Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1955)

TODD -AO AT THE RIVOLI In giving the public its first experience of the Todd-AO system and of “Oklahoma” on the screen, New York’s Rivoli theatre will be showing off on its own. For almost four decades its facade has maintained a classic distinction in the architectural hodge-podge that is Broadway. This stays, but from entrance to screen the Rivoli is new, made new in a modern fashion, at a cost, it is stated, of $350,000. The interior has been stripped of its elaborate ornamentation. In its place are sleek surfaces, with new plastering painted predominantly in browns and grey, a color scheme of functional significance in the auditorium, for it provides a neutral setting for the screen performance. The screen curtain folds into drapery of cocoa brown. This curtain was made especially for the “Oklahoma” engagement (it cost $12,000, an expense deemed justified by anticipation of a run for the Rodgers & Hammerstein production of at least two years). Sketches by Doris Lee, famed artist, enliven the curtain, which was made by Novelty Scenic Studios, New York, with painting of sketches by and under supervision of Philip Kessler. Track and control equipment is by R. L. Grosh & Sons, Hollywood. Ornamental luminaries have given way to downlighting. For lighting the curtain before the performance and during intermission, Klieg spots are installed. The large foyer spaces and aisles are newly carpeted in Leedom Wilton of modern abstract design. The auditorium has been entirely reseated with American “Bodiform” chairs having padded backs and mohair upholstering. The Rivoli now seats about 1600. Several hundred seats were lost in reseating, partly from installation of a downstairs projection booth which required cutting into the loge, partly from use of wider chairs than formerly were installed, and partly from location of the first row farther back. The sides of the Todd-AO screen extend out on the apron of the stage. The downstairs booth has been installed for purposes of demonstration by Todd-AO. The regular booth is equipped for public presentation of “Oklahoma,” with three Todd-AO projectors. The lower has two projectors. Of hollow tile and concrete construction, it has an inside width of 30 feet and a depth of 12 feet. With a projection angle of only a few degrees, while projection from the regular booth is at an angle of 22 degrees, the lower booth can be used to demonstrate that the Todd-AO system is adapted to a full range of projection angles encountered in theatres. Light sources for the projection of “Oklahoma” at the Rivoli on a screen having a linear width of a few feet more than 50, and a height of about 26 feet, are McAuley “Peerless HyCandeseent” lamps, equipped with Huff “Hydro Positive” carbon coolers. The surround speaker installation at the Rivoli consists in nineteen reproducers. Fifteen of them are distributed throughout the walls and ceiling ahead of the balcony. These are Altec 604-C duplex horn systems with high and low-frequency units. In the balcony area are four Altec A-7 two-way horns. Five Altec A-2X horn systems are behind the screen. the Todd-AO wide-film process. These new carbon coolers by Huff are shorter in length, heavier in construction, have improved water circulation and are in general designed for the higher amperages necessary for wide-screen projection. The manufacturer, the Huff Manufacturing Company, Los Angeles, pioneers in the field of water cooling equipment for carbon arc lamps, thus describes features of the equipment: “The replaceable nozzle fully protects the cooler body from the intense heat rays emanating from the arc crater. The cooler feeds the current to the positive carbon through cooled brush contacts. The carbon brush contacts are plated with a special non-conductive coating, which is baked on to a porcelain hardened finish. This coating eliminates condensation, prevents corrosion, and feeds all of the current directly to the carbon, making unnecessary the high voltages recommended by carbon manufacturers. “The Huff cooler, designed for use with condenser lens arc lamps, has an adjustable tail Hame stabilizer. This insures a steady tail flame and therefore, a sharper focus picture.” Equipment tor Todd-AO Recording SOUND RECORDING of the production “Oklahoma,” at MGM studios, was done entirely on equipment furnished by Westrex. Almost every item of equipment involved in this undertaking was especially designed by Westrex for the ToddAO system. Two six-channel stereophonic production recording systems were supplied for use both on location and on the stages at MGM. These systems consisted of mixer input facilities capable of accommodating six stereophonic microphone inputs, a sixchannel RA-1547 recorder and associated power supply equipment. Both of these systems were mounted in van type mobile units containing their own power supplies and were therefore self-sufficient units on locations where commercial power was not available. A special stage at MGM was completely eqiupped to do the complex re-recording work necessary for this musical production. The installation required a special console capable of accepting 96 separate input circuits. Arrangements were made so that circuits could be handled separately, or grouped under controls, so that each separate film containing six magnetic sound tracks in a stereophonic relation could be controlled with one attenuator. The main console is over 20 feet long and arranged to accommodate a five-man crew. All necessary equalizers, auxiliary volume indicators and associated equipment are included in the main console. Associated with the console is an amplifier and powder supply cabinet which also contains the large jack bay necessary for the proper inter-connection of all the circuits involved. To reproduce the music, dialogue, and sound effects tracks associated with the rerecording operation, Westrex furnished twelve RA-1551 Type six-track stereophonic reproducing machines. Two additional RA-1547 six-track stereophonic recording machines were furnished as a part of the re-recording installation. These recorders were also used in the scoring operation. Four racks of special power supply equipment were required to power the rerecording machine room. For monitoring the re-recording operation, Westrex furnished five special horn ( Continued on page 30) 20 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, OCTOBER 8, 1955