City Lights 1930 1931 1932 next previous
City Lights Clippings 186/387
Mollie Merrick, Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., Feb. 2, 1931
Los Angeles Theatre, exterior by night, marquee „Night
of Terror“ with Wallace Ford and „Forgotten“ with June Clyde
Also An Organlogue with Nick Lukas, Los Angeles,
1933, Tyler St. Mark collection, Vintage Los Angeles, facebook
& Los Angeles Theatre, interior, Los Angeles, undated,
Big Orange Landmarks
„This is the third call for Mr. Schenck‘s car!“
Editorial content. „Stars And Talkies of Hollywood
By Mollie Merrick.
Special to The Spokesman-Review and North American
Newspaper Alliance. Copyright. 1931.
Hollywood, Cal., Feb. 1. – The most famous opening
in the history of Hollywood was more a holocaust than a holiday.
When the world premiere of the Chaplin film was
announced, everybody agreed that here would be the most distinguished audience the motion picture industry
had ever known.
Every one agreed that the street crowds would
be heavy; that curiosity would reach its naive height. But
nobody suspected that mobs, thousands strong,
would line all the streets leading to the new Los Angeles
theater, where the film was being shown.
At 10 o‘clock a performance scheduled to begin
at 8:30 wasn‘t even making a show of commencing. Limousines
with liveried chauffeurs were slowly worming their way
through humanity banked in the streets. Humanity that cheered
or cat-called or good-naturally joked as the case might
be. Humanity that, despite the vigorous attempts of the police,
climbed on the running board of cars holding the famous,
thrust, their heads into the windows and took a good look at close
range at the crowned heads of the industry.
Behind us in the slow-moving van was Gloria Swanson‘s
car. Gloria herself laughingly met the bold acclaim of the
faces thrust against the panes. Her escorts didn‘t think it quite
so funny. They made some gestures to that effect and
promptly got a healthy raspberry from the throng. They swarmed
like ants all over her car, leaped onto the fenders, lined
the running boards. Her chauffeur, frightened, tried to keep
the machine in its course. It took the better part
of an hour to travers the block leading to the main entrance
of the theater.
Here a battery of lamps made the area before the building
insufferably hot. Add to it a rainy evening, and the effect
was like a steamy bathroom. Women fainted and the police had tremendous difficulty getting ambulances in to render
first aid. The theater is in the most congested quarter of the
city, so all traffic to and fro was necessarily slow despite
the crowds. Street car service was paralyzed. Now and again
a flock of eight or 10 cars would slowly pierce that
human bank.
Inside the theater an elaborate supper was served
throughout the evening. It was almost 10:30 before the show
began.
Caviar for their delectation was there in plenty.
At $18 the pound, this delicacy made the supper something
in the way of luxury on the grand scale. Nineteen
hundred and fifty persons refreshed themselves on caviar,
lobsters, turkey and other delicacies.
A man who stood next to me at one of the supper
tables exclaimed heartily to the crowd in general:
,This marks a new area in the theater industry!‘
I think I know what he meant – any way he was enjoying
supper with sound effects.
At 1:30 having applauded the first silent picture
they had seen in two years‘ time, the scramble for homegoing
cars commenced.
Owing to the congestion, they had to be parked some
three blocks away. Again they began trickling painfully
through the crowd. A merciful shower had thinned the ranks
somewhat, but not sufficiently to permit of freedom
of transport.
At 2 o‘clock, hearing the rugged announcer‘s
voice bellowing: ,Mr. Andrea de Segurola‘s car – please;
Lady June Inverclyde‘s car; Henry La Falaise car;
Joseph Schenck wants his car – this is the third call for
Mr. Schenck‘s car.‘ * * * I bethought me of the rear
entrance. It was an inspiration. We debouched ignominiously
into an alley, picked our way, together with a lot of
ermine-clad ladies and starched-bosomed men, to the next
street, and grabbed a taxi as far as the garage.
It may have been holiday; but I calls it holocaust!“
The world premiere of City Lights takes place in Los Angeles
January 30, 1931 at the Los Angeles Theatre.
Los Angeles Theatre, 615 South Broadway (between
6th and 7th Streets), Los Angeles.
City Lights opens in New York February 6, 1931
at the Cohan Theatre.
George M. Cohan Theatre, 1482 Broadway (between
42nd and 43rd Streets), New York.
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City Lights 1930 1931 1932 next previous
