In 1939 the rough and rowdy days of cattle trails, dance halls, gambling and gunfights lived again through the magic of Hollywood and a shoot-’em-up movie called Dodge City.
A trainload of boosters traveled to Los Angeles to convince Warner Brothers that the ideal location for a world premiere of a western film about Dodge City could only be held in – Dodge City! The filmmakers saw great publicity potential and so a deal was struck. Warner Brothers would send a delegation of celebrities, including the film’s stars Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland, along with other contract players, to appear in person at the three theaters which ran the films concurrently.
Radio and newsreel coverage was extensive, and three trains were dispatched to arrive in Dodge City for the April 1 premiere date. The train from Los Angeles was packed with movie stars and moguls. A ‘press train’ left New York City carrying photographers, newspaper men and radio announcers. And a ‘Kansas City Special’ brought politicians from Kansas and neighboring states to join the festivities.
The town of Dodge City prepared a slate of activities that included a parade, a roundup and barbeque, a rodeo and wild west show, and the awarding of medals for the winners of a beard-growing contest. To encourage men to grow beards and mustaches for the event, clean shaven men were publicly dunked in a horse tank during the weeks leading up to the big day.
The whole town turned out in western garb. The sale of cowboy hats and boots, as well as "brownie" cameras, hit an all-time high as merchants took advantage of the arrival of more than 20,000 visitors, some arriving on horseback from nearby towns. Some dignitaries could not attend and sent regrets, including the widow of Dodge City Marshal Wyatt Earp.
The party was a huge success, and as the night wore on some of the wild-and-wooly ways of Old Dodge City might have mingled with the modern times. Though Kansas was a ‘dry state’ and did not allow saloons or liquor sales, the trains came to town with well-stocked bars that were supposedly closed as they crossed the state line. However, Walter Winchell reported that the press train went through 114 cases of scotch whiskey during the trip, and one of the bit players from the Hollywood entourage missed the train as it pulled out of the station early on Easter Sunday morning to head back west. He was found passed out among the tombstones on Boot Hill.
Thanks to the Ford County Historical Society for contributing material for this story. For High Plains Public Radio, I’m Skip Mancini.
High Plains History is a production of High Plains Public Radio.
