The following is a reference / historical listing of the roadshow presentations of South Seas Adventure in the United States and Canada.
South Seas Adventure was the fifth feature-length travelogue produced in the large, deeply-curved-screen Cinerama format. The film was directed by Francis D. Lyon, Walter Thompson, Basil Wrangell, Richard Gladstone, and Carl Dudley. Its world premiere was held July 15th, 1958, at the Warner in New York City.
South Seas Adventure was presented exclusively in Cinerama-branded cinemas. The print type was 26fps 6-perf 35mm x 3 plus 35mm magnetic fullcoat interlocked 7-channel audio.
The presentations cited in 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.
Out of the hundreds of first-run films released in North America during 1958, South Seas Adventure was among only eight given deluxe roadshow treatment.
PART 1: THE CINERAMA / ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS (reserved seat policy / 3-panel Cinerama presentation)
Opening date YYYY-MM-DD
locale cinema (duration in weeks) [notes]
1958-07-15
New York, NY Warner (44) 1958-09-18
Chicago, IL Palace (59) 1958-10-01
Los Angeles, CA Warner Hollywood (71) 1958-10-08
Detroit, MI Music Hall (77) 1958-10-29
Cincinnati, OH Capitol (50) 1958-10-29
St. Louis, MO Ambassador (17) 1958-11-25
San Francisco, CA Orpheum (51) 1958-11-25
Toronto, ON University (16) 1958-12-02
Cleveland, OH Palace (27) 1958-12-10
Kansas City, MO Missouri (23) 1958-12-16
Washington, DC Warner (39) 1958-12-19
Syracuse, NY Eckel (8) 1958-12-23
Pittsburgh, PA Warner (20)
1959-02-17
Philadelphia, PA Boyd (35) 1959-03-05
Vancouver, BC Strand (16) 1959-03-26
Honolulu, HI Princess (9) 1959-04-15
Boston, MA Boston (53) 1959-05-05
Montreal, QC Imperial (42) 1959-07-01
Minneapolis, MN Century (48) 1959-11-26
Vancouver, BC Strand (2) [return run]
1960-12-30
Houston, TX Rivoli (7)
1961-02-02
Oklahoma City, OK Cooper (21) 1961-05-23
Long Island (Syosset), NY Syosset (21) 1961-06-05
Newark (Montclair), NJ Clairidge (15) 1961-06-06
Montreal, QC Imperial (23) [return run] 1961-07-21
Omaha, NE Cooper (18) 1961-08-11
Albany, NY Hellman (6) 1961-10-03
Dallas, TX Capri (11) 1961-10-11
Columbus, OH Grand (17) 1961-11-06
Minneapolis, MN Century (10) [return run] 1961-11-30
Toledo, OH Paramount (13) 1961-12-22
Indianapolis, IN Indiana (17) 1961-12-23
Milwaukee, WI Palace (20)
1962-01-17
Boston, MA Boston (16) [return run] 1962-01-19
Louisville, KY Rialto (13) 1962-03-15
Rochester, NY Monroe (9) 1962-03-16
Kansas City, MO Empire (7) [market return run] 1962-03-21
Memphis, TN Palace (8) 1962-04-25
Providence, RI Cinerama (25) 1962-05-11
El Paso, TX Capri (3) 1962-05-16
Jacksonville, FL 5 Points (4) 1962-06-06
Scranton, PA Strand (3) 1962-06-15
Toronto, ON Eglinton (3) [market return run] 1962-10-17
Norfolk, VA Rosna (9) 1962-11-16
Charlotte, NC Carolina (5) 1962-11-21
Newark (Montclair), NJ Clairidge (3) [return run]
1963-02-15
Birmingham, AL Ritz (10) 1963-03-08
Chattanooga, TN Brainerd (7) 1963-05-08
Tampa, FL Palace (3) 1963-05-09
Miami, FL Florida (8) 1963-09-06
Portland, OR Hollywood (13) 1963-10-16
Wichita, KS Uptown (10) 1963-10-18
Erie, PA Strand (4)
1964-01-09
Fresno, CA Warner (9) 1964-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT Villa (6) 1964-01-29
Hartford, CT Cinerama (7) 1964-04-28
Rockland County (Nanuet), NY Route 59 (4) 1964-05-13
Albuquerque, NM Fox Winrock (6) 1964-06-10
Los Angeles (Inglewood), CA Century Drive-In (3) [market return run]
1965-03-24
Wichita, KS Uptown (5) [return run] 1965-05-12
Sacramento, CA Esquire (4) 1965-08-01
Detroit, MI Music Hall (9) [return run] 1965-10-06
San Diego, CA Cinerama (10)
PART 2: CINERAMA MARKETS / VENUES IN WHICH SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE DID NOT PLAY
Akron (Cuyahoga Falls), OH Falls Atlanta, GA Roxy Baltimore, MD Town Buffalo, NY Teck Dayton, OH Dabel Denver, CO Cooper Nashville, TN Crescent New Orleans, LA Cinerama Phoenix (Scottsdale), AZ Kachina Seattle, WA Paramount
This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to Al Alvarez, Claude Ayakawa, Jim Barg, Kirk Besse, Raymond Caple, Nick DiMaggio, Sheldon Hall, William Hooper, Bill Huelbig, Mark Huffstetler, Bill Kallay, Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Matthew Lutthans, Stan Malone, Gabriel Neeb, Jim Perry, John Sittig, David Strohmaier, Bob Throop, Joel Weide and Vince Young.
International presentations 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:
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