Smash, an architectural salvage and curiosities shop in the Junction on Dundas St. W, recently unearthed the containers which once housed several prints of Nicholas Ray’s King of Kings (which I haven’t seen since I was a kid, but holy mackerel — Rip Torn played Judas?). Who knows what happened to the film, but they also have some flashy but heavy 70mm reels — not exactly the easiest thing to find nowadays —  which could make a cool wall decoration if you’re into that kinda thing. The card leaning on one of the containers is a visa declaration for an American flick heading into France (not Kings).

I did buy one, and if you look closely, you can see the can had previously been used for Ben-Hur.

King of Kings premiered at the University Theatre on a reserved-seating basis on Friday, December 8, 1961.  Other movies playing in town included The King & I at the Tivoli; Splendour in the Grass at the Hollywood; a chilling double bill of The Head and Fear No More at the Downtown; The Hustler at the Odeon Carlton; and hey, if you were in that kinda mood, you could see burlesque temptress Suzette perform before a screening of The Wrong Man at the Lux.