This new Screen X system looks great when It Is used as a segment of a movie but only in a big auditorium not so hot in a small screen venue. It’s no Cinerama. If the film is in scope It won’t light up all the front screen or sides top to bottom like a 1.85 movie will. If the surround speakers on the white screen side walls have not been moved up to the ceiling tilting down you will have them show on the side screen walls when the special effects come on. Thanks Ridethetrain for the image.
Thanks for the classic photo. The RKO Golden Gate was SF’s second Cinerama house for a time when they went 70mm, Did a bad job putting a smaller curved screen on the back of the stage with flat curtains. Twined the upstairs loge area and ran 70mm roadshow on top on a flat screen with a bad keystone.
Thanks Darren great photo by Fred. Must have looked great on the semi curved CinemaScope screen and all the side wall stereo speakers the SF Fox had. A sad time for all the people of San Francisco when they tore the Fox Theatre down. Many of the other large Fox Theatres are still standing like in Atlanta, St Louis and Detroit making money with live stage events.
Like so many cinemas they put the white lights so close to the front they leak onto the screen during the pre show ads or trailers. Do the light people even care?
Very few theatres had a CinemaScope 55 projector, I think the Roxy NYC had one along with the Fox West Coast Hollywood Chinese? Most ‘King And I’ prints were just regular CinemaScope 35mm film taken from the 55 negative. Thanks Cineast for the photo
I liked the UltraVision Theaters. We had a Plitt ABC one near San Francisco in Daly City. Torn down for a parking lot. This photo in this ad makes It look like the screen was not that curved but It was.
Todd-AO was a great 70mm curved screen system. But after Mike Todd died they let theatres show the system in any 70mm screen flat or curved. This took away the exclusive nice curve It had at first. They brought in the 70mm print of ‘South Pacific’ to the UA Alexandria Theatre in San Francisco and ran It on a almost flat screen and advertised It as Todd-AO. UA was running out of roadshow 70mm cinemas in SF as just up the street on Geary ST The UA Coronet Theatre had a true deluxe original curved Todd-AO screen used for ‘Oklahoma’ and other Todd-AO productions. The Coronet was torn down many years ago when UA was money hungry. The old UA Alexandria still stands in very bad shape.
Thanks Cineast for the classic photo. Too bad the city of New York took out so many of the grindhouse theatres on 42nd St. They needed to keep just one open so a new generation could experience the B movie triple bill grindhouse 24/7 times.
terrywade
commented about
1957 on
Oct 17, 2024 at 4:34 pm
Thanks Swamp for the great ad. Too bad a few of the old larger theatres still left in the USA don’t do a big Halloween stage show like this anymore. Get the kids out of the streaming house and scare them silly.
Nice lights but the Cineworld chain never has nice black light glow rugs. They put in cheap way to dark not lit carpets. Same with their UA theatres in the USA. I guess they do this as not to show all the dirt and grime on the rugs as so many slops spill everything on the floors. They spend all the lighting money on LED or neon color lobby lights and skimp on the carpets.
Kino nice photo but ugly surround speakers. Too boxy looking. Like for a rock show not a movie theatre. I remember many theatres that put in stereo surround speakers in the 50’s/ 60’s hid the surround speakers in the side walls or ceiling. You heard the effect surround sound but did not see the small speakers.
Thanks CC for the ad image. Must have been a great stage show in 1952 at the Paramount with Bob Hope on stage. Just a year before CinemaScope came in. Probably one of Its last stage shows.
Thanks JK I wonder If the giant curved Cinerama screen was still up when they showed Earthquake at the Warner?
Thanks JK I wonder If the giant curved Cinerama screen was still up when they showed Earthquake at the Warner?
Must have looked and sounded great on the giant curved Cinerama screen at the RKO Warner Cinerama Theatre in NYC. Thanks CC for the image ad.
This new Screen X system looks great when It Is used as a segment of a movie but only in a big auditorium not so hot in a small screen venue. It’s no Cinerama. If the film is in scope It won’t light up all the front screen or sides top to bottom like a 1.85 movie will. If the surround speakers on the white screen side walls have not been moved up to the ceiling tilting down you will have them show on the side screen walls when the special effects come on. Thanks Ridethetrain for the image.
Thanks for the classic photo. The RKO Golden Gate was SF’s second Cinerama house for a time when they went 70mm, Did a bad job putting a smaller curved screen on the back of the stage with flat curtains. Twined the upstairs loge area and ran 70mm roadshow on top on a flat screen with a bad keystone.
No mention about 70mm Todd-AO or 6 track stereophonic sound. Must have been just a mono 35mm scope showing?
Thanks Darren great photo by Fred. Must have looked great on the semi curved CinemaScope screen and all the side wall stereo speakers the SF Fox had. A sad time for all the people of San Francisco when they tore the Fox Theatre down. Many of the other large Fox Theatres are still standing like in Atlanta, St Louis and Detroit making money with live stage events.
Like so many cinemas they put the white lights so close to the front they leak onto the screen during the pre show ads or trailers. Do the light people even care?
Very few theatres had a CinemaScope 55 projector, I think the Roxy NYC had one along with the Fox West Coast Hollywood Chinese? Most ‘King And I’ prints were just regular CinemaScope 35mm film taken from the 55 negative. Thanks Cineast for the photo
I liked the UltraVision Theaters. We had a Plitt ABC one near San Francisco in Daly City. Torn down for a parking lot. This photo in this ad makes It look like the screen was not that curved but It was.
Thanks CC looks like they had black light glow wall art. Wish they used some today in new cinemas.
Todd-AO was a great 70mm curved screen system. But after Mike Todd died they let theatres show the system in any 70mm screen flat or curved. This took away the exclusive nice curve It had at first. They brought in the 70mm print of ‘South Pacific’ to the UA Alexandria Theatre in San Francisco and ran It on a almost flat screen and advertised It as Todd-AO. UA was running out of roadshow 70mm cinemas in SF as just up the street on Geary ST The UA Coronet Theatre had a true deluxe original curved Todd-AO screen used for ‘Oklahoma’ and other Todd-AO productions. The Coronet was torn down many years ago when UA was money hungry. The old UA Alexandria still stands in very bad shape.
Now a gym but could be turned back into a theatre very easy.
Now a gym but could be turned back into a theatre very easy.
Too bad the city of SF tore the Fox down. I often wonder who bought the CinemaScope neon sign or did they trash It.
This theatre showed 70mm TOOD-AO but was It on a curved screen? Can’t find any photos of the curved screen inside. Does any one know thanks.
This 3D movie had some of the best 3D pop off screen effects. Looks great in Blu Ray 3D on a 3D TV. Not like the fake 3D you see in theatres now.
Thanks Cineast for the classic photo. Too bad the city of New York took out so many of the grindhouse theatres on 42nd St. They needed to keep just one open so a new generation could experience the B movie triple bill grindhouse 24/7 times.
Thanks Swamp for the great ad. Too bad a few of the old larger theatres still left in the USA don’t do a big Halloween stage show like this anymore. Get the kids out of the streaming house and scare them silly.
Nice lights but the Cineworld chain never has nice black light glow rugs. They put in cheap way to dark not lit carpets. Same with their UA theatres in the USA. I guess they do this as not to show all the dirt and grime on the rugs as so many slops spill everything on the floors. They spend all the lighting money on LED or neon color lobby lights and skimp on the carpets.
You can see what was left of the D-150 curved screen curtain track on the sides in this photo.
You can still see in the top B&W photo of this search what was left of the curved curtains on the sides when they had D-150 installed.
Kino nice photo but ugly surround speakers. Too boxy looking. Like for a rock show not a movie theatre. I remember many theatres that put in stereo surround speakers in the 50’s/ 60’s hid the surround speakers in the side walls or ceiling. You heard the effect surround sound but did not see the small speakers.
Thanks CC for the ad image. Must have been a great stage show in 1952 at the Paramount with Bob Hope on stage. Just a year before CinemaScope came in. Probably one of Its last stage shows.
No mention of CINERAMA STEREO or 70mm? Must have just been in 35mm scope.