The January 1945 issue of Chess Review gave the following "Chess Brief:"

Pan-American Tournament
The Pan-American Tournament, to be held in Los Angeles, is all arranged, according to Hollywood's Herman Steiner. Under the auspices of the California State Chess Association, this big event will begin on July 28th and finish on August 12th. Sixteen masters will be invited to participate - eight from the United States and eight from other Pan-American countries. The Los Angeles Times, which carries Steiner's chess column every Sunday, is guaranteeing prizes of $1000, $750, $500, $350 and $200! So far as we know, this is the first time that an American newspaper has sponsored a chess event.
 

In the June-July, 1945 issue of Chess Review, Horowitz gave some more details on the Pan-American Chess Congress that Herman Steiner had been busy organizing from his Hollywood Chess Group clubhouse located at his West Hollywood home on 108 North Formosa Ave. Since Steiner was the chessmaster to the stars, the fact that his club was hosting the event gave chess a special and unprecedented aura of acceptability and popularity. Even in this issue, while the text mostly discussed the quality of the players, the front cover featured famous movie stars who had embraced chess and were helping to sponsor the tournament.

                                                                       Cover of Chess Review, June-July, 1945

Lauren Bacall gives chessmaster Herman Steiner "the look" while Charles Boyer and Humphrey Bogart (both keen chessplayers) finish a game between takes on "The Confidential Agent" in which Boyer (left) is starring. The scene is Boyer's dressing room at the Warner Bros. Studio. These and other movie stars will take an active part in promoting and sponsoring the forthcoming Pan American Chess Congress at Los Angeles (see Chess Briefs).

The Hollywood Pan-American Tournament will officially be opened by Carmen Miranda on July 29th. Latest scores as we go to press are: Fine 7-0, Reshevsky 6-0, Horowitz 5-1, Rossetto 4.5-2.5, Araiza 3-3, Kashdan and Pilnik 2.5-2.5, Seidman 2.5-4.5, Adams, Cruz and Steiner 1.5-3.5, Broderman 1-5, Camarena .5-6.5.
Transportation difficulties upset the plans of a number of invited masters. Pinkus and Lasker had to withdraw because they could not obtain accommodations; Adams, who was called in as a last minute replacement, got as far as El Paso and then had to resort to a bus to finish his trip. On the way he met Dr. Walter O. Cruz, Brazilian representative, and they turned up together at the tournament, a full three days late! Herman Pilnik of Argentina had an even more arduous trip, appeared at the tournament on the fourth day, with his head swathed in bandages! After losing his plane priority, he went ahead by car, crashing into an unlighted truck, woke up in a hospital in Yuma, Ariz. After a two-day stay, he proceeded to Hollywood.
The tournament is arousing great interest; spectators from the movie colony have included Carmen Miranda, Marlene Dietrich, Josef von Sternberg and Mitzi Mayfair.

The American Chess Bulletin of  September-October 1945 suggests that some of the travel arrangements were due to wartime federal travel restrictions and that even of the 13 who were able to arrange travel and accommodations, special considerations had to be made for 3 participants who weren't able to arrive on time (Herman Pilnik of Argentina, Dr. Walter O.Cruz of Brazil and Weaver Adams of Boston).
Pilnik, who was driving to California from Texas, ran into a parked truck and awoke in a hospital in Yuma. He was three days late and played covered in bandages.
 

Herman Pilnik of Argentina, who had to make up 3 games and play under an obvious handicap finished third, only a half point behind Rueben Fine.

The venue for the Pan-American Congress was to be the Hollywood Athletic Club where Steiner also gave chess lessons.
According to About.com : 

"The Hollywood Athletic Club at 6525 Sunset was the tallest building in Hollywood when it was built in 1924. It was established by Cecil B. De Mille, Charlie Chaplin, Lon Chaney and Rudolf Valentino as an elite sports club. Charlie Chaplin lived in the penthouse. In the 90s it was still A-list only, but as a nightclub. George Clooney and Keanu Reeves reportedly played pool here. The club is currently used only as a film set."

Hollywood Athletic Club

The October issue of Chess Review covered the tournament which had been held from July 29 to August 12 :

   Hollywood is chess-conscious. Considered by many the coming style center and artistic capital of the world, Hollywood has attracted leading actors, writers, artists, musicians, designers, technicians - all tops in their field. Such a group of distinguished people naturally contains an unusually high proportion of chess players.

   Among the most famous of the film capital's chess players are: actors Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart, Charles Boyer, Franchot Tone, Basil Rathbone, J. Edward Bromberg, Helmut Dantine, Frank Morgan, Nigel Bruce; actresses Myrna Loy, Linda Darnell, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mitzi Mayfair; directors Josef von Sternberg, Billy Wilder. The employees at Paramount Studios have recently organized their own chess club. Herman Steiner's flourishing Hollywood Chess Group has upwards of a hundred enthusiastic members. Chess is well on the way to becoming part of the everyday pattern of Hollywood life. In a recent interview (Silver Screen, June 1945) Humphrey Bogart was asked about the things that matter to him. One of them is "Chess . . . right now Helmut Dantine and I move the Kings and Queens every day on the act between takes, At the moment, I've got Dantine out on a limb." CHESS REVIEW readers will recall that the cover of the June-July issue featured a game between Boyer and Bogart, played during takes of "The Confidential Agent." Bogart is not only interested in the game; he is helping to popularize it by serving as one of the directors of the United States Chess Federation.

   One of the happy results of Hollywood's absorption in chess has been the intelligent use of chess in movies - in such pictires, for example, as "Casablanca," "Blood and Sand" and "North State. There is still room for improvement in this respect : occasionally a movie will relapse into the old-fogeyish, uninspired treatment of chess as a long-winded affair played exclusively by venerable dodderers. A particularly bad instance of this type of treatment appears in a recent movie, "The Thrill of a Romance." Here chess is treated in a stale, old-fashioned manner which has now become quite dated and out of keeping with the present Hollywood trend. The continued favorable treatment of chess is destined to give the game a tremendous impetus in this country.

   The growth of chess interest in Hollywood is no isolated phenomenon. California is one of the most enthusiastic chess states in the country !  It has almost half the members of the U.S. Chess Federation ; and the fact that the Pan-American Chess Congress was held in Hollywood, demonstrates wide-spread State interest and a willingness to make the necessary contributions. Much of the credit for these favorable conditions properly belongs to Herman Steiner : West Coast chess has been invigorated by the presence of one of the country's outstanding players; above all, California chess has benefited enormously from Steiner's tireless energy as an organizer.

   It was a happy inspiration to give the Hollywood tournament a Pan-American flavor. The inclusion of our good neighbors added color and made for keener competition. This was particularly true of Herman Pilnik, who fully justified the great reputation he has made as a first-class master. Hestor Rossetto, only 22 and a wizard at speed chess, likewise created a very favorable impression. Dr. Cruz of Brazil and Major Araiza of Mexico also proved formidable opponents, making life very hard for the prizewinners.

   For CHESS REVIEW's Al Horowitz, the Pan-American Congress was a unique combination of grueling tournament chess and carefree vacationing. Horowitz naturally welcomed the opportunity to play in such strong company, but looked forward just as eagerly to relaxing in California's famed sunshine, to renewing old chess friendships, making the acquaintance of many CHESS REVIEW subscribers, studying the prospects for his coming trans-continental tour.

   Horowitz returned to New York full of enthusiasm over the many signs of vastly increased chess interest since his previous trip west in 1942 - clubs have sprung up, thousands of new players have taken to the game, local and regional competitions have become sharpened, postal chess is winning more and more converts. The important feature is not only that there are many new players, but that so many of them are quite young : chess is definitely drawing the teenage youngsters.
   Mr. & Mrs. Horwitz with Nigel Bruce and Basil Rathbone (Watson and Holmes)

   As for his play in the tournament, Horowitz was well satisfied with his showing. Yet he continues to regret the psychological boner which resulted in his only defeat - to Adams. In a very promising position, Horowitz considered a move, dismissed it as inferior and . . . played it just the same ! Adams, a fine technician, immediately pounced on the faulty continuation and soon turned it to his advantage.

   Horowitz was pleased to learn that his game with Dr. Broderman, an interesting but imperfect Ruy Lopez, had inspired an excellent poem. He frankly admits that the poetry is better than the chess!

     BALLADE OF THE CAPTURED PAWN
Dr. Broderman of Havana in his game with Horowitz,
held his own until the thirtieth move, when he captured
a pawn instead of making a defensive move. The game
ended in thirty-one moves - NY Times, Aug. 1, 1945

             Ah, sorry Dr, Broderman !
             How with a martyr's flame you burn,
             Your ruddy cheeks how thin and wan,
             Your solace but a bootless "Durn !"
             Here is the cause, if you would learn :
             You held your own, all free of blame,
             But when you reached the thirtieth turn,
             Captured a pawn, and lost the game.

             Yet do not grieve, despairing Don,
             Though swift the punishment and stern.
             There breathed no man in ages gone
             Who could such sweet temptation spurn,
             But towards that bright pawn would yearn.
             Napoleon at his peak of fame
             To Moscow bent his great concern,
             Captured a pawn, and lost the game.

             We sorry duffers daily con
             The scorecards, feeble wits a-churn,
             To taste the chessical bonbon
             That critics knowingly discern.
             Ah, how could common clay adjourn
             Such sessions without sense of shame,
             Did not the Doc disaster earn :
             Capture a pawn, and lose the game?

                                 ENVOI
             Fellow duffers !  In bright Sauterne
             I pledge our new resolve, to tame
             That mothlike zeal with which we burn
             To capture a pawn, and lose the game.
                                                             _{-Nathaniel Weiss}

---

Besides Bogart, Bacall and Boyer, other notable movie stars who attended Steiner's club or were otherwise influenced by Steiner included  Charlie Chaplin,  Lew Ayres, John Barrymore, Jose Ferrer, Louis Hayward, Fritz Feld, Rosemary Clooney, Katharine Hepburn, Dean Martin, Louis Jourdan, John Wayne, Franchot Tone, Basil Rathbone, J. Edward Bromberg, Helmut Dantine, Frank Morgan, Nigel Bruce, Myrna Loy, Linda Darnell, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mitzi Mayfair, Josef von Sternberg, Billy Wilder, Barbara Hale, Bill Williams, Carmen Miranda,  Daun Kennedy, Jean Trent, Kathleen O'Malley and Roseanne Murray.

Spence further explained, "Unfortunately the original list of players did not attend. America was still at war in the Pacific and travel was difficult if not impossible. Pinkus and Lasker withdrew as they could not obtain reservations, Weaver Adams, a last-minute replacement, was delayed en route and arrived three days late with Dr. Cruz of Brazil. Herman Pilnik, another replacement from Argentina, lost his plane reservation and proceeded by car. He crashed into an unlighted truck at night and woke up in a Yuma, Arizona hospital. He arrived in Hollywood three days late with his head swathed in bandages. Other players withdrew for various reasons . . . Herbert Seidman found that his leave was shortened the last few days of the event and he had to forfeit to Kashdan, Steiner and Reshevsky."

     The event comprised of six different tournaments: the Main event, the Masters Reserve (won by  H. Borochow of San Francisco ; second place, Robert Solona of Cuba), the Class A event (won by H. Carlsen of L.A. ; second place, Eugene Moncalian of Mexico City ), the Class B event (won by W. Fieg ; second place, Dr. A. Kupka of L.A.),  the Interscholastic Tournament (won by Eugene Levin of Roosevelt High School, L.A. ; second place,  Bob Erickson of Fairfax High School, L.A.) and the Women's tournament (1st prize shared  between Mrs. Mary Bain and Miss N. May Karff). Special prizes : the Marshall Memorial Prize went to Reshevsky for his win over Brodemann on Aug. 10 ; First Brilliancy Prize*  went to Reuben fine for his win over Steiner ; Second Brilliancy Prize went to Herman Pilnik for his win over Weaver Adams.
     Interesting enough, although not a formal part of the tournament, a speed chess tournament  "with a time-limit of 10 seconds a move brought the program to a conclusion. Twenty competed including Samuel Reshevsky and Reuben Fine. The result was a three-way tie for first place among Resheveky, Fine and Hector Rossetto. With only two games remaining to be played, Fine having lost only to Harry Borochow of Los Angeles, was leading with a score of 17-1.  Thereupon Rossetto defeated him smartly and caught up with him,  while Reshevsky also attained 17 points by winning from Dr. W. O. Cruz of Brazil.  Horowitz was placed fourth with ascore of 15-4 and Herman Steiner won fifth with 14-5"  - American Chess Bulletin Sept.-Oct. 1945

     *This is according to the American Chess Bulletin. The Jack Spense article, as noted below, claimed the First Brilliancy Prize went to Pilnik and Fine was never mentioned.
 

Besides the tournaments, there was a living chess game - "Many movie stars attended the special events and the tournament games. A Living Chess Game was won by a team of Reshevsky, Fine, Horowitz, Steiner, Adams and Borochow. The defeated Pilnik, Rossetto, Cruz, Araiza and Camarena. The game was played with "living chess pieces" as Earl Carroll girls in white bathing suits were White pieces while Latin American beauties in formal gowns were the Black pieces. Bud [Bill] Williams and Barbara Hale of RKO were the Black king and queen. P. Clagett and Rosanne Murray of MGM were the White king and queen. Linda Darnell announced the moves. A suggestion that each team keep the captured pieces was turned down by the tournament committee!"  - Spence

Chess glamour in the Hollywood manner :  a scene from the colorful Living Game.  The white Pawns are Earl Carroll girls in white bathing suits ;  Latin American beauties in formal gowns are the black Pawns.
The Living Chess Game  went 32 moves, ended with a checkmate administered by the Black teams made up of Reshevsky,  Fine,  Horowitz,  Steiner,  Borochow. Losers :  Pilnik,   Rossetto,  Cruz,  Broderman,  Araiza and Camerena.

Spence concluded with a summary of the final activities, "A gala dinner was attended by 150 chess fans who listened to Gregory Ratoff as toastmaster and participated in the distribution of prizes as conducted by Linda Darnell. Statuettes were awarded to the winners and medals to eight others in each group. Reshevsky was awarded the Marshall Memorial prize for his victory over Broderman. The first Brilliancy was won by Pilnik for his victory over Adams. Some recognition should have been given Kashdan and Araiza for their record 101 move game which ended in a draw after three sessions."

Black Queen Barbara Hale, crowning Black King Bill Williams

Bill Williams, King of the black pieces, takes time out for a comfortable chat with Barbara Hale (left) and Queen of Ceremonies Linda Darnell (right), who announced the moves of the Living Chess Game.

In his 1983 book, The World's Great Chess Games,  Fine wrote, "Hungarian-born Herman Steiner was long one of the most popular and colorful figures in American chess. In 1932 he settled in Los Angeles where his chess club attracted many of the celebrities of movieland."

In the following pictures, one might argue that Fine took full advantage of Steiner's position.
 

Reuben Fine  teaching Jane Nigh the finer points of chess.
 

       

            
Carmen Miranda, accompanied by chess enthusiast J. Edward Bromberg, makes a tour of the games in the opening round.  They pause at the table of Major J.J. Araiza of Mexico (right) and Pfc. Herbert Seidman (left). In striking contrast to Carmen Miranda, the Major is all gravity and tense concentration.

 

The game's on ice :  advance publicity for the Pan-American Chess Congress has the authentic Hollywood touch. 
Players : Barbara Bates (left) and Dawn Kennedy.  Spectators :  Julie London (left) and Jean Trent

Linda Darnell - the White Chess Queen
 

        
          Hollywood celebrities were on hand during every round of the
          Pan-American Championship. Here Marlene Dietrich is an
          intent onlooker at the game between Dr. Jose Broderman of Cuba
         and Hector Rossetto (right), Argentine Champion.  Hollywood's
          interest will be an important factor in popularizing chess.

   Pretty Pretty redhead Roseanne Murray, 
    who has an important role in Universal's
    A Night in Paradise,  was one of the most
    frequent visitors to the Pan-Am Championship. 

       
Roseanne Murray watching a tense game between Reshevsky and Adams.

Samuel Reshevsky studying the chess board during the tournament.

Who were these people?
Most of the following information was culled from Wikipedia and/or various cinema sites.

Franchot Tone (1905-1968)
moved to Hollywood in 1932 (one of the first stage actors to embrace film) performed in 40 films, including: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), The Gorgeous Hussy (1936), Advise and Consent (1962)

Basil Rathbone (1892-1967)
stage actor turned film actor, his first (silent) film Innocent (1921). appeared in 84 films. "Rathbone is most widely recognized for his starring role as Sherlock Holmes in fourteen movies between 1939 and 1946,"

J. Edward Bromberg (1903-1951)
"a Hungarian-born character actor in motion picture and stage productions dating mostly from the 1930s and 1940s."
between 1936 and 1951, appeared in 53 films.

Helmut Dantine (1917-1982)
("appeared uncredited in Casablanca early in his career (he played the desperate newlywed gambling to obtain visa money)")
Although he fled Austria in the late 1930s , he is best "remembered for playing many Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s."

Frank Morgan (1890-1949) "was an American actor best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film The Wizard of Oz"
His first film was The Suspect in 1916. he totaled 100 films in his career.

Nigel Bruce (1895-1953) " was a British character actor on stage and screen, best known as Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes)." He appeared in 46 films.

Myrna Loy (1905-1993) "...she appeared in 1927's The Jazz Singer as an uncredited chorus girl."
"With the outbreak of World War II, she all but abandoned her acting career to focus on the war effort and worked closely with the Red Cross . . .She was so fiercely outspoken against Adolf Hitler that her name appeared on his blacklist."
She was most famous for the Thin Man series.

Linda Darnell (1923-1965)
Started in films in 1939 with "Hotel for Women" and appeared in 43 films

Maureen O'Sullivan (1911-1998) Started in films in 1930 with Song o' My Heart. She played Tarzan's mate, Jane in 6 films between 1932-1942. She appeared in a total of 63 films.

Mitzi Mayfair (1914-1976)
"Mitzi Mayfair, during the 30s and 40s, performed  a tap-dancer on Broadway. Her Broadway shows included The Show Is On and Take a Chance.  After Eleanor Powell''s breakdown in January 1936, she replaced Miss Powell in At Home Abroad. Mitzi Mayfair's film work was minimal, "only co-starring in Four Jills In a Jeep [playing herself] and a few Vitaphone Shorts."

Josef von Sternberg (1894-1969)
He made his directorial debut in 1925 with The Salvation Hunters, called by some the first American independent film.
His filmography includes 8 silent films, 16 sound films, 9 co-directed films and 1 documentary.

Billy Wilder (1906-202)
 "is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age"  "Wilder's first significant success as a screenwriter was Ninotchka, released in 1939, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.  In 1942 he made his directing debut with The Major and the Minor.  In 1946 Wilder earned the Best Director and Best Screenplay Academy Awards for The Lost Weekend. All told Wilder was nominated for 15, and won 8, Academy Awards in various categories. Wilder authored 39 screenplays
and directed 27 films (producing half of them), only one of which he didn't write.

Barbara Hale (1922- )
Hale began appearing in motion pictures in 1943 after training at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts with her first big performance  in Higher and Higher (1944) with Frank Sinatra. In 1946 she married actor Bill Williams. She was most famous for her role as Della Street in the Perry Mason TV series.

Bill Williams (1915-1992)
Although he performed in 70 films, Bill Williams, like his wife, Barbara Hale, is best remembered for his TV work. In his case, The Adventures of Kit Carson

Carmen Miranda (1909 - 1955)
". . . she was a Broadway star, the highest paid artist in Hollywood and the highest paid woman in the United States. She became best-known for her movie appearances, mostly musicals, wearing a hat with assorted tropical fruit on top, which has since become her iconic image . . .  Miranda arrived in the United States in 1939 with her band, the Bando da Lua, and achieved stardom in the early 1940s.
She was the country's highest-paid entertainer for several years in the 1940s, and in 1945, was the highest-paid woman in the United States, earning more than $200,000 that year, according to IRS records."
Miranda made a total of fourteen Hollywood films between 1940 and 1953

Julie London (1926 - 2000)
She began appearing in movies after she graduated from the Hollywood Professional School in 1945.
She was married to Jack Webb of Dragnet fame (whom she later divorced). Despite her widely-regarded beauty and poise (she was a pinup girl prized by GIs during World War II) London is primarily remembered as a singer (She recorded 32 albums), London also made more than 20 films.

Dawn Kennedy (aka Daun Kennedy) (1922 - 2002) appeared in 24 films, moslty uncredited bit parts.

Jean Trent - appeared in 13 films, mostly uncredited bit parts. She was married to actor Ray Montgomery for over 50 years.

Roseanne Murray - appeared in 21 films between 1941 and 1948, mostly uncredited bit parts.
The "important role" (as it was described by Horowitz) in "A Night in Paradise" was uncredited (also appearing uncredited were Barbara Bates, Daun Kennedy, Jean Trent and Kathleen O'Malley)

Jane Nigh  (1925-1993) - Discovered in 1944, Jane Nigh appeared in 40 films.including such titles as Give My Regards to Broadway.

Salome, Where She Danced  Universal 1945. Directed by Charles Lamont featured a bevy of actors and actresses including the chess playing Barbara Bates, Daun Kennedy, Kathleen O'Malley, Jean Trent, J. Edward Bromberg