Crowds gather around the United Artists Theatre for the west coast premiere of Josef von Sternberg’s “An American Tragedy”, 929 S. Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, August 1931

Crowds gather around the United Artists Theatre for the west coast premiere of Josef von Sternberg’s “An American Tragedy”, 929 S. Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, August 1931I guess (director) Joseph von Sternberg was a big draw in August 1931, which is when his film of Theodore Dreiser’s novel, An American Tragedy had its West Coast premiere at the United Artists Theatre at 929 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. As we can see in this photo, crowds were packed in on both sides of the theater’s entrance and across the street. But it seems this night was its high point as the film didn’t do well at the box office. However, a 1951 version did much better when it was given a more evocative title: A Place in the Sun.

This is how that theater looked in February 2023. It’s now a live theater attached to the Ace Hotel.

 

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7 responses to “Crowds gather around the United Artists Theatre for the west coast premiere of Josef von Sternberg’s “An American Tragedy”, 929 S. Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, August 1931”

  1. Don Solosan says:

    The last I heard, Ace Hotel was set to close in January of this year, due to “complications with the property owner.” It was expected that someone else would take over the hotel, and that the theatre will continue to operate.

  2. john says:

    I wish it still had the original marque. Other than that I a pleased it is still standing.

    • Don says:

      Those “white letters on black” marquees didn’t survive the decades of upgrades and “improvements.” It’s too bad, as they have a distinctive look.

  3. IM says:

    Amazing photo!

  4. Bill Wolfe says:

    This theater’s exterior and its marquee were used as a Pittsburgh venue where the Wonders played early in That Thing You Do!

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