The Oregon theater during its time of operation (1913-1921) was a true hotspot for the people of Pendelton to see a show or a moving picture, of all genres. There is evidence of many different genres from romance to musical. Yet, of all of the advertisements, “Ole The Swede” starring Dave Williams was the one that caught and held my attention. The boldness to not only include an image to give audiences a glimpse into what they are seeing, but to also have it be an image of a man holding a briefcase in a shadow; even though the artwork isn’t that good, it catches the eye and holds your attention.
The most interesting aspect of this ad, however, is the hardest information to find. Also, who is Dave Williams? Or Dave “Will” as he is referred to in other ads from the time. A comedian, but it has been hard finding any other information on him and his show at the time. Furthermore, the phrases they write-in that try to sell it can tell us more about the time period. Tickets were being sold at the local paint store- which nobody would even think to do that anymore. Prices were obviously low. But, the genre of a Swedish comedy alludes to the idea that it was a popular genre in Oregon at the time. The fact that they are not today shows how far we have come with genres and how many exist today, as well as how few existed back then. Also, the phrase “It will tickle you to the soles of your feet”, is a phrase that is not used very much today. “It will tickle your feet” is probably the wording you would see for an ad like this today, but even still, it is not used that much anymore.
