Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1937)

Allied Unit Launches Film Buqing Surveq pHIL BLOOMBERG, operator of theatres in Salem and Beverly, has returned from Florida where, among other things, he attended the MPTOA confab. A local film man is said to have copped approximately $8,500 on the horses one afternoon last week. Walter Murphy has returnd to his duties at Loew’s State after being with the roadshow engagement of “The Good Earth” during the first part of its stay at the Colonial. A new theatre is reportedly planned for Buzzards Bay. Mitzi Green has been appearing at the Shubert. Martin J. Mullin and Sam Pinanski, M. & P. partners, were in Maine last week, having headed due north after having returned from due south. Benny Green, concessionaire at the Metropolitan, opened the Eastern Lunch Room last Monday at the new local bus terminal. Charles Basson, formerly manager of the Oriental for M. & P., has gone with the concern’s equipment house. The Standard Theatre Supply Co. Lady Lethem, wife of Sir Gordon Lethem, governor of the Leeward Islands, told the Boston press last week that the inhabitants of the Seychelles Islands are the original sitdowners. “They raise cocoanuts, you know. You plant the cocoanuts and then sit down. The trees grow, and the nuts drop off at your feet.” Mrs. Osa Johnson will he in Boston April 9, 10, and 11 with her latest picture, “Jungle Depths of Borneo,” which will play the Repertory. Bert McKenzie indicates that the roadshow booking of “The Good Earth” will close Sunday, April 11, at the Colonial. A Gilbert and Sullivan show has been booked into the legitimate spot for the next day. Ann Marsters, pretty Hearst motion picture editor who recently returned from the coast where she played bits in pictures and wrote about them, may head toward the Pacific again on a similar Paramount tieup. Joe Estes, nationally known publicist, has been named promotional sales manager of the Filmack Trailer Co., according to Irving Mack, Filmack prexy. Dave Grover, RKO booker and Cinema Club officer, has been laid up for several weeks with a sprained back. James Boylan, operator of the Grand in Taunton, is seriously ill. Edward Comi, owner and manager of the Theatre Service and Supply Co. and inventor of the Simplex Rear Shutter, is back at his 112 Arlington Street headquarters following a trip into Vermont. The Cinema Club has scheduled its next meeting for April 21 at the Soldiers and (Continued on page 51) THIRTY-SEVEN FILMS GET CENSOR OKAY Boston — Thirty-seven motion pictures were approved in their entirety, and not a solitary elimination was ordered, in the latest list of approved films to be issued by the Department of Public Safety. “Too Many Wives,” “Top of the Town” and “Lost Horizon” were among the features to be passed. On an accompanying list of vaudeville acts, three were banned for Sunday showings, two were modified and four were approved in their original form. Plans New "Drive-In" Boston — E. M. Loew, head of New England’s largest independent theatre circuit, is planning an open air theatre for automobilist patronage in Lynn. City authorities were prepared last week to lease Loew some 160,000 square feet of land for a $4,000 yearly rental, Loew being accorded the right to renew the lease or to purchase the property. Details of a proposed $40,000 construction, parking 300 cars, are being considered. OPERA SUCCEEDS IN NEW HAVEN New Haven — The Gilbert & Sullivan engagement at the Shubert, presenting the D’Oyly Carte Opera Co., was a success. New Haven — A survey to gather information on film buying from members of Allied’s eastern unit was unanimously authorized by the delegates to the Allied regional conference Monday at Hotel Garde, and a committee appointed therefor. Information obtained will be considered at the national Allied convention in Milwaukee. The committee appointed is headed by Jack Unger of New Jersey and consists also of Irving Dollinger of New Jersey, Jack Whittle and Sam Soltz of Maryland, Arthur Howard and Frank Lydon of Massachusetts, Charles Olive and Abe Lichtman of Washington, and Joseph A. Davis and Joseph Shulman of Connecticut. Other Discussion Other matters on the agenda for discussion included the proposed industry investigation, the Pettengill bill, divorcement of exhibition from production, and plans for the coming national Allied convention. Delegates to the conference were: Walter Littlefield, Frank Lydon, Arthur Howard, Massachusetts; Arthur Price, Jack Whittle, Maryland; Charles Olive, Washington; Sidney E. Samuelson, Jack Unger, Frank Henry, New Jersey; J. B. Fishman, Joseph F. Reed, Joseph A. Davis, Connecticut. RKO SUBSIDIARY LOSS Boston — Keith Memorial Theatre Corp. of Boston, a subsidiary of RKO, reports for the year ended December 31, 1936, a net loss of $83,033 after all charges, compared with a net 1935 loss of $108,100. Progressive exhibitors everywhere rely on GENERAL REGISTERS for cash control In New England, they rely on Capitol to supply and service them CAPITOL THEATRE SUPPLY COMPANY NEW ENGLAND ORGANIZATION FOR NEW ENGLAND EXHIBITORS 28-30 PIEDMONT STREET • BOSTON. MASS. [ BOXOFFICE :: April 10, 1937. 49