stats, William. The Ziegfeld’s screen looks big enough when you sit in the front half of the orchestra – as I stated earlier, I like about 10th row or so. But with the theater’s long rectangular shape, the impact of the screen size diminishes the further back one sits (for my tastes, anyway). Many of those older theaters, while much larger and with greater seating capacities, were designed with a porportionately shallower fan-shaped floor plan, which brought a greater number of seats closer to the screen by virtue of their cantilievered loge and balcony sections. As a result, I think the screens seemed even larger than they were.
Not sure what the dimensions in the old Harris on 42nd Street were, but that screen was truly impressive in relation to the size of the auditorium. It’s one of the few Duece grind houses in which I ever visited the balcony and I remember sitting dead center in the 1st row and thinking like I was going to fall into the screen. It felt like I could have leapt off the balcony right onto the face of the screen.
There is a very good view of the Ditmars' marquee and entrance in the 1982 Paul Mazursky film “The Tempest”. About a third to half way through the movie, there is a long shot of the John Cassevettes character talking with his father as they walk near the curb of 31st Ave just in front of the theater. The marquee shown is a mid-sized box with individual red block letters spelling “DITMARS” sitting on top of the marquee frame on each side facing the sidewalk. There was metal flashing around the perimeter of the frame (as with many such marquees in the ‘70’s and '80’s, probably hiding an old strip of lighting) and three rows for lettering to advertise the features – which were all Greek titles. The shot didn’t clearly reveal the front of the marquee, so I couldn’t tell if it featured only the name of the theater (which I thought it did) or offered another panel to advertise the titles playing.
The facade was a blue-grey color and the right side of the entrance had a rounded corner leading down the alley that is still there (but fenced off) next to the current Post Office that occupies the site. The corner featured a curved display case. I was recently by this site and I seem to recall a year carved into a corner stone of the building – can’t recall what the year is, but it was recent, like 1987 or something. Not sure if that signifies the date of new construction or just the year of a gut rehab and conversion.
I wish I had the capability to capture TV images on my computer – or perhaps I should say that I wish I knew HOW to do that on my computer!
You have a good memory, Irv. I had to check the Reader’s Digest connection on imdb.com. Apparently, the magazine shared production expenses with Arthur P. Jacobs' Apjac International (I always associate Apjac with the “Planet of the Apes” series). I always thought this was a Disney production, but I am wrong. The score was written by the brotherly partnership of Robert and Richard Sherman, who had worked for Disney since the 1950’s and scored many of their films, including “Mary Poppins”, “The Aristocats”, “Bedknobs & Broomsticks”, “The Jungle Book” and the Winnie the Pooh series. They also took on non-Disney assignments such as “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “Charlotte’s Web” and this film. They blessed the human race with Disney Theme Park’s signature song “It’s a Small World” – for better or for worse.
So anyway… I had previously asked about the Ziegfeld’s screen dimensions and was wondering if anyone had an answer for me? I know it’s not the 80 foot curved screen both Vincent and I pine for, but I’m still curious as to just how big it is.
I’m not sure about that. This latest version that I saw at the Ziegfeld was incredible. I seem to recall thinking back in ‘77 that the film dragged a bit in the mid section. I think Spielberg succeeded in tightening up the film with his edits. Again, I only saw the original once and then the “Special Edition” once in 1980 (the ending of which left me non-plussed).
As I stated earlier, I think the place might have been recently repainted for the premier of “Walk the Line” this past November. The place is certainly cleaner and brighter than I can recall from concerts I attended a couple of years ago. I was actually there again last night for the Allman Brothers. I couldn’t say how closely the color scheme adheres to the original, but it seems pretty authentic to me. Lots of earth tones plus the red hues of the carpet and tent effect in the auditorium and green in the rear ceiling over the upper balcony. Of course, to be off by even just a shade or two can make a significant difference in ambience.
Hal T… The series at the Ziegfeld is actually quite an exciting and enjoyable affair. There is still nothing like seeing a great movie on a nice sized screen in a big theater like the Ziegfeld. There are many aspects of the presentation that have come under the scrutiny of our collective purist’s eye, but I think most of us will agree that Clearview has been very responsive to these criticisms and suggestions. There are still some kinks to be worked out (the whole intermission business and getting hold of good 70mm prints) but on the whole, I think the reaction here on this board has been overwhelmingly positive.
If you look carefully in both photos, just above where the marquee meets the building facade, you will see one of the cables that holds up the marquee anchored to the masonry. I would say that – as with so many other theaters – the 1950’s or 1960’s era boxy marquee in the 1997 photo was built out over the original seen in the 1930 shot. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the original frame is still there supporting the current marquee.
Great photos, Lost Memory. I remember that old marquee, but haven’t seen it in close to 10 years.
Movieguy718… My lady and I paid $30 for a pair of tickets to the 1pm “2001” as well as the 4:30 “Close Encounters” on Sunday and, since I was settling in for a day of classic movie-going, we brought with us a sandwich from our local deli to split for lunch between shows. I also purchased a medium popcorn, a bag of M&M’s and 2 large soft drinks from the Ziegfeld’s candy counter. I felt no shame. What I felt was well fed and fiscally responsible!
Having said that, I also felt immensely entertained by these two terrific movies! “2001” is absolutely a magnificent work of art unlike any other film and stands as my all time favorite motion picture. My lady fair – having never seen the film before and not being particularly fond of anything avant-garde, let alone sci-fi – did not share my enthusiasm for the movie. In fact, she hated it. To each their own, but happily, she did very much enjoy “Close Encounters” (another film she had never before seen).
As for presentation, they played the usual interminable ads (no trailers) along with a short commercial presentation called “the clearview” or something that I suspect runs before every feature along the chain. That started about 15 minutes before each show time, so that the movies themselves started at the advertised times. The curtain was closed completely for the “2001” overture, but the house lights seemed to remain at full strength. As others have commented about previous screenings, the film played straight through the Intermission card into the entr'acte music in complete darkness and with the curtains fully open. The print for “2001” was very scratchy with signs of serious wear at the real changes and at least two instances of dropped frames, but the sound was strong and clear and in full surround. “Close Encounters” was a positively perfect print; as if it were struck just for this occasion. Impeccable picture quality and sound presentation (and no pesky overtures or intermissions to muck about with the projectionist).
The theater was not as filled as it was for either “West Side Story” or “Ben-Hur” – the other classics I’ve taken in during the series. I’d say the theater was ¼ to 1/3 full at most, but the crowd was extremely enthusiastic and respectfully quiet throughout both films. Oh, and someone had mentioned above that the weekday showings did not feature commercials and I forgot to respond that the Tuesday night “West Side Story” did include a number of ads prior to the screening. Perhaps they dropped showing them during the week at a later date?
Gary… do you have a copy of your comments that you can post here on CT for those of us who were unable to make it down? Finally, the sign on the door regarding “Alien” states that the screenings were cancelled due to a “damaged” print. Next stop, Arabia!
Too bad about “Alien” – and so much for my thoughts of making it a triple feature on Sunday – but better they scrap the showing than present a poor print. Any details on this print problem? Was it a matter of someone actually checking the print and rejecting it for quality or something else?
And I’m dying to hear word of the print quality and presentation of “2001” and “CE3K” tonight or tomorrow. In any event, once again let me wish you good luck tonight Gary. Or should I say, ‘break a leg’?
I have a freind whose cousin was involved in a movie that was accepted for the Long Island Film Festival that played here last year. I was in attendance and all of the films were projected from digital media (like DVD, etc). I didn’t notice an overhead unit in front of the screen, so I assume there was a video projector in the booth. The movies themselves (one feature and several shorts) appeared to have been shot on 35mm, but there was some tell tale “letterboxing” and at one or two points a blue screen with a digital counter in the corner was projected for a few seconds before and after some of the films.
Anyway, I didn’t get the feeling that this was a very old theater at all. The auditorium is a long and narrow rectangle featuring a two aisle configuration, dividing the seating into a central main section and two smaller side sections. There is no decor to speak of, just plain, flat, unadorned walls and ceiling. The lobby space is similarly plain with a low ceiling and small candy counter to one side. I got the feeling there might have been another auditorium running parallel to the one I was in, but I might be mistaken – I was too preoccupied with congratulatory conversations to make much note of the theater’s layout.
William. When it’s completed, I’d be interested in seeing a photo posted here, if you can oblige.
A freind told me that this theater recently had a policy (and may still) of playing older films during off-hourse – like matinees. Can anyone confirm that?
My mistake Alto. Yes. Passaic.
Stan… I have to believe that Clearview and the staff at the Ziegfeld want to do better than that and have a keen interest in providing a good moviegoing experience for its patrons. They seem to have particular interest in monitoring this board and taking into consideration our suggestions and criticisms – because I think they understand that we (and others like us) are the target audience for this series and that our word of mouth is the most powerful advertising tool they have for the program.
We can be happy to have these films screened, but I think we should still keep our voices loud and the message clear that we would really like to see these movies presented as close to as originally intended as possible – meaning 70mm wherever possible and with complete overture/entr'acte and full intermission break (including appropriate curtain and house light cues). I pose it as a challenge to bring back a level of showmanship to an industry that has been sorely lacking in professionalism for far too long.
Gary… Sorry I won’t be able to make your introduction to “Close Encounters” on Friday night due to conflicting plans from which I cannot wiggle free. Good luck. I hope you find a receptive audience there (I understand they were a bit impatient towards the Time Out Magazine critic who attempted a few words prior to the “Godfather” films that kicked off the series. I plan on getting down to the Ziegfeld on Sunday and catch both “2001” and “Close Encounters” – with a possibility of making it a triple feature if I can find the strenght to stick around for “Alien”.
The Center is still there on the north side of Queens Blvd alongside the elevated Flushing IRT line, Gary. Don’t know what the fare was back in the late ‘50’s, but today it is a 6-screen multiplex. Here is the CT page for the Center Cinemas (as it is known today) that includes a recent exterior photo – which I took about a week before I snapped the Bliss.
Ross posted an article in today’s Newsreel on the CT home page that involves this theater. Apparently, the owner (George Androtsakis) is the same person who owns the Montauk Theater in Newark, NJ, which is facing a similar situation due to the City’s desire to build a grade school on the adjacent block. Androtsakis also owns the Fair Theater in Jackson Heights, NY, a former nabe that has been running porn for decades with little or no controversy.
Here is a link to the article on the Montauk.
Looks like the person who owns this theater also has a couple of other XXX theaters outside of NYC that are involved in a bit of controversy. Apparently, there is a decade old battle being waged in Pittsburgh, PA, over the Garden Theater, which the City is now fighting to condemn via eminent domain in the name of urban redevelopment. More recent is the Montauk Theater in Newark, NJ, which has been getting similar attention due to the City’s plans to build a grade school on an adjacent block. While the theater’s owner (George Androtsakis) hasn’t commented on the situation just developing in Newark, he has been making a First Amendment argument to defend his Pittsburgh theater’s right to exist as a porn house.
Here is the article that Ross linked to from today’s Newsreel item on the CT home page.
Gary… the Sunnyside has been bulldozed and a big drug store stands on its site. Meanwhile, the Bliss is still standing and is serving as a Jehovah’s Witness church. I snapped a few exterior photos late last year and posted them on the CT page for the Bliss – which you can open right here.
According to posts on that page, the interior has been pretty much stripped of original decor and streamlined in appearance, but the exterior appears to be in good shape. I’ve always been curious if the nice wood doors that are now in the entrance were original or installed by the church. Perhaps you could shed some light on that if you visit the page.
My mistake… I saw “Ben-Hur” at the 4:30 Saturday showing, NOT Sunday.
Gary… When did you ask Monique about doing this? It wouldn’t have been at the Sunday matinee showing of “Ben-Hur” the other week, would it have? I only ask because after that showing, I went up to Monique (who, before the show, offered me free passes if I wasn’t happy with the print quality) to thank her and compliment the excellent job being done by all Ziegfeld hands and I noticed a couple of gentlemen discussing with her the possibility of one of them saying a few introductory words before an upcoming feature. She explained that her manager thought it would be OK if they were able to get a copy of the comments before hand.
I didn’t catch the title of the film in question (as I didn’t really want to eavesdrop) so it might not have been you. If it wasn’t, isn’t it interesting that this series is attracting such a passionate crowd – including folks who have an interest in offering some public comments to preface the presentations? Nothing lasts forever, but I hope this series – and the grass-roots spirit that makes it so exciting – continues to prosper for many years to come.
Good luck, Gary!
Irv… We all know what is TRULY missing from the NY scene – a proper three-strip Cinerama house for the City! Is that just a lost cause? Either the Ziegfeld would have to renovate or the shuttered Mayfair/Demille in Times Square would have to be refurbished and rescued from oblivion. Neither one of these options appears to be a good bet at this point, so I imagine I’ll have to travel across country for that particular cinematic experience.
It almost restores my faith in the Democratic process! Kudos to all involved in steering the plans in this new direction and I hope with all my heart that it actually comes to fruition.
Minor correction to my post on Castle Films… the silent versions of the movies utilized title cards, where necessary, not subtitles.
Vito… I remember back in the days before VHS and Beta, a company called Castle Films (I always wondered if the great B-movie showman William Castle had anything to do with this outfit) used to issue Readers Digest-like versions of old theatrical films on single 8mm and Super 8mm reels for viewing at home. They may have had 16mm as well, but I defintely had (indeed might STILL have) many 8mm reels from Castle Films for films like the original “Frankenstein”, “Bride of Frankenstein”, “Son of Frankenstein”, “House of Frankenstein” (see a theme developing here?) and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”. That last title was my favorite because it was a Super 8 reel with SOUND! The silent reels all had subtitles. I also had a color reel featuring a condensed “Dr. Cyclops” as well as the ‘50’s sci-fi flick “Tarantula” and “Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Some of the titles were on the short 50 foot reels which pared down 90 minute features to the best 3 or 4 minutes while still retaining some semblence of a story line. Some titles also came in the bigger 200 foot reels which ran more like 12-13 minutes.
The films used to be sold in camera stores (or in department stores that had camera sections) and I remember the cover art was always fantastic. In some cases, even more so than the films themselves. My Dad would drag the home movie screen out into the gutter during our annual block parties and run a few extension cords end-to-end from the stoop light fixture to the fire up the projector and he’d run the movies for the neighborhood kids (myself and my brother among them). It was always a big hit. Man, thinking of those old films brings back such awesome memories. I remember how often the film would jam in my Dad’s projector and start to bubble under the heat of the lamp. I became quite the expert splicer under my Dad’s tutelage.
Sure, I’ve got thousands of full length, crisp quality, surround sound movie titles at my fingertips via cable-TV, On Demand services, Netflix, Blockbuster, even the local Library… but nothing will ever replace the experience of watching a familiar old flick with freinds – be it on the bottom of a double bill in some faded grind-house palace, or at the run-down nabe for 80 cents, or when boiled down to a precious few minutes in a heavily spliced silent 8mm print on my Dad’s noisy projector while sitting on a few folding chairs out in the gutter under the stars courtesy of Castle Films.
Hmmm. Thanks for the stats, William. The Ziegfeld’s screen looks big enough when you sit in the front half of the orchestra – as I stated earlier, I like about 10th row or so. But with the theater’s long rectangular shape, the impact of the screen size diminishes the further back one sits (for my tastes, anyway). Many of those older theaters, while much larger and with greater seating capacities, were designed with a porportionately shallower fan-shaped floor plan, which brought a greater number of seats closer to the screen by virtue of their cantilievered loge and balcony sections. As a result, I think the screens seemed even larger than they were.
Not sure what the dimensions in the old Harris on 42nd Street were, but that screen was truly impressive in relation to the size of the auditorium. It’s one of the few Duece grind houses in which I ever visited the balcony and I remember sitting dead center in the 1st row and thinking like I was going to fall into the screen. It felt like I could have leapt off the balcony right onto the face of the screen.
There is a very good view of the Ditmars' marquee and entrance in the 1982 Paul Mazursky film “The Tempest”. About a third to half way through the movie, there is a long shot of the John Cassevettes character talking with his father as they walk near the curb of 31st Ave just in front of the theater. The marquee shown is a mid-sized box with individual red block letters spelling “DITMARS” sitting on top of the marquee frame on each side facing the sidewalk. There was metal flashing around the perimeter of the frame (as with many such marquees in the ‘70’s and '80’s, probably hiding an old strip of lighting) and three rows for lettering to advertise the features – which were all Greek titles. The shot didn’t clearly reveal the front of the marquee, so I couldn’t tell if it featured only the name of the theater (which I thought it did) or offered another panel to advertise the titles playing.
The facade was a blue-grey color and the right side of the entrance had a rounded corner leading down the alley that is still there (but fenced off) next to the current Post Office that occupies the site. The corner featured a curved display case. I was recently by this site and I seem to recall a year carved into a corner stone of the building – can’t recall what the year is, but it was recent, like 1987 or something. Not sure if that signifies the date of new construction or just the year of a gut rehab and conversion.
I wish I had the capability to capture TV images on my computer – or perhaps I should say that I wish I knew HOW to do that on my computer!
You have a good memory, Irv. I had to check the Reader’s Digest connection on imdb.com. Apparently, the magazine shared production expenses with Arthur P. Jacobs' Apjac International (I always associate Apjac with the “Planet of the Apes” series). I always thought this was a Disney production, but I am wrong. The score was written by the brotherly partnership of Robert and Richard Sherman, who had worked for Disney since the 1950’s and scored many of their films, including “Mary Poppins”, “The Aristocats”, “Bedknobs & Broomsticks”, “The Jungle Book” and the Winnie the Pooh series. They also took on non-Disney assignments such as “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “Charlotte’s Web” and this film. They blessed the human race with Disney Theme Park’s signature song “It’s a Small World” – for better or for worse.
So anyway… I had previously asked about the Ziegfeld’s screen dimensions and was wondering if anyone had an answer for me? I know it’s not the 80 foot curved screen both Vincent and I pine for, but I’m still curious as to just how big it is.