"This Is Cinerama" To Return To Hollywood!

Related Engagement List Articles:

"2001: A Space Odyssey"

"Todd-AO & Oklahoma!"

"The Sound Of Music"

"70mm In New York"

"70mm In Los Angeles"

The world premiere of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer & Cinerama’s “How The West Was Won” was held in London on 1 November 1962.  The American premiere was in Los Angeles nearly four months later.

Some may think it unusual for such an “American” production to premiere in another country, but Cinerama venues tied up with engagements of “The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm” and “The Best Of Cinerama” motivated MGM to push the U.S. release to 1963.  In New York, a newspaper strike forced MGM to delay the Big Apple premiere, instead holding the premiere on the west coast. 

Based on distributor preference and the number of suitably-equipped venues, there were approximately 125 worldwide three-strip Cinerama reserved seat “roadshow” engagements, the majority of which are detailed below.  (70mm prints were used for roadshow engagements in non-Cinerama-equipped markets, including selected cities in the United Kingdom and Mexico.)  In the United States, the 35mm general release began in spring 1964.

The worldwide box office gross for the roadshow run exceeded $40 million, making it the most successful of the three-strip productions.

 

What appears below is a work-in-progress list of the original roadshow engagements identified chronologically by date of public premiere. 

01 Nov 1962 ... London, England, UK: Casino Cinerama [123 weeks]
29 Nov 1962 ... Paris, France: Cinerama Empire [42 >]
29 Nov 1962 ... Tokyo, Japan: Theatre Tokyo [67]
?? Nov 1962 ... Osaka, Japan: O.S. Cinerama Gekijo

07 Dec 1962 ... Brussels, Belgium: Varietes Cinerama [26]
13 Dec 1962 ... Auckland, New Zealand: Cinerama [41]
14 Dec 1962 ... Stockholm, Sweden: Vinterpalatset
26 Dec 1962 ... Copenhagen, Denmark: Kinopalaet [23]
26 Dec 1962 ... Sydney, Australia: Plaza [64]

01 Jan 1963 ... Melbourne, Australia: Plaza [102]

01 Feb 1963 ... Hamburg, West Germany: Grindel
20 Feb 1963 ... Los Angeles, CA, USA: Warner Hollywood [93]
20 Feb 1963 ... Milan, Italy: Manzoni [35]
27 Feb 1963 ... Chicago, IL, USA: McVickers Cinerama [37]
27 Feb 1963 ... Dallas, TX, USA: Capri [33]
27 Feb 1963 ... San Francisco, CA, USA: Cinerama Orpheum [41]

06 Mar 1963 ... Detroit, MI, USA: Cinerama Music Hall [49]
07 Mar 1963 ... Denver, CO, USA: Cooper [85]
07 Mar 1963 ... Philadelphia, PA, USA: Boyd [39]
12 Mar 1963 ... Honolulu, HI, USA: Cinerama [27]
14 Mar 1963 ... Cincinnati, OH, USA: Capitol [36]
14 Mar 1963 ... Houston, TX, USA: Windsor [34]
14 Mar 1963 ... Minneapolis, MN, USA: Cooper [88]
14 Mar 1963 ... Washington, DC, USA: Uptown [44]
15 Mar 1963 ... Atlanta, GA, USA: Martin Cinerama [30]
15 Mar 1963 ... Gothenburg, Sweden: Draken
15 Mar 1963 ... Vienna, Austria: Gartenbau [33]
21 Mar 1963 ... Pittsburgh, PA, USA: Warner Cinerama [34]
27 Mar 1963 ... Boston, MA, USA: Boston Cinerama [33]
27 Mar 1963 ... Montreal, QC, Canada: Imperial Cinerama [34]
27 Mar 1963 ... New York, NY, USA: Loew's Cinerama [39]
28 Mar 1963 ... Kansas City, MO, USA: Empire [37]
28 Mar 1963 ... Toronto, ON, Canada: Eglinton [38]
29 Mar 1963 ... New Orleans, LA, USA: Martin Cinerama [36]

03 Apr 1963 ... Johannesburg, South Africa: Cinerama [50]
05 Apr 1963 ... San Diego, CA, USA: Cinerama [54]
05 Apr 1963 ... Stuttgart, West Germany: Atrium [24]
10 Apr 1963 ... Berlin, West Germany: Sportpalast [25]
10 Apr 1963 ... Miami, FL, USA: Sheridan [35]
11 Apr 1963 ... Baltimore, MD, USA: Town [21]
11 Apr 1963 ... Buffalo, NY, USA: Teck [16]
11 Apr 1963 ... Cleveland, OH, USA: Palace Cinerama [25]
11 Apr 1963 ... Columbus, OH, USA: Grand [44]
11 Apr 1963 ... Milwaukee, WI, USA: Palace [31]
11 Apr 1963 ... Oklahoma City, OK, USA: Cooper [34]
11 Apr 1963 ... Rotterdam, Netherlands: Cinerama
11 Apr 1963 ... Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Villa [39]
11 Apr 1963 ... Seattle, WA, USA: Martin Cinerama [52]
11 Apr 1963 ... St Louis, MO, USA: Martin Cinerama [44]
11 Apr 1963 ... Toledo, OH, USA: Paramount [30]
11 Apr 1963 ... Vancouver, BC, Canada: Strand [31]
12 Apr 1963 ... Portland, OR, USA: Hollywood [21]
18 Apr 1963 ... Barcelona, Spain: Nuevo
18 Apr 1963 ... Lyon, France: Palais des Congres
19 Apr 1963 ... Madrid, Spain: Albeniz
25 Apr 1963 ... Buenos Aires, Argentina: Casino [91]

09 May 1963 ... Duesseldorf, West Germany: Cinerama Tonhallen [20]
15 May 1963 ... Essen, West Germany: Cinerama-Europa-Palast
16 May 1963 ... Rochester, NY, USA: Monroe [12]
16 May 1963 ... Syracuse, NY, USA: Eckel [12]
23 May 1963 ... Mendoza, Argentina: City
28 May 1963 ... Omaha, NE, USA: Indian Hills Cinerama [42]
29 May 1963 ... Charlotte, NC, USA: Carolina [15]
29 May 1963 ... El Paso, TX, USA: Capri [14]
29 May 1963 ... Jacksonville, FL, USA: 5 Points [14]
29 May 1963 ... Wichita, KS, USA: Uptown [37]
30 May 1963 ... Tampa, FL, USA: Palace [26]

06 Jun 1963 ... Chattanooga, TN, USA: Brainerd Cinerama [21]
06 Jun 1963 ... Nashville, TN, USA: Crescent Cinerama [20]
12 Jun 1963 ... Indianapolis, IN, USA: Indiana [51]
13 Jun 1963 ... Akron, OH, USA: New Falls [32]
13 Jun 1963 ... Erie, PA, USA: Strand Cinerama [15]
13 Jun 1963 ... Louisville, KY, USA: Rialto Cinerama [25]
13 Jun 1963 ... Santiago, Chile: Santa Lucia [47]
14 Jun 1963 ... Birmingham, AL, USA: Cinerama Ritz [17]
19 Jun 1963 ... Hartford, CT, USA: Cinerama [32]
19 Jun 1963 ... Providence, RI, USA: Cinerama [32]
20 Jun 1963 ... Norfolk, VA, USA: Rosna Cinerama [19]
26 Jun 1963 ... Albany, NY, USA: Hellman [11]
27 Jun 1963 ... Scranton, PA, USA: Strand [16]

03 Jul 1963 ... Memphis, TN, USA: Palace [13]
12 Jul 1963 ... Fukuoka, Japan: Asaihi Kaikan
17 Jul 1963 ... Montclair, NJ, USA: Clairidge Cinerama [39]
25 Jul 1963 ... Fresno, CA, USA: Warner Cinerama [11]
31 Jul 1963 ... Dayton, OH, USA: Cinerama Dabel [33]

01 Aug 1963 ... Genoa, Italy: Margherita
06 Aug 1963 ... Syosset, NY, USA: Syosset [43]
15 Aug 1963 ... Phoenix, AZ, USA: Kachina Cinerama [39]

01 Sep 1963 ... Palermo, Italy: Cinema Golden
11 Sep 1963 ... Panama City, Panama: Lux
12 Sep 1963 ... Munich, West Germany: City-Filmpalast [22]
14 Sep 1963 ... Birmingham, England, UK: Cinerama
17 Sep 1963 ... Paris, France: Gaumont Palace [cont. from Empire; 32/74]
20 Sep 1963 ... Malmo, Sweden: Royal [24]
25 Sep 1963 ... Montevideo, Uruguay: Elisio
26 Sep 1963 ... Glasgow, Scotland, UK: Coliseum Cinerama

15 Oct 1963 ... Rome, Italy: Royal Cinerama
23 Oct 1963 ... Strasbourg, France: Broglie

04 Nov 1963 ... Manchester, England, UK: Theatre Royal Cinerama [28]
06 Nov 1963 ... Newcastle, England, UK: Queen's Cinerama
15 Nov 1963 ... Hannover, West Germany: Cinerama-Gloria
22 Nov 1963 ... Nanuet, NY, USA: Route 59 Cinerama [12]

08 Dec 1963 ... Athens, Greece: Radio City
13 Dec 1963 ... Antwerp, Belgium: Anvers Palace [11]
18 Dec 1963 ... Sacramento, CA, USA: Cinerama Esquire [27]
29 Dec 1963 ... Manila, Philippines: Roman Super Cinerama

31 Jan 1964 ... Bremen, West Germany: Regina [14]

25 Apr 1964 ... Kyoto, Japan: Cinerama Palace [14]

12 Jun 1964 ... Dublin, Ireland: Cinerama

23 Jul 1964 ... Liverpool, England, UK: Abbey Cinerama [14]

21 Aug 1964 ... Christchurch, New Zealand: Cinerama [30]
21 Aug 1964 ... Helsinki, Finland: Savoy [16]

29 Oct 1964 ... Caracas, Venezuela: Canaima

03 Dec 1964 ... Bogota, Colombia: Scala
13 Dec 1964 ... Cardiff, Wales, UK: Park Hall Cinerama

04 May 1965 ... San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cinerama [18]


International Engagement Titles
Danish: "Vi Vandt Vesten"
Dutch: "Das War Den Wilden West!"
French: "La Conquete De L'Ouest"
German: "Das War Der Wilde Westen"
Italian: "La Conquista Del West"
Portuguese: "A Conquista Do Oeste"
Spanish: "La Conquista Del Oeste"
Swedish: "Sa Vanns Vilda Vastern"


Principal references for this work were daily newspapers archived on microfilm and film industry trade coverage published in Boxoffice, The Film Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Motion Picture Herald, Motion Picture Exhibitor, Movie Marketing, and Variety. The following websites and publications were consulted for general research: Cinerama and Large-Frame Exhibition in Canada, cinerama.topcities.com, in70mm.com, Wide Gauge Film and Video Monthly.

Research was conducted at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Die Deutsche Bibliothek, Frankfurt, Germany; and Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study, Beverly Hills, California, as well as at several public and university libraries throughout the world. The author extends a special thank-you to the many librarians who were of assistance throughout this project.

The author would like to thank the following for their input: Serge Bosschaerts, David Coles, Stephen Cowburn, Evans Criswell, Karel Dibbets, Peter Fraser, Carlos Fresnedo, Jean-Pierre Gutzeit, Dr. Sheldon Hall, Thomas Hauerslev, John Hayes, Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Paul Linfesty, Kathleen Lotze, Jim Perry, Dr. Jochen Rudschies, Darren Schroeder, Grant Smith, Ashley Ward.
 

IMAGES: Copyright Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Cinerama, Inc./Turner Entertainment