Loew's Capitol Theatre
1645 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
1645 Broadway,
New York,
NY
10019
47 people
favorited this theater
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I don’t know where Warren got the Consumer Fraud info from? And the Warner/Strand was better known as the NYC’s Cinerama house. In Los Angeles we had two Cinerama houses the Warner Cinerama (aka Pacific 1,2,3 and the Cinerama Dome (1963). In 1968 Stanley Warner sold the Warner houses in Southern California to Pacific Theatres (Cinerama’s parent company). “2001” was the last Cinerama show in the Hollywood Warner Cinerama, Pacific favored the Dome for Cinerama.
The Capitol was the Loews Cinerama from August 1962 to November 1964. The only non-Cinerama run under that name was a popular price run of “THE CARDINAL”. After it returned to the Capitol name it was advertised as the Loews Capitol Cinerama for Cinerama runs only.
I have not found any evidence of fraud charges and suspect Loews was just doing the right thing.
Oh, add these three films to the list.
“Circus World” (Para-1964)
“Custer of the West” (CR-1967) (in select markets)
“Krakatoa East of Java” (CR-1969)
During the late 50’s and early 1960’s many theatre chains modernized many of their older first run houses. Loew’s choose to turn the Capital Theatre into a Super Cinerama house. To give a second showcase to Cinerama films in NYC. Since “Brothers Grimm” and “How the West..” were the last true Cinerama films released, this gave MGM a all new showcase house. (MGM the studio) The several more wide screen movies in other systems. Were films made in Ultra-Panavision which was where Cinerama was going for because of the cost to film in 3-Strip Cinerama. In the past I have posted about the studios licensing the Cinerama name for release of their Roadshow films.
The following films are those that were licensed:
“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (UA-1963)
“The Greatest Story Ever Told” (UA-1965)
“The Halleljah Trail” (UA-1965)
“The Battle of the Bulge” (WB-1965)
“Khartoum” (UA-1966)
“Grand Prix” (MGM-1966)
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (MGM-1968)
“Ice Station Zebra” (MGM-1968)
“Song of Norway” (CR-1970) (in select markets only)
These were the licensed films tobe presented in Cinerama. I don’t know where Warren got the information on Consumer fraud on the matter. Then the Warner Cinerama/Strand is guilt of the same consumer fraud, they played afew of the above titles too. Also to when William R. Forman bought Cinerama it was a troubled company.
Warren G. Harris posted this on January 21, 2004:
Although the Capitol could no longer book MGM movies without bidding for them against other theatres, in 1962 its vast stage space was MGM’s own choice for the presentation of its two Cinerama movies, “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” and “How the West Was Won.” For those engagements, the Capitol became Loew’s Cinerama, and the name remained for several more wide-screen movies in other systems before it was declared consumer fraud and reverted to Loew’s Capitol.
I believe it was only Loew’s Cinerama for the “Brothers Grimm” and “How the West Was Won” engagements (1962-1964). By the time “Doctor Zhivago” opened there in December 1965, and probably as far back as May 1965 because I trust the “Mad Men” research team, it was back to Loew’s Capitol.
I never knew that this was called Loews Cinerama. When did they put it back to Loews Capital?
It’s the second video on display. You have to click on Sneak Peek Ep. 107: The Suitcase.
In this clip from next week’s episode of Mad Men, Harry Crane is handing out tickets to the Loew’s Capitol for the live simulcast of the Sonny Liston-Cassius Clay fight, May 25, 1965.
View link
thosand s/b thousand
Big give away! The theater seats a couple of thosand people and they give away 11 paperbacks!
I have worked Times Square theatres. We never denied kids admission during the day and the police had no power to cite the theatres as long as the movie was not considered obscene, which, of course, was almost impossible to determine. We DID have licensed matrons but did not enforce the seating sections as some other city theatres did.
The signs that said ‘unaccompanied children would not be admitted’ were there so we could use them as an excuse to refuse admission to notorious trouble makers. They meant nothing otherwise.
From the New York Times, June 7, 1940.
“Swooping down upon the Paramount Theatre in Times Square Wednesday morning, a squad of sixteen Board of Education truant officers, accompanied by several regular policemen, caught and surprised a lot of ninety-six boys and girls playing ‘hookey’ from hot, dull classrooms…parents were summoned and duly warned.”
The article further states that more than 1000 children skip class every day and attend the movies.
Although there was a New York law about admitting children during school hours, no theatre ever enforced it until after the classification system was instituted in 1968 and even then, Walter Reade Theatres (DeMille, Victoria, Astor) refused to acknowledge the rating system.
Adults had to accompany children only to evening performances in Times Square. Children attending alone in the daytime had to sit in the matron’s section where “playing hookey from school” was a problem dating back to at least 1940.
Thanks Tinseltoes.
Back in September 2007, on this page, Rory asked if anyone had a photo of the Capitol’s marquee when they were showing “Planet of the Apes” in February 1968. No one replied about it, but he never gave up. Last week, he found it, and asked me to post it here. Now the final two films to play the Capitol have their marquee images saved for posterity on Cinema Treasures:
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I must confess to having an almost obsessive interest in this marvellous theatre, in my opinion, going by what photos I have seen, the most beautiful ever built.
I don’t know if this has been mentioned above (so many posts)but it’s interesting to know that in an unlikely way the auditorium in very close replica exists in the Regent theatre Melbourne Australia,(now a live venue)
Although smaller (original seating around 3,300)and having its procenium “squared” after a disasterous fire in the late 40’s, the overall design is remarkably similar, the architect obviously having seen the Capitol prior to producing his designs.
This theatre was very nearly demolished in the 70’s having been saved and restored thanks to the efforts of some very determined and far sighted citizens – Melbourne city centre would be much the poorer without it just as New York is sans the Capitol, Roxy, Rivoli etc. etc. What a city it must have been circa 1950!! The “glitzy” new buildings are no replacement for what has been lost over the past 40 years or so.
Yes it was a very big theater. I am not a historian but I think it was the second largest in the city behind Radio City Music Hall. The Roxy and the Paramount were smaller and I think the Wintergarden was also smaller. But I am not sure. The technology was not like today but the screen and sound were very big. I loved to walk into the air conditioned theaters of New York. They had a speacial pure and clean smell that said “here is New York” and we are different. A grand time in history has passed.
Of course Mike,this was a fine house.
Finally got to the end.almost forgot what I was going to write. LOVE that marquee 2001. i bet it looked great on that i assume big Screen.
Moved to NYC after the Capitol had been demolished so had no chance to see a movie there. But I did have a chance to eat at the Horn and Hardart on 42nd and 3rd. Those were the good old days!
Thanks for that picture. It brings back old memories of my sitting in the upper left rear seat corner watching movies and big band shows over and over again. All this while my Grandfather worked the spot lights or changed and rewound reels of film for the movie. Sometimes he let me sit in the booth to watch them work. I never forgot that. For lunch we would go out to “Horn & Hardart” caffeteria. That was the greatest treat ever. Thanks for making me smile.
I saw 2001 at the Capital. I remember purchasing the reserved-seat tickets in advance. I remember being confused and disappointed in the film, my friend despised it. (I took him years later to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture and he despised that also.)I still have the program they sold that night and had it signed by its stars, Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, at a Chiller Theater several years ago. After we left the theater and were walking to the subway at 42nd St., we saw many police officers on duty and people exiting limos. It turned out that the TONY awards were being given that night. I also saw Planet of the Apes at the Capital. I remember that the theater was so jammed, people were sitting in the aisles. It is still one of my all-time favorites. Other films I saw at the Capital were The Dirty Dozen and In the Heat of the Night. It was another lavish and beautiful Loews theater.
Thanks, Steve, for telling us about your grandfather. It was very interesting.
I am the Grandson of Michael Berkowitz who was one of the first projectionists at the Capitol Theater in New York City. I remember before and after WWII visiting the theater with my Grandfather and watching movies and the stageshows from the projection booth. He would also operate the spot lights for the performers. It was a grand time and I treasure it to this day. My Grandfather had patents on a wider screen aperture for the movie projector and had visited Louis B. Mayer in California for a position but sold his patents to him instead. His family was in New York and He chose to stay. My Grandfather was mentioned in a now lost text book as working alongside Thomas Edison. I was very proud of him as a school grader.
I just thought I would pass this information on.
Thanks for listening
Uncle Stevie
Thanks for readin
Uncle Stevie