Warren your post about China Seas was very interesting in that I guess this marked the end of the first road show era. Previously films like Anna Karenina and Camille would have played at the Astor on hard ticket. I wonder what were the exact reasons for this change in distribution practices. When Gone With the Wind was road showed at the Astor it had to share it with the Capitol on contiuous performances. Did MGM by the mid 30’s get tired of not making enough money on an initial Broadway release?
The Radio City Music Hall should be a public institution like any other great New York landmark. It should not be holding basketball games or religious fundamentalist pageants to make money. With corporate and city funds a summer show based on Markert and Leonidoff is not impossible. If the Hall had survived solely on commercial considerations it would have closed up shop in ‘55. After that it was the Rockefellers who propped it up.
Well I’m glad they saw it without any distractions though they probably had to cancel their plans for Schrafts. Now was Coppola’s father in reality playing in the Hall symphony at this time? When I was working at the Hall they had signs up back stage for St Mary’s which had been used in the Godfather.
By the way are Pacino and Keaton going into the Hall or coming out when they see the news of Michael’s father being shot? If it is before do they still go to see the Christmas show anyway? It sounds like it would have been a terrific one.
It’s nice that the Godfather got that right. Annie has Camille playing at the Hall whereas the musical Words and Music gets it right having it play at the Capitol(though I’m not sure if in reality Camille played there with a stage show as the film has it.)
It’s nice that the Godfather got that right. Annie has Camille playing at the Hall whereas the musical Words and Music gets it right having it play at the Capitol(though I’m not sure if in reality Camille played there with a stage show as the film has it.)
Warren I have for a long time wondered why Happened was such a disappointment at the Hall. It seems like it would have been such a sensation yet it only ran a mediocre week. Gable appearing live a the Capitol explains everything. Also Carrie and Bovary seem like they should have been at the Hall.
And CC if you are such a fan of old movies(I personally find most movies after ‘70 unwatchable though I did like Groundhog Day) why are you making suggestions of the Hall showing films like Pulp Fiction to bring in the crowds?(Only teasing, I enjoy your posts a lot and want you to get out to the Loews Jersey the first weekend of March. You will be happily stunned.)
What about what we talked about years ago. Classic films(no Excorcist, Abyss, Kill Bill, we want family friendly films here ) changing once a week with a great stage show during the summer. I’m talking about the Rockettes and symphony and ballet. Include great special effects like the burning of Nome, a Jules Verne trip to outerspace or the great ballets like Bolero or the Undersea. With the Media make it an historic event. Yeah I know it will cost a ton of money but like I’ve said a million times you’ll be employing a lot of people. If Lincoln Center can pay the fees of overpaid 3rd rate classical artists(I won’t get started) the city can find some money for one of its greatest institutions. Yeah and I’ll hold up the Rockettes anyday to what passes for art on the stages at 64th St. And what about corporate sponsorship? What tax breaks is Cablevision getting? Where did Christo(and I like his work) get 26 million for his 70’s orange shower curtains? The possibilities are endless.
Films by themselves are not going to work and neither are stage shows alone.
The city should prosecute Cablevision executives for crimes against the cultural heritage of New York.
Well now that Cablevision is presenting Dora and basketball and people are gunning for a Tarantino festival maybe overpriced condos aren’t such a bad idea.
Better dead than red.
I was at the Hall for the My Fair Lady Saturday matinee and in the orchestra and I can tell you it was far from full.
Again does Cablevision receive any kind of city concessions? And if so why shouldn’t it be responsible to Hall’s history and that of the city. What it presents now is as if the Museum of Natural History were only to display ant farms. They’ve got the greatest theater in the world and they use it with less imagination than somebody with a shoebox.
The hell with a west side stadium. Obviously the city is choking on money it forces the taxpayers to keep coughing up. If the city says it doesn’t have it where do they get all their money for corporate welfare?(Yeah I know they provide jobs. Well I’d like to get those Rockettes working more than once a year and the out of work ballet dancers and musicians too.)
Concerning Veyoungs comment I believe it was Harry and Walter go to New York that put Radio City on showcase in ‘76. You would think they could have gotten better movies if they were so flexible.
But excuse me or am I totally naive to think that the Music Hall gets some sort of concession from the city of New York as an historical monument. That there are tax breaks or concessions just like the Metropolitan Opera or the Museum of Natural History. Is the the staff that runs the Music Hall totally and completely financially independent or does it have some sort of responsibilty to the city of New York and the building itself? If the New York Preservation committee has any clout whatsoever(and in this city I wonder) they should be involved in the maintenance of the Hall and its significance concerning New York’s cultural history. I’m sure that when the Metropolitan Opera House was dark in January nobody was forcing them to present Dora the Explorer to make extra money which they easily cound have to defray city contributions to their institution. Why should the city give any money to Lincoln Center? They should be holding hip hop or rock concerts if there are any dark nights in Avery Fisher or the State Theater as well.
Why does a New York institution like the Rockettes only appear once a year when they and their home still exist? Why aren’t people asking the right questions?
I have never see digital film but does it have the warmth, luminosity and almost sculptural presence of the best of 35 or 70MM film? I much prefer the sound of 6 track pre Dolby stereo. I once saw a gorgeous print of Swing Time years ago at the Gramercy. One of the most beautiful things I ever saw in my life.
I do remember and hope that many of the people who contribute to the site are able to make it(myself including.) It’s been years since I’ve been there as there hasn’t been a thing I’ve wanted to see and I know when I see all the cables and speakers that Cablevision has all over the place I’m going to have to grit my teeth.
Is the organ still played when they have a special movie premiere?
I did see Young Bess at the Regency and thought it was terrific. I only wish I was around during the 50’s. Where I work now is only a few blocks from Radio City and how I wish I could head over for the 6PM stage show after work and then a spectacular Hollywood movie(sorry but Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon just don’t do it for me.)
With the upcoming organ concert one can imagine the Rockettes and then an Astaire Rodgers RKO musical after. And if there is one person out there who doesn’t think Swing Time is one of the top ten American films of all time they can go and join the AFI where people like Lucas and Spielberg are considered great directors.
To be honest I’ve already seen quite a number of films TCM shows at the Regency, MOMA, Film Forum and Biograph. I find that when I see these same films on TV they’re greatly diminished and have nowhere near the impact they have on a movie screen. So if I’ve never seen a film before I don’t want to see it for the first time on television. I know I’m in the minority and that few people go to revival screenings anymore. I find silents especially deadly on TV.
Billy Wilder once said that he didn’t dislike any director enough to watch his movies on TV.
Excellent Simon. Thanks so much. I’m always discovering great films that played at the Hall. Didn’t know Hunchback of Notre Dame opened there. Now what in the world is HM Pulham Esq?
Nanette seems to have been one of those strange choices for a holiday show(the Easter show had some really bizarre films) that the Music Hall would sometimes make. No Hollywood stars and no Vincent Youman’s score! So what was left was a dreary black and white comedy. Maybe some powerful exec at RKO who wanted the prestigious Christmas booking to launch a film that needed all the help it could get held a gun to their heads.
Is this the only example of a movie at the Hall having two different stage shows during the same run? Could it be that Nanette was such a disappointment that they rushed in Philadelphia story and felt it was too early to change the Christmas show? I believe up until then the Nativity was always still playing at New Years. This might be the only time it wasn’t.
The last time Bolero was done was in 70 which much to my regret I did not see. In 71 they did the last Rhapsody in Blue and in 72 they did the last Undersea Ballet. When I worked there I remember somebody saying that the huge revolving mirrored disc which was the centerpeice of Blue had been dismantled and given out and somebody using it for his house. From within they were destroying everything that made the Hall great. I wonder if the Glory of Easter set and costumes still exist.
With Mary Queen of Scots the stage show was Winter Cruise where half way through the stage was transformed into the image of an ocean at night with a small model of a ship in the distance floating across the stage. On the Twentieth Century utilized this concept for the great Imogene Coca train chase in the second half to show two trains going past each other in the middle of the night as the cast chased Coca all over inside and outside the train. It always got a big hand.
This effect must go back to the beginning of presentation house stage shows.
Interesting because according to Variety grosses KMK doesn’t seem to have done all that well at the Hall being a fall film. I think at this point in 53 the Hall while still in the black was beginning to feel the effects of TV. The MGM films that came out in 54 in cinemascope certainly look like they were made on a tight budget as compared to films like Band Wagon and KMK which are first class all the way. In terms of production values Knights, Seven Brides and Brigadoon look as if the original budgets were cut in half(Ansco color!)Did Kate do better in the burbs in 3D?
It would have been pretty bizarre for the Hall to have presented Kate in 3D. The logistics of handing out the thousands of glasses and then collecting them for each performance and then dealing with all the people who have no idea it’s in 3D and then disturb the others to complain. What a nightmare.
KMK is a very good George Sidney MGM musical and on the whole makes little use of the 3D effects. While it’s enormous fun to see it with a two projector system it stands on it’s own.
That all being said how about it being included on a 3D festival at the Loew’s Jersey?
From street level that would not have been a problem as they could enter by the front entrance thereby avoiding the line on 50th St. However they then would have had to deal with the main lobby. If they enterd by the lower level they still would have to have dealt with walking across the lower lounge to get to the elevators.
Warren your post about China Seas was very interesting in that I guess this marked the end of the first road show era. Previously films like Anna Karenina and Camille would have played at the Astor on hard ticket. I wonder what were the exact reasons for this change in distribution practices. When Gone With the Wind was road showed at the Astor it had to share it with the Capitol on contiuous performances. Did MGM by the mid 30’s get tired of not making enough money on an initial Broadway release?
The Radio City Music Hall should be a public institution like any other great New York landmark. It should not be holding basketball games or religious fundamentalist pageants to make money. With corporate and city funds a summer show based on Markert and Leonidoff is not impossible. If the Hall had survived solely on commercial considerations it would have closed up shop in ‘55. After that it was the Rockefellers who propped it up.
Well I’m glad they saw it without any distractions though they probably had to cancel their plans for Schrafts. Now was Coppola’s father in reality playing in the Hall symphony at this time? When I was working at the Hall they had signs up back stage for St Mary’s which had been used in the Godfather.
By the way are Pacino and Keaton going into the Hall or coming out when they see the news of Michael’s father being shot? If it is before do they still go to see the Christmas show anyway? It sounds like it would have been a terrific one.
It’s nice that the Godfather got that right. Annie has Camille playing at the Hall whereas the musical Words and Music gets it right having it play at the Capitol(though I’m not sure if in reality Camille played there with a stage show as the film has it.)
It’s nice that the Godfather got that right. Annie has Camille playing at the Hall whereas the musical Words and Music gets it right having it play at the Capitol(though I’m not sure if in reality Camille played there with a stage show as the film has it.)
Warren I have for a long time wondered why Happened was such a disappointment at the Hall. It seems like it would have been such a sensation yet it only ran a mediocre week. Gable appearing live a the Capitol explains everything. Also Carrie and Bovary seem like they should have been at the Hall.
And CC if you are such a fan of old movies(I personally find most movies after ‘70 unwatchable though I did like Groundhog Day) why are you making suggestions of the Hall showing films like Pulp Fiction to bring in the crowds?(Only teasing, I enjoy your posts a lot and want you to get out to the Loews Jersey the first weekend of March. You will be happily stunned.)
What about what we talked about years ago. Classic films(no Excorcist, Abyss, Kill Bill, we want family friendly films here ) changing once a week with a great stage show during the summer. I’m talking about the Rockettes and symphony and ballet. Include great special effects like the burning of Nome, a Jules Verne trip to outerspace or the great ballets like Bolero or the Undersea. With the Media make it an historic event. Yeah I know it will cost a ton of money but like I’ve said a million times you’ll be employing a lot of people. If Lincoln Center can pay the fees of overpaid 3rd rate classical artists(I won’t get started) the city can find some money for one of its greatest institutions. Yeah and I’ll hold up the Rockettes anyday to what passes for art on the stages at 64th St. And what about corporate sponsorship? What tax breaks is Cablevision getting? Where did Christo(and I like his work) get 26 million for his 70’s orange shower curtains? The possibilities are endless.
Films by themselves are not going to work and neither are stage shows alone.
The city should prosecute Cablevision executives for crimes against the cultural heritage of New York.
Well now that Cablevision is presenting Dora and basketball and people are gunning for a Tarantino festival maybe overpriced condos aren’t such a bad idea.
Better dead than red.
I was at the Hall for the My Fair Lady Saturday matinee and in the orchestra and I can tell you it was far from full.
Again does Cablevision receive any kind of city concessions? And if so why shouldn’t it be responsible to Hall’s history and that of the city. What it presents now is as if the Museum of Natural History were only to display ant farms. They’ve got the greatest theater in the world and they use it with less imagination than somebody with a shoebox.
The hell with a west side stadium. Obviously the city is choking on money it forces the taxpayers to keep coughing up. If the city says it doesn’t have it where do they get all their money for corporate welfare?(Yeah I know they provide jobs. Well I’d like to get those Rockettes working more than once a year and the out of work ballet dancers and musicians too.)
Concerning Veyoungs comment I believe it was Harry and Walter go to New York that put Radio City on showcase in ‘76. You would think they could have gotten better movies if they were so flexible.
But excuse me or am I totally naive to think that the Music Hall gets some sort of concession from the city of New York as an historical monument. That there are tax breaks or concessions just like the Metropolitan Opera or the Museum of Natural History. Is the the staff that runs the Music Hall totally and completely financially independent or does it have some sort of responsibilty to the city of New York and the building itself? If the New York Preservation committee has any clout whatsoever(and in this city I wonder) they should be involved in the maintenance of the Hall and its significance concerning New York’s cultural history. I’m sure that when the Metropolitan Opera House was dark in January nobody was forcing them to present Dora the Explorer to make extra money which they easily cound have to defray city contributions to their institution. Why should the city give any money to Lincoln Center? They should be holding hip hop or rock concerts if there are any dark nights in Avery Fisher or the State Theater as well.
Why does a New York institution like the Rockettes only appear once a year when they and their home still exist? Why aren’t people asking the right questions?
I have never see digital film but does it have the warmth, luminosity and almost sculptural presence of the best of 35 or 70MM film? I much prefer the sound of 6 track pre Dolby stereo. I once saw a gorgeous print of Swing Time years ago at the Gramercy. One of the most beautiful things I ever saw in my life.
I do remember and hope that many of the people who contribute to the site are able to make it(myself including.) It’s been years since I’ve been there as there hasn’t been a thing I’ve wanted to see and I know when I see all the cables and speakers that Cablevision has all over the place I’m going to have to grit my teeth.
Is the organ still played when they have a special movie premiere?
I did see Young Bess at the Regency and thought it was terrific. I only wish I was around during the 50’s. Where I work now is only a few blocks from Radio City and how I wish I could head over for the 6PM stage show after work and then a spectacular Hollywood movie(sorry but Ben Stiller and Reese Witherspoon just don’t do it for me.)
With the upcoming organ concert one can imagine the Rockettes and then an Astaire Rodgers RKO musical after. And if there is one person out there who doesn’t think Swing Time is one of the top ten American films of all time they can go and join the AFI where people like Lucas and Spielberg are considered great directors.
To be honest I’ve already seen quite a number of films TCM shows at the Regency, MOMA, Film Forum and Biograph. I find that when I see these same films on TV they’re greatly diminished and have nowhere near the impact they have on a movie screen. So if I’ve never seen a film before I don’t want to see it for the first time on television. I know I’m in the minority and that few people go to revival screenings anymore. I find silents especially deadly on TV.
Billy Wilder once said that he didn’t dislike any director enough to watch his movies on TV.
Excellent Simon. Thanks so much. I’m always discovering great films that played at the Hall. Didn’t know Hunchback of Notre Dame opened there. Now what in the world is HM Pulham Esq?
Nanette seems to have been one of those strange choices for a holiday show(the Easter show had some really bizarre films) that the Music Hall would sometimes make. No Hollywood stars and no Vincent Youman’s score! So what was left was a dreary black and white comedy. Maybe some powerful exec at RKO who wanted the prestigious Christmas booking to launch a film that needed all the help it could get held a gun to their heads.
Is this the only example of a movie at the Hall having two different stage shows during the same run? Could it be that Nanette was such a disappointment that they rushed in Philadelphia story and felt it was too early to change the Christmas show? I believe up until then the Nativity was always still playing at New Years. This might be the only time it wasn’t.
The last time Bolero was done was in 70 which much to my regret I did not see. In 71 they did the last Rhapsody in Blue and in 72 they did the last Undersea Ballet. When I worked there I remember somebody saying that the huge revolving mirrored disc which was the centerpeice of Blue had been dismantled and given out and somebody using it for his house. From within they were destroying everything that made the Hall great. I wonder if the Glory of Easter set and costumes still exist.
With Mary Queen of Scots the stage show was Winter Cruise where half way through the stage was transformed into the image of an ocean at night with a small model of a ship in the distance floating across the stage. On the Twentieth Century utilized this concept for the great Imogene Coca train chase in the second half to show two trains going past each other in the middle of the night as the cast chased Coca all over inside and outside the train. It always got a big hand.
This effect must go back to the beginning of presentation house stage shows.
Interesting because according to Variety grosses KMK doesn’t seem to have done all that well at the Hall being a fall film. I think at this point in 53 the Hall while still in the black was beginning to feel the effects of TV. The MGM films that came out in 54 in cinemascope certainly look like they were made on a tight budget as compared to films like Band Wagon and KMK which are first class all the way. In terms of production values Knights, Seven Brides and Brigadoon look as if the original budgets were cut in half(Ansco color!)Did Kate do better in the burbs in 3D?
It would have been pretty bizarre for the Hall to have presented Kate in 3D. The logistics of handing out the thousands of glasses and then collecting them for each performance and then dealing with all the people who have no idea it’s in 3D and then disturb the others to complain. What a nightmare.
KMK is a very good George Sidney MGM musical and on the whole makes little use of the 3D effects. While it’s enormous fun to see it with a two projector system it stands on it’s own.
That all being said how about it being included on a 3D festival at the Loew’s Jersey?
But what about the stage show in 39 with Wizard of Oz? Was this a one time only before 43?
From street level that would not have been a problem as they could enter by the front entrance thereby avoiding the line on 50th St. However they then would have had to deal with the main lobby. If they enterd by the lower level they still would have to have dealt with walking across the lower lounge to get to the elevators.
They’re two completely different kinds of theaters. An atmospheric as opposed to a hard top. Both are magnificent. Did you go inside either one?