Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

MINNEAPOLIS fl/J-G-M EXCHANGES here plastered with big banners and sign proclaiming “The Championship Contest Is On June 2 to August 31 — Help the West to Beat the East.” There are smaller cards urging exhibitors to “make money with M-G-M.” The purpose, of course, is to stimulate buying and booking of pictures — not such a hard task considering the product to be sold . . . Warner Brothers painting up the entire interior of its fourstory building ... A. Selby Can-, Paramount advertising head, returned from his northern Minnesota fishing vacation telling tales of big hauls. Out-of-town exhibitors visiting Filmrow included Ralph Swanson, Ely, Minn.; Don Buckley, Redwood Falls, Minn.; Paul Perizzo, Blue Earth and Winebago, Minn, (he’s planning a California vacation trip) ; Leo Molitor, Norwood and Lake Crystal, Minn.; Louis Handy, Preston, Minn.; Udell Gill and Gordon Grant, Farmington, Minn.; E. H. Malone, Colfax and Hammond, Wis.; Bim Lakie, Barnesville, Minn., and Henry Hower and his son. Gale (a symphony in brown), Worthington and Windsor, Minn. Gene Meredith of Warner spent half of the night repairing the damage at his Lake Minnetonka home after that bad windstorm. Gene’s happy because wrestling is being resumed at the Auditorium . . . Edwin Stengel from Chicago, new RKO salesman, succeeding Eph Rosen, resigned . . . United Artists exchange decorated with stunning blue banner telling of “20 Golden Years.” Alta Long of the RKO office staff vacationing in northern Minnesota . . . W. J. Heineman, Universal western sales manager, here for sales meeting . . . Henry Herbel, Warner district manager, a visitor . . . While in the east Moe Levy, 20thFox district manager, took in the NovaBaer fight and the World’s Fair. He left this week for the west coast on the first leg of his nation-wide tour as S. R. Kent drive leader. He’ll spend a fortnight at the Hollywood studio before making the rounds of the exchanges . . . Harold B. Johnson, Universal branch manager, visited northern Minnesota accounts. Discharged from the Mayo clinic, Rochester, Minn., following recovery from an operation, Leo Spitz, former RKO head, passed through Minneapolis . . . Bill Volk, learning the game of golf, accidentally biffed his brother, Syd, in the eye with his club when the latter got too close to him on the course. Which explains that mouse and bruised countenance. The Volk brothers are prominent independent circuit operators. Jerry Weisfeldt, Warner booker, son of the Columbia short sales manager, sprained an ankle while kibitzing around a bathing beach . . . O. M. Samuels from New Orleans a visitor . . . Ben Blotcky and AIR CONDITIONING Peterson "Freezem" Mfg. <S Sales Co. 316 Southwest Blvd. Kansas City, Mo. his Paramount crew flew back from the Los Angeles sales convention to be on hand for the Allied States convention . . . M-G-M here reissuing and plugging “San Francisco,’’ “Treasure Island,” “Mutiny on the Bounty,” “David Copperfield,” “Rose Marie” and “The Champ.” Charlie Weiner of Monogram still Filmrow’s auto speed demon and his friends are trying to persuade him to enter the meet at Indianapolis next Decoration Day. Last week he negotiated the 225 miles from Deer River, Minn., to Minneapolis in three hours and ten minutes after taking a 50mile detour from the main highway . . . Bertha Nauer, M-G-M secretary, planning a vacation trip to Yellowstone Park and the San Francisco exposition. CJ> mi A H A JOHN HOLBEIN, Strand Theatre, Pis gah, la., was in town and told Boxoffice business is good in western Iowa . . . Lou Levy, Grand National manager at the Omaha and Des Moines exchanges, has returned to the Iowa metropolis . . . Regina Molseed, RKO booker, is attending the fair in New York. Eddie Youtz of the Republic exchange is leaving in a week or so for Peoria, III., where he will work for an insurance claim department. Ed studied law while working at Republic . . . Keith Wilson, WorldHerald critic, suggests that second features be called “Clash B” pictures. Mary Lyon, hello girl at the M-G-M branch, is quitting to raise a family. She’s worked at Metro for five years. Jean Mitchell will take her place, says Branch Manager Harry Shumow . . . Alice Neal, Warner booker, has gone fishing. Frank Good, Iowana Theatre, Red Oak, la., looks the same now as he did 15 years ago when your Boxoffice scribe used to try and sneak into his theatre . . . Mr. and Mrs. Fred Schuler, Humboldt, Neb., were on Davenport street. Mrs. Schuler runs the Humboldt Theatre and Fred operates a stock farm. Elvera Roslund of RKO is visiting the home folks at Osceola, Neb. . . . Harry Nichols of Hollywood has been here visiting Leo Doty, UA office manager. Frank Van Husan of Western Theatre Supply has gone fishing with A. E. Bradshaw of Martin, S. D. That means when they return Van will announce he is going to build a new theatre for Bradshaw. See if that’s not right! . . . Glen Van Wey, Sun Theatre, Gothenburg, Neb., was on Davenport street. Louise Cotter, Brandeis press agent, screened “Mikado” for the local music teachers and received some dandy plaudits . . . Some applause, too, for Ted Emerson, Tri-States tub-thumper, who tied with the World-Herald on a rose-selling gag for “Rose of Washington Square” and got plenty of front-page space. Oscar Johnson, Rivoli Theatre, Falls Cassil Recalls (Continued from preceding page) n’t write it on “the movies.” The projection machines didn’t have a take-up, and the operator simply let the inflammable film run into a barrel. After operating the Comet, in Five Points, a Denver suburb, Cassil came to Kansas City in 1916, to go with World Film Corp., as a booker. After a year, he went on the road for VLSE in the Kansas City territory, traveling Oklahoma and Arkansas. The sales force of the company consisted of Jack Story, Milton Feld, Bill Darnell, and Cassil. Elmer Pierson was manager. He worked for VLSE a year, and then took over the Odeon Theatre at Bartlesville, Okla., later becoming associated with Bill Smith, who had two houses in Tulsa. They operated the three theatres until 1917, when Cassil entered the army. In 1918, Cassil went with Fox Film Corp. in Kansas City, traveling the Oklahome territory. He went to Seattle in 1920 selling film for Paramount and roadshowing “The Sheik.” After three years he returned to Kansas City as special representative for Hal Roach comedies, being distributed through Pathe. This position he left after two years to become branch manager of Associated Exhibitors. In 1926 he went to Sedalia, Mo., as city manager for Universal Theatres, a position he relinquished after a year to return to Seattle to distribute the Dempsey-Sharkey and the Dempsey-Tunney fight pictures. Returning to Kansas City in 1929, he was city salesman for Warner Bros, for a while, and then, in 1930, he bought the Rialto, St. Joseph. In 1930 and 1931 he operated the Rialto by “remote control,” while he sold Sonofilm sound equipment. In 1932 he assumed active management of the Rialto. In the 1920’s, Cassil points out, operation of theatres was 90 per cent by individuals. Today, he says, 80 per cent of the theatres (on a money basis) are chain operated. The elimination of the small business man from the picture has characterized not only the movies but other businesses as well, Cassil contends, and is, he believes, the chief cause for present economic conditions. ‘The number of individuals connected with the business is becoming smaller every year,” Cassil said. “I still have hopes that a lot of the evils and injustices in the business that have caused the elimination of the individual exhibitor can be corrected by the fair trade practice code and by the intervention of the government, which apparently intends to stop violations of the anti-trust laws and relieve the small business man handicapped by lack of buying power.” City, Neb., was a visitor to Filmrow. Also Bob Pennington, Rialto, Villisca, la., and C. C. Moore, Dunlap, la. . . . The Fox exchange is getting a new paint job, exactly the same color as the Grand Natioiial layout. Several exhibitors have reported they are not bothered as much by free shows this summer as they were last season. 56 BOXOFFICE :: June 17, 1939