1950s Holiday Showtimes at the Hollywood Theatre

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marlenaf
marlenaf
May 04, 2026

On February 11, 1950, Hollywood’s showtimes were listed at the very bottom of the newspaper, under the Orpheum Oriental, Paramount, Music Box, Playhouse, Liberty, and Newsreel.1 The Saturday double feature included Bob Hope in The Great Lover and Laraine Day in Without Honor. Both films came out in 1949, suggesting that programming was up to date with recent releases. According to IMDB, The Great Lover is a Comedy/Thriller,2 and Without Honor is a Noir/Thriller.3 The clippings seemed to emphasize the stars of each movie rather than the directors, consistent with the other theaters’ messaging. 

These showtimes did not include specific hours, implying that customers would have to call the theater for details. However, the clipping included a special promotion for Valentine's Day targeting kids: “Hey, Kids! Today at 12:30… VALENTINE PRIZE PARTY… 5 EXTRA CARTOONS…”4

On December 19, 1959, Hollywood’s showtimes were no longer at the bottom of the page, taking up the smallest space, but still considerably smaller than that of the Orpheum and Paramount. Nine years later, the clipping had enough space to include the theater’s address (41st & Sandy AT 8•5001) and hours “OPEN 12:45 SATURDAY.”5 Once again, the Saturday double feature promoted specific stars from each film, including Debbie Reynolds and Tony Randall from The Mating Game6 and Sandra Dee and Cliff Robertson from Gidget.7 These films were both categorized as 1959 Comedy/Romance films by IMDB. Ames and Laurelhurst were also promoting Gidget showings, emphasizing novelty. 

Arguably, the most special part of the December showtimes was the Hollywood Theatre’s Christmas special. On Christmas Day, the theater was set to show Solomon and Sheba in 70 MM, the first of its kind in Portland. This clipping did not emphasize stars in the 1959 Romance Drama, such as Yul Brynner or Gina Lollobrigida,8 because the 70 MM film was a novelty in itself.

  1. Oregonian, CITY ed., 11 Feb. 1950, p. 5. NewsBank

  2. IMDb. “The Great Lover.” Accessed May 2026. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041429/.

  3. IMDb. “Without Honor.” Accessed May 2026. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042049/.

  4. Oregonian, CITY ed., 11 Feb. 1950, p. 5. NewsBank

  5. Oregonian, CITY ed., 19 Dec. 1959, p. 27. NewsBank 

  6. IMDb. “The Mating Game.” Accessed May 2026. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053054/.

  7. IMDb, “Gidget,” accessed June 2026, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052847/

  8. IMDb. “Solomon and Sheba.” Accessed May 2026. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053290/.

Categories
Promotional Strategies
Programming