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Looking Back

March 1957

Step back in time to see what area movie theaters were presenting in March 1957. Film titles are linked to the Internet Movie Database.

For more information about these theaters, see Cinema Treasures or Water Winter Wonderland.

Big changes came to the Butterfield theater chain in Ann Arbor that included the Michigan. On March 10, the doors closed at the two Main Street theaters—the Orpheum, which finished with Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and the Weurth, which closed with The Member of the Wedding (1952) and The Juggler (1953). Six days later, the new Campus Theatre opened at 1208 S. University (between Church and Forest) with Kirk Douglas in his Oscar-nominated performance in Lust for Life. A full page ad for the Campus in The Ann Arbor News promised films "from the Cinema Centers of the world" like Diabolique, Rififi and La Strada.

The feature attraction of the month at the Michigan was The Rainmaker, with Burt Lancaster and Katharine Hepburn (Oscar nominee for Best Actress). Other popular movies were Bundle of Joy (Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds) and The Great Man (Jose Ferrer). Dean Martin broke away from Jerry Lewis in his first starring role in Ten Thousand Bedrooms. Cartoons at the Michigan included Wideo Wabbit (Bugs Bunny), The Unbearable Salesman (Woody Woodpecker) and The Truce Hurts (Tom & Jerry). The National Ballet of Canada appeared at the Michigan on March 20.

The Redford enjoyed the rare luxury of newspaper display ads for two Oscar-nominated films, just in time for the Academy Awards show on March 27. Moviegoers enjoyed the melodrama of Dorothy Malone's Best Supporting Actress-winning performance in Written on the Wind. Giant showcased James Dean's Oscar-nominated final role. Other big Redford movies were Hollywood or Bust (Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin) and Top Secret Affair (Susan Hayward and Kirk Douglas). Old movie buffs enjoyed a Spencer Tracy double bill of Northwest Passage (1940) and Boom Town (1940).

In downtown Detroit, The Ten Commandments ruled the Madison for a fourth month, while Oscar's Best Picture Around the World in 80 Days finished its third month at the United Artists. Big Detroit openings included The Iron Petticoat (Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn) at the Adams; John Ford's The Wings of Eagles (John Wayne) at the Michigan; and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr) at the Fox.

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