This 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.”
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.
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.
Do you know whether Errol Flynn was on that train? If so, I bet there were some stories to tell about that trip.
Yes, he did make the trip, but I’m guessing the reason why he’s not on the back of the train is because it was already at the bar.