Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Puzzle Within the Castro Theater's April Calendar

A long time ago, I was told that there were puzzles hidden in the Castro Theater's monthly calendar.  The clues were the actors shown on the dates the theater was closed.  I didn't give it much thought but a few months ago, I immediately noticed a number of Carols (or Carroll in the case of O'Connor) in a calendar.  I couldn't figure out all of the actors' names that month.  I believe it was the December calendar and the Carols were a reference to Christmas carols.

I mentioned this in passing to a co-worker and while perusing the April calendar, he recognized Anne Francis from Honey West, a mid-1960s television show I am unfamiliar with.  We confirmed it by the mole to the right of her lower lip.  After additional inspection, he claimed another actor was "that woman from Fargo."  I didn't recognize Frances McDormand because her photo from Crimewave was in black & white.  That was a very subtle but effective misdirect because by making the photo B&W, it made me think of actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

With those two valuable assists, I am able (for the first time) to identify all the actors in one of the Castro's monthly calendars.

April 9 - Kay Francis
April 15 - Francis Albert Sinatra
April 23 - Frances Farmer
April 29 - Anne Francis
April 30 - Frances McDormand

What is the significance of Francis or Frances?  I suspect it is because on April 18, 1906, the city of St. Francis had its famous earthquake.

Castro Theater Calendar

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