speaking of “Darling Lili”. aside from the quality of the film
as a whole it does contain two of the best musical sequences ever-
“Whistling Away The Dark” and “I’ll Give You Three Guesses”.
do any of my fellow posters know of a say 2 maybe 3 websites that
sell movie souvenir programs? of course there’s EBay but
i don’t want to bid and wait i just find to buy them outright.
was the Harris/Candler Theater torn down because it was in
such condition that it was unrepairable or because no one wanted
to spend the time and money to properly renovate it as they did with the New Amsterdam?
i have no complaint about the projection or sound in the
theaters but the men’s rooms at the Empire 25 like the men’s
rooms in most multiplexes are quite unevenly maintained.
whenever i mentioned there’s a problem they don’t seem to
give a damn. i guess most multiplex managers don’t think
maintaining a clean well kept men’s room is very important.
while this theater has been in the forefront of showing indie
films for almost 50 years they screwed up royally when they
did a modernizing/tri-plexing in 1999. the only rest room is
in the lower level and is simply to damn small for three
screens. for instance the men’s room has only one stall so
you’re stuck if there’s a long line. i should think when they
“renovated” the theater they should have said “hey we need a
larger men’s rest room”. this has got to be the smallest men's
room in any movie theater in NYC.
i wish to correct an earlier post in which a fellow poster
stated that although the Coronet played many an exclusive
engagement in its long storied career it never had a reserved
seat or to use the trade term roadshow film engagement. it
did. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW directed by Franco Zefferelli and
starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton opened at the
Coronet on a reserved seat engagement. the spring of 1967 if
i’m not mistaken.
i thank brucec for his reply. but i am intrigued by your
comment-“Radio City was stuck with product like The Happiest
Millionaire and was locked out of getting better product”. one
question. how was Radio City “stuck” with the film? films
ran just so long at the Music Hall to begin with so how could
one film not being a box office hit effect the Music Hall's
over all financial well being? also how did booking THM for the
Thanksgiving 1967 period prevent the Music Hall from booking
“better product” when THM’s run ended? hear from you soon.
i thank Michael C. for the info.one of course should never assume
things but i always assumed that THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE’s roadshow
run at the Pantages was a disappointment. i based this assumption
on the fact the film didn’t open in NYC till like 5 months later
with no intermission, 25mins. cut out and on a non-roadshow basis.
but an almost 7 month roadshow run at the Pantages seems decent
enough so i wonder why Disney chose to release it in NYC the way
they did.
since this theater is a decent size does anyone know if it
was ever used by the studios to present films on an exclusive
roadshow basis in the period 1955-1972?
its interesting the Fine Arts is the only art house in
Manhattan to have hosted 3 roadshow films-A MAN FOR ALL
SEASONS, THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE and THE TROJAN
WOMEN. all three films also had souvenir programs.
Hello. i hope someone has a knowledge of London’s Cinerama
theaters. the summer of 1972 i had the opportunity to travel
to London. while there i saw a re-release of THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS, this is where my question comes in. i could swear
the name of the theater was the Shaftsbury Cinerama but when
i looked it up zippo. does anyone know what Cinerama theaters
were operating in London in August of 1972? thanks for any info.
hello again. reading my fellow poster’s comments always prompts
new questions on my part. here goes. the 1/21/11 note by William
states that 70MM didn’t arrive at the Palace till the June 1969
roadshow re-issue of BEN-HUR. since it was a tiny bit before my
time i’ve always assumed the Oct.1963 exclusive roadshow engagement of 55 DAYS AT PEKING at the Palace was in 70MM. i make this
assumption because Samuel Bronston’s two previous roadshow epics
EL CID and KING OF KINGS were shot in 70MM Super Technirama. so
regardless of the name of the actual process they were shot in
55…. wasn’t shot in 70MM like the other two films?
was the auditorium of the nearby Candler/Harris Theater completely
torn down or is it locked up behind Madame’s Tussaud’s Wax Museum?
the reason i ask is that there seems to be the rear facades of 3
theaters on the north side of 41 St. if two are the Liberty and
the New Amsterdam what’s the third one?
i remember this theater showing gay porn when i first visited
L.A. May of 1980. when exactly did it close as a mainstream movie
house and after that when did it start showing gay porn?
any photos of the theater in its early years as the Audubon?
for instance when “Down To The Sea In Ships” played a neighborhood
engagement after an exclusive 3 month run in Times Square?
one can’t help but wonder if the fire in 1978 that heavily
damaged the theater and lead to its demolition was as we call
them in New York City a “business fire”(hint,hint).
i just became aware of this website like a month ago. so i have
3 quick questions for devotees of the late Tower East. none of the photo links for the old Loews 72 St. work. how
can i see photos of it? the Tower East was built as a movie theater with no freight
entrance so how in God’s name will convert it into a super-
market?
*also while we all lament the passing of a grand old movie theater
like the Loews 72 Street we must not forget that these grand old
theaters simply became economically unfeasible. :–(
i thank AlAlvarez for posting the street chart as to the situation
of which theaters were where. but it only prompts another question
on my part. so here goes. the Lew Fields/Anco Theater and the American were torn down, the Eltinge/Empire never went back to
41 St.,the Liberty auditorium is closed up,the New Amsterdam is
alive and well which leaves the Candler/Harris. now from the chart
the entrance/lobby of the theater ran alongside the Candler building and the body of the theater the auditorium was actually on
41 St. so when Madame Tussuad’s was built they completely torn
down not only the entrance/lobby area but the auditorium as well?
i am confused now. i had read in a book on the 12 theaters that
once graced 42 St. between 7th and 8th Avenues that the auditorium
of the Liberty was closed up and located behind Madame Tussuad’s Wax Museum. now as you directed i looked up the listing for the
Candler Theater better known as the Harris. if i understood it
correctly the Harris Theater was torn down to build Madame Tussuad’s. but i thought the Candler/Harris Theater was in back
of the Candler Building not adjacent to it. i don’t see how the
Liberty auditorium could have been right behind the Candler/Harris
auditorium.
why isn’t the Chandler Theater listed? the entrance was thru
the street level of the still alive and well Chandler Building.
like the Liberty auditorium which still exits behind Madame
Tussaud’s Wax Museum does the Chandler auditorium still exist
behind the huge MacDonald’s?
in his comment of Oct.22, 2005 Robert refers to the X rated “Inga”
a film shown at the Loews' Cine as “porn”. i am a librarian by
education and vocation as a result am very picky about the use
of language. i do not think Loew’s would have booked an actual
porn film into the Cine. many X rated films at the time “Inga” was
released would probably get R rating today. so please unless its
actual porn do not refer to it as such. refer to it as an
exploitation film to use and old term. thank you.
in NYC at least a “grind house” has a totally different meaning.
to which the vaguely negative term “grind house” refers mostly to the legitimate theaters on 42nd St. that after the depression became
movie theaters and ran B-movies, exploitation films and 3rd and 4th
run of previous exclusive engagement films.
in reply to my original post Techman replied that Grauman's
Chinese is a “grind house”. in my understanding of what defines
a grind house how is Grauman’s Chinese a grind house?
speaking of “Darling Lili”. aside from the quality of the film
as a whole it does contain two of the best musical sequences ever-
“Whistling Away The Dark” and “I’ll Give You Three Guesses”.
do any of my fellow posters know of a say 2 maybe 3 websites that
sell movie souvenir programs? of course there’s EBay but
i don’t want to bid and wait i just find to buy them outright.
was the Harris/Candler Theater torn down because it was in
such condition that it was unrepairable or because no one wanted
to spend the time and money to properly renovate it as they did with the New Amsterdam?
i have no complaint about the projection or sound in the
theaters but the men’s rooms at the Empire 25 like the men’s
rooms in most multiplexes are quite unevenly maintained.
whenever i mentioned there’s a problem they don’t seem to
give a damn. i guess most multiplex managers don’t think
maintaining a clean well kept men’s room is very important.
while this theater has been in the forefront of showing indie
films for almost 50 years they screwed up royally when they
did a modernizing/tri-plexing in 1999. the only rest room is
in the lower level and is simply to damn small for three
screens. for instance the men’s room has only one stall so
you’re stuck if there’s a long line. i should think when they
“renovated” the theater they should have said “hey we need a
larger men’s rest room”. this has got to be the smallest men's
room in any movie theater in NYC.
i wish to correct an earlier post in which a fellow poster
stated that although the Coronet played many an exclusive
engagement in its long storied career it never had a reserved
seat or to use the trade term roadshow film engagement. it
did. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW directed by Franco Zefferelli and
starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton opened at the
Coronet on a reserved seat engagement. the spring of 1967 if
i’m not mistaken.
i thank brucec for his reply. but i am intrigued by your
comment-“Radio City was stuck with product like The Happiest
Millionaire and was locked out of getting better product”. one
question. how was Radio City “stuck” with the film? films
ran just so long at the Music Hall to begin with so how could
one film not being a box office hit effect the Music Hall's
over all financial well being? also how did booking THM for the
Thanksgiving 1967 period prevent the Music Hall from booking
“better product” when THM’s run ended? hear from you soon.
i thank Michael C. for the info.one of course should never assume
things but i always assumed that THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE’s roadshow
run at the Pantages was a disappointment. i based this assumption
on the fact the film didn’t open in NYC till like 5 months later
with no intermission, 25mins. cut out and on a non-roadshow basis.
but an almost 7 month roadshow run at the Pantages seems decent
enough so i wonder why Disney chose to release it in NYC the way
they did.
since this theater is a decent size does anyone know if it
was ever used by the studios to present films on an exclusive
roadshow basis in the period 1955-1972?
its interesting the Fine Arts is the only art house in
Manhattan to have hosted 3 roadshow films-A MAN FOR ALL
SEASONS, THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE and THE TROJAN
WOMEN. all three films also had souvenir programs.
Hello. i hope someone has a knowledge of London’s Cinerama
theaters. the summer of 1972 i had the opportunity to travel
to London. while there i saw a re-release of THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS, this is where my question comes in. i could swear
the name of the theater was the Shaftsbury Cinerama but when
i looked it up zippo. does anyone know what Cinerama theaters
were operating in London in August of 1972? thanks for any info.
hello again. reading my fellow poster’s comments always prompts
new questions on my part. here goes. the 1/21/11 note by William
states that 70MM didn’t arrive at the Palace till the June 1969
roadshow re-issue of BEN-HUR. since it was a tiny bit before my
time i’ve always assumed the Oct.1963 exclusive roadshow engagement of 55 DAYS AT PEKING at the Palace was in 70MM. i make this
assumption because Samuel Bronston’s two previous roadshow epics
EL CID and KING OF KINGS were shot in 70MM Super Technirama. so
regardless of the name of the actual process they were shot in
55…. wasn’t shot in 70MM like the other two films?
was the auditorium of the nearby Candler/Harris Theater completely
torn down or is it locked up behind Madame’s Tussaud’s Wax Museum?
the reason i ask is that there seems to be the rear facades of 3
theaters on the north side of 41 St. if two are the Liberty and
the New Amsterdam what’s the third one?
i remember this theater showing gay porn when i first visited
L.A. May of 1980. when exactly did it close as a mainstream movie
house and after that when did it start showing gay porn?
any photos of the theater in its early years as the Audubon?
for instance when “Down To The Sea In Ships” played a neighborhood
engagement after an exclusive 3 month run in Times Square?
one can’t help but wonder if the fire in 1978 that heavily
damaged the theater and lead to its demolition was as we call
them in New York City a “business fire”(hint,hint).
i just became aware of this website like a month ago. so i have
3 quick questions for devotees of the late Tower East.
none of the photo links for the old Loews 72 St. work. how
can i see photos of it?
the Tower East was built as a movie theater with no freight
entrance so how in God’s name will convert it into a super-
market?
*also while we all lament the passing of a grand old movie theater
like the Loews 72 Street we must not forget that these grand old
theaters simply became economically unfeasible. :–(
i thank AlAlvarez for posting the street chart as to the situation
of which theaters were where. but it only prompts another question
on my part. so here goes. the Lew Fields/Anco Theater and the American were torn down, the Eltinge/Empire never went back to
41 St.,the Liberty auditorium is closed up,the New Amsterdam is
alive and well which leaves the Candler/Harris. now from the chart
the entrance/lobby of the theater ran alongside the Candler building and the body of the theater the auditorium was actually on
41 St. so when Madame Tussuad’s was built they completely torn
down not only the entrance/lobby area but the auditorium as well?
i am confused now. i had read in a book on the 12 theaters that
once graced 42 St. between 7th and 8th Avenues that the auditorium
of the Liberty was closed up and located behind Madame Tussuad’s Wax Museum. now as you directed i looked up the listing for the
Candler Theater better known as the Harris. if i understood it
correctly the Harris Theater was torn down to build Madame Tussuad’s. but i thought the Candler/Harris Theater was in back
of the Candler Building not adjacent to it. i don’t see how the
Liberty auditorium could have been right behind the Candler/Harris
auditorium.
why isn’t the Chandler Theater listed? the entrance was thru
the street level of the still alive and well Chandler Building.
like the Liberty auditorium which still exits behind Madame
Tussaud’s Wax Museum does the Chandler auditorium still exist
behind the huge MacDonald’s?
was the Regent the first movie palace built in the U.S. or
simply the first movie palace built in NYC?
in his comment of Oct.22, 2005 Robert refers to the X rated “Inga”
a film shown at the Loews' Cine as “porn”. i am a librarian by
education and vocation as a result am very picky about the use
of language. i do not think Loew’s would have booked an actual
porn film into the Cine. many X rated films at the time “Inga” was
released would probably get R rating today. so please unless its
actual porn do not refer to it as such. refer to it as an
exploitation film to use and old term. thank you.
was this theater ever known as the Metro ?
in NYC at least a “grind house” has a totally different meaning.
to which the vaguely negative term “grind house” refers mostly to the legitimate theaters on 42nd St. that after the depression became
movie theaters and ran B-movies, exploitation films and 3rd and 4th
run of previous exclusive engagement films.
in reply to my original post Techman replied that Grauman's
Chinese is a “grind house”. in my understanding of what defines
a grind house how is Grauman’s Chinese a grind house?