Thanks Texas for this great 1954 CinemaScope® ad from NY. I remember as a kid going to see it with my parents and brother at the Golden State DelMar Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz CA on their new wide screen. We had to sit up on the right side of the balcony and I remember one of the fist times hearing 4 track mag stereo sound from the wall surround RCA speakers when the airplane engines started to fail. I kept looking up at the speakers with the sound effects that came on at times during the film. Was so happy when our family got our first stereo record turntable in the late 1950’s. I think I even bought the soundtrack album.
Thanks Texas for the CinemaScope® ad. I doubt the Ideal Drive In had stereophonic sound in the small car speakers like It says in the ad? This was probably copied from a standard 20th Century Fox CinemaScope® ad for indoor cinemas.
Just like 20th Century Fox did in their early CinemaScope® ads that showed a screen way to curved going into the seats the ABC Ultra-Vision® company did the same thing. The Ultra-Vision® curved screen was nice and curved but not like the drawing in this newspaper ad. I think from I remember It was not as curved as the UA D-150 screen. One interesting point in the booth with the Ultra-Vision® set up It had two projectors coming out of one port window. They used a mirror set up so both projectors were centered in the middle of the screen for a straight throw and used a special lens. I wonder today around the USA are there any of these Ultra screens still left?
Thanks Ray for the neat ad. We had one of these Ultra-Vision® curved screen theatres near SF in Daly City CA in the Seramonte Mall area run by ABC Plitt Theatres. It was torn down many years ago for a parking lot. Now later this year they will start building a brand new multi cinema around the Seramonte Mall area maybe in a parking lot? We still don’t know who will operate the new cinema.
Thanks Elmo for this hot curtain theatre photo. It’s sad all the multiplex cinema companies today would never put in nice curtains like this these days. Just a plain old white screen with boring ads plus wall lights going on the sides of the screen making the pre show ads all washed out with gray not black images. Thanks again.
I hope some one from the Cinema Treasures site can post a better photo then the dirty theatre set up like the one that greats you now when you go to this New Mission site. The old cinema has way better photos to put on the first photo. Thanks!
It may have been on one of the posters along with the Vogue Theatre in Hollywood but after 4 days of drive by night neon shooting on 35mm film MR Tarantino only used the outside view shots of these classic cinemas for a few seconds on the edited finished movie. Maybe on the extras on the Blu Ray disk we will see more along with the former Pussy Cat Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. Go see the movie you will enjoy It!
Thanks David for the photo. After the parking lot they built two new Chinese theatres next to the large theatre. They were good size cinemas. Now they have been torn out many years ago for the Dolby complex. These theatres tried to copy the look of the main Chinese but were very cheap looking inside and outside, they did have curtains.
Very small new cinema for the area. Cinemark had VCC USA Construction put this theatre in the Hayward Southland Mall before any other chain came in. This VCC USA construction company has put many new cinemas around the West Coast for many different cinema circuits. They soon later this year will be building a brand new cinema at the Serramonte Mall in Daly City CA near San Francisco CA they also will be remodeling the mall. VCC is building the brand new Regal Stonestown 12 in San Francisco CA that will be larger then the Cinemark Southland Mall 5. I will try to get over to this new Hayward Mall cinema and take photos soon. Probably the same size as the Cinemark Marina 5 near Monterey CA.
Thanks MR B for this photo. So nice to see a movie chain put in some COLOR in the lobby halls. The rugs and walls look great. So many movie theatre circuits have no concept of design and love white on the walls and lights no class. This Cinemagic has some style!
Thanks CC for this classic movie ad. I remember when this first played the Fox West Coast Theatre FOX OAKLAND in downtown Oakland CA the manager MR Mc Dougal put up on the marquee ‘OAKLAND’S OWN STEVE REEVES’. Steve was on stage I think opening week along with a bodybuilding contest ‘MR Oakland’ on the Fox Oakland stage. The Fox Oakland is still open with live shows and looks great these days.
A big thank you CC for showing us these 3D ads. The 3D from 1953/54 was so much better with two projectors going at once. Most of the new 3D movies today were not even shot with two cameras just computer changed from 2D to 3D. Most theatres now just use one projector for 3D not two. Nothing much with current movies with things coming off the screen. At least both of these old 3D two projector films have been restored to brand new 3D BluRay DVD’s. If you have a 3D TV you will love all the 3D effects.
Thanks Ken for the image. Lets hope Regal that is building the brand new UA/Regal Stonestown 11 Theatres in San Francisco puts in some color lights like this new cinema in NYC. Red and blue look great so much better then boring white lights like so many American circuits put in because they have no design team and white lights are cheap.
GD* Looks like fun, lets get a lame USA movie circuit to bring this in but in a bigger auditorium with a larger curved screen and seats. Not just 3 rows, do 20! Do a whole movie with this system. Thanks for the image.
Texas thanks for the photo. The noisy Regal side wall white blocks will bounce so much screen light reflection back into the audience. Who does this kind of wall design for UA/Regal? They must not test out the problems. Please Regal now called Cineworld please stay with a dark solid wall color and keep our eyes focused on the screen light.
Thanks Texas for these colorful inside shots. The only thing that needs to go is the white ceiling. The reflex must be terrible from the light on the screen. Time to paint or replace to black or dark purple ceiling panels.
The new movie opens July 26 2019. A few theatres will be showing ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ in blow up 70mm film prints and many will be showing It on 35mm film. We will be seeing It at the only Northern CA 70mm print at the Drafthouse New Mission Theatre in San Francisco. The New Beverly Cinema will play a 35mm film print in Los Angeles CA. Lets hope MR Tarantino will obtain a 70mm film projector some day and enlarge the screen a little with a slight curve at the New Beverly. Curtains also please!
Thanks CC for the cool stereophonic ad. I wonder how big the screen was for Shane at ‘Fox Grauman’s Chinese Hollywood’ with a blow lens? A few months later they put in a semi curved 20th Century Fox CinemaScope® screen with 4 track mag stereo sound. I wonder if ‘Shane’ had surround sound or just split speakers on the stage?
Thanks Texas for this great 1954 CinemaScope® ad from NY. I remember as a kid going to see it with my parents and brother at the Golden State DelMar Theatre in downtown Santa Cruz CA on their new wide screen. We had to sit up on the right side of the balcony and I remember one of the fist times hearing 4 track mag stereo sound from the wall surround RCA speakers when the airplane engines started to fail. I kept looking up at the speakers with the sound effects that came on at times during the film. Was so happy when our family got our first stereo record turntable in the late 1950’s. I think I even bought the soundtrack album.
Thanks Texas for the CinemaScope® ad. I doubt the Ideal Drive In had stereophonic sound in the small car speakers like It says in the ad? This was probably copied from a standard 20th Century Fox CinemaScope® ad for indoor cinemas.
Just like 20th Century Fox did in their early CinemaScope® ads that showed a screen way to curved going into the seats the ABC Ultra-Vision® company did the same thing. The Ultra-Vision® curved screen was nice and curved but not like the drawing in this newspaper ad. I think from I remember It was not as curved as the UA D-150 screen. One interesting point in the booth with the Ultra-Vision® set up It had two projectors coming out of one port window. They used a mirror set up so both projectors were centered in the middle of the screen for a straight throw and used a special lens. I wonder today around the USA are there any of these Ultra screens still left?
Thanks Ray for the neat ad. We had one of these Ultra-Vision® curved screen theatres near SF in Daly City CA in the Seramonte Mall area run by ABC Plitt Theatres. It was torn down many years ago for a parking lot. Now later this year they will start building a brand new multi cinema around the Seramonte Mall area maybe in a parking lot? We still don’t know who will operate the new cinema.
Thanks Elmo for this hot curtain theatre photo. It’s sad all the multiplex cinema companies today would never put in nice curtains like this these days. Just a plain old white screen with boring ads plus wall lights going on the sides of the screen making the pre show ads all washed out with gray not black images. Thanks again.
Thanks David for the photo. What a huge UA neon tower sign. Good thing a big earthquake did not take It down.
I hope some one from the Cinema Treasures site can post a better photo then the dirty theatre set up like the one that greats you now when you go to this New Mission site. The old cinema has way better photos to put on the first photo. Thanks!
They have a great crisp bright 35mm film scope image from their old 35mm projector on a platter set up system.
Projection booth for smaller cinema space.
Don’t you just love what they did for the word HOLLYWOOD. Looks like they are short on L’s and have plenty of 7’s!
Ceiling lights in the larger cinema space. I’d like to see blue lights up in the fixtures.
Thanks Kino for the photo. When the wind blows these portable air blow up screens can make the picture hard to watch.
It may have been on one of the posters along with the Vogue Theatre in Hollywood but after 4 days of drive by night neon shooting on 35mm film MR Tarantino only used the outside view shots of these classic cinemas for a few seconds on the edited finished movie. Maybe on the extras on the Blu Ray disk we will see more along with the former Pussy Cat Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. Go see the movie you will enjoy It!
Thanks David for the photo. After the parking lot they built two new Chinese theatres next to the large theatre. They were good size cinemas. Now they have been torn out many years ago for the Dolby complex. These theatres tried to copy the look of the main Chinese but were very cheap looking inside and outside, they did have curtains.
Thanks so much Gerald for this Cinerama® photo. Must have looked nice when set up.
Very small new cinema for the area. Cinemark had VCC USA Construction put this theatre in the Hayward Southland Mall before any other chain came in. This VCC USA construction company has put many new cinemas around the West Coast for many different cinema circuits. They soon later this year will be building a brand new cinema at the Serramonte Mall in Daly City CA near San Francisco CA they also will be remodeling the mall. VCC is building the brand new Regal Stonestown 12 in San Francisco CA that will be larger then the Cinemark Southland Mall 5. I will try to get over to this new Hayward Mall cinema and take photos soon. Probably the same size as the Cinemark Marina 5 near Monterey CA.
Thanks MR B for this photo. So nice to see a movie chain put in some COLOR in the lobby halls. The rugs and walls look great. So many movie theatre circuits have no concept of design and love white on the walls and lights no class. This Cinemagic has some style!
Thanks CC for this classic movie ad. I remember when this first played the Fox West Coast Theatre FOX OAKLAND in downtown Oakland CA the manager MR Mc Dougal put up on the marquee ‘OAKLAND’S OWN STEVE REEVES’. Steve was on stage I think opening week along with a bodybuilding contest ‘MR Oakland’ on the Fox Oakland stage. The Fox Oakland is still open with live shows and looks great these days.
A big thank you CC for showing us these 3D ads. The 3D from 1953/54 was so much better with two projectors going at once. Most of the new 3D movies today were not even shot with two cameras just computer changed from 2D to 3D. Most theatres now just use one projector for 3D not two. Nothing much with current movies with things coming off the screen. At least both of these old 3D two projector films have been restored to brand new 3D BluRay DVD’s. If you have a 3D TV you will love all the 3D effects.
Thanks Ken for the image. Lets hope Regal that is building the brand new UA/Regal Stonestown 11 Theatres in San Francisco puts in some color lights like this new cinema in NYC. Red and blue look great so much better then boring white lights like so many American circuits put in because they have no design team and white lights are cheap.
GD* Looks like fun, lets get a lame USA movie circuit to bring this in but in a bigger auditorium with a larger curved screen and seats. Not just 3 rows, do 20! Do a whole movie with this system. Thanks for the image.
Texas thanks for the photo. The noisy Regal side wall white blocks will bounce so much screen light reflection back into the audience. Who does this kind of wall design for UA/Regal? They must not test out the problems. Please Regal now called Cineworld please stay with a dark solid wall color and keep our eyes focused on the screen light.
Thanks Texas for these colorful inside shots. The only thing that needs to go is the white ceiling. The reflex must be terrible from the light on the screen. Time to paint or replace to black or dark purple ceiling panels.
The new movie opens July 26 2019. A few theatres will be showing ‘Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’ in blow up 70mm film prints and many will be showing It on 35mm film. We will be seeing It at the only Northern CA 70mm print at the Drafthouse New Mission Theatre in San Francisco. The New Beverly Cinema will play a 35mm film print in Los Angeles CA. Lets hope MR Tarantino will obtain a 70mm film projector some day and enlarge the screen a little with a slight curve at the New Beverly. Curtains also please!
Thanks CC for the cool stereophonic ad. I wonder how big the screen was for Shane at ‘Fox Grauman’s Chinese Hollywood’ with a blow lens? A few months later they put in a semi curved 20th Century Fox CinemaScope® screen with 4 track mag stereo sound. I wonder if ‘Shane’ had surround sound or just split speakers on the stage?