You’re welcome, MPol. I’ve never lived in the area either. In fact I’ve only been to Long Island three times: a Queen concert in 1975, a Bruce Springsteen concert on May 4th of this year (both at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale), and a pilgrimage to visit the grave of Bernard Herrmann, the greatest film music composer ever, in Elmont.
Bercy: most theaters in the US don’t have curtains anymore, which is why it’s such a treat to see them in use at the Ziegfeld (when they bother to use them, that is).
I too am not ashamed to admit I enjoyed “The Phantom Menace”, enough to see it 11 times in a theater. Looking back, it’s probably the best of the three prequels, Jar Jar and all, featuring my favorite performance in all three films (Liam Neeson’s) and the most amazing action sequence (the Duel of the Fates).
Jodar: The presentation of the movie itself was very fine overall (good and loud), but they didn’t use the curtain. There was a long gap between the Clearview pre-show stuff and the trailers, and I was hoping to see those curtains start to close, but no such luck.
The audience was very much into the movie (Friday 10:15 PM show), but there were a number of empty seats way down front and on the sides.
I too enjoyed hearing the 1966 ship sounds displayed so prominently. If I remember right, that’s one of the first things you hear when the movie begins. I do want to see it again.
A 12/23/54 NY Daily News ad for “the greatest Christmas attraction of all time”. Er, I don’t think so … even Paul Newman would take issue with that statement:
At a “West Side Story” screening at the Biograph Theater on 57th St. (revival house) sometime in the ‘80s, almost the entire audience did the fingersnapping in “Dance at the Gym” (when Tony and Maria first approach each other – first two snaps, then one) in unison without being prompted. And of course we all had a good laugh after we did it.
Thanks, Gabe, for that Jack Benny/Groucho clip. YouTube is such a wonderful source for old ‘50s TV clips. Here’s another one: Arlene Dahl as the mystery guest on “What’s My Line?” in 1959, plugging “Journey to the Center of the Earth”:
MPol: You’re very lucky to have attended that “West Side Story” screening in 2001. Robert Wise was in attendance, right? I’d taken some friends on the Radio City Tour a few weeks before, and the guide mentioned the upcoming screening. I got all excited, figuring we’d all come back to see it, when she pointed out it was going to be invited guests only. Oh well. But I’m glad you got to go.
I’d like to second what hotwaterbottle said. “Mad World” looked great up there on that big screen, especially from the second row. I know it was 35mm, but you could tell that it was designed for 70mm. It LOOKED like 70mm, even in a reduction print. The whole Big W sequence comes to mind – the way it was shot, the way the actors were arranged in the frame, camera placement, etc. I wonder how many days they had to close off that state park to the public to get that scene on film.
“West Side Story” didn’t play the Music Hall in 1961, but I did see it there in 1979. My brother and I made a triple feature out of that day: “West Side Story” at the Music Hall, “Rocky II” at the Cinerama (ex-Strand, ex-Warner), and “Alien” at the Criterion. That was some day at the movies.
I think I told this story before, probably on the Paramount page, but Jerry showed off his old ushering skills when my mom went to see “My Friend Irma” at the Paramount in 1949, and he took her ticket. I guess he and Dean were part of the live stage show.
Look for the small print at the very bottom: Late Film 11:45 PM. How I would’ve loved to see “Journey” at the Paramount and get out at 2 in the morning!
The ad for the State Theatre engagement in Jersey City, around the corner from the Loew’s … and the only one of the three great Journal Square showplaces that did not survive in some form. It’s now an apartment building.
Arlene did talk about James Mason. She said he wasn’t easy to work with at first, and she also heard from a crew member that he didn’t want her to play the role. He thought she wasn’t good enough as a actress. But she’d already been cast – in fact producer/co-writer Charles Brackett was a good friend of hers and created the character of Carla (who doesn’t appear in the Jules Verne novel) with her in mind.
When she heard what James thought of her, she figured she’d have to be extra good in her scenes with him. She worked extra hard and eventually earned a compliment from James: “You know, you’re pretty good”. She said hearing that from him meant more to her than an Academy Award would have.
She also talked about Bernard Herrmann, as you can hear in the YouTube clip, calling him a musical genius. He visited the set more than once, and seemed to take inspiration from those visits – the score really captures the feeling of what it’d be like to descend into the interior of the earth.
Arlene also talked about the locations: they shot in Carlsbad Caverns NM and the surrounding area for three months, then back to the Fox studio in Hollywood for three more months. She mentioned the large number of bat caves at Carlsbad. She was afraid of them, but Pat Boone liked them so much he earned the nickname “Bat Boone”. She also complimented Pat on his acting. She was impressed at how hard he worked on his performance.
All in all, a great evening with an extremely charming lady. And the CinemaScope print was perfect.
As expected, the Loew’s Jersey’s cavernous echo made the score for “Journey to the Center of the Earth” sound better than it’s ever been heard before (by me, anyway). Arlene Dahl is an incredibly nice, gracious person. Her post-screening interview with Foster Hirsch was extremely entertaining. I didn’t get to ask Rory’s question about the Blu-Ray release, but I did get her autograph:
About 2 or 3 years ago Diane Baker appeared at a Motion Picture Academy screening of “The Diary of Anne Frank” in NYC, together with Millie Perkins and Richard Beymer.
I saw “The Best of Everything” at the Chelsea Cinemas in NYC a couple of years ago. They show it about once a year. They have a weekly series of camp classics like “Valley of the Dolls”, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”, etc.
Warren: That is a good picture. I like how they gave billing to Gypsy Rose Lee, even though she was only in the movie for one short scene.
You’re welcome, MPol. I’ve never lived in the area either. In fact I’ve only been to Long Island three times: a Queen concert in 1975, a Bruce Springsteen concert on May 4th of this year (both at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale), and a pilgrimage to visit the grave of Bernard Herrmann, the greatest film music composer ever, in Elmont.
Clearview executive Craig O'Connor visits this page occasionally. Maybe he can initiate a curtains-in-use-at-every-show policy?
Bercy: most theaters in the US don’t have curtains anymore, which is why it’s such a treat to see them in use at the Ziegfeld (when they bother to use them, that is).
I too am not ashamed to admit I enjoyed “The Phantom Menace”, enough to see it 11 times in a theater. Looking back, it’s probably the best of the three prequels, Jar Jar and all, featuring my favorite performance in all three films (Liam Neeson’s) and the most amazing action sequence (the Duel of the Fates).
Could the Islip Theater have presented the most hilariously mismatched double feature of all time back in December 1964? See what you think:
View link
The ‘60s sure were a wacky time.
Jodar: The presentation of the movie itself was very fine overall (good and loud), but they didn’t use the curtain. There was a long gap between the Clearview pre-show stuff and the trailers, and I was hoping to see those curtains start to close, but no such luck.
The audience was very much into the movie (Friday 10:15 PM show), but there were a number of empty seats way down front and on the sides.
I too enjoyed hearing the 1966 ship sounds displayed so prominently. If I remember right, that’s one of the first things you hear when the movie begins. I do want to see it again.
“Star Trek”: The best current movie I’ve seen at the Ziegfeld since “Chicago”, and that was back in 2002.
Two cool ads from Newsday:
11/15/60:
View link
8/63:
View link
A 12/23/54 NY Daily News ad for “the greatest Christmas attraction of all time”. Er, I don’t think so … even Paul Newman would take issue with that statement:
View link
Knucklehead: If you go to Roland Lataille’s excellent Cinerama website:
View link
you will count 141 theaters in the United States that showed Cinerama (3-strip and/or 70mm) at one time or another.
At a “West Side Story” screening at the Biograph Theater on 57th St. (revival house) sometime in the ‘80s, almost the entire audience did the fingersnapping in “Dance at the Gym” (when Tony and Maria first approach each other – first two snaps, then one) in unison without being prompted. And of course we all had a good laugh after we did it.
Thanks, Gabe, for that Jack Benny/Groucho clip. YouTube is such a wonderful source for old ‘50s TV clips. Here’s another one: Arlene Dahl as the mystery guest on “What’s My Line?” in 1959, plugging “Journey to the Center of the Earth”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTbcvphPWv4
MPol: You’re very lucky to have attended that “West Side Story” screening in 2001. Robert Wise was in attendance, right? I’d taken some friends on the Radio City Tour a few weeks before, and the guide mentioned the upcoming screening. I got all excited, figuring we’d all come back to see it, when she pointed out it was going to be invited guests only. Oh well. But I’m glad you got to go.
I’d like to second what hotwaterbottle said. “Mad World” looked great up there on that big screen, especially from the second row. I know it was 35mm, but you could tell that it was designed for 70mm. It LOOKED like 70mm, even in a reduction print. The whole Big W sequence comes to mind – the way it was shot, the way the actors were arranged in the frame, camera placement, etc. I wonder how many days they had to close off that state park to the public to get that scene on film.
“West Side Story” didn’t play the Music Hall in 1961, but I did see it there in 1979. My brother and I made a triple feature out of that day: “West Side Story” at the Music Hall, “Rocky II” at the Cinerama (ex-Strand, ex-Warner), and “Alien” at the Criterion. That was some day at the movies.
I think I told this story before, probably on the Paramount page, but Jerry showed off his old ushering skills when my mom went to see “My Friend Irma” at the Paramount in 1949, and he took her ticket. I guess he and Dean were part of the live stage show.
Here’s one more:
View link
Look for the small print at the very bottom: Late Film 11:45 PM. How I would’ve loved to see “Journey” at the Paramount and get out at 2 in the morning!
Some more “Journey” stuff:
The New York Daily News review – a positive one, but I would have given it one more star:
View link
The ad for the Paramount Theatre engagement:
View link
The ad for the State Theatre engagement in Jersey City, around the corner from the Loew’s … and the only one of the three great Journal Square showplaces that did not survive in some form. It’s now an apartment building.
View link
Another funny thing Arlene told us: she only had one stand-in, but Gertrude the Duck had three!
Arlene did talk about James Mason. She said he wasn’t easy to work with at first, and she also heard from a crew member that he didn’t want her to play the role. He thought she wasn’t good enough as a actress. But she’d already been cast – in fact producer/co-writer Charles Brackett was a good friend of hers and created the character of Carla (who doesn’t appear in the Jules Verne novel) with her in mind.
When she heard what James thought of her, she figured she’d have to be extra good in her scenes with him. She worked extra hard and eventually earned a compliment from James: “You know, you’re pretty good”. She said hearing that from him meant more to her than an Academy Award would have.
She also talked about Bernard Herrmann, as you can hear in the YouTube clip, calling him a musical genius. He visited the set more than once, and seemed to take inspiration from those visits – the score really captures the feeling of what it’d be like to descend into the interior of the earth.
Arlene also talked about the locations: they shot in Carlsbad Caverns NM and the surrounding area for three months, then back to the Fox studio in Hollywood for three more months. She mentioned the large number of bat caves at Carlsbad. She was afraid of them, but Pat Boone liked them so much he earned the nickname “Bat Boone”. She also complimented Pat on his acting. She was impressed at how hard he worked on his performance.
All in all, a great evening with an extremely charming lady. And the CinemaScope print was perfect.
As expected, the Loew’s Jersey’s cavernous echo made the score for “Journey to the Center of the Earth” sound better than it’s ever been heard before (by me, anyway). Arlene Dahl is an incredibly nice, gracious person. Her post-screening interview with Foster Hirsch was extremely entertaining. I didn’t get to ask Rory’s question about the Blu-Ray release, but I did get her autograph:
View link
and a picture with her:
View link
Here is a poor quality 60-second video from my digital camera where she talks about Bernard Herrmann’s score for the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7w8wROTOdE
Finally, the Loew’s marquee by day and by night:
View link
View link
About 2 or 3 years ago Diane Baker appeared at a Motion Picture Academy screening of “The Diary of Anne Frank” in NYC, together with Millie Perkins and Richard Beymer.
I saw “The Best of Everything” at the Chelsea Cinemas in NYC a couple of years ago. They show it about once a year. They have a weekly series of camp classics like “Valley of the Dolls”, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”, etc.
Rory: I’ll do it, if I can. I hope to get some pictures of her also. If I’m successful, I’ll post links to them here.
Thanks so much, Al. All those Cinerama ads on display in one place -wow! And an ongoing thanks to you, Michael, for this wonderful series.