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The Grauman's Chinese pages:
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1926 - Excavation is beginning. Hollywood Blvd. is on the left. Note the partially built construction fence. Thanks to the Chinese Theatre for including the photo in a post on their Facebook page on the occasion of the theatre's 95th anniversary. Earlier, Ken McIntyre had located a version to include in a thread about the construction on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
1926 - A closer look at the steamshovel at work. The stage end of the dig is over on the left. It's an image from the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #T-017-4. Also see another view they have in the collection taken after a bit more excavation, their #T-017-3.
1926 - A September look east as the steel rises for the Chinese. At the top is the Hollywood Hotel. At the bottom is the chi-chi Garden Court Apartments. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo. It was a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
1927 - The theatre with the construction fence still up and scaffolding on the pagoda. The photo appeared as part of an article and photo spread on pages 18 and 19 in the April 16 issue of Exhibitors Herald. See the continuation of the article on pages 39 and 40. Thanks to Mike Hume for spotting this on Internet Archive. For a real treat see the page about the Chinese on his Historic Theatre Photography site.
1927 - A postcard view from above by Burton Frasher taken prior to the theatre's opening. Michelle Gerdes found it on eBay. The Harold Lloyd footprint insert on the left was added later.
1927 - A wider, non-postcard version of the previous image. The photo by Burton Frasher, Sr. (1888-1955) appears in a 90th Birthday album on the TCL Chinese Facebook page. It can also be seen on Internet Archive, with three other views, in the June 11, 1927 issue of Exhibitors Herald. Kurt Wahlner, curator of the history site GraumansChinese.org, notes that the sign for "King of Kings" is visible in the forecourt and the storefront windows were still covered. He likes that they were still growing vegetables next door when the Chinese opened.
Kurt adds: "Grauman’s Chinese sits under the warm California sun just prior to its opening in May, 1927. The theatre is 140 feet wide by 250 feet deep. Since land was cheaper in Hollywood at the time, Grauman envisioned a spacious theatre with no balcony, the largest stage in Hollywood, and a large forecourt area, where patrons could mill about during the intermission between his lavish stage prologues and the feature film. Note the fact that there is no conventional marquee. Subsequent operators would fix this problem, but Grauman did not want much signage at the theatre — at first."
1927 - A pre-opening view by J.C. Milligan. Five years earlier Milligan had taken a number of pre-opening shots of Grauman's Egyptian. Thanks to the theatre for sharing this version of the photo on the TCL Chinese Theatres Facebook page. It can also be seen on page 26 of Ronald Haver's 1980 book "David O. Selznick's Hollywood." Haver credits the photo to Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives. Victor Ver shared that version on the Lost Angeles Facebook group.
1927 - Thanks to Brian Michael McCray for this pre-opening postcard view of the theatre. It's one of over 400 cards in his collection, until recently all viewable on Picasa -- but Google has now pulled the plug on that platform.
1927 - A May 18 opening night view from the collection of Kurt Wahlner. He notes that the snipe on the back is headlined "Movie Stars Throng to Opening of New Los Angeles Movie Palace."
1927 - A matinee crowd for "King of Kings." It's a photo in the AMPAS Tom B'hend and Preston Kaufmann Collection, a part of the Margaret Herrick Library Digital Collections. At this point there was still no tenant in that left storefront.
1927 - A "King of Kings" shot from the L.A. Chamber of Commerce collection appearing on the USC Digital Library website. A tenant was at work on that left storefront. With the flags and banners out it looks like it might have been a photo taken around Memorial Day.
1927 - [with additions!] - It's the same 1927 "King of Kings" shot as in the last card except those dated cars in front have vanished and we now have a canopy out to the street and a boxoffice at the sidewalk, something that didn't get installed until 1934. The card appears in a number of collections including in Elizabeth Fuller's wonderful Old Los Angeles Postcards album on Flickr. They were still selling this card as late as 1953, the postmark on the copy she has. On the rear: "The Chinese Theatre has been the scene of Hollywood’s greatest premieres. In the forecourt of this famous theatre may be seen the foot-prints in the cement of many of filmland’s celebrities, both past and present."
The card is also in the Cinema Postcards From the Americas collection of Roloff de Jeu on Flickr. He notes it's a Curt Teich card and the publication date is on the card. He says "In the right bottom corner, you see a code, 1A-H445. The A is for the Thirties (B for Forties, C for Fifties, etc.), the 1 is for the first year, so it's from 1931." The card also appears in the collection of Michelle Gerdes on Flickr.
1927 - A USC Digital Library collection photo of a Douglas Fairbanks premiere from the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce collection. There's also a copy in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The USC collection also has another view of the same event. Chinese Theatre historian Kurt Wahlner advises that there was only one Fairbanks premiere at the theatre: "The Gaucho," November 4, 1927.
c.1928 - Aaah, the famous yellow skies of Hollywood. This card appears in many collections. Note that by this time two of the forecourt's palm trees had been removed. The card is one of 11 vintage theatre cards appearing with Patt Morrison's "Financial ruin. Possible destruction. What will be the Cinerama's Hollywood ending?," an April 20, 2021 L.A. Times article about the fate of various L.A. theatres over the last 100+ years. Thanks to Donavan S. Moye and Jonathan Raines for spotting the story. Also see the version of the yellow skies card in Elizabeth Fuller's Old Los Angeles Postcards collection on Flickr.
The copy of the card Patt found had this copy on the back: "This world-famous theatre is the scene of some most spectacular Premieres. In the cement paving of the forecourt prominent stars, both past and present, have left their hand and footprints as mementos to their admiring public."
1928 - A Louis Stellman photo in the collection of the California State Library, their item #001384962. Note the thatched hut. Chinese Theatre historian Kurt Wahlner notes that the photo is from the August 3 to October 21 run of "White Shadows In The South Seas," the first talkie to play the Chinese. It was also the film that triggered David Lean's desire to make movies.
Kurt says: "The couple embracing in the left poster case is the same as that as you see on the sheet music for the film - very little paper exists on this film, which is rather a good movie." He notes that in this photo there are no heaven dogs at the entrance. Also, as seen seen in the November 1927 view of "The Gaucho" premiere, "the stenciled awning was there from the very beginning. They were a little bit freer with taking it in and setting it back up then, and here, you see the framework covered with grass roofing. Ahh, back when labor was labor, and people had jobs!"
1928 - A detail from the Dick Whittington photo gives us a fine view of the L-shaped awning leading around to the boxoffice.
1928 - Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for this photo by K. O. Rahmn with weird statues out on the sidewalk to promote "Noah's Ark." Rahmn was also the Mary Pickford Corporation staff photographer at the time.
Warners evidently wanted to put the film in the Chinese as a prestige move even though their new Warner Hollywood was open. Kurt relates a Terry Helgesen story about Jack Warner bringing organist Frank Lanterman (from the Alex) over to play when the film was screened at the Chinese -- before it had a soundtrack. Lanterman made it sound so good that the Chinese booked the film and Warner thought he had put one over on Sid. It turned out to be the 2nd lowest grossing silent film at the Chinese.
1929 - The Chinese during the run of "Hollywood Revue," an MGM release that had its world premiere at the Chinese June 20 and headed on to a 13 week run. The photo appeared on the Facebook page Garden of Allah Novels. Note the lettering for the show on the east side of the building.
Todd Franklin has a version of the photo in his Movie Theater Stuff album on Flickr. A version is also in the Los Angeles Public Library collection but theirs is cropped on the right and misses the lettering on the east wall. Another take of the same view is in the collection of the L.A. County Natural History Museum. There's also a smaller but less cropped image taken during the same run that Henrik Hoflund Pedersen located on Amazon.
"Hollywood Revue" is noteworthy for sequences shot in two strip Technicolor as well as parts of the film shot in 70mm. Some theatres actually exhibited the sequences in 70mm. While the Chinese ran several Fox Grandeur films in their 70mm versions in 1930-31, it's unknown if this run involved anything other than a 35mm print.
1930 - The May 27 premiere of the Howard Hughes production "Hell's Angels." It's a photo in the USC Digital Library collection. The film ran eighteen weeks.
1930 - Another USC Digital Library view of the "Hell's Angels" premiere. It's from the California Historical Society collection.
1930 - A "Hell's Angels" premiere view located by intrepid theatre researcher Ken McIntyre. Note the plane parked in front of the theatre.
1930 - A photo from the Howard Hughes Collection at the AMPAS Margaret Herrick Library. It's one of a number of theatre photos on display outside the Ted Mann Theatre at the Academy Museum.
1930 - A terrific photo of the "Hell's Angels" premiere from the Zimmerman collection appearing in the Angel City Press book "Spectacular Illumination: Neon Los Angeles 1925-1965" by Tom Zimmerman with J. Eric Lynxwiler. The authors note: "In 1930, Olesen’s Spectacular Illumination company was party to one of the most elaborate premieres in Hollywood history. No expense was spared for the debut of Howard Hughes’s Hell’s Angels, and Oleson provided two hundred searchlights, advertising balloons, and created smokescreens in the sky on which he projected the film title."
Chris Nichols discussed the book and included this photo and other Hollywood views with his August 2016 Los Angeles magazine article "These Photos Will Transport You to a Neon-Soaked 1930s Hollywood." The photo also appears with other discussions of the book on Curbed L.A., City Lab, and the KCRW blog.
1930 - The Los Angeles Public Library has this lovely view showing quite an array of signage for "Hell's Angels."
1930 - They got out the huge letters for Raoul Walsh's "The Big Trail," running from October 2 until November 23. And it was a big film -- photographed and projected in a 2 to 1 aspect ratio using the 70mm Fox Grandeur process. The projectors probably were two of the three that earlier had been used at the Carthay Circle. It's a photo from the Kurt Wahlner collection. Thanks to Kathy Kikkert for including it on page 37 of her wonderful 2023 Angel City Press book "Hollywood Signs: The Golden Age of Glittering Graphics and Glowing Neon."
1931 - The first known color image of the theatre, a frame from "Round About Hollywood."
The seven minute short also offers views of the Warner and the Pantages. It's on Internet
Archive from a print released by the UK firm Wardour Films done in the two-color Multicolor process. That firm was later merged into Cinecolor.
1931 - Playing "Merely Mary Ann" with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. It opened September 17 for a three week run. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the card via the site Worthpoint for a post on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
1932 - The April 29 premiere for "Grand Hotel." Thanks to Paul Ayers for locating the photo for a post on the page for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. The film opened April 30 for an eleven week run. What else played in 1932? See Kurt Wahlner's films of 1932 page for the whole list.
1932 - Another "Grand Hotel" premiere view. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for extracting this shot from the newsreel footage of the event. Nine minutes of footage is on YouTube as "'Grand Hotel' Premiere." It can also be seen on YouTube in a colorized version (along with coverage from the "Dirigible" premiere) as a post from Nass titled "Hollywood, Los Angeles 1930s in color." Thanks to Scott Santoro for locating it.
1932 - A postcard view taken by H.B. Eddy during the eleven week "Grand Hotel" run. At the El Capitan Colleen Moore was onstage in "A Church Mouse." The card is in the John and Jane Adams Postcards collection as San Diego State University.
early 30s - Thanks to Brian Michael McCray for this fanciful postcard version of a premiere night. It's one of over 400 cards in his collection that were once displayed on Picasa until Google discontinued that platform.
1934 - The February 9 premiere for "Queen Christina" with Greta Garbo. Note the "Garbo" signage strung across the street. The film began a six week run starting February 10. It's a photo in the Kurt Wahlner collection that was taken by Clifton Adams. It appears in a post by Martin Turnbull on his Hollywood's Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page. Along with a February 9 ad it's also on the Martin Turnbull website.
1934 - A great card from Cesar Del Valle's Theatre Talks collection. It's a Bob Plunkett photo of the Chinese running "The White Parade" with Loretta Young and John Boles. It ran for one week beginning November 16. Thanks, Cezar! Versions of the card are also in the collections of the California State Library and the L.A. County Natural History Museum. Some versions identify it as a "Brookwell Photo" in the lower right rather than one by Bob Plunkett.
Note that here we have a boxoffice installed in the forecourt -- an addition made when the Chinese abandoned the deluxe two-a-day format and went "grind" in 1934. Earlier, the boxoffice had been tucked back into the northeast corner of the forecourt.
1935 - A shot with the Chinese running the Will Rogers feature "The County Chairman" which opened February 1. Thanks to the historian-of-all-things-Chinese Kurt Wahlner for dating it. It's an L.A. County Natural History Museum photo. Kurt notes that the banner is for "The March of Time" newsreel, making its debut on that week's program.
1935 - Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this image from his collection on Flickr. Kurt Wahlner supposes this was taken during the November 27 to December 10 run of "Mutiny on the Bounty," starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable. The poster at the rear of the forecourt over on the right appears to be one for "Rendezvous" with William Powell and Rosalind Russell, their next attraction.
1936 - A Life magazine shot by Alfred Eisenstaedt appearing on the Google/Life Images site. The artwork on the angled freestanding easel just inside the forecourt entrance on the right looks like it may be for "Small Town Girl" starring Janet Gaynor and Robert Taylor. It played the week of April 24-30 with "Charlie Chan at the Circus."
1936 - A Life magazine shot on Google/Life Images taken during the run of "Captain January" with Shirley Temple. It opened May 1 for a one week run playing with another Fox film "Everybody's Old Man." Thanks to BifRayRock for the find, appearing on his Noirish post #40551. At the El Capitan the play was "5 Men on a Horse."
At the far left note the elaborately stenciled canopy out to the sidewalk. It was sometimes set up, sometimes not. Kurt
Wahlner notes that it was replaced by a plain
version by November 1936.
c.1936 - Looking through the foliage in front of the Hollywood Hotel toward the Chinese. It's a Life magazine shot on Google/Life Images. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles contributor BifRayRock for the find, appearing on his Noirish post #40362. The post includes many great Hollywood shots of young hopeful actresses hanging out around town waiting for their big break.
1936 - A view looking down onto the theatre from Kurt Wahlner's collection. He dates this as summer of 1936. The image appeared on a brochure for Lansing speaker systems, one of which was newly installed at the Chinese. See all the details in "The Dream Machines," Kurt's history of projection and sound equipment at the theatre.
1936 - A photo of the Welcome Parade from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. That's the Hollywood Hotel visible off to the right. The signage across the street is for "To Mary With Love" with Warner Baxter and Myrna Loy. It played for a week beginning August 1 along with "36 Hours To Kill."
1937 - Fritz Lang's "You Only Live Once" with Sylvia Sidney opened at the Chinese February 3 for a week long run. It was double billed with "Dangerous Number" starring Robert Young. Thanks to Roloff de Jeu on Flickr for the card, which also makes an appearance in other collections. Roloff has many more cards for you to browse in his great Cinema Postcards From the Americas album.
1937 - "Cafe Metropole" with Loretta Young and Tyrone Power played for a week beginning May 26 along with "Angel's Holiday" starring Jane Withers. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the card for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
Also see a card using the same photo, but cropped more tightly that's in the California State Library collection. On their version it can be seen that the posters on the fence and in the case near the entrance are for "This is My Affair" with Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor. It played a week beginning June 2 with "Pick a Star" as the co-feature. The poster in the case below the vertical is for the Marx Brothers in "A Day at the Races." It played a week beginning June 16 with "That I May Live."
1937 - "Saratoga," with Clark Gable and the recently deceased Jean Harlow, played for one week beginning July 21. The co-feature was "Born Reckless" with Rochelle Hudson and Brian Donlevy. The photo from Kurt Wahlner's collection appears on his page "What's Playing at the Chinese, Anyway?"
1937 - Looking east in a Herman Schultheis photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. It's one they had indexed as item #00007622 but evidently lost in a website makeover. The Chinese is running "Love Under Fire," a Spanish civil war drama with Loretta Young and Don Ameche. It played for a week beginning August 25 with "Wild and Wooly."
1938 - A nice look at the letters strung across Hollywood Blvd. advertising "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." It's a John Swopes photo posted on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles by Michael Siskowic.
1939 - The view east with "Stanley and Livingstone" partially up on the theatre's signage. The film, with Spencer Tracy and Nancy Kelly, played August 9 to 14 along with "Quick Millions" starring Jed Prouty and Spring Byington. Across the street at the El Capitan it was the WPA production of "The Mikado - In Swing." Thanks to the Historic Los Angeles Facebook page for sharing this version of the photo.
1939 - Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for sharing this photo from his collection. He spotted the image when it came up for sale at an auction house.
1939 - A closer look at the signage east of the theatre during the "The Wizard of Oz" premiere. Thanks to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for including the photo on a 2014 Facebook post that also features a color print ad and two other images.
1939 - A look at the theatre during the week of December 13-19 when they were running "Judge Hardy and Son" and "Nick Carter Master Detective." This shot is a bit over 7 minutes into 17 minutes of 8mm Kodachrome footage. The cameraman also wanders into the forecourt. He shot all up and down the street and we get views of the El Capitan, Warner, Pantages and other theatres. Many thanks to Jeff Joseph for sharing this on YouTube. And thanks to Kurt Wahlner for spotting the footage. Our Hollywood decorations consultant Glen Norman advises that the first minute of the footage is actually Christmas 1940. Note the polka dots on the trees that year.
c.1940 - Another view from Elizabeth Fuller's Old Los Angeles Postcards collection. This one has a 1947 postmark but it was based on a photo taken before the El Capitan closed for its moderne remodel to become the Paramount -- note the letters still on the roof sign. Ben Fentington also has a version of it on Vintage Los Angeles.
1942 - A view east from a card that popped up on eBay. The rear of the card reads: "Grauman's Chinese Theatre - Scene of many a gala premiere, the theatre is located on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. One of the most interesting features is the sidewalk where hand- and foot-prints of famous movie stars are preserved in cement. The 'Chinese' name of the theatre refers to the architecture. Reproduced by Sprectratone from a Kodachrome by Mike Roberts." Ken McIntyre also had a version of this one on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
Note that the street level signage in the lot east of the theatre has no letters on it. Kurt Wahlner, curator of the site GraumansChinese.org, also has the card in his collection. He gives it a summer 1942 date due to the colors, the shadows, and the amount of plant growth still on the top of the building. He suggests that the lack of letters on the readerboard might have been due to wartime blackout restrictions. He has a photo with the theatre playing "Dr. Jykell and Mr. Hyde" in September 1941 with the signage still in use. For "Moon and Sixpence" in January 1943 there was nothing displayed. But by July 1943 perhaps restrictions had eased as the sign was again used for "Presenting Lily Mars." Kurt adds that that the signage east of the theatre was removed sometime between December 1948 and August 1950.
1940s - A lovely view looking east located by Ken McIntyre for a post for the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles. That's the El Capitan / Paramount over there on the right. Wish we could read what's on the marquee. Also see another version of the card that was located by Bill Gabel. Ken's copy was purchased in 1949. On the back:
1944 - A fine card using a photo taken during the run of "Lifeboat," a film that opened February 3. It had a one week run, playing with "The Ghost That Walks Alone." Ken McIntyre located this one for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for identifying the film. He notes that it's a photo from Mike Roberts Studio of Berkeley.
1944 - The February 23 premiere of "The Sullivans" with Anne Baxter. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for the photo on the private Facebook group Photos of Los Angeles.
1944 - Another shot at "The Sullivans" premiere. This one is from the Marc Wanamaker collection appears on the site Hollywood Historic Photos.
1944 - The crowd awaits the stars at the December 27 premiere of "Winged Victory." The film's two week run ended January 11, 1945. Thanks to Jonathan Raines for locating the photo in the Herald Examiner collection of the Los Angeles Public Library.
1945 - The rainy March 1 premiere of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." It had a four week run. Thanks to Kurt Hultquist for locating the photo for a post on the America in the 1920s Facebook group. A smaller version of it appears on the Los Angeles Public Library website.
1945 - Another shot by Martha Holmes for Life. Thanks to Scott Collette for locating these views with the Earl Carroll showgirls for a big post about Hollywood Christmas decorations on his Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook page. The post includes five more photos taken across from the Chinese.
1946 - Grauman's during the 1946 Academy Awards on March 8. It's a view from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The Academy Awards were held at the Chinese three times with 1946 being the last. Also see a Herald Examiner photo of fans in the bleachers that's in the Library's collection.
1946 - A look at the premiere of "Anna and the King of Siam" from the Hollywood Historic Photos collection.
1947 - A Burton Frasher photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. It appears in its postcard format in the Pomona Public Library
collection. The full readerboard copy said "Darryl F. Zanuck - Presents
W. Somweset Maugham's - 'The Razor's Edge.'" The film ran from December
24, 1946 until January 23, 1947. That's a shot of Tyrone Power in the display case.
1947 - A view from Todd Franklin's Movie Theater Stuff album on Flickr of the theatre ready for a premiere. Kurt Wahlner dates this one as being the May 16 premiere of "It Happened On 5th Avenue." Visit Kurt's Grauman's Chinese 1947 page for all the films to play that year.
1947 - Another Bob Plunkett "Kiss of Death" postcard. "Dear Ruth" was playing across the street at the Paramount. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting this one when it was for sale online. There's a different take of this shot in the California State Library collection with different cars and pedestrians. The uncropped version of that one is on the Huntington Library website.
1947 - Looking east toward the Chinese and the El Capitan at Christmas time. It's a photo from the collection of Gianpiero F. Leone. It appeared as a post he did on the Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page. He also posted it on the Vintage Los Angeles page. Bill Gabel shared it on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group in 2016. See another 1947 Christmas shot of the Chinese from down at street level on the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs website, their #HB-261.
The readerboard appears to be advertising "Forever Amber," a film with Linda Darnell and Cornell Wilde that ran from October 29 to November 13. It was followed by "Nightmare Alley" with Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell from November 14 through 26. "Daisy Kenton" with Joan Crawford and Dana Andrews ran from November 27 until December 10. "Golden Earrings" with Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich played December 11 through 24.
1948 - "The Street with No Name," a drama with Mark Stevens and Richard Widmark that features lots of scenes of Main St., opened June 25 for a three week run. On the bottom half of the bill was "Here Comes Trouble" (in glorious Cinecolor) with William Tracy and Joe Sawyer. The photo is one that was located by Martin Turnbull. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it and posting on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
c.1948 - Thanks to R. Christian Anderson for this photo he added to the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. There's also a re-post.
c.1948 - A look at the Chinese by Arnold Hylen appearing here courtesy of his grand niece, Greta Gustaffson. Visit the Facebook page Arnold Hylen Photographer - Los Angeles Images of an Era.
1949 - A great shot by Arnold Hylen looking west across the front of the Hollywood Hotel toward the Chinese. Thanks to Greta Gustaffson for making the photo available.
1950 - A lovely shot taken during the February run of "Mother Didn't Tell Me" with Dorothy McGuire, on a double bill with "The Blonde Bandit." It's from the Kurt Wahlner collection. See his website for listings of Every Film to Ever Play the Chinese.
1950 - Painters at work on the facade and one of the verticals. It's a Ralph Morris photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1950 - A closer look at work on one of the vertical signs. It's another Ralph Morris photo from the Los Angeles Public Library.
1951 - Tasteful display art at its finest. "David and Bathsheba" opened August 30 for a four week run. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for the photo from his collection. It appears on "What's playing at the Chinese, anyway?," his survey of signage at the theatre.
1951 - Another of the four Examiner images in the USC "atom bomb" set. Here it's a bit later in the morning after the streetlights have gone out. See the Amusing Planet story "How the Atomic Tests Looked From Los Angeles" for a terrific photo gallery. Also see the Daily Mail's July 20, 2023 story and photo album titled "Chilling photos show photos show how atomic bomb tests in the Nevada desert brought LA to a standstill in the 1950s."
1952 - "Viva Zapata" and modern transportation in a great March shot located by Ken McIntyre.
c.1952 - A postcard with a photo by Hubert Lowman. Thanks to Kevin Walsh for sharing the image of this card in his collection.
1952 - 500 Examiner carriers got a free show of Samuel Fuller's "Park Row" on September 2. The film opened September 1 for a big seven day run. It starred Gene Evans and Mary Welch. The co-feature was "Tough Girl" (aka "That Brennan Girl"), a Republic release with James Dunn and Mona Freeman.
The shot was by an Examiner photographer by the name of Miller. It's in the USC Digital Library collection along with two views in the forecourt with the guys around a printing press the Examiner had set up. Samuel Fuller was there showing the boys a paper, along with old-time pressman Fred Schwan. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the shot for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
1952 - A postcard from the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it. "Located on Hollywood Boulevard, this theatre is famous for its many gala premieres. The famous palm studded forecourt is where the hand and foot prints of famous stars are preserved in the cement."
1952 - A look at the east side of the theatre from the Classic Los Angeles section of the Kingsley Collection.
1952?/1953 - A classic postcard from the Steven Otto collection that he shared on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. The bottom features an undatable Chinese photo. The one on top is easier. Steven notes: "Hollywood Blvd. in mid-1953, judging from ‘Salome’ and ‘The Girl Next Door’ at the Hollywood Theatre. The radio towers atop the Warner Bros. Theatre spell 'Cinerama' in yellow neon." The first Cinerama production, "This Is Cinerama," had opened at the end of April.
1952?/1953 - Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this card on Flickr from his great Paper
Ephemera collection. It's the same 1953 photo on top but a different view of the
Chinese underneath, date unknown.
1953 - A better look at the "Shane" signage. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this tourist snapshot for a post on the Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
1953 - Another view located by Ken McIntyre taken during the run of "Shane." It's a photo in the USC Digital Library collection from the Automobile Club of Southern California. It also can be seen in the Flickr album A Box of Pictures.
1953 - Thanks to Hector Acuna for posting this great "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" shot on the Mid Century Modern Los Angeles private Facebook group. The film, "Presented on Our New Gigantic Panoramic Screen," opened July 31 for an 8 week run.
1953 - The Cinemascope signage going up with some of the "Blondes" signage still visible below. Thanks to Martin Turnbull for locating the photo for a post on his Hollywood's Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page. He notes that the theatre shut down for three days before the premiere of "The Robe."
1953 - Another view of the Cinemascope signage being installed by Luminart. This shot was once posted on Flicker by Angel Gabrielle but seems to have vanished from that site. See Michael Coate's "Looking Back at CinemaScope" article on the site Digital Bits.
1953 - A "Robe" premiere view from the Tom B'hend-Preston Kauffman Collection, a part of the AMPAS Margaret Herrick Library. It's one of a number of theatre photos on display outside the Ted Mann Theatre at the Academy Museum. The version of the photo on the AMPAS website (id-250) notes on the edge that it had come from the Gina Zamparelli collection. Also on the site is a similar premiere view (id-192) with a credit to Marc Wanamaker. There's yet another shot from the premiere on the Hollywood Historic Photos website.
1953 - A December photo from the Richard Wojcik collection on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. Richard credits the photo to OERM/Walter Abennseth. In addition to Richard's 2012 post, the shot also had a 2014 re-post, another later in 2014 and another in 2015.
1953 - A detail of the Cinemascope signage from an image that appeared on Shorpy. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it. He had it as a post on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. Also see a "Robe" color signage detail on Flickr taken by George Mann.
1953 - The second Cinemascope film to hit theatres was "Beneath the 12 Mile Reef," opening December 25 for an eight week run. It's a photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1953 - Even better -- a color view from Richard Wojcik appearing on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. On a re-post Richard notes that Red Car service on Hollywood Blvd. would end in 1954. He credits the photo to Roger Bogenberger / Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society.
1953 - A closer look at the signage. It's a detail from Eric Lynxwiler's photo.
1954 - A view of the "Prince Valiant" signage from Martin Hart's terrific website American Widescreen Museum. Don't miss the site's Cinemascope section -- this view is from page 1. The film opened April 2 and ran five weeks.
1954 - "Demetrius and the Gladiators" opened June 16 for a six week run. As you can see by the watermark, it's a photo from the Marc Wanamaker collection appearing on the Hollywood Historic Photos website. That's Orchid Ave. this side of Toff's Coffee Shop.
1954 - Désirée, starring Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons, opened November 18 for a five week run. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for sharing this photo from his collection. That's British actress June Wilkinson and an unidentified gentleman hogging all the attention in the foreground.
1954 - A great 3 minute compilation of 50s Hollywood footage "Hollywood 1950s Theatres Clubs Restaurants" features the Chinese, Egyptian, Moulin Rouge and more. The footage is from Producers Library and appears on YouTube from Soap Box Productions. There's also daytime footage of a visit to the theatre during the run of "There's No Business Like Show Business" near the beginning of a home movie reel from Periscope Films, their item #58874 that's titled "Westward Bound." Thanks to Scott Collette for locating this. Later in the reel there's a view of the signage at night.
1954 - A street view looking east from the USC Digital Library. It's a Dick Whittington Studio photo. The Chinese is running "There's No Business Like Show Business" with Ethel Merman, Marilyn Monroe and Donald O'Connor. It opened December 24 for an eight week run.
1954 - Thanks to Hillary Hess for sharing this great "No Business Like Show Business" photo on a Facebook post. Woody Wise spotted it for a share on his All Movie Theatres Facebook page.
The Grauman's Chinese pages:
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