By Jim Goodspeed

The late 1940s in Alma from the top: Laurence Olivier starred in “Hamlet” in May 1949. A extremely popular show, it could only be seen by reserved seat; the death of Strand Theatre owner William A. Cassidy brought an end to Alma theatre ownership that stretched back to early in the Depression; Alma Production Credit Association held its fifteenth anniversary at the Strand Theatre. PCA had a long history in Alma which enabled farm loans.

With the end of World War II, Gratiot County soon faced new problems like the continuation of rationing and increased inflation. Forms of rationing, which started after Pearl Harbor, continued into late 1946, and many things that people wanted to buy now cost more. During the late 1940s, Gratiot men who died during the war began coming home from overseas cemeteries. A postwar draft began, and those previously too young to serve in World War II now entered military service.

From late 1945 until early 1947, the only news about Alma’s theatres concerned the weekly showings of movies in local newspapers. There appeared to be no fancy advertisements or significant events during those years while moviegoers in Gratiot County adjusted to postwar life. Things started to change in August 1947 when a familiar face appeared at the Strand in the form of Kirma the Great, who had previously appeared on stage during the Depression. He claimed to be able to solve problems of love, courtship, marriage, and health with his scientific knowledge and psychic powers. Kirma displayed his talents at the Strand Theatre for an entire week as owners hoped to draw people to the Strand.

Soon, prices at the Alma theatres jumped to thirty-five cents for “outstanding pictures” shown from Sunday through Wednesday, such as Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in “My Favorite Brunette.”  Regular shows on other days remained twenty-five cents. In the fall of 1947, the Strand started showing Children’s Matinees on Saturday mornings with the debut of “The Enchanted Forest”  from the Children’s Film Library. Another favorite draw in the late 1940s included Abbott and Costello, who appeared in a run of comedic romps at the Strand in movies such as “The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap.”

In early July 1948, the Strand Theatre again featured boxing events and showed the official pictures from Joe Louis’ last fight. Louis fought Jersey Joe Wolcott in this match and then retired from boxing. One of the biggest shows to appear at the Strand was “Hamlet,” which starred Laurence Oliver. It was billed as the Strand’s most significant show since Pearl Harbor and only appeared for two days in April 1949. The best seat cost a whopping $2.40 per ticket, and viewers who wanted a ticket were encouraged to order it by mail.

As the 1940s came to an end, the Strand continued to advertise itself as being “comfortably air-conditioned” during hot weather each summer. Another well-attended movie at the end of the decade involved “The Lawton Story,” which depicted religious and family themes and made its Michigan premiere at the Strand for one week in April 1949. Some movie repeats continued to draw people. In November 1949, the Strand featured the third appearance of “The Wizard of Oz.” To feature new types of entertainment, the Strand also briefly returned to live performances with “Spotlight on Youth,” which featured fifteen young people performing singing, dancing, and musical acts. Cold War-themed movies started appearing with “The Red Menace,” a film “so shocking it was filmed behind sealed studio doors.” It warned about the threat of communism in the United States and was shown down the street at the Alma Theatre.

The biggest news in June 1949 dealt with the death of W.A. Cassidy, who owned both the Strand Theatre and the Alma Theatre. Cassidy, a prominent Midland businessman, also owned two theatres in Midland and was interested in owning another one in Saginaw. Cassidy had been in the movie business since July 1916, leased the Alma Theatre in 1930, and bought the Strand Theatre in September 1932. After his death, his estate was valued at $450,000 (nearly $6,000,000 today). Cassidy’s passing, new ownership, and the re-emergence of Hollywood blockbuster movies all led to the 1950s, which drew more people to Alma’s theatres.

Copyright 2024 James M Goodspeed

Above: War Bond drives were held at Alma’s Strand Theatre during World War II. “Going My Way,” featuring Bing Crosby, was held in early December 1944; bonds could be obtained at the Strand Theatre in November 1944; one of the last war bond shows took place in early June 1945. Viewers who purchased E Bonds received free tickets.

Another world war knocked on Gratiot County’s door before the 1940s began. During these events, going to the movies offered escape and entertainment as the country slowly drifted toward direct involvement in World War II.

As 1940 began, the Strand Theatre started a local run of movies called “Alma’s Local News Reel.” Billy Farrell played on the new Hammond Organ some of these nights at the Strand. Farrell played the organ thirty minutes before every show, and customers regularly asked him to play their favorite music. The Alma Lions Club sponsored a talking picture, “We’re in the Movies,” which became a two-hour feature involving local community members. The John B. Rodgers Producing Company of Fostoria, Ohio, came to town and directed and filmed the movie. This color movie, shot over five days in Alma, involved local people and businesses that depicted everyday life in the city. To get people to see the film, the Lions Club promoted the project with a “Movie Queen” contest to select an Alma “Glamour Girl.”  Lois Brainard, one of the thirty-seven contestants, won with 4,770 votes. Brainard and the other contestants then attended the premiere. “We’re in the Movies” had six showings in Alma and raised enough money for several Alma Lions Club service projects.

However, the biggest news in March 1940 was the premiere of “Gone with the Wind,” which had a limited one-week engagement at the Strand. Tickets cost $1.10 for reserved seats and could only be purchased ahead of time through mail orders. The movie debuted on Easter Sunday and had been highly anticipated in Alma, and it would not appear again until 1941. The epic Civil War movie, shot in color, lasted four hours. Over time, “Gone with the Wind” would hold the most viewings in the Strand’s history, appearing each decade until the theatre’s closing in the 1990s. Also, “Gone with the Wind”  marked the debut of more color movies in Gratiot County movie theaters.

In late 1941, ticket prices at the Strand jumped to eleven cents for children and twenty-five cents for adults. Down the street, the Alma Theater completed a new remodeling project. Owners changed the seating arrangement to include only one center aisle and raised the seating capacity to 324 people. As a result, the Alma Theater raised prices to eleven cents and twenty cents for movies.

After Pearl Harbor, viewers caught up on the war and world news through the “March of Time” newsreel, which appeared before each main feature. To commemorate Pearl Harbor Day in 1944, the Strand supported the Sixth War Loan Drive by showing Bing Crosby in “Going My Way” for one night only on December 7. However, a viewer had up to a week ahead of time to buy a bond to see the movie. Every purchase of a $25 bond gave the buyer a ticket to the show. Ultimately, the drive was successful and raised $30,000 in bond sales!    Another bond show occurred at the Strand in 1945 with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in “Without Love.”

Earlier in the war, in response to orders from the War Production Board, Alma participated in a “brownout” to conserve energy, which affected the lighting of the marquee. People walking up and down Superior Street could no longer read the movie titles from a distance. However, on the night of Tuesday, May 8, 1945, the Strand Theatre turned on its marquee again in response to the news of Germany’s surrender. That night, the Strand lit up and joined many businesses in celebrating the war’s end in Europe by turning on their lights up and down Superior Street. After a long period of darkness, someone in Alma commented, “Superior Street is again as brilliant at night as of yore.”  In a short time, the movie lights in Alma appeared every night in 1945 with the end of World War II.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed

From above: The Strand Theatre in 1942; amateur night at the Strand, August 6, 1936; the problem of smuggling illegal Chinese emigrants appeared on July 9, 1936 at the Alma Theatre.

Although the Great Depression was in full swing in Gratiot County in the late 1930s, it did not stop people from going to the movies. The Strand Theatre and the Alma Theatre continued to draw people in and managed to stay in business. For many in Gratiot County, going to the movies offered an escape from the economic and social challenges of the times.

In Alma, theatre owners continued to use gimmicks to attract people to see a movie. In early January 1935, “The Great Kirma,” a mystic from India, arrived for one week at the Strand. He started his appearance by driving his 1935 Model Terraplane Six Sedan through the streets of Alma while completely blindfolded. Afterward, in front of onlookers, he hypnotized a young lady in Walker’s Electric Shop show window. During his shows each night, Kirma further mesmerized people by answering any question the audience asked him.

In July of that year, the Strand installed a new device billed as air conditioning. By removing dirt and pollen from the air, hay fever and pollen sufferers found relief while enjoying a show at “The Coolest Spot in Town.”  Strand ownership advertised cooler temperatures and help from hay fever. For hay fever sufferers, going to the movies in Alma for relief continued to be advertised for several decades to come. During the winter, these fans also supplied each person with twenty feet of warm air.

Throughout the late 1930s, the Strand held various community benefits, often at Christmas. Those who attended a show received a free ticket for a movie if they brought in food for Smith Memorial Hospital or for holiday baskets to help people in need. On a more serious note,  Alma ministers stated in 1935 that they favored movie censorship and wholly disapproved of movies being shown on Sundays. They also discouraged churches from publishing advertisements about shows.

Amateur entertainment remained a Strand staple. In August 1936, amateur acts auditioned to win appearances  every Saturday night in “Four Acts of Vodvil.” One year later, Major Bowes’ Amateur Revue and Jamboree appeared. These shows featured some of the top amateurs in the country. It turned out that Bowes’ program was the forerunner of the 1950s television show Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour. 

Also in early 1936, W.A. Cassidy and his wife from Midland purchased the Alma Theatre, known to many in Alma as the old Idlehour. They improved it and continued showing movies from Thursdays through Mondays. Sometimes, controversial movies appeared in Alma. In May 1938, the Strand featured “Assassin of Youth – Marihuana! Fruit from the Devil’s Garden.” It was followed two months later by “Damaged Goods: The Picture that Dares Tell the Truth.”  Restricted audiences got to view movies about drug abuse and the dangers of syphilis.

In late 1938, the Strand underwent significant renovations. A new marquee rose, double its former size, with a larger canopy. This new canopy curved in a semi-circle for 53 feet, then extended for 12 feet over the sidewalk. It held 340 lamps, each giving off 40 watts of light. With this new addition, the new marquee could be easily visible from distances up and down the business district at night. Those walking down the street each week could see interchangeable letters that spelled out the titles of the latest movies. Four double doors went from the foyer to the lobby as one entered the Strand. A new box office now allowed people to purchase tickets from the sidewalk. More remodeling took place inside as 500 new seats replaced the old ones. By the end of the decade, ticket prices, which had been ten and fifteen cents per ticket in 1935, rose to twenty cents by the end of 1939.

As the 1930s ended, another world war appeared on the horizon, and a new era of movie blockbusters was about to start in Alma.

Copyright 2024 James M Goodspeed

Above from the top: A Depression special – movies reduced at the Strand; in late February 1931 the Ionia State Reformatory Orchestra appeared at the Strand as one of ten big vaudeville acts starting in March 1933; “Tarzan and His Mate” appeared at the Strand, as did co-star “Mary” for one hour on July 14, 1924.

“Boom and bust.” “ An economic collapse unlike anything seen before.”  Both phrases describe the economic crisis that hit Gratiot County starting in the late fall of 1929 and what many called the Great Depression.

Strangely, the movie that played at Alma’s Strand Theatre five days before the economic crash was “The Gamblers.” It dealt with a father and son engaged in Wall Street corruption. Little did most Gratiot citizens know that what happened in New York City that October would seriously affect their lives.

As movie theaters struggled to draw people early in the Depression, they offered prizes and reduced prices to keep people coming to the movies. The Strand gave away a $225 Amrad Radio in late December 1929. It went so far as to offer $500 as a first prize during “Greater Movie Season” almost one year later. A more practical prize gift in October 1931 was to give a two-pound package of Rowena Pancake Flour for the first 200 paid admissions. The cost of seeing a movie dipped to 25 cents a show in early 1931 and then reached 15 cents a show by February 1933.

Other movie draws in Alma starting in 1930 included airing “Amos and Andy” every night at 7 o’clock (except on Sundays). The Strand Sweet Shop, which first opened next door before the start of the Depression,  became a place to stop for sandwiches, malts, and sweets. In 1931, “Freckles” Spear, an eight-year-old “Our Gang” movie star, came to Alma. Later that year, Prince Shah Babar, a famous Hindu mystic and mind reader, drove a car blindfolded through Alma. He also buried alive a member of his company in front of the Strand Theatre, then put a person to sleep in the store window of W.D. Baltz. In August 1933, the MGM Studio sent a traveling studio into the country to show people how it made movies. Mary the Rhinoceros quickly visited in July 1934 before a “Tarzan and his Mate” movie. Mary starred alongside the first Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller.

The Depression also changed Alma with the passing of the Idlehour Theatre. In the spring of 1931, Dick Rockwell sold out to W.A. Cassidy of Midland and Mr. Gordon from Mt. Pleasant. With the sale came a new name: The Alma Theater, which would operate for over twenty years in Alma. Cassidy would also succeed in purchasing the Strand a year later. As a result, Cassidy installed new screens and sound systems to bring in more moviegoers. Some very famous movies also made their way to Gratiot County early in the Depression, such as “Dracula,” “King Kong,” and young movie stars like John Wayne (“The Big Trail”).

There were other issues involving movies in the 1930s. Groups like the Disciples of Christ in 1934 worked to clean up dirty films. They were the only group that believed that the movie industry needed censorship and reform, and they encouraged boycotts of offensive shows.

The Depression was on, but so was movie attendance in Alma.

Copyright 2024 James M. Goodspeed