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'Dodge City': The day Hollywood came to town
The movie opened on April 1, 1939, an brought an estimated 150,000 people into town for the event came to Dodge City for the premiere, according to Joe White, who is organizing the anniversary celebration. "This was the single greatest event to happen in Dodge City by far," said Joe White who organized the 60th anniversary celebration. Warner Brothers, the studio that produced the movie starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland and Ann Sheridan, decided to premiere the movie in the city that bore its name. It was one of the few movies to have its premiere outside of Hollywood at the time and might have been the biggest had "Gone With the Wind" not premiered in Atlanta in 1939 as well. Along with Flynn, de Haviland and Sheridan, Jane Wyman, Hoot Gibson and other stars from the movie came to Dodge City for the premier. At the time de Haviland was on a break from some final filming of "Gone With the Wind." In addition, Warner Brothers sent out Humphrey Bogart, an unknown actor at the time to serve as Flynn's announcer.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the premier, which took place this year, the theatre had a special showing of "Dodge City," charging $5 per ticket. Tickets to the premiere in 1939 at the Dodge Theater were $1.50 -- which was about three days' worth of wages at the time, White said. "That would be like paying $50 today," White said. In addition to the showing of "Dodge City", artifacts from the movie and memorabilia was displayed. Some of the items included an authentic poster from the movie and a hat containing signatures of several of "Dodge City's" stars who were in town for the premiere. Louie Sanchez, a Dodge City resident, collected the signatures that April day as a teenager. Mike Burkhart, owner of the Dodge Theatre, has since become the owner of the hat.
"We are really anxious to see what they will send out here," he said. Unrelated movie memorabilia was also displayed, including a hat worn by George Burns and a poster from one of Charlie Chaplin's movies. While the anniversary celebration featured the film and artifacts, the actual date of the premiere hosted several events, including a two-mile long parade featuring the Hollywood stars in wagons, riding on horses, buggies and cars. Errol Flynn's horse had a $25,000 hand-tooled black and silver saddle and trappings commissioned by the Santa Fe railroad. There was also a Wild West Show at McCarty Stadium, featuring some of the studio's stunt horses. White said a couple was even married at the stadium with Flynn and Sheridan serving as best man and maid of honor. The main premiere began at 9 p.m. at the Dodge Theatre and the movie showed continuously through the night at the Dodge, Crown and Cosy theaters. Many who participated that day have since gone, but White said it's an important part of the community's history to mark. "We hope people here can walk away with almost the same experience as in 1939," White said, as he stood on the theatre's stage where Flynn addressed the audience 60 years ago. "We will get to experience a part of something that other people treasured. "This was the single greatest event to happen in Dodge City by far," he said.
Several stars came to Dodge City for the premiere along with Flynn and Sheridan, including Jane Wyman, Hoot Gibson and Olivia de Haviland -- who was on a break from some final filming of "Gone With the Wind." In addition, Warner Brothers sent out an unknown actor at the time to serve as Flynn's announcer. That actor was Humphrey Bogart. "He was under contract with the studio, so they put him to work coming out here," said White, who serves as the theatre's resident playwright. "Of course, he wasn't unknown for long, since the next year, 'Casablanca' was released and then 'The Maltese Falcon.' " To celebrate the anniversary, White said the theatre will be showing "Dodge City" at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets for the matinee show will be $5. Tickets to the premiere in 1939 at the Dodge Theater were $1.50 -- which was about three days' worth of wages at the time, White said. "That would be like paying $50 today," White said. In addition to the showing of "Dodge City", artifacts from the movie and some memorabilia will be displayed. Some of the items include an authentic poster from the movie and a hat containing signatures of several of the stars in Dodge City for the premiere. Louie Sanchez, a Dodge City resident, collected the signatures that April day as a teenager. Mike Burkhart, owner of the Dodge Theatre, has since become the owner of the hat. Warner Brothers Studio will also be sending out some artifacts from the movie as well, White said. "We are really anxious to see what they will send out here," he said. Unrelated movie memorabilia will also be displayed, including a hat worn by George Burns and a poster from one of Charlie Chaplin's movies. The items will all be on display in the lobby of the theatre. White said doors of the theatre will open at 1 p.m. While the anniversary celebration will mostly feature the film and artifacts, the actual date of the premiere hosted several events, including a two-mile long parade featuring the Hollywood stars in wagons, riding on horses, buggies and cars. Errol Flynn's horse had a $25,000 hand-tooled black and silver saddle and trappings commissioned by the Santa Fe railroad. Later in the day, there was a Wild West Show at McCarty Stadium featuring some of the studio's stunt horses. White said a couple was even married at the stadium with Flynn and Sheridan serving as best man and maid of honor. The main premiere began at 9 p.m. at the Dodge Theatre and the movie showed continuously through the night at the Dodge, Crown and Cosy theaters. While many who participated that day have since gone, White said it's an important part of the community's history to mark. "We hope people here can walk away with almost the same experience as in 1939," White said, as he stood on the theatre's stage where Flynn addressed the audience 60 years ago. "We will get to experience a part of something that other people treasured." |
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Movie House History - Classic
Theaters Of Kansas © 2007
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It
was one of the biggest events to hit in Dodge City in this
century -- the world premiere of the movie "Dodge City."
"He
was under contract with the studio, so they put him to work
coming out here," said White, who serves as the theatre's
resident playwright. "Of course, he wasn't unknown for long,
since the next year, 'Casablanca' was released and then 'The
Maltese Falcon.' " 
Warner
Brothers Studio also sent artifacts from the movie as well,
White said. 
Warner
Brothers, the studio that produced the movie starring Errol
Flynn and Ann Sheridan, decided to premiere the movie in the
city that bore its name. It was one of the few movies to
have its premiere outside of Hollywood at the time and may
have been the biggest had "Gone With the Wind" not premiered
in Atlanta in 1939 as well.