Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

JJARDIE MEAKIN is receiving congratulatory messages from his countless friends on his 26th wedding anniversary . . . Hunter Perry, accompanied by Jack Katz, journeyed from Charlottesville for a periodic visit to the exchanges, and of course to confer with his popular booker, Goleum Ketchum . . . Anna Griffin, 20thFox contract clerk, is spending her twoweek vacation in Minneapolis . . . Ad Sales Manager A1 Miller has returned from his two weeks of pleasure, and in time to welcome Ad Sales Supervisor Donald Reed, making his customary tour of the exchanges. The RKO group is keeping a steady pace in the current George Schaefer Drive and plan to come down the stretch in a money position . . . Guy Flannery, Richlands, Va., is making plans for a new theatre . . . J. W. Jones, Midland, Md., has announced plans for a new 500 -seat house . . . Mary Principe, Warner, in Emergency Hospital for an operation. Samuel Mellits, Dentonia, Denton, is celebrating his fourth anniversary in that community. He also has the houses at Greensboro and Ridgely under his wing . . . Ray Quillen, owner of the BerlinBisliopville-Selbyville circuit, is a chicken raiser in a big way. Coops covering a whole city block shelter a brood of no less than 40,000 chickens that are being readied for market. Albert Landgraf, Universal booker, celebrated his ninth wedding anniversary recently . . . Sidney Bowden of the WilmerVincent circuit visited Filmrow . . . And there goes Universal's office manager, Oscar Blumental, to Fredericksburg for a huddle with the Virginia theatre circuit owner, Benjamin Pitts. Alice Hildebrand, Preferred-Trio, has returned to her duties after a recent illness . . . J. T. Powell sr. of Chincoteague, is another exhibitor that raises chickens as a sideline. He has 8,000 broilers that are being fattened for market. His son, J. T. Powell jr., is announcing his recent marriage . . . William Moor of the Dunbarton, Washington, has purchased a new home in Bethesda, Md. B. B. “Killarney” Kreisler, Universal branch manager, is considering a plan of converting the well-manicured lawn fronting the exchange into a miniature golf course, for exhibitor pleasure, while waiting to book “ East Side of Heaven” . . . Settlement of the coal strike in Clincho valley made possible the reopening of theatres in Amanate and Maxie, Va. . . . C. E. Smith, Grundy, Va., has announced plans for a 400 -seat house . . . M. Lucas, Pembroke, Va., has returned from a banker’s convention that was recently held in Bermuda . . . H. S. Snyder, Central, Hampstead, Md., advises that he will soon turn over his theatre to his great-grandson who has reached the ripe age of seven months . . . Margaret Donaldson, M-G-M, is spending her vacation in New York . . . Filmrow was well represented at the Chi Sigma sorority dance at the Congressional Country Club. Among those present were: Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Folliard, Mr. and Mrs. Harry F. Bachman, Marjorie Dermody, Wade Pearson, Blanche Hall, Olmsted Knox. Joseph Oulahan, Paramount’s Cincinnati branch manager, paid a visit to the local exchange . . . Harry Hunter, former branch manager of the local Paramount exchange, and present manager of the Paramount interests in Australia, was tendered a “welcome home” dinner party at the Shoreham Hotel by a host of his Washington friends. Welcomers included: Mr. and Mrs. Abe Lichtman, Miss Lichtman, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Morgan, Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Berger, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Shulman. Republic Central-Midwest Helm William Benjamin s New York — William Benjamin, former Grand National branch manager in Chicago and Detroit, on Monday becomes central-midwest district manager for Republic, James R. Grainger, president, states. Kansas City, where he will make his headquarters, and St. Louis, Omaha and Des Moines comprise his territories. Formerly these were handled by Max Roth, who continues to supervise sales for Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Minneapolis and also Detroit, which has been shifted from the central sales division. Benjamin left for Kansas City the end of the week after conferring with Grainger. Arthur Newman is now special Republic sales representative in Albany. He was formerly with Grand National in the same territory. Jack Berkowitz, Buffalo, and Bernie Mills, Albany, are giving up their franchises on July 31. Levy Quits Metro New York — Dave Levy, local manager for Metro, has resigned. No successor had been named Friday. Western Huddle — A discussion of motion pictures in their various phases seems to be occupying the attentions of John Farfield (left) and G. Doland Seascholtz. The latter, who operates the Capitol at Chambersburg. Pa., was a guest at the Warner studio in Burbank. ■pHE Variety Club wound up its entertainment season with a “Havana Night” shindig Saturday night. Harry Biben and his committee, Sam D. Schwartz, Bill McEvoy, Dave Supowitz and Sam Stiefel, planned to dazzle the boys by appearing in native Cuban costume . . . The Showmen’s Club will give testimonial dinner to Ray O'Rourke, Doris, former star of the club, June 14. A1 Blofson, National Penn Printing, is arranging the affair . . . Dorothy Bass is the new secretary to A1 Davis, 20th-Fox, taking the place of Hannah Resnick, whose job now is being Mrs. Mel Koff. The Mayfair Theatre ballyhooed the showing of “ Pygmalion ” with an exhibition of speech and phonetic gadgets loaned by the Franklin Institute . . . Edward Karpen, Edgemont, will be a June bridegroom . . . The Riant, Conshohocken, formerly oivned by the Harry Schwalbe estate, has been taken over by Harry Fried . . . Alliance Pictures is releasing “The Warning ” in this territory through Clark Films . . . Many film men are attending the Jack Dempsey dinner at the Bellevue. Profits will go to the Los Angeles Sanatorium . . . Ed Jeffries’ Roxboro is getting a face-lifting. The Horlacher soft ball team, under the big league pitching of Jim Clark, will play a team led by Democratic City Chairman Jack Kelly . . . The Horlacher boys had a game scheduled last week with a Folcroft team. It rained and the game was called. But the gulping of two barrels of beer wasn’t interfered with a bit . . . Dave Shapiro, Admiral, illustrates the plight of the poor, down-trodden exhibitor by taking a trip to Florid|J — the second this season ... A move to reopen a closed Westmont, N. J., theatre has been started by the Hadden Ave. Improvement Ass’n. Kathryn Buckley, Miss Philadelphia 1938, is rehearsing in N. T. G.’s new show . . . Kathryn Case, Miss Philly 1937, ivas a visitor at the Variety Club’s Sunday night screening . . . The circus is hurting theatre attendance, especially in North Philadelphia. The big tent is air-conditioned this year. What, no smells? . . . Robert Bernhard, Universal, was taken to New York with a lung ailment . . . Claire Segal, Republic, suffering with a sprained ankle . . . The Metro salesmen finally came across with the party they promised the office girls, on part of the dough they won in Metro's national contest. John J. Bergin, 20th-Fox, back at work after his illness . . . Ditto Charles Rapaport . . . Sam Nirdlinger has taken the Erlanger for a showing of Preferred’s “Wages of Sin” . . . Old-timers who see the picture will recognize Clara Kimball Young in a bit part . . . The Reo, Chester, has closed its doors. Several persons negotiating to reopen it . . . Harry Thomas, Merit Films, New York, a visitor to Warner bookers . . . Jim and Bill Clark have spent a week at Harrisburg keeping an eye on truck legislation. Charles Goodwin and Irwin Barrist have come to a parting of the ways and dissolved Quality Games. They point out this has nothing to do with Quality Premium Distributors, of which Goodwin is a firm member. BOXOFFICE :: May 27, 1939 A 22-E