“Holiday Inn” introduced Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” which has reportedly sold more recordings worldwide than any song in the history of popular music.
The cast of gossip columnist Louella Parson’s “Caravan of Stars” included a future President of the USA and a soon-to-be bride who never made it to “First Lady.”
The original Roxy’s first ad since Radio City Music Hall re-opened on January 11th with a screen/stage policy similar to that of its smaller sibling, the New Roxy.
The Roxy Theatre itself was now involved in bankruptcy proceedings, and also dreading the competition from the two new theatres soon to be opened by its namesake founder in Radio City.
The Roxy’s entire net proceeds for the week were being donated to the Emergency Unemployment Relief Committee. Movie and stage stars were making guest appearances daily to boost attendance.
One of the most revered stage bookings in the history of the Broadway Theatre was with Ethel Merman in “Gypsy,” which opened on May 29th, 1959, and ran for 702 performances. The creative team had Arthur Laurents as author; Jule Styne, composer; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist; and Jerome Robbins, director & choreographer.
Stage shows were being presented only on Saturdays and Sundays. Casino had been renovated in 1939 to coincide with the opening of the New York World’s Fair, which was now closed after a second season in 1940.
Starting just prior to America’s entry into WW II, new management by Christina Brock and veteran talent booker Charles Yates kept this Saturday/Sunday policy running for a couple of months before drowning in red ink.
More likely, this was probably a pre-Broadway try-out on September 28-29, 1945, which fell on a Friday & Saturday that year. In 1946, September 28-29 fell on a Sunday & Monday, according to the Perpetual Calendar.
Being a Sunday, the Music Hall opened later than usual, but probably earlier than 12:00 Noon if “Suspicion” was to screen at 12:02. News of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor didn’t break until mid-afternoon,
not causing a sharp drop in attendance until the next day, when the Music Hall reportedly had the worst Monday in its history to date.
A brief article about the Pioneer Theatre at the “Forgotten New York” website includes a current view of the property and a fuller version of the tax photo. Click here
Opened at the Rivoli Theatre on November 14th. This ad was published three days later, following overwhelming “raves” for Dietrich’s first performance in a Hollywood-made film.
Starting in the Thanksgiving season of that month, Loew’s rented the shuttered Fine Arts for a trial period of a “Swing Shift” policy running from 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM the next morning for wartime factory workers. First-run programming was the same as at Loew’s State and Orpheum, but the experiment proved unsuccessful and probably ended with this booking. Next up at Loew’s State & Orpheum was “Jack London” and co-feature, with no mention of the Fine Arts Owl in advertising or news reports.
At that time, “Dick Tracy” was the most popular comic strip in the NY Daily News, which had the highest circulation of any newspaper in the metropolitan area, with more than 2 million copies daily and 4 million on Sundays (when “Dick Tracy” occupied a full page in color).
Newspaper article published on opening day of February 21st, 1931.
“Holiday Inn” introduced Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” which has reportedly sold more recordings worldwide than any song in the history of popular music.
The cast of gossip columnist Louella Parson’s “Caravan of Stars” included a future President of the USA and a soon-to-be bride who never made it to “First Lady.”
Permitted to re-open after two days, provided changes were made to costuming and comedy content.
This shows the midtown Gotham Theatre, listed at CT under the later name of Movieland
The original Roxy’s first ad since Radio City Music Hall re-opened on January 11th with a screen/stage policy similar to that of its smaller sibling, the New Roxy.
Debuted on the same day that Radio City Music Hall re-opened with a new policy of feature movie and house-produced stage revue.
More confirmation of the inevitable here
The Roxy Theatre itself was now involved in bankruptcy proceedings, and also dreading the competition from the two new theatres soon to be opened by its namesake founder in Radio City.
The Roxy’s entire net proceeds for the week were being donated to the Emergency Unemployment Relief Committee. Movie and stage stars were making guest appearances daily to boost attendance.
Rising star Susan Hayward still being listed with supporting cast below the feature’s title.
Uncredited process was Cinecolor, which had a more limited spectrum than Technicolor but was more affordable for minor studios such as PRC.
“You’re not leaving this room, Mr. Mitgang, until I have your Blue Cross number.”
One of the most revered stage bookings in the history of the Broadway Theatre was with Ethel Merman in “Gypsy,” which opened on May 29th, 1959, and ran for 702 performances. The creative team had Arthur Laurents as author; Jule Styne, composer; Stephen Sondheim, lyricist; and Jerome Robbins, director & choreographer.
Stage shows were being presented only on Saturdays and Sundays. Casino had been renovated in 1939 to coincide with the opening of the New York World’s Fair, which was now closed after a second season in 1940.
Starting just prior to America’s entry into WW II, new management by Christina Brock and veteran talent booker Charles Yates kept this Saturday/Sunday policy running for a couple of months before drowning in red ink.
More likely, this was probably a pre-Broadway try-out on September 28-29, 1945, which fell on a Friday & Saturday that year. In 1946, September 28-29 fell on a Sunday & Monday, according to the Perpetual Calendar.
Being a Sunday, the Music Hall opened later than usual, but probably earlier than 12:00 Noon if “Suspicion” was to screen at 12:02. News of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor didn’t break until mid-afternoon, not causing a sharp drop in attendance until the next day, when the Music Hall reportedly had the worst Monday in its history to date.
A brief article about the Pioneer Theatre at the “Forgotten New York” website includes a current view of the property and a fuller version of the tax photo. Click here
This ad published on September 17th, 1929.
Grand opening plans for the nearby RKO Roxy with screen/stage policy described in bottom left corner of the ad.
Opened at the Rivoli Theatre on November 14th. This ad was published three days later, following overwhelming “raves” for Dietrich’s first performance in a Hollywood-made film.
Starting in the Thanksgiving season of that month, Loew’s rented the shuttered Fine Arts for a trial period of a “Swing Shift” policy running from 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM the next morning for wartime factory workers. First-run programming was the same as at Loew’s State and Orpheum, but the experiment proved unsuccessful and probably ended with this booking. Next up at Loew’s State & Orpheum was “Jack London” and co-feature, with no mention of the Fine Arts Owl in advertising or news reports.
At that time, “Dick Tracy” was the most popular comic strip in the NY Daily News, which had the highest circulation of any newspaper in the metropolitan area, with more than 2 million copies daily and 4 million on Sundays (when “Dick Tracy” occupied a full page in color).
Invitation states “Preview,” not “Premiere,” meaning only a single screening. Loew’s ad for that day calls it a “Major Studio Prevue.”