Photo Booklet

Like everything else, I found this little photo booklet on eBay. It was made by the photo finisher and contains six snapshots of aproximately 3 by 4½ inches size. The pictures appear to have been taken at a personal appearance by Barbara and Bill. The natural question, of course, is when and where?

The Pictures
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When, Who and Where?

One photo on the eBay listing showed a note on the inside of the booklet's cover. Upon enquiry, I found that the seller had written the note. She told me "The person I purchased this from made me aware of the players as her uncle worked for a movie theatre and actually is in one of the photos (with bowtie)." The text of the note is shown at the right. It's faint, but I believe it says:

Barbara Hale
Richard Greene
Lester Matthews
Lorna Doone 1951

These are actors in the film Lorna Doone which was released in 1951. Therefore, I think it reasonably safe to conclude that these pictures were taken in 1951 in association with a showing of that film.

The "stars" of the snapshots are Barbara Hale, Bill Williams, the uncle mentioned above and one other man who does not appear to be Richard Greene or Lester Matthews. If anyone recognizes him, please let me know.

The marquee of the Fargo theater can be seen in the last of the snaps. A little work with Google shows that this is very likely the Fargo theater in Barbara's home town, DeKalb, Illinois. At the right is a recent photo of this theater taken by Dave Wiegers. I borrowed it from the most interesting Cinema Treasures website. Their page for the Fargo theater be found here.

Some Notes

Note on the note: The note was gone when I received the booklet. The seller explained: "I had penciled in the names for ease in listing and simply erased them prior to sending the item out. "

Note on the owner: "The woman was well into her 80's and as I said, her Uncle owned this little booklet, when he passed away he left it to her. "

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