This Is Cinerama (1952)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Merian C. Cooper
Gunther von Fritsch

Release Date:

30 September 1954 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The Most Imitated Motion Picture Ever Made!

Plot:

A standard screen B&W prologue during which Lowell Thomas shows how, from the dawn of history, mankind...

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Roller Coaster | Cinerama | Water Skiing | Demonstration Movie

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Lowell Thomas

...

Narrator (voice)

Runtime:

Argentina:115 min | USA:116 min (including prologue)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.59 : 1

Sound Mix:

Cinerama 7-Track

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | UK:U | USA:G (1973)

Filming Locations:

Cypress Gardens - 2600 S. Lake Summit Drive, Winter Haven, Florida, USA

Company:

Cinerama Productions Corp.

Trivia:

Some members of the creative team wanted to use the famous roller coaster sequence as the finale. It was producer/co-director Merian C. Cooper who insisted that it appear first (after the prologue) in order to grab the audience from the start.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the otherwise wonderful "America the Beautiful" segment, Yosemite Falls is called Bridal Veil Falls in the narration. Also, the Sierra Nevada mountains are said to be in western California, not eastern, which is their correct location.

Movie Connections:

Featured in I'm King Kong!: The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper (2005)

Southern belles on water! Lowell Thomas in yawn-o-rama!

Such are the extremes of this genuine three-strip widescreen extravaganza. The blather of Thomas, who had a major investment in this production, is only less dull when his face is off- screen. However, his 15 minute intro does create anticipation for the reason audiences went to see this movie--for its 3-D ride on the Coney Island rollercoaster. Slower travelogue segments fill out the first act, which make for some squirming. Welcome (and rare) medium shots show ordinary people often watching the cinerama camera rather than the event the camera is pointed at. It's a touching and high-resolution glimpse of postwar spectators, most of whom have departed from this earth. Intermission is followed by an aural demonstration of the new stereophonic sound recording, and is a classy touch. The two more segments alone are worth the price of admission. First is the drama and spectacle of a water ski show, in high camp style. Women in pastel hoopskirts run, run, run along the banks of Cypress Gardens, only to strip down past their hoops to swimsuits underneath. Voyeuristic viewers also are rewarded by hunky bad boys in motorboats and skiis, one shamelessly showing off his tanline. The water ski show perfectly demonstrates the widescreen format, as well as the exuberance of the 1950s fun generation. There are water casualties--but all girls reappear to run, run back to their hoopskirts and then pose...but for whom? The boys disappear back to their greasy engines, as, apparently cinerama was not meant for boy/girl co mingling. A concluding 23 minute aerial segment rewards with vistas of cities, plains, and mountains--all nicely smog-free. Only the wall - to-wall chorus, singing all verses of America the Beautiful, even pulling it into a minor key, grates on the nerves. Note: this engagement at the Hollywood Cinerama Dome was a rare occurrence, in fact the first time a true cinerama film has ever been projected there, despite its namesake. My audience of oldsters and fellow widescreen queens started many conversations of 70mm prints shown there over the years, and I for one am glad that the theater itself narrowly was saved from the wrecking ball. The cinerama trailer for the upcoming showing of HOW THE WEST WAS WON, with its last vestiges of the Hollywood system, sent everyone out happy.