I saw it at one of those MGM kids' matinees they had in the 70s. The print was old and the joins clearly seen. I was not impressed. However I’m sure a beautiful Cinerama print would be a revelation.
The late 60s in a nutshell. From Loew’s State big budget roadshow to a year and a half later sex comedy at the Orleans. Well there was a Radio City comedy/drama in between.
Mike who cried in your cornflakes? So grouchy. If you are familiar with roadshow films is it that difficult to figure out what these long titles are? It’s not like CHMEFMHAFTH.
My Roman Empire bluray is Paramount Japan. I haven’t opened it yet but except for the credits it is all in japanese. The only one that was region 1 and affordable.
I’ve never seen this film. Is it no longer shown because it’s not pc? Or does it no longer exist? I remember reading the play as a boy and when I really wasn’t aware of such things it wasn’t pc(though the acronym did not exist.) to me then.
Without a Stitch even had Valenti bemoaning the fact that porn was now playing first run on Broadway at a deluxer. I’d call it the beginning of the end of Times Square but it was probably the triple blow destruction of the Paramount, Capitol and Astor Hotel. The horrible Allied Chemical building didn’t help much either.
The thing about Magnascope was that it was very grainy wasn’t it? When the Music Hall after it ended its movie stage show policy showed some old films at 11am on weekdays, a single film for an entire week, I saw Good News and Showboat with what I assume was magnascope projection. Much larger than for example the screen size used for the week long run of Singing in the Rain in ‘75. That was a very small screen indeed but the image was brilliant in its definition and colors. Good News and Showboat on the much larger screen however were very grainy and soft looking in comparison.
The thing about Magnascope was that it was very grainy wasn’t it? When the Music Hall after it ended its movie stage show policy showed some old films at 11am on weekdays, a single film for an entire week, I saw Good News and Showboat with what I assume was magnascope projection. Much larger than for example the screen size used for the week long run of Singing in the Rain in ‘75. That was a very small screen indeed but the image was brilliant in its definition and colors. Good News and Showboat on the much larger screen however were very grainy and soft looking in comparison.
That very shallow stage looks like a very crowded off Broadway theater production supported by a symphony orchestra in front of it. It must have looked like a postage stamp in the mezz and balcony.
One can see on see on page 8 what the Rivoli live presentations looked like. It still involved a fair number of performers which would have required more than what you would find in a Broadway musical today. It looks like a small shallow proscenium stage. If the screen were behind that stage/platform rather than being brought down at the proscenium level than they would have had some sort of fly space along with common areas and dressing rooms for the performers no matter how cramped. One can go into any old Broadway theater and see how very cramped the facilties are. That is one big orchestra for a house the size of the Rivoli. Performers and musicians alone are close to 60 people. And did they do like 4 to 5 performances a day. That was quite an operation for that small space.
The Rivoli had a small shallow stage. Somebody posted pictures here of stage presentations. In its later years an electronics shop was built there where the lower long horizontal billboard used to be. It also had a large rear door/gate where I imagine sets and instruments were brought in. If you saw the rear you could see it was at one time a presentation house that would have had the facilities that it would have required for orchestral, performer and set needs. Much more modest though than the larger palaces. It’s possible it was added later if it was not part of the original design.
Yes that’s certainly the best way. Get it out of library and decide for yourself if you find it informative. For you if you do I’d find it surprising. I don’t remember the time span it covers.
Maybe I should read it as well. Maybe it’s better than I remembered, I mean it really can’t be as bad, and I’d have to eat my hat. Didn’t we discuss another one as well that was kind of a mess?
Well the book has been written since and puts the whole roadshow policy in a negative light never acknowledging its advantages in terms of presentation. Dolly got good reviews too and Sound of Music got some staggeringly bad ones. In some ways worse in that there were those who felt that Wise were attackingly them personally. I haven’t looked at his book in a while but found simply reading certain sections all he did was quote others who didn’t like them.
Does he give the history of the roadshow film from the beginning of the 20th Century? Does he talk about the theaters where they played and what the experience was like? How it motivated a certain kind of filmmaking? I got the impression from what I saw he took no sense of the showbusiness historical sense of how it developed and why it fell out of use. It was in its dogged way a poorly thought out lazy book.
Remember the critics of the time for some reason turned on this kind of prestige filmmaking(oddly one who did Pauline Kael loved Oliver! Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof.) But they turned with viciousness on David Lean with Ryan’s Daughter which certainly fit the description of a hardticket film traumatizing this man who you know had to have an ego the size of a continent to achieve what he did depriving us the films of a master for more than a decade. And this movie today is draw dropping with the storm sequence one of the greatest put ever put on film with no CGI or special effects.
Mr. Kennedy never went to a roadshow movie in his life. Though he’s certainly old enough. His research was other people’s books and Variety on microfilm.
He probably never even knew the Rivoli existed until he compiled his paste and copy ‘book.’ I assume he’s seen most of the movies he talks about in some video format. Probably vhs tape.
It begins with another dinosaur brain remark by Matthew Kennedy who knows as much about roadshow movies as Helen Keller knew about the works of Egon Schiele.
Mikeoakland park it seems you went a few times to see Dolly at the Virginia. You should have traveled up to the Asbury Park St James to see it there. A very classy elegant large screen, borders, curtain 70mm roadshow house. As I’ve said I was only there once but had I been older I would have gone probably several times to every roadshow picture there. If I were a billionaire I would rebuild it as a revival house.
I had a friend who was a big fan of Sabatini. He much preferred the Ramon Navarro Scaramouche to the Granger(I love it but I’ve never seen the silent.) He went to look it up at the Lincoln Center library and came back to show me a copy he made of an ad for it. It was for the St James. I thought that was pretty cool. Who needed Granada when they could have had Asbury Park?
Thank you David Zornig for these great 60s photos of the boardwalk. I didn’t get there until the latter part of the 60s but it still looked pretty much the same. It’s like I like to remember it. Visited one more time in ‘76 and the blight had taken over.
But I’m dismayed to say the least that people claim its premiere 70mm roadshow house the Virgina was during all those years a run down dump. So it’s been said.
Note that when the Music Hall opened there were 46 Roxyettes on stage. This was shortly reduced to 36 Rockettes(not sure exactly when the number and the name were changed) and in the 70s it was reduced to 30.
What a peculiar schedule. Nanette must be the only time until Mr Billion for the Music Hall to have pulled a film but kept the stage show. And then to switch the stage show on a day other than a Thursday? That I assume is a singular event in the Hall’s history.
I saw it at one of those MGM kids' matinees they had in the 70s. The print was old and the joins clearly seen. I was not impressed. However I’m sure a beautiful Cinerama print would be a revelation.
Wouldn’t Turner just show a 35mm copy?
The late 60s in a nutshell. From Loew’s State big budget roadshow to a year and a half later sex comedy at the Orleans. Well there was a Radio City comedy/drama in between.
Mike who cried in your cornflakes? So grouchy. If you are familiar with roadshow films is it that difficult to figure out what these long titles are? It’s not like CHMEFMHAFTH.
My Roman Empire bluray is Paramount Japan. I haven’t opened it yet but except for the credits it is all in japanese. The only one that was region 1 and affordable.
I’ve never seen this film. Is it no longer shown because it’s not pc? Or does it no longer exist? I remember reading the play as a boy and when I really wasn’t aware of such things it wasn’t pc(though the acronym did not exist.) to me then.
Well that’s certainly a busy stage show. 500 performers is a lot. I wonder exactly how many there really were.
Without a Stitch even had Valenti bemoaning the fact that porn was now playing first run on Broadway at a deluxer. I’d call it the beginning of the end of Times Square but it was probably the triple blow destruction of the Paramount, Capitol and Astor Hotel. The horrible Allied Chemical building didn’t help much either.
The thing about Magnascope was that it was very grainy wasn’t it? When the Music Hall after it ended its movie stage show policy showed some old films at 11am on weekdays, a single film for an entire week, I saw Good News and Showboat with what I assume was magnascope projection. Much larger than for example the screen size used for the week long run of Singing in the Rain in ‘75. That was a very small screen indeed but the image was brilliant in its definition and colors. Good News and Showboat on the much larger screen however were very grainy and soft looking in comparison.
The thing about Magnascope was that it was very grainy wasn’t it? When the Music Hall after it ended its movie stage show policy showed some old films at 11am on weekdays, a single film for an entire week, I saw Good News and Showboat with what I assume was magnascope projection. Much larger than for example the screen size used for the week long run of Singing in the Rain in ‘75. That was a very small screen indeed but the image was brilliant in its definition and colors. Good News and Showboat on the much larger screen however were very grainy and soft looking in comparison.
That very shallow stage looks like a very crowded off Broadway theater production supported by a symphony orchestra in front of it. It must have looked like a postage stamp in the mezz and balcony.
One can see on see on page 8 what the Rivoli live presentations looked like. It still involved a fair number of performers which would have required more than what you would find in a Broadway musical today. It looks like a small shallow proscenium stage. If the screen were behind that stage/platform rather than being brought down at the proscenium level than they would have had some sort of fly space along with common areas and dressing rooms for the performers no matter how cramped. One can go into any old Broadway theater and see how very cramped the facilties are. That is one big orchestra for a house the size of the Rivoli. Performers and musicians alone are close to 60 people. And did they do like 4 to 5 performances a day. That was quite an operation for that small space.
The Rivoli had a small shallow stage. Somebody posted pictures here of stage presentations. In its later years an electronics shop was built there where the lower long horizontal billboard used to be. It also had a large rear door/gate where I imagine sets and instruments were brought in. If you saw the rear you could see it was at one time a presentation house that would have had the facilities that it would have required for orchestral, performer and set needs. Much more modest though than the larger palaces. It’s possible it was added later if it was not part of the original design.
Yes that’s certainly the best way. Get it out of library and decide for yourself if you find it informative. For you if you do I’d find it surprising. I don’t remember the time span it covers.
Maybe I should read it as well. Maybe it’s better than I remembered, I mean it really can’t be as bad, and I’d have to eat my hat. Didn’t we discuss another one as well that was kind of a mess?
Well the book has been written since and puts the whole roadshow policy in a negative light never acknowledging its advantages in terms of presentation. Dolly got good reviews too and Sound of Music got some staggeringly bad ones. In some ways worse in that there were those who felt that Wise were attackingly them personally. I haven’t looked at his book in a while but found simply reading certain sections all he did was quote others who didn’t like them.
Does he give the history of the roadshow film from the beginning of the 20th Century? Does he talk about the theaters where they played and what the experience was like? How it motivated a certain kind of filmmaking? I got the impression from what I saw he took no sense of the showbusiness historical sense of how it developed and why it fell out of use. It was in its dogged way a poorly thought out lazy book.
Remember the critics of the time for some reason turned on this kind of prestige filmmaking(oddly one who did Pauline Kael loved Oliver! Funny Girl and Fiddler on the Roof.) But they turned with viciousness on David Lean with Ryan’s Daughter which certainly fit the description of a hardticket film traumatizing this man who you know had to have an ego the size of a continent to achieve what he did depriving us the films of a master for more than a decade. And this movie today is draw dropping with the storm sequence one of the greatest put ever put on film with no CGI or special effects.
bigjoe59
Mr. Kennedy never went to a roadshow movie in his life. Though he’s certainly old enough. His research was other people’s books and Variety on microfilm.
He probably never even knew the Rivoli existed until he compiled his paste and copy ‘book.’ I assume he’s seen most of the movies he talks about in some video format. Probably vhs tape.
It begins with another dinosaur brain remark by Matthew Kennedy who knows as much about roadshow movies as Helen Keller knew about the works of Egon Schiele.
Mikeoakland park it seems you went a few times to see Dolly at the Virginia. You should have traveled up to the Asbury Park St James to see it there. A very classy elegant large screen, borders, curtain 70mm roadshow house. As I’ve said I was only there once but had I been older I would have gone probably several times to every roadshow picture there. If I were a billionaire I would rebuild it as a revival house.
I had a friend who was a big fan of Sabatini. He much preferred the Ramon Navarro Scaramouche to the Granger(I love it but I’ve never seen the silent.) He went to look it up at the Lincoln Center library and came back to show me a copy he made of an ad for it. It was for the St James. I thought that was pretty cool. Who needed Granada when they could have had Asbury Park?
70mm rarely shown: CCBB, Dr Dolittle, Barrabas, Magnificent Men, Cheyenne Autumn, The Hallelujah Trail, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Lord Jim.
Cleopatra most underrated epic ever. What a raw deal it got. Oh to have seen the original 6 hour cut. ‘I asked it of Caesar, I demand it of you!’
When Time Square still had some class and dignity before it started looking like Coney.
Thank you David Zornig for these great 60s photos of the boardwalk. I didn’t get there until the latter part of the 60s but it still looked pretty much the same. It’s like I like to remember it. Visited one more time in ‘76 and the blight had taken over.
But I’m dismayed to say the least that people claim its premiere 70mm roadshow house the Virgina was during all those years a run down dump. So it’s been said.
Maybe The Wiz?
Note that when the Music Hall opened there were 46 Roxyettes on stage. This was shortly reduced to 36 Rockettes(not sure exactly when the number and the name were changed) and in the 70s it was reduced to 30.
I thought Loew’s State held the world premiere.
What a peculiar schedule. Nanette must be the only time until Mr Billion for the Music Hall to have pulled a film but kept the stage show. And then to switch the stage show on a day other than a Thursday? That I assume is a singular event in the Hall’s history.
Ok. I wonder which film broke 300k.