Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1946)

SHOWMEN'S TRAM REVIEW, October 5. 1946 33 REGIONAL NEWSREEL ager, has announced that it will be a regular weekly feature. A new theatre, with a seating capacity half again as large as the present Martini Theatre, will be constructed at Galveston by Interstate Theatres, Inc., on the site of the present State Theatre and the old Grand Opera House building on 21st between Market and Postoffice. G. Martini and Johnny Browning are co-city managers there for Interstate. The State and the old Opera House will be razed and a new building placed on the sites. The new theatre will have facilities for television and other new innovations. Connie Dreher is a new film salesman at the equally new Screen Guild Productions exchange here. Truman Fawcett has sold the Texas Theatre building at Johnson City to a local rancher, R. E. Stubbs, who will remodel and re-name the theatre. CHICAGO ~ B&K HOUSE MANAGERS MEET TO ORGANIZE UNION, COMMITTEE PREPARES 7-POINT PLAN Managers and assistant managers of Balaban and Katz houses met in the Hamilton Club to consider organization of a union. The managers are not included in the present front house employe union which the lATSE is assisting to organize. The managers appointed Carl Russell, Harry Brand and Ted Boiseman to work out seven point program. "Open City," booked into several B&K Houses is holding up well. About 200 bookings were announced for this film. Sy Twery is the new publicity director for the Essaness Oriental, succeeding Danny Newman who left to open his own publicity firm. Ed Kennedy has been named assistant manager. The Manta Rose circuit fall drive for managers is now underway and will run through Dec. 31. Jerry Vogel of the Riverpark, South Bend, is now booking through Allied. Ralph Kettering, is the new manager of the Civic Theatre. Helen Hunt, Columbia studio stylist, is here with her husband for a honeymoon. New York is the next stop. Popcorn and candy sales are increasing in the down town theatres. The McNerney Theatres have bought the Saybrook, a 300 seater formerly held by the Peterson circuit. Will Adams Shilling of Phoenix Production, Detroit, was looking the town over this week. CLEVELAND The Cleveland Cinema Club is entering its 31st year of activity in the field of "better motion pictures," under the leadership of its new president, Mrs. Ralph Kittle. Mrs. Carlton Conrad, ex-president, heads the club's new Film Service Project, formed to supply film entertainment to shut-ins. The John Urbanskys, senior and junior, and Bernie Rubin, all of Imperial Pictures, have acquired the Cleveland area franchise to six new color pictures produced by Pinnacle Pictures of California. Lee Goldberg of Popular Pictures has reportedly acquired the Product for Cincinnati and Jack Zeide for Detroit. Milton A. Mooney, head of Cooperative Theatres of Ohio announces that he has closed deals MR. AND MRS. ARRIVE. Mr. and Mrs. Dick Powell arrived this week in New York for a short vacation. Husband Dick is an RKO Radio star, while wife June stars in MGM pictures. with United Artists and Columbia for new product. Mooney's organization buys and books for over 100 theatres. Moe Dudelson, United Artist district manager and local branch manager William S. Shartin negotiated the UA deal. The Columbia deal was consummated by district manager Sam Galanty, Louis Aster and Lester Zucker. J. O. Guthrie, owner of the Karolyn Theatre, New London and Mrs. Guthrie are en route to Santa Barbara on a short business trip. . . . Gene Bailey, manager of the Lo-Net Theatre, Wellington, 0. and father of MGM booker George, is ill at St. Vincent's Charity Hospital where he recently underwent an operation. . . . Dick Wright, Warner assistant zone manager, for the second successive year, heads the Warner Club as president. Marvin Samuelson is vice-president ; Marcella Grosse, secretary and Robert Cox as treasurer. Committee chairmen are : Lou Ratener, contributions and loans ; Florence Henning, welfare; Marjorie Streib, membership and Harold (Bud) Friedman, entertainment. The club chalked up six major parties last year. OfiF to New York for company meetings are J. Maxwell Joice of Paramount and E. C. Pearson of United Artists. Both are exploiteers. The following week Paramount district manager Harry Goldstein and branch manager Saul Frifield will attend home office meetings. Paul Blaufox, Republic publicist has been in town planning a campaign with Loew's theatre publicity director Ed Fisher on "I've Always Loved You," which opened Oct. M. H. Fritchle, manager of the Oliver Theatre Supply Co., makes the announcement that his firm has taken over the distribution of Viking Pop Corn machines in the northern Ohio territory. MILWAUKEE A permit has been issued to Kenneth Jansen, owner of Wrightstown Theatre, Wrightstovvn, Wis., for the remodeling of that show house. According to the permit, there will be a new entrance, heating plant, retiring rooms, etc. E. A. Wettengel, of Appleton, Wis., is the architect. News comes from Houghton, Mich., of the following changes being made in the Portage Lake Fox Theatre management : Robert Kautzer is being transferred to the position of city man ager for the show houses of this group in Janesville. Wis. ; which includes four theatres in the Fox Wisconsin Amusement Corp. group in that city ; Edward Johnson, heretofore manager of Lode Theatre at Houghton, Mich., has been transferred to Hancock, Mich, as manager of the Kerredge Theatre there. Johnson had been manager at Houghton before the war, at the Lode, and resumed that position upon his return to civil life. He held the rank of lieutenant in the A.A.F. Russell Ciucci, manager of the Peoples Theatre at Laurium, Mich., has been transferred to manage Lodi Theatre at Houghton, Mich., succeeding Johnson. Ciucci resumed his position at Laurium upon his return from the armed forces. The proposed Waupaca Theatre, at Waupaca, Wis., will be started as soon as building restrictions are removed. It will be operated by J. P. Adler, who now operates the Fulton Theatre in that city. The new show house is to have a seating capacity of 580. The work on the Telenews Theatre (FoxWisconsin Amusement Corp.) is now proceeding, with most of the steel work now in place for the three-story structure. Whether necessary material for the construction can be obtained soon remains to be seen. The new show house will be located on Milwaukee's Wisconsin Ave. — a short distance from the principal intersection in the downtown district. The remodeling work on the 29 year old Miller Theatre in downtown Milwaukee, which is being changed to Towne Theatre, is to be done on a more extensive scale than at first realized. The walls of the lobby have been torn down and will be modernized ; a new box office installed. All seats have been removed and are being replaced by the new push back type. The entire interior is being redecorated. HARRISBURG A delegation of local stagehands and projectionists union members went to Altoona last week to attend the funeral of Charles Bruner, who was business agent for Altoona Local and secretary of the Fourth International District. In the group from Harrisburg were Sam Rubin, Ike Davis and Lawrence Katz. Nearly 100 theatre friends from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D. C, and West Virginia, attended the funeral rites. Display advertising rates will increase October 1 in the Harrisburg Telegraph, the Evening News and the Patriot. A group of the downtown exhibitors interviewed advertising managers of the three newspapers in a vain effort to head off the rise. A charter has been granted by the Common{Continued on Page 34) I f UJJ 5 fP£f/M mAtUPSi J2S S. WAtASH CHICAGO i III. A "Voice of Theatre Speakers" JOE HORNSTEIN has it!