Radio City Music Hall
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Advance ad for opening on August 8th, 1968
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Followed the record-braking run of “The Odd Couple,” but came nowhere near equaling or surpassing it.
It did well in the 5 or 6 week run, over $1,500.000, averaging 250,000 to 280,000 a week. That was great in those days with $1. price before 12 noon. “Where Were You…..?” did far less in Loew’s showcase run only lasting 1 week and 2 days. I saw it at the Loew’s Kings and 30 years later found the poster in the basement of the theatre glued on a poster that fit the one sheet frames of the Kings. A poster is 27"x41", Loew’s Kings frames were 30"x44". Yes, I do have the poster as it was the only one-sheet poster in the entire building. Loved the movie, have it on DVD (Swedish Version) with credits in Swedish and letterboxed at 1:85:1, originally filmed in Panavision 2:35:1. It’s uncut, good print and STILL not available in the U.S. C'mon fellas give a release already. Some people are waiting 51 years to see it again! I can’t believe it was only avaialable in VHS a short while in the 1990’s. Never shown on TCM either. “What’s Up Doc?”
The comedy that Day’s audience wanted to see(Doris Day in the New York City blackout!)but a major disappointment to that audience which is why it bombed when it left Radio City. Like Darling Lili a Music Hall hit which nobody wanted to see outside of the Music Hall. It pretty much sunk her Hollywood career.
1776 was probably the biggest Music Hall hit that went down like the Andrea Doria everywhere else. 2 and a half hours trapped in the revolutionary congressional chamber with a crew of Broadway musical hams. I still shudder when I recall it.
“Where Were You…..? didn’t sink her career as she knew herself that’s why she went out (Forgive the pun!) with her last film "With Six You Get Eggroll”, a better effort and swan song. Remember it was her no good husband who squandered her fortune, (Melcher) for you milleniums who may not know and the horrors of the Manson murders of Sharon Tate and all in the house that her son Terry owned or rented previously to the gruesome murder. She had enough of Tinseltown
But she wasn’t quite done with Tinseltown, since that no-good husband of hers had committed her to a multi-season run of a television series.
But when that commitment was fulfilled, THEN she was done with Tinseltown…
A better film yes and it should have opened at the Music Hall instead of Where Were You. Though it could have used another and less racist title.
Walk Don’t Run was another swan song that should have played the Hall and inscrutably didn’t. Even the Times reviewer wondered why and for Grant’s last film he was disappointed it wasn’t chosen.‘66 had some pretty bad films shown there so it wasn’t because it wasn’t good enough. Ironic that in a couple of years the movies that played there would be from hunger.
To Mike, I know about the Doris Day series and all its' changing plotlines. Four Seasons in all, but television isn’t Tinseltown. Movies and TV shows are two different mediums. ….? Today, yesterday’s TV shows are todays movies and most should not see the light of theatres or TV screens. Nuff said. To Vindanpar, which title is racist? ? ?. P.S. They booked RCMH some garbage so they could close it down due to costs, as they did with the Roxy when RCMH operated it during the last years to get rid of their competition a block away. They succeded(sic) in 1958-59, the Roxy was closed and if a ploy works they used it again twenty years later with their own RCMH.
With Six You Get Eggroll is the racist title. Of course I personally wouldn’t think it as such but you know how sensitive people are these days. But even if it were grammatically correct I still think it’s a poor title.
The problem with Radio City was that the exhibition of films was changing so exclusive rights to play a film in the NY Metro area was over. And producers no longer wanted to share any profits with a stage show. Starting in the late 60s it started playing abysmal films that audiences did not want to see. A number of films were objectional due to content such as Jean Brodie and Blazing Saddles and other films like The Way We Were, That’s Entertainment and Murder on the Orient Express which were perfect were withheld by their studios. Also the stage shows became embarrassing beyond belief. We are talking backyard amateur night. I used to watch them in complete disbelief. This simply was not what you expected in a professional theater.
Even if the Rockefellers did not want to close the place the counter culture, changing audiences and changing marketing would have forced it to close. Like the Ice Capades there was no longer an audience for it.
Actually “Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?” didn’t bomb after it left Radio City because by the time it played Radio City in August of 1968, it had already played throughout most of the country. It opened in Boston and other major locations in late June of 1968 and played throughout July. It wasn’t a bomb nor was it a huge success. However, it did bring in more money than the combined grosses of Day’s two previous films – “Caprice” and “The Ballad of Josie”. “Eggroll” did even better, taking in about double the combined grosses of those same two titles.