The Sand Pebbles: The North American Roadshow and 70mm Engagements |
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| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 06.09.2023 |
 The
following is a reference / historical listing of the roadshow and
70-millimeter presentations of The Sand Pebbles in the United States and
Canada. These were the first and best cinemas in which to experience this
motion picture.The presentations cited in this work were hard ticket roadshow engagements and were special, long-running, showcase presentations in major cities prior to the film being exhibited as a general release. Much like a stage production, these featured advanced admission pricing, reserved seating, an overture/intermission/entracte/exit music, and an average of only ten scheduled screenings per week. (The Sand Pebbles lacked exit music.) A souvenir program booklet and soundtrack album were sold, as well. The print types utilized during the films roadshow release, depending on the booking, were (1) 70mm (2.20:1 blow-up from 35mm anamorphic) with discrete magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound, (2) 35mm with discrete magnetic four-channel stereophonic sound and optical monaural sound, (3) 35mm with optical monaural sound. The 20th Century-Fox release was directed by Robert Wise (West Side Story, The Sound of Music) and starred Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna and Candice Bergen. The world premiere was held December 20, 1966, at the Rivoli in New York. On March 21, 1967, in conjunction with The Sand Pebbles, Steve McQueen immortalized his hand and foot prints in the courtyard of the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. Out of the hundreds of films released in North America during 1966, The Sand Pebbles was among only nine given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only seven released with 70mm prints (three from 65mm origination, three blow-ups, and one converted from 3-panel Kinopanorama/Cinerama). PART 1: FIRST RUN / THE ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS (reserved-seat policy and 70mm* presentation) * Note that some bookings were not explicitly or consistently promoted as 70mm, suggesting they may have been screened in 35mm. Confirmed 35mm roadshow presentations are noted. Opening date YYYY-MM-DD locale cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] 1966-12-20 New York, NY Rivoli (35) 1966-12-28 Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), CA Fox Wilshire (41) 1967-01-24 Dallas, TX Wilshire (27) 1967-01-25 Houston, TX Gaylynn (24) 1967-01-25 Washington, DC Ontario (30) 1967-01-26 Philadelphia, PA Cheltenham (25) 1967-02-07 Miami (Miami Beach), FL Carib (27) [35mm] 1967-02-08 Detroit, MI Music Hall (38) 1967-02-09 San Diego, CA Cinema 21 (33) 1967-02-15 St. Petersburg, FL Center (17) 1967-02-17 Baltimore, MD Mayfair (25) 1967-02-21 Cincinnati, OH International 70 (18) 1967-02-21 Cleveland, OH Allen (17) 1967-02-24 Toronto, ON Capitol Fine Art (1+) [35mm] 1967-03-01 Buffalo (Kenmore), NY Colvin (20) [35mm] 1967-03-01 Indianapolis, IN Lyric (24) 1967-03-01 Minneapolis, MN Mann (23) 1967-03-01 Pittsburgh, PA Manor (17) 1967-03-01 San Antonio, TX Woodlawn (13) 1967-03-01 San Francisco, CA Golden Gate Penthouse (22) 1967-03-08 Atlanta, GA Rhodes (30) 1967-03-08 Louisville, KY Penthouse (20) 1967-03-14 San Jose, CA Century 23 (34) 1967-03-15 Fresno, CA Warnor (14) 1967-03-15 Kansas City, MO Empire 1 (31) 1967-03-15 Long Island (Plainview), NY Plainview (20) 1967-03-17 Nashville, TN Green Hills (15) [35mm] 1967-03-21 Harrisburg, PA Trans-Lux (9) 1967-03-22 Honolulu, HI Varsity (27) 1967-03-22 Oklahoma City, OK Tower (19) 1967-03-24 Montreal, QC York (19) 1967-03-29 Albany, NY Hellman (8) 1967-03-31 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine (15) 1967-04-14 Syracuse (DeWitt), NY Shoppingtown (19) 1967-04-19 Sacramento, CA Crest (19) 1967-04-27 Memphis, TN Crosstown (17) 1967-05-02 Reno, NV Century 21 (8) 1967-05-09 Boston, MA Gary (23) 1967-05-10 Columbus (Whitehall), OH Cinema East (11) 1967-05-10 New Haven (Hamden), CT Cinemart (23) 1967-05-17 Atlantic City, NJ Hollywood (21) [35mm] 1967-05-17 Denver, CO Aladdin (26) 1967-05-17 Vancouver, BC Ridge (18) [35mm] 1967-05-24 Newark (Upper Montclair), NJ Bellevue (18) 1967-05-24 Portland (Westbrook), ME Cinema I (13) 1967-05-24 Rochester, NY Riviera (20) 1967-05-24 Salt Lake City, UT Uptown (24) 1967-05-24 Tucson, AZ Catalina (8) [35mm] 1967-05-25 St. Louis, MO Ambassador (22) 1967-05-26 Birmingham, AL Roebuck Plaza (11) [35mm] 1967-06-01 New Orleans (Metairie), LA Lakeside (18) 1967-06-07 Winnipeg, MB Gaiety (17) [35mm] 1967-06-09 Youngstown, OH Paramount (9) 1967-06-14 Phoenix, AZ Vista (20) 1967-06-21 Akron, OH Colonial (9) 1967-06-21 Norfolk, VA Riverview (23) 1967-06-21 Seattle, WA Paramount (19) 1967-06-28 Hartford (West Hartford), CT Elm (25) 1967-06-28 Portland, OR Fox (20) 1967-06-29 Calgary, AB Chinook (13) [35mm] 1967-06-29 Edmonton, AB Westmount (14) [35mm] 1967-06-29 Lubbock, TX Winchester (1+) 1967-07-07 Omaha, NE Cooper 70 (19) 1967-07-11 Chicago, IL Cinestage (15) 1967-07-12 Jacksonville, FL Plaza (1+) 1967-07-19 Milwaukee, WI Wisconsin 1 (16) 1967-08-02 Monterey, CA Steinbeck (13) [35mm] 1967-08-16 Ottawa, ON Nelson (13) 1967-08-23 London, ON Park (12) 1967-08-30 Essex County (Lawrence), MA Showcase 1 (8) 1967-09-20 Las Vegas, NV Fox (13) 1967-09-20 Springfield (West Springfield), MA Showcase 1 (9) 1967-10-04 Little Rock, AR Capitol (4) 1967-10-04 Toledo, OH Showcase 1 (11) 1967-10-04 Worcester (Shrewsbury), MA White City (8) 1967-11-01 Des Moines, IA Holiday (17) [35mm] 1967-12-22 Huntsville, AL Westbury (5)  PART
2: FIRST RUN / NON-ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS(70mm presentation with an un-reserved seating policy) 1967-09-27 Richmond, VA Willow Lawn (6) 1967-09-28 Greenville, SC Wade Hampton Mall (4) 1967-10-04 Modesto, CA Briggsmore (5) 1967-10-11 Dayton, OH Dabel (15) 1967-10-25 Manchester, NH Queen (4) 1967-11-07 Contra Costa County (Pleasant Hill), CA Century 21 (10) 1967-12-20 Reading, PA Fox (6) PART 3: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS AND SCREENINGS (second run, re-issue, revival, etc.) 1969-08-13 Kansas City, MO Royal (2) 1970-05-13 Cedar Grove, NJ Cinema 23 (1) [70mm festival] 1976-01-07 Wichita, KS Uptown (1) [70mm festival] 1976-09-24 Little Rock, AR Cinema 150 (1) [70mm festival] 1977-09-21 Kansas City, MO Midland 1 (1) [70mm festival] 1977-11-11 Knoxville, TN Capri (1) [70mm festival] 1978-10-02 Atlanta, GA Fox [1st Annual Summer Film Festival] 1981-05-20 Washington, DC Uptown (2 days) [70mm festival] This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to David Ayers, Jim Barg, Sheldon Hall, Bill Kallay, Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Stan Malone, Jim Perry, Joel Weide, Vince Young. The films international 70mm engagements have not been accounted for in this work. If you believe this article contains any errors or omissions, please consider emailing the author or editor. |
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