Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in Stereophonic Sound? (1 Viewer)

[Will Krupp]

No stereo advertised in Roxy NY ad.

Here's the ad!

 

[Lord Dalek]

This was early for stereo in theaters--maybe the local theater didn't even realize you couldn't call it stereo just because you had five speakers!

This was the era that claimed War of the Worlds was stereo when they were just feeding the mono track to other speakers.

 

[RichMurphy]

Here's the ad!

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Ooo, an Ice-Colorama stage! I love how the popularity of Cinerama in the 1950s had businesses add "-rama" to almost anything.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

This was the era that claimed War of the Worlds was stereo when they were just feeding the mono track to other speakers.

False.

Substantiate that claim with documented, primary source materials.

 

[John Skoda]

The Paramount Theatre in Syracuse NY promoted Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as having Stereophonic sound. I wonder if this was just ballyhoo or some stereo prints were sent out to theatres that requested it.

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Thinking about the old exacto-knife cut-and-paste way newspaper ads used to be done, I think what happened here is the theater had a standard ad that ran in the paper that included the banners above and below, and they just stuck the current movie ad in the middle. Similarly, the "Giant Screen Stereophonic Sound" line on the outside marquee probably stayed there all the time, no matter what the movie was.

 

[Lord Dalek]

False.

Substantiate that claim with documented, primary source materials.

This is Andrea Kalas' claim not mine. You wanna start a flame war, go down to the Paramount restoration department.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

I rest my case.

For the record, the effects were fully directional across the left, center and right channels in the 1953 mix. Thanks to Loren Ryder, Louis Mesenkop, Dick Wagner and as always, primary source documents!

 

[Malcolm Bmoor]

...they just stuck the current movie ad in the middle. Similarly, the "Giant Screen Stereophonic Sound" line on the outside marquee probably stayed there all the time, no matter what the movie was.

I know nothing whatsoever about this film's original showings (I've seen it on tv) but on the subject of the actual cinema you encounter a wide range of knowledge or the opposite.

Back when CABARET was new I would have gone into London's West End to see it had it been advertised as 70mm but it wasn't. So I phoned one of my local North London Cinemas, The Odeon Swiss Cottage, which was a very impressive very large cinema with a big screen (from which I'd never heard anything but mono optical sound) to ask whether CABARET was being shown in stereo.

'All of our films are in stereo' was the unfriendly reply.

All together now:

Oh no it wasn't.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

The literature from Paramount to theaters for proper installation of stereophonic sound in 1953 recommended putting the left and right speakers “just beyond the side lines of the picture.”

That would serve to greatly enhance the careful panning of sound effects throughout the film.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I rest my case.

For the record, the effects were fully directional across the left, center and right channels in the 1953 mix. Thanks to Loren Ryder, Louis Mesenkop, Dick Wagner and as always, primary source documents!

Is there a missing image here?

 

[RolandL]

Depending on the theatre, you could see War of the Worlds in Queens or Brooklyn, NY full frame, widescreen or wide screen and stereo sound.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Is there a missing image here?

No sir.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I rest my case.

...what case? You didn't make one. Paramount's own people (and this is on the friggen blu-ray) say the "Panaphonic Sound" system they used in 1953 was just the mono played on multiple speakers over wider distance at certain points. Three tracks maybe, but they would have been the same mono doubled or tripled. The actual mix was never true stereo.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Two completely different systems.

First demonstrated to industry reps on September 24, 1953, Panaphonic Stereo was essentially a precursor to Perspecta Stereophonic Sound, using a steered single mono optical track as the source. Developed by Dorsett Laboratories in Oklahoma, it never went any further than a few demonstrations.

War of the Worlds, and the other true three-channel stereophonic Paramount films released in 1953, were exhibited in major cities around the country on full-coat magnetic stereo sound prints interlocked on a dubber with the picture.

In conclusion, don’t be so quick to believe everything you hear on a “friggen blu-ray” commentary track or read in liner notes. If someone actually made the claim that WotW was released in the Panaphonic system, they really dropped the ball on their research!

 

[garypleace]

I ran a 35mm print of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in the 1970's. It was fairly beat-up and so I assumed it to be an original 50's print. It was mono with a variable density track that switched to variable area for the musical numbers. It was a definite improvement but not stereo - on that print at least!

 

[Osato]

Stumbled across this thread and I enjoyed the discussion.

Is there anything on Marilyn’s films being released in 4k UHD?

I hope it happens. I would rebuy many of them.

Wasn’t criterion’s some like it hot a 4k restoration?

I’m still missing a few lesser ones but have seen her bigger titles.

Love happy is one that I have never seen.

 

[Matt Hough]

Stumbled across this thread and I enjoyed the discussion.

Is there anything on Marilyn’s films being released in 4k UHD?

I hope it happens. I would rebuy many of them.

Wasn’t criterion’s some like it hot a 4k restoration?

I’m still missing a few lesser ones but have seen her bigger titles.

Love happy is one that I have never seen.

She is really barely in it; one quick scene as I recall.

 

[B-ROLL]

Stumbled across this thread and I enjoyed the discussion.

Is there anything on Marilyn’s films being released in 4k UHD?

I hope it happens. I would rebuy many of them.

Wasn’t criterion’s some like it hot a 4k restoration?

I’m still missing a few lesser ones but have seen her bigger titles.

Love happy is one that I have never seen.

I would grab the Olive blu-ray if your interested - Other than The Prince and The Showgirl and The Misfits - most of MMs big films are with el Raton de Mickey who has an aversion to releasing live-action catalogue in 4K (I suspect Speed was in the works prior to the purchase) excepting current franchises of course.

 

[Osato]

I would grab the Olive blu-ray if your interested - Other than The Prince and The Showgirl and The Misfits - most of MMs big films are with el Raton de Mickey who has an aversion to releasing live-action catalogue in 4K (I suspect Speed was in the works prior to the purchase) excepting current franchises of course.

I finally saw the prince and the showgirl last year. I liked it but it was a bit unusual in the ending.
I will give it another watch soon.

I keep hoping the digital Monroe iTunes bundle (along with her other films) will go on sale in June or holidays.

I keep
Waiting. I have many of her films on blu ray too.