'THE M1CHIGAN- DA ILY
PAGE F l
brand Opening
Of Michigan
Held In 1928
Double .Feature Attracted
First Night Audience
To Movie, Stage Show
Tryon Is Starred
It was just fourteen years ago that
Ann Arbor theatre audiences last
witnessed the grand opening of al
theatre in this city.
On January 5, 19?8, the Michigan
Theatre, dedicated to the faculty and
1tudents of the University and to the
residents of Ann Arbor, opened its
doors for the first time. The program
for the grand opening celebration
consisted of the movie "Hero of the
Night" with Glen Tryon and a stage
production "From Rags to Riches"
Wth Ida May Chadwick.
Built as the realization of the boy-
hood dream of Angelo .Poulos, an
Ann Arbor business man, the theatr-v
was leased to W. S. Butterfield who
has operated it ever since as one of
the large chain of Butterfield thee-
Favorite of The Forces 'Dotty' Larnour Will Sair In Opener
Kay Ruddy And Hal Chumpeen
(hing W~It Desperationt To Past
"These new .theatres are certainly In the last few years. Michigan
beautiful, but very often the irresist- students have been given the oppor-
able march of swift-moving time re- tunity to see "Green Pastures." "Boy
suIlts in destruction of the scenes of Meets Girl," "Helzapoppin," Ethel
old-and loved joyous experiences, of Barrymore in "White Oak," and
theatres haunted by the restless "Earl Carrol Vanities."
ghosts of long past plays," said Kay College students are always a msi-
Ruddy, '22P, with a nostalgic gasp. cal crowd, so it is not surprising to
"Who can forget old Herman Tim- see everything from John Phillip
berg," she continued, "and all the Souza and Band to "the Majestic
publicity stories telling how a blow Orchestra" in theatre ads.
received in his childhood made him Fred Waring and his Pennsylvani-
devote his life to making women- ans were here in 1927 and again in
laugh?" 1932, and recently Xavier Cugat,
1
Seats 2,000
The theatre seats approximately
2Q00 people and, in tribute to the
University, the seats, wall decora-
,ipns and floor rugs were colored
maize and blue. In its first few years
of operation the Michigan was pro-
vided with music by a twelve piece
orchestra with Floyd Hoffman at the
electric organ. Although the orlches-
tra has disappeared, the organ, rec-
ognized as one of the best and most
expensive in the country, still' re-1
mains.
Equipped with the latest theatrical
facilities, the Michigan is not only
a moving picture house but can also
play any type of vaudeville. The
backstage equipment includes an
electric bridge for stage scenery and
4 pre-selective stage swithcboard.
The marquee of the theatre contains
4800 lights.
Hoag Is Manager
But one can not mention the Mich-
igan Theatre without telling of its.
Popular manager, Gerald Hoag, bet-
ter known as "Gerry."
Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., Haag-
took a liking to theatrical work at an
early age. He worked in the box offi-
ces of several of the local theatres
and was soon hired by W. S. Butter-
field as traveling secretary of the
Bt tterfield Theatres, Inc. This posi-I
tion allowed him to travel all through u
the state of Michigan, to Kalamazoo,A
Battle Creek, Bay City, Lansing andc
various other localities.
In x919 Hoag was made the man-
ager of the Majestic Theatre here in
Ann Arbor. He held this position
until 1928 when he was appointed
manager of the then new Michigan
Theatre.
Old Handsome Hal
Hal Chumpeen, '44, looks back with
longing to the appearance of "The
Original Mound City Blue Blowers,"
advertised as "the hottest thing since
the Chicago fire," and lists the old
time amateur nights as one of his
fondest memories.
"I shall never forget," he said, "the
time 'Discovery Night' was coupled
with 'What Every Young Girl Should
Know.' What a performance that
was."
Two of the biggest names in Holly-
wood today played in Ann Arbor,
and were not even listed in advance
advertising. The stilt-walker in Stan
Lomas' Troupe and the fellow who
played the less dignified end of the
horse was none other than Cary
Grant.
The other movie star is Martha
Raye of the gorgeous gams and big
mouth who played here in 1935 as
a very unfeatured singer with Benny
Davis' band.
Wide Range Of Shows
Alin Arbor stage shows have ranged
from the Greenwich Village Follies,
with "30 lithe and lustrous models"
through "Kosher Kitty Kelly" and
"What Price Glory" to "The Man
Who Came to Dinner."
In 1935, "Blue Venus," was billed a
musical panorama, but was apparent-
ly a horror show in disguise. Forty-
four "lovely delectable damsels" with
blue hair shimmied and sauntered all
over a local stage.
But back in '27, Ann Arbor did a
little better. "Emperor Jones" and
May Robeson in "Mother's Millions"
were two of the better good plays
that year.
Henry Busse, Duke Ellington, Wil
Osborne and The Ink Spots enter-
tained Wolverine audiences.
THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS
"The American motion picture is
one of our most effective media in
informing and entertaining our
citizens.
The motion picture must remain
free insofar as national security
will permit.
I want censorship of the mo-
tion picture, I want no restrictions
placed thereon which will impair
the usefulness of the film other
than those very necessary restric-
tions which the dictates of safety
make imperative.
-Franklin 1. Roosevelt
I do_
use COSMETICS
from
Marshall's
Next to the STATE Theatre
Dottie Lamour, feminine star of "The Fleet's In," will head the program at the opening of the State Theatre tomorrow night. Although Miss La-
mour is most frequently seen in tropical dress, she has dropped her well-w orn sarong to pose for these none-the-less characteristic pictures, and no
longer can it be said that her career depends on guitars, south winds an d a Hawaiian war chant.
Drama, Suspense, Love, Tension -- Everything:
Great Saga Of Old West Stars 'Armed To The Teeth Say
__ _ _
It.
Came In 1919
Hoag found out later that it was
more than only a revelation to the
students who have disturbed the
quiet of the theatre with their "Black
Fridays" and, other uprisings. But
Manager Hoag keeps smiling and
says, "We expect these periodic dis-
turbances." He said that in all his
23 years of managing Ann Arbor the-
4tres he recalls only two ipcidents
when individual students could not
be quieted by the suggestion "please
be gentlemen."
9
1
ti
By MANDY and RIFF
Menace Picture Corp. presents
vith exuberance a NEW and TOT-
ALLY different epic of the of' West
called . . . "Saga of the Sage" or
"Cactus Hurts."
Our scene is set in the glorious
open spaces of Nevada, Brooklyn,
Nevada, in the ol' Bossie Saloon,
where men are men and women are
as scarce as sheep herders. Our
hero, Armed to the Teeth Sam, is
leaning against the bar genially
conversing with Luluu, a sweet pure
girl (in reality a Nazi spy!).
Suggested dialogue.
ATTT Sam: Howdy, Luluu-ol',
gal.
Luluu: Howdy thar, ATTT Sam.
(Enter Dead Eye Pete, the friendly
owner of the saloon (in reality the
eader of the rustlers).
ATTT Sam: Howdy, pardner, heard
anything about them dang rustlers,
he varmints?
De Pete: No, I ain't, them dirty
varmints.
(Script writers can easily carry on
from here).
(Our next scene takes us up to
ATTT Sam's ranch)
(Enter Ike, ATTT Sam's foreman)
(Little does ATTT Sam know that
not only is Ike one of them thar
rustlers, but is in reality, by full
title, Card Cheatin' Ike, the lowest
varmint that ever hit Brooklyn, due
to card cheatin'.)
CC Ike: (Known to ATTT Sam as'
Ike) Howdy, ATTT Sam. Them
rustlers done run off with a thous-
and head o' cattle about six bells last
eventide.
ATTT Sam: Doggone!
One Eye Joe: (ATTT Sam's o1' In-
dian servant, faithful to the last
Ugh) Ugh.
The wonders of the motion pic-
ture camera now whisk us back
(Courtesy Menace Pictures Corp.)
to the Bossie Saloon's evil smelling
office, whar DE Pete and Luluu are
deep in their foul plotting.
DE Pete: We run off another
thousand head o' ATTT Sam's prime
beef last night, Luluu.
Luluu: (evilly hehehehe.
DE Pete: We're going to be rich
soon, my girl, and then we'll light
out across the border. (Little does
D'E Pete realize that Luluu is in real-
ity a Nazi spy who is planning to turn
him into the Gestapo).
Luluu: (evilly) hehehehe.
DE Pete: (lustily) Give us a kiss,'
gal.
Luluu: (evilly).
Fadeout to next scene in sher-
iff's office where ATTT Sam is
talking to the sheriff, (in reality
the head of the Gestapo).
ATTT Sam: (without spirit of re-
From -One Form
of Entertainment
to Another
a posse and corral them varmints.
Doggone. (ATTT Sam is not ordinar-
ily a cussin' Hombre, but gee, he's1
already lost six thousand head o'
cattle, proud possessor of five thous-
and he had to start with. It seems the;
rustlers thought it would be fun to
keep on.)
Sheriff: I is a- peaceable man,
ATTT Sam, but this here rustling has
done got my dander up, and rarin'
to go. I'll fall in with your plans.
Enter stranger: Howdy. (Little does
the sheriff know that he is in real-
ity a U.S. Marshal.)
Sheriff: Howdy.
Stranger: I heerd tell tlTar's a bit
o' rustlin' going on in these pants.
Sheriff: Smile when you say that,
stranger.
(Carry on)
Our next scene takes place in the
sands of the desert, where, ai ill
luck would have it, the posse has
been misdirected by a Boy Scout1
(in reality a Nipponese spy.)
Sheriff: (speaking in the tone of
a man who needs a drink of water):
They is all daid 'ceptin' you 'n' me,
ATTT Sam.
ATTT Sam: (his hardy frame still
unbowed by cruel fate) : At last we
are alone.
(A rattlesnake sneaks out from un-
der the floorboards and viciously
sinks his poisoned fangs into the
sheriff's leg.
Sheriff. (piteously) Oh, ATTT Sam,
I am struck down in my prime.
ATTT Sam: Doggone.
Sheriff: (noticably weaker) But
before I go whar the Great Rancher
Outdoor Theatres
Must Close Doors
In Cold Weather
Chilblaine Quincy Shivvers, man-
ager of the great chain of nationwide
outdoor theatres, where you come in
your car, maybe to see a show and
probably to get acquainted, com-
mented today that outdoor theatres
get so cold in winter that they have
to close up.
"We have found," Shivvers chat-
tered, "that the only stupes we can
drag in during the cold months are
Eskimos, and they complained so
much about not understanding the
language that we figured we might
as well give up."
Shivvers also admitted that people
who neck in cars during outdoor
movie performances are a definite
hindrance to making money. He ex-
plained that they stay for five or six
shows, thus keeping the new crop out
in the parking lot.
herds the dogies, I wanna tell you
that DE Pete is the varmint whose
been a-rustlin' your cattle. And
what is mo', Luluu, my daughter by
an early and unfortunate marriage, is
a Nazi spy. Be kind to the little gal,
ATTT Sam.
ATTT Sam: Smile when you say
that, Sheriff.
(Sheriff unhappily expires)
ATTT Sam: Doggone. (Looks out
across the vast empty plains.)
Heah comes OE Joe at a rapid trot,
come to rescue me from these here
solitary wastes o' the desert.
(OE Joe picks up ATTT Sam and
tenderly 'carries him sixty miles back
to civilization, Brooklyn.)
Our last scene again takes place
in the Bossie Saloon.
OE Joe sets ATTT Sam gently
down on the bar.
ATTT Sam (tenderly): Thank
heaven you arrived in time, OE Joe,
my fathful Indian servant.
OE Joe: Ugh.
Luluu appears in bewitching calico.
She speaks: Why, ATTT Sam, yo'
look like a plumb tuckered out hom-
bre.
ATTT Sam : Never mind my exter-
nal appearance.vThe sheriff done
told me all, gal. But marry me no-
how, and we'll beat them Nazi var-
mints (who are even worse then them
rustler varmits) together.
Luluu: (reformed) Hold on, pard-
ner, I got me some unfinished busi-
ness to settle with. an ornery critter.
(Shoots DE Pete)
Luluu: Take that, and that, you
ornery critter.
(Turns to ATTT Sam). I'm a-
ready, ATTT Sam.
Fadeout, ATTT Sam and Luluu
walk slowly towards the sunset sur-
rounded by two thousand head o'
prime cattle.
Congratulations
to the B utterfield Theatres
on the Opening of the
New State Theatre
front
the Oldest Store on State Street.
CALKINS &- FLETCH-ER
Congratulations
to the
NEW STATE THEATRE
WAHR'S BOOKSTORE
A MICHIGAN INSTITUTION
Goliside Stable~s
Offer Their Best Wishes to
The State Theater
2)ruj .Sbore3
324 South State
818 South State
III
'4
-j' venge) Sheriff, we-all got to git up
ill
:
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