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Now wee KNOW there are many mo'om pitcher carbon-units whose evidence of exposed experience to this phenomenon is as integral a part of their film orientation as popcorn, sooooo ....
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Posted: |
May 31, 2013 - 9:40 PM
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By: |
philiperic
(Member)
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The souvenir programs were wonderful part of going to movies when I was growing up in the late 50s - early 60s - I think that the first one I ever purchased was the vertical , brownish one for THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (later on reissue, the program was redone in a horizonal, oblong shaped green backgound with identical art of Moses holding his staff). Little did I know that that innocent beginning would spiral into a collection of dozens, perhaps 100s of them.
I remember not being able to buy the attractive program for SOLOMON AND SHEBA when I saw it - I very much wanted to but I was at the movies w/o much money while Mom + Dad went elsewhere in Chicago - probably to have a highball or two. So years later - 1968 or so - I found a place - Larry Edmunds Bookstore in Hollywood - that sold it and many others such as SAMSON AND DELILAH ( a special boxed edition I couldnt afford) - so I bought S&S and a few others I didnt have like FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD and ISADORA, both of which I loved .
Thanks to ebay, I have many from films dating from the teens(BIRTH OF A NATION)through the 70s (one of the last I remember buying at a movie was WOODSTOCK in 1970). Many of them I didnt know existed such as MARIE ANTONIETTE , IN OLD CHICAGO and THE RAZOR'S EDGE ---some are somewhat rare such HELEN OF TROY '56, SONG OF BERNADETTE, THE VAGABOND KING'30, and THE CRUSADES '35.
Souvenir program for movies were supplanted by both magazines on single movies such as RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and hardcover books on the making of... movies such as KING KONG and ALEXANDER( a great one on Oliver Stone's much malighned film).
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Love souvenir programs.
Have a mammoth collection, though I tend to balk at acquiring programs from films in which I really have no interest, such as COVERED WAGON, THE OREGON TRAIL, or other silent classics, though I do have some of these, like the silent BEN HUR, KING OF KINGS, TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE BIG PARADE, and a few others.
I bought every program I ever saw at a theatre, some of which were sold at the candy counter, like 55 DAYS AT PEKING, when the film itself was not shown in roadshow. But, usually, I got them when I saw the roadshow presentations. There used to be a little hole-in-the-wall secondhand bookstore in Pittsburgh, just down the street from the Warner Theatre, where I saw a lot of roadshows, and this place had a little wooden box, with movie programs for sale. This is where I found the programs to THE VICTORS, THE CARDINAL, and THE BIG FISHERMAN, can you believe it! Among many others.
Having checked frequently on E-bay, I've been able to find a few rarities, like SONG OF BERNADETTE, DUEL IN THE SUN, HELEN OF TROY, THE RAZOR'S EDGE, and the 1937 LOST HORIZON, one of my personal favorites. A lot of these do turn up there, including all the ones I've mentioned here. Oddly enough, you can also find the occasional movie program among the list for Theatre Programs. (I saw the original roadshow program for NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA for sale there only yesterday.) And, for the most part, the prices aren't really that high. (Except for something like the program for MARIE ANTOINETTE, for which the seller wants almost $300, which is way out of my budget, collection or no collection.
The program for the 1956 TEN COMMANDMENTS turns up fairly often, full of reproductions of magnificent paintings by Arnold Friberg, who must have loved Maxfield Parrish enough to paint like him. I have 2 different versions of the 10 COMMANDMENTS program, as well as 2 different ones for BEN-HUR, one from the 1969 roadshow reissue, with a color photo of a scene cut from the film.
I believe BEN-HUR was the first program I ever bought at a roadshow, though, since I also have SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, and since my whole family did see it together, that may in fact be my first-ever program. And I also had one from AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, too, when my mother took my older brothers and me to see it. And that was even earlier... Go figure.
Just love 'em....
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I got one, every time I went to see a roadshow release. I had tons of them. No clue whatever happened to any of them. Although, I still have THE SOUND OF MUSIC, as I treated all Julie-related materials, sacredly. I'm glad I'm old and experienced those wonderful move-going days.
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Sometimes I'd buy the program in the lobby, even when I had no interest in seeing the film. Remember doing this for CIRCUS WORLD and KRAKATOA EAST OF JAVA.
Interestingly, the challenge with collecting programs is finding out just which ones exist. It was years before I learned that JULIUS CAESAR had a program, which I was later able to find. Likewise, some films are roadshow in Britain, where they have programs, but not in the U.S., like CROMWELL and WATERLOO, both of which I later found on E-bay.
Then there are the programs for films which I never knew were roadshow, and, hence, never expected to have programs, like HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, or THE EGYPTIAN. Go figure.
I guess I prefer the programs from the 50's and 60's, which were more colorful. But I'm always surprised by what I find out there. There was even a softbound book, from Dover publications, published maybe 30 years ago, containing facsimiles of about a dozen programs from the 30's and 40's, such as THE GOOD EARTH, CITIZEN KANE, and many others. Still worth looking for, if you're interested.
And, though I understand THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK was originally a roadshow here and there, does anyone know if it ever had a program?
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Posted: |
Jun 1, 2013 - 5:20 PM
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By: |
philiperic
(Member)
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I think that some of the programs sold for certain films were not for roadshow engagments - they may have been for premiere showings in Hollywood and/or NYC.. I am pretty sure that many of the 5Os programs I have had no roadshow showings such as GIANT, THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE, HELEN OF TROY ,THE CAINE MUTINY , THE EGYPTIAN, etc.
Sometimes roadshows I went to had NO programs -- such THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD - I definitely wanted one but only bought one 2-3 years later thru the mail - maybe it had sold out at the Cinema I went to in Chicago.
I only wish I had seen some 60s roadshows like FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE and 55 DAYS AT PEKING in their initial showings -- as I recall , FOTRE was not in roadshow for very long --and suffered immediate editting for regular bookings-- Id give a lot to see FOTRE in 70mm - uncut - it must have looked glorious in its original release. At least when I saw the roadshow TGSET , it was still about 3 hrs + 40 minutes(though alreeady undergoing edits) - Ive never seen that version again anywhere in any form, unfortunately...
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grinning ROost)g~~60_35.JPG)
Sadly, these didn't make the production line...