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The Film Programs of the Detroit Film Theatre, Michigan Theater and Redford Theatre

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Looking Back

September 1931/1956/1981

Step back in time to see what our movie palaces were presenting in September 1931, 1956, and 1981. Also included is some interesting history about other area movie theaters and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Film titles are linked to the Internet Movie Database.

* 1931 * 1956 * 1981 *

1931

The Redford took advantage of newer films opening at more prominent show houses in the Publix theater chain. On Sept. 2 and 3, the Redford showed Confessions of a Co-Ed, with Sylvia Sidney, also in Street Scene, which opened at the United Artists theater on Sept. 3. Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney starred in Smart Money at the Redford on Sept. 13-15, a few days before Robinson opened in Five Star Final at the UA on Sept. 19.

Other popular films this month at the Redford included Politics, another pairing of the long-running comedy duo Marie Dressler and Polly Moran; The Public Defender, with Richard Dix (co-star of the smash 1931 hit Cimarron); and Frank Capra's Dirigible (with Jack Holt). The Redford also showed Huckleberry Finn, which the "For the Children" column in the Sept. 13, 1931 Detroit News rated as "particularly suitable" for children (the column also listed movies that were "not harmful" for children).

The fall season of the Michigan opened on Sunday, Sept. 27, 1931 with Joan Crawford's latest movie, This Modern Age. Also featured was a live show by silent movie comedian Harry Langdon, whose film career had declined and who declared bankruptcy in 1931. A Saturday night at the Michigan on Sept. 12, 1931 included William Haines' Just a Gigolo, along with this buffet of entertainment: the talking comedy Too Many Husbands, the Looney Tune Ups 'N Downs, clarinetist Ted Lewis in Happiness Remedy, the travel short Dublin and Nearby (with Burton Holmes), and Paramount Sound News.

Hard times continued to pound the entertainment dollar in 1931 Detroit. On Sept. 4, prices were reduced at the Michigan (in Detroit), the Fisher, the Paramount and United Artists theaters. Tickets now ranged from 25 cents for the earliest shows to 60 cents for evening shows (children were always charged 15 cents).

A Sept. 20, 1931 Detroit News article gave hope to Detroit-area art lovers: "Perhaps to prove how any worthy cause may flourish under adversity, the Detroit Institute of Arts, despite a drastic reduction in its appropriations, announces its readiness for the fall season with a more fascinating program of lectures, musicales and exhibitions than ever." Upcoming exhibitions included sculpture and fine print shows.

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1956

"Grand Opening Of The Completely Remodeled Michigan," read a large ad in the Sept. 26, 1956 Ann Arbor News. That evening, Michigan patrons first enjoyed a "new entrance and marquee, magnificent lobby, double box office for fast service, re-designed auditorium, soft improved lighting, entire theatre newly carpeted, modern rest rooms, luxurious foyer, [and] refrigerated air conditioning for summer comfort." A photograph of the renovated 1956 Grand Foyer currently graces the walls of the Michigan.

In the News ad, Michigan manager Jerry Hoag noted that visitors had been guided on catwalks among scaffolding to see movies: "The pleasures they (moviegoers) received from the pictures, even under these rugged conditions, more than repaid the Michigan staff and myself for the inconvenience of keeping the theatre going." Ken MacDonald of radio station WPAG interviewed Opening Night visitors, who enjoyed Alec Guinness in The Ladykillers and a film about University of Michigan football, The Tradition That is Michigan.

The marquee of the Redford was bursting with pride as Deborah Kerr and William Holden starred in The Proud and the Profane, and Robert Ryan and Virginia Mayo appeared in The Proud Ones. Patrons also pounded the pavement to see 23 Paces to Baker Street (Van Johnson) and Crime in the Streets ("The Whole Story of the Rock and Roll Generation"). Earning weeklong runs at the Redford this month were big hits from the previous winter (Guys and Dolls) and summer (Trapeze).

Detroit fans of art film visited the World and Studio theaters to see Madame Butterfly (1954) and French comedian Fernandel in The Return of Don Camillo (1953). Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe—Diana Dors—appeared at the Surf and Coronet in A Kid for Two Farthings (1955). The Krim hosted a delightful double feature of Leslie Caron in Lili (1953) and the ballet classic The Red Shoes (1948).

The Krim also scored a big coup on Sept. 18, 1956 with the Detroit premiere of the Van Gogh biography Lust for Life, with Kirk Douglas. On Sept. 26, War and Peace opened to critical and popular acclaim at the Michigan in Detroit. As school got back in session, the Detroit Institute of Arts hosted an exhibition of "sculptures, water colors, paintings, sketches and prints selected from the institute's summer session of workshops for young people." (Detroit News, Sept. 9, 1956)

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1981

The Detroit Film Theatre rode the coattails of the second Montreaux/Detroit Jazz Festival in 1981 with the Sept. 4 showing of Detroit Jazz Artists on Film (by David Chertok). Another musical treat was the re-cut version of Martin Scorsese's 1977 film New York, New York, which Detroit News critic Michael McWilliams praised: "Martin Scorsese has made the most personal, the most mature, the best movie of his life."

Foreign language films at the DFT this month included the 1980 French Canadian movie Les Bons Débarras; Jacques (Ponette) Doillon's 1979 film La Drôlesse; and Jean Renoir's 1935 movie, The Crime of Monsieur Lange. A tribute to Alfred Hitchcock (who died on April 29, 1980) began with The Pleasure Garden (1925) and The Lodger (1927). The Afternoon Film Theatre of the DIA continued its film noir series with The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Big Heat (1953) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955).

The Redford presented two very different musicals. On Sept. 4 and 5, Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg appeared in the western musical comedy Paint Your Wagon (1969). The tone was much more serious on Sept. 18 and 19, with the dramatic and elegant ballet film The Red Shoes (1948).

The Redford was mentioned in a Sept. 11, 1981 Detroit News article by Michael McWilliams about area repertory film programs. Also discussed were the Cass City Cinema (Detroit), Merrie Melodie (Rochester), Dearborn Cinema Society (Henry Ford Centennial Library), Detroit Film Society (Detroit Public Library), Encore Cinema Club (Cranbrook) and Royal Oak Public Library. Ann Arbor film groups included Cinema II, Cinema Guild and the Ann Arbor Film Co-op.

Also mentioned in the News article was the Classic Film Theatre, which was programming films at both the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor and the Punch and Judy Theater in Grosse Pointe Farms. The Punch and Judy specialized in midnight showings of recent rock and roll films, like Yessongs.

The Ladykillers (1955) made another appearance at the Michigan as part of a CFT series of Alec Guinness films that also included The Horse's Mouth (1958), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) and Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949). On Sept. 25-27, the Michigan presented the Second Annual World's Worst Film Festival, which included The Terror of Tiny Town (1938) and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! (1978).

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