Sombody really needs to put together a book of photos from the Hall stage shows with a description of the perennials. The pictures for the most part from the souvenir books until the early 60’s contain photos which are fairly grainy and washed out. However I have seen color photos from as early as the 50’s in souvenir slides and reproduced in encyclopedias which give you a great sense of what these production numbers really looked like. Otherwise you are stuck with that book that came out on the Music Hall about 25 years ago which was sloppily edited with snapshot photos that did no justice to the great stage.
In the early 70’s the Hall had set up on 50th street color photos of old stage shows from a studio called Impact. They looked great. There must be quite a few of them somewhere. Anybody know what happened to them? If they were stored at the Hall I’m afraid that one of the dim bulbs that works there now would have thrown them out already.
So the Auntie Mame Christmas show started with the Nativity then went from the bottom of the sea and then to the Moon? All this and Roz at her greatest? Today’s Christmas show might as well be staged in a day-care center for all the effect it makes.
You’re right BOB. Perhaps we should give the prize to Sayonara as most bizarre holiday show ever(I’d say Charade would be second. Those gruesome deaths are still difficult to watch today.)
Great story Jerry though I would have happily waited those hours to see that Christmas show(and I’ve never been able to get through the entire film myself.)
Harvest does seem a rather sombre film for a Christmas show(well what about The Late George Aply as an Easter Show and then there was the R Russell aviatrix Easter show-what were they thinking?) But I give it a pass because I think it is one of the most beautiful films to ever come out of Hollywood. It’s like grand opera-it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but is it ever powerful.
Concerning Mr. Lucky that’s a pretty good run for a film that is completely forgotten today. Does anybody know why Grant’s last film, which should have been a shoo-in for the Hall in the mid-sixties, did not play there? I believe the Times review asks this same question.
Sunflower was in the fall of ‘70 and I remember seeing it at a packed Saturday morning perf but don’t remember people being unhappy at the dubbing though it was certainly obvious. The movie was mediocre and the stage show was pretty bad. I just don’t think at this point in time the Music Hall could have shown anything else. There just wasn’t any product that would have been suitable for the place. The effects of the collapse of the studio system were hitting the Hall especially hard just then. Last night TCM showed their CG doc including shots of the crowds going into the Hall for the Phil Story and North by NW. Talk about eating yourself up over what you missed.
Frederic Kellers was also involved in the choice of Robin and Marian as the Easter 76 show. I remember him expressing his dismay at the absolutely abysmal turnout for that one and staring at him in total disbelief wondering well what in the world did you expect!
With all due respect to Cary and you Warren Grant began his career when stars regularly produced multiple films every year and films had for the most part much shorter runs in their premiere engagements. Had Hepburn begun her carreer when Grant did then perhaps she might have ko’d the champ. Nobody admires Grant more than I but the idea of seeing Audrey on the screen at the Music Hall in Givenchy-well I guess there would be nothing more to live for.
I’d hardly single out Moon Pilot as an early contributor to the Music Halls downfall simply because it was a so so picture(it’s very pleasant in its own way though it’s not what you want it to be) but the stage show pictures I’ve seen look great and after all the Hall chose Green Mansions as the Easter film a few years before so you could probably go back to that. Also what in the world was Charade doing as a Christmas film?
So if you were working at the Rivoli for WSS and were not a member of the union then you were only there after the film ended its reserved seat run and went on continuous perfs. But how do you manage to confuse the Rivoli and the Criterion when you worked at the Riv and were there for two of its biggest attractions ever?
Considering that I am bashing 20th Century Fox today may I continue?
Am I the only one to have noticed that the 40th Anniversary of the Rivoli’s world premiere of The Sound Of Music in March of ‘65 has come and gone this month?
So where was the deluxe Todd AO print which should have been struck for this occasion with a run at(gulp)the Ziegfeld?
Pretty soon those of us who saw it in our youths will be gone and then who will go to see the thing in a theater ever again?
There is probably as much chance of Fox properly presenting this film at the Ziegfeld as there is of the studio rebuilding the Roxy at 7th and 50th and showing it with its original stage show.
Pablo what does art theaters mean?
Cinema Village, Angelica, the Quad?
Maybe somebody at Fox has a functioning neuron in the brain(though I wouldn’t count on it) and they’ll show it at the Ziegfeld.
Didn’t the remake also play the Hall? I guess that maybe the only successful western at Radio City was Shane? Perhaps the midtown NY audiences didn’t go for westerns especially at the Roxy and the Music Hall.
Ditto Bill’s comment about Ben Hur. What could compare?
Re The Godfather films of the 70’s. No old Hollywood film ever romanticized sordid reality to such an extent. Even LB Mayer would have blanched.
CC i appreciate your passion for films of the ‘70s but I cannot share your enthusiasm. I came of age in the 70’s and saw a number of these films on their original release(saw Chinatown at Loews State 1) however at the time I found them sorely lacking in craftsmanship and focus. Thats why seeing revivals in the 70’s were such mind blowing experiences for me like 2001 at the Rivoli or Rain at the Music Hall or Magnificent Ambersons at the Regency. To this day I cannot sit through a Scorcese or Altman film. So I seek older films which continually astonish me. If you want realism may I direct you to some of the Stiller and Sjostrom films of the teens? Not only will you find them harrowing but you will be overwhelmed by their intensity. Films in the 70’s turned into puddles before your eyes both literally and figuratively.
Richard- concerning the grain and murkiness that enveloped film making in the 70’s this was one of the reasons that I stopped going to the Times Square houses and the Music Hall. Seeing exploitation or arty american films which are seen best on video at these large screen theaters was like using an intricately carved wooden frame to set off a polaroid.
For some reason people see the very late ‘60’s to mid 70’s as a golden age for american film or when film became adult. I personally think its when american film lost its crafmanship, sense of proportion and just plain entertainment value. It then became pretentious, self righteous and very sloppy. Not to mention the crudeness(and I am no prude) which to this day still astonishes me.
Richard, 2001 opened in New York at the Capitol and then moved over to the Strand which I believe is pretty well documented on this and the 70mm in New York site. It would be interesting to hear from people who saw it on its original engagement. Also I thought that the film had a pretty standard road show release which only changed when it was pushed out of the Strand in the fall of ‘68 for Ice Station Zebra. But maybe there are others who could enlighten us on this. Remember there were still a few successful roadshows to come-Funny Girl, Oliver, and Fiddler(ugh!)
You mean narrower in ‘78?
Yes!!!
I thought it was a larger image as well in '76 but I thought my memory was playing tricks on me in '78.
So maybe I was right all these years.
And what I want to know is why the colors of the souvenir book photos match those of the print the Jersey showed?
I remember someone complaining when the restored Fair Lady played at the Ziegfeld in ‘93 that the colors were not as vivid as he remembered however they matched the colors that I remembered from the Broadway on Broadway 70mm print and the photos in the souvenir book. The only things that did not match were the astounding 6 track sound of the Warner Cinerama and its large curved head-on screen.
Sombody really needs to put together a book of photos from the Hall stage shows with a description of the perennials. The pictures for the most part from the souvenir books until the early 60’s contain photos which are fairly grainy and washed out. However I have seen color photos from as early as the 50’s in souvenir slides and reproduced in encyclopedias which give you a great sense of what these production numbers really looked like. Otherwise you are stuck with that book that came out on the Music Hall about 25 years ago which was sloppily edited with snapshot photos that did no justice to the great stage.
In the early 70’s the Hall had set up on 50th street color photos of old stage shows from a studio called Impact. They looked great. There must be quite a few of them somewhere. Anybody know what happened to them? If they were stored at the Hall I’m afraid that one of the dim bulbs that works there now would have thrown them out already.
So how in the world did they clear out the parfum by the beginning of the movie or did they allow it to linger to cover the stink of the film?
For people who saw such things as Magic Mirrors and
Seranade to the Stars how do you think these things would go over today?
So the Auntie Mame Christmas show started with the Nativity then went from the bottom of the sea and then to the Moon? All this and Roz at her greatest? Today’s Christmas show might as well be staged in a day-care center for all the effect it makes.
You’re right BOB. Perhaps we should give the prize to Sayonara as most bizarre holiday show ever(I’d say Charade would be second. Those gruesome deaths are still difficult to watch today.)
Great story Jerry though I would have happily waited those hours to see that Christmas show(and I’ve never been able to get through the entire film myself.)
Harvest does seem a rather sombre film for a Christmas show(well what about The Late George Aply as an Easter Show and then there was the R Russell aviatrix Easter show-what were they thinking?) But I give it a pass because I think it is one of the most beautiful films to ever come out of Hollywood. It’s like grand opera-it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but is it ever powerful.
Concerning Mr. Lucky that’s a pretty good run for a film that is completely forgotten today. Does anybody know why Grant’s last film, which should have been a shoo-in for the Hall in the mid-sixties, did not play there? I believe the Times review asks this same question.
Sunflower was in the fall of ‘70 and I remember seeing it at a packed Saturday morning perf but don’t remember people being unhappy at the dubbing though it was certainly obvious. The movie was mediocre and the stage show was pretty bad. I just don’t think at this point in time the Music Hall could have shown anything else. There just wasn’t any product that would have been suitable for the place. The effects of the collapse of the studio system were hitting the Hall especially hard just then. Last night TCM showed their CG doc including shots of the crowds going into the Hall for the Phil Story and North by NW. Talk about eating yourself up over what you missed.
Frederic Kellers was also involved in the choice of Robin and Marian as the Easter 76 show. I remember him expressing his dismay at the absolutely abysmal turnout for that one and staring at him in total disbelief wondering well what in the world did you expect!
With all due respect to Cary and you Warren Grant began his career when stars regularly produced multiple films every year and films had for the most part much shorter runs in their premiere engagements. Had Hepburn begun her carreer when Grant did then perhaps she might have ko’d the champ. Nobody admires Grant more than I but the idea of seeing Audrey on the screen at the Music Hall in Givenchy-well I guess there would be nothing more to live for.
I’d hardly single out Moon Pilot as an early contributor to the Music Halls downfall simply because it was a so so picture(it’s very pleasant in its own way though it’s not what you want it to be) but the stage show pictures I’ve seen look great and after all the Hall chose Green Mansions as the Easter film a few years before so you could probably go back to that. Also what in the world was Charade doing as a Christmas film?
So if you were working at the Rivoli for WSS and were not a member of the union then you were only there after the film ended its reserved seat run and went on continuous perfs. But how do you manage to confuse the Rivoli and the Criterion when you worked at the Riv and were there for two of its biggest attractions ever?
The Father of the Bride was fine. The Music Hall mystery of all time was the Nancy Reagan film that followed it.
Considering that I am bashing 20th Century Fox today may I continue?
Am I the only one to have noticed that the 40th Anniversary of the Rivoli’s world premiere of The Sound Of Music in March of ‘65 has come and gone this month?
So where was the deluxe Todd AO print which should have been struck for this occasion with a run at(gulp)the Ziegfeld?
Pretty soon those of us who saw it in our youths will be gone and then who will go to see the thing in a theater ever again?
There is probably as much chance of Fox properly presenting this film at the Ziegfeld as there is of the studio rebuilding the Roxy at 7th and 50th and showing it with its original stage show.
Pablo what does art theaters mean?
Cinema Village, Angelica, the Quad?
Maybe somebody at Fox has a functioning neuron in the brain(though I wouldn’t count on it) and they’ll show it at the Ziegfeld.
So we’re not talking about seeing The King and I at the Roxy, right?
Didn’t the remake also play the Hall? I guess that maybe the only successful western at Radio City was Shane? Perhaps the midtown NY audiences didn’t go for westerns especially at the Roxy and the Music Hall.
Nice double feature with starting times well placed. Please do more programs like this. Great stuff.
Ditto Bill’s comment about Ben Hur. What could compare?
Re The Godfather films of the 70’s. No old Hollywood film ever romanticized sordid reality to such an extent. Even LB Mayer would have blanched.
CC i appreciate your passion for films of the ‘70s but I cannot share your enthusiasm. I came of age in the 70’s and saw a number of these films on their original release(saw Chinatown at Loews State 1) however at the time I found them sorely lacking in craftsmanship and focus. Thats why seeing revivals in the 70’s were such mind blowing experiences for me like 2001 at the Rivoli or Rain at the Music Hall or Magnificent Ambersons at the Regency. To this day I cannot sit through a Scorcese or Altman film. So I seek older films which continually astonish me. If you want realism may I direct you to some of the Stiller and Sjostrom films of the teens? Not only will you find them harrowing but you will be overwhelmed by their intensity. Films in the 70’s turned into puddles before your eyes both literally and figuratively.
Richard- concerning the grain and murkiness that enveloped film making in the 70’s this was one of the reasons that I stopped going to the Times Square houses and the Music Hall. Seeing exploitation or arty american films which are seen best on video at these large screen theaters was like using an intricately carved wooden frame to set off a polaroid.
For some reason people see the very late ‘60’s to mid 70’s as a golden age for american film or when film became adult. I personally think its when american film lost its crafmanship, sense of proportion and just plain entertainment value. It then became pretentious, self righteous and very sloppy. Not to mention the crudeness(and I am no prude) which to this day still astonishes me.
Richard, 2001 opened in New York at the Capitol and then moved over to the Strand which I believe is pretty well documented on this and the 70mm in New York site. It would be interesting to hear from people who saw it on its original engagement. Also I thought that the film had a pretty standard road show release which only changed when it was pushed out of the Strand in the fall of ‘68 for Ice Station Zebra. But maybe there are others who could enlighten us on this. Remember there were still a few successful roadshows to come-Funny Girl, Oliver, and Fiddler(ugh!)
You mean narrower in ‘78?
Yes!!!
I thought it was a larger image as well in '76 but I thought my memory was playing tricks on me in '78.
So maybe I was right all these years.
And what I want to know is why the colors of the souvenir book photos match those of the print the Jersey showed?
I remember someone complaining when the restored Fair Lady played at the Ziegfeld in ‘93 that the colors were not as vivid as he remembered however they matched the colors that I remembered from the Broadway on Broadway 70mm print and the photos in the souvenir book. The only things that did not match were the astounding 6 track sound of the Warner Cinerama and its large curved head-on screen.