"Theatre Guild on the Air" in Birmingham in 1947

In a couple of recent posts on this blog I've covered two world movie premiers that took place in Birmingham in 1947 and 1952. I've also done a blog post on Birmingham native and film star Mary Anderson. As noted in the article below, Anderson had returned to Birmingham in November 1947 for the world premier of her film Whispering City and a public appearance at Pizitz. The film premier benefited the Crippled Children's Clinic and was held at the Empire Theater on Third Avenue North.

I noticed some other interesting activities in this piece as well. Anderson had accepted a role in an episode of the "Theatre Guild on the Air" radio program to be broadcast from the city's Municipal Auditorium on November 23. She and other celebrities, including her co-star in that episode, Robert Mitchum, also accepted an invitation to watch the Crippled Children's Clinic football game played at Legion Field on Thanksgiving Day. Others who watched included sports broadcaster Harry Wismer and opera star Helen Jepson. Anderson then convinced her studio bosses to also have her new film's world premier in Birmingham.

Let's take a look at the football game and the radio production.

The web site of the Alabama High School Football Historical Society has a history of the "Crippled Children's Classic" game played annually at Legion Field for many years. The game started in 1935 as a contest between local college freshman teams, but by 1943 local high school teams played in the game. In 1947 Ramsey defeated Woodlawn 25-0. All proceeds went to support the clinic.

Founded in New York City in 1918, the Theatre Guild was an organization dedicated to the production of non-commercial plays. The Guild mounted over 200 productions and was a major player on Broadway into the 1970's. The group first tried radio in 1943-4, and on September 9, 1945 launched "Theatre Guild on the Air". The series continued on radio until June, 1953, when it moved to television. The radio version featured many famous plays and actors during its run. 

The hour-long episode broadcast in Birmingham that November evening was no. 94, "The Straw" written in 1922 by Eugene O'Neill. The story follows two characters during their stay at a tuberculosis sanitarium. 

Robert Mitchum returned to Alabama in August 1987 for a few days of filming aboard the USS Alabama for the TV miniseries War and Remembrance. 

According to a log of episodes, this one was Mitchum's only appearance in Theatre Guild on the Air. Anderson appeared in at least two other productions. Huntsville native Tallulah Bankhead also appeared in an episode broadcast in 1952.

Birmingham News 9 November 1947

Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections

Robert Mitchum in July 1949

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Listal

The REAL First Movie World Premiere in Birmingham

Well, maybe, at least until I find another one.

In a recent blog post I discussed a film premier in Birmingham that was described as the first, a showing of Steel Town at the Alabama Theater in March 1952. In some even more recent file cleaning, I came across the article below. Seems we can push back Birmingham's first movie world premier to at least November 1947. 

This article details the work of actress Mary Anderson, who was scheduled to appear in the city at an event on November 23. She realized that her visit would come at the same time as the annual football game played at Legion Field to benefit the Crippled Children's Clinic. Senior high school players from around the state, picked by coaches, played in the all-star game held from 1935 until 1969, when the clinic closed. 

I have covered Mary Anderson's career in another blog post. Whispering City was a thriller set in Quebec City, Canada, and filmed on location there. The movie came about midway in her film career; she continued acting steadily for more than a decade afterward. Her career began in 1939; her first credited film role was Maybelle Merriwether in Gone with the Wind. Before she died in 2014 at the age of 96, she was one of three remaining credited actors from that film still living. 

The postcard below features the Crippled Children's Clinic on 19th Street South. No date is given, but the facility must be the one for which the movie premier was raising money. Groundbreaking was held in June 1949 and the clinic opened in November 1951. Today UAB's Spain-Wallace Building occupies the location; Jefferson Tower is across 19th Street.  

The article below was written by Lily May Caldwell, "Drama, Radio, Music Editor." She began working for the Birmingham News in 1921 and retired as its long-time entertainment editor in 1966. She died in 1980. Why she identified the 1952 film premier as the city's "first" is anybody's guess. 

Birmingham News 9 November 1947

Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections

The Empire Theater in 1937 heavily promoting the film Lost Horizon. The theater was located on 3rd Avenue North. 

Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections

Source: CardCow.com

Description on the back of the card: 

The Crippled Children's Clinic and Hospital, at 620 South 19th Street, was established in 1929 for the orthopedic treatment of underprivileged children. It has provided help for the care of thousands of needy children from 65 counties in Alabama. Much of the money used in erection of this outstanding modern clinic was raised through the realm of sports. Proceeds of an annual football game added considerably to the necessary financing.

Movies with Alabama Connections (4): Lifeboat

I saw this Hitchcock film again recently, and thought I would include it in this series of blog posts. The presence of two Alabama natives who became well-known actresses for several decades seemed connection enough. I enjoyed the film as much this time as I have previous viewings.

Despite her fame as both an actress and a personality over many decades, Huntsville native Tallulah Bankhead made few movies. She had a spectacular career on stage both in New York City and London. She expanded her reach on radio and late in her career on television. Although she made films as early as 1918 and as late as 1966, her best known one is the 1944 Lifeboat.   

That film has several notable features. The entire setting is the titular lifeboat in the North Atlantic during World War II. The boat's passengers are mostly survivors of a merchant marine ship with civilians aboard that sank in a naval battle. They are soon joined by a seaman from the German U-boat that also sank. The film is a fascinating juxtaposition of efforts at survival and passionate moral debate.

Tallulah plays a well known journalist and manages to look spectacular throughout most of her time at sea. In addition to Bankhead, the cast includes John Hodiak, Walter Slezak, William Bendix and Hume Cronyn--four actors who had significant careers in Hollywood and beyond. Novelist John Steinbeck wrote the film's story. Hitchcock makes his usual cameo in a very funny way that I won't spoil for those who haven't seen the movie. 

Birmingham native Mary Anderson plays the other female in the boat. She grew up in the city and attended Howard College before embarking on her acting career. Born in 1918, she died in April 2014 age 96. In addition to Lifeboat, she appeared in Gone with the Wind and numerous other films and television roles. Her brother James was also an actor; he appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird. 

I plan to do a more extensive post on Mary Anderson in the series on Alabama film actresses before 1960.   

Tallulah Bankhead [1902-1968] in 1941

Source: Wikipedia

Anderson with actor Charles Russell in Behind Green Lights (1946)

Source: Wikipedia