Bob
You’re my kind of programmer. I wish you were still involved. Even if someone enjoys Living Dead they would have to admit this is not a film you want to bring your kids to and movie palaces were a great place to bring the family. I just wish the FOTL would encourage it on a holiday weekend and include a lot more TCM programming. This is the kind of stuff a movie palace shows off best.
Very wonderful news. Just hope they schedule films more suitable to a movie palace. Lately the programs have been more Film Forum retrospective and less Loews MGM. Anybody have any comments on this? Sorry for looking a gift horse in the mouth after all these guys have been through and the great work they have done. But Night of the Living Dead for a Saturday evening on the Halloween weekend just ain’t a family audience friendly film. Leave it to places like the Angelica and Cinema Village. Hope they’ve got a pristine print of White Christmas lined up for the holidays.
Bob considering your knowledge, all the work you did at the Jersey and your appreciation of great classic films I am very sorry you are no longer affiliated with the theater.
Will there be a public hearing on the fate of the FOL?
Amazing to think that Jolson opened at the Hall on 10 Oct and didn’t make it to the burbs until when? How long did people in the boroughs have to wait to see a hit film that wasn’t hard ticket?
Interesting that such a sexually suggestive film like Gilda(it’s still pretty hot) played the family oriented Hall and then the State with a puppet show! I remember years ago TV used to cut the film for reasons of good taste rather than time.
Simon, it first played the Music Hall and was quite a sensation. There is a very nice picture in Betty Garrett’s book of her putting the letters of the title on the Music Hall marquee with her husband Larry Parks looking on.
I heard Burton Lane speak once. He said the nicest man he ever worked with in the entertainment industry was Astaire(one of the Music Hall’s favorite film stars)and the greatest performer and most wretched human being was Al Jolson(The Jolson Story was one of the Music Halls biggest hits.)
But think of the large movie palaces in the 20’s like the Roxy and the Capitol. Were performers throwing their voices in 5,000 seat theaters?
I also wonder wonder what the first miked Broadway musical was.
Today even the orchestra at the Music Hall is miked making it sound like a an over produced recording. It distances the audience. Well, nobody seems to notice but me.
Continuing on the subject of sound were the Music Hall stage shows miked when it first opened? Were many of the movie places miked? Or else how were the voices and instruments of the stage shows heard with any impact? If they were inititially mike free when did miking start?
I believe to the end of the movie/stage show era the orchestra at the Hall was not miked.
Questions for all you organites.
Why does the organ at the Music Hall sound so wonderful and yet the organ at what may have been the greatest movie palace in the world, the Chicago Paradise, was considered a disappointment? Also why do classically trained organists sneer at movie palace organs? Is it the music played on them or are they inferior to church instruments?
Airport at the Music Hall.
March 17th 1970.
In the afternoon St Patrick’s Day Parade.
6 PM The Music Halls Great Easter Show followed by Airport in Todd AO.
Maybe next summer we can look forward to track and field events at the Music Hall? But perhaps this is too elitest. I suggest to the Cablevision execs hip hop topless female mud wrestling sponsored by Hilfiger, Diesel and Swatch with Barney and the Rugrats in the lower lounge for the family members under 4.
GWTW in 70mm played the Rivoli twice in the ‘70’s and being that this is the way I first saw the film as a boy(on showcase in 12/68) it never bothered me. Maybe if i saw it today it would be another matter though I would like to give it a try. Perhaps though all these prints are long gone and it would be impossible to even present GWTW today in that format.
While I would much rather see SOM in a 1500 seat road show house(The screen is much more head on) RCMH showed SOM in ‘75 or '76. The presentation was suberb. An immaculate, brilliant 70mm print with sound that was great(during the wedding I could have sworn they were playing the Music Hall organ.)
It was so empty however that between showings the lights were kept very low so as not to embarrass the scattered patrons.
And while I hate the idea of an SOM sing-along I went to the finale night at the Ziegfeld and it was one of the best cinema experiences I have ever had. The audience was totally demented-cheering and roaring its approval at every iconic moment. With Andrews first appearance on screen it could have been Jagger. And when they escaped into the Swiss Alps(well who cares if the actors were really heading into Germany) I thought we were going to blow the roof off the Ziegfeld.
Absolutely exhilarating.
It would have been nice to have some MGM during the anniversary weekend however I wonder what size audiences it would have attracted. It seems as though the type of escapist films that MGM specialized is very much out of fashion and the few people interested in them are content to subscribe to TCM. Unfortunately it is also the type of film that exalt these grand theaters and show them off to their best(I mean they were literally made for them.) But today how many pople are going to go out of their way to see Marie Antoinette, Meet Me in St Louis or Mutiny on the Bounty?(I’d like to think I’m wrong as I love these films.)
I have a question for William. State 1 opened with Oliver on hard ticket. In Vincent Canby’s review in the Times he notes that the screen was the same size as before it was twinned. I remember being dissappointed by the size of the screen in relation to a theater of 1,200 seats. Is this the case? Was it the same size as when the State was a single roadshow house? 48ft seems to me rather small when you think this was a 2,000 seat road show house showing movies like Ben Hur, King of Kings, Mutiny on the Bounty and The Bible.
It should be in NY. The Broadway Theater where This Is Cinerama had its world premiere is still standing. Now if it would only stop presenting those god awful musicals which it seems dedicated to.
I too remember the sound of MFL at the Cinerama. I went twice. There was enormous presence and warmth. At one point I walked around the theater to the various speakers to hear the separation. We will never hear it that way again. And no one but us will know.
Robert I think you are talking about the Gotham(I believe that was its name.) My audience there was well behaved. I also saw El Cid there in revival.
I’m still hoping for 40th anniverary 70mm presentations for SOM and MFL. Let see how the audiences today respond to entertainments made for audiences of mid twentieth century America. Or do most people today consider them camp?
Robert if you read above we have disussed this many times like have a summer stage show as they do at Christmas (think of all the musicians and performers this would employ) and every week a different classic film.
Walter Reade just showed Birdie. This is one of the most amazing musicals to see on a screen with colors that will burn your eyes for days after.
For some reason this film never gets any kind of audience in revival. I am usually the only one there. To see it at the Music Hall (which you could have in ‘63) would be pop culture heaven.
Watching Music Man at 2 and ½ hours it looks like it might have been planned as a roadshow and then changed to regular status. There is even a perfect place for the intermission. Does anybody know why On a Clear Day which would have been a perfect film for the Music Hall did not play there? This was originally planned as a road show but due to a change in distribution patterns was downgrading to continuous perfs. The film was cut accordingly and I understand lost some great stuff. It would be nice if it still existed and was added to the DVD.
If the Gary was showing SOM in July of ‘66 it would have been one of Boston’s most important road show houses and presenting it in Todd AO. Was this indeed the case?
I would have loved seeing the film on its original release in Todd AO on hard ticket but had to wait until '67 when it finally made it to the suburbs on general release.
The idea of spending that kind of money on a movie would have been ludicrous to my parents. 75 cents for a child was more than enough.
What would $4.50( a mezzanine seat at NY’s Rivoli for the film) be today?
Terrible news. But it was badly twinned. It should never have been. Same goes for Cinema 1(Saw wonderful presentations of Ran and Oklahoma there.) Whatever distinctions they had were destroyed when they were sliced in two.
Is the Beekman all that’s left?
I would like to add my thanks to Bill. This stuff is amazing. But I must add that for those of us who were not able to enjoy this kind of showmanship during its heyday we can only regret what we missed(though I love DVD’s they are no replacement.) How very often after work or on the weekend would I love to see a good film at the Music Hall, the Criterion or the Rivoli.
The talk above about London’s Leicester Square also makes one want to get into a time machine and see those great 1 screen theaters.
Going to Paris and seeing the theaters on the Champs Elysee and see nothing but multiplexes was such a bummer. Now its happening in Italy.The french and italians may despise us but they love to imitate us at every opportunity.
I remember thinking the same thing but it was the only print I saw so I figured the movie was shot that way. Especially bad was the 70mm blow up of Tom Sawyer during Easter of ‘73 which looked washed out and dull on the huge screen. I kept thinking how did color get so bad when just a few years before in the late '60s it had still been so vibrant. Even 1776 didn’t look too good. I guess of the movies that I saw at the Hall the best looking outside of revivals was Airport. But that was Ross Hunter and the last of the old Hollywood big budget productions. The Todd AO didn’t hurt either.
So how much would it cost to rent out the Hall get some great prints of some terrific movies and use the Hall for something other than a glorified warehouse for current cultural debris?
King Kong, Swing Time, and North by Northwest are my first choices.
Bob
You’re my kind of programmer. I wish you were still involved. Even if someone enjoys Living Dead they would have to admit this is not a film you want to bring your kids to and movie palaces were a great place to bring the family. I just wish the FOTL would encourage it on a holiday weekend and include a lot more TCM programming. This is the kind of stuff a movie palace shows off best.
Very wonderful news. Just hope they schedule films more suitable to a movie palace. Lately the programs have been more Film Forum retrospective and less Loews MGM. Anybody have any comments on this? Sorry for looking a gift horse in the mouth after all these guys have been through and the great work they have done. But Night of the Living Dead for a Saturday evening on the Halloween weekend just ain’t a family audience friendly film. Leave it to places like the Angelica and Cinema Village. Hope they’ve got a pristine print of White Christmas lined up for the holidays.
Bob considering your knowledge, all the work you did at the Jersey and your appreciation of great classic films I am very sorry you are no longer affiliated with the theater.
Will there be a public hearing on the fate of the FOL?
Robert was this the 70mm version? Did anybody see it? What was it like?
Amazing to think that Jolson opened at the Hall on 10 Oct and didn’t make it to the burbs until when? How long did people in the boroughs have to wait to see a hit film that wasn’t hard ticket?
Interesting that such a sexually suggestive film like Gilda(it’s still pretty hot) played the family oriented Hall and then the State with a puppet show! I remember years ago TV used to cut the film for reasons of good taste rather than time.
Simon, it first played the Music Hall and was quite a sensation. There is a very nice picture in Betty Garrett’s book of her putting the letters of the title on the Music Hall marquee with her husband Larry Parks looking on.
Yes GWTW would look great there. I would love to see them do a lot more MGM technicolor films.
I heard Burton Lane speak once. He said the nicest man he ever worked with in the entertainment industry was Astaire(one of the Music Hall’s favorite film stars)and the greatest performer and most wretched human being was Al Jolson(The Jolson Story was one of the Music Halls biggest hits.)
But think of the large movie palaces in the 20’s like the Roxy and the Capitol. Were performers throwing their voices in 5,000 seat theaters?
I also wonder wonder what the first miked Broadway musical was.
Today even the orchestra at the Music Hall is miked making it sound like a an over produced recording. It distances the audience. Well, nobody seems to notice but me.
Continuing on the subject of sound were the Music Hall stage shows miked when it first opened? Were many of the movie places miked? Or else how were the voices and instruments of the stage shows heard with any impact? If they were inititially mike free when did miking start?
I believe to the end of the movie/stage show era the orchestra at the Hall was not miked.
Questions for all you organites.
Why does the organ at the Music Hall sound so wonderful and yet the organ at what may have been the greatest movie palace in the world, the Chicago Paradise, was considered a disappointment? Also why do classically trained organists sneer at movie palace organs? Is it the music played on them or are they inferior to church instruments?
Airport at the Music Hall.
March 17th 1970.
In the afternoon St Patrick’s Day Parade.
6 PM The Music Halls Great Easter Show followed by Airport in Todd AO.
Maybe next summer we can look forward to track and field events at the Music Hall? But perhaps this is too elitest. I suggest to the Cablevision execs hip hop topless female mud wrestling sponsored by Hilfiger, Diesel and Swatch with Barney and the Rugrats in the lower lounge for the family members under 4.
GWTW in 70mm played the Rivoli twice in the ‘70’s and being that this is the way I first saw the film as a boy(on showcase in 12/68) it never bothered me. Maybe if i saw it today it would be another matter though I would like to give it a try. Perhaps though all these prints are long gone and it would be impossible to even present GWTW today in that format.
While I would much rather see SOM in a 1500 seat road show house(The screen is much more head on) RCMH showed SOM in ‘75 or '76. The presentation was suberb. An immaculate, brilliant 70mm print with sound that was great(during the wedding I could have sworn they were playing the Music Hall organ.)
It was so empty however that between showings the lights were kept very low so as not to embarrass the scattered patrons.
And while I hate the idea of an SOM sing-along I went to the finale night at the Ziegfeld and it was one of the best cinema experiences I have ever had. The audience was totally demented-cheering and roaring its approval at every iconic moment. With Andrews first appearance on screen it could have been Jagger. And when they escaped into the Swiss Alps(well who cares if the actors were really heading into Germany) I thought we were going to blow the roof off the Ziegfeld.
Absolutely exhilarating.
It would have been nice to have some MGM during the anniversary weekend however I wonder what size audiences it would have attracted. It seems as though the type of escapist films that MGM specialized is very much out of fashion and the few people interested in them are content to subscribe to TCM. Unfortunately it is also the type of film that exalt these grand theaters and show them off to their best(I mean they were literally made for them.) But today how many pople are going to go out of their way to see Marie Antoinette, Meet Me in St Louis or Mutiny on the Bounty?(I’d like to think I’m wrong as I love these films.)
I have a question for William. State 1 opened with Oliver on hard ticket. In Vincent Canby’s review in the Times he notes that the screen was the same size as before it was twinned. I remember being dissappointed by the size of the screen in relation to a theater of 1,200 seats. Is this the case? Was it the same size as when the State was a single roadshow house? 48ft seems to me rather small when you think this was a 2,000 seat road show house showing movies like Ben Hur, King of Kings, Mutiny on the Bounty and The Bible.
It should be in NY. The Broadway Theater where This Is Cinerama had its world premiere is still standing. Now if it would only stop presenting those god awful musicals which it seems dedicated to.
I too remember the sound of MFL at the Cinerama. I went twice. There was enormous presence and warmth. At one point I walked around the theater to the various speakers to hear the separation. We will never hear it that way again. And no one but us will know.
Robert I think you are talking about the Gotham(I believe that was its name.) My audience there was well behaved. I also saw El Cid there in revival.
I’m still hoping for 40th anniverary 70mm presentations for SOM and MFL. Let see how the audiences today respond to entertainments made for audiences of mid twentieth century America. Or do most people today consider them camp?
Robert if you read above we have disussed this many times like have a summer stage show as they do at Christmas (think of all the musicians and performers this would employ) and every week a different classic film.
Walter Reade just showed Birdie. This is one of the most amazing musicals to see on a screen with colors that will burn your eyes for days after.
For some reason this film never gets any kind of audience in revival. I am usually the only one there. To see it at the Music Hall (which you could have in ‘63) would be pop culture heaven.
Watching Music Man at 2 and ½ hours it looks like it might have been planned as a roadshow and then changed to regular status. There is even a perfect place for the intermission. Does anybody know why On a Clear Day which would have been a perfect film for the Music Hall did not play there? This was originally planned as a road show but due to a change in distribution patterns was downgrading to continuous perfs. The film was cut accordingly and I understand lost some great stuff. It would be nice if it still existed and was added to the DVD.
If the Gary was showing SOM in July of ‘66 it would have been one of Boston’s most important road show houses and presenting it in Todd AO. Was this indeed the case?
I would have loved seeing the film on its original release in Todd AO on hard ticket but had to wait until '67 when it finally made it to the suburbs on general release.
The idea of spending that kind of money on a movie would have been ludicrous to my parents. 75 cents for a child was more than enough.
What would $4.50( a mezzanine seat at NY’s Rivoli for the film) be today?
Terrible news. But it was badly twinned. It should never have been. Same goes for Cinema 1(Saw wonderful presentations of Ran and Oklahoma there.) Whatever distinctions they had were destroyed when they were sliced in two.
Is the Beekman all that’s left?
I would like to add my thanks to Bill. This stuff is amazing. But I must add that for those of us who were not able to enjoy this kind of showmanship during its heyday we can only regret what we missed(though I love DVD’s they are no replacement.) How very often after work or on the weekend would I love to see a good film at the Music Hall, the Criterion or the Rivoli.
The talk above about London’s Leicester Square also makes one want to get into a time machine and see those great 1 screen theaters.
Going to Paris and seeing the theaters on the Champs Elysee and see nothing but multiplexes was such a bummer. Now its happening in Italy.The french and italians may despise us but they love to imitate us at every opportunity.
I remember thinking the same thing but it was the only print I saw so I figured the movie was shot that way. Especially bad was the 70mm blow up of Tom Sawyer during Easter of ‘73 which looked washed out and dull on the huge screen. I kept thinking how did color get so bad when just a few years before in the late '60s it had still been so vibrant. Even 1776 didn’t look too good. I guess of the movies that I saw at the Hall the best looking outside of revivals was Airport. But that was Ross Hunter and the last of the old Hollywood big budget productions. The Todd AO didn’t hurt either.
So how much would it cost to rent out the Hall get some great prints of some terrific movies and use the Hall for something other than a glorified warehouse for current cultural debris?
King Kong, Swing Time, and North by Northwest are my first choices.