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 1:34 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.
Looks like the new train K line will be coming into Hollywood in the near future and hook up with the Hollywood & Highland Red line station. So long Fox West Coast Hollywood Theatre across the street. Seems they need the space for the new larger rail station. While the old Hollywood Theatre has not been used for many years as a movie theatre and the inside has been changed for other entertainment the classic neon sign and marquee still live on. They use the front for digital advertising these days. If the train people tear down this Hollywood landmark at least we hope they can save the classic popular still working flashing neon marquee and blade sign and put It intact on the outside of the new larger train station. I remember as a kid seeing the combo Jerry Lewis movies ‘The Bellboy’ along with ‘Cinderfella’ at the Fox West Coast Hollywood Theatre. The Hollywood area is very under screened but you will probably never see this former cinema open again showing movies. Maybe they can re open It for a few months and show the movie ‘Silver Streak’ or ‘Bullet Train’ for the visiting tourists before they demolish the building.
Thanks ‘FILM’ for the ad. So many movie theatres advertised WIDE SCREEN in 1953 before they put in a Cinemascope screen and this 3D film ‘FORT TI’ was not shot in CinemaScope or any other new wide scope process. Just 1.33 and to get more people inside they may have blown up the square image with a blow up lens to look big but not wide like scope. Very few 3D movies were shot in wide screen I can only think of one ‘September Storm’ that came out in the 60’s by 20th Century Fox I think. Just a few 3D films had stereophonic 4 track mag sound. Its so great that I bought a 3D Samsung TV many years ago now that they have restored many of the true 2 camera 3D classics to Blu Ray 3D. The new one projector 3D blow ups are junk.
CF****Here is San Francisco our semi new Regal Stonestown Theatre is still showing ‘Twister’ as of 9/3/24 in their small screen 4DX auditorium. It is almost sold out for every showing in the 4DX system as It is the only type of equipped cinema with 4DX in San Francisco. The whole SF Bay Area is very stingy on putting in all the new movie gimmicks like Screen X ect. They charge a extra premium for 4DX at the Regal in SF and yet being Its shown in a small space with limited seating many movie customers are turned away. If they had put 4DX in a larger space they would make more money and the system would look and sound better with all the effects on a super large curved screen. Many theatre owners get money greedy when they put in a large 20 plex and make too many of the auditoriums way to small to make extra cash and only leave one or two for Imax or XD systems.
Thanks CF. I would be nice to see the new 4DX system put in very large auditoriums with huge curved screens. Most of these installs at least in the USA are in small spaces under 150 seats. The 4DX seats do take up more room then regular seating.
I bet when they run the pre show ads or trailers the red & white star light leaks onto the screen. Cineworld needs to hire a better design team and move the lighted star more back on the wall not next to the screen. Thanks GC for the image.
Too bad when the Dolby people did the Blue remodel they took off all the nice neon stars under the marquee above the box office. Now the place is just a shell what It used to be with just a few seats. A private screening cinema that most movie people will never go into located in a great place for a tourist Grindhouse Theatre with at least 500 seats.
Must have looked great on their Magic Mirror CinemaScope semi curved screen and the for fist time 4 track magnetic stereo surround sound. We take stereophonic sound now for granted but in 1953 It was a big thing in the movie theatres and in 1958 stereo records.
AMC Theatres never learns they put the side/ceiling lights next to the screen and they leak onto the image for the trailers and pre show ads. Do the companies ever complain that pay to advertise? The AMC install light crew have no idea what they are doing. Thanks NBC for the sample photo.
I bet this side wall art was black light glow lit when the film was on? You can see a little of the blue light in the second left cove mixed in with the entrance lighting.
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.
I wonder if the UA Syosset got a blow up 70mm stereo print of Funny Girl like on Broadway? No mention in this ad.
Thanks Grind I still have my Magic Mystic Mask from when I saw the movie at the Fox Oakland Theatre many years ago.
Looks like the new train K line will be coming into Hollywood in the near future and hook up with the Hollywood & Highland Red line station. So long Fox West Coast Hollywood Theatre across the street. Seems they need the space for the new larger rail station. While the old Hollywood Theatre has not been used for many years as a movie theatre and the inside has been changed for other entertainment the classic neon sign and marquee still live on. They use the front for digital advertising these days. If the train people tear down this Hollywood landmark at least we hope they can save the classic popular still working flashing neon marquee and blade sign and put It intact on the outside of the new larger train station. I remember as a kid seeing the combo Jerry Lewis movies ‘The Bellboy’ along with ‘Cinderfella’ at the Fox West Coast Hollywood Theatre. The Hollywood area is very under screened but you will probably never see this former cinema open again showing movies. Maybe they can re open It for a few months and show the movie ‘Silver Streak’ or ‘Bullet Train’ for the visiting tourists before they demolish the building.
Thanks ‘FILM’ for the ad. So many movie theatres advertised WIDE SCREEN in 1953 before they put in a Cinemascope screen and this 3D film ‘FORT TI’ was not shot in CinemaScope or any other new wide scope process. Just 1.33 and to get more people inside they may have blown up the square image with a blow up lens to look big but not wide like scope. Very few 3D movies were shot in wide screen I can only think of one ‘September Storm’ that came out in the 60’s by 20th Century Fox I think. Just a few 3D films had stereophonic 4 track mag sound. Its so great that I bought a 3D Samsung TV many years ago now that they have restored many of the true 2 camera 3D classics to Blu Ray 3D. The new one projector 3D blow ups are junk.
CF****Here is San Francisco our semi new Regal Stonestown Theatre is still showing ‘Twister’ as of 9/3/24 in their small screen 4DX auditorium. It is almost sold out for every showing in the 4DX system as It is the only type of equipped cinema with 4DX in San Francisco. The whole SF Bay Area is very stingy on putting in all the new movie gimmicks like Screen X ect. They charge a extra premium for 4DX at the Regal in SF and yet being Its shown in a small space with limited seating many movie customers are turned away. If they had put 4DX in a larger space they would make more money and the system would look and sound better with all the effects on a super large curved screen. Many theatre owners get money greedy when they put in a large 20 plex and make too many of the auditoriums way to small to make extra cash and only leave one or two for Imax or XD systems.
Thanks CF. I would be nice to see the new 4DX system put in very large auditoriums with huge curved screens. Most of these installs at least in the USA are in small spaces under 150 seats. The 4DX seats do take up more room then regular seating.
I bet when they run the pre show ads or trailers the red & white star light leaks onto the screen. Cineworld needs to hire a better design team and move the lighted star more back on the wall not next to the screen. Thanks GC for the image.
Too bad when the Dolby people did the Blue remodel they took off all the nice neon stars under the marquee above the box office. Now the place is just a shell what It used to be with just a few seats. A private screening cinema that most movie people will never go into located in a great place for a tourist Grindhouse Theatre with at least 500 seats.
Must have looked great on their Magic Mirror CinemaScope semi curved screen and the for fist time 4 track magnetic stereo surround sound. We take stereophonic sound now for granted but in 1953 It was a big thing in the movie theatres and in 1958 stereo records.
AMC Theatres never learns they put the side/ceiling lights next to the screen and they leak onto the image for the trailers and pre show ads. Do the companies ever complain that pay to advertise? The AMC install light crew have no idea what they are doing. Thanks NBC for the sample photo.
I bet this side wall art was black light glow lit when the film was on?
You can see a little of the blue light in the second left cove mixed in with the entrance lighting.