Crowds await the departure of a special train taking guests to Kansas for the premiere of Warner Bros. “Dodge City”, Los Angeles, circa late March, 1939

Crowds await the departure of a special train taking guests to Kansas for the premiere of Warner Bros. “Dodge City”, Los Angeles, circa late March, 1939This photo gives us a glimpse into the hoopla that studios sometimes whipped up to promo a new movie. In late March, 1939, Warner Bros. chartered a 16-car train to take 36 members of the press along with the stars of their new picture, “Dodge City,” to the real-life Dodge City in Kansas for the film’s premiere on April 1st. The President’s son, Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., was in attendance along with 70,000 visitors who had come to the city to witness the celebrations. I can count five spotlights used to light up the train before it left Los Angeles, as well as four loudspeakers rigged up on the balcony of that last carriage.

The four people on the back of the train were Olivia de Havilland, John Payne, Anne Shirley, and Hoot Gibson. For de Havilland it was a very short ride. The train had to make an unscheduled stop at Pasadena when she learned that she was required to report for work on “Gone with the Wind.”

Olivia de Havilland, John Payne, Anne Shirley, Hoot Gibson on the Dodge City Special, Los Angeles, circa late March, 1939

Poster for "Dodge City" Warner Bros, 1939

 

 

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4 responses to “Crowds await the departure of a special train taking guests to Kansas for the premiere of Warner Bros. “Dodge City”, Los Angeles, circa late March, 1939”

  1. Al Donnelly says:

    Notice-Patrons are kindly asked to refrain from making jokes about the hat of the person sitting next to you. It’s a long way home on foot.

  2. Al Donnelly says:

    BTW…looking closely in the dark background of the top image one can see the first street bridge where the lampposts are. So this is the old station still, which is kind of a complement to their destination in Kansas and a tribute to an era that was already closing out with modernized facilities & equipment.

  3. Bill Wolfe says:

    Do you know whether Errol Flynn was on that train? If so, I bet there were some stories to tell about that trip.

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