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

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Looking Back

October 1932/1957/1982

Step back in time to see what our movie palaces were presenting in October 1932, 1957, and 1982. Also included is some interesting history about other area movie theaters. Film titles are linked to the Internet Movie Database.

* 1932 * 1957 * 1982 *

1932

"The Publix-Century and Publix-Redford theaters will re-open Friday for the first time in four months," read a small article in the Oct. 5, 1932 Detroit News. "The Century's first screen attraction is to be 'War Correspondent,' starring Jack Holt and Ralph Graves, and at the Redford, Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor will be seen in 'The First Year'."

At that Oct. 7th re-opening of the Redford, patrons also enjoyed an Our Gang comedy and an S. S. Van Dine mystery. The Redford also had a more prominent newspaper ad in the general theater listings, instead of in a small corner of the display ad for all Publix theaters. Extra information included ticket prices (adults 20 cents until 6 p.m. on Saturdays and until 4 p.m. on Sundays).

Ann Arbor Daily News "Stage and Screen" columnist Allison Ind continued her support for the Saturday morning children's shows at the Michigan. "These morning shows not only have pictures of action type without objectionable elements, but also are shown to (children) at the right time of day so as not to interfere with their night sleep," wrote Ind on Oct. 25, 1932.

A report by the Motion Picture Producers of America classified recent movies as family-type; for adults and young people; or for adults-only (The Detroit News, Oct. 25, 1932). These movies included these October offerings at the Redford and Michigan:

• Family - Down to Earth (Redford), The First Year (R), Hold 'Em Jail (Michigan), Horse Feathers (R), Mr. Robinson Crusoe (M), A Successful Calamity (M)
• Adults/Young People - Guilty as Hell (R), The Night of June 13th (M), 70,000 Witnesses (M), Smilin' Through (M), Speak Easily (R)
• Adults - As You Desire Me (R), The Washington Masquerade (R)

"This pert, appealing little blond creature is Bette Davis, who is getting somewhere—and rapidly—in the screen world," read a picture caption in the Oct. 9, 1932 Detroit News. "Her latest assignment, opposite Richard Barthelmess in "The Cabin in the Cotton" [which played at the Michigan theaters in Detroit and Ann Arbor]...is accepted as her best to date."

That Oct. 9 News also mentioned that "The Michigan Film Review reports that 15 [movie] houses last week broke the ban on double billing on Sundays." The article added that "The Allied Theater Owners Association is not using the whip on these violators, but is appealing to them on the basis of fairness and of ceasing the practice for their own good."

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1957

"Presenting a Harvest of Hollywood's Newest and Finest Productions!" announced the Butterfield movie theater display ad in the Oct. 5, 1957 Ann Arbor News. The Michigan was showing The Pride and the Passion (Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren), while the State screened Jet Pilot (John Wayne, Janet Leigh) and the Campus presented John Ford's The Rising of the Moon.

Sinatra movies seemed to be everywhere. The Redford also showed The Pride and the Passion. Sinatra starred with Mitzi Gaynor in The Joker is Wild, which opened at the Michigan in Detroit. And newspaper ads promoted the upcoming release of Pal Joey, with Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak.

"Here's a Double Rendezvous with Romance!" read an ad for a Michigan (Ann Arbor) double bill of Roman Holiday (1953) and Sabrina (1954), which were Valentine's Day movies at the Michigan in 2006 (RH) and 2007 (S). Other highlights of the Michigan month included Man of a Thousand Faces (James Cagney, Dorothy Malone) and Stopover Tokyo (Robert Wagner, Joan Collins). Future The Odd Couple television star Tony Randall appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and No Down Payment (which helped launch Joanne Woodward's career).

"He was the inventor of the movie star system," read an article about the Oct. 29 death of Louis B. Mayer, co-founder of the powerful Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (The Ann Arbor News, Oct. 29, 1957). His successors at the studio this month provided movies for the Redford (Man on Fire, Silk Stockings) and the Adams in Detroit (Elvis Presley's latest, Jailhouse Rock).

The big shows at the Redford this month were Band of Angels (Clark Gable, Yvonne DeCarlo) and An Affair to Remember (Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr). Also showing was Bambi (1942), The Curse of Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), and dancer Vera-Ellen's last film, Let's Be Happy (with Tony Martin).

The Ten Commandments opened at several Detroit neighborhood theaters, after a long run at the downtown Madison. The Three Faces of Eve (Joanne Woodward, David Wayne, Lee J. Cobb) opened at the Fox. And the Broadway Capitol livened up Halloween with The Giant Claw and The Night the World Exploded (also at the State in Ann Arbor).

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1982

The highlight of the month at the Detroit Film Theatre was Chan is Missing, "a highly original comedy girded with profound and melancholy perceptions about the cultural confusion of Chinese-Americans," wrote Susan Stark in The Detroit News (Oct. 7, 1982). Stark noted that Chan was made for $20,000 and had grossed more than $700,000. Chan later was shown at the Maple 1-2-3.

Other films at the DFT included the documentary The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time, the Italian Three Brothers, and the Spanish Blood Wedding. Fans of Russion film enjoyed An Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano (1977, Oct. 15) and Crime and Punishment (1969, Oct. 16). The Sunday night Alfred Hitchcock series resumed with To Catch a Thief (1955), The Wrong Man (1956), and North by Northwest (1959). And Oct. 30 brought a Halloween showing of The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967).

At the Redford Theatre on Oct. 8-9, there was plenty of singing, dancing and comedy as Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Judy Garland starred in Ziegfield Follies (1946). Fans of later Charlie Chaplin movies enjoyed him with Claire Bloom in Limelight (1952), which had evening showings on Oct. 22-23, and a Sunday afternoon screening on Oct. 24. Famous theater organist Gaylord Carter used his silent film musical talents to help Buster Keaton recover his train The General (1927). This Redford favorite was most recently shown at the theater on July 27, 2007.

Halloween was celebrated in a big way at the Michigan Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 31. A 4-9 p.m. show included The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and The Phantom of the Opera (1925, with live organ accompaniment by Don Thompson). From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., fright fans were thrilled by House of Wax (1953), Wait Until Dark (1967), and The Raven (1963).

On Friday, Oct. 29, "Michigan Theatre Remembers 1957," with live tributes to the music and television of that era, along with the cartoon The Juggler of Our Lady (1958, narrated by Boris Karloff) and the feature film The Three Faces of Eve (1957). Other movie highlights of the month included a Jean Renoir double feature of The Grand Illusion (1937) and The Rules of the Game (1939); and a James Bond quadruple bill of Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds are Forever (1971).

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