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43-783: In his twenties, Larry Ellman became the New York distributor for Automatique, a Danish firm that manufactured Wittenborg brand food-vending machines "similar in appearance and operation to the Automat ." Proceeds from the sale of his business enabled him to pursue his first restaurant venture. The Cattleman opened at Lexington Avenue and East 47th Street in Manhattan , New York City , in 1959, with sales reaching $ 450,000 that year. By 1967, The Cattleman had relocated to 5 East 45th Street (the Fred F. French Building at 551 Fifth Avenue ), with sales of over $ 4,000,000

86-510: A San Francisco company called Eatsa, which opened six automated restaurants in California , New York , and the District of Columbia , but they all closed by 2019. The company soon rebranded itself as Brightloom , and continue to sell automation technology to restaurants. The COVID-19 pandemic inspired a new wave of automat revival attempts, aimed to adapt to the social distancing guidelines and

129-585: A vending machine , typically without waitstaff . The world's first automat, Quisisana , opened in Berlin , Germany in 1895. The first documented automat was Quisisana , which opened in 1895 in Berlin , Germany. In 1904, a similar restaurant opened in Breslau . In Japan, in addition to vending machines that sell prepared food, many restaurants also use food ticket machines ( Japanese : 食券機 , romanized :  shokkenki ). This process involves purchasing

172-504: A few of the principals achieve more than surface effects. In a decided departure from the norm, Bing Crosby, as the unshaven, sodden surgeon, is casual, natural, glib and mildly funny. Mr. Heflin is authoritative and taciturn as the marshal intent on keeping his prisoner, the Ringo Kid, from being shot down by the savage Plummers, and Mr. Cord is properly hard, sinewy and determined as that vengeful lone cowhand. [...] But “Stagecoach,” after all,

215-451: A handsomely mounted Martin Rackin production...Crosby projects eloquently the jaded worldliness of a down-and-outer who still has not lost all self-respect. Much humor evolves from his running gag with Red Buttons, the preacher-dressed and -mannered liquor salesman played earlier by the late Donald Meek." The New York Times review included: "The action fans may not be short-changed, but only

258-734: A kitchen. FEBO is the best-known chain of Dutch automats, with some outlets open 24 hours a day. The first automat in the United States was opened by food services company Horn & Hardart on June 12, 1902, at 818 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Inspired by Max Sielaff's automat restaurants in Berlin , they were among the first 47 restaurants (and the first outside of Europe) to receive patented vending machines from Sielaff's Berlin factory. The automat spread to New York City in 1912, and gradually became part of popular culture in northern industrial cities . Originally,

301-472: A meal ticket from a vending machine , which is then presented to a server who prepares and serves the meal. Kaitenzushi restaurants, which serve sushi on conveyor belts , are also common in Japan. Automats ( Dutch : automatiek ) provide a variety of typical Dutch fried fast food , such as frikandellen and croquettes , as well as hamburgers and sandwiches from vending machines which are back-loaded from

344-467: A new cabaret convert. It is the Cattleman, at Lexington Avenue and Forty-seventh Street, a restaurant and saloon designed to create the atmosphere of nineteenth-century San Francisco . According to its owner, Larry Ellman, the nightly sing-along sessions have created a 20 percent increase in business. ... Every evening from 9 o'clock to 2 A.M., Mr. Farrell, a night-club entertainer for thirty years, sits at

387-527: A puzzle. John Ford's 1939 version of the Haycox story was a genuine western classic and this is a genuine western omelette. The presence of Crosby, in his last acting job in movies, saves the movie from being a total mess. In 1986, a TV version of the picture was done with several country music stars in the leads, as well as Liz Ashley and Anthony Newley. It was so awful, it made this movie look good by comparison". Later in its write-up, The Guide opines that "[W]hereas

430-499: A restaurant on one of the darker blocks west of Grand Central . Our mission was to play country standards to entertain the "tired businessman" who had come for the drinks, the steaks, and the waitresses in classic Western saloon girl attire. On slow nights we'd play original songs I was writing for Mark's emerging comic persona.... Mark came in one night wearing a matching dark blue twill shirt and trouser outfit [and] I went out and bought one just like it. By and by we had oval patches over

473-552: A stagecoach there. A passage in Rupert Holmes ' novel Where the Truth Lies involves the restaurant: "In Manhattan, theme restaurants were blooming like plastic flowers in winter. ... The Cattleman had set the stage, or rather the stagecoach, for such funhouse eateries, supposedly patterned after a Kansas City steer palace. ..." Automat An automat is a type of fast-food restaurant where food and drink are served through

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516-568: A studio is in trouble and just hasn't had the right material." Alex Cord was recommended to Rackin by Edmond O'Brien and Richard Quine. Filming started July 6, 1965. Location scenes included Boulder, Colorado . A statement in end credits reads: "The Producers express their appreciation to the owners of the Caribou Country Club Ranch at Nederland, Colorado , and to the Park Department of that state , for their cooperation in

559-402: A year at the 400-seat restaurant. By 1972 at the latest, Ellman had additionally opened The Cattleman West at 154 West 51st Street, at Seventh Avenue . The restaurants closed circa 1989. Starting in 1961, Ellman introduced sing-along sessions every evening from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m., led by Bill Farrell . As The New York Times described in 1967: The sing-along trend ... has acquired

602-543: Is a horse opera, and the horses, the eye-catching scenery, those dependable hands, and superb sound and fury make it an enjoyable trip most of the way." Quentin Tarantino is an admirer of the film, saying it "can stand proudly alongside the John Ford version" and adding that he particularly enjoyed the performances of Bing Crosby, Alex Cord and Mike Connors, as well as the direction of Gordon Douglas. Filmink argued Cummings

645-435: Is the Ringo Kid, the role that made second-billed John Wayne into a star beyond the quickly made low-budget B-western series which had primarily represented his screen appearances during the 1930s. In fifth place is Bing Crosby , making his final major acting appearance in a theatrical feature, playing the alcoholic Doc Boone, bringing his own interpretation to the character portrayal which won fifth-billed Thomas Mitchell

688-579: The Coast Daylight and Sunset Limited in 1962. Amtrak converted four buffet cars to automats in 1985 for use on the Auto Train . In Switzerland, the Bodensee–Toggenburg Bahn introduced automat buffet cars in 1987. With the advent of air travel and other forms of transportation, automats on trains became less popular and were eventually phased out. The last automat in use on a train in

731-476: The 1939 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . Sixth-placed Bob Cummings plays the embezzling banker Gatewood, a role assigned in 1939 to 9th-billed Berton Churchill . Seventh in line, Van Heflin , is the marshal, Curley, played in the original by 7th-billed George Bancroft . The eighth alphabetical position is taken by Slim Pickens as the coach driver, Buck, initially portrayed by third-billed Andy Devine , while ninth place falls to Stefanie Powers as

774-470: The 1970s, the automats' remaining appeal in their core urban markets was chiefly nostalgic . Another contributing factor to their demise was inflation , which caused an increase in food prices and made the use of coins inconvenient in a time before bill acceptors were common on vending equipment. At one time, there were 40 Horn & Hardart automats in New York City. The last one closed in 1991, when

817-484: The United States was on the short-lived Lake Country Limited in 2001. Stagecoach (1966 film) Stagecoach is a 1966 American Western film, directed by Gordon Douglas between July and September 1965, as a color remake of the Academy Award -winning John Ford 1939 classic black-and-white western Stagecoach . Unlike the original version which listed its ten leading players in order of importance,

860-754: The automat was used on some passenger trains . The Great Western Railway in the United Kingdom announced plans in December 1945 to introduce an automat on buffet cars . Plans were delayed by impending nationalisation , but an automat was finally introduced on the Cambrian Coast Express in 1962. In the United States, the Pennsylvania Railroad introduced an automat between New York Penn Station , and Washington Union Station , in 1954. Southern Pacific Railroad introduced automat buffet cars on

903-540: The classic" and evaluating that "[T]he Ford version was better, but the action is still pretty good the second time around". A later edition (1986–87) shortened the capsule review to "[A]n all-star…" and "[A]ction is still pretty good…". A still later edition (1993–1994) retained "[A]n all-star", but revised the second sentence to "[D]oesn't live up to its predecessor, but OK on its own terms". Assigning 2 stars (out of 5), The Motion Picture Guide (1987) posited that "[W]hy Hollywood insists on remaking classics will always be

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946-462: The company had converted most of its New York City locations into Burger King restaurants. At the time, customers had been noticing a decrease in the quality of the food. In an attempt to revive automats, a company called Bamn! opened a Dutch-style automat store in the East Village in New York City in 2006, only to close three years later. In 2015, another attempt to open an automat was made by

989-425: The cookbook The Cattleman's Steak Book: Best Beef Recipes , a collaboration of the staff of Cattleman Restaurant, food writer Carol Truax , and writer S. Omar Barker. Ellman wrote the foreword. Playboy magazine printed the recipe for a house cocktail, the Cattleman's Cooler, "[f]rom the Cattleman, a Manhattan dining spot that calls itself an adult Western restaurant." The musical Pump Boys and Dinettes (1981)

1032-564: The credits before you're tempted: this is the witless remake of Ford's classic, with neither colour nor Cord anything like adequate recompense for Bert Glennon's dusty monochrome or Wayne's early strut as the Ringo Kid" (from 2009 edition). Leslie Halliwell in his Film Guide (5th edition, 1985) felt even less charitable, denigrating it as an [A]bsolutely awful remake of the above; costly but totally spiritless, miscast and uninteresting". Finally, David Shipman in his 1984 Good Film and Video Guide , does not grant it any stars (Shipman's top number

1075-619: The desire for contactless dining . Joe Scutellaro and Bob Baydale opened Automat Kitchen, which specialized in fresh food, in Jersey City 's Newport Centre in early 2021; however, it closed after one year of operation because of low foot traffic due to the pandemic. Another automat chain, the Brooklyn Dumpling Shop, opened in the East Village in 2021; they opened a chain in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , in December 2023. A form of

1118-453: The industry". A friend of his was buying the rights to the film but was short of money. Rackin stepped in and succeeded in selling the film to Darryl F. Zanuck at Fox. He hired Gordon Douglas to direct. The men had worked together ten times before and Rackin called him "the most underrated director in Hollywood - he even made Harlow look interesting - a workhorse who keeps helping out when

1161-428: The kind of song one dislikes upon first hearing and hates upon the second". VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (2011 edition) does not have a separate entry for the 1966 version but, at the end of its write-up for the 1939 classic is the sentence, "Remade miserably with [sic] in 1966 and again—why?—as a TV movie in 1986". Among British references, TimeOut Film Guide critic Paul Taylor advised to "[L]ook again at

1204-515: The long, mirrored bar. In 1964, publisher James Warren held the launch party for Creepy , the first horror-comics magazine of Warren Publishing , at The Cattleman. By at least 1968, the restaurant offered "free stagecoach rides around the city" on Saturday and Sunday from 5 to 9:30 p.m. A history of New York dining, On the Town in New York (1998), called the restaurant a "riotously successful steakhouse". In 1961, The Theatre magazine said it

1247-436: The machines in U.S. automats only accepted nickels . A cashier sat in a change booth in the center of the restaurant, behind a wide marble counter with five to eight rounded depressions. The diner would insert the required number of coins in a machine and then lift a window, hinged at the top, and remove the meal, which was usually wrapped in waxed paper. The kitchen was located behind the machines and used to replenish them from

1290-517: The major stars are billed in alphabetical order. In 1880, a group of strangers in Wyoming Territory boards the east-bound stagecoach from Dry Fork to Cheyenne . The travellers seem ordinary, but many have secrets that they are running from. Among them are Dallas, a prostitute who is being driven out of town; an alcoholic doctor, Doc Boone; pregnant Lucy Mallory who is meeting her cavalry officer husband; and whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock. As

1333-401: The making of this film." In parallel with the 1939 version, Ann-Margret replaces Claire Trevor as the dancehall hostess/prostitute Dallas. Red Buttons takes the role of Mr. Peacock, the alcohol peddler in a minister's garb, played in 1939 by 8th-billed Donald Meek . Michael Connors portrays the tough gambler, Hatfield, originated by John Carradine . Alphabetically-fourth Alex Cord

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1376-457: The original had engaging characters and not all that much violence, this one concentrates on bloodletting, the dialog is a failed attempt to be 'adult', and the performances are generally substandard. Norman Rockwell appears briefly. He'd done the excellent portraits of the actors used with the end credit and they rewarded him with a role in the picture, his first and only. Wayne Newton sings 'Stagecoach to Cheyenne' (Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance). It's

1419-399: The piano in a dimly lit corner ... and tries to whip the customers into a singing frame of mind. ... The customers who sit at cozily grouped tables and order their steaks and drinks from waiters wearing colored vests, string ties and garters on their sleeves can stare at a large painting of a nude that hangs on one wall, or guess the age and authenticity of the rifles and longhorns that decorate

1462-558: The pockets with our names in them. ... So we became guys who worked at the gas station. ... Our imaginations were taking over and our Pump Boys repertoire began to grow. The Cattleman management soon grew tired of this nonsense and showed us the saloon door. The restaurant was known for the radio slogan "Where you can get your steak rare and entertainment well done." The 1966 remake of the Western film Stagecoach did part of its publicity at The Cattleman, photographing some of its stars atop

1505-466: The pregnant Army wife, Lucy Mallory, played in 1939 by the 6th-billed Louise Platt . At the end of the alphabetical cast, Keenan Wynn , in tenth place, is Luke Plummer, the patriarch of a family of killers, portrayed in 1939 by western star Tom Tyler , billed 11th in the end credits. Finally, 12th-billed supporting player Joseph Hoover portrays the Lieutenant, a character originated by Tim Holt , who

1548-514: The rear. Automats were popular with a wide variety of celebrity patrons, including Walter Winchell and Irving Berlin . The New York automats were also popular with unemployed songwriters and actors . Playwright Neil Simon called automats "the Maxim's of the disenfranchised" in 1987. The automat was threatened by the arrival of fast food restaurants, which served food over the counter with more payment flexibility than traditional automats. By

1591-434: The stage sets out, U.S. Cavalry Lieutenant Blanchard announces that Crazy Horse and his Sioux are on the warpath; his small troop will provide an escort part of the way. Also in the cast, playing their sole credited film roles, were two artists, 15th-billed David Humphreys Miller , a 47-year-old western historian who specialized in the culture of the northern Plains Indians and created, among his works, 72 portraits of

1634-508: The survivors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn , and 20th-billed Norman Rockwell , 71 years old, who was engaged to be on the set in order to paint the portraits of the stars and assigned the small role of a town poker player nicknamed Busted Flush. The film's closing-credits sequence features the full-screen inscription, THE CAST AS PAINTED BY NORMAN ROCKWELL , followed by images of each of

1677-410: The ten leading players in the same order as in the opening credits. The portraits were also used in the poster for the film. Producer Martin Rackin said he became interested in making the movie after he finished a stint as head of production at Paramount. He said he felt the original was dated and modern audiences were not that familiar with it. He also believed Westerns were the "bread and butter of

1720-585: Was "one of the best dining emporiums in New York." Ellman announced in 1997 that he and partners Edward Buyes and William Opper planned to recreate The Cattleman at 1241 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains, New York , in November of that year. Ellman's son, Kevin Ellman, played drums and percussion in singer-songwriter Todd Rundgren 's 1973-1986 band Utopia , leaving it in 1975. In 1967, Grosset & Dunlap published

1763-482: Was better than Barton Churchill in the 1939 original. Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide (2014 edition) gave Stagecoach 2½ stars (out of 4), describing it as a "[C]olorful, star-studded Western" which "is OK, but can't hold a candle to the 1939 masterpiece". Maltin also calls it "[O]verlong" and notes that "Wayne Newton sings the title song!". Steven H. Scheuer's Movies on TV (1972–73 edition) also granted 2½ stars (out of 4), characterizing it "[A]n all-star remake of

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1806-481: Was created by two friends who worked at The Cattleman, dramatizing their experiences there. It started as a two-man act there, and then expanded. As Jim Wann, the show's principal author and composer recalled in 2010, I was a scuffling songwriter/guitarist and Mark Hardwick was a piano player/actor. ... Mark and I were unemployed and happy to take a job playing five nights a week in the Cattleman Lounge, attached to

1849-448: Was listed 10th in the 1939 credits. According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $ 6,300,000 in rentals to break even and made $ 6,950,000, meaning it made a profit. Variety summed it up as: "New version of “Stagecoach” is loaded with b.o. appeal. Ten stars repping a wide spectrum of audience interest, an absorbing script about diverse characters thrown together by fate, plus fine direction and performances are all wrapped up in

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