------

Home

DFT

Michigan

Redford

Lobby


Detroit Movie Palaces

The Film Programs of the Detroit Film Theatre, Michigan Theater, and Redford Theatre

Your Guide to Classic Movie Theater Filmgoing!

Home

Upcoming Films

  DFT
  Michigan
  Redford

Detroit Film Theatre

  Essay
  Fact Sheet
  Website
  Blog Entries
  Images
  Videos
  Reviews

Michigan Theater

  Essay
  Fact Sheet
  Website
  Blog Entries
  Images
  Videos
  Reviews

Redford Theatre

  Essay
  Fact Sheet
  Website
  Blog Entries
  Images
  Videos
  Reviews

Lobby

  Blog
  Links
  Looking Back
  Other Venues
  Opening Dates
  Silent Films
  Site Author

Looking Back

May 1957

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

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


For kids, the Redford was the place to be on Saturday afternoons. The Children's Matinee included Here Come the Marines, with the Bowery Boys (May 4); the Three Stooges and a "Big Tom and Jerry Cartoon Jamboree" (May 11); and the Little Rascals and Aladdin and His Lamp (May 25). Young fans also enjoyed a Walt Disney package of Westward Ho the Wagons! (with Fess Parker); Disneyland, U.S.A.; and Secrets of Life.

Adults flocked to the Redford for The Teahouse of the August Moon (Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford), on double bills with Gun for a Coward (Fred MacMurray and Jeffrey Hunter) and The Iron Petticoat (Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn). John Wayne, John Ford and Maureen O'Hara teamed up in The Wings of Eagles. The Korean War, only four years in the past, was the setting for Men in War (Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray). And the walls shook for a double feature of Don't Knock the Rock (Bill Haley and the Comets) and Rumble on the Docks (James Darren).

Friday, May 10, brought a unique variety of films to the Butterfield Theatres in Ann Arbor. At the Michigan, Ben Gazzara ("The New Rage of the Teen-Agers") starred in The Strange One. The State hosted a science fiction double bill of Attack of the Crab Monsters and Not of this Earth (both directed by Roger Corman). The Campus presented an English language version of the Oscar-winning Italian film La Strada.

Also at the Michigan were both of the famous Hepburn ladies. Audrey and Fred Astaire appeared in the musical comedy/romance Funny Face, while Katharine and Spencer Tracy made their latest appearance together in Desk Set. Another crowdpleaser was The Bachelor Party (Don Murray). Cartoon fun came from Barbecue Brawl (Tom and Jerry), Boyhood Daze, Red Riding Hoodlum (Woody Woodpecker), and Matador Magoo.

Several now-classic movies opened in Detroit, including: Funny Face (Krim), 12 Angry Men (Michigan), Richard III (World and Studio), Desk Set (Fox), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (Palms) and A Face in the Crowd (Michigan).

Art film lovers flocked to the Coronet and Surf for "Detroit's Own and First" Internationale Film Fair, where the movies included double bills of The Bed (1954) and House of Pleasure (Le Plaisir) (1952); The Trouble with Harry (1955) and Trouble in Store (1953); Doctor in the House (1954) and Doctor at Sea (1955); and I Am a Camera (1955) and Sextette (1948).


Back to Top

Looking Back Main Page


Home

Site Map

Disclaimer


Hi! I'm the site mascot! Visit a Detroit Movie Palace Today!

Comments

This website is not affiliated with the Detroit Film Theatre, the Michigan Theater, or the Redford Theatre.

Website copyright © 2021 by Robert Hollberg Smith, Jr.

Launched November 25, 2005.

Last updated November 25, 2020.

Graphics courtesy of Christmas Graphics Plus, Free GIFs and Animation, and 123GIFS.