Becket: The North American Roadshow and 70mm Engagements |
Read more at in70mm.com The 70mm Newsletter |
| Compiled by: Michael Coate | Date: 16.04.2023 |
 The following is a reference / historical
listing of the roadshow presentations of Becket 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 Part 1 section of 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 presentations 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. The print types utilized during the films roadshow release were, depending on the booking, (1) 70-millimeter (blow-up) with discrete magnetic six-channel stereophonic sound, (2) 35-millimeter with discrete magnetic four-channel stereophonic sound and optical monaural sound, (3) 35-millimeter with optical monaural sound. The Hal Wallis production and Paramount release was directed by Peter Glenville and starred Richard Burton and Peter OToole and was based upon the play by Jean Anouilh. The world premiere was held March 11th, 1964 at Loews State in New York. Out of the hundreds of films released in North America during 1964, Becket was among only six given deluxe roadshow treatment and among only seven released with 70mm prints (five from 65mm origination and two blow-ups). Premiere/opening date YYYY-MM-DD city cinema (duration in weeks) [notes] PART 1: THE ROADSHOW ENGAGEMENTS (reserved seat policy / 70mm presentation) Note that some bookings did not explicitly or consistently promote 70mm, suggesting they may have been screened in 35mm. 1964-03-11 New York, NY State (28) 1964-03-18 Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), CA Stanley-Warner (29) 1964-03-18 Omaha, NE Cooper (14) 1964-03-18 Toronto, ON Eglinton (32) 1964-03-19 Chicago, IL Cinestage (16) 1964-03-25 Vancouver, BC Strand (19) 1964-04-22 Denver, CO International 70 (1+) 1964-04-30 Houston, TX Windsor (12) 1964-05-13 New Haven, CT Whalley (1+) 1964-05-15 Boston, MA Music Hall [premiere] 1964-05-16 Boston, MA Saxon (19) 1964-05-27 San Francisco, CA United Artists (14) 1964-05-28 Montreal, QC Seville (22) 1964-06-03 Salt Lake City, UT South East (10) 1964-06-17 Philadelphia, PA Cheltenham (10) 1964-06-18 Miami (Miami Beach), FL Colony (10) 1964-06-24 Kansas City, MO Brookside (10) 1964-07-01 Detroit, MI United Artists (9) 1964-07-09 Washington, DC Ontario (15) 1964-09-16 Wichita, KS Uptown (4) PART 2: FIRST-RUN 70MM ENGAGEMENTS (unreserved seating / some bookings did not explicitly or consistently promote 70mm) 1964-06-18 San Diego, CA Loma (8) 1964-07-01 Cleveland, OH Colony (19) 1964-07-22 Cincinnati, OH International 70 (11) 1964-07-22 Minneapolis, MN Academy (10) 1964-07-22 New Orleans, LA Saenger-Orleans (6) 1964-07-22 Portland, OR Music Box (10) 1964-08-12 Baltimore, MD Mayfair (10) 1964-08-28 Albany, NY Hellman (6) 1964-09-02 Atlanta, GA Rhodes (8) 1964-09-02 Columbus, OH Cinestage (15) 1964-09-02 Newark (Upper Montclair), NJ Bellevue (6) 1964-09-04 Dayton, OH McCook (6) 1964-09-09 Syracuse (DeWitt), NY Shoppingtown (7) 1964-09-10 Oklahoma City, OK Cooper (9) 1964-09-16 Providence, RI Elmwood (1+) 1964-09-17 Dallas, TX Wynnewood (6) 1964-09-17 Dallas (Highland Park), TX Village (8) 1964-09-18 Seattle, WA Music Box (5) 1964-09-23 Indianapolis, IN Lyric (3) 1964-09-23 Norfolk, VA Riverview (8) 1964-09-30 Charlotte, NC Carolina (4) 1964-09-30 Pittsburgh, PA Squirrel Hill (11) 1964-10-07 Richmond, VA Westhampton (5) 1964-10-14 Louisville, KY Penthouse (4) 1964-10-15 Honolulu, HI Royal (3) 1964-10-21 Akron (Cuyahoga Falls), OH Falls (3) 1964-10-21 Rochester, NY Riviera (8) 1964-10-22 Nashville, TN Crescent (3) 1964-11-06 Toledo, OH Valentine (2) PART 3: SUBSEQUENT 70MM ENGAGEMENTS (second run / revival / unreserved seating) 1964-07-22 Asbury Park, NJ St. James (2) 1964-08-26 Philadelphia, PA Boyd (8) 1964-09-30 Fairless Hills, PA Eric (3) 1964-11-18 King of Prussia, PA King (1) 1964-11-18 Moorestown, NJ Plaza (2) 1965-01-06 Philadelphia, PA Leo (1) 1965-02-03 Marlow Heights, MD Marlow (1) 1965-03-03 Greenbelt, MD Beltway Plaza (2) 1965-04-07 Albuquerque, NM Fox Winrock (1) 1965-04-07 Sappington, MO Ronnies Drive-In (1) 1965-04-21 Scottsdale, AZ Round-Up Drive-In (1) 1965-11-03 Philadelphia, PA Cheltenham (1) 1967-10-18 Cincinnati, OH Kenwood (2) 1972-09-20 Des Moines, IA River Hills (1) 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. This information has been principally referenced from film industry trade publications and regional newspaper promotion, with thanks to David Ayers, Bill Huelbig, Bill Kallay, Bill Kretzel, Mark Lensenmayer, Joel Weide, Vince Young. The films international roadshow/70mm engagements of this title 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. |
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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