It looks like I spoke too soon perhaps, as a few users of that Cinema
Treasures that site ( http://cinematreasures.org/theater/837/ ) have
countered that the Orpheum showed movies until the late 1970s, such
as:
>>>> I regret to say that the photo you have up of the Minneapolis
Orpheum is actually the Minneapolis Orpheum which opened in 1904 and
closed in the 1930s as the 7th Street Theatre. The restored
Minneapolis Orphuem which is open today is a larger house, several
blocks away from where this earlier Orpheum stood. By the way today's
Orpheum played movies until 1978.
My apologies for my first comment if that's the case, as I imagine it
probably is (a local user clarifying a national database that is
attempting to chronicle theaters across the country). I then refer
you to the first part of my first comment: that "The Godfather" was
widely released in the U.S. on March 24, 1972 (see, for example, its
IMDB page and many other sources). If the Orpheum was a first-run
cinema in 1972, it's likely the movie opened there on that date. The
film was based on a very popular book by Mario Puzo so, while people
didn't realize that the film would become a modern classic before it
opened, it also wasn't in any way obscure at its opening. If the
Orpheum, in its downtown location in an era of malls, was insted a
"second-run" cinema, however, showing films at a discounted price well
after the release (similar to the Riverview in Minneapolis today),
then it's possible that "The Godfather" opened at the Orpheum well
after March.
For absolute confirmation (and note that this a comment, not an answer
I expect to be paid for!), I'd suggest, if you're in Minneapolis,
going to a public library and requesting microfilm of the Star or
Tribune from 1972. Start with the editions of late March and look at
the movie ads until you see when the film opened at the Orpheum. In
this way, you can also keep going until you see that it no longer
played there, if you need an end date. |