Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Film presentation restored at the Count Basie Theatre

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 10-06-2003, 10:33 PM:

I am happy to report on a project I have been involved with for the past year. Film presentation has been restored at the Count Basie Theatre. The CBT is a 1400 seat venue that was built in 1926 in downtown Red Bank, NJ. Originally known as Walter Reade's Carlton, it was designed by the noted theatre architect Thomas W. Lamb, and accommodated both stage and motion picture presentations. Currently, the theatre is operated by the Count Basie Theatre, Inc., an independent non-profit corporation that operates the theatre for the benefit of the community. Until recently, only live performances occupied the Basie schedule.

Several members of the Board of Directors, and the theatre CEO, Numa Saisselin, were desirous of returning 35MM films to the Basie. A film committee was formed, and a group of dedicated volunteers set about the task of making it a reality.

That reality came to pass this past weekend as the CBT hosted the third Red Bank International Film Festival, and four of the films screened were in 35MM.

The rejuvenated Count Basie Theatre equipment design is the work of Walt Rauffer of Middletown, NJ. Walt is the Manager of Technical Operations At Sesame Workshop Inc. in New York City. Walt, a SEMPTE member, spent countless hours doing technical sound analysis of the hall and installed all of the sound equipment. The Basie provided quite a challange to Walt, as it is a domed theatre with many peculiar sound patterns throughout.

The booth features two Simplex XL's circa 1955, with original Peerless Magnarcs. Dolby penthouses have been added, and Kelmar
reverse scan readers have been installed in the old RCA soundheads. Lenses are IESCO The sound rack consists of a Dolby CP650 processor with a DCM-3 monitor, 2 QSC DCA 1622 amplifiers, 5 QSC DCA 3022's, and 2 QSC DCA 1842 4 channel amplifiers.

Behind the new Hurley microperf screen are 3 JBL 4632-T speakers, which are tri-amped, and 2 JBL 4642A subwoffers. There are 20 JBL 8340A surround speakers.

Special thanks go to Dolby Laboratories, Inc., and Tom Kodros, Mastering and Presentation Engineer and Special Projects Coordinator from the New York office. Tom spent hours on the sound set-up with Walt Rauffer.

Also, thanks go to Walt's wife, Kathy Rauffer, who spent many hours working alongside Walt, Rusty Young, of the Board of Directors, who had the vision and forsight to move this project forward and raise the funds, Mike Jacoby, Basie Technical Director and his stage crew for pulling cables, mounting speakers, and hanging the screen and frame, Steve Garfinkle of Kodak, for his hours of volunteer help, Vantony Jenkins, the General Manager of the Basie, Numa Sasselin, Chief Executive Officer, and the other volunteers who helped with the project.

The Basie is still a work in progress. Masking needs to be installed, and some sound work remains. However, the major tasks are behind us.

The Count Basie Theatre plans to utilize this great equipment for future festivals, premiers, and benefits while continuing it's commitment to live theatre and concerts, proving that film can survive and prosper in this grand old venue.

I have said several times on this forum that I just wanted to run changeovers and carbon arcs one more time before I died. Now my wish has been granted. I assisted with the projection restoration and ran the booth for the Red Bank International Film Festival. [Smile]

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-06-2003, 11:08 PM:

VERY COOL!!! Congratulations to you and everyone involved.

Be sure to send in pictures for the site. [Smile]

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 10-07-2003, 12:18 AM:

Way to go, John!

Posted by John Anastasio (Member # 607) on 10-07-2003, 07:01 AM:

I used to go to the Carlton when I lived in Monmouth county and I remember it fondly from my high school days. I appeared on the stage there as an actor many years later as well [thumbsup]

. I am SOooooo glad you're doing films there, because they're still goofing around with things up at the Loews in Jersey City and haven't gotten their act together at all. Another fine old theater that's an old Walter Reade house is the Paramount, which still exists over in Long Branch. It's either the same size or slightly larger and it's only being used as a warehouse. What a shame. Good luck with the "Count". I hope you'll keep us all informed of future film events there! [thumbsup]

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 10-07-2003, 10:53 AM:

Sounds like an interesting place John, where exactly is it, and how far from the bits of NJ that I know (Jersey City/Hoboken)? Is there a resonable public transport service there? Do you have any contact details? Maybe I can get to see the place next time I come over, which will probably be next spring.

Other John, (Anastasio) I haven't heard much from the Loew's Jersey recently, the last time I was there the ongan console was in position on the lift, but was incomplete at that time. That was in April. Apart from that, not much seemed to have been done since the previous October. They are running film again this year, they have an event advertised for this coming weekend, but I don't know who is programming or operating there now. They made a lot of progress in the early days, but things seem to have slowed down a lot since they got the place open. I hope they are able to keep the place going, they were getting some good houses last year, I was there for the Frankenstein weekend, and I think they had about 700 on the Saturday. Getting the organ in use would be a good next step.

Where is Trenton? Are there trains there from either Hoboken Terminal or Newark Penn? How is the new Diesel powered light rail thing to Camden (I think) coming along? According to NJ Transit it was due to open towards the end of this year, but I haven't heard anything about it recently.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 10-07-2003, 05:49 PM:

A quick correction to my post, as pointed out to me by Numa Sasselin, the CEO of the Basie. Thomas Lamb was not the original architect. Early reports in the Red Bank Register in 1925 included his name, and apparently he was invited to the opening on November 11, 1926 (again, according to the Register) but the architect was William E. Lehman of Newark. Original blueprints survive and are in the posession of the theatre.

Steven- Red Bank is located in Monmouth County in central New Jersey. You can take public transportation (NJ Transit) from Hoboken or Jersey City to link up with the North Jersey Shore Line. The railroad station is only three blocks from the theatre, both of which are located on Monmouth Street. Please let me know when you will be over in the spring. I would be happy to give you a tour. In fact, there is an open invitation to all Filmtechers.

For more information on the Basie, here's a link:

www.countbasietheatre.org

I will post future events as they come up.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 10-08-2003, 12:20 AM:

43' wide, 21' high proscenium; that's a good-sized stage for 1400 seats. I see new seats in the pictures, so the floor must have been re-spaced as well. Was it about 1800 seats originally?

It's interesting how the theater folks have fallen into calling the front rows of the balcony "the loge". A loge is under the balcony, but a lot of PAC's say that now because it's exotic-sounding.

How big is the screen? I see it's not on the line set schedule, do they strike it & roll it up when not in use along with disassembling the frame?

Pin rail on stage left? That's rare. Pin rail AND dressing rooms on stage left? That's fun!

When were films last regularly shown at the theatre?

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 10-08-2003, 11:26 AM:

I do not know the seat numbers of the original house, but I do know they were somewhat bigger than currently. In a boneheaded move by the previous owners, the Monmouth Arts Council, the balcony was reconfigured to make more legroom between rows. That made the steps uneven and also resulted in a loss of seats. Incidently, those seats were purchased second hand and all are slated to be torn out next year and new seats installed.

The Hurley mini perf screen measures 17'6"x40'. The screen frame measures 18'3"x41' and is set up to fly with hooks.

We ran with top masking only for the festival. We will be fine tuning the images and installing movable masking shortly. I anticipate a scope picture with a width of 38 feet. We need to properly cut our plates, so at this time I cannot give you exact screen measurements. One of the four films shown at the festival, Manhood, was in scope. However, we used 140mm backup lenses and this provided us with a slightly smaller image than we will end up with once we swap the lenses and get the correct length.

The theatre last showed film on a regular basis around 1980, when it was a part of the now defunct Music Makers chain. Subsequently, the theater was sold to the Monmouth Arts Council and the screen went dark. It languished for many years. Walt Rauffer, who did the redesign and installation of the sound equipment, last ran film there in the late 90's, showing a couple of film series using the old Altec stage speaker and the mono sound system. By that time, all the side curtains had been removed, so Walt had a devil of a time with sound reverberation. At that time there was friction between those on the Monmouth Arts Council who wanted to renew film and those who favored live performance only. Eventually, the Monmouth Arts Council sold the theatre to Count Basie Theatre, Inc.

The current Board of Directors and the CEO, Numa Sasselin, have done a super job with bookings and running the theatre. They recognize the need for improvements and want to provide film programs as well as live performances. Booking dates have increased dramatically under their tenure I predict that the Basie, which is already an established asset in the community, will be a top flight facility in the not too distant future.

It will never be a first run theatre again, but will provide quality and varried entertainment.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-08-2003, 07:51 PM:

Congratualtions from Brooklyn! Count on a few of us coming for the tour.

Will this be a union house or can you avoid that complication?

Frank

Posted by John Anastasio (Member # 607) on 10-09-2003, 06:50 AM:

TO answer your question about transportation, Steven...Trenton is on the main line or "Northeast Corridor" as they call it now in Amtrak that runs between Boston and Washington. It's a $7 trip on NJ Transit that takes 50 minutes from Penn Station in NYC. It's also a Metroliner stop if you're looking for real spped and comfort. The city doesn't have a single movie theatre, but Mercer County (which is mostly Trenton) has over 60 active screens, all within a ten mile radius. The diesel line which runs from here to Camden is almost finished and should be opening within the next few weeks. They're just finishing up the details on a few grade crossings.

Posted by Walt Rauffer (Member # 1942) on 10-09-2003, 07:32 AM:

Thanks John and Thanks to the Count Basie Film Committee for giving me the opportunity to further complete a project that I started in 1994.

Posted by Darren Briggs (Member # 1071) on 10-09-2003, 07:48 AM:

Come to York in the U.K. and see 70mm presentation at its best, lots of shows to choose from including Earthquake in SENSURROUND.
See in70mm.com for listings

Darren

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 10-09-2003, 11:29 AM:

There are decent 70mm prints of EARTHQUAKE?!! Newly struck?

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 10-09-2003, 07:07 PM:

quote:
Another fine old theater that's an old Walter Reade house is the Paramount, which still exists over in Long Branch.

The Paramount is actually in Asbury Park. Last year Warner Bros. wanted to premiere City by the Sea at that theater but the equipment wasn't in the best of shape.

Stephen: Red Bank and Asbury Park are on the North Jersey Coast Line of NJ Transit. The Coast Line runs from New York Penn Station and Newark Penn Station; if you're coming from Jersey City or Hoboken you'll have to take a PATH train first.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 10-09-2003, 08:51 PM:

Actually, John is correct about there being a Paramount in Long Branch. It was located on Broadway, and it's design was quite similar to that of the Count Basie Theatre. Walter Reade owned both the Paramount in Long Branch and leased the Paramount in Asbury Park from the city, as the theatre there is part of the Convention Hall complex.

I worked summers at the Paramount in Asbury Park back in the early 70's. I don't think it has run film since the late 70's. It was equipped with XL's and Ashcraft carbon arcs, and had magnetic sound heads, which were installed for the Sound Of Music run. Later I operated those heads when they booked Patton.

I heard that the old equipment was taken out, but I can't confirm that. The theatre is being used for occasional concerts and opera.

Posted by John Anastasio (Member # 607) on 10-09-2003, 09:57 PM:

The Long Branch Paramount was originally built in 1919 and named the Broadway theater. As far as I know, everything is still in there but the seats, including a beautiful Moeller 3/16 theater organ. (The twin of that instrument was in the Lincoln theater in Trenton, which was torn down to make a new road about thirty years ago. It's now installed in the Patriots Theatre at the War Memorial here in Trenton.) Across the street was the Strand, a smaller house with only around 800 seats. It was later renamed the Baronet. It still had Simplex Standards with Ashcraft lamphouses as I remember. They were still using the original Western Electric sound rack into the 1960s . The father of one of my high school buddies was the projectionist at the Baronet and sitting up in the booth with him was what got me interested in film. Other theaters in Asbury Park in addition to the Paramount in Convention Hall were the Mayfair, the St.James and the Strand. The Mayfair and St. James were torn down in the 1970s and the Strand was a porno house up until recently. I believe it is now showing art films. The St. James was equipped for 70mm and I remember seeing "The Longest Day" there. One of the only pieces of the Mayfair which still exists is currently sitting on my front porch. I don't know who the architects were, but those theaters were gorgeous.

Posted by Darren Briggs (Member # 1071) on 10-10-2003, 09:19 AM:

No the earthquake print is an original print from 1974, very good condition, there is a very slight fading that shows up on the blacks, but otherwise is in A1 condition.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 10-10-2003, 11:11 AM:

quote:
No the earthquake print is an original print from 1974, very good condition, there is a very slight fading that shows up on the blacks, but otherwise is in A1 condition

Sounds like they stored that print cool and dry, as recommended.

The often hot and humid conditions in old film exchanges were unkind to prints, especially those made before the early 1980's.