6925 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 | map |
The Grauman's Chinese pages:
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1926 - It's Sid Grauman on the left at the groundbreaking with Charlie Chaplin, Norma Talmadge, Conrad Nagel, and Anna May Wong. Thanks to Guylene Couturier for sharing the photo with the Anna May Wong Facebook group. Copies of the image are in the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection and the Marc Wanamaker collection. In her Daily Mirror story "Grauman's Chinese Theatre Turns 90," L.A. historian Mary Mallory comments:
"Newspapers across the country splashed stories regarding the elaborate groundbreaking at 7 pm on Tuesday, January 5, with 10,000 people coming to watch. Master showman Grauman lined up MGM actor Conrad Nagel as master of ceremonies, with Chinese bands and acrobats and prologue dancers from the Egyptian Theatres' 'The Big Parade' to perform in an elaborately staged Oriental garden flooded by spotlights and decorated with Chinese lanterns and banners. Chinese tea, cakes, and candy were served, before the ringing of large gongs announced the ceremony's beginning."
See "
Film Stars Open Work on Theatre," a short Times article about the event. Tom Shane located a half-minute clip that's on
YouTube showing Anna May handing the shovel to Norma. Earlier Anna May and Sid had presided over the November 1925 opening of the new steel plant that was doing the fabrication for the Chinese. See several stories and photos about that on the
Chinese overview page.
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.
A slightly clopped version of the image appears in the wonderful McAvoy/Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their
#T-017-5. Also see an earlier view with lumber on the site but no digging started their
#T-017-1. At last look they had
387 images of the Chinese Theatre to browse.
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 - Getting ready for the opening. Note the "King of Kings" sign near the front doors. The photo was on the
Brittanica Blog at one time but has now vanished from their site.
1927 - A view taken by J.C. Milligan on May 15, three days before the opening. Five years earlier Milligan had taken a number of shots of Grauman's Egyptian before that theatre opened. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this version of the photo on Flickr. 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. It also appears on the TCL Chinese Theatres Facebook page.
On Kurt Wahlner's superb page "
A Tour of Grauman's Chinese Theatre 1927" he comments: "This photo was taken from the roof of the one-story building across the street from the Chinese. The Chinese had been designed and built by Meyer & Holler Inc., a
construction company whose chief designer was a man named Raymond M.
Kennedy. What Kennedy came up with for the Chinese certainly has no
architectural predecessors — not even people familiar with Chinese
architecture know how to classify it — and it is this uniqueness which
has made it the most photographed building in Los Angeles."
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 - Did you like Brian's colorful card? This card uses the photo it was based on. It's in the collection of the
California State Library.
1927 - A pre-opening postcard from the
California State Library collection, their #001528644. The paper was down in the storefront windows but no posters yet in the display cases.
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 - An opening night photo from the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1927 - A small portion of the opening night crowd of 50,000. The photo appeared on page 23 of the May 28 issue of
Exhibitors Herald. The theatre's opening bill was reviewed on
page 39 of the same issue. Thanks to Mike Hume for spotting the article on Internet Archive. See the page he's done about the Chinese on the
Historic Theatre Photography site. A wider, but fuzzier, version of this photo is in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1927 - Another fine opening night image from Kurt Wahlner's collection. This one was included in a post on his
GraumansChinese.org Facebook page on the occasion of the theatre's 95th birthday. Thanks, Kurt!
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 - Another photo taken during the run of "King of Kings." Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this from his collection on
Flickr. And also thanks to Michelle Gerdes for including this in the
Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Group Pool on Flickr. It's a great look at all the foliage atop the parapet wall.
1927 - A detail from Eric's "King of Kings" photo. That's Cecil B. DeMille in the left display case.
1927 - Another detail from Eric's photo. Note the costumed individual at the center. At the far left there's a floral tribute from West Coast Theatres. Thanks, Eric!
1927
- A "King of Kings" postcard based on the photo from the Eric Lynxwiler
collection seen above. Note the floral tribute
back near the boxoffice at the rear of the forecourt. The card is one
that popped up on eBay. Note that the card's colorist added some merchandise in the windows of the left storefront. A nice copy of this one is in the
San Diego State University collection.
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 Mott Studios look at the left side of the facade taken during the
run of "King of Kings." That's a picture of Cecil B. DeMille in the left
display case. This is in the
California State Library collection, with two other views, as #001535404.
The image also made an appearance on page 83 of the January 1928 issue of
Architectural Digest
as part of a four-page article about the theatre. Thanks to Scott
Collette for locating the issue. He curates the Facebook page
Forgotten Los Angeles.
1927 - The last Mott Studios "King of Kings" photo in the three-photo
California State Library set #001535404. Also see
a similar shot with slightly different cropping and different action at the doors. It's in the Library's collection as
#001386271, a three-photo set that includes forecourt and auditorium views. There's also a copy of the latter image indexed as
#001535416.
1927 -
A shot from a bit later during the run of "King of Kings." Cecil still appears in the left display case and Kurt Wahlner notes that perhaps the nearby flag was for the 4th of July. This is one of over 800 images in the great book "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History" by Gregory Paul Williams, available on Amazon. This photo is on page 157. There's a preview of the book to browse on Google Books.
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.
1927 - A photo of the November 4 premiere for "The Gaucho" that appeared in the December 3 issue of
Exhibitors Herald. Thanks to Mike Hume for finding it on Internet Archive. The photo appeared with this caption: "It was a gala night when Douglas Fairbanks' new picture 'The Gaucho' opened at Sid Grauman's new Chinese theatre in Hollywood. The throng is awaiting the arrival of the United Artists star."
1927 - A lovely shot of the premiere of "The Gaucho" that was located for a Facebook post by Scott Collette of the
Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook page. Thanks! Note here we still have four palm trees in the forecourt -- soon to be down to two.
1928 - A shot from footage of a crowd checking out the forecourt ballyhoo before a screening of Charlie Chaplin's "The Circus." Thanks to Jonathan Raines for spotting this in the French documentary "
Charlie Chaplin, le génie de la liberté" / "Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty." The film premiered January 27 and a went on to a fourteen week run. Footage of some of the forecourt performers as well as the premiere is on
YouTube, on the
Criterion Channel, and on the film's DVD. See five Dick Whittington Studio promo photos shot in the forecourt with a Chaplin
imitator and the Mexican clown Pepito in the
USC Digital Library collection. The cover of the program can be seen in a blog post from the
Homestead Museum.
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 shot of the grass hut for "White Shadows" that appears in "
1920s Hollywood California...," a fine 5+ minute long Hollywood
travelogue on YouTube from Periscope Films. Included are views of the El Capitan, the Egyptian, the Warner and other
Hollywood sights. Also see a shot from this footage of a
crowd at the boxoffice later during the run of "White Shadows" after the thatching had been removed and the L-shaped canopy configuration was in place. A title card calls the Chinese "the wonderland showhouse of the world."
1928 - The November 1 premiere of "Noah's Ark," a Michael Curtiz film starring George O'Brien and Delores Costello.
The Warner Bros. Vitaphone release, a silent with added music and
effects soundtrack, had a twelve week run. Note the neon signage on the far left.
1928 - A Dick Whittington Studio photo taken during the run of "Noah's Ark." Thanks to Escott O. Norton for locating the photo in the
USC Digital Library collection. They have it included with a bunch of Adams Blvd. churches that Whittington also shot.
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.
1928 - A snapshot from the Kurt Wahlner collection taken with the theatre decorated for Christmas during the run of "Noah's Ark." The film ran through January 16, 1929.
Note the signage above that left awning. Kurt comments: "Somebody must have seen this picture when they designed the readerboards in the 2001 remodel. I think that is a cutout of Charles King in the middle of the pagoda’s swoop advertising the opening of 'The Broadway Melody' February 1, 1929. Sort of looks like a fellow in tails holding a sign." See Kurt's
GraumansChinese.org website for a sumptuous history of the theatre.
1929 - "The Broadway Melody," the first talkie musical, opened February 1 for a nineteen week run. The MGM film starring Charles King and Anita Page featured Technicolor sequences. Thanks to Laurie Heltsey for locating the photo in the Corbis/Getty collection for a post on the
America in the 1920s Facebook group.
1929 - A busy night during the run of "Broadway Melody." It ran until June 16. There's a poster for the film in the display case on the left. It's a photo in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
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 - Frank Borzage's "Song O' My Heart" was a rare film that got an ad for it painted on the west wall of the theatre. This card is in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. It played from April 19 through May 25, a five week run. It starred John McCormack, Alice Joyce, Maureen O'Sullivan, Tommy Clifford and John Garrick. Some sequences were filmed in the Fox Grandeur process at the Philharmonic Auditorium. See the
Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for shots of the scenes filmed there.
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 fine look into the forecourt during the "Hell's Angels" premiere. It's a
USC Digital Library photo from the California Historical Society.
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 - An amazing look east on Hollywood Blvd. during the run of "Hell's Angels." Note the banner on the pole on the right saying "Welcome Home, Sid." Thanks to Martin Turnbull for finding the photo for a post on his
Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page.
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."
1930 - A
Los Angeles Public Library collection photo of the November 25 premiere for Josef von Sternberg's "Morocco." The film had a seven and a half week run, closing Janyary 18, 1931.
1930 - A closer look at the "Morocco" premiere. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this for a post on the private Facebook group
Photos of Los Angeles.
1930 - A shot taken by Adelbert Bartlett during the run of "Morocco." It's on the
UCLA Library website. The photo, from the Library's Adelbert Bartlett Papers Collection, is also on
Calisphere. Marlene Dietrich made a personal appearance on Saturday, November 29, advertised as "Her first and only American appearance."
1931 - The "Miracle Picture of 1931." It's the January 22 premiere of "Trader Horn" starring Harry Carey and Edwina Booth. The film played two different engagements at the theatre. Following the premiere it had an 11 week run from January
23 until April 5. It returned for 2 weeks beginning June 11. Thanks to Morbius19 for sharing the photo on
Flickr. And kudos to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
1931 - The first known color photographs of the theatre were taken during the run of "Trader Horn." Thanks to
the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence
Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for sharing this one on their website, #HB-125. It's one of 214 in their album "
Hollywood Boulevard 1899-1940." They don't give any data as to its source but presumably it's from some travelogue footage.
1931 - An image from footage shot near the end of the initial "Trader Horn" engagement. It's from "Round About Hollywood," a seven minute short that 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. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for
spotting the footage online. He turned to Sophia Lorent, a curatorial
assistant in the Moving Image Department at the George Eastman House, to
determine the origin of the footage.
1931 - "Round About Hollywood" concludes with footage of the April 7 west coast premiere of "Dirigible." It had a four week run ending May 7.
1931 - Another view of the "Dirigible" premiere. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for extracting this shot from newsreel footage of the event. The footage can be seen (along with coverage from the "Grand Hotel" premiere) on
YouTube as as post from Nass. Thanks to Scott Santoro for locating it.
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 - Signage across the street for "Grand Hotel." This view is one from the newsreel coverage of the premiere that appears on the DVD for the film. 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 - Another "Grand Hotel" premiere view. Thanks to Kurt
Wahlner for extracting this shot from the newsreel footage of the event.
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 at 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.
1932 - This shot from the
Theatre Historical Society Facebook page gives us a fine view of the signage east of the theatre before the July 15 world premiere of "Strange Interlude," starring Norma Shearer and Clark Gable.
1933 - The January 12 premiere of "Cavalcade," directed by Frank Lloyd and produced at Fox Movietone City. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this photo from his collection on
Flickr. And also thanks to Michelle Gerdes for spotting Eric's post and including this in the
Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation Group Pool on Flickr.
1933 - A detail from the "Cavalcade" photo. Thanks, Eric!
1933 - A great crowd shot at the "Cavalcade" premiere Thanks to Paul Ayers for locating the photo for a
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group post.
1933
- A postcard view by F.A. Bussey looking east toward the Chinese. Note
the signage on the side wall saying "Direction Fox West Coast." Sid
was still around but now working as an employee of Fox West Coast
Theatres. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting this one when it was for sale
online. There's a version of the card in the
California State Library collection. That one was issued as a "Frasher Foto Card" with no mention of Mr. Bussey.
At the El Capitan the banner is advertising "Otto Kruger - in person - Counselor At Law - Smash Hit of Season." It opened Easter Sunday, April 16. The Times noted in their June 13
issue that the play was in its ninth and final week. Their next attraction was to be "Twentieth Century," opening on the 22nd.The Chinese had finished their three week run of "King Kong" on April 13 and, after being dark for seven weeks, opened "Gold Diggers of 1933" on June 2. That film's eleven week run ended August 13. Kurt Wahlner notes that the photo was taken during the dark period as there's nothing on the readerboard east of the Chinese.
1933 - Thanks to Kurt Wahlner of the Chinese Theatre history site
GraumansChinese.org for this view of the August 29 "Dinner at Eight" premiere. The film's six week run ended October 8.
1933 - A winter wonderland constructed in the forecourt. The shot is from "
Hollywood and the Beverly Hills Section,"
ten minutes of travelogue footage on YouTube from Periscope Films.
See two more shots of the Chinese:
another street view and a shot
deeper into the forecourt. We also get a look
at the El Capitan with a banner out for the play "Ten Minute Alibi." Thanks to Terrence Butcher for spotting this. Kurt Walhner notes that the display cases have posters for "
Little Women," a film that opened December 23 for a four week run ending January 28.
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.
Evidently the photo was shot sometime between
March 19 and April 3, when the house was dark after the run of Garbo's
"Queen Christina." The banner at the El Capitan is advertising Sidney
Kingsley's play "Men in White," a production that ran from March 11
until May 5. See
a very similar shot, but with a different assortment of vehicles. In the caption for that one on the
USC Digital Library site they list the readable signage, including "Smash Hit of New York - Men in White."
1934 - A postcard version of the previous shot, with a couple vehicles missing that had appeared in the original shot near that yellow-roofed streetcar at the Orchid Ave. intersection. This one is also in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection.
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."
The three tourists at the back of the forecourt, over on the right near the original boxoffice, are looking at a hole in the concrete where Victor McLaglen's footprint slab would go on May 25. Thanks to Noirish Los Angeles
contributor BifRayRock for locating the photo for his
Noirish post #40551. The photo also makes an appearance with several other Life shots by
Eisenstaedt in a post by Scott Collette on his Facebook page
Forgotten Los Angeles. See the
Forecourt page for some additional 1936 images from Life.
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.
c.1936 - An exciting east parking lot view from Life magazine. Thanks to BifRayRock on Noirish Los Angeles for the find. He had it on his
Noirish post #40301 with other Life views of Beverly Hills, Wilshire Blvd., and the 1936 premiere of "Things To Come" at the Four Star Theatre.
1936 - A postcard from Brian Michael McCray's Hollywood
Postcards collection. Thanks, Brian! Even
after flipping the image it's difficult to read the channel letters strung
across the street. They appear to say "The Unguarded Hour," a film
that played for one week beginning June 4. The co-feature was "The Country Beyond."
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."
1936 - Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for this shot taken during the run of "His Brother's Wife." The film opened August 12.
1936 - A promotional still with Esther Ralston and John Halliday
taken for Paramount's "Hollywood Boulevard," an August 21 release that
didn't play the Chinese. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it. We're
at Hollywood Blvd. and Orange Dr. with the Roosevelt Hotel out of the
frame to the left.
1936 - If we could pan right we'd see that the lettering in the parking lot to the east was for "Born To Dance" with Eleanor Powell and Jimmy Stewart. It played for two weeks beginning November 25 along with "15 Maiden Lane." It's a Frasher Foto card from the
California State Library.
1936 - A detail from the Frasher card. Note the strange Christmas ornament on the streetlamp. Just above the front of that car is a poster for "Born To Dance."
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 - A photo by Herman Schultheis in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. The crowd is lined up for "Captains Courageous" and "The Great Hospital Mystery," a bill that played for a week beginning July 14.
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."
1937 - A Bob Plunkett photo on a card in the Cezar Del Valle
Theatre Talks collection. The Chinese was running "The Prisoner of Zenda" with Ronald Colman and Madeline Carroll. It ran for a week beginning October 6 along with "The Women Men Marry" with George Murphy. The same "Zenda" shot is in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection except their version is labeled "Brookwell Photo" on the left.
1937 -
"Heidi" with Shirley Temple double billed with, of all things, "Night Club Scandal." It's a November 15 Works Progress Administration photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. Also see a closer view looking into the forecourt taken the same day.
1938 - The letters across the street say "The Ritz Brothers" but we don't know for which film. The date comes from the photo's appearance on the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence
Historic Hollywood Photographs website, their #HB-204. It's one of 214 in their album "
Hollywood Boulevard 1899-1940."
See Kurt Wahlner's page about the Ritz Brothers on his Grauman's Chinese site.
Films in which they got top billing evidently played the theatre three times at the top of double bills. "Life Begins at College" played a week beginning October 13, 1937 along with "Counsel For Crime." They starred in "Kentucky Moonshine," running for a week beginning May 18, 1938 along with "Hold That Kiss." "Straight, Place and Show" ran for a week beginning October 5, 1938 along with "Time Out For Murder."
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 - A postcard view of the signage for "Idiot's Delight" with Clark Gable and Norma Shearer. It's in the
California State Library collection. The film opened February 1, double billed with "While New York Sleeps."
1939 - Looking east along Hollywood Blvd. from Orange Dr. in a Dick Whittington Studio photo from the
USC Digital Library. As you can see from the lettering across the street, the show at the Chinese was "Stagecoach." It opened March 8 and only ran a week.
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.
Chinese theatre historian
Kurt Wahlner suspects the photo was taken the afternoon of August 8 after the last show of "Frontier Marshal" and before that evening's world premiere of "Stanley and Livingstone." The McAvoy/Bruce Torrence
Historic Hollywood Photographs collection has a sharp black and white version of this with different cropping, their #HA-024-36.
1939 - The crowds are in the bleachers for the premiere of "The
Wizard of Oz" on August 15. Thanks to Martin Turnbull for sharing this image he got from an unknown source on a "
Wizard of Oz" page on his website.
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.
The "Wizard of Oz" got a second premiere at the Chinese September 15, 2013 as the opening attraction after the IMAX renovations.
1939 - A view during the November 26 Christmas Parade. The bill that week was
"Another Thin Man" and "Heaven With a Barbed Wire Fence." On the right there's a banner out for "Folies Bergere of 1940," a show that opened November 1 at the El Capitan. It's a photo from Bettman Archives/Getty that appeared on a post of the blog Old Guv Legends. They had spotted it on an Atlantic "Pictures of Christmas Past" post.
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 card that appeared on eBay.
c.1940 - Thanks to Elizabeth Fuller for this card from her
Old Los Angeles Postcards
collection on Flickr. "The celebrated street of gala Premieres, world
fashions, movie stars and extras, famous shops, hotels and theatres,
where beauty, gaiety and glamour reign supreme in a setting seen only in
California." Ben Fentington also has a version of this on
Vintage Los Angeles.
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.
1941 - A "Breakfast Day" shot from the Kurt Wahlner collection. It's on Martin Turnbull's Noirish Los Angeles post #23690 where he notes: "... It’s unusual in that it was taken on February 26, 1941, the one day that the theater offered a 'Breakfast Matinee.' The doors opened at 7:00 AM and served a menu of pancakes and eggs for early-rising filmgoers. I wonder how many people showed up to wolf down their breakfast while watching 'Andy Hardy's Private Secretary' and 'Dr. Kildare’s Crisis.'"
1941 - A shot from some footage taken during the August run of "Our Wife." It's 49 minutes into Rick Prelinger's "
Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2019." The hour and thirty minute program of wonderful clips
from a variety
sources was presented at the Los Angeles Public Library by the
organization Photo Friends as part of the series L.A. in Focus. Also see
an earlier compilation: "
Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2016." Both
programs are on Vimeo. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for dating the photo.
1941- A fine Frasher Foto Card looking east on Hollywood
Blvd. toward the Chinese and the El Capitan. The banner at the El Capitan is advertising Laird Cregar in "The Man Who
Came To Dinner," a production that ran from September 19 through
October 18. The card is in the
California State Library collection, their #1537132. The El Capitan letters we
see on the roof sign would come down during the 1942 Paramount remodel.
1941 - The September 25 premiere of "A Yank in the R.A.F." starring Tyrone Power and Betty Grable. It ran a week along with "Niagara Falls" starring Marjorie Woodworth and Tom Brown. Thanks to Eric Lynxwiler for sharing this photo from his collection on
Flickr.
c.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." Also see a very similar image but with different pedestrians that was located by Ken McIntyre.
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.
c.1942 - This photo by Dennis Lewis, Sr. appeared on a now-vanished site called Scenes of L.A. During WWII.
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:
"Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California. The celebrated street of gala Premieres, world fashions, movie stars and extras, famous shops, hotels and theatres, where beauty, gaiety and glamour reign supreme in a setting seen only in California. Color by Clatworthy, Estes Park, Colorado."
1943 - Kurt Wahlner notes that on a less-cropped version of this shot he has in his collection you can see a poster for "Andy Hardy's Double Life" in a display case on the left. The film ran for a week beginning March 11 along with "Quiet Please, Murder." The posters on the easels near the entrance were for a coming attraction, perhaps "Hello, Frisco, Hello" on the 18th or "The Young Mr. Pitt," opening on the 24th. This version of the shot was located by Ken McIntyre for a post on the
Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
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 - A detail from Eric's Academy Award night photo. On the readerboard next door they were advertising the program that would
open for a one week run beginning March 3: "Rationing" with Wallace
Beery and Marjorie Main along with Margaret O'Brien in "Lost Angel."
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 - Part of the big crowd for the 17th
Annual Academy Awards, held on March 15. On the readerboard behind the bleachers: "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." Thanks to Scott Collette for locating a cache of
photos of the event taken by Walter Sanders and Martha Holmes for Life
magazine. He has sixteen of them in his
Forgotten Los Angeles Facebook post #1 (also on
Instagram) and several versions of an additional backstage shot on
Forgotten post #2 (also on
Instagram).
1945 - A shot from "
Welcome to Southern California," a 14 minute
promotional film from the Atchinson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co. It's on YouTube from the Prelinger Archives. Thanks to
Terrence Butcher for spotting it.
1945 - Dancers from the Earl Carroll Theatre are helping decorate Hollywood Blvd. The Chinese was running "Spellbound" with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, playing from November 9 through December 13. It's a shot in a set Martha Holmes took for Life magazine.
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.
1946 - Another look at the Chinese during the run of "Anna and the King of Siam" with Irene Dunne, Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the photo.
c.1946 - A postcard view to the east. Thanks to Sean Ault for spotting this one when it was for sale online. He comments: "This has to be pre-1947 as there's an LA Motor Coach bus operating down beyond the Pacific Electric Red Car. I am willing to guess it's a 1945 or 1946 plate on the car with the Chevron sign on the back as well as others faintly visible on other cars. Those two had a very different look to them with a white bar along the top in the middle with CAL 45 or 46 on them."
1946 - The Christmas parade goes by the Chinese. The signage was advertising Jeanne Crain in "Margie." The film had a three week run between November 8 and November 26. Thanks to James J. Chun for locating the Bob Plunkett photo for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
1946 - Another Bob Plunkett Christmas parade shot. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one via the site Worthpoint for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group.
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 - The Chinese was running "Kiss of Death" with Victor Mature. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the card. The film opened August 13 for a two week run. There's an uncropped version of the photo for the postcard on the
Huntington Library site -- we see more of both the left side of the building as well as the signage at the right.
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 - A look east from the Eric Lynxwiler collection that he shared on
Flickr. It was in a 1947 scrapbook with tourist shots of Tijuana, San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco and the Warner Bros. Studio. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for spotting it for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
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.
1947 - A postcard based on the previous photo. The retoucher
for the card eliminated the woman who was in the crosswalk and
embellished a few other things to make it a night view. Thanks to Brian
Michael McCray for sharing this one from his collection as a post on
Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. The card also appears in Elizabeth Fuller's
Old Los Angeles Postcards set on Flickr.
1948 - "Captain From Castile" with Tyrone Power and Jean Peters opened December 25, 1947 and ran through January 15, 1948. The card is in the
California State Library collection.
1948 - On the readerboard on the far right we get a bit of a "J," a "C" and an "'Y." The initials are for Jeanne Crain. With Dan Dailey, they starred in "You Were Meant For Me," a film that had a two week run beginning January 16. It's a proof for a postcard card using a Bob Plunkett photo from the Ernest Marquez collection at the
Huntington Library.
Note the signage blacked out on the awning of the right storefront, perhaps to make it seem less dated in later printings. See
one version of the finished card with "Poggi's" on the awning and an image that's cropped in more tightly. That one was spotted by Ken McIntyre on Flickr in Todd Franklin's
Movie Theater Stuff album.
1948
- "Fury at Furnace Creek" with Victor Mature and Colleen Gray played two weeks beginning April 30 along with Tom Conway and Maria Palmer in "13 Lead Soldiers."
It's a photo in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. Thanks to Christina Rice, the head of the Library's photo collection, for her assistance in deciphering the partly-shadowed copy on the readerboard. The key was spotting that "13" on the bottom line.
Over at the Paramount they were running "The Big Clock" with Ray Milland and Charles Laughton, a film that would close May 5. They had a sneak preview the day of this shot. The photo also appears in the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence
Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #HB-197. It's one of 214 in their album "
Hollywood Boulevard 1899-1940." They give it a 1938 date.
- "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.
The tenant in that storefront space on the right, formerly Poggi's, is
here seen as Keller's. Kurt Wahlner notes that the change happened
sometime between January and April 1948. By the time of the 1953 photos
of the theatre getting painted, the lettering on the awning is gone but
the name is on the glass. The space, originally entered from the
forecourt, was reconfigured with an additional entrance on Hollywood
Blvd. sometime in 1961 during the run of "West Side Story."
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 Mike Roberts photo on a postcard from the Kevin Walsh collection. He notes that his copy has a December 1949 postmark. There's also a copy with somewhat different coloration in the
New York Public Library collection.
1948 - Hitchcock's "The Paradine Case" had a big 12 day run beginning October 29. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. The film had a premiere at the Fox Westwood Village in December 1947 and then had a week-long run at the Vogue and Bruin for Academy Award consideration. Bruce Kimmel comments: "It was a big ol' flop and they held it until the end of 1948."
1948 - A look in during the second week of the run of "The Paradine Case." Also see a view of
the west display cases a moment later. Thanks to Alison Martino for sharing the lovely three-minute clip these shots are from as a post on her
Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. Earlier we get a look at the Admiral with "The Stranger" and "Born
to Kill," the Warner with "June Bride," and the Hollywood Hotel. There are also some studio shots.
1948 - A look east with the theatre running "Unfaithfully Yours" starring Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell along with "Trouble Makers" with Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall. It's a program that ran from December 14 through December 24.
It's a photo appearing in Gregory Paul Williams book "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History," available on Amazon. This photo is on page 263. There's a preview of the book to browse on Google Books.
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.
1949 - A fine view from the Richard Wojcik collection shared by Alison Martino on her
Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. The banners are up for the Republic film "The Red Menace" starring Robert Rockwell and Hanna-Axmann-Rezzori. The film opened June 9 at the Hollywood and Downtown Paramounts.
1949 - A snapshot taken during the two week run of "Father Was a Fullback" starring Fred MacMurray and Maureen O'Hara. It opened September 30 and played with "Treasure of Monte Cristo" with Glen Lanagan and Adele Jergins. It's one of a group of family vacation shots that was acquired by Eric Lynxwiler that he has shared on
Flickr.
1949 - Another "Father Was a Fullback" vacation shot appearing on
Flickr thanks to Eric Lynxwiler. Kurt Wahlner calls our attention to the fence seen on the far left. The footprint ceremony for Jeanne Crain had been done October 7 and they wanted the tourists to stay off the wet cement. See Kurt's interactive
Forecourt of the Stars map and the listing for
Jeanne Crain.
1949 - A "Father Was a Fullback" view from the east. It's part of the same set of family vaction photos in Eric Lynxwiler's collection that he shares on
Flickr.
Kurt Wahlner comments: "This 'Father Was a Fullback' shot is the current
holder of the 'last shot of the Chinese readerboard with the channel
letters.' After this point, the readerboard poles were still there, but
no letters. The poles were removed by August 1950."
c.1950 - Looking across a 1949 Buick Straight Eight. It's an image from Greg Ruben on Instagram, one in a batch of slides he acquired from @cafe_molly that were taken by a priest who was an amateur photographer. Thanks to Martin Turnbull for grabbing the image and sharing it on his Hollywood's Garden of Allah Novels Facebook page. Jim Haske Sr. notes that Nick Nolte, Chazz Palminteri, Chris Penn and Michael Madson drive around in a black Buick like that in the 1996 film "Mulholland Falls."
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 - A Bob Plunkett postcard view looking east. In the display case it appears to be a poster for "Four Days' Leave" with Cornel Wilde and Josett Day. It played a week beginning March 22 along with "Guilty Bystander." At the Paramount it was "House By the River," which had its L.A. premiere there on March 23. The marquee is also advertising Herb Jeffries as the stage show headliner. The card from the Ernest Marquez collection appears on the
Huntington Library website.
1950 - "Destination Moon" opened August 9 for a big one week run. Thanks for Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group. "See the wonders of the moon -- it's closer than you think." The big 2nd feature was "Snow Dog" from Monogram.
1950 - A great photo found by Ken McIntyre looking east from the Chinese across the Hollywood Hotel toward the Security Bank Building. It's from the McAvoy/Bruce Torrence
Historic Hollywood Photographs collection, their #HB-266.
Note that we no longer have a readerboard in the lot east of the theatre. Kurt Wahlner, curator of the site
GraumansChinese.org, notes that they stopped putting letters up at the end of 1949 and by August 1950 the poles were gone.
1950 - Painting underway in the first week of November. It's a Ralph Morris photo from the Los Angeles Photographers Collection at the
Los Angeles Public Library. The poster in that left display case is for "Two Flags West" with Joseph Cotton and Linda Darnell. It had a one week run beginning November 1. The case on the far right has a display for "All About Eve." That film would have an invitational premiere on November 9 and begin a three week run on November 22.
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.
1950 - "Santa Clause Lane." A parade postcard from the
California State Library collection. That "Maintain Good Government Vote NO Recall" billboard was up to oppose a recall campaign against reform Mayor Fletcher Bowron that had been on the November 7 ballot. He had been elected in 1949 and survived the recall attempt. The 1950 parade is also seen in the 1951 film "
Hollywood Story."
1951 - The rainy January 4 premiere for "The Halls of Montezuma." It's a photo taken by Ralph Morris that's in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection. Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for dating the shot. He did the weather research and notes: "It had been raining lightly all over the southland that day."
1951 - A premiere night card that was a find of diligent theatre researcher Ken McIntyre. Kevin Walsh has a copy of this one in his collection that was published by United Air Lines. Kurt Wahlner identifies this as the January 30 premiere for "
The Mudlark" starring Irene Dunne and Alec Guinness. It ran for a week from January 31 through February 8.
1951 - On the left of this shot from the Kurt Wahlner collection he notes that it's a poster for Robert Wise's "The House on Telegraph Hill" with Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, William Lundigan and Fay Baker. It played for a week beginning June 8 along with Ray Milland in "Circle of Danger."
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 - An October shot from the Kurt Wahlner collection appearing in the "
Early Widescreen" section of his superbly done "
The Dream Machines," a survey of projection and sound at the theatre. The theatre was running "The Desert Fox" and "Havana Rose," a bill that ran two weeks between October 19 and October 30. The banner says "It's Movie Time U.S.A."
1951 - A "dawn" view. The glow on the horizon is from the atomic bomb tests in
Nevada, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It's an October 28 photo taken from the
Hollywood Roosevelt by a Mr. McCarty for the Examiner. Thanks to motion picture sound editor
Paul Soucek
for locating the image. It's in the
USC Digital Library collection.
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."
c.1951 - A Christmas view by Mike Roberts from Ken McIntyre's collection. Another version of the card is also on the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook groupas a post of Bill Gabel.
There's a copy of the card in the Kevin
Walsh collection and his has a December 1952 postmark.
1952 - "Viva Zapata" and modern transportation in a great March shot located by Ken McIntyre.
1952 - This seems to be taken during the run of "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" according to Kurt Wahlner. It was a May 9 opening. It's on the Facebook group
Historical Pictures of Los Angeles, a contribution of Sebi Garcia. Thanks!
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 - "The African Queen" in June at the Chinese. The photo was a post on the
Los Angeles Theatres Facebook page by Gianpiero F. Leone.
1952 - 500 Examiner carriers got a free show of Samuel Fuller's "Park Row" on September 1, the opening day of the film's one week run. See a shot in the forecourt with Sam and old-time pressman Fred Schwan wearing pressman's hats at a printing press set up by the Examiner. The film 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 shots were by an Examiner photographer by the name of Miller. The one shown here is in the
USC Digital Library collection along with the forecourt view linked above plus another take. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating these for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.
1952 - Thanks to Kurt Wahlner for sharing this shot taken during the big one-week run of "Park Row." He notes that the source and photographer are unknown.
1952 - An Associated Press file photo that appeared with article "
Chinese Theatre marks 90 years as a Hollywood glamour hotspot"
on the AP website. Kurt Wahlner identifies this this as being taken
during the run of "The Thief" with Ray Milland. The Harry Popkin
production played for one week as a single feature beginning October 15.
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 - A November shot from the Kurt Wahlner collection. "Bloodhounds of Broadway" and "Mr. Walkie Talkie" opened at the Chinese the last week of November. Thanks, Kurt. Visit his
Grauman's Chinese 1952 page for a list of every film to play the theatre that year.
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? - It's an Associated Press file photo that appeared with Sandy Cohen's 2017 AP article "
Chinese Theatre marks 90 years as a Hollywood glamour hotspot."
Kurt Wahlner suggests that this may have been taken in 1953 during the February 11 to 17 run of
"Torpedo Alley" with Dorothy Malone. It played for a week along with "Hiawatha." In a
Facebook post Martin Turnbull says that the photo dates from March 1953 but offers no sources.
1953 - "My Cousin Rachel" starred Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton. It played a week beginning February 18. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post on the
Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
1953 - "Star" with Bette Davis and Sterling Hayden played for a week beginning March 4. The co-feature was "Taxi" with Dan Dailey and Constance Smith. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this one for a post on the
Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. On the left side of the forecourt note some scaffolding up from another paint job. There's also some visible beyond the south wall.
1953 - The premiere of "Shane" on June 4th. It was presented on a new "gigantic panoramic screen" with stereo sound ("The Sound Follows the Action") from a separate 35mm dubber. The photo is from Bob Furmanek's 3D Film Archive site's page
"Shane" in Widescreen. Also see his fine
Widescreen Documentation article for more details about the era's changes in presentation and how "Shane" was cropped to make it a widescreen movie.
1953 - A look at the Chinese shortly after the premiere of "Shane." It's on the
Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page from the Richard Wojcik collection.
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.
Also see a Herald Examiner photo in the
Los Angeles Public Library collection showing a promotional stunt for the show of pickets carrying signs like "Unfair to Brunettes and Redheads."
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 view of the sign in action for the first Cinemascope picture, "The Robe." It's the premiere night, September 24. Thanks to David Sorenson for posting this Getty Images shot on the
Southern California Nostalgia private Facebook group. It's also on the site
epnet.com.
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 - An entrance detail taken during the run of "Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef." Thanks to Sean Ault for the photo.
1953 - A closer look at the signage. It's a detail from Eric Lynxwiler's photo.
1954 - "Hollywood Home of Cinemascope" was on the sidewall in this postcard from the now-vanished website Yesterday L.A. "King of the Khyber Rifles" was the feature. It opened February 4 for a four week run. Kevin Walsh has a copy of this in his collection and notes that it's a photo by Russ Eckerstrom and the card was distributed by A. Mitock and Sons.
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 - Thanks to Richard Wojcik for this shot from the run of "River of No Return" with Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum. It was a post on the
Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. The film opened May 5 and ran six weeks.
1954 - Another perspective on the signage during the run of "The River of No Return." Thanks to Torbjörn Eriksson for locating this May 20 photo from the Michael Ochs Archives for a post on the
Southern California Nostalgia private Facebook group. Torbjörn comments on the starlet in the foreground: "Melinda Markey is an actress, known for 'Crashout' (1955), 'Matinee Theatre' (1955) and 'Richard Diamond, Private Detective' (1957)... I don't know what the advertisement on the bench is, or if the advertisement has anything to do with Melinda. But I think so..."
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 - A lovely view from Richard Wojcik that appeared on the
Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. The Red Car is stopping to let moviegoers off to see "Broken Lance." It was running for five weeks beginning July 30.
1954 - A look west on the Boulevard toward the Chinese running "The Egyptian" with Victor Mature, Gene Tierney and Jean Simmons. The photo appears on Biff Ray Rock's
Noirish Los Angeles post #8546. It's also on
Flickr. The film premiered September 1.
Streetcar service on Hollywood Blvd. would end September 26, 1954. See the
PE Hollywood Line article from the Electric Railway Historical Association.
1954 - "Woman's World" with June Allyson and Clifton Webb had a six week run from October 8 until November 17. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this photo for a post on the
Ken's Movie Page Facebook group.
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 was 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:
|
Chinese overview |
back to top - street views 1926 to 1954 |
street views 1955 to present |
forecourt |
lobby |
lounges |
vintage auditorium views |
recent auditorium views |
upstairs boxes and offices |
booth |
stage |
basement |
attic and roof |
Chinese Twin |
Chinese 6 |
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