3D News

More news about Robot Monster and other projects in this interview! We have some big things coming that everyone on the 3D Film Archive team is very excited about! Definitely something you won’t want to miss, so come give it a watch!

Coming Soon on 3-D Blu-ray!
Brand New HD Master – From 4K Scans of the 35mm Camera Original YCM Technicolor Negatives!
3-D Restoration by 3-D Film Archive!
Money from Home (1953) Starring Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Marjie Millar, Pat Crowley & Robert Strauss – Shot by Daniel L. Fapp (The Great Escape) – Directed by George Marshall (The Ghost Breakers, Scared Stiff).

Click each image for your 3D news!

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This iconic image was taken seventy-one years ago

This iconic image was taken seventy-one years ago at this precise moment: BWANA DEVIL world premiere, 8:30 PM in Hollywood and Los Angeles on November 26, 1952!

Seventy-one years ago, at 8:30 on the evening of N

Seventy-one years ago, at 8:30 on the evening of November 26, 1952, Arch Oboler’s groundbreaking 3-D feature BWANA DEVIL had its history making world premiere at two Paramount Theatres in Los Angeles and Hollywood.

3-D Film Archive is currently restoring this landmark stereoscopic motion picture from 4K scans of the original left/right 35mm Ansco Color camera negatives. It will truly look better than ever before.

Watch for this essential 3-D Blu-ray release in 2024 from Kino Lorber!

Seventy years ago on November 26, 1953, the second

Seventy years ago on November 26, 1953, the second and final 3-D cartoon from Walt Disney had its first known playdate at the 1,770 seat Adams Theatre in Detroit, MI.

The cartoon had been available for bookings since late October 1953, and had a general release date of November 13, 1953, but bookings were limited as 3-D movies had fallen out of favor. It was distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and most exhibitors presented the cartoon as an extra three-dimensional attraction with DEVIL’S CANYON.

The cartoon has been fully restored and had a limited 3-D Blu-ray release on a promotional Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment 3-D Showcase Disc in 2010.

Seventy years ago on November 24, 1953, two import

Seventy years ago on November 24, 1953, two important and prestigious 3-D films had gala world premieres: HONDO opened at the 2,081 seat Majestic Theatre in Houston, TX and CEASE FIRE opened at the 2,600 seat Criterion Theatre in New York City.

Both films are significant stereoscopic productions and these two detailed articles on our former website are essential reading:

https://web.archive.org/web/20220117004613/http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/cease-fire

https://web.archive.org/web/20220117002833/http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/home/hondo-3-d-release

3-D Film Archive has restored CEASE FIRE. The 2017 Kino Lorber 3-D Blu-ray is now out of print as the licensing period has expired. Secure a copy while you still can! https://www.amazon.com/Cease-Fire-Roy-Thompson-Jr/dp/B075DXZS8V

HONDO has been beautifully restored by the John Wayne Estate and a 3-D DCP is currently available for theatrical booking. Unfortunately, the Blu-ray that is available at this time is flat and there are no plans currently for a 3-D Blu-ray release.

Seventy years ago, a long-forgotten 3-D feature hi

Seventy years ago, a long-forgotten 3-D feature hit an ad hoc distribution circuit of churches and faith-based organizations across the United States and Canada. Premiering November 6, 1953, at Calvary Baptist Church in New York City, THE BURNING ANSWER told the story of a young college instructor who goes to France to pursue his doctorate. There, he, and his wife discover that opera singer Jean DuBois, presumably an old friend, has fallen under the sway of political forces contrary to their spiritual ideals—Communism. Publicity blurbs promised audiences that “the fast-moving action involves the couple in mystery, arson, and murder before they finally discover what has become of Monsieur DuBois.”

Floyd A. Ramsdell had been involved with 3-D motion pictures for almost 20 years when his Worcester Film Corporation supplied its proprietary system (billed here as “Cinemagic 3-D”) to the producers of THE BURNING ANSWER. Back in 1948, Ramsdell and his colleague, Walter Nichols, had assembled two “L-configuration” 3-D camera units. The lenses and film magazines came from Eastman Kodak, but the 16-millimeter camera bodies and drive mechanisms were built from scratch under Ramsdell’s direct supervision, to meet his exacting standards of precision and accuracy. Ramsdell was a firm believer in conservative 3-D with a carefully limited parallax gamut. But some of Ramsdell’s 3-D instructional films drew raves from doctors, professors, and other specialty audiences who saw them. THE BURNING ANSWER, filmed in color, was a two-strip film and its exhibition probably involved the use of 16mm dual-projector units engineered by Ramsdell and Nichols. While we can only guess whether the film offered any off-the-screen "gimmick" effects—and knowing Ramsdell, the likely answer is no—we can all but promise no one ever complained of eyestrain watching it.

We have not seen THE BURNING ANSWER for ourselves, and we have not yet encountered anyone alive who has. But we are on the hunt. If and when the 3-D Film Archive finds a surviving copy, all of us will have our opportunity to learn THE BURNING ANSWER.

Mike Ballew

https://3dfilmarchive.com/close-enough-to-touch-3-d-comes-to-hollywood

Seventy years ago on November 10, 1953, Columbia P

Seventy years ago on November 10, 1953, Columbia Pictures fifth 3-D feature THE NEBRASKAN had its gala world premiere at the 1,081 seat State Theatre in Omaha, NE.

The film was available to exhibitors in both 2-D or 3-D versions and bookings were mixed throughout the country. For example, New York and San Francisco opened it in 3-D while Chicago and Los Angeles played it flat.

The December 18, 1953, engagement in San Francisco is noteworthy for the violent reaction it provoked from one agitated moviegoer. See the clipping in this post for all the gory details.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has done archival preservation from the original left/right 35mm Eastman color camera negatives. Unfortunately, they have not yet created a restored digital 3-D master which would allow both 3-D Blu-ray release and DCP availability for theatrical bookings.

Let's hope that situation changes very soon so that we can once again enjoy "The Last Savage Raid of the Mighty Sioux” in Perfected 3-D - as it was meant to be seen!

It's not every day that you accidentally discover

It's not every day that you accidentally discover a completely unknown and undocumented Golden Age 3-D title. Well, that's exactly what happened today!

As of now, this film is not known to survive but standby. The search is on and you will be hearing more about this lost film in the very near future...

Our 3-D restoration of TAZA, SON OF COCHISE will p

Our 3-D restoration of TAZA, SON OF COCHISE will premiere at New York's iconic Film Forum on Sunday, November 5. Following the second show, Foster Hirsch and Bob Furmanek will discuss the painstaking restoration of this widescreen stereoscopic gem from Douglas Sirk and Russell Metty. Don't miss it! https://filmforum.org/events/event/taza-son-of-cochise-qa-november-5

Seventy years ago on October 22, 1953, Universal-I

Seventy years ago on October 22, 1953, Universal-International’s second 3-D short CARNIVAL IN APRIL had its first known playdate at the Twin Drive-In Theatres in Cincinnati, OH. This drive-in was unique with two separate screens mounted back-to-back on a common tower that were operated as two individual outdoor theatres.

CARNIVAL IN APRIL was produced as a companion short for THE GLASS WEB and all known playdates in 3-D accompanied this feature. The short was also available for flat bookings and most theatres played that version.

This entertaining three-dimensional musical short is well-staged for depth and features Carlos Molina and his Orchestra with popular Columbia Records singing star Toni Arden. The general release date for the short was November 12, 1953.

The left/right 35mm negatives exist but it has not yet been restored. Due to the extensive use of music, a 3-D Blu-ray is not possible (we have tried) as clearance costs would be prohibitive.

Seventy years ago on October 28, 1953, MGM’s sec

Seventy years ago on October 28, 1953, MGM’s second 3-D feature KISS ME KATE began test engagements in 3-D, 1.75:1 widescreen and three-channel stereophonic sound at the Majestic Theatre in Dallas, TX and the State Theatre in Syracuse, NY. The flat version opened at the Loew’s in Rochester, NY.

Other test engagements opened the following day in three more cities. The 3-D version performed 40% better at the box office and gave stereoscopic movies a much-needed shot in the arm.

At the time, the average print run for a flat movie was 200. Variety reported on November 11, 1953: “Metro has ordered 300 3-D prints to fill bookings for Thanksgiving Day.”

In their November issue, International Projectionist reported that a major circuit had purchased 1,000,000 pairs of the newly-designed and improved Polaroid glasses for their bookings of KATE.

On November 4, Hollywood Reporter wrote, "This almost two-for-one business in favor of goggle-wearing ticket buyers indicates that 3-D is not dead, not dying, nor is it even sick."

Some of the key openings for KATE in 3-D were Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Cincinnati, Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, Columbus, Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, St. Louis, Portland, Cleveland and many more. The one exception for an important 3-D engagement was initially New York City. It played flat at Radio City Music Hall from November 5 through December 2, 1953. For years, the common belief is the flat opening was due to the “shoddy reputation” of 3-D movies. In reality, after extensive testing with a 3-D print of ARENA, their technical staff determined that too many side orchestra seats would not be usable with 3-D projection.

There were 137 bookings by mid-December and 93 were in 3-D. MGM reported to Variety on December 16,1953 that it was doing 11.9% better business in 3-D. "Easterners, according to Metro, are those most 3-Delighted, with playdates in that area putting the depth version 19% ahead."

KISS ME KATE has been restored and is currently available on 3-D Blu-ray from the Warner Archive.

Seventy years ago on October 23, 1953, AMERICAN BE

Seventy years ago on October 23, 1953, AMERICAN BEAUTIES and PERSIAN SLAVE MARKET - the third and fourth 3-D shorts from Broadway Roadshow Productions - had their first known playdate at the 800 seat Portola Theatre in San Francisco, CA.

These burlesque shorts were presented in “Glorious Multi-Color” anaglyphic 3-D by Oakland and San Francisco burlesque theater magnate, Harry A. Farros. He owned the Portola Theatre.

It’s highly likely that while working with George Weiss at Screen Classics, Edward D. Wood Jr wrote the script for these 3-D films. While not listed on his resume, these were photographed on the same day as CLEOPATRA FOLLIES. You can find more information on that lost Ed Wood film in the August 8 post on this page.

3-D Film Archive has recently secured faded but pristine 35mm anaglyphic prints of these two shorts and we will eventually be restoring them for a future 3-D Blu-ray release!

Seventy years ago on October 22, 1953, Universal-I

Seventy years ago on October 22, 1953, Universal-International’s third 3-D release THE GLASS WEB had its first known playdate at the 1,550 seat Town Theatre in Baltimore, MD. Despite excellent stereoscopic cinematography, it opened as a flat movie.

In late September 1953, Universal had announced that prints would be available to theatres simultaneously for either flat or 3-D exhibition. Due to increasing apathy for 3-D product, most exhibitors opted to show it flat, including important November 11 openings in New York, December 18 in Chicago, and December 30 in Los Angeles.

The complete 35mm left/right elements exist and Kino Lorber has secured the license. 3-D Film Archive will be restoring Jack Arnold's superb widescreen feature for 3-D Blu-ray release in 2024!

In mid-July 1953, encouraged by the success of his

In mid-July 1953, encouraged by the success of his first 3-D release SIDE STREETS OF HOLLYWOOD (see our May 26 post for more info) Dan Sonney and producer Willis Kent recruited Jack Mann and his stock company of burlesque performers. They included George “Beetlepuss” Lewis, Charlie Crafts, Wilma Wescot, Dorothy Burke, Corky Marshall and dancers Mickey Harris and Syra aka Miss Switzerland. Five three-dimensional shorts were filmed on the stage of the New Follies Theatre in Los Angeles: A COCKTAIL AT SLOPPY JOE’S, IN YOUR HAT, I’LL SELL MY SHIRT, SKID ROW HOLDUP and A SWISS FAN DANCE.

Confined to two sets, these vaudeville-style films were photographed by veteran cinematographer William C. Thompson. An unknown camera rig was used with an enormously high interaxial (estimated at 3-4" IA by Greg Kintz) and even worse, the left/right camera shutters were not interlocked. As a result, many of the segments are virtually unwatchable in 3-D with VERY severe phasing issues.

On top of that technical disaster, the anaglyphic shorts went into release just as 3-D movies began to decline at the box-office. The only confirmed booking of I’LL SELL MY SHIRT and IN YOUR HAT (with LOVE FOR SALE, originally released on June 22, 1953) began seventy years ago on October 19 – 21,1953 at the E-I Drive-In Theatre in Mattoon, Illinois.

Due to lack of interest in the shorts as 3-D properties, Sonny and Kent utilized the right-side negatives and assembled the flat feature CAN-CAN FOLLIES, released to theatres in January 1954.

3-D Film Archive has restored the second half of I’LL SELL MY SHIRT and it is available on our 3-D RARITIES Blu-ray release from Flicker Alley. https://3dfilmarchive.com/available-film-restorations/

Seventy years ago on October 18, 1953, Paramount’s third 3-D release FLIGHT TO TANGIER had its world premiere at the 3.024 seat Paramount Theatre in Buffalo, NY.

Five days earlier on October 13, Paramount had announced that prints would be available to exhibitors simultaneously for either flat or 3-D exhibition. Due to increasing apathy for 3-D product, most theatres opted to show it flat, including important November 25 openings in New York, Los Angeles and November 27 in Chicago.

FLIGHT TO TANGIER was photographed for 1.66:1 widescreen presentation with the massive Technicolor Dynoptic camera. There were six rolls of red, green and blue 35mm negative going through the cameras for each take. The only other feature photographed with this complex rig was MONEY FROM HOME, which we are currently restoring for 3-D Blu-ray release through Kino Lorber in 2024.

The complete 35mm left/right elements exist for this feature. There are no immediate plans for restoration but we will keep trying to work with Paramount to preserve this rare 3-D Technicolor Action Sensation!

Seventy years ago on October 16, 1953, RKO Radio’s second 3-D short MOTOR RHYTHM had its first known playdate at the 550 seat Time Theatre in Mattoon, IL. While listed for a September 18 release in the trades, this is the first known playdate.

This “Miracle of Music and Animation” was originally released in 1940 as NEW DIMENSIONS at the New York World’s Fair. Shot stop-motion, full-scale and in color, stereoscopic pioneer John A. Norling wrote in Business Screen Magazine; “Our problem was to simulate the manufacture of a Plymouth Sedan by having each part travel to its proper place in the car without visible support.” Using an overhead crane built especially for the short, the solution to hiding the wires was an old animation trick: paint the piano wires holding the parts up the corresponding background color just before each take. Using Norling’s own camera rig, red, green, and blue sequential animation separations were taken through color filters mounted on the front of each lens.

For an 890-foot short, the picture took nine weeks to photograph, with Norling and his crew eking out nine feet of film a day at best. Opening for the May 1940 season of the fair, NEW DIMENSIONS was enormously popular. Chrysler’s 339-seat theater was often filled to capacity, filling the peripheral vision of spectators with its 60x40-foot screen. By October 1940, an estimated 4.5 million people had seen the exhibit.

So popular was the film that it enjoyed a brief tour throughout the country after its run at the World’s Fair. In 1953, RKO Radio Pictures picked it up for theatrical distribution and it was often shown with DEVIL’S CANYON.

3-D Film Archive restored this landmark 3-D short in 2015 from the only surviving 35mm Technicolor prints which were rapidly deteriorating and severely shrunken with advanced vinegar syndrome. It was preserved in the nick of time and is currently available on our first 3-D RARITIES Blu-ray release from Flicker Alley. https://3dfilmarchive.com/available-film-restorations/

Seventy years ago on October 14, 1953, RKO’s thi

Seventy years ago on October 14, 1953, RKO’s third 3-D feature LOUISIANA TERRITORY had its “premiere showing” at the 3,285 seat Loew’s State Theatre in New Orleans, LA. There had been a preview engagement beginning October 7, 1953, at the 1,600 seat Strand Theatre in Shreveport, LA.

Photographed by expert stereographer John A. Norling in February 1953, it is an excellent three-dimensional time capsule of the mid-century preparations and celebration of Mardi Gras.

To the best of our knowledge, Warner Bros has done archival preservation from the original 35mm left/right Pathe Color elements. Unfortunately, they have not yet created a restored digital 3-D master which would allow both 3-D Blu-ray release and DCP availability for theatrical bookings.

Let's hope that changes very soon so that we can once again enjoy this essential 3-D travelogue as it was meant to be seen!

Seventy years ago this week, FLIGHT TO TANGIER – i

Seventy years ago this week, FLIGHT TO TANGIER - in new, perfected Dynoptic 3D - was coming soon from Paramount!

Seventy years ago on October 8, 1953, Columbia’s

Seventy years ago on October 8, 1953, Columbia’s fourth 3-D feature GUN FURY had its first known playdate at the 2,800 seat Allen Theatre in Cleveland, OH. It opened in 3-D in Los Angeles on October 28, 1953.

Caught in the decline of stereoscopic movies, it opened flat in most engagements, including February 24, 1954, openings in New York at the Brooklyn Paramount and Chicago at the Roosevelt Theatre.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has done archival preservation from the original left/right 35mm Eastman color camera negatives. GUN FURY was released on 3-D Blu-ray by Twilight Time in 2017 and it is now out of print.

Tonight's the Big Night! THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO S

Tonight's the Big Night! THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW premiered on this date seventy-one years ago over KTTV in Los Angeles. The first show broadcast on October 7, 1952 was episode #12, Haunted House. The syndicated show would begin its run over the next several months in major markets across the country. The episodes were not broadcast in production order so the premiere dates that you see assigned to specific episodes online are not accurate.

As we are just a few days away from getting the restored masters of Season Two to our authoring facility in California, now's a great time to experience the joy of our beautifully restored Season One, available exclusively on Blu-ray and DVD from ClassicFlix! https://3dfilmarchive.com/available-film-restorations/

There is a great deal of mystery about the 3-D pro

There is a great deal of mystery about the 3-D production of THE TELL TALE HEART. Some sources claim that UPA President Stephen Bosustow suggested the 3-D treatment and it was part of the project from day one. Lee Bosustow has said that his father went to England to research stereo animation techniques, possibly with John Halas and Joy Batchelor, producers of the 1952 3-D cartoon THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT. Others claim the cartoon was nearly finished in May 1953 when the decision was made to adapt the animation to 3-D.

Screenwriter Bill Scott was interviewed in 1982 by Jim Korkis. “I worked with Fred Gable on that one. It was my job to adapt the Edgar Allan Poe story. I’d pick a phrase here and there and write Poe-like stuff to bridge the gaps. Ted Parmelee (an animation director who later worked for Jay Ward) and (designer) Paul Julian really did a superb job. Paul was into this Daliesque thing.” When asked about 3-D, he replied, “We first shot it in 3-D; however, it was never released in this format.”

In When Magoo Flew; The Rise and Fall of Animation Studio UPA, author Adam Abraham quotes designer and color artist Paul Julian about painting more backgrounds. “I stayed up all night on a couple of occasions working out positive parallaxes.”

According to reports, UPA ran the finished film for employees and their families at their Burbank screening room and the comments from those in attendance were incredibly positive.

The world premiere (as a bonus short with FROM HERE TO ETERNITY) was on September 30, 1953, at the RKO Pantages and Hillstreet Theatres in Los Angeles.

Tee Bosustow recalled in 2006, “I saw it in 3-D myself, as a teenager, and have my dad on tape, in an interview he did on KCET saying that it was originally in 3-D, and he even talks about how he went to England to learn more about the technical end of it. The problem is that no one has been able to find the original 3-D masters.”

Grover Crisp, Executive Vice President of Asset Management, Film Restoration & Digital Mastering at Sony Pictures has done a thorough investigation of the 35mm elements. There is no designation for either left or right on the surviving material.

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