Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1943)

52 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW October 2, 1943 REGIONAL — Continued tures, Seattle and Portland; MGM Exchanges at Butte, Portland and Seattle ; Vitagraph, Portland, and United Artists, Seattle. Joseph Rosenfield, general manager of Sterling Theatres, Inc., announces a further boost in admission prices for Seattle theatres of 10c, making a 75c top at first runs. Chalmers Sinkey, 20th-Fox newsreel photographer, is reported resting comfortably at Swedish Hospital, Seattle. John Mullally has joined the office staf¥ at National Screen Service as bookkeeper. Margaret Wood of 20th-Fox announces her marriage to Lieut. Walter Beam of the Army Air Corps, Seattle. Keith Linforth, former manager of the Woodland and Grand theatres, Seattle, has been transferred to New Rivoli Gardens, succeeding Ed Brendel, Jr., resigned. Booking on Seattle Row : Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Cocrane, Snoqualmie; Lionel Browns, Edmonds ; Francis Glanfield, Tacoma ; Mrs. John Brunsberg, Issaquah; Charles and Mrs. Grieme, Wenatchee. A spectacular fire at Orpheum Theatre block m Baker, Ore., caused a loss of $75,000. The cause was undetermined. Frank Buckmiller, owner, was insured. Ray Stumbo, operator of theatres in Salem and Vanport City, Ore., was stricken with a heart attack. Reported resting well and out of danger. Oscar Nyberg, Fox Theatre, Spokane, putting on the big Navy show, with extra heavy take on "Here Comes Farragut." Jack Flannery of National Screen is covering the Eastern Washington territory. Eve Ruben has returned to Seattle's film row as secretary to Tony Hartford, manager of 20th-Fox. Howard Herty, MGM exploiteer, visiting Portland and Seattle exchanges. Washington operators of theatres and other amusements poured $63,539.97 into Seattle coffers, the first two months' installment of the special amusement tax. Joe Blumenfeld of San Francisco and Clarence Laws of Piedmont, well known motion picture chain operators, are reported purchasers of the Oakland Baseball Club. Capt. Roy Peacock, formerly of B. F. Shearer Equipment Company, writing to friends from the South Pacific islands. ST. LOUIS The bracket system for collecting Missouri's 2 per cent sales tax will be abolished on September 30th and merchants are being instructed to return to the exclusive use of the mill token on that date, Sales Tax Supervisor G. H. Bates has announced. The bracket system was set up by State Auditor Forrest Smith on December 11, 1942, because of a shortage of the zinc mills then in use. Many complaints have been made that merchants were making a profit on the sales tax under the bracket system. The state is using plastic tokens under a new arrangement approved by the Missouri legislature. Two conferences have been held this week between representatives of the projectionists and stagehands, both affiliated with the lATSE, and the owners of the local first-run and secondrun houses, relative to the recent demands of the workers for a 15 per cent increase in wages, vacations with pay, etc. Any contract finally worked out will be retroactive to September 1st, and, of course, must have the approval of the War Labor Board. Eddie Arthur, formerly assistant general manager of the Fanchon & Marco-St. Louis Amusement Company houses under his brother, Harry C. Arthur, Jr., is home on a furlough SAW "SAHARA." Among exhibitors who attended the Columbia Trade Show of "Sahara ' at the Exeter Theatre, Boston, were: P. Marget, Strand, Chelsea; I. Lewis, Provincetown Theatre, Provincefown; J. Cohen and L. Young, Snider Circuit, seated right to left; W. Alperin, Lieberman Circuit; B. Rrsenthal, Strand, Gloucester; S. Sumner, University, Cambridge; M. Levenson, Levenson Circuit; C. Morse, Morse Circuit; H. Rogovin, Columbia Boston manager, standing left to right in photo at left above. At the Salt Lake City showing, in photo at right above: Clare Woods, booker and buyer, Intermcuntain Theatres; Jerome Safron, western division manager, Columbia; Tracy Barham, general manager, Intermountain Theatres. NEW HAVEN, MILWAUKEE TRADE SHOWS. At left above: Harry Fishman, Community Tneatre, Fairfield; Tim O'Toole, Columbia New Haven manager; Jack Fishman, Fishman Circuit, at the New Haven showing of Columbia's "Sahara." Among those attending the "Sahara" showing at the Palace, Milwaukee, were: Joe McMahon, Motion Picture Service Circuit; Frank Welter, Wausau, Wise; Joseph Strother, Marcus Circuit; 0. J. Ruby, Columbia Milwaukee manager; George Langeheinrich, Burleigh Theatre, Milwaukee; Ben Marcus, Marcus Circuit, in photo at right above. from Fort Knox. Seen along Film Row recently were : George Karsch, Lead Belt Amusement Company, and Farmington Entertainment Company, Farmington, Mo.; Robert C. Cluster, Salem and Johnston City, 111. ; George Barber, Villa Grove, 111. ; Jimmy Wesley, Pal Theatre, Palmyra, Mo. ; Dean Davis, West Plains, Mo., and Ed Clark, Mattoon, 111. Eddie Ashkins, United Artists manager, was in Springfield, 111., and swung a deal with the Frisina Circuit for "Stage Door Canteen" to go into all of the company's situations in Southern Illinois, Eastern Missouri and Southeastern Iowa. .Eddie and Ray Wylie are due in Cairo, 111., for an important sales conference with Mrs. Grace Rodgers of the Rodgers Circuit September 25th. Arnold Stoltz, United Artists exploiteer, is here to handle the local publicity campaign for Jimmv Cagney's new picture, "Johnny Come Lately." Harry Hynes, Universal manager, and C. D. Hill, Columbia Pictures manager, were out in the territory this week. Joe Garrison, Universal's district manager, spent a few days here this week. Saul Goldman of Variety Pictures, Chicago, has obtained distribution rights for "After Mein KampJ" in St. Louis, St. Louis County and Southern Illinois. Dr. Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr., of Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., will present a colored motion picture, "Wildlife in Action," at a meeting of the St. Louis Bird Club at 8 p.m. September 30th in the Soldon High School Auditorium, 918 North Union Boulevard, St. Louis. The mechanics sure did a swell job with that automobile of Eddie Ashkins, United Artists manager, which was wrecked in a freak accident near Nokomis, 111., recently. They converted what looked like some war scrap from 1918 into a real classy gasoline consumer. Leland Airs is the new manager of the Luxe Theatre, East Peoria, 111., succeeding Ronald Etheridge now with the Navy. He formerly was with a theatre in Joliet, 111. Jack Sage, manager of the Egyptian Theatre, De Kalb, 111., has joined the armed forces. The Rex Theatre, Champagne, 111., was reopened recently by Ted Anthony, who spent a tidy sum in remodeling and refurnishing the house, which was formerly the Varsity. It had been dark for some months. Irvin K. Longenbach is the new manager of the Palace Theatre, Chillicothe, 111. He has been in the theatre business at Shelbyville, 111., for some ten years. Anastasia D. Pappas, owner of the Webster Theatre, a 935-seat motion .picture house, has been directed by the Circuit Court to show cause on September 30th why a receiver should not be named for the theatre and an accounting given of the business. Clarence Groetke, whose petition states that he formerly was a partner of Pappas in the theatre project, filed the receivership and accounting petition with the court. TULSA Phil Isley, veteran showman and former Tulsan theatre owner, now head of the Isley chain in Texas, came back to Tulsa to assist in the Bond Drive with a special show at the Delman Theatre Monday night. Isley brought with him three touring heroes of World War IT