Variety (December 1950)

80 PICTURES Wednesday, December 13, 1950 Clips from Film Row * NEW YORK James R. Grainger, Republic’s sales chief, leh N. Y. Dec. 9 for a one-month tour of company branches. He is slated to arrive on the Coast Dec, 22 where he will spend Chirstmas and New Year’s. Initial stop on junket is Atlanta. Before returning to N. Y. in early January, the exec will visit New Orleans, Dallas, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Denver and Chi- cago, New all-plastic screen hung in Radio City Music Hall. CHICAGO William Lundigan, Vera Ellen, and Rex Allen lined up by Allied for its banquet, Dec. 15, Balaban and Katz will pay a year-end dividend of $2.50 on its common stock, it was announced last week. Variety Club of Illinois post- poned its annual elections one week because of the death of B&K general manager Walter Im- merman. Federal Grand Jury indicted three men last week for possession of film valued at $12,000, stolen from a truck in interstate ship- ment. Local operator James Booth has closed the Bertha theatre here. He now runs one house in South Bend, Ind. Valias Theatre Circuit here took over operation of the Hins- dale theatre, Hinsdale, 111. Allied Theatres of Illinois will map plans for drum-beating cam- paign during 1951 at Palmer House here, Dec. 14, when conclave meets. It precedes an Allied 20- year celebration banquet, being called to circumvent current biz drop. Meeting, one of first moves of indie theatre ops to remedy mass nabe shutdowns, will include leading distrib sales toppers and major exhibs. DALLAS The Dixie and Liberty at Athens sold by Dorbandt family to Roy Parnell and Owen Killingsworth. Parnell owns the Texan there. Art Leazenby named publicity manager for south central division of Paramount; replaces George Henger. E. L. Jackson named manager of the Leonard theatre at Leonard. It is owned by L. B. Crow of Dallas* Bill Rau, formerly of Paramount exchange here, opened the Alamo Booking Co. at San Antonio. Charley Wise of Isley Circuit is in charge of program. Gilbert Kurland and a unit from the Universal-International Studios here at Randolph Air Force Base to complete shooting scenes for film, “Air Cadet." Lancie Arnold named new man- ager of Josephine theatre owned by Tom Sumners, in San Antonio. Arnold for several years operated theatres at Bishop and Odom, Tex. Metro will send a camera crew here to San Antonio to shoot ! scenes at Randolph Air Force Base j for forthcoming picture, “It Is a I Big Country.’’ MINNEAPOLIS Reopening after extensive im- provements, Homewood, independ- ent neighborhood house, is first Twin City neighborhood stand to relinquish 28-day clearance. House returns to former 56-day availabil- ; ity, enabling it to cut admission from 60c to 40c and buy films flat. Six 28-day stands remain. Stench bombing has ceased at Bennie Berger’s loop first-run Gopher theatre although he still refuses to comply with union de- mands to employ a second stage- hand. Ted Mann finally landed “Kind Hearts and Coronets’’ for his sure- seater World where it opens Dec. 27. Pic also set for St. Paul World. Icy roads and heavy snowfall hampering film salesmen in mak- ing rounds. Radio, St. Paul independent neighborhood house, launching Tuesday bargain nights, with adult admissions reduced from 40c to 25c and children’s from 12c to 9c. North Central Allied appointed special committee to fight threat- ened local admission tax measure in state legislature which convenes Jan. 2. Postal authorities compelled local neighborhood houses to dis- continue newspaper and mail ads Of their bank nights because con- strued stunt to have lottery fea- tures which can’t be publicized I through the mails. ST. LOUIS The Bond, Greenville, 111., owned by the Frisina Amus. Co., and Grand, Mt. Olive, 111., op- erated by Mrs. J. Lawson, escaped damage in a tornado that struck both towns, caused four deaths and great damage. Three houses in West Plaines, Mo., were shut- tered 12 hours when the high wind blew down power lines and poles. The three St. Louis dailies have hiked their amusement ad rates. Arlie M. Chamness, Carrier Hill, 111., sold his Hox, New Haven, 111. house, to Henry Abshen, auto dealer. St. Louis Variety Club donated $70 to the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital fund. PHILADELPHIA Felt Bros., indie chain operators, weighing offer to convert their Adelphi, West Philly nabe, into Negro cafe. New board of directors for the Variety Club will formulate plans for the 1951 Variety convention. Suit started here Dec. 5 by Harry Vogelstein, of Baltimore Poster Co., against National Screen Service and various film companies. ADVUKTISING well DIRECTED What’s love got to do with Advertising? Plenty ! Our business is promoting Ever stop to think how many things are bought and sold because somebody loves somebody else? Well, it’s astronomical. Take all those nourishing foods and warm clothes Mom and Pop buy for a couple of kids they love so much. And, of course, there’s young love . . . romantic love! Now, you’re really getting into big business. Wedding rings, trousseaus, honeymoons, furnished flats, pop-up toasters! Yes, things really start perking when Love comes along. Maybe it’s because Campbell-Ewald Company has long recognized the importance of the heart department that we have always tried to make our clients’ advertising messages a little warmer and friendlier and closer to the target of Dan Cupid’s arrow. We found out a long time ago that Dan is a very handy little fellow to have around in any kind of media. And in television (one of our specialties), he’s terrific! You can’t beat a good love story on the video. That’s why Campbell-Ewald TV programs, such as TRIPLE FEATURE THEATRE, sponsored by Chev- rolet, Dealers on Los Angeles Station KEGA-TV, have always been so popular. People love them, and we love {Producing them. Love may laugh at locksmiths. ^ . but don’t you laugh at love, your best salesman. Eliminate Red Tape On Booking, Aim Of Schwalberg at Par Paramount is out to overhaul its booking procedure with the aim of eliminating all unnecessary red tape. This is the- purpose of its current series of meetings among sales chief A. W! Schwalberg, branch operations head Joseph Walsh and the bookers themselves. Schwalberg and Walsh are mak- ing the rounds of branches to ex- change views with the field per- sonnel an(f hope to come up with new conclusions in the way of simplifying the paper work in skedding pictures for exhibitors. Feeling is that a substantial por- tion of booking charts and listings could be dropped without impair- ing the records. Schwalberg-Walsh meetings already have taken place in Pitts- burgh and New Orleans, with oth- ers on schedule, including one in Chicago Dec. 16-17. No Foldings 1 ^—J Continued from page 4 tendance was off sharply. In light of the b.o. slump, observers point out, it’s only natural for the little fellows in the fringe spots to be caught in the economic scfueeze. Obviously, they can’t withstand a period of sparse attendance as well as the bigger circuits, which have sufficient financial reserves to carry on until an upswing asserts itself. 4 Omaha Nabes Darken Omaha, Dec. 12. Four neighborhood theatres are dark. The Roseland, one of the first nabes in town and located in South Omaha; has been given up by the Epstein Bros, after many years of operation. Only recently the Epsteins shuttered the Tivoli in the same block. Now Ralph D. Goldberg announces he is closing two of his suburbans, the Arbor and the Fortieth Street. He says it is only over the holidays and for repairs, but neither has been do- ing particularly well. First new nabe theatre built in 10 years is being completed in the West Center district by Walter Creal, who also runs the Beacon. The Center is a large house in a thickly populated district and rep- resents a bold and positive move in the face of all the TV chatter. Cincy Depends on Product Cincinnati, Dec. 12. Bucking admittedly “rough set- backs’’ from television. Greater Cincy exhibitors are depending upon economic adjustments and “good product’’ to get their 90 the- atres out of the red. At present 18 houses in the met- ropolitan area are shuttered and 12 are in weekend and holiday op- eration. TV opposition has been severe here since a year ago, when three local stations were linked with net- work cables. For the past eight months all houses have been offer- ing double features. There has been no price slatshing or raising, and giveaways are taboo under Cincy ordinances. According to distributors, the pic biz slump is milder in other areas of the Cincy exchange territory. “That’s because many of them are beyond TV zones and operating ex- penses are less,’’ one distributor said. He pointed out that TV has hurt theatre attendance more in Cincy than in Dayton and Colum- O., Indianapolis and Louisville, all with video stations. From a spokesman for one large group of Greater Cincy exhibitors came this statement: “Our mem- bers were prepared to ride out a drop of 20% in receipts, but not the one of 40 or 45% at hand now. Instead of giving up, we are mak- ing the fight with pictures and are expecting the distributors, union projectionists and others to give their help through adjustments so We can keep our theatres open." It also was pointed out that sev- eral neighborhood deluxers, built shortly before anpl after World War II at high costs, took trade Campbell-Ewald Company H. T. JEW AID, President away from other nabes and are now finding themselves as losers because of heavy investments and operating expense. Added to this category are some comparatively new drive-ins, one of which, Rube Shor’s super Twin Drive-In thea- tre, is testing with winter operation by use of car heaters. Shor’s open- airer is on the Norwood-Bond Hill DETROIT • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • EOS ANGELES • SAN FRANCISCO • ATLANTA border, within city limits and sev- eral miles from downtown Cincy.