The magazine of New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, “Showplace of the Nation”, was published by M. M. Geffen, edited by Beatrice Atlass and the circulation of a regular issue would be 50.000 copies!
December 23, 1937
Right after the world premiere of Snow White, the magazine announces the film in its December 23, 1937 issue (Vol. 1, No. 12). and publishes a “Mickey Mouse Accolade” reminiscing the various awards and honors received by Walt Disney since 1933 that ends with “Walt Disney’s new full-length feature picture, ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, will be shown soon at the Music Hall.” This suggests future awards for the producer.
The program that week gives a good idea of what an evening at the famous venue was like: the Grace Moore vehicle I’ll Take Romance is only the sixth attraction of the night. First, comes Richard Leibert playing the Music Hall Grand Organ, then The Music Hall News, then the Music Hall Choral Ensemble directed by Vin Lindhe sings “Peace on Earth (The Nativity)”. Walt Disney then presents his Technicolor Multiplane Silly Symphony “The Old Mill” and before the main feature, there is a full three act Christmas pantmime based on “Coppelia” entitle “The Toy Princess” starring Ivan Triesault years before he started his film career!
January 13, 1938
On this date, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs starts its run in New York City and the magazine becomes a “Special Souvenir edition” entirely dedicated to the motion picture. It contains several ads such as the toy department of Saks which dedicates its Fifth Avenue windows to the film. The Snow White doll can be purchased for 4.95, each dwarf for 2.95 and a fawn for 2.50. Slogans are adapted to sell Gunther furs: “Magic Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? The girl in fur! Though short, though tall, she’s the fairest of them all!” Now Grumpy isn’t grumpy anymore because he buys his clothes at Rogers Peet! Snow White charm bracelets are sol at Cartier. The seven dwarfs also visit the Rockefeller Center skating pond four times a day! It seems that all of New York is singing to the tunes of Snow White that winter.
The usual fashion article of the magazine is adapted to include tips to be the “fairest in the land”. “Curtain Calls” by S. J. Brody gives us a short biography of Walt Disney and reveals interesting information: “Disney thinks so much of the youngest dwarf, Dopey, that he plans to feature him in a series of shorts.” Shocking news considering that entire articles were later published to say the exact opposite! Did Disney change his mind or was S. J. Brody misinformed?
Walt Disney himself pens an article simply called “Snow White” in which he remembers seeing “a play” as a boy that influenced him into making the film. Does he mean photoplay? In any case, he says the idea crystallized in 1933 and by the year after, they had a complete adaptation of the story.
A two page “Inside Story” with pictures gives us a glimpse at the animation process. Then comes the actual program of the Music Hall. And an incredible show it must have been for theater goers. As usual, Richard Leibert plays the Grand Organ, then come the news which in this instance is the January issue of RKO newsreel March of Time. The stage show is the fourth edition of the five-act revue “The Magazine Rack” produced by Russell Markert. There seems to be some fascination about the fact that Snow White will be translated for foreign release here too: French, Spanish, Italian, German and Scandinavian versions are announced.
The doors opened at 11.30 AM and the film would be shown five times each day (11.50 AM, 2.27, 5.05, 7.50, 10.25).
January 20, 1938
This issue is slightly modified from the previous one to remove the Saks advertisement and to add three photographs of the Snow White premiere that took place the previous week. The same photographs are published in the January 27 issue. An ad for the set of three Victor records of the soundtrack of the film also first appears here. They sell for $2.25 at the Rockefeller Center Music Store.
February 03, 1938
Although the bulk of this issue is copied from the previous one, there are a few interesting new things in that Vol. 2 No. 5 issue: the premiere photographs have been replaced with one photo of Roy Disney surrounded with G. S. Eyssell, assistant to W. G. Van Schmus and secretary of the Music Hall Corporation, and Ned E. Depinet, vice-president in charge of distribution for RKO-Radio. Underneath is a message from the management to the patrons explaining that “due to the unprecedented number of telephone calls, the telephone resources of the Radio Music Hall and the New York Telephone Company have recently been taxed beyond our ability and desire to give the service we try to maintain.” The Music Hall had to open a new line just to face the incredible demand that Snow White created!
The January March of Time is now replaced by The Music Hall News in the program.
February 10, 1938
In the Vol. 2 No. 6 issue of the magazine, the short documentary “Ski Flight” starring Otto Lang is added to the program. Page 11, the management published a letter dated January 26, addressed to them from a patron who says that the hour and a half wait was worth it and that the staff helped making it a day to remember.
