The Times did have an ad for Metropolis, but it was very small. The News is my favorite of the three daily papers, but there was nothing about it there. I found out about the show here on Cinema Treasures.
Justin: I really hope the curtains are working and the presentation is at its best on the day you attend, so you can see what the Ziegfeld is really all about. Unless you’ve been to the Lafayette in Suffern NY, you may have never seen curtains on a movie screen.
Maybe you should wait till early next year, if TCM is showing a classic movie there again like they did in March 2010 with “All About Eve”. It was the New York City edition of their Classic Film Festival, and it was an incredible night at the Ziegfeld.
I attended “The Two Towers”. What a joy to finally see a movie again at Radio City! The 300-member orchestra and chorus were superb, and the effect they had on the film was almost overpowering at times. The audience was most appreciative and enthusiastic. I’ll definitely be back next year for “The Return of the King”.
Pete: as I said to Tippi Hedren when I saw her in the lobby at the Lincoln Center Film Society Tribute to Sean Connery some years ago, “Thank you for MARNIE!”
I’d say they were accurate. Unfortunately I never got to attend when it was the DeMille, but I was there several times when it was the Embassy 2-3-4, and that’s what it looked like. I saw “The Brother from Another Planet” in one of those converted balconies, and there was so little leg room my knees felt like they were going to touch my chin. I guess that was a problem in the DeMille balcony as well.
I forgot to mention that the Paris (2P) is still standing and still showing movies.
I like how the relative size and shape of each theater is represented by its image on the map. Radio City is the biggest, of course, but I was surprised how small the Criterion looked. I went there several times in the 1970’s and it always seemed huge. On the map it looks relatively tiny, especially compared to the Loew’s State.
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.
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.
Gary: I must’ve been to the Ziegfeld at least 200 times in the last 40 years, and that showing of “All About Eve” was one of the all-around greatest shows I’ve ever seen there – or anywhere else, for that matter. Let’s hope TCM will have another festival next year and show something else at the Ziegfeld.
Thanks, Vokoban. I guess I got there when the guard was off-duty. While using the men’s room on the ground floor, I got into a panic thinking I was somehow going to get locked in the building. Then I’d miss the screening of “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Cinerama Dome that night (the reason for my trip to LA).
It’s off-topic for CT, but here are some pictures I took inside:
I took this picture in January 2008. I was in the neighborhood because my favorite Sidney Poitier film, “A Patch of Blue”, shot many of its scenes in MacArthur Park and the surrounding area.
Anybody know what’s the deal with the Park Plaza Hotel on the other side of the park? The doors were unlocked, the place was in beautiful condition, but it was completely deserted. There was not another soul in the building the whole time I was there (about 30 minutes). I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
The Ziegfeld was mentioned on the latest episode of “Mad Men”. Of course it was the old Ziegfeld, torn down three years before this one was built in 1969 (the show is set in 1964), but it still a thrill to hear the words “Ziegfeld Theatre” spoken on national television.
But Vito, you don’t have to promise not to mention the curtains anymore. There’s only one Ziegfeld, and there’s nothing else like it in NYC. You’re just trying to make it live up to its full potential.
Simon: Thanks for reminding me that the first time I saw that amazing curtain from “The Great Ziegfeld” was on the screen at the Ziegfeld! That scene was excerpted in 1974’s “That’s Entertainment”.
There’s a huge disconnect between the beautiful theater in Hollywood90038’s pictures and the crummy movies like Predators that are playing to an empty house. Maybe TCM should take over Grauman’s Chinese and run it year-round.
Thanks, Ed. I find looking at the Pittsburgh Press online is very addictive, not only for the movie reviews but also the movie ads and TV listings. The ads especially make me realize that it’s not just nostalgia – things really were better back then.
Some of my favorite reviews were your review of “The Exorcist” and Kap Monahan’s review of “2001”. He really seemed to get it, and to appreciate how special it was, while most of my local New York City newspaper critics most assuredly did not.
Ed Blank: I saw your name in the byline of many excellent movie reviews from the 1970’s in the Pittsburgh Press, available online for free on Google News. You’re really a fine writer – very entertaining and informative reviews. You were a worthy successor to Kaspar Monahan, who had quite a long tenure at the Press. As far as I can tell, he reviewed everything from “King Kong” (1933) to “2001” (1968). Did you know him?
Woody Allen’s “Radio Days” (1987) has a scene where the characters go to Radio City to see “The Philadelphia Story”. I’m pretty sure they shot inside the real thing.
According to a 12/3/07 post by REndres, Hitchcock didn’t actually shoot inside Radio City but faked it using studio re-creations and matte shots. It sure fooled me, though – very well done, and an exciting scene in an excellent movie. And it did open at the Hall on 5/10/42.
Maybe it’ll be the Beatles edition of Cirque Du Soleil, called “Love”, which up to now has only been shown in Las Vegas? Sure hope so.
Thanks, Vito. After viewing this ad, do you think people felt cheated when they saw the actual screen? That looks more like Cinerama to me.
The Times did have an ad for Metropolis, but it was very small. The News is my favorite of the three daily papers, but there was nothing about it there. I found out about the show here on Cinema Treasures.
Justin: I really hope the curtains are working and the presentation is at its best on the day you attend, so you can see what the Ziegfeld is really all about. Unless you’ve been to the Lafayette in Suffern NY, you may have never seen curtains on a movie screen.
Maybe you should wait till early next year, if TCM is showing a classic movie there again like they did in March 2010 with “All About Eve”. It was the New York City edition of their Classic Film Festival, and it was an incredible night at the Ziegfeld.
I attended “The Two Towers”. What a joy to finally see a movie again at Radio City! The 300-member orchestra and chorus were superb, and the effect they had on the film was almost overpowering at times. The audience was most appreciative and enthusiastic. I’ll definitely be back next year for “The Return of the King”.
Pete: as I said to Tippi Hedren when I saw her in the lobby at the Lincoln Center Film Society Tribute to Sean Connery some years ago, “Thank you for MARNIE!”
I’d say they were accurate. Unfortunately I never got to attend when it was the DeMille, but I was there several times when it was the Embassy 2-3-4, and that’s what it looked like. I saw “The Brother from Another Planet” in one of those converted balconies, and there was so little leg room my knees felt like they were going to touch my chin. I guess that was a problem in the DeMille balcony as well.
I forgot to mention that the Paris (2P) is still standing and still showing movies.
I like how the relative size and shape of each theater is represented by its image on the map. Radio City is the biggest, of course, but I was surprised how small the Criterion looked. I went there several times in the 1970’s and it always seemed huge. On the map it looks relatively tiny, especially compared to the Loew’s State.
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.
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.
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Look on this map from 1970 at 54th St. between 6th and 7th Aves. and you’ll see a representation of the brand-new Ziegfeld Theatre (1Z).
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Here’s an index listing all the other theaters represented:
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Gary: I must’ve been to the Ziegfeld at least 200 times in the last 40 years, and that showing of “All About Eve” was one of the all-around greatest shows I’ve ever seen there – or anywhere else, for that matter. Let’s hope TCM will have another festival next year and show something else at the Ziegfeld.
Thanks, Vokoban. I guess I got there when the guard was off-duty. While using the men’s room on the ground floor, I got into a panic thinking I was somehow going to get locked in the building. Then I’d miss the screening of “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Cinerama Dome that night (the reason for my trip to LA).
It’s off-topic for CT, but here are some pictures I took inside:
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The clock had stopped over the main desk, which just added to the overall Twilight Zone vibe:
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And just to put me back on-topic, one more shot of the Westlake sign:
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I took this picture in January 2008. I was in the neighborhood because my favorite Sidney Poitier film, “A Patch of Blue”, shot many of its scenes in MacArthur Park and the surrounding area.
View link
Anybody know what’s the deal with the Park Plaza Hotel on the other side of the park? The doors were unlocked, the place was in beautiful condition, but it was completely deserted. There was not another soul in the building the whole time I was there (about 30 minutes). I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
Here’s the 8/5/60 NY Daily News full-page ad and 8/6/60 review for “13 Ghosts”:
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The Ziegfeld was mentioned on the latest episode of “Mad Men”. Of course it was the old Ziegfeld, torn down three years before this one was built in 1969 (the show is set in 1964), but it still a thrill to hear the words “Ziegfeld Theatre” spoken on national television.
But Vito, you don’t have to promise not to mention the curtains anymore. There’s only one Ziegfeld, and there’s nothing else like it in NYC. You’re just trying to make it live up to its full potential.
Simon: Thanks for reminding me that the first time I saw that amazing curtain from “The Great Ziegfeld” was on the screen at the Ziegfeld! That scene was excerpted in 1974’s “That’s Entertainment”.
There’s a huge disconnect between the beautiful theater in Hollywood90038’s pictures and the crummy movies like Predators that are playing to an empty house. Maybe TCM should take over Grauman’s Chinese and run it year-round.
Thanks, Ed. I find looking at the Pittsburgh Press online is very addictive, not only for the movie reviews but also the movie ads and TV listings. The ads especially make me realize that it’s not just nostalgia – things really were better back then.
Some of my favorite reviews were your review of “The Exorcist” and Kap Monahan’s review of “2001”. He really seemed to get it, and to appreciate how special it was, while most of my local New York City newspaper critics most assuredly did not.
Ed Blank: I saw your name in the byline of many excellent movie reviews from the 1970’s in the Pittsburgh Press, available online for free on Google News. You’re really a fine writer – very entertaining and informative reviews. You were a worthy successor to Kaspar Monahan, who had quite a long tenure at the Press. As far as I can tell, he reviewed everything from “King Kong” (1933) to “2001” (1968). Did you know him?
Woody Allen’s “Radio Days” (1987) has a scene where the characters go to Radio City to see “The Philadelphia Story”. I’m pretty sure they shot inside the real thing.
According to a 12/3/07 post by REndres, Hitchcock didn’t actually shoot inside Radio City but faked it using studio re-creations and matte shots. It sure fooled me, though – very well done, and an exciting scene in an excellent movie. And it did open at the Hall on 5/10/42.