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squeezed Robe
A squeezed frame from The Robe which used the full 1.33:1 silent film aperture size.
screened Robe

The same frame projected. This picture was photographed from the screen in a preview at 20th Century-Fox. The slight curvature of the Miracle Mirror screen is evident. The projected aspect ratio was 2.66:1.

Photography of the first CinemaScope film in progress at the 20th Century Fox studios. The Director of Photography was Leon Shamroy, ASC. Note the live stereophonic sound recording.

(Left) The Robe director of photography Leon Shamroy, ASC (center) with Sol Halprin, ASC, Fox Camera Dept. head and Earl Sponable, studio research engineer look at one of the Chrétien anamorphoscope lenses used on the production. (Right) Another shot of the crew making the first CinemaScope film, again the three microphone booms show the live recording of the stereophonic soundtrack.

A somewhat exaggerated promotional picture advertising The Robe and CinemaScope. Note how the picture attempts to demonstrate CinemaScope's similarity to both Cinerama and 3-D. And Fox weren't by themselves in trying to equate CinemaScope to 3-D. Reviewers and optical gurus all around the world tried to explain how this new process could be 3-D without projecting two images and wearing glasses. Are you ready for this boys and girls? The explanation was that since the new CinemaScope screens were curved, (a really, really slight curve), each eye saw the image in a slightly different dimension, thus creating the three dimensional effect. Of course that's absolute nonsense but we're just here to tell the history of this stuff. The square made of broken lines is to demonstrate what the old screen looked like. Yeah, sure.

A scene from The Robe, photographed directly from the screen in a 20th Century Fox screening room in 1953. We have added the sepia section in the center of the wide 2.66:1 image to show the standard 1.37:1 image as would be taken if the anamorphic lens was not used. The image on the CinemaScope film was taller as well as being wider than the Academy standard frame.

Newspaper ad announcing the premiere of The Robe in New York City
CinemaScope shaped postcard advertising The Robe. Do you people realize the effort and expense that the Curator has gone to in order to bring you little gems like this postcard? It boggles the imagination. Feel free to email the Curator to find out how to donate money to help the Museum acquire antiquities such as this post card.


Click below to see another large newspaper ad for The Robe and CinemaScope
MGM Supports CinemaScope in a Big Way MGM Supports CinemaScope In A Big Way
Click To View MGM's Publicity Brochure on CinemaScope and Knights of the Round Table

You are on Page 2 of CinemaScope

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 Martin Hart, Curator