Color Corporation went out of business the following year. The film was photographed on Eastmancolor negative film 5248 (25 ASA tungsten) and processed by the Color Corporation of America laboratory (formerly SuperCinecolor/Cinecolor) in Burbank. When it was sneak previewed, shown to the trades and released in February 1954, it was shown flat only.

Unfortunately, that is the last reference to any release of the stereoscopic version of this film. Later that month, the success of some new 3-D releases (KISS ME KATE, HONDO, CEASE FIRE and MISS SADIE THOMPSON) prompted UA to announce on December 10 that a 3-D version would be available for exhibitors. In early December, they signed a distribution deal with United Artists. While shopping the property around for a distributor (the film was independently financed) the producers announced on October 27 they would release TOP BANANA flat only, citing the public’s lukewarm response to the current 3-D releases.

The film was in post-production in September 1953 just as THE ROBE and CinemaScope premiered and 3-D was starting to decline at the box office. (This elaborate opening was abandoned in favor of a static shot of the theater marquee, which then dissolves directly into the stage show.) It was photographed with Natural Vision cameras, the same rigs that had filmed BWANA DEVIL, HOUSE OF WAX, FORT TI, CHARGE AT FEATHER RIVER, DEVIL’S CANYON, THE MOONLIGHTER, SOUTHWEST PASSAGE and GOG. Lights would dim, the overture would play and the show would begin. The camera would represent the viewer and approach the box office and buy tickets, enter the lobby and proceed to a fifth row, aisle seat. They developed a rather complicated tracking shot for the opening of the film. The producers envisioned this format as a new way to inexpensively film stage shows and present them in theaters across the country. The concept was to give the audience a choice seat at a top Broadway show. On July 21, 1953, filming began in widescreen, color and 3-D. That’s where the film was photographed and not on the Winter Garden stage which has been claimed for many years. They packed up the sets and costumes and moved the entire company over to the Motion Picture Center Studios in Hollywood. During that engagement, Harry Popkin (D.O.A., AND THEN THERE WERE NONE) negotiated with producers Albert Zugsmith (TOUCH OF EVIL, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN) and Ben Peskay to film TOP BANANA exactly as it had been presented on stage in sold out performances across the country.

Phil Silvers and the cast finished their successful run at the Biltmore Theater in downtown Los Angeles on June 27, 1953. After it was a smash hit on Broadway, TOP BANANA went on tour for a year playing in major cities across the country.

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