September 1953
Step back in time to see what area movie theaters
were presenting in September 1953. Film titles are linked to the Internet
Movie Database.
For more information about these theaters,
see Cinema
Treasures or Water
Winter Wonderland.
The
Oscar-winning World War II drama From
Here to Eternity opened in Detroit on Friday, September 4, 1953,
at the Madison Theatre. It had earlier premiered in New York City on August
5, 1953. It opened just after the
end of the Korean War, and newspapers were filled with articles about
returning prisoners of war.
In
Detroit, it was part of the Labor Day weekend fun that also included the
Michigan Agricultural State Fair, which featured appearances by Teresa
Brewer, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Ventura.
"The
year's most talked-about movie, 'From Here to Eternity,' arrives at the
Madison Theater Friday," wrote Detroit Free Press Movie Critic
Helen Bower on September 4, 1953. "It was filmed from James Jones' much
talked-about novel, a Book-of-the-Month Club choice, wherein Mr. Jones
is the one who says 'This is the army' in no uncertain terms."
"An
exemplary job of laundering a best-seller has produced one of the outstanding
pictures of the year," wrote Al Weitschat of The Detroit News on
September 4, 1953. "Stripped of its bestiality and obscenity, 'From Here
to Eternity' emerges as an unforgettable study of the virtues and vices
of humans living within the bounds of army service in Hawaii just before
Pearl Harbor."
Other
downtown Detroit movies on September 4, 1953 included Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes (Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe) at the United Artists;
The
Band Wagon (Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse) at the Adams; and This
is Cinerama (in its 24th week) at the Music Hall.
Also
showing downtown were City
of Bad Men (Dale Robertson, Jeanne Crain) and Sailor
of the King (Jeffrey Hunter) at the Fox; Arrowhead
(Charlton Heston, Jack Palance) and No
Escape (Lew Ayres, Marjorie Steele) at the Broadway Capitol; Island
in the Sky (John Wayne) and Tarzan
and the She-Devil (Lex Barker) at the Palms; and The
Charge at Feather River (Guy Madison, Frank Lovejoy) and Francis
Covers the Big Town (Donald O'Connor) at the Michigan.
In
the neighborhoods, the Redford was showing a double bill of Sangaree
(in 3-D, with Fernando Lamas and Arlene Dahl) and Ma
and Pa Kettle on Vacation (Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride). For
art film fans, the Studio at Livernois and Davison screened two movies
by French comedian Fernandel (Three
Sinners, The
Little World of Don Camillo).
From
Here to Eternity played at the Madison for more than three months,
until Thursday, December 10, before giving way to the Oscar-winning documentary
The
Sea Around Us.
From
Here to Eternity opened at Detroit area neighborhood theaters
(including the Redford) on Wednesday, February 10, 1954. At the Redford,
it played for a week, along with The Sea Around Us. It was followed
by Here
Come the Girls, with Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney, and Tony Martin.
Ann Arbor audiences were treated to the
opening of From
Here to Eternity at the Michigan on Friday, September 24, 1953,
following a run of The
Actress,
with Spencer Tracy and Jean Simmons. It played until Saturday, October
3, 1953, followed by the 3-D Inferno
(Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming).
Also playing in Ann Arbor when From
Here to Eternity opened were The
All American (Tony Curtis, Lori Nelson) at the State; The
White Line (Gina Lollobrigida) at the Orpheum; and Road
to Bali (Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy
Lamour) and Titanic
(Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck) at the Wuerth.
Drive-in entertainment in the Ann Arbor
area included The
Lone Hand (Joel McCrea) and Girls
in the Night at the Ypsi-Ann; and The
Redhead from Wyoming (Maureen O'Hara) and Sally
and St. Anne (Ann Blyth, Edmund Gwenn) at the Scio.
Click here
to see a PDF of newspaper images relating to the opening of From
Here to Eternity.
Back
to Top
Looking
Back Main Page
|