Modern Screen, August 1955: Disneyland

For the August 1955 issue of Modern Screen Magazine, actress Pier Angeli graced the cover. Inside, the gossip mag gave three full pages of coverage for the recently opened Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. The first spread included a color photo of the Sleeping Beauty Castle model:



The historic model was on display at the Disneyland Opera House when I shot it in February 2007:



…and in June 2008:





One can “assume” that while the article came out one month after the Park opened, the feature was put together while Disneyland was still under construction, thus the model shots. A photo of Walt with a colt  from April 1954 was also used. Here’s the uncropped version from my collection:



The article features two “young stars,” Marla English and Larry Pennell, who posed for pictures at the Walt Disney Studio in Burbank, where the rides and vehicles were being construction/refurbished. Below are trees from the Snow White attraction and the Horse-Drawn Chemical/Fire Wagon:



A shot of the Chemical Wagon from 1956 taken in the Park:



The second page of the spread included color shots of the Main Street, Adventureland, and Mark Twain models:



A closeup of the Main Street model, which still had the bandstand situated in Town Square:



An August 1955 black and white closeup of the same model:



Closeups of the other models:





A closeup of one of the Stagecoaches, with Marla and Larry looking very lovey-dovey:



An August 1954 image from my collection of the same stagecoach, also shot at the Disney Studio in Burbank; note the corrugated wall, visible in many of the images from the Modern Screen article:



The last page of the feature included a map and other studio-shot photos of more vehicles and animals (both real and fake):



You might recognize Pennell from “The Beverly Hillbillies,” where he played Dash Riprock. Marla’s claim to fame was being cast opposite Spencer Tracy in “The Mountain” (1955), and then deciding to withdraw from the project. Marla told the columnists that she left as a result of hospitalization due to a recently administered smallpox vaccine. According to the St. Petersburg Times, September 18, 1955, this was the real reason, according to a close relative of Marla:

Said she: “Marla has fallen in love with a young Paramount player, Bud Pennell. She desperately wanted the studio to give him a part in “The Mountain.” Then the two of them could have gone off to France together. When the studio refused, she blew her top. A woman in love will do anything.” This, a Paramount executive conceded, was basically correct. “Only an actress in love,” he added, “would give up a picture with Spencer Tracy.”

At least they had Disneyland…

See more Disneyland brochures and map photos at my main website.