1938 RKO Danish Theatre Program for Snow White

Here's a 24 page program that would have been handed out to moviegoers in Denmark during the 1938 run of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Snehvide og de syv Dværge). Like most playbills, the booklet contains information about the picture, as well as a number of advertisements. RKO and Gloria-Film are listed as the distributors.

On the title page, the movie's characters (personerne) are named, but the actors whose voices were employed are not. This was how Walt Disney wanted it back in 1938, thinking that if the audience knew who was playing the role, it would take away from the character on screen. And since this is an official RKO publication, it adhered to Walt's directive. However, as we saw in an earlier Archive entry, other Danish publications openly credited the actors, something that at the time wasn't done in most countries.

The first few pages introduce the Snow White story and Walt Disney. Plus there's the Danish lyrics to the I'm Wishing song and a writeup on live-action reference model Marge Belcher as "the living Snow White" (Den levende Snehvide).

A Snow White record advertisement from His Master's Voice (RCA) & Columbia appears on page 8; some facts and figures (nogle tal der taler) about the film on page 9.

The lyrics to With a Smile and a Song (Med et Smil og en Sang).

Snow White merchandise for children including a doll book, board game, and coloring book.

Gustaf Tenggren's log scene.

Page 14-17: an advertisement by Wilhelm Hansen music publishers for Snow White songs; recipes for Snow White's fritters, Grumpy's bread pudding, and Dopey's cake; lyrics for Whistle While You Work and Dig, Dig, Dig.

The Witch's poison apple spell, plus an ad for a Dopey bracelet. Contest prizes and Snow White toothbrushes.

Page 20: a Polyphon Records ad for Teddy Peterson and His Orchestra with Annie Jessen (the Danish voice of the princess) and Valdemar David singing the songs from Snow White. Page 21: a set of eight soap figures like the ones by Lightfoot Schultz (seen in an earlier Archive entry).

Page 22: a list of the Dwarf names as they appear in eight different languages: Danish, English, French, Swedish, German, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese. Page 23: an ad for different size Snow White dolls, sold exclusively at Magasin du Nord, a Danish department store chain.

On the back cover is what appears to be an advertisement aimed at businesses--encouraging applications for Danish licenses for the manufacture and marketing of all types of goods attached to Walt Disney's characters. 'Help them to double their turnover' (hjælpe Dem til at fordoble Deres Omsætning ).

Special thanks to Holger Paulsen for sharing these images found online.