According to newspaper advertising, “Blackmail” and “Lady of the Tropics” opened at Loew’s Commodore on Thursday, October 12th, 1939, which was the Columbus Day holiday of that year.
By that time, the Paramount had ended its stage/screen policy, and had also become first choice for Warner Brothers releases that previously opened at the Strand/Warner (now a reserved-seat Cinerama showcase).
First produced by Paramount Pictures as a silent B&W feature in 1926, with Warner Baxter in the title role. The Alan Ladd version was also filmed in B&W.
Premiere engagement started on the same day as the grand opening of Publix’s spectacular Paramount Theatre in Times Square, which was fully equipped to present lavish stage revues that were not possible at the Rivoli.
Photographs of 130 Brooklyn theatres, most of them from municipal tax files and already displayed individually at Cinema Treasures, can be found in the resource linked here
2023 has been mentioned as possible reopening of the Palace, but nothing more specific. Much will depend, of course, on what’s available for the first booking.
Developers created a plan to raise the protected landmark 300 feet to make room for stores below. Recent New York Times article with color photos can be viewed here
Marketing of the British-made thriller capitalized on Claude Rains' title role in Universal’s “The Invisible Man,” which had also debuted at the Roxy Theatre (with stage show).
I can’t find any mention of the Roxy in this ad. Was there a stage show in support? And what was it first-run for? New York City? The USA?
Entire world? If you must post such unspecific drivel, why don’t you post it for its first-run in the place where you reside?
The stage revue was imported from Bill Miller’s Riviera, a spectacular nightclub on the New Jersey Palisades, overlooking the Hudson River and Manhattan. The junior member of the Will Mastin Trio was just at the beginning of an iconic career spanning all of showbiz.
Supporting actors Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride made such an impact as “Ma and Pa Kettle” that Universal-International decided to build a series around them and their family, with an eventual nine B&W features.
Ad neglects to mention that the B&W musical was part of the annual Christmas Show, which many people attended primarily for the spectacular stage show, not caring what was on screen.
Didn’t your sources reveal that movie was supported by a stage show, and that Bob Hope made guest appearances throughout opening day?
Actual ad displayed here
Almost certainly part of a multi-theatre “Premiere Showcase” engagement throughout the greater metropolitan area, and not exclusively at the Lyric Theatre.
Ad neglected to mention that the movie was accompanied by a spectacular stage revue, which was undoubtedly a major contributor to attendance.
Also, dollar figures are meaningless without knowledge of ticket prices, which were undoubtedly the highest in RCMH’s history so far.
The true test of popularity is how many people attended.
“Holiday in Spain” was the latest version of the 1960 “Scent of Mystery,” which was filmed in Todd-AO and augmented in theatres by the “Smell-O-Vision” process. The movie is now available on DVD in a curved-screen “Smilebox” format replicating the Cinerama experience.
Trailer can be viewed here
Supporting attraction was “Spooks,” a B&W short in 3-D starring the Three Stooges.
According to newspaper advertising, “Blackmail” and “Lady of the Tropics” opened at Loew’s Commodore on Thursday, October 12th, 1939, which was the Columbus Day holiday of that year.
By that time, the Paramount had ended its stage/screen policy, and had also become first choice for Warner Brothers releases that previously opened at the Strand/Warner (now a reserved-seat Cinerama showcase).
First produced by Paramount Pictures as a silent B&W feature in 1926, with Warner Baxter in the title role. The Alan Ladd version was also filmed in B&W.
Left ad includes cinemas throughout the entire “Greater New York” area, while the one at right lists only Queens and Long Island.
Premiere engagement started on the same day as the grand opening of Publix’s spectacular Paramount Theatre in Times Square, which was fully equipped to present lavish stage revues that were not possible at the Rivoli.
Not an ad for the Roxy engagement, which included a stage show.
Photographs of 130 Brooklyn theatres, most of them from municipal tax files and already displayed individually at Cinema Treasures, can be found in the resource linked here
2023 has been mentioned as possible reopening of the Palace, but nothing more specific. Much will depend, of course, on what’s available for the first booking.
An Allied Victory in Europe had been declared on May 8th, but war raged on in the Far East.
Developers created a plan to raise the protected landmark 300 feet to make room for stores below. Recent New York Times article with color photos can be viewed here
Two views of the site, now a market, can be viewed in this recent article about Market Street
Were newspapers really printing movie ads in full color back then? Must have been very expensive, if even technically possible.
Marketing of the British-made thriller capitalized on Claude Rains' title role in Universal’s “The Invisible Man,” which had also debuted at the Roxy Theatre (with stage show).
I can’t find any mention of the Roxy in this ad. Was there a stage show in support? And what was it first-run for? New York City? The USA? Entire world? If you must post such unspecific drivel, why don’t you post it for its first-run in the place where you reside?
With or without stage show? Surely one or both of your sources mentioned that.
The stage revue was imported from Bill Miller’s Riviera, a spectacular nightclub on the New Jersey Palisades, overlooking the Hudson River and Manhattan. The junior member of the Will Mastin Trio was just at the beginning of an iconic career spanning all of showbiz.
Supporting actors Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride made such an impact as “Ma and Pa Kettle” that Universal-International decided to build a series around them and their family, with an eventual nine B&W features.
Ad neglects to mention that the B&W musical was part of the annual Christmas Show, which many people attended primarily for the spectacular stage show, not caring what was on screen.
Didn’t your sources reveal that movie was supported by a stage show, and that Bob Hope made guest appearances throughout opening day? Actual ad displayed here
Almost certainly part of a multi-theatre “Premiere Showcase” engagement throughout the greater metropolitan area, and not exclusively at the Lyric Theatre.
Ad neglected to mention that the movie was accompanied by a spectacular stage revue, which was undoubtedly a major contributor to attendance. Also, dollar figures are meaningless without knowledge of ticket prices, which were undoubtedly the highest in RCMH’s history so far. The true test of popularity is how many people attended.
Opened on March 30th, 1944, with Easter Sunday on April 9th that year.
No mention of a stage show. Had the Music Hall switched to an “Everything on the screen” policy by that time?
“Holiday in Spain” was the latest version of the 1960 “Scent of Mystery,” which was filmed in Todd-AO and augmented in theatres by the “Smell-O-Vision” process. The movie is now available on DVD in a curved-screen “Smilebox” format replicating the Cinerama experience. Trailer can be viewed here