 Occasionally, the Redford hosted Detroit area premieres, such as the December 25, 1956 opening of "Friendly Persuasion", which was crowded out of the larger theaters by blockbusters like "The Ten Commandments".In the 1960s and 1970s, when socioeconomic forces closed down many Detroit theaters and opened many others in the Detroit suburbs, the Redford went into decline and later was reborn with a still-running series of classic Hollywood movies.The Redford is one of the few remaining theaters mentioned in a September 11, 1981 "Detroit News" article about film repertory houses in the Detroit area.