"King of Kings": The North American Roadshow and 70mm
Engagements |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 24.09.2022 |
 The
following is a reference / historical listing of the roadshow presentations
of King of Kings 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, and an average of only ten scheduled screenings per week. Souvenir program booklet were sold, as well, and, in some locales, the films soundtrack album. The print types utilized during the films roadshow release were, depending on the booking, 70-millimeter (from Technirama Large Aperture) with discrete magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound or 35-millimeter with discrete magnetic four-channel stereophonic sound or 35mm with optical monaural sound. (Technically, the four-channel magnetic prints were mag-optical whereby they contained both a 4-channel magnetic track and an optical mono track and cinemas sent such a print had the option of presenting in either format.) The Samuel Bronston (El Cid, 55 Days at Peking) production and MGM release was directed by Nicholas Ray (Bigger Than Life, Rebel without a Cause) and starred Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Ryan. The world premiere was held October 11th, 1961 at Loews State in New York. Out of the hundreds of films released in North America during 1961, King of Kings was among only six given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only three released with 70mm prints. PART 1: THE ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS (reserved seat policy) Opening date YYYY-MM-DD locale cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] 1961-04-21 Phoenix (Scottsdale) Kachina [sneak preview] 1961-05-26 San Francisco Coronet [sneak preview] 1961-10-11 New York State (21) 1961-10-12 Los Angeles Egyptian (24) 1961-10-18 Chicago Michael Todd (18) 1961-10-25 Boston Saxon (16) 1961-10-25 San Francisco Coronet (15) 1961-10-26 Philadelphia Boyd (17) 1961-10-26 Toronto University (12) 1961-11-02 Detroit United Artists (11) 1961-11-02 Montreal Alouette (16) 1961-11-02 Washington Warner (15) 1961-11-08 Denver Denham (1+) 1961-11-08 Minneapolis Academy (10) 1961-11-09 Kansas City Capri (15) 1961-11-09 Pittsburgh Warner (12) 1961-11-16 Cincinnati Capitol (13) 1961-11-16 Cleveland Ohio (13) 1961-11-16 Dallas Tower (10) 1961-12-20 Milwaukee Strand (9) 1961-12-20 St. Petersburg Center (9) 1961-12-21 Atlanta Roxy (10) 1961-12-21 Baltimore Town (11) 1961-12-21 Buffalo Teck (9) 1961-12-21 Houston Tower (9) 1961-12-21 Indianapolis Lyric (10) 1961-12-21 Phoenix Vista (11) 1961-12-21 Portland Music Box (11) 1961-12-21 St. Louis (Richmond Heights) Esquire (8) 1961-12-21 Salt Lake City Centre (10) 1961-12-21 Seattle Blue Mouse (10) 1961-12-21 Vancouver Stanley (11) 1961-12-22 Columbus Cinestage (11) 1961-12-22 Miami (Miami Beach) Colony (10) 1961-12-22 Ottawa Nelson (6) 1962-01-19 Dayton McCook (11) 1962-01-25 New Orleans Civic (6) [35mm] 1962-01-26 Louisville Brown (5) 1962-02-15 Syracuse (DeWitt) Shoppingtown (7) 1962-02-16 Rochester Riviera (7) PART 2: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS (unreserved seating / general-release policy) 1961-12-22 Birmingham, AL Ritz 70 (6) 1961-12-22 Nashville, TN Crescent (5) 1962-01-26 Youngstown, OH State (7) 1962-02-20 Lexington, KY Strand (3) 1962-03-01 Little Rock, AR Capitol (3) 1962-03-15 Honolulu, HI Kuhio (6) 1962-04-11 San Diego, CA Midway Drive-In (2) 1962-05-23 Anaheim, CA Brookhurst (2) 1962-05-30 Redondo Beach, CA Strand (3) 1962-10-03 Asbury Park, NJ St. James (1) 1962-12-12 Norfolk, VA Memrose (1) This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Jerry Alexander, Jim Barg, Don Beelik, Bill Kallay, Bill Kretzel, Gabriel Neeb and Robert Throop. The films international roadshow engagements 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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