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134-585: Robert Lenard Lippert (March 31, 1909 – November 16, 1976) was an American film producer and cinema chain owner. He was president and chief operating officer of Lippert Theatres, Affiliated Theatres and Transcontinental Theatres, all based in San Francisco, and at his height, he owned a chain of 139 movie theaters. He helped finance more than 300 films, including the directorial debuts of Sam Fuller , James Clavell , and Burt Kennedy . His films include I Shot Jesse James (1949) and The Fly (1958) and

268-415: A digital cinema format that uses dual 2K resolution projectors and a screen with a 1.90:1 aspect ratio; this system is designed primarily for use in retrofitted multiplexes, using screens significantly smaller than those normally associated with IMAX. In 2015, IMAX introduced an updated "IMAX with Laser" format, using 4K resolution laser projectors. The term " premium large format " ( PLF ) emerged in

402-412: A movie house , cinema hall , picture house , picture theater , the pictures , or simply theater , is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing films for public entertainment. Most are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing tickets . The film is projected with a movie projector onto a large projection screen at the front of the auditorium while

536-651: A movie house , film house , film theater , cinema or picture house . In the US, theater has long been the preferred spelling, while in the UK, Australia, Canada and elsewhere it is theatre . However, some US theaters opt to use the British spelling in their own names, a practice supported by the National Association of Theatre Owners , while apart from Anglophone North America most English-speaking countries use

670-530: A taxi dancer in the poorer sections of New York. At first he struggled financially, but then he won a Charleston competition and was launched professionally. Raft started performing exhibition dances in the afternoon at Healy's, Murray's, Rectors and Churchills in New York. He then started working in New York City nightclubs, often in the same venues as did Rudolph Valentino before Valentino became

804-573: A better view. Many modern theaters have accessible seating areas for patrons in wheelchairs. See also luxury screens below. Canada was the first country in the world to have a two-screen theater. The Elgin Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario became the first venue to offer two film programs on different screens in 1957 when Canadian theater-owner Nat Taylor converted the dual screen theater into one capable of showing two different movies simultaneously. Taylor

938-537: A break in between. Separate admission for a short subject is rare; it is either an extra before a feature film or part of a series of short films sold as one admission (this mainly occurs at film festivals). (See also anthology film .) In the early decades of "talkie" films, many movie theaters presented a number of shorter items in addition to the feature film. This might include a newsreel , live-action comedy short films, documentary short films, musical short films, or cartoon shorts (many classic cartoons series such as

1072-628: A dancer and actor, including one in which he hit the producer of Bolero . In August 1934, Raft was involved in a brawl at the Hollywood Brown Derby . At the end of 1934, Raft was listed in a survey of theater managers as among Paramount's secondary tier of stars "if properly cast." In Rumba (1935), Raft was reunited with Lombard. He also starred in Stolen Harmony (1935) and was slated to appear in Gambler's Maxim from

1206-708: A dancer and helped popularize the tango in Paris, Vienna, Rome, London and New York. He had a great success as a dancer in London in 1926, and the Duke of Windsor was "an ardent fan and supporter." Fred Astaire , in his autobiography Steps in Time (1959), wrote that Raft was a lightning-fast dancer and did "the fastest Charleston I ever saw." A September 1926 edition of Variety spoke of Raft's reputation as "the best Charleston dancer in New York." During this time, Raft befriended

1340-675: A dancer. His stage performances included The City Chap (October 1925) (with music by Jerome Kern ), Gay Paree , Madhattan , Palm Beach Nights (also known as No Foolin' ) and Padlocks of 1927 (1927). He was called "the fastest Charleston dancer." Raft later starred in the film Broadway (1942), a fictionalized account of his life when he was working the Paramount-Publix circuit and performing in stage shows that were presented before movies. Owney Madden told Raft that he should be in motion pictures, and Raft decided to try to break into film acting after being threatened by

1474-469: A director for anything. No wonder they all have ulcers." In 1959, Lippert renamed Regal as Associated Producers Incorporated (API) to make more low-budget films for double features (API having similar initials to exploitation specialist American International Pictures may have been coincidental). The core of API was Harry Spalding and Maury Dexter . All API's productions were done in-house. In October 1959, Lippert said making "little Bs" for $ 100,000

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1608-616: A dumb kid from 10th Avenue could figure out how to translate that into money." After filming Scarface , Raft made Night World (1932) at Universal , supporting Lew Ayres , and Love Is a Racket , directed by William Wellman , although all of Raft's scenes were eventually cut. Raft signed a contract with Paramount in March 1932. The following month, he was cast in a supporting role in Madame Racketeer (1932), and contemporary reports referred to his "menacing suavity." He

1742-454: A film actor. Raft had a notable collaboration with Elsie Pilcer. A May 1924 review in Variety called him "gifted." "I could have been the first X-rated dancer," he said later. "I was very erotic. I used to caress myself as I danced. I never felt I was a great dancer. I was more of a stylist, unique. I was never a Fred Astaire or a Gene Kelly, but I was sensuous." Raft went on tour as

1876-495: A flamboyant saloon owner who competes with Raft for Fay Wray 's character as well as Pert Kelton as a singer/dancer. Back at Paramount, Raft supported Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins in All of Me (1934), which was not popular. Zanuck wanted him for Blood Money , but Raft was too busy at Paramount. Raft was meant to appear in It's a Pleasure to Lose , based on the life of Nick

2010-414: A full restaurant menu instead of general movie theater concessions such as popcorn or candy. In certain countries, there are also Bed Cinemas where the audience sits or lays in beds instead of chairs. 3D film is a system of presenting film images so that they appear to the viewer to be three-dimensional. Visitors usually borrow or keep special glasses to wear while watching the movie. Depending on

2144-606: A girl I could be crazy about and though I'm saying to the actress "I love you, darling", all the time I keep thinking of the other party. Raft refused to appear in The Story of Temple Drake (1933) with Miriam Hopkins , as he did not want to play a sadist. He was replaced by Jack La Rue , who had been originally cast for Raft's role in Scarface . Raft was placed on suspension in February. He said: "It's not that I mind being

2278-411: A graveyard and ruins, formed an ideal location for his ghostraising spectacle. When it opened in 1838, The Royal Polytechnic Institution in London became a very popular and influential venue with all kinds of magic lantern shows as an important part of its program. At the main theatre, with 500 seats, lanternists would make good use of a battery of six large lanterns running on tracked tables to project

2412-766: A manager of a cinema during the Depression , Lippert encouraged regular attendance with promotions such as "Dish Night" and "Book Night." Lippert went from cinema manager to owning a chain of cinemas in Alameda in 1942, during the peak years of theater attendance. Lippert's theaters in Los Angeles adopted a " grindhouse " policy, screening older and cheaper films for a continuous 24 hours with an admission price of 25 cents. Not only did his theaters attract shift workers and late-night revelers, but also servicemen on leave who could not find cheap accommodations and would sleep in

2546-502: A matador. The film was an attempt to invoke Valentino's Blood and Sand , and for a time, Raft was promoted as a "second Valentino." Raft walked out on the film unhappy with his role, but later returned after re-writes were made. The film was a box-office disappointment. Raft then starred in Limehouse Blues (1934) with Anna May Wong . In February 1934, he admitted to having been involved in three fights during his career as

2680-654: A mistress, Margia Dean , who would be cast in the company's films at Lippert's insistence. Lippert died of a heart attack , his second, at home in Alameda, California on November 16, 1976. His cremated remains were interred at the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Colma, California . Hopalong Cassidy Westerns Other reissues: Cinema chain A movie theater ( American English ) or cinema ( Commonwealth English ), also known as

2814-507: A new company was formed by Lippert, now called Regal Films, to make low-budget films for Fox at the rate of one per month, starting with Alaskan Highway . The company was headed by George Warren, a cost controller for MGM, with William Magginetti as production supervisor and Harry Spaulding as story editor. Lippert was described as being "associated" with the company. "We use hack writers or new writers and beat-up faces or new faces", he said later. "No, I don't direct any of them. I wouldn't be

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2948-490: A number of gangsters, including Enoch Johnson and Larry Fay , and he would occasionally drive for Owney Madden . A boyhood friend of gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel , and later a "wheel man" for the mob, Raft acknowledged having narrowly avoided a life of crime. Raft became part of the stage act of flamboyant speakeasy and nightclub hostess Texas Guinan at the 300 Club, and he also produced some of her shows. His success led him to Broadway , where he again worked as

3082-478: A prison film titled Each Dawn I Die (1939); the film was a great success and Warner Bros. offered Raft a long-term contract in July 1939 at three films per year. He next appeared in I Stole a Million (1939) for Universal. Hal Wallis later wrote that "Our association with Raft was a constant struggle from start to finish. Hypersensitive to public accusations of underworld connections, he flatly refused to play

3216-583: A process more elaborate than ordinary black-and-white. Lippert used Cinecolor and sepiatone to dress up his more ambitious features, and embellished others by using tinted film stock for special effects (mint green for Lost Continent , pinkish red-sepia for the Mars sequences in Rocketship X-M ). He even anticipated the 3-D film craze by publicizing a special, deep-focus photographic lens developed by Stephen E. Garutso, which Lippert promoted as giving

3350-452: A production unit, led by Lippert, called Regal Pictures in 1956 to produce B pictures in that process. Lippert's company was contracted to make 20 pictures a year for seven years, each to be shot in seven days for no more than $ 100,000. Due to Lippert's problems with the film unions over not paying residuals to actors and writers of his films when they were sold to television, Fox chose not to publicize Lippert's participation. Ed Baumgarten

3484-417: A result, the customer geography area of multiplexes and megaplexes typically overlaps with smaller theaters, which face threat of having their audience siphoned by bigger theaters that cut a wider swath in the movie-going landscape. In most markets, nearly all single-screen theaters (sometimes referred to as a "Uniplex") have gone out of business; the ones remaining are generally used for arthouse films, e.g.

3618-409: A screen in front of the stage and adding a projector; this conversion may be permanent, or temporary for purposes such as showing arthouse fare to an audience accustomed to plays. The familiar characteristics of relatively low admission and open seating can be traced to Samuel Roxy Rothafel , an early movie theater impresario . Many of these early theaters contain a balcony , an elevated level across

3752-663: A single viewing room with a single screen. In the 2010s, most movie theaters had multiple screens. The largest theater complexes, which are called multiplexes —a concept developed in Canada in the 1950s—have up to thirty screens. The audience members often sit on padded seats, which in most theaters are set on a sloped floor, with the highest part at the rear of the theater. Movie theaters often sell soft drinks , popcorn and candy , and some theaters sell hot fast food . In some jurisdictions, movie theaters can be licensed to sell alcoholic drinks. A movie theater might also be referred to as

3886-400: A small stock company of supporting actors, including Margia Dean , Mara Lynn, Don Castle , and Reed Hadley . Lippert's most ubiquitous actor was probably the diminutive Sid Melton . He appeared as a supporting comedian in many of Lippert's productions and starred in three hour-long comedies. Lippert also contracted with independent producers. In 1950 Ron Ormond hired two former members of

4020-473: A steady supply of releases. One of the most controversial Screen Guild releases was The Burning Cross (1947), which concerned the Ku Klux Klan . In the main, however, Lippert concentrated on simple entertainments for small-town and neighborhood theaters: musicals, comedies, detective stories, action-adventure stories, and westerns. Screen Guild became Lippert Pictures in 1948, using rental stages and

4154-581: A stereoscopic effect without special projection equipment. In addition to his original productions, Lippert reissued older films to theaters under his own brand name, including several Hopalong Cassidy westerns and the Laurel and Hardy feature Babes in Toyland (reissued by Lippert as March of the Wooden Soldiers ). Lippert read a 1949 Life magazine article about a proposed rocket landing on

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4288-585: A story by James Edward Grant , but the film was not made. Raft starred in a brutal and fast-paced adaptation of Dashiell Hammett 's The Glass Key (1935). He tried a comedy, Every Night at Eight (1935), and was borrowed by Columbia Pictures to appear in She Couldn't Take It (1935), a comedy in the vein of It Happened One Night (1934). He then was borrowed by 20th Century-Fox for It Had to Happen (1936) and starred in Paramount's Yours for

4422-584: A system is used that requires inexpensive 3D glasses, they can sometimes be kept by the patron. Most theaters have a fixed cost for 3D, while others charge for the glasses, but the latter is uncommon (at least in the United States). For example, in Pathé theaters in the Netherlands the extra fee for watching a 3D film consists of a fixed fee of €1.50, and an optional fee of €1 for the glasses. Holders of

4556-575: A time when major studios withheld their film libraries from TV to protect their theatrical interests. The American Federation of Musicians stepped in, and Lippert had to rescore some of the films and pay an amount to the musicians' music fund. Lippert went ahead with the sale but clashed with the Screen Actors Guild and was blackballed by the Guild as a result. He was going to make films for television with Hal Roach, Jr. , but problems with

4690-414: A total of over 500,000 visitors, with programs including Pauvre Pierrot and Autour d'une cabine . Thomas Edison initially believed film screening would not be as viable commercially as presenting films in peep boxes, hence the film apparatus that his company would first exploit became the kinetoscope . A few public demonstrations occurred since 9 May 1893, before a first public Kinetoscope parlor

4824-499: A utility outfielder with pitching aspirations. However, his batting was poor and he was dropped. "I was just trying to find something that I liked that would make me a living," said Raft later. "I saw guys fighting, so I fought. I saw guys playing ball, so I played ball. Then I saw guys dancing... and getting paid for it!" Raft's mother taught him how to dance, and he danced at outdoor amusement parks and carnivals with his parents. Following his baseball career, he began working as

4958-575: Is arguably the first cinema in the world. Claimants for the title of the earliest movie theatre include the Eden Theater in La Ciotat , where L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat was screened on 21 March 1899. The theatre closed in 1995 but re-opened in 2013. L'Idéal Cinéma in Aniche (France), built in 1901 as l'Hôtel du Syndicat CGT, showed its first film on 23 November 1905. The cinema

5092-470: Is based, because of her age, Raft advocated for his friend Mae West to be cast in a supporting role in his first film as leading man. Raft was one of several Paramount stars who appeared in the episodic comedy/drama If I Had a Million (1932), playing a forger hiding from police who is suddenly given a million dollars with no place to cash the check. He starred in Under-Cover Man (1932) and

5226-641: Is credited by Canadian sources as the inventor of the multiplex or cineplex; he later founded the Cineplex Odeon Corporation , opening the 18-screen Toronto Eaton Centre Cineplex, the world's largest at the time, in Toronto, Ontario. In the United States, Stanley Durwood of American Multi-Cinema (now AMC Theatres ) is credited as pioneering the multiplex in 1963 after realizing that he could operate several attached auditoriums with

5360-458: Is increasing. The RealD company expects 15,000 screens worldwide in 2010. The availability of 3D movies encourages exhibitors to adopt digital cinema and provides a way for theaters to compete with home theaters . One incentive for theaters to show 3D films is that although ticket sales have declined, revenues from 3D tickets have grown. In the 2010s, 3D films became popular again. The IMAX 3D system and digital 3D systems are used (the latter

5494-409: Is likely a mistranscription of "Ranft"). The 1900 census for New York City lists his sister Katie as his parents' only child, with two children born and only one living. In the 1910 census, he is listed as eight years old. Raft grew up on 41st Street and worked as an errand boy and a fishwrapper after school. His parents sent him to live at his grandparents' house on 164th Street. He left school at

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5628-503: Is mentioned in the 2010 Guinness World Records . The World's smallest solar-powered mobile cinema is Sol Cinema in the UK. Touring since 2010 the cinema is actually a converted 1972 caravan. It seats 8–10 at a time. In 2015 it featured in a Lenovo advert for the launch of a new tablet. The Bell Museum of Natural History in Minneapolis , Minnesota has recently begun summer "bike-ins", inviting only pedestrians or people on bicycles onto

5762-576: Is still inconvenient and disturbing to find and claim it during the commercials and trailers, unless it is near an aisle. Some movie theaters have some kind of break during the presentation, particularly for very long films. There may also be a break between the introductory material and the feature. Some countries such as the Netherlands have a tradition of incorporating an intermission in regular feature presentations, though many theaters have now abandoned that tradition, while in North America, this

5896-516: Is the oldest known movie theater still in continuous operation. Traditionally a movie theater, like a stage theater , consists of a single auditorium with rows of comfortable padded seats, as well as a foyer area containing a box office for buying tickets. Movie theaters also often have a concession stand for buying snacks and drinks within the theater's lobby. Other features included are film posters , arcade games and washrooms. Stage theaters are sometimes converted into movie theaters by placing

6030-474: Is used in the animated movies of Disney / Pixar ). The RealD 3D system works by using a single digital projector that swaps back and forth between the images for eyes. A filter is placed in front of the projector that changes the polarization of the light coming from the projector. A silver screen is used to reflect this light back at the audience and reduce loss of brightness. There are four other systems available: Volfoni, Master Image, XpanD and Dolby 3D . When

6164-806: Is usually called a " megaplex ". However, in the United Kingdom, this was a brand name for Virgin Cinema (later UGC). The first megaplex is generally considered to be the Kinepolis in Brussels, Belgium, which opened in 1988 with 25 screens and a seating capacity of 7,500. The first theater in the U.S. built from the ground up as a megaplex was the AMC Grand 24 in Dallas, Texas , which opened in May 1995, while

6298-424: Is very rare and usually limited to special circumstances involving extremely long movies. During the closing credits many people leave, but some stay until the end. Usually the lights are switched on after the credits, sometimes already during them. Some films show mid-credits scenes while the credits are rolling, which in comedy films are often bloopers and outtakes, or post-credits scenes , which typically set up

6432-640: The Looney Tunes and Mickey Mouse shorts were created for this purpose). Examples of this kind of programming are available on certain DVD releases of two of the most famous films starring Errol Flynn as a special feature arrangement designed to recreate that kind of filmgoing experience while the PBS series, Matinee at the Bijou , presented the equivalent content. Some theaters ran on continuous showings , where

6566-678: The Barbary War , but the picture was not made. Instead, Raft appeared with Sylvia Sidney in Fritz Lang 's drama You and Me (1938), and was next reunited with Hathaway to star in another adventure story, Spawn of the North (1938), with Henry Fonda and John Barrymore playing supporting roles. Raft was announced for the films The World Applauds and Two-Time Loser . Paramount wanted Raft to appear in St. Louis Blues , but he refused and

6700-567: The Corriganville Movie Ranch for the production of its films. Between 1948 and 1955, 130 Lippert features were made and released. Lippert's fortunes and reputation improved when he sponsored screenwriter and former newspaper reporter Samuel Fuller . Fuller wanted to become a director, so he agreed to direct the three films he had been contracted to write for Lippert: I Shot Jesse James , The Baron of Arizona and The Steel Helmet , all for no extra money, accepting just

6834-536: The Digital Cinema Package for the film. Control data is encoded in a monoaural WAV file on Sound Track channel 13, labelled as "Motion Data". Motion Data tracks are unencrypted and not watermarked. Movie theaters may be classified by the type of movies they show or when in a film's release process they are shown: Usually in the 2020s, an admission is for one feature film. Sometimes two feature films are sold as one admission ( double feature ), with

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6968-685: The Eddie Cantor musical Palmy Days . In Taxi! (1932), starring James Cagney and Loretta Young , Raft had a colorful unbilled dancing role as Cagney's competitor in a dance contest, who wins only to be knocked down by Cagney. He was third-billed in an extremely large role as a gangster in Dancers in the Dark (1932), below Miriam Hopkins as a dancer and Jack Oakie as a bandleader. Raft said he never regarded himself as an actor. "I wanted to be me," he said. Raft's big break came when cast as

7102-668: The Hopalong Cassidy franchise, Russell Hayden and James Ellison , to co-star in a new series of six western features, with ingenue Betty Adams (later established as Julie Adams ) and a stock company of actors familiar from westerns. With typical economy, Ormond arranged for all six scripts to be filmed simultaneously, to take advantage of the sets, locations, and actors on hand. The six features were filmed within one month. The "name" cast ensembles were only part of Lippert's successful formula. Other selling angles were achieved when certain of Lippert's features could be marketed in

7236-703: The Latham family, was demonstrated for members of the press on 21 April 1895 and opened to the paying public on 20 May, in a lower Broadway store with films of the Griffo-Barnett prize boxing fight, taken from Madison Square Garden 's roof on 4 May. Max Skladanowsky and his brother Emil demonstrated their motion pictures with the Bioscop in July 1895 at the Gasthaus Sello in Pankow (Berlin). This venue

7370-468: The Ministry of Technology campaign to raise standards. Using a very futuristic look, these 27-seat cinema vehicles were designed to attract attention. They were built on a Bedford SB 3 chassis with a custom Coventry Steel Caravan extruded aluminum body. Movies are also commonly shown on airliners in flight, using large screens in each cabin or smaller screens for each group of rows or each individual seat;

7504-500: The Moon . He rushed into production his version called Rocketship X-M , released a year later in 1950; he changed the film's destination to Mars to avoid copying exactly the same idea being utilized by producer George Pal in his large-budget, high-profile Destination Moon . Rocketship X-M succeeded in becoming the first post-war science fiction outer space drama to appear in theaters, but only by 20 days, while capitalizing on all

7638-522: The Pathé Unlimited Gold pass (see also below) are supposed to bring along their own glasses; one pair, supplied yearly, more robust than the regular type, is included in the price. IMAX is a system using 70 mm film with more than ten times the frame size of a 35 mm film . IMAX theaters use an oversized screen as well as special projectors. The first permanent IMAX theater was at Ontario Place in Toronto, Canada. Until 2016, visitors to

7772-449: The "slow suicide" in movie going, blaming involvement of New York bankers in creative matters, inflated overhead, union featherbedding and obsolete theaters. "The economics of this business have gone cock-eyed", he added. "The total gross of pictures has dropped from 20-30% and the costs have doubled. It's nuts." By this stage, he estimated that he had made "about 300 films" including 100 for Fox in five years. "One year, I made 26, more than

7906-552: The 1570s in the English language. Movie theatres stand in a long tradition of theaters that could house all kinds of entertainment. Some forms of theatrical entertainment would involve the screening of moving images and can be regarded as precursors of film . In 1799, Étienne-Gaspard "Robertson" Robert moved his Phantasmagorie show to an abandoned cloister near the Place Vendôme in Paris. The eerie surroundings, with

8040-511: The 1980s the introduction of VHS cassettes made possible video-salons, small rooms where visitors viewed movies on a large TV. These establishments were especially popular in the Soviet Union , where official distribution companies were slow to adapt to changing demand, and so movie theaters could not show popular Hollywood and Asian films . In 1967, the British government launched seven custom-built mobile cinema units for use as part of

8174-591: The Asking (1936). Raft was meant to team with Lombard for a third time in The Princess Comes Across (1936), but refused to make the film as he was unhappy with the choice of cameraman. He was replaced by Fred MacMurray and was suspended again in February 1936. He was scheduled to star in You and Me , the directorial debut of Norman Krasna , but he refused to work for a first-time director. Raft

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8308-467: The Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento, California , small-scale productions, film festivals or other presentations. Because of the late development of multiplexes, the term "cinema" or "theater" may refer either to the whole complex or a single auditorium, and sometimes "screen" is used to refer to an auditorium. A popular film may be shown on multiple screens at the same multiplex, which reduces

8442-564: The Dark and Warner Bros. House of Wax , the first 3D feature with stereophonic sound. For many years, most 3D movies were shown in amusement parks and even "4D" techniques have been used when certain effects such as spraying of water, movement of seats, and other effects are used to simulate actions seen on the screen. The first decline in the theatrical 3D craze started in August and September 1953. In 2009, movie exhibitors became more interested in 3D film. The number of 3D screens in theaters

8576-525: The Greek , but instead was slated to star in Bolero (1934), playing a dancer with Carole Lombard . Raft initially refused the film until it was re-written, and the studio suspended him, but Raft eventually made the film, which became a great success. The New York Times wrote: "Raft is a vivid and pictorially interesting type, rather than an actor in the technical sense, and consequently he proves unequal to

8710-570: The Hammer films he was to distribute. The first film produced under the contract was The Last Page , which starred George Brent . When Darryl F. Zanuck announced his CinemaScope process, he faced hostility from many theater owners who had gone to great expense to convert their theaters to show 3-D films that Hollywood had stopped making. Zanuck assured them that they could have a large supply of CinemaScope product because Fox would make CinemaScope lenses available to other film companies and start

8844-722: The IMAX cinema attached to the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford , West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, could observe the IMAX projection booth via a glass rear wall and watch the large format films being loaded and projected. The largest permanent IMAX cinema screen measures 38.80 m × 21.00 m (127.30 ft × 68.90 ft) and was achieved by Traumplast Leonberg (Germany) in Leonberg, Germany , verified on 6 December 2022. IMAX also refers to

8978-401: The Old French word "theatre", from the 12th century and "...directly from Latin theatrum [which meant] 'play-house, theater; stage; spectators in a theater'", which in turn came from the Greek word "theatron", which meant "theater; the people in the theater; a show, a spectacle", [or] literally "place for viewing". The use of the word "theatre" to mean a "building where plays are shown" dates from

9112-424: The SAG dispute had not been resolved and Lippert announced he was leaving film production. In 1951, Lippert signed a four-year production and distribution contract with the British company Hammer Films by which Lippert would distribute Hammer movies in America, and Hammer would distribute Lippert's films in the UK. To ensure familiarity with American audiences, Lippert insisted on an American star supplied by him in

9246-540: The Screen Actors Guild led to their cancellation. He ended up making only two, Tales of Robin Hood and Present Arms (released as As You Were ). |In October 1951, Lippert signed a three-picture deal with the recently blacklisted Carl Foreman . He also signed a two-picture deal with blacklisted Paul Henreid but no films appear to have resulted; Henreid signed instead with Columbia Pictures . In 1951, Lippert entered into an arrangement with Famous Artist Corporation to make features with their talent. By January 1952, however,

9380-418: The age of 12, and left home at 13. He worked as an apprentice electrician for a year, then boxed professionally for two years beginning at the age of 15. As Dutch Rauft, he fought 14 bouts, with nine victories, three defeats and two draws. Another account says that Raft fought 25 bouts and was knocked out seven times. Raft played minor-league baseball, reportedly with Springfield of the Eastern League, as

9514-427: The airline company sometimes charges a fee for the headphones needed to hear the movie's sound. In a similar fashion, movies are sometimes also shown on trains, such as the Auto Train . The smallest purpose-built cinema is the Cabiria Cine-Cafe which measures 24 m (260 sq ft) and has a seating capacity of 18. It was built by Renata Carneiro Agostinho da Silva (Brazil) in Brasília DF, Brazil in 2008. It

9648-583: The audience for a sequel. George Raft Raft was born at 415 West 41st Street in Hell's Kitchen , Manhattan, New York City, to a family of Jewish German descent, the son of Eva ( née Glockner), a Jewish German immigrant, and Conrad Ranft, who was born in Massachusetts to Jewish German immigrant parents. His parents were married on November 17, 1895, in Manhattan. Raft's sister Eva, known as Katie,

9782-407: The audience sits upon chairs, blankets or even in hot tubs , and watch the movie on a temporary screen, or even the wall of a building. Colleges and universities have often sponsored movie screenings in lecture halls. The formats of these screenings include 35 mm, 16 mm, DVD , VHS, and even 70 mm in rare cases. Some alternative methods of showing movies have been popular in the past. In

9916-409: The auditorium above the theater's rearmost seats. The rearward main floor "loge" seats were sometimes larger, softer, and more widely spaced and sold for a higher price. In conventional low pitch viewing floors, the preferred seating arrangement is to use staggered rows. While a less efficient use of floor space this allows a somewhat improved sight line between the patrons seated in the next row toward

10050-470: The car's stereo system. Because of their outdoor nature, drive-ins usually only operate seasonally, and after sunset. Drive-in movie theaters are mainly found in the United States, where they were especially popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Once numbering in the thousands, about 400 remain in the U.S. today. In some cases, multiplex or megaplex theaters were built on the sites of former drive-in theaters. Some outdoor movie theaters are just grassy areas where

10184-663: The chairs. In May 1948, he merged his theater chain with George Mann's, the founder of the Redwood Theatres. He also owned a number of drive-ins . The 139 theaters he eventually owned were mostly in Northern California and southern Oregon , as well as some in Southern California and Arizona . "Every theater owner thinks he can make pictures better than the ones they sent him," Lippert later said. "So back in 1943 [sic] I tried it" (the year

10318-436: The choice of other films but offers more choice of viewing times or a greater number of seats to accommodate patrons. Two or three screens may be created by dividing up an existing cinema (as Durwood did with his Roxy in 1964), but newly built multiplexes usually have at least six to eight screens, and often as many as twelve, fourteen, sixteen or even eighteen. Although definitions vary, a large multiplex with 20 or more screens

10452-500: The contract still had two years remaining. Samuel Goldwyn wanted Raft for the film version of Dead End and Universal, David O. Selznick and 20th Century Fox were keen on using Raft. Lloyd Nolan was announced as Raft's replacement in Souls at Sea . Raft was discussing a three-films-per-year deal with United Artists for three years, to start with Dead End . However, Raft agreed to return to Paramount and Souls at Sea when his part

10586-434: The dark. Since the advent of stadium theaters with stepped aisles, each step in the aisles may be outlined with small lights to prevent patrons from tripping in the darkened theater. In movie theaters, the auditorium may also have lights that go to a low level, when the movie is going to begin. Theaters often have booster seats for children and other people of short stature to place on the seats to allow them to sit higher, for

10720-482: The dialogue, sounds and music are played through a number of wall-mounted speakers. Since the 1970s, subwoofers have been used for low-pitched sounds. Since the 2010s, the majority of movie theaters have been equipped for digital cinema projection , removing the need to create and transport a physical film print on a heavy reel. A great variety of films are shown at cinemas, ranging from animated films to blockbusters to documentaries. The smallest movie theaters have

10854-555: The directing credit. The Fuller films received excellent reviews. A 1949 New York Times profile said Lippert owned 61 theaters. It also reported (erroneously) that he had directed most of the Westerns his company had made. Lippert tried to add luster to his productions, but only if it could be done economically. His studio became a haven for actors whose careers were interrupted when their studios, no longer making lower-budget pictures, released them from their contracts. Robert Lippert

10988-473: The early 1950s with the release of the first color stereoscopic feature, Bwana Devil . The film starred Robert Stack , Barbara Britton and Nigel Bruce . James Mage was an early pioneer in the 3D craze. Using his 16 mm 3D Bolex system, he premiered his Triorama program in February 1953 with his four shorts: Sunday In Stereo , Indian Summer , American Life , and This is Bolex Stereo . 1953 saw two groundbreaking features in 3D: Columbia's Man in

11122-415: The feature film. Advertised start times are usually for the entire program or session, not the feature itself; thus people who want to avoid commercials and trailers would opt to enter later. This is easiest and causes the least inconvenience when it is not crowded or one is not very choosy about where one wants to sit. If one has a ticket for a specific seat (see below) one is formally assured of that, but it

11256-712: The film. One reviewer called him "a clever dancer". Queen of the Night Clubs is considered a lost film . Raft followed this with small roles in Gold Diggers of Broadway and Side Street . His dancing skills were noticed by director Rowland Brown , who cast him in a substantial supporting gangster role as Spencer Tracy 's character's sidekick in Quick Millions (1931). Raft's appearances in these films were followed by Goldie with Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow , Hush Money with Joan Bennett , and

11390-400: The finely detailed images of extra large slides on the 648 square feet screen. The magic lantern was used to illustrate lectures, concerts, pantomimes and other forms of theatre. Popular magic lantern presentations included phantasmagoria, mechanical slides, Henry Langdon Childe 's dissolving views and his chromatrope. The earliest known public screening of projected stroboscopic animation

11524-552: The first decade of motion pictures, the demand for movies, the amount of new productions, and the average runtime of movies, kept increasing, and at some stage it was viable to have theaters that would no longer program live acts, but only movies. The first building built for the dedicated purpose of showing motion pictures was built to demonstrate The Phantoscope , a device created by Jenkins & Armat, as part of The Cotton State Exposition on September 25, 1895 in Atlanta, GA. This

11658-546: The first megaplex in the U.S.-based on an expansion of an existing facility was Studio 28 in Grand Rapids, Michigan , which reopened in November 1988 with 20 screens and a seating capacity of 6,000. A drive-in movie theater is an outdoor parking area with a screen—sometimes an inflatable screen —at one end and a projection booth at the other. Moviegoers drive into the parking spaces which are sometimes sloped upwards at

11792-409: The front to give a more direct view of the movie screen. Movies are usually viewed through the car windscreen (windshield) although some people prefer to sit on the bonnet (hood) of the car. Some may also sit in the trunk (back) of their car if space permits. Sound is either provided through portable loudspeakers located by each parking space, or is broadcast on an FM radio frequency, to be played through

11926-691: The full implications of the fame-hungry dancer. The exterior attractiveness which Mr. Raft brings to the rôle gives 'Bolero' considerable color, nevertheless." In March 1934, Raft was suspended a second time for having refused the male lead in Mae West's It Ain't No Sin (later changed to Belle of the Nineties ) because his part was subordinate to West's. In May 1934, Raft signed a new contract with Paramount to reflect his star status. Raft next appeared in The Trumpet Blows (1934), playing

12060-510: The grounds for both live music and movies. In various Canadian cities, including Toronto , Calgary, Ottawa and Halifax , al-fresco movies projected on the walls of buildings or temporarily erected screens in parks operate during the Summer and cater to a pedestrian audience. The New Parkway Museum in Oakland, California replaces general seating with couches and coffee tables, as well as having

12194-540: The guy on the wrong side of the law. But I won't take a role that's pure heel. The character has to have some ray of warmth, some redeeming quality – or it just isn't real." The Story of Temple Drake performed poorly at the box office and was believed to have hurt La Rue's career. Raft was removed from suspension in April 1933, and he returned to Hollywood to appear in Midnight Club (1933), set in London. Raft

12328-407: The heavy in any film... Time and time again we offered him gangster parts and time and time again he turned them down." Raft was slated to appear in a remake of The Patent Leather Kid , one of his favorite films, and a John Dillinger film with Cagney, but both projects were canceled. He was assigned to Invisible Stripes (1939) with William Holden , Jane Bryan and Humphrey Bogart . Raft

12462-517: The hottest black bottom ever. He goaled the audience, being the big punch of the show." Raft's screen debut was in Queen of the Night Clubs starring Guinan, who insisted Raft have a small role. Although Raft's scenes were cut, a Variety review said "...a nite club scene introduces George Raft, the hot stepper, as the m. c. and band leader, being brought down for one of his rip-snorting hoofing specialties." Raft also appeared in stage shows supporting

12596-448: The husband of a woman whom he had been seeing. In 1927, Raft relocated to Hollywood , where he first danced in clubs to pay the bills. In October 1928, Raft appeared in a stage show presented by Texas Guinan called Night Club . The Los Angeles Times said Raft "scores a tremendous individual hit." Variety wrote that Raft appeared at the climax when he "came to the front and did his eccentric dance routine, which he climaxed with

12730-545: The lead, with Ann Sheridan as Raft's leading lady , Humphrey Bogart in a supporting role as his brother, and Ida Lupino as a ravishing young beauty relentlessly pursuing Raft. In July 1940, Raft reprised his vaudeville act. In August 1940, Raft declined the lead role in South of Suez (1940) and was replaced by George Brent . He was again placed on suspension, but was intended to appear in The Sea Wolf (1941) after

12864-857: The little picture'." Lippert said that he wanted to make more Westerns "because they're cheap" but did not because "television had saturated the market." Faced with increasing production costs in Hollywood, Lippert announced in 1962 that he would be making films in England, Italy ( The Last Man on Earth ), and the Philippines. Fox ended Regal/API when its own production schedule had declined and it didn't have enough "A" features to support its "B" pictures. In March 1966, Fox announced that Lippert would return to film production with Country Music . Lippert's association with Fox ended after 250 films with The Last Shot You Hear that began filming in 1967 but

12998-946: The mid-2010s to refer to auditoriums with high-end amenities. PLF does not refer to a single format in general, but combinations of non-proprietary amenities such as larger "wall-to-wall" screens, 4K projectors, 7.1 and/or positional surround sound systems (including Dolby Atmos ), and higher-quality seating (such as leather recliners). Cinemas typically brand PLF auditoriums with chain-specific trademarks , such as "Prime" ( AMC ), "Grand Screen” ( B&B Theatres ), "BTX" ( Bow Tie ), "Superscreen" ( Cineworld ), "BigD" ( Carmike , now owned by AMC), "UltraAVX" ( Cineplex ), "Macro XE" ( Cinépolis ), "XD" ( Cinemark ), "BigPix" ( INOX ), "Laser Ultra" ( Kinepolis and Landmark Cinemas ), "RPX" ( Regal Cinemas ), "Superscreen DLX"/"Ultrascreen DLX" ( Marcus ), "Titan" ( Reading Cinemas ), "VueXtreme" ( Vue International ), and "X-land" ( Wanda Cinemas ). PLFs compete primarily with formats such as digital IMAX;

13132-489: The outfit's productions were all shot at independent sound stages because they could not afford to shoot at 20th Century Fox, due to the high cost of rental and overhead they charged. The films were entirely financed and released by Fox, but Regal was independent. Dexter says "the only stipulation production-wise was that we had to give Bausch and Lomb screen credit on each film for CinemaScope camera lenses, as well as being charged back to Fox, $ 3,000 of each budget. Impressed by

13266-529: The paste-ups: "Having similar situations and dialogue, these episodes would be better if shown separately. Any dramatic effect achieved in the first loses its punch when so closely duplicated by a second story following immediately afterwards." Lippert later acquired episodes of the TV series Ramar of the Jungle and combined them into action features. In 1951 Lippert announced plans to sell his films to television, at

13400-512: The popularity of such shows in France. The earliest public film screenings took place in existing (vaudeville) theatres and other venues that could be darkened and comfortably house an audience. Émile Reynaud screened his Pantomimes Lumineuses animated movies from 28 October 1892 to March 1900 at the Musée Grévin in Paris, with his Théâtre Optique system. He gave over 12,800 shows to

13534-405: The production of motion pictures or in a large private residence. The etymology of the term "movie theater" involves the term "movie", which is a "shortened form of moving picture in the cinematographic sense" that was first used in 1896 and "theater", which originated in the "...late 14c., [meaning an] open air place in ancient times for viewing spectacles and plays". The term "theater" comes from

13668-622: The publicity surrounding the Pal film. More importantly, it became the first feature film drama to warn of the dangers and folly of full-scale atomic war. Lippert was anxious to enter the new and profitable field of commercial television. In 1950 he filmed a new detective series intended for sale to television -- but appearing in movie theaters first. Six half-hour episodes were filmed with co-stars Hugh Beaumont and Edward Brophy , which were then combined into three theatrical features: Pier 23 , Danger Zone , and Roaring City . Trade reviewers noticed

13802-421: The rest of the studios." "Most Bs cost $ 100,000 or $ 200,000", he said. "We shoot them in six or seven days. There's hardly any re-shooting. Unless something is glaringly wrong, we let 'em go. What the hell, people don't care. They want to be entertained. I've heard people coming out of my theaters after seeing a double bill that featured a big production, 'Everybody died' or 'How that girl suffered. Thank God for

13936-554: The same items would repeat throughout the day, with patrons arriving and departing at any time rather than having distinct entrance and exit cycles. Newsreels gradually became obsolete by the 1960s with the rise of television news, and most material now shown prior to a feature film is of a commercial or promotional nature (which usually include " trailers ", which are advertisements for films and commercials for other consumer products or services). A typical modern theater presents commercial advertising shorts , then movie trailers, and then

14070-590: The same staff needed for one through careful management of the start times for each movie. Ward Parkway Center in Kansas City, Missouri had the first multiplex cinema in the United States. Since the 1960s, multiple-screen theaters have become the norm, and many existing venues have been retrofitted so that they have multiple auditoriums. A single foyer area is shared among them. In the 1970s, many large 1920s movie palaces were converted into multiple screen venues by dividing their large auditoriums, and sometimes even

14204-477: The screen, provided they do not lean toward one another. " Stadium seating ", popular in modern multiplexes, actually dates back to the 1920s. The 1922 Princess Theatre in Honolulu, Hawaii featured "stadium seating", sharply raked rows of seats extending from in front of the screen back towards the ceiling. It gives patrons a clear sight line over the heads of those seated in front of them. Modern "stadium seating"

14338-481: The second lead, alongside Paul Muni , as Tony Camonte in Howard Hawks 's Scarface . In the film, he plays second-in-command Guino Rinaldo, who falls in love with Camonte's sister and is murdered by him. Raft's performance is notable for his character's habit of flipping a coin, which became an iconic trope in gangster films; while others claimed credit for the mannerism, writer W.R. Burnett confirmed that it

14472-399: The silver screen (formerly sometimes sheet ) and the big screen (contrasted with the smaller screen of a television set). Specific to North American term is the movies , while specific terms in the UK are the pictures , the flicks and for the facility itself the flea pit (or fleapit ). A screening room is a small theater, often a private one, such as for the use of those involved in

14606-414: The stage space, into smaller theaters. Because of their size, and amenities like plush seating and extensive food/beverage service, multiplexes and megaplexes draw from a larger geographic area than smaller theaters. As a rule of thumb, they pull audiences from an eight to 12-mile radius, versus a three to five-mile radius for smaller theaters (though the size of this radius depends on population density). As

14740-402: The system used, these are typically polarized glasses . Three-dimensional movies use two images channeled, respectively, to the right and left eyes to simulate depth by using 3D glasses with red and blue lenses (anaglyph), polarized (linear and circular), and other techniques. 3D glasses deliver the proper image to the proper eye and make the image appear to "pop-out" at the viewer and even follow

14874-528: The term cinema / ˈ s ɪ n ɪ m ə / , alternatively spelled and pronounced kinema / ˈ k ɪ n ɪ m ə / . The latter terms, as well as their derivative adjectives "cinematic" and "kinematic", ultimately derive from Greek κίνημα, κινήματος ( kinema , kinematos )—"movement, motion". In the countries where those terms are used, the word "theatre" is usually reserved for live performance venues. Colloquial expressions, mostly applied to motion pictures and motion picture theaters collectively, include

15008-633: The unit's profits, Fox extended Regal's contract by a further 16 films with an "exploitation angle" that would be approved by Fox. In November 1957, Regal announced that they would make ten films in three months. Regal made a deal with actors and directors to play them a percentage of any money from the sale of films to television. It did not make a deal with writers, and the Screen Writers Guild forbade its writers to work for Lippert. Regal stopped making films. In 1960, Lippert sold 30 Regal films to television for $ 1 million. In October 1958,

15142-572: The use of common " off-the-shelf " components and an in-house brand removes the need to pay licensing fees to a third-party for a proprietary large format. Although the term is synonymous with exhibitor-specific brands, some PLFs are franchised. Dolby franchises Dolby Cinema , which is based on technologies such as Atmos and Dolby Vision . CJ CGV franchises the 4DX and ScreenX formats. In some theaters, seating can be dynamically moved via haptic motion technology called D-BOX . In digital cinema , D-BOX codes for motion control are stored in

15276-470: The viewer when he/she moves so viewers relatively see the same image. The earliest 3D movies were presented in the 1920s. There have been several prior "waves" of 3D movie distribution, most notably in the 1950s when they were promoted as a way to offer audiences something that they could not see at home on television. Still the process faded quickly and as yet has never been more than a periodic novelty in movie presentation. The "golden era" of 3D film began in

15410-465: Was Raft who invented it. Burnett said: "He realized he wasn't a good actor, which he wasn't. But he knew if he reacted to what other people said, he was effective." Scarface was filmed in September 1931. It was released by United Artists in 1932. It became a hit and made Raft a star. He said: "That was the big one. People remembered me. I was getting real fan mail – by the bushel basket – and even

15544-574: Was able to sign major-studio talent for a fraction of the usual rate, giving his productions more marquee value. Among the established names who worked for Lippert were George Raft , Veronica Lake , Zachary Scott , Robert Hutton , Joan Leslie , Cesar Romero , George Reeves , Ralph Byrd , Richard Arlen , Don "Red" Barry , Robert Alda , Gloria Jean , Sabu , Jon Hall , Ellen Drew , Preston Foster , Jean Porter , Anne Gwynne , Jack Holt , Dick Foran , Hugh Beaumont , Tom Neal , Robert Lowery , John Howard , and Julie Bishop . Lippert maintained

15678-523: Was actually 1945). Dissatisfied with what he believed to be exorbitant rental fees charged by major studios , Lippert formed Screen Guild Productions in 1945, its first release being a Bob Steele western called Wildfire , filmed in then-unusual Cinecolor . Veteran producer Edward Finney partnered with Lippert in 1946. For the next few years Screen Guild entered into agreements with independent producers Finney, William Berke , William David, Jack Schwarz , Walter Colmes , and Ron Ormond to guarantee

15812-470: Was announced for Ladies of the Big House with Sylvia Sidney and Gene Raymond . When Scarface was released, public response was so strong that Raft was offered the lead role in a film based on a story by Louis Bromfeld , originally titled Number 55 and then changed to Night After Night (1932). When the studio adamantly refused to hire Texas Guinan , upon whom one of the film's characters

15946-457: Was announced for Bodyguard , which was never made. He next appeared in Pick Up (1933). A natural practitioner of a form of method acting , Raft told Variety : I don't know what I do, but it's not acting. It's me. Supposing I'm supposed to hate a guy. Then I think of somebody I hate and visualize him instead of the actor. Same way when I'm supposed to be in love with the heroine. I think of

16080-581: Was born on April 18, 1896. Raft's grandfather had emigrated from Germany and worked on merry-go-rounds and prospected for gold. His father worked in carnivals before settling in New York. Most obituaries cited Raft's year of birth as 1895, which he stated was correct when he appeared on The Mike Douglas Show seven months prior to his death. However, Raft is recorded in the New York City Birth Index as having been born on September 26, 1901, in Manhattan as "George Rauft" (although "Rauft"

16214-467: Was borrowed by Twentieth Century Pictures , a new production company established by Darryl F. Zanuck (former head of production at Warner Bros.). He appeared in the studio's first film, Raoul Walsh 's highly popular and energetic period piece The Bowery , as Steve Brodie , supposedly the first man to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge and survive. Raft plays the second lead to Wallace Beery as

16348-703: Was borrowed by Walter Wanger to play a gangster in The House Across the Bay (1940), which was a flop. He was cast in City for Conquest (1940), but declined the role and was replaced by Anthony Quinn . Raft was scheduled to appear in Star of Africa and declined a role in The Dealer's Name Was George, but neither film was made. In Raoul Walsh 's trucking melodrama They Drive by Night (1940), Raft played

16482-646: Was closed in 1977 and the building was demolished in 1993. The "Centre Culturel Claude Berri" was built in 1995; it integrates a new movie theater (the Idéal Cinéma Jacques Tati). In the United States, many small and simple theaters were set up, usually in converted storefronts. They typically charged five cents for admission, and thus became known as nickelodeons . This type of theatre flourished from about 1905 to circa 1915. The Korsør Biograf Teater, in Korsør , Denmark, opened in August 1908 and

16616-462: Was known as "King of the Bs ". In 1962, Lippert said, "the word around Hollywood is: Lippert makes a lot of cheap pictures but he's never made a stinker". Born in Alameda, California and adopted by the owner of a hardware store, Robert Lippert became fascinated by the cinema at an early age. As a youngster , he worked a variety of jobs in local theaters, including projectionist and assistant manager. As

16750-650: Was later, at least since 1918, exploited as the full-time movie theatre Pankower Lichtspiele and between 1925 and 1994 as Tivoli. The first certain commercial screenings by the Skladanowsky brothers took place at the Wintergarten in Berlin from 1 to 31 November 1895. The first commercial, public screening of films made with Louis and Auguste Lumière 's Cinématographe took place in the basement of Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris on 28 December 1895. During

16884-468: Was no longer as lucrative because "it is now in the same category as the short TV feature which people can see for free." He persuaded Fox to start financing his films up to $ 300,000 and a shooting schedule of around 15 days starting with The Sad Horse . "I have an angle on everything", he said in 1960, adding that he found it profitable to focus on small towns and country areas. "There's a lot of money in sticks." In 1962, Lippert criticized Hollywood for

17018-405: Was not released until 1969. After stopping producing, Lippert doubled his chain of theaters from 70 to 139 and managed them until his death. In 1926, he married Ruth Robinson and they remained married until his death. He has a son, Robert L. Lippert Jr., and a daughter, Judith Ann. His son followed his father into producing and also helping manage the theater chain. Maury Dexter says Lippert had

17152-505: Was officially appointed the head of Regal, but Lippert had overall control. Regal Pictures filmed its movies with CinemaScope lenses, but due to 20th Century-Fox insisting that only its "A" films would carry the CInemaScope label, Regal's product used the term "Regalscope" in its films' credits. Beginning with Stagecoach to Fury (1956), Regal produced 25 pictures in its first year. Maury Dexter , who worked at Regal, later recalled

17286-557: Was opened on 14 April 1894, by the Holland Bros. in New York City at 1155 Broadway, on the corner of 27th Street. This can be regarded as the first commercial motion picture house. The venue had ten machines, set up in parallel rows of five, each showing a different movie. For 25 cents a viewer could see all the films in either row; half a dollar gave access to the entire bill. The Eidoloscope , devised by Eugene Augustin Lauste for

17420-536: Was presented by Austrian magician Ludwig Döbler on 15 January 1847 at the Josephstadt Theatre in Vienna , with his patented Phantaskop. The animated spectacle was part of a well-received show that sold out in several European cities during a tour that lasted until the spring of 1848. The famous Parisian entertainment venue Le Chat Noir opened in 1881 and is remembered for its shadow plays , renewing

17554-468: Was put on suspension and $ 24,000 of his salary was withheld. In October 1936, he reconciled with Paramount and the studio returned his $ 24,000. Raft was offered a part opposite the studio's top male star Gary Cooper in Souls at Sea (1937), directed by Henry Hathaway . Raft originally turned it down as his character was a coward, leaving Paramount and his $ 4,000-per-week contract in November 1936, though

17688-453: Was re-written to be more sympathetic. Souls at Sea was a great hit, and in 1937 Raft was the third-highest-paid star in Hollywood (behind Cooper and Warner Baxter ), earning $ 202,666. In May 1937, Raft reportedly tested for the role of Rhett Butler for the film Gone with the Wind . Paramount announced Raft for Millions for Defense with Ray Milland and Frances Farmer , a film about

17822-460: Was replaced by Lloyd Nolan. "Raft is Hollywood's authority on walk outs," wrote one columnist. He was suspended again, then allowed to do a comedy, The Lady's from Kentucky (1939). In January 1939, he refused to make The Magnificent Fraud and was again replaced by Nolan. Raft's contract was meant to last until February of that year, but Paramount ended it prematurely. Raft received an offer from Warner Bros. to appear opposite James Cagney in

17956-508: Was utilized in IMAX theaters, which have very tall screens, beginning in the early 1970s. Rows of seats are divided by one or more aisles so that there are seldom more than 20 seats in a row. This allows easier access to seating, as the space between rows is very narrow. Depending on the angle of rake of the seats, the aisles have steps. In older theaters, aisle lights were often built into the end seats of each row to help patrons find their way in

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