This luxurious program was made for the Belgian premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which took place on May 19, 1938 at the Eldorado Theater of Brussels.
The gala evening, organized for the profit of the mutual aid fund of the Brussels section of the professional association of the Belgian film press, was honored by the presence of Paul-Henri Spaak, Prime Minister of Belgium, and Hugh Gibson, ambassador of the United States in Brussels.
The ticket prices were as follows: mezzanine seats at 50 francs, box seats at 30 francs, orchestra seats at 20 francs, second-row seats at 15 francs, and balcony seats at 10 francs.
The newspaper “La nation belge” described the evening as follows in its article of May 20, 1938 entitle “The Snow White Gala”:
The gala hosted by the Belgian Cinematographic Press, during which Walt Disney’s animated film Snow White was screened, took place Thursday evening at the Eldorado theater. The large auditorium was packed, and among the crowd were many notable figures from the worlds of literature and the arts, as well as members of the diplomatic corps. Mr. Mackenzie, First Secretary of the British Embassy, along with Mr. Walde and Mr. Gilbert, First Attaché of the United States Embassy, were notably present.
The first part of the program featured a newsreel and two installments of The March of Time series—one focused on the U.S. Army, the other on wine.
During a brief intermission, Mr. Herbet Delport, president of the Brussels chapter of the Association of the Cinematographic Press, gave a short speech. He thanked the company that generously provided the film for the evening, as well as Mr. Swalens, who made the theater available to the organizing committee. Mr. Delport also extended his sincere thanks to the large audience who had come out to attend the gala.
The screening that followed was a vision of extraordinary and nearly genius-level enchantment, which cast its spell over the audience—who expressed their delight with prolonged applause.
