Allentown Puts Sizzle In Reheated Steak

Showmanship Unplugged For A Revived King's Row

You'd not sneak sex and depravity onto mainstream screens during the Code-locked 40's, but ads could bait hook for those who'd imagine movies had finally cut loose to deliver the goods. Of course they didn't --- and wouldn't --- until years later and abandonment of the PCA in favor of a rating's system. Not that King's Row wasn't strong meat in context of 1941, and there is plentiful Disgrace, Desire, and Cruelty to go around, but elements were "Hidden" and "Left Out" from the novel on which Warner's film was based. A biggest knock Hollywood got from readers in those days was familiar chorus of "It wasn't as good as the book," an oft-truism thanks to censoring of film content. What mattered for showmen, however, was filling seats, and that often meant scrapping suggested ads in favor of lurid art to grab attendance by the collar. The State Theatre needed that extra jolt, as this was 1946 and King's Row by then had a five years' growth of beard. Allentown, Pa.'s State began life as a vaudeville house in 1906 (originally called the Orpheum). Eventually they went over to a screen policy. Don't know if Allentown's was a "Pagan Population," but chances were good they'd come to a show about a fictional one.