putting on the ritz

Like I said in the last post - the only movie I ever saw at the Ritz Theatre in Alabama City (Wall Street) was How The West Was Won. Then again, like I said, I didn't get to see the entire feature. I found this hand bill among my dad's files some twenty some odd years ago. I don't know if he had ever seen the movie and why he kept it. I have a good guess. Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation (1962) isn't a great comedy. To me - it's just another example of the light comedies that seemed prevalent of it's day.

Maybe dad picked it up while in the lobby of the Ritz when we were entering to see How The West Was Won. I believe the reason dad kept this hand bill was because he liked to keep graphic samples of design that appealed to him. It was after all it was a hobby of dads to lay out brochures for friend's business ventures as well as to design logos for businesses that he helped incorporate.

It was his enjoyment of graphic design that initially drew me into that direction. Dad was an attorney but had a good eye and interest in graphic design. His older brother Wofford Finlayson was a successful freelance artist in Columbia, SC. Perhaps dad was influenced by his older brother's profession. I would often help dad as a youngster - by helping him to hold a ruler or help him with the rubber cement. I believe that dad kept this hand bill because he liked what he saw. I too have done this down through the years. I find a brochure that I like and keep it for reference. I don't do it as much as I used to - but I do occasionally keep a piece that attract my eye.

I didn't see Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation until about ten years ago, when it was aired on a cable channel. I like Jimmy Stewart and have always had this thing for Maureen O'hara (since The Quiet Man). I'll watch just about any Jimmy Stewart movie that is showing - good or mediocre. I just like Jimmy. At the time this movie came out, he was doing mostly westerns. This particular movie, Mr. Hobbs, was actually pretty successful. Wikipedia states that Mr. Hobbs inspired several other light-comedies for Jimmy the following years. He won two Golden Globes for Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation. Again, this to me isn't what I consider a great Jimmy Stewart movie. I kept hold of the hand bill because of the cool illustration and what makes it special is that it is an advertisement for the old Ritz theatre.

This blog post has no real purpose other than to share the Ritz hand bill with you. I've got another little hand bill I'll share with you next time.