'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 : L~~to1 I/4i f (4)aI ,' 1911-1111/ 1'! / k ~Succ .i (Oil en der k l .._._ ,Oki "/i Dil i! Cong reiteator s III 111 SEll I III I I