The Exhibitor (Aug-Nov 1948)

A MIDWESTERN UNION asks that a spe¬ cial price he arranged for cliildren be¬ tween 12 and 15. No suggestion is made as to how the theatre is to determine the ages. ★ BIRD LOVERS among the exhihition frater¬ nity will be interested in learning that in a West Virginia theatre a pet sparrow shows up every evening to get its share of pop¬ corn. ★ MATTERS are getting complicated in a Nebraska town where several houses have been picketed in a labor disifute. Once a week, one house plays a Spanish film be¬ cause many farmers in the area are Mexi¬ can. The picket took a night off, and had a Mexican stand-in. Next week, the regular picket was back, carrying a sign written in Spanish. ★ A 94-YEAR OLD WOMAN scratched a man¬ ager in Chicago, and otherwise caused a disturbance until the police had to he called. But we never expect to see the day when a section will be roped off for folks 90 and over, with a matron in charge, just as they now do for children in many theatres. ★ THE PRODUCER of “Uruhu” missed a good bet hy not calling the film “Ururu”. This would have allowed such selling lines as “For people over 40, it’s ‘Ururu’ back¬ wards or forwards”, or “Coming or going ‘Ururu’ is the hit of the year.” ★ TWO REPRODUCTIONS of the ships in which Columbus sailed for America, the Nina and the Santa Maria, got into trouble in the West Indies while scenes were being shot. One broke away from her moorings, while another burned and will have to he rebuilt. Compared to production head¬ aches, Columbus really had a cinch. All he had to do was to discover America. — H. M. M. INDEX Voi.. 40, No. 15 Aut;. 18, 1948 Section One Editorial . 3 Feature Article — It’s Not The Heat, It’s The Activity . 8, 9, 10 In The Newsreels . 20 People . 17 Production . 25 Release Date Guide Inside Buck Cover The .Scoreboard 24 Trade Screenings . 20 Tip Off On Business 21 Section Two The Servisection . SS-1 — SS-12 1 H [ VoL. 10, No. 15 August 18, 1918 As The Summer Ends If thf.re was any striking note aliout the sninmer, other than the fact that grosses began to approach seasonal normalcy for the first time in several years, it was that a good picture could still buck factors which generally took toll of the hoxoffice. Despite the record, which shows many a house registering the lowest grosses in some time, some pictures managed to hold their own not only with seasonal highs hut with house records. The statement, “There is nothing wrong with this business that a good picture will not cure,” held true as always. There were some surprises. Here and there, an exhibitor who had heard that this or f|iat picture was not doing business, learned, to his surprise, while he played it, that there was still some “gold left in them thar reels.” One of these, for example, was WB’s “Wall¬ flower,” wdiich didn’t make a dent in any records when it played the first-runs. However, we happened to he in a theatre where a sneak prevue was lieing held, and the audience saw “W allflower” before it saw the new show. It easily secured more laughs than the highly-touted prevue. The summer also showed that clean, family entertainment, capably presented, could score at the hoxoffice. MGM’s “A Date With Judy” was an example. In areas whei*e television made its liow, it became evident that where many sets were being installed, the hoxoffice was beginning to feel the effects. Along the eastern seaboard, during the Presi¬ dential conventions, grosses sagged, and where night haseliall was popular, again the competition took its toll. On the whoi.e, however, there is reason for optimism in the fall. Tlie trouble is that we liccame geared to the wartime gross, and although those peaks may never he consistently seen again, there is no reason wliy this Imsiness, supplied with the proper brand of entertainment, can’t again zoom. What is needed is a note of confidence. Circulate that, and it will help reach the goal, a healthy industry. A Jay Emanuel Publication. Founded in 1918. Published weekly by Jay Emanuel Publications Incorporated. Publishing office: 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. New York office: 1600 Broadway, New York 19. West Coast Representative: Paul Manning, 923 Alandele Avenue, Los Angeles 36, California. Jay Emanuel, publisher; Paul J. Greenhaigh, business manager; Herbert M. Miller, editor; James A. Dalton, advertising manager; George F. Nonamaker and Mel Konecoff, associate editors. Rates: Each edition, one year, $2; three years, $5. Please address communications to office at 1225 Vine Street, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania.