Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1943)

October 2, 1943 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 47 BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR KOERNER. Everybody on the set helped celebrate the boss's birthday when RKO Radio Studio Head Charles Koerner dropped by to watch Ginger Rogers emote for "Tender Ccmrade," found 3 cake and presents. Leading Man Robert Ryan, Directrr Edward Dmytryk, Producer David Hempstead, Ginger Rogers, Electrician's Best Boy Leiand Armstrong and, busy opening one of his presents, Koerner. Chicago-Mil vvaukee-Detroit territory. Phil Dunas, Columbia district manager, is at home recovering from his recent illness — back soon. Will Spillman has been named manager of the Langley Theatre in the Gollos circuit. Bob Levazzi, equipment manufacturer, is the father of a baby boy. Teman Wilhite, formerly with the B & K general offices, has been discharged from the Marine Corps due to injuries. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Flying Cross for bravery at the Guadalcanal, Coral Sea, and Midway battles. Fred Drew, formerly with the Uptown Theatre staff, is now with Coast Guard units in the Italian campaign. RKO and Vitagraph have been included in the arbitration case filed here by the Freeport Theatre, Freeport, 111. Michael Godshaw is the new city salesman for PRC exchange. John B. Logan, former chief of service for the Earle Theatre, Washington, is in Chicago on furlough. He won several medals for his work in the South Pacific. Military notes : Warren Katz, of B & K, to Camp Farragut, Idaho ; Ed O'Donnell, Jr., son of Marbro Theatre's Ed O'Donnell, is now a lieutenant, stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas ; Vincent Bongiovanni, Century Theatre, now a 2nd Lieutenant ; Morry Showell, Century Theatre, to Scott Field, 111., air base; Jnn Taraba, Marbro Theatre, to Marines at San Diego; Irving Kaufman, Granada, to Camp McClellan, Ala., mechanics school ; Tommy Constant, Howard Theatre, at Navy Pier, Chicago. ihe Navy Department has notified the parents of Clifford Campbell, former Tivoli Theatre employe, that he is missing in action. McNeill Smith has been named manager of the B & K Gateway Theatre. In other cnanges because of the general shift, M. Officer goes from the Iris to the Will Rogers, and Dean Jones becomes manager of the State. Theodore Dariotas has been moved from the UA Theatre to the Chicago as assistant manager. Aaron Stein of Rosenberg, Stein and Rosenberg, attorneys for the Schoenstadt Theatre circuit, is at i'yler, Texas, on a business trip. Joseph Rosenberg is in New York on the anti-trust case being brought against major film companies. {SIR, September 25.) Vaudeville coming back? The Bertha Theatre on Lincoln Avenue is trying out vaudeville on its Wednesday bills. The Essaness circuit has dropped vaudeville from North Center programs. You takes your choice. CINCINNATI E. M. Booth, Metro's branch manager, has returned from a territorial trip. Esther Shedd, Metro, leaves on November 1 to join her husband, who is in service in California. John Kaiser, Chillicothe, and Jack Hatcher, Xenia, were visitors this week. Mannie Trautenberg, former RKO booker, now in the Navy, stopped in while on furlough. Other furlough visitors were Robert Brisker, former Columbia shipper ; Sgt. Lee Heidingsfeld, nephew of Ben Heidingsfeld and formerly with Columbia advertising department, and Sgt. Joe Dressing, formerly with National Screen. George Devine, Universal's third booker, joined the Seabees. Howard Roudebusch, who is also leaving, and Devine, were given a testimonial dinner by the office personnel at the Twin Oaks Club. Mr. and Mrs. Roy Letzinger, Amherstdale, West Virginia, were here over the week-end. Lou Siebert covered the West Virginia territory on his first trip out for United Artists, accompanied by Jack Feinberg, salesman. Bucky Harris, RKO exploiteer, is moving his family from New Rochelle, N. Y., and will establish residence in Cincinnati. Mary Johnson, assistant advertising manager of Time, Inc., New York City, was here for several days at the Fox office. Irving Socian has been promoted to sales manager, 20th Century-Fox, to work in closer cooperation with Leavitt Bugie, branch manager. Bill Kerr, Warners' sales representative in West Virginia, lost his father last week. Warners' Helen Winkler, cashier department, is on the sick list. Mr. and Mrs. W. Crist were here from Ripley this week. Mr. Crist operates the Ripley Theatre. Naomi Gordon has returned from Denver, Colorado, where she went to visit her brother, Teddy, who is ill. Republic oversold their $1000 war bond quota, which was a remarkable accounting for so small a personnel. George Kirby is branch manager. Republic has inaugurated a new Sales Liquidation Drive. CLEVELAND Jack Lefton, well-known to all film men in this territory through long association with Standard Film Service and Republic Pictures, has been appointed manager of the local PRC exchange by Nat L. Lefton, PRC franchise owner and district manager in charge of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh offices. This appointment will free Nat Lefton to visit his district offices more often. The RKO Palace Theatre announces the appointment of two new assistant managers. They are Edward Pyne who came on from the Pelham Theatre, Pelham, New York, and Dave Gomoll, formerly with the Newsreel Theatre in Akron. M. M. Jacobs of Imperial Pictures has purchased "Ten Nights in a Bar Room" for Ohio distribution, following the success of this oldtimer during a recent engagement at Keith's East 105th St. Theatre. Tony Stern and Marvin Samuelson, Warner theatre bookers, journeyed to Cincinnati during the week on a booking expedition. M. B. Horwitz, general manager of the Washington circuit, demonstrated beyond doubt to the local Red Cross officials that the motion picture screen is the most efficient method of recruiting blood donors. To prove his contention he ran a special trailer. After showing it at the Plaza Theatre the attendant Red Cross nurse signed up 68 blood donor applicants, the largest group ever secured from a single appeal. Charles Rich, Warner district manager, cov ered the Pittsburgh area last week and Bernard Kranze, RKO branch manager, was a Toledo visitor. The McKinley Theatre, Canton, about which there has been much speculation since Harry Reinhart, its former operator, failed to renew his lease, will reopen the middle of October. Harold Makinson and Frank Gaethke, who operate the Duebar Theatre in Canton and a circuit of houses in Barberton, are the new lessees. The house is being renovated. Members of the United Artists exchange tendered a farewell dinner party last Thursday to George Sendrey, head shipper, who has been inducted into the Army. Aaron Wayne, Monogram salesman, has been elected commander of Variety Post 318 for the coming year. And Jack Greenbaum, independent distributor, was elected first sergeant-atarms. Louis E. Mayer, rrianager of the RKO Palace Theatre last week, awarded $250 in war bonds to winners of the News-KKO Palace Victory Garden school contest offered in the Spring. The contest received newspaper publicity all through the Summer. Harry Goldstein, Paramount district manager, on a six months' leave of absence, departs Oct. 10th to spend the Winter in Florida. John Himmelein, who came here several weeks ago from Chicago to be assistant to the Paramount district manager, has been transferred to the Paramount office in St. Louis. DES MOINES Operation of a motion picture house was classified as a hazardous business by the Iowa Supreme Court in a damage suit, with the added statement that because it was the theatre must assume the burdens that go with it. The high Iowa court reversed a trial court decision and ordered the $10,000 damage suit of Mrs. Jennie LaSell, 64, of Des Moines, against Tri-States Theatre Corp. of Des Moines, be retried. The lower court had returned a verdict for the theatre corporation. Mrs. LaSell's claim was based on a fall in the Des Moines Theatre June 8, 1941, contending she suffered a brain concussion, a partial paralysis of the left leg, a broken nose and other injuries. Sioux City now has its first feminine manager in Marguerite Mosetter, former cashier, who has taken over the Iowa Theatre. Bluma Merlin has been serving as' an assistant manager at the Capitol. She is a former secretary for the (Continued on Page 49)