Remembering Cinerama (Part 17: Vancouver)

posted by Coate on December 24, 2008 at 3:55 pm

REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part 17: Vancouver

The following is Part Seventeen in a series of retrospectives on Cinerama, the legendary motion picture process that kicked off the widescreen revolution. The series focuses on providing a market-by-market, film-by-film, historical record of when and where Cinerama and its multi-panel clones were exhibited. The easy-to-reference articles also serve to provide nostalgia to those who experienced the Cinerama presentations when they were new and to highlight the movie palaces in which the memorable events took place.

Part 1: New York
Part 2: Chicago
Part 3: San Francisco
Part 4: Houston
Part 5: Washington, D.C.
Part 6: Los Angeles
Part 7: Atlanta
Part 8: San Diego
Part 9: Dallas
Part 10: Oklahoma City
Part 11: Syracuse
Part 12: Toronto
Part 13: Columbus
Part 14: Montreal
Part 15: Northern New Jersey
Part 16: Charlotte

And now…Part 17: Cinerama Presentations in Vancouver, British Columbia!

THIS IS CINERAMA
Theater: Strand
Premiere: March 6, 1958
Engagement Duration: 12 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Promotional Hype: “The only really new wonder of the entertainment world”

CINERAMA HOLIDAY
Theater: Strand
Premiere: May 28, 1958
Duration: 11 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “It’s every holiday you ever dreamed of…come true! No other entertainment in the whole wide world, not one, gives you the unique thrills that you experience when you see and live CINERAMA HOLIDAY!”

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
Theater: Strand
Premiere: August 14, 1958
Duration: 19 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The new, the 3rd CINERAMA presentation will light up the entertainment sky. There’s nothing in the world like it!”

SEARCH FOR PARADISE
Theater: Strand
Premiere: December 25, 1958 (Pacific Northwest Premiere)
Duration: 10 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “Since the dawn of time…this has been mankind’s most fabulous dream and now you live it through the newest, most exciting CINERAMA of them all! A fabulous, history-making voyage into forbidden Tibet. See wonders never before photographed and likely never to be seen again.”

SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE
Theater: Strand
Premiere: March 5, 1959 (Pacific Northwest Premiere)
Duration: 16 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “New! Never to be forgotten! You live a thousand wondrous excitements in the new CINERAMA adventure! Cannot and will not be shown in any local or neighbourhood theatre; never on TV.”

WINDJAMMER
Theater: Strand
Premiere: June 24, 1959 (Canadian Premiere)
Duration: 17 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The first CINEMIRACLE production; presented in CINERAMA. The screen comes alive! You’ve never seen anything like it before! You ride a guided missile fired at an unseen target…from a US destroyer!”

THIS IS CINERAMA (Return Engagement)
Theater: Strand
Premiere: October 22, 1959
Duration: 2 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “For the first time in CINERAMA history! CINERAMA at popular prices! First of the new dimensional productions returns to bring you your greatest entertainment experience!”

CINERAMA HOLIDAY (Return Engagement)
Theater: Strand
Premiere: November 5, 1959
Duration: 1 week
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “A holiday you’ll always remember…that you can easily afford”

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD (Return Engagement)
Theater: Strand
Premiere: November 12, 1959
Duration: 2 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “There’s nothing in the world like it!”

SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE (Return Engagement)
Theater: Strand
Premiere: November 26, 1959
Duration: 2 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “Escape to the enchanted islands of illusion!”

SEARCH FOR PARADISE (Return Engagement)
Theater: Strand
Premiere: December 10, 1959
Duration: 1 week
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The final CINERAMA adventure”

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
Theater: Strand
Premiere: August 22, 1962
Duration: 19 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “The first dramatic movie that puts you in every scene. The miracle entertainment of our time wraps the world around your theatre seat”

THE BEST OF CINERAMA
Theater: Strand
Premiere: January 3, 1963 (Canadian Premiere)
Duration: 14 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “It’s like living them for the first time…when you see CINERAMA’s greatest thrills all in one fabulous entertainment!”

HOW THE WEST WAS WON
Theater: Strand
Premiere: April 11, 1963
Duration: 31 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “24 great stars! 3 top directors! In the fabulous production that has scored an international triumph!”

WINDJAMMER (Return Engagement)
Theater: Strand
Premiere: November 14, 1963
Duration: 14 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “Requested by thousands! The most popular CINERAMA of all…pictorially…musically…thrillingly!”

HOLIDAY IN SPAIN
Theater: Strand
Premiere: February 19, 1964
Duration: 3 weeks
Format: Cinerama (3-strip)
Hype: “CINERAMA’s newest adventure!”

BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Theater: Capitol
Premiere: December 22, 1965
Duration: 7 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The super action show in SUPER CINERAMA…unlike anything you’ve ever seen”

THE BATTLE FOR KHARTOUM
Theater: Capitol
Premiere: September 15, 1966
Duration: 8 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “Rarely is one motion picture singled out for such unparalleled acclaim”

GRAND PRIX
Theater: Capitol
Premiere: February 1, 1967
Duration: 11 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “CINERAMA Sweeps You Into A Drama Of Speed And Spectacle!”

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Theater: Capitol
Premiere: June 26, 1968
Duration: 15 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “An astounding entertainment experience”

ICE STATION ZEBRA
Theater: Capitol
Premiere: November 14, 1968
Duration: 10 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “Ice Station Zebra…remember the name, your life may depend on it!”

KRAKATOA, EAST OF JAVA
Theater: Capitol
Premiere: August 7, 1969
Duration: 7 weeks
Format: Cinerama (70mm)
Hype: “The New CINERAMA Hurls You Into The Incredible Day That Shook The Earth To Its Core!”

THIS IS CINERAMA (Re-issue)
Theater: Park Royal
Premiere: June 8, 1973
Duration: 2 weeks
Format: 70mm (not shown on a curved screen)
Hype: “THIS IS CINERAMA Is Back To Entertain A Whole New Generation”

NEVER SHOWN IN CINERAMA:
IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD (reserved-seat run at Strand)
CIRCUS WORLD (general release)
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (general release)
THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL (general release)
MEDITERRANEAN HOLIDAY
RUSSIAN ADVENTURE
CUSTER OF THE WEST (general release)

Compiled by Bill Kretzel & Michael Coate

Source: The Province and The Vancouver Sun

Theaters in this post

• Capitol 6 Theatre
• Park Royal Theatres
• Strand Theater