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'CARMEN' NO B. O. SENSATION
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BUT STIRS HOPE FOR FUTURE
Exhibitors View Opera as
One Way to Make TV Use
Profitable on Screen
NEW YORK— Reports from 27 cities
1 11 1
to
which "Carmen" was televised Thursday
showed that It was something less than
a boxoffico sensation, with the exception of
Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Minneapolis.
In Milwaukee. Salt Lake City, Los Angeles
and Fort Lee, N. J., it stirred up enthusiasm
being a sellout.
1
|FRONT-PAGE STORIES PRINTED
a publicity-getter It was sensational
ieverywhere, with stories starting on front
Ipages in many places, followed by editorial
'comment and expressions of conflicting opinions
by columnists.
This angle as much as any other Interested
[
jtheatre operators who have been casting about
trying
to find novelties to bring in new paroas
and bring back old ones. They all
jigreed that opera has possibilities.
It is estimated that 67,000 persons attended
the TV showings and it is also estimated that
Jie theatres' share of the take ran over
100,000.
Bad weather, Christmas shopping pres-
;ures, and lack of Interest In opera were
jlamed in those places where the showing
vas not capacity.
Theatremen generally agreed there should
le further similar attempts, with the prepara-
Uons started farther in advance so wire arrangements
can be made for more theatres
•Ut of the estimated 100 now equipped with
trge-screen TV projectors.
Chief interest in the experiment from the
'xhibltors' point of view rested on the drawis
strength of opera as a possible use for
'V installations.
REGULAR BOOKINGS SUGGESTED
Walter Reade jr., head of the Walter Reade
iTcuit, who showed "Carmen" at the St.
ames Theatre, Asbury Park, came through
ith the suggestion that theatre TV could
put on a profitable basis if regular atactions
could be booked. He suggested that
fi
pera be included among these and that the
erformances be scheduled on a seasonal
Mis, with subscriptions. He made no suggesons
as to how often opera should be iniuded.
but his idea was received with inirest
by Rudolph Bing, general manager of
le Met, and Nathan L. Halpern, president of
heatre Network Television, which set up
le arrangements for "Carmen."
John Gutman, assistant manager of the
let, said no plans had been made yet for
lother opera telecast, but added that he
id his associates were "excited" over the
isslbilities and felt that the first opera
d not "come off too badly considering that
le technique is new."
Technically the telecast was far from perct
on long shots and some criticism was
ade of the quality of sound, but opera
vers, whether critics or just ordinary fans,
enchanted.
j(](iotel"''''fc lire enchani
Opera Telecast Grosses
Big in Los Angeles
LOS ANGEXES—Mixed critical reactions
but undisputed financial succe.vi
were recorded by the precedential largescreen
theatre TV telecast of the Metropolitan
Opera's "Carmen," brought to
Warner. ' and the downtown
Orpheum Theatre here by means of Theatre
Network Television.
The two showcases grossed close to
$10,000. regarded as very good In consideration
of the fact that the program
began at 5:30 p. m.. PST, during the
height of Christmas shopping and returning
home from work traffic. Reception
was good In both houses. The performance
marked the debut of RCA theatre
TV equipment at the Hollywood.
Tj'pical of lay press comment was a
story in the Los Angeles Times which,
while criticizing the sound as "much too
large and oversize." said the quality was
"remarkably faithful." It declared the
program "was not perfect, but the wonder
of the feat was little less than breathtaking."
The Herald-Tribune editor wrote; "Certainly
a successful televising system could
revolutionize the musical life of the country,
bring opera to places out of reach of tours
and bring an appreciation of opera to audiences
who.se cultural appetites are normally
satisfied by the motion picture industry.
Some local critics tried to be funny by saying
that theatres served popcorn to the carriage
trade, but most of them discu.ssed the
matter seriously,
Wanda Hale of the New York Daily News
called It "a world-shaking event" and added
she "was happy and proud" that she saw the
show in the Guild Theatre. She is a film
critic as a rule. Like many other observers,
she thought the closeups and medium shots
were excellent, but found the long shots of
crowd scenes were badly lighted and out of
focus.
Halpern said TNT had learned and he
was sure the Metropohtan had from this effort,
and he said he was certain big improvements
could be made in quality of sound and
picture the next time.
Comment4> on the lack of color were general
The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about "remarkably
clear pictures, often superior to
motion pictures in depth and shading" and
found camera work "generally excellent." It
noted "frequent and spontaneous applause."
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that
•big-screen theatre television has a magnificent
prospect" and that through it opera "can
become in the U.S. the same theatre for the
masses that it is in other countries where
it is state subsidized." It said that when
color is available, "opera will find a ready
public and its producers a small but tidy
Income." There wa« crlttctom of the itt«XOFFICE
December 20. 1952