Point taken Warren, forgive us we may have gone to far.
Ok guys, lets get our minds off La Russell and back to RCMH
Did anyone attend the Chinese extravaganza which played over Valentines weekend? Word is the sets were amazing.
Jay I look forward to your list, in the 50 years in the business of show I had many encounters with celebrities, I’ll see what I can do to recall some of them.
42d Street, like they wrote in the ads: JR IN 3D, NEED WE SAY MORE?
Here is another memory for ya ron.
The two clocks in the box-office, one read:
TIME NOW
and the other set ahead to the length of the show that read:
TIME YOU WILL GET OUT.
Of course we all remmber spending the entire day in the theatre,
with two featutes, cartoon, short subjects and news, maybe even seeing the main feature twice.
I remember one day in 1954 going to the Criterion theatre and watching Jane Russell in “The French Line” in 3-D, THREE TIMES!
Thank heavens for Cinema Treasures were we can share memories about those grand old days.
As someone who attended just about every new show from 1955 through 1972 I can tell you the Music Hall staff was a well-oiled,precesion
group of hard working men and women. Customer service was paramount and going to the Hall was always a delightful experience. No matter how big the crowds, the staff was always on their toes. I honestly can not recall one single negitive moment.
I remember my ritiual; we would arrive for the approx 6pm stage show and sit as close to the stage as possible, then rush up to the 3rd mezzanine for the movie,(I liked to sit directly under the projection ports) and finaly back down to the front of the theatre to watch rhe stage show again.
To all our younger people who may not remember the Music Hall hey days, let me say you missed out on one of the greatest movie/stage show experiences of a lifetime. sadly we may never se the likes of that again.
Michael, Getting back to your original question.
What steve writes takes us back to my original thought, which is “Raiders” played the Royal. My friend still living in Hawaii also confirms that “Raiders” played both the Royal and Marina in first and second run engagements. If “Raiders” opened in 1981 then the Royal was still open, and Royal theatres would still have been playing all Paramount Films. The Royal closed in 1982.
Great story Rob, it’s always fun when you join in these discussions.
It is too bad they did not make the 70mm print but at least they sounded some 35mm mag prints, which as you may recall where few and far between in the late 60s and throughout the 70s. Then came Dolby Stereo optical which was the beginning of the end for mag sound.
I am not usually one who cares for some of the “progress” made in todays movie making, like most folks on this board I sorely miss 70mm, but I do appreciate the excellent quality of Digital sound.
I still however have a problem with Digital picture, but that’s
another story. Keep that reel Rob, it’s one of life’s little treasures.
Warren, great fun thinking back on those engagements, I recall seeing “The Red Tent” which was shown at the Music Hall with four track mag stereo sound. I was working at Century’s Plainview theatre on Long Island at the time, so when we booked the film I mentioned to the DM the availability of the mag print, which had become scarce in 1971, and we were able to obtain a mag print for the Plainview.
It’s those little fun memories that come back reading posts here.
Yes Peter, It comes back to me now, I was working in Hawaii
(1972-1982) I am pretty sure I played it at the Cinerama theatre. The screen size made it easy to project the film in 1.66 with properly cut plates and masking adjustments.
I wonder if the film makers take as much care and dedication to film projection these days. In the old days we would often get letters from directors asking for our help in presenting the film properly. When Dolby came along we would get fact sheets that helped to insure the EQ was correct, and with 70mm we would get a loop of pink noise so that the sound track could be callabrated properly.
I have a recollection of playing “Barry Lyndon” and the studio, directed by Kubrick,had new aperature plates cut and masking adjustment made for the engagement. The same thing happened when we ran “Reds”, Warren Beatty was very particular about running the film in the exact aspect ratio. Perhaps someone remembers more of this.
Sooooooo there were two Roxy’s? :))
Calm down everyone, just kidding, I could not resist.
Warren I must tell you, I loved that King Kong ad with that giant ape rampaging by those two giant theatres.
MadMax, Hazlet was built in 1991-92 before National Amusements began building theatres with stadium seating. Although Hazlet does not have the seating you prefer, I believe you will enjoy the theatre. it is well run with a friendly well organised staff, very clean, and has an excellent sound system. Should you have any questions about the theatre feel free to ask.
Loved the picture Lost Memory, those white curtains you see on the windows had to be motorized to prevent the heat from overpowering the A/C and blinding our cashiers. I always insisted that they were left open in the evening however, because the lobby lights looked great from the parking area.
balloonhedz asked if anyone remembers the Century circuit, and I just had to respond. Forgive me for taking up space on the pages devoted to the magnificent and so very missed Paramount, but I wanted to write about one of the best theatre circuits I ever had the privilege of working for. During the late 50s and through much of the 60s I refused to settle down in one particular theatre, opting instead to work the Roadshows and vacation relief in theatres mostly on Long Island. I worked just about every Century theatre simply because they where the best, maintenance was a priority back then and the theatres were always kept in tip top condition. I developed a reputation with one of the District managers who often asked the union to “send Vito†because he knew I took great pride in my work.
They were the only theatre circuit operating at the time which a strict delux policy which meant the curtain had to be closed at the end of the trailers/shorts and reopened at the start of the feature, the stage lights were also brought up full and lowered again. During intermission music absolutely had to be played (except in Roadshows) and you were never allowed to “cut a record†(yeah, records, remember them?) We had to wait until a song ended before starting the show, we were not even allowed to fade the music out, the song had to be completed. Generally it was best if a new song was to begin and you only had a minute or so left for the intermission, you simply stopped the music at that point. Masking could never been seen moving it was to be opened or brought in during the Delux stage so that the curtain would hide the moving masking.
On holidays we would always start the day with a showing of the National Anthem, which was a film clip of a waving flag with the Anthem playing, God help you if you forgot to do that.
Thanks for allowing me to post just a few of the great memories of working for the magnificent Century theatre circuit.
Simon, don’t forget hitting the bakery after the show at dawn for those freshly baked donuts and bread. Sleep? what sleep, we would just take a quick nap between reel changes. Kidding of course, but I will admit, to every once in a while, being rudely awakened by the
dig-ding-ding of the reel end alarm : )
My pleasure Bill, At my age it’s rather therapeutic.
By the way, I have to say I share your sadness at the sight of what was the Great White Way. Early in my career I worked for Fox on,
I believe was 52nd and 10th. Weather and time permitting, I would take the subway to Times Square, and then walk the 8-10 blocks either North on B'way/7th or West down 42nd st to 8th ave to admire all the marquees and theatre fronts, which sadly are all gone now.
As I am sure you remember, going to Times Square in the evening was quite a sight, the marquee lights were spectacular!
Bill, that’s a tough question, the attendance in theatres for the late shows varied from theatre to theatre and movie to movie. I ran shows for as little as handful of patrons to almost a full house.
Location played a big part as well, the downtown theatres (remember them?) did very well indeed, where as the neighborhood house’s were not as busy. During the summer months business was up for the late shows, and we often ran them every night, generally starting around 11PM. During the slower winter months we ran the so-called midnight shows on Friday and Saturday, Many locations also ran midnight’s on any Sunday that preceded a holiday.
I had some rather long days in the booth back then, often pulling two shifts and a midnight, which meant going to work around noon and going home at three in the morning. I would get really spoiled whenever I bid on and won a Roadshow engagement because it meant running only one or two shows a day (3 on Sunday) It was nice to get top pay to go to work at 7, run one show at 8, and go home at 10:30 â€"11:00 Even when we had matinees the total hours we worked were a piece of cake.
Truth be told, I never really hated the long hours, except when I did an opening shift at a theatre thinking I had the night off only to get a call from the business agent telling me he was short handed that night and begging me to go to another theatre after my shift ended.
Bottom line, would I do it all again….. you bet, in a heartbeat.
Those late night show often put a little extra on the dinner table for us. We would get paid by the shift, with the evening shift time ending at midnight, any thing after that was overtime or time and a half. A midnight show running till 3AM was gravy in the ole pay check.
Thanks Ed, I haven’t lived on the Island since 1987 and forgot how the numbering works. However now that you mention it,I do sorta remember getting a bit confused looking for buildings going from town to town. As far as finding theatres, we weren’t given building numbers, just the theatre name and town. Warren, I think that’s how the mail sometimes gets delivered as well.
Warren, I would imagine the name was enough to deliver mail and packages. I hate to complicate things even more, but a previous post lists the Syosset address as 565 Jericho Turnpike, but the address for the D-150 Cinema in Woodbury, which was just a short distance from the Syosset, was 7500 Jericho Turnpike. I lived just across from the D-150 at The Woodbury Townhouses at 7640 Jericho Turnpike. So how did the numbers differ so much? Do they start over at the Syosset/Woodbury border? These two theatres were very close together, during the busy summer months I would often work the matinee show at one and then the evening show at the other.
Yes ron I seem to recall a “Show Buiness” reel as well. In those days we often had special promotional/test reels. I had a collection of them stored away at the Paramount in Staten Island, but when I visited the theatre in 1982 the only one I found was “South Pacific” Darn, I wish I had some of those prints today.
Some of the older projectionist and exibitors will remember the test reels we would get for many engagements.
Warren, if you get the time, I too would love to learn the “Show Business” grosses at the Roxy.
Gosh warren, makes me wonder what “Blondes” would have grossed had it played at RCMH. Of course as we know, the fox product was generally presented at the Roxy and Paramount with an occassional roadshow going to the Rivoli. I had always wished “Blondes” had been made a bit later allowing it to be filmed in CinemaScope with four track sound. I may be wrong, but I believe the test reel Fox made up to introduce CinemaScope and Stereophonic sound to exibitors had some bits of “Blondes” included in it. We played that test reel at the Paramount in Staten Island on Christmas eve, the night before “The Robe” opened there.
Now I realize this is a long shot, but if any Radio City execs read this I wonder given the huge success of the Dreamgirls exclusive engagement, (no I won’t call it a roadshow), why not do it at the Hall sometime.
Find a movie on the scale of a Dreamgirls and book it exclusively for a 10-day run. I would suggest perhaps two or three shows a day and (now here’s the kicker) throw in a short stage presentation with maybe the Rockettes.
Yeah, I know, dream on vito.
Michael, I wanted to add my thanks for your magnificent site. It is the most comprehensive, well thought out site I have found pertaining to 70mm. It is a kick to wallow around in it as I reminisce about the good times working during the 70mm roadshow hey day, and it has also helped me win a bet once.
11th COMMANDMENT
Thou shall not hold conversation
or wrinkle cellophane in a movie palace
So let it be written, so let it be done
Point taken Warren, forgive us we may have gone to far.
Ok guys, lets get our minds off La Russell and back to RCMH
Did anyone attend the Chinese extravaganza which played over Valentines weekend? Word is the sets were amazing.
Jay I look forward to your list, in the 50 years in the business of show I had many encounters with celebrities, I’ll see what I can do to recall some of them.
42d Street, like they wrote in the ads: JR IN 3D, NEED WE SAY MORE?
Here is another memory for ya ron.
The two clocks in the box-office, one read:
TIME NOW
and the other set ahead to the length of the show that read:
TIME YOU WILL GET OUT.
Of course we all remmber spending the entire day in the theatre,
with two featutes, cartoon, short subjects and news, maybe even seeing the main feature twice.
I remember one day in 1954 going to the Criterion theatre and watching Jane Russell in “The French Line” in 3-D, THREE TIMES!
Thank heavens for Cinema Treasures were we can share memories about those grand old days.
As someone who attended just about every new show from 1955 through 1972 I can tell you the Music Hall staff was a well-oiled,precesion
group of hard working men and women. Customer service was paramount and going to the Hall was always a delightful experience. No matter how big the crowds, the staff was always on their toes. I honestly can not recall one single negitive moment.
I remember my ritiual; we would arrive for the approx 6pm stage show and sit as close to the stage as possible, then rush up to the 3rd mezzanine for the movie,(I liked to sit directly under the projection ports) and finaly back down to the front of the theatre to watch rhe stage show again.
To all our younger people who may not remember the Music Hall hey days, let me say you missed out on one of the greatest movie/stage show experiences of a lifetime. sadly we may never se the likes of that again.
Yup, Norelco’s, they were the later version, the only theatre I ever saw that had them.
Michael, Getting back to your original question.
What steve writes takes us back to my original thought, which is “Raiders” played the Royal. My friend still living in Hawaii also confirms that “Raiders” played both the Royal and Marina in first and second run engagements. If “Raiders” opened in 1981 then the Royal was still open, and Royal theatres would still have been playing all Paramount Films. The Royal closed in 1982.
Great story Rob, it’s always fun when you join in these discussions.
It is too bad they did not make the 70mm print but at least they sounded some 35mm mag prints, which as you may recall where few and far between in the late 60s and throughout the 70s. Then came Dolby Stereo optical which was the beginning of the end for mag sound.
I am not usually one who cares for some of the “progress” made in todays movie making, like most folks on this board I sorely miss 70mm, but I do appreciate the excellent quality of Digital sound.
I still however have a problem with Digital picture, but that’s
another story. Keep that reel Rob, it’s one of life’s little treasures.
Warren, great fun thinking back on those engagements, I recall seeing “The Red Tent” which was shown at the Music Hall with four track mag stereo sound. I was working at Century’s Plainview theatre on Long Island at the time, so when we booked the film I mentioned to the DM the availability of the mag print, which had become scarce in 1971, and we were able to obtain a mag print for the Plainview.
It’s those little fun memories that come back reading posts here.
Yes Peter, It comes back to me now, I was working in Hawaii
(1972-1982) I am pretty sure I played it at the Cinerama theatre. The screen size made it easy to project the film in 1.66 with properly cut plates and masking adjustments.
I wonder if the film makers take as much care and dedication to film projection these days. In the old days we would often get letters from directors asking for our help in presenting the film properly. When Dolby came along we would get fact sheets that helped to insure the EQ was correct, and with 70mm we would get a loop of pink noise so that the sound track could be callabrated properly.
I have a recollection of playing “Barry Lyndon” and the studio, directed by Kubrick,had new aperature plates cut and masking adjustment made for the engagement. The same thing happened when we ran “Reds”, Warren Beatty was very particular about running the film in the exact aspect ratio. Perhaps someone remembers more of this.
I realise it’s not until the end of the year, but are any plans being made for the 75th anniversary?
Sooooooo there were two Roxy’s? :))
Calm down everyone, just kidding, I could not resist.
Warren I must tell you, I loved that King Kong ad with that giant ape rampaging by those two giant theatres.
MadMax, Hazlet was built in 1991-92 before National Amusements began building theatres with stadium seating. Although Hazlet does not have the seating you prefer, I believe you will enjoy the theatre. it is well run with a friendly well organised staff, very clean, and has an excellent sound system. Should you have any questions about the theatre feel free to ask.
Loved the picture Lost Memory, those white curtains you see on the windows had to be motorized to prevent the heat from overpowering the A/C and blinding our cashiers. I always insisted that they were left open in the evening however, because the lobby lights looked great from the parking area.
balloonhedz asked if anyone remembers the Century circuit, and I just had to respond. Forgive me for taking up space on the pages devoted to the magnificent and so very missed Paramount, but I wanted to write about one of the best theatre circuits I ever had the privilege of working for. During the late 50s and through much of the 60s I refused to settle down in one particular theatre, opting instead to work the Roadshows and vacation relief in theatres mostly on Long Island. I worked just about every Century theatre simply because they where the best, maintenance was a priority back then and the theatres were always kept in tip top condition. I developed a reputation with one of the District managers who often asked the union to “send Vito†because he knew I took great pride in my work.
They were the only theatre circuit operating at the time which a strict delux policy which meant the curtain had to be closed at the end of the trailers/shorts and reopened at the start of the feature, the stage lights were also brought up full and lowered again. During intermission music absolutely had to be played (except in Roadshows) and you were never allowed to “cut a record†(yeah, records, remember them?) We had to wait until a song ended before starting the show, we were not even allowed to fade the music out, the song had to be completed. Generally it was best if a new song was to begin and you only had a minute or so left for the intermission, you simply stopped the music at that point. Masking could never been seen moving it was to be opened or brought in during the Delux stage so that the curtain would hide the moving masking.
On holidays we would always start the day with a showing of the National Anthem, which was a film clip of a waving flag with the Anthem playing, God help you if you forgot to do that.
Thanks for allowing me to post just a few of the great memories of working for the magnificent Century theatre circuit.
Simon, don’t forget hitting the bakery after the show at dawn for those freshly baked donuts and bread. Sleep? what sleep, we would just take a quick nap between reel changes. Kidding of course, but I will admit, to every once in a while, being rudely awakened by the
dig-ding-ding of the reel end alarm : )
My pleasure Bill, At my age it’s rather therapeutic.
By the way, I have to say I share your sadness at the sight of what was the Great White Way. Early in my career I worked for Fox on,
I believe was 52nd and 10th. Weather and time permitting, I would take the subway to Times Square, and then walk the 8-10 blocks either North on B'way/7th or West down 42nd st to 8th ave to admire all the marquees and theatre fronts, which sadly are all gone now.
As I am sure you remember, going to Times Square in the evening was quite a sight, the marquee lights were spectacular!
Bill, that’s a tough question, the attendance in theatres for the late shows varied from theatre to theatre and movie to movie. I ran shows for as little as handful of patrons to almost a full house.
Location played a big part as well, the downtown theatres (remember them?) did very well indeed, where as the neighborhood house’s were not as busy. During the summer months business was up for the late shows, and we often ran them every night, generally starting around 11PM. During the slower winter months we ran the so-called midnight shows on Friday and Saturday, Many locations also ran midnight’s on any Sunday that preceded a holiday.
I had some rather long days in the booth back then, often pulling two shifts and a midnight, which meant going to work around noon and going home at three in the morning. I would get really spoiled whenever I bid on and won a Roadshow engagement because it meant running only one or two shows a day (3 on Sunday) It was nice to get top pay to go to work at 7, run one show at 8, and go home at 10:30 â€"11:00 Even when we had matinees the total hours we worked were a piece of cake.
Truth be told, I never really hated the long hours, except when I did an opening shift at a theatre thinking I had the night off only to get a call from the business agent telling me he was short handed that night and begging me to go to another theatre after my shift ended.
Bottom line, would I do it all again….. you bet, in a heartbeat.
Those late night show often put a little extra on the dinner table for us. We would get paid by the shift, with the evening shift time ending at midnight, any thing after that was overtime or time and a half. A midnight show running till 3AM was gravy in the ole pay check.
Thanks Ed, I haven’t lived on the Island since 1987 and forgot how the numbering works. However now that you mention it,I do sorta remember getting a bit confused looking for buildings going from town to town. As far as finding theatres, we weren’t given building numbers, just the theatre name and town. Warren, I think that’s how the mail sometimes gets delivered as well.
Warren, I would imagine the name was enough to deliver mail and packages. I hate to complicate things even more, but a previous post lists the Syosset address as 565 Jericho Turnpike, but the address for the D-150 Cinema in Woodbury, which was just a short distance from the Syosset, was 7500 Jericho Turnpike. I lived just across from the D-150 at The Woodbury Townhouses at 7640 Jericho Turnpike. So how did the numbers differ so much? Do they start over at the Syosset/Woodbury border? These two theatres were very close together, during the busy summer months I would often work the matinee show at one and then the evening show at the other.
Yes ron I seem to recall a “Show Buiness” reel as well. In those days we often had special promotional/test reels. I had a collection of them stored away at the Paramount in Staten Island, but when I visited the theatre in 1982 the only one I found was “South Pacific” Darn, I wish I had some of those prints today.
Some of the older projectionist and exibitors will remember the test reels we would get for many engagements.
Warren, if you get the time, I too would love to learn the “Show Business” grosses at the Roxy.
Gosh warren, makes me wonder what “Blondes” would have grossed had it played at RCMH. Of course as we know, the fox product was generally presented at the Roxy and Paramount with an occassional roadshow going to the Rivoli. I had always wished “Blondes” had been made a bit later allowing it to be filmed in CinemaScope with four track sound. I may be wrong, but I believe the test reel Fox made up to introduce CinemaScope and Stereophonic sound to exibitors had some bits of “Blondes” included in it. We played that test reel at the Paramount in Staten Island on Christmas eve, the night before “The Robe” opened there.
Now I realize this is a long shot, but if any Radio City execs read this I wonder given the huge success of the Dreamgirls exclusive engagement, (no I won’t call it a roadshow), why not do it at the Hall sometime.
Find a movie on the scale of a Dreamgirls and book it exclusively for a 10-day run. I would suggest perhaps two or three shows a day and (now here’s the kicker) throw in a short stage presentation with maybe the Rockettes.
Yeah, I know, dream on vito.
Michael, I wanted to add my thanks for your magnificent site. It is the most comprehensive, well thought out site I have found pertaining to 70mm. It is a kick to wallow around in it as I reminisce about the good times working during the 70mm roadshow hey day, and it has also helped me win a bet once.