Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

S XH IB I TOR HAS HIS SAY HM^ABOUT pictures ■■■■■ ALLIED ARTISTS Play It Cool (AA) — Bobby Vee, Helen Shapiro. Billy Fury. I had quite a time getting this picture. Someone at Allied Artists shipped it via Greyhound bus instead of film truck, so it required a few calls to inquire just where the print was. Finally it arrived and I personally had to deal with a very out-of-sorts bus driver. I have found most of them that way. So, we showed it, and broke even. It’s English, but I found the teenagers seemed to go for it. Played Wed. — Harry Hawkinson jr., Orpheum Theatre, Marietta, Minn. Pop. 380. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL Young Racers, The (AIP) — William Campbell, Mark Damon, Luana Anders. Not a bad racing picture. Did a little above average considering the extremely hot weather and other activities. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Very warm. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. BUENA VISTA Savage Sam <BV) — Brian Keith, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran. Good, but failed to do expected business. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. — S. T. Jackson, Jackson Theatre, Flomaton, Ala. Pop. 1,480. COLUMBIA Experiment in Terror (Col) — Lee Remick, Glenn Ford, Ross Martin. Played this one too late and to no business at all. Nice bit of acting on the part of Lee Remick. But a little too long perhaps. Another Sunday like this and we might as well stay home and watch TV, too. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Nice. — A. Madril, La Plaza Theatre, Antonito, Colo. Pop. 1,255. Ring-a-Ding Rhythm (Col) — Helen Shapiro, Craig Douglas, Felix Felton. Another programmer from Columbia that was a boxoffice dud. A lot of music and teenage swing, but no music at the boxoffice and teens stayed away like it was a “family show.” No more of these, please. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Warm.— Ken Christianson, Roxy Theatre, Washburn, N. D. Pop. 968. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER Come Fly With Me (MGM) — Dolores Hart, Hugh O’Brian, Karl Boehm. Cute little story with lots of beautiful photography. Business average for Sunday, down for Monday. Pamela Tiffin should be a real comer. Played Sun., Mon. — Bill Curran, Ramona Theatre, Kremmling, Colo. Pop. 900. It Happened at the World’s Fair (MGM) — Elvis Presley, Gary Lockwood, Joan O’Brien. Drew a fine turnout. An entertaining picture in gorgeous color with beautiful shots of the Fair. The only let-down in interest was during Elvis’ singing parts. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Good.— Leonard J. Leise, Roxy Theatre, Randolph, Neb. Pop. 1,029. Password Is Courage, The (MGM) — Dirk Bogarde, Maria Perschy, Alfred Lynch. Here is a good picture for the program. It Films Like 'Tammy' Can Kill TV Competition Thanks to Universal for “Tammy and the Doctor,” a very pleasing production. We had nothing but compliments. No one had anything to say except, “It was very good.” Let me repeat, no one had anything to say except, “It was very good.” On this one I could stand in the lobby and say, “Goodnight, folks. Come again soon/’ And every reply was, “Very good.” Pictures such as this will tighten the rope around the neck of TV and strangle it to a quick death. Tammy, cast and entire story and direction; you all did a wonderful, superb job. Even with product such as this we will never see divorce from the TV set, but there will be separation from time to time. Thanks again. W. A. WINDSCHITL Comfrey Theatre Comfrey, Minn. has good action and some comedy. It satisfied those who saw it. Played Wed., Thurs. Weather: Good. — Mel Danner, Circle Theatre, Waynoka, Okla. Pop. 2,018. Ride the High Country (MGM) — Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley. Fairly interesting yarn. Didn’t need all the swearing. Suggest you have your operator grease-pencil out the swearing. That is, if you don’t need him down stairs to run the theatre. Played Fri., Sat., Sun. Weather: Good. — James Cech, Elsie Theatre, Elsie, Mich. Pop. 1,000. Swordsman of Siena (MGM) — Stewart Granger, Christine Kaufmann, Sylva Koscina. Beautiful color and photography and plenty of swordplay. Pleased the customers. Did a little better than average business. We singled it. Played Wed., Thurs., Fri. Weather: Nice. — John W. Johnson, State Theatre, Caspian, Mich. Pop. 1,600. PARAMOUNT Donovan’s Reef (Para) — John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Jack Warden. Color, comedy, romance, action — you name it, this picture has it. One of the best we’ve had in a long time. More like this one and we’d be out of the red. Played Sun. Weather: Okay. — I. Roche, Starlite Drive-In, Chipley, Fla. Hatari! (Para) — John Wayne, Hardy Kruger, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons. Here’s a swell show that everyone was hounding me to play. So, went out of my way and paid high percentage for it. What happens? No one shows. Didn’t even clear the rental. All I can say is if they don’t go for this type of show, we might as well throw in the towel now! Played Fri., Sat., Sun. Weather: Nice. — A. Madril, La Plaza Theatre, Antonito, Colo. Pop 1,255. Who’s Got the Action? (Para) — Dean Martin, Lana Turner, Eddie Albert. This picture doesn’t have any action at all. I can’t understand why Paramount spent the time and energy, nice color and CinemaScope on a story of this type. If you have it dated, check into the situation closer. You might do better playing “Blue Hawaii” over again, rather than finding out “Who’s Got the Action.” Played Sat., Sun. — Harry Hawkinson jr., Orpheum Theatre, Marietta, Minn. Pop 380. UNITED ARTISTS Great Escape, The (UA) — Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough. Did very poor business for me and I don’t know why, as it is a great show. Everyone comments about Steve McQueen. They are certainly interested in seeing more of him. I played it much too long. Played one week. Weather: Great. — Jim Fraser, Auditorium Theatre, Red Wing, Minn. Jack the Giant Killer (UA) — Kerwin Mathews, Judi Meredith, Torin Thatcher. Did way above average with this superb fantasy-adventure. The picture has action aplenty, chilling moments and is pure entertainment, with a capital “E.” Worth a date in every theatre. Played Thur., Fri., Sat. Weather: Nice. — Paul Fournier, Acadia Theatre, St. Leonard, N.B. Pop. 2,150. West Side Story (UA) — Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn, Rita Moreno. Teens really went for this. Some adults expressed disappointment. Grosses were good. For sure, this is worth a CHOICE playdate. Played Wed. through Sat. Weather: Clear. — C. D. Simmons, Grace Theatre, Grace, Ida. Pop. 725. UNIVERSAL Gathering of Eagles, A (Univ) — Rock Hudson, Rod Taylor, Mary Peach, Barry Sullivan. It’s color. I thought it was a good picture, but I can’t seem to gross on a Rock Hudson picture any more. Played Sun., through Wed. Weather: Good. — E. A. Reynolds, Strand Theatre, Princeton, Minn. Pop. 2,108. Showdown (Univ) — Audie Murphy, Charles Drake, Kathleen Crowley. Our patrons like westerns, black and white or in color. They liked this, but asked why it wasn’t in color. I echo their question. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Rain. — C. D. Simmons, Grace Theatre, Grace, Ida. Pop. 725. Tammy and the Doctor (Univ) — Sandra Dee, Peter Fonda, Beulah Bondi, Macdonald Carey. Nearly all my customers like Tammy. This was no exception. Better than average at the boxoffice, and all went away happy. What more can an exhibitor ask? — O. B. Hancock, Princess Theatre, Whitesboro, Tex. Pop. 1,854. WARNER BROS. Days of Wine and Roses (WB) — Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford. This type appeals to very few in small towns. Should do okay in larger situations. It has some fine acting, good direction and one of the best from Warners in the last few years. It was a boxoffice failure here due to extreme hot weather and other activities. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Very warm. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. Summer Place, A (WB-Reissue) — Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee. Would highly recommend playing this again and again any day in the week. Excellent business for midweek. Played Tues., Wed. Weather: Hot and dry. — Terry Axley, New Theatre, England, Ark. Pop. 2,136. 4 204 — BOXOFFICE Showmandiser : : Dec. 23, 1963