The Greatest Story Ever Told: The North American Roadshow and 70mm Engagements |
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| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 06.06.2022 |
 The following is a reference / historical
listing of the roadshow presentations of The Greatest Story Ever Told in
the United States and Canada. These were the first and arguably best cinemas
in which to experience this motion picture.The presentations cited in the main section of this work were hard ticket roadshow engagements (i.e. special, long-running, showcase presentations in major cities prior to the film being exhibited as a general release). Much like a stage production, these typically featured advanced admission pricing, reserved seating, an overture/intermission/entracte/exit music. Souvenir program booklet were sold, as well, and, in some locales, the films soundtrack album. The print type utilized during the films initial roadshow release was rectified 70-millimeter (sourced from Ultra Panavision 70 and branded as Cinerama) with discrete magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound and projected onto a large, deeply-curved screen. The films running time was shortened during its release. Out of the hundreds of films released in North America during 1965, The Greatest Story Ever Told was among only ten given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only eleven released with 70mm prints (eight from 65mm origination, including The Greatest Story Ever Told, plus three blow-ups). The United Artists release was directed by George Stevens and starred Max Von Sydow, Michael Anderson Jr., Carroll Baker, Ina Balin, Pat Boone, Victor Buono, Richard Conte, Joanna Dunham, Jose Ferrer, Van Heflin, Charlton Heston, Martin Landau, Angela Lansbury, Janet Margolin, David McCallum, Roddy McDowall, Dorothy McGuire, Sal Mineo, Nehemiah Persoff, Donald Pleasence, Sidney Potier, Claude Rains, Gary Raymond, Telly Savalas, Joseph Schildkraut, Paul Stewart, John Wayne, Shelley Winters, Ed Wynn, and members of the Inbal Dance Theatre of Israel. The world premiere was held February 15th, 1965 at the Warner Cinerama in New York. Premiere date YYYY-MM-DD locale cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] 1965-02-08 New York, NY Warner (sneak preview) PART 1: THE ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS (reserved-seat policy / 70mm print promoted as Cinerama) 1965-02-15 New York, NY Warner (43) 1965-02-17 Los Angeles, CA Cinerama Dome (43) 1965-02-19 Miami (Miami Beach), FL Sheridan (19) 1965-03-09 Detroit, MI Music Hall (23) 1965-03-09 Philadelphia, PA Boyd (20) 1965-03-10 Chicago, IL McVickers (29) 1965-03-10 Cincinnati, OH Capitol (19) 1965-03-10 Pittsburgh, PA Warner (19) 1965-03-10 Washington, DC Uptown (19) 1965-03-11 Boston, MA Boston (28) 1965-03-16 St. Louis, MO Cinerama (34) 1965-03-17 Dallas, TX Capri (19) 1965-03-17 Kansas City, MO Empire (18) 1965-03-18 Houston, TX Windsor (15) 1965-03-23 Omaha, NE Indian Hills (30) 1965-03-23 San Francisco, CA Orpheum (26) 1965-03-25 New Orleans, LA Cinerama (18) 1965-03-25 Seattle, WA Cinerama (20) 1965-03-31 Phoenix (Scottsdale), AZ Kachina (21) 1965-03-31 Toronto, ON Carlton (7) 1965-04-13 Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin 1 (13) 1965-04-13 San Diego, CA Center (15) 1965-04-14 Atlanta, GA Georgia (15) 1965-04-14 Baltimore, MD Town (14) 1965-04-14 Indianapolis, IN Indiana (27) 1965-04-14 Salt Lake City, UT Villa (25) 1965-04-15 Portland, OR Hollywood (14) 1965-06-22 Newark (Montclair), NJ Clairidge (31) 1965-08-04 Milwaukee, WI Southgate (8) 1965-08-04 San Diego, CA Cinerama m/o (9) 1965-08-19 Houston, TX Gaylynn (6) 1965-09-29 Toledo, OH Valentine (20) 1965-09-29 Toronto, ON Glendale (8) 1965-10-05 Montreal, QC Imperial (17) 1965-10-06 Columbus, OH Grand (16) 1965-10-11 Las Vegas, NV Cinerama (10) 1965-10-13 Albuquerque, NM Fox Winrock (10) 1965-10-13 Sacramento, CA Esquire (18) 1965-10-20 Cleveland, OH Colony (14) [70mm] 1965-10-20 Honolulu, HI Cinerama (17) 1965-10-21 Oklahoma City, OK Continental (16) 1965-11-03 Louisville, KY Showcase 1 (13) 1965-11-03 Wichita, KS Uptown (16) 1965-11-04 Seattle, WA Cinerama (7) 1965-12-21 Denver, CO Cooper (26) 1965-12-21 Minneapolis (St. Louis Park), MN Cooper (26) 1965-12-22 Akron (Cuyahoga Falls), OH Falls (8) 1966-01-21 Albany, NY Hellman (10) [70mm] 1966-02-11 Jacksonville, FL 5 Points (8) 1966-03-02 Springfield (West Springfield), MA Showcase 1 (15) 1966-03-09 San Jose, CA Century 21 (14) 1966-04-19 Reno, NV Century 21 (6) 1966-05-11 Hartford, CT Cinerama (15) 1966-05-11 Providence, RI Cinerama (10) The reserved-seat policy, in some instances, was relaxed during the latter weeks of the run. Any non-roadshow portion of such an engagement has been included in the duration figure. PART 2: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS (unreserved seating / general-release policy / promoted as 70mm) 1966-02-09 Pasadena, CA United Artists (7) 1966-02-09 Santa Ana, CA United Artists (8) 1966-09-28 Philadelphia, PA Orleans (1) 1971-09-29 Wichita, KS Uptown (2) 1971-10-13 Dallas, TX Preston Royal (2) 1971-10-15 Milwaukee, WI Strand (2) [70mm festival] 1971-11-10 Houston, TX Gaylynn (1) 1971-12-08 Milwaukee, WI Strand (1) [70mm festival] 1971-12-08 Vienna, VA Vienna (1) 1975-11-26 Wichita, KS Uptown (1) 1980-04-04 Redford, MI Redford (2 days) PART 3: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS (New 70mm print / DTS audio) 2004-11-22 Beverly Hills, CA Samuel Goldwyn [George Stevens tribute] This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Al Alvarez, Jim Barg, Diane Buckley (Virginia Beach Public Library), Jim Cobb, David Dennie (Norfolk Public Library), Nick DiMaggio, Sheldon Hall, William Hooper, Bill Huelbig, Mark Huffstetler, Jeffry Johnson, Bill Kallay, Tammy Kiter (Jacksonville Public Library), Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Gabriel Neeb, Jim Perry, Robert Throop, Gregory Waksmulski (Providence Public Library), and Vince Young. The films international roadshow engagements (except for noting the films world premiere locale) have not been accounted for in this article. International roadshow/70mm engagements of this title have not been accounted for in this article. If you believe this article contains any errors or omissions, please consider emailing the author or editor. |
More in 70mm reading: 70mm Cinemas in North America in70mm.com's list of films blown up to 70mm 70mm Engagements by Title 35mm to 70mm Engagements by Year Large Format 7OMM Engagements Month by month premiere list of wide gauge and 3-strip films Chronological premiere list of major 70mm films 70mm Blow Up List Dolby Stereo |
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