Answer to EdBlank regarding grosses: Yes I have the exact figures of each week of every film from the day RCMH opened. As for Bambi, it’s gross(around $90,000 and $85,000(without consulting the archives)during the two weeks it played actually didn’t warrant a holdover. Perhaps it was the sadness of the story that kept parents from bringing children and also the fact that the Music Hall never had special prices for children. “Snow White…” was another story as it was so unique being the first full-length animated feature from Disney. It ran five weeks, as you know and grossed consistently over $100,000 over the entire run. It probably could have stayed longer, but the Hall was already backlogged with product. As you know, most films were booked for only one week with a possible one week holdover.
Just a little something to amuse Tinseltoes: As an usher during the 7 week run of “North By Northwest”, the staff would make bets on whether all the white lights would go on and twinkle during the “Serenade to the Stars” finale…more often than not two or three strands would fail to light up as the “queen of the night” (or whatever she was) ascended from the stage floor almost to the top of the proscenium,her gown of lights gradually unfolding to an enormous size as she was lifted higher and higher. “NBN” broke the non-holiday opening week gross with $195,000. Previous non-holiday record was “High Society” with $190,000 in 1956.
For most of you, this link won’t be news, but I thought I would just share a photo of myself (second left) as an RCMH in 1958 with a short article I wrote to accompany a review of “Zarkana” http://curtainup.com/zarkana.html
Enjoy. Also would like to initiate a possible reunion of staff prior to the Music Hall ending its regular stage and film policy. Anyone interested?
You are, indeed right about attendance and grosses Warren, but the point I was trying to make was that the Roxy made a good choice for the holidays. And 7th Voyage did a lot better than either the plodding Inn of Sixth Happiness or dull Rally Round the Flag would have done.
Nice comments Bill, “The 7th Voyage…” was not only a stunning visual treat and great family entertainment (still is) but also had the highest holiday gross ($190,000) in the Roxy history beating the record opening of “Forever Amber,” ($180,000) and second only to the grosses of “The Robe” ($264,000 opening week).
Thanks Warren, You depressed the hell out of me. My only regret is that I was out of the country during that time and couldn’t get inside, take photos and steal anything that wasn’t nailed down. I do have a bricks from the Loew’s Grand Atlanta, Helen Hayes and Morosco Theaters.
This link worked. Awesome, Glorious, tragic, and thank you Lost Memory. The one photo that still puzzles me (I seen it before) is the one with the huge crowd that appears to be running in the rotunda. It looks like a crush of people coming in from the outer lobby and not an orderly line of people entering theater after waiting for seats. Any guesses what this could be? It almost looks like an evacuation, except that they are heading in the wrong direction.
Hate to be more dense than anyone else here but….how do I get the Roxy demolition photos. I clicked on the only link I saw below but that didn’t seem to do it.
Here are some Roxy related photos. Link is courtesy of “misterboo”.
From one former Roxy usher (1956 – 57 seasons) to another: Hey Frank, It’s great to hear your recollections. Since I have already shared so many of my memories on this site, I won’t bore the contributors with a recap. But the back stage elevator assignment always filled me with terror as we had to level with the floor manually being careful not to create a step for the skaters. I wonder how many of us are left (standing)? I do remember taking Louis Armstrong up and down numerous times (I believe the film was Boy on a Dolphin). I hope I’m remembering correctly.
Thanks for your memories Richka. But the loge stairway was exclusively for the loge patrons. There was no access to the balcony from there. General admission patrons had to use the grand staircase in the front of the rotunda. I’m surprised to hear about ushers doing tricks. When I was there you would have been fired if you crossed your arms let alone do acrobatics to entertain the patrons. Discipline was strict and we had to be at our post at attention at all times, especially during pressure business. No time for comedy. But I don’t doubt what you say, only that times must have changed. Only concession stand was in the lower lounge. I worked there.
The photos are wonderful (double sigh). The photo of the lobby, however, includes only the entrance to the loge (about halfway into the rotunda)on the second level. Before the stairway to the loge is the grand stairway to the balcony, also on the left and seen as soon as you enter the theater from the outer lobby. Towards the center orchestra doors (to the extreme right…not seen in photo)is an alcove where patrons could take a huge elevator to the balcony.
If you have the time and inclination and go back through these amazing emails you will find one in which I mentioned the films that played there when I was an usher. I began working evenings while going to school. It was the final week of D-Day The Sixth of June with R. Taylor and Emmet Kelly the renowned clown heading the stage show. Business was poor for that run but they knew they had to prepare for big business and took on a lot of help. The King and I ran 8 weeks, then Bus Stop for 6 wks, then Giant for 9 weeks, then Anastasia for 8 weeks. all huge grossers attracting long lines to 6th Avenue during peak hours. Business slipped precipitously soon after. But what a great experience for 95 cents an hour.
Communication from the ushers to the various house managers was constant from all sections of the theater. This was relayed to the lobby from the doormen to the managers to the cashiers by phone. Every usher kept track of the flow and knew exactly how many (or few) seats there were in his charge. Ushers reported to managers by telephone every five minutes during busy times and we also used hand signals to give both numbers and locations. As far as the loge was concerned, patrons would often change their minds once they had purchased a regular admissions ticket, if the wait for orchestra seats appeared to be too long. Because the loge only seated 1,000 patrons, it would fill up quickly during pressure business.
Unquestionably the Roxy. The screen, unlike RCMH, was curved and the sound much better as well. The only time the Roxy removed seats (the entire loge was closed)was for Windjammer in Cinemiracle.
To Ziggy, what a treat it is for this Roxy usher (1956 – 57) to see these rare photos. For your amusement, may I share this: There was a small desk placed on the first landing to the (rocking chair)loge where a cashier would sit and exchange tickets for those who wanted to sit in the loge after already purchasing a regular priced ticket. This happened frequently when the patrons saw too many people waiting for orchestra seats. One more thing: It’s hard to believe that the huge crowd waiting in line were there for a Ritz Brothers film in 1937. Perhaps a stage headliner was the draw. I’d love to see a photo of the rotunda from the lobby to the orchestra entrance. Not even in “The Best Remaining Seats.” Thanks again
To continue: Four or five open boxoffices were common during peak times at the Hall and Roxy. Five minute breaks were the norm. The Hall had a 15 minute break after the first show on Sunday at holiday time anticipating tight initials. As to opening only 15 minutes before the start of a show: That referred to the doors between the foyer and the auditorium where patrons were held until the house was ready. The box office would start selling as early as 1 hour before the start of the first feature, depending on how long the street line was. Hope that answeres some of the questions. The Roxy, however, rounded out it times to the nearest five. 5:18 was posted as 5:20 and 1:18 was 1:15. Its fun to look at the other movie house schedules on Broadway, if posted.
All feature times were in minutes at all the Broadway and neighborhood theaters up until the drop of continuous showings and start of separate admissions for each show. The short breaks, particularly at the Hall and Roxy, weren’t meant to encourage concession purchases, as there weren’t any, certainly not in the 30s, 40s and 50s. That was a later phenominun. Only neighborhood theaters might have had concession stands. The time schedules were prepared to fit in the most number of shows during day; to allow for a moderate spill of patrons between stage and film showings as most patrons walked in at any time. A full house at the start of a day (Saturday or Sunday) was rare but a headache at the Hall and Roxy. Imagine 6,000 people coming up the aisles.
You guys are funny….still can’t differentiate between the original Roxy and the New Roxy that became the Center Theatre. Anyone who makes that mistake from here on deserves a severe reprimand.
Few of you will remember (very few) that most of the first run Broadway deluxers showed their feature until 4 AM, especially during the war years. Also remember that many factories employed round-the-clock shifts with many patrons looking for entertainment at odd hours. You can be sure if the customers were not there, they wouldn’t stay open. The grind houses on 42nd, in particular, never seemed to close. I don’t know the policy at the Roxy regarding this, but the Music Hall reduced its regular price of $1.50 to .90 for the midnight feature (no stage show)only.
Answer to mjc: That was indeed,only for New Years Eve. Generally the last stage show began at 10 PM with the last feature at 11 PM, except for Saturday night when the last stage show began at 11 PM and feature at midnight. The Roxy made it a policy to have their last show a bit later than the Music Hall in order to get the overflow and others who missed the last show at the Hall. During the war years, the Hall ran an additional midnight showing of the film without a late stage show.
I know Warren is the expert with the exact grosses retrieved from Variety. But I’d like to take a stab at it just from memory. I believe that “…Show Business” was a huge disappointment to Fox despite the big campaign. I remember that Ethel Merman was on hand opening day at the Roxy to sell tickets…that’s right…they put at the box office with a regular cashier as a gimmick at the opening show. The opening week was around $90,000 (pre-Christmas) with the following holiday week jumbing to about $142,000 (not a record by any means). “Forever Amber” did $!80,000 as did “Stars and Stripes Forever.” It fell considerably below $90,000 in subsequent weeks , but Warren can tell you whether it played four or five weeks or more. What I can tell you is that seeing “…Show Business” on that great screen, especially that grand finale, was something else.
Here’s one consideration that many people who watch the grosses between the Roxy and Music Hall srarely consider. The Music Hall always attracted a heavy morning and matinee crowd, mainly comprised of tourists. The Roxy business did not have the pull of tourists and business was heaviest at night and ran their shows much later, often until 1 Am, except for the rare family film. As a former usher at both theaters, I can tell you that the Roxy also had a policy of special children’s prices at all times which kept the grosses down. The Music Hall never had that policy.
I don’t have the Roxy grosses for “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” but I’m reasonably sure, if memory serves, they hovered around the $120,000, 110,000, 100,000 or so for the run. The “Band Wagon” grosses were, as follows: 171,000, 157,000, 159,000, 156,000, 147,000, 133,000, and 117,000 for its 7 week run.
Thank you Mike…I’m in heaven. Now I can play and hear the grand organ medleys before after the movies on my big screen TV. All I need is an usher to say “immediate seating in all parts of the theater,” or “exits and lounges are on the left.”
Answer to EdBlank regarding grosses: Yes I have the exact figures of each week of every film from the day RCMH opened. As for Bambi, it’s gross(around $90,000 and $85,000(without consulting the archives)during the two weeks it played actually didn’t warrant a holdover. Perhaps it was the sadness of the story that kept parents from bringing children and also the fact that the Music Hall never had special prices for children. “Snow White…” was another story as it was so unique being the first full-length animated feature from Disney. It ran five weeks, as you know and grossed consistently over $100,000 over the entire run. It probably could have stayed longer, but the Hall was already backlogged with product. As you know, most films were booked for only one week with a possible one week holdover.
Just a little something to amuse Tinseltoes: As an usher during the 7 week run of “North By Northwest”, the staff would make bets on whether all the white lights would go on and twinkle during the “Serenade to the Stars” finale…more often than not two or three strands would fail to light up as the “queen of the night” (or whatever she was) ascended from the stage floor almost to the top of the proscenium,her gown of lights gradually unfolding to an enormous size as she was lifted higher and higher. “NBN” broke the non-holiday opening week gross with $195,000. Previous non-holiday record was “High Society” with $190,000 in 1956.
As a former Roxy usher 1956/1957, I was wondering if there is any interest in a reunion of ushers and/or staff who still might be around.
For most of you, this link won’t be news, but I thought I would just share a photo of myself (second left) as an RCMH in 1958 with a short article I wrote to accompany a review of “Zarkana” http://curtainup.com/zarkana.html Enjoy. Also would like to initiate a possible reunion of staff prior to the Music Hall ending its regular stage and film policy. Anyone interested?
You are, indeed right about attendance and grosses Warren, but the point I was trying to make was that the Roxy made a good choice for the holidays. And 7th Voyage did a lot better than either the plodding Inn of Sixth Happiness or dull Rally Round the Flag would have done.
Nice comments Bill, “The 7th Voyage…” was not only a stunning visual treat and great family entertainment (still is) but also had the highest holiday gross ($190,000) in the Roxy history beating the record opening of “Forever Amber,” ($180,000) and second only to the grosses of “The Robe” ($264,000 opening week).
Thanks Warren, You depressed the hell out of me. My only regret is that I was out of the country during that time and couldn’t get inside, take photos and steal anything that wasn’t nailed down. I do have a bricks from the Loew’s Grand Atlanta, Helen Hayes and Morosco Theaters.
This link worked. Awesome, Glorious, tragic, and thank you Lost Memory. The one photo that still puzzles me (I seen it before) is the one with the huge crowd that appears to be running in the rotunda. It looks like a crush of people coming in from the outer lobby and not an orderly line of people entering theater after waiting for seats. Any guesses what this could be? It almost looks like an evacuation, except that they are heading in the wrong direction.
Hate to be more dense than anyone else here but….how do I get the Roxy demolition photos. I clicked on the only link I saw below but that didn’t seem to do it.
Here are some Roxy related photos. Link is courtesy of “misterboo”.
posted by Lost Memory on Nov 21, 2008 at 1:20pm
From one former Roxy usher (1956 – 57 seasons) to another: Hey Frank, It’s great to hear your recollections. Since I have already shared so many of my memories on this site, I won’t bore the contributors with a recap. But the back stage elevator assignment always filled me with terror as we had to level with the floor manually being careful not to create a step for the skaters. I wonder how many of us are left (standing)? I do remember taking Louis Armstrong up and down numerous times (I believe the film was Boy on a Dolphin). I hope I’m remembering correctly.
Thanks for your memories Richka. But the loge stairway was exclusively for the loge patrons. There was no access to the balcony from there. General admission patrons had to use the grand staircase in the front of the rotunda. I’m surprised to hear about ushers doing tricks. When I was there you would have been fired if you crossed your arms let alone do acrobatics to entertain the patrons. Discipline was strict and we had to be at our post at attention at all times, especially during pressure business. No time for comedy. But I don’t doubt what you say, only that times must have changed. Only concession stand was in the lower lounge. I worked there.
The photos are wonderful (double sigh). The photo of the lobby, however, includes only the entrance to the loge (about halfway into the rotunda)on the second level. Before the stairway to the loge is the grand stairway to the balcony, also on the left and seen as soon as you enter the theater from the outer lobby. Towards the center orchestra doors (to the extreme right…not seen in photo)is an alcove where patrons could take a huge elevator to the balcony.
If you have the time and inclination and go back through these amazing emails you will find one in which I mentioned the films that played there when I was an usher. I began working evenings while going to school. It was the final week of D-Day The Sixth of June with R. Taylor and Emmet Kelly the renowned clown heading the stage show. Business was poor for that run but they knew they had to prepare for big business and took on a lot of help. The King and I ran 8 weeks, then Bus Stop for 6 wks, then Giant for 9 weeks, then Anastasia for 8 weeks. all huge grossers attracting long lines to 6th Avenue during peak hours. Business slipped precipitously soon after. But what a great experience for 95 cents an hour.
Communication from the ushers to the various house managers was constant from all sections of the theater. This was relayed to the lobby from the doormen to the managers to the cashiers by phone. Every usher kept track of the flow and knew exactly how many (or few) seats there were in his charge. Ushers reported to managers by telephone every five minutes during busy times and we also used hand signals to give both numbers and locations. As far as the loge was concerned, patrons would often change their minds once they had purchased a regular admissions ticket, if the wait for orchestra seats appeared to be too long. Because the loge only seated 1,000 patrons, it would fill up quickly during pressure business.
Unquestionably the Roxy. The screen, unlike RCMH, was curved and the sound much better as well. The only time the Roxy removed seats (the entire loge was closed)was for Windjammer in Cinemiracle.
To Ziggy, what a treat it is for this Roxy usher (1956 – 57) to see these rare photos. For your amusement, may I share this: There was a small desk placed on the first landing to the (rocking chair)loge where a cashier would sit and exchange tickets for those who wanted to sit in the loge after already purchasing a regular priced ticket. This happened frequently when the patrons saw too many people waiting for orchestra seats. One more thing: It’s hard to believe that the huge crowd waiting in line were there for a Ritz Brothers film in 1937. Perhaps a stage headliner was the draw. I’d love to see a photo of the rotunda from the lobby to the orchestra entrance. Not even in “The Best Remaining Seats.” Thanks again
To continue: Four or five open boxoffices were common during peak times at the Hall and Roxy. Five minute breaks were the norm. The Hall had a 15 minute break after the first show on Sunday at holiday time anticipating tight initials. As to opening only 15 minutes before the start of a show: That referred to the doors between the foyer and the auditorium where patrons were held until the house was ready. The box office would start selling as early as 1 hour before the start of the first feature, depending on how long the street line was. Hope that answeres some of the questions. The Roxy, however, rounded out it times to the nearest five. 5:18 was posted as 5:20 and 1:18 was 1:15. Its fun to look at the other movie house schedules on Broadway, if posted.
All feature times were in minutes at all the Broadway and neighborhood theaters up until the drop of continuous showings and start of separate admissions for each show. The short breaks, particularly at the Hall and Roxy, weren’t meant to encourage concession purchases, as there weren’t any, certainly not in the 30s, 40s and 50s. That was a later phenominun. Only neighborhood theaters might have had concession stands. The time schedules were prepared to fit in the most number of shows during day; to allow for a moderate spill of patrons between stage and film showings as most patrons walked in at any time. A full house at the start of a day (Saturday or Sunday) was rare but a headache at the Hall and Roxy. Imagine 6,000 people coming up the aisles.
You guys are funny….still can’t differentiate between the original Roxy and the New Roxy that became the Center Theatre. Anyone who makes that mistake from here on deserves a severe reprimand.
Few of you will remember (very few) that most of the first run Broadway deluxers showed their feature until 4 AM, especially during the war years. Also remember that many factories employed round-the-clock shifts with many patrons looking for entertainment at odd hours. You can be sure if the customers were not there, they wouldn’t stay open. The grind houses on 42nd, in particular, never seemed to close. I don’t know the policy at the Roxy regarding this, but the Music Hall reduced its regular price of $1.50 to .90 for the midnight feature (no stage show)only.
Answer to mjc: That was indeed,only for New Years Eve. Generally the last stage show began at 10 PM with the last feature at 11 PM, except for Saturday night when the last stage show began at 11 PM and feature at midnight. The Roxy made it a policy to have their last show a bit later than the Music Hall in order to get the overflow and others who missed the last show at the Hall. During the war years, the Hall ran an additional midnight showing of the film without a late stage show.
I know Warren is the expert with the exact grosses retrieved from Variety. But I’d like to take a stab at it just from memory. I believe that “…Show Business” was a huge disappointment to Fox despite the big campaign. I remember that Ethel Merman was on hand opening day at the Roxy to sell tickets…that’s right…they put at the box office with a regular cashier as a gimmick at the opening show. The opening week was around $90,000 (pre-Christmas) with the following holiday week jumbing to about $142,000 (not a record by any means). “Forever Amber” did $!80,000 as did “Stars and Stripes Forever.” It fell considerably below $90,000 in subsequent weeks , but Warren can tell you whether it played four or five weeks or more. What I can tell you is that seeing “…Show Business” on that great screen, especially that grand finale, was something else.
Here’s one consideration that many people who watch the grosses between the Roxy and Music Hall srarely consider. The Music Hall always attracted a heavy morning and matinee crowd, mainly comprised of tourists. The Roxy business did not have the pull of tourists and business was heaviest at night and ran their shows much later, often until 1 Am, except for the rare family film. As a former usher at both theaters, I can tell you that the Roxy also had a policy of special children’s prices at all times which kept the grosses down. The Music Hall never had that policy.
I don’t have the Roxy grosses for “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” but I’m reasonably sure, if memory serves, they hovered around the $120,000, 110,000, 100,000 or so for the run. The “Band Wagon” grosses were, as follows: 171,000, 157,000, 159,000, 156,000, 147,000, 133,000, and 117,000 for its 7 week run.
Thank you Mike…I’m in heaven. Now I can play and hear the grand organ medleys before after the movies on my big screen TV. All I need is an usher to say “immediate seating in all parts of the theater,” or “exits and lounges are on the left.”