MOVIES TO JUMP OFF SCREEN DURING ROXY FILM FESTIVAL by Michael Grossberg

MOVIES TO JUMP OFF SCREEN DURING ROXY FILM FESTIVAL

Columbus Dispatch, The (OH) - December 12, 1986

Author: Michael Grossberg, Dispatch Film Critic

House of Wax, a special-effects-enhanced 3-D horror movie, was playing at the Roxy Theatre when Bob Milbury first began working there as a doorman.

Earlier this year, Milbury became the Roxy's manager. And now the eclectic art theater is presenting a full-blown 3-D movie festival - the first time the Roxy has shown a 3-D film since 1971.

"It was popular back then," Milbury said. "We're hoping it will be again. 3-D movies haven't played in such a long time in Columbus that it's a gamble."

Maybe not. Dial M for Murder, to be screened Monday through Thursday, is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most popular suspense thrillers. Starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland, the 1953 film was shot in 3-D, but not shown that way until its re-release in 1980. At that time, Village Voice critic Andrew Sarris described Dial M for Murder as an "extraordinary event" and the first "must-see" movie of the year.

Other movies in the Roxy's 3-D festival include House of Wax (today through Sunday), starring Vincent Price and Carolyn Jones; The Stewardesses (Dec. 19-21), the first 3-D movie with a risque theme; and Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth (Dec. 22-25), a 1965 futuristic space thriller. The theater is at 2159 N. High St.

"House of Wax is probably the best special effects movie you'll see in 3- D," Milbury said. "They did everything they could to give the audience the full 3-D effect. It's a fairly good gimmicky movie, with broomsticks and other objects flying out into the audience and making them dodge."

The Stewardesses, which Milbury describes as the most infamous 3-D film ever made, is the first 3-D "blue movie." The version the Roxy plans to show of one of 1971's biggest box-office hits is rated R.

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