Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1948)

ST. LOUIS (Continued from preceding page) part of a German officer in “Women in the Night,” the company’s first picture, which had its midwestern premiere at the Shubert here March 30. Season ticket reservations are being accepted by the St. Louis Municipal Opera for the 1948 season, which opens at the Municipal Theatre in Forest Park June 3 . . . Eugene Abeln, 23, treasurer of the Fox Theatre, who was shot by a would-be holdup man February 15, has recovered sufficiently to resume his duties at the theatre . . . His mother, Mrs. Margaret Abeln, sustained a fractured leg during the severe windstorm that struck St. Louis March 19 and is a patient at DePaul hospital. She has two other sons with the Fanchon & Marco organization, William and Rogers Abeln. WE PREFER That you investigate thoroughly the character of any Premium Concern offering to solicit your neighborhood merchants on giveaways. Too bad we hove to make this suggestion. NATIONAL THEATRE ADVERTISING CO. Max & Joe Berenson 1325 S. Wabash Ave. Chicago 5, 111. 15 Years of Successful Operation Speed-O-Bikes * Radio-Phonograph Combinations * 3-Pc. Luggage Sets Bicycles * Hobby Horses and Other Items at No Cost to the Exhibitor. Wnite Pafiticula^d, THE BIGGEST NAME IN POPCORN MANLEY POPCORN MACHINES AND SUPPLIES R. D. VON ENGELN Manley RepresentaKve Eastern Missouri-Southern Illinois 3138 OLIVE STREET ST. LOUIS 3, MO. NEwstead 7644 SHOWMEN VISIT STUDIO— Mr. and Mrs. George Kerasotes of the Kerasotes circuit, Springfield, 111., toured the Universal-International studio as one of the highlights of their recent visit to Hollywood. On the set they met and chatted with Howard Duff (right), screen and radio player, soon to be seen in U-I’s “All My Sons.” Missouri Bid to Establish Fire Wardens Will Die JEFFERSON CITY— With the general assembly slated to adjourn sine die on or about April 1 it now appears certain that the bill to create a state fire marshal’s office as a division of the Department of Public Health and Welfare will definitely die in the senate public health and welfare committee. The committee had scheduled a hearing on the measure for the evening of March 15 and some 25 theatre owners from St. Louis and Kansas City came here to voice their views on the measure, which would have required theatres with 500 seats or more in towns with 10,000 population and upwards, as well as hotels and various other places of public assembly, to employ practical firefighters to be on duty at times prescribed by the fire marshal. They learned, however, that it would not be necessary to appear since the committee, including Senator Utter who introduced the measure, had decided not to bring it out of committee. The measure was being sponsored by the Missouri Ass’n of Firefighters. Film Council Organized By 12 More Communities CHICAGO — Twelve cities established film councils within the last month to bring the total of community councils affiliated with the Film Council of America to 87, Stephen M. Corey, chairman of the board of trustees of the FCA, announced. The new councils were formed in Wilmington, Del.; Evansville, Ind.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Clinton and Oxford, Miss.; Allentown, Pa.; Nashville and Oak Ridge, Term.; Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah; Wheeling, W. Va., and Honolulu, T. H. Club Shows Pictures ALBANY, WIS. — Wednesday night picture shows are being tried here by the Community club, and will be continued if patronage warrants. Outdoor movies, sponsored by local businessmen, are planned for 12 weeks during the summer. From the BOXOFFICE Files m • m (Twenty Years Ago) JJARRY WEISS, manager of the First National exchange in St. Louis, has resigned . . . The south side of Olive street from Channing avenue to Compton has been closed to traffic to permit repaving. Most of the film exchanges are located in this area . . . M. Gottlieb, formerly manager of Universal in St. Louis, has been appointed sales manager of the St. Louis United Artists office. He succeeds E. P. Pickier. 4: * * Schools in DeKalb, 111., have been closed because of an epidemic of influenza. The city schools of Anna, 111., have also been closed because of the same disease, which had cut school attendance by 50 per cent. ♦ * * Roy Dickson, manager of the local Tiffany office, returned from a business trip through north central Illinois ... St. Louis Amusement A stock is being offered for $36 a share ... Ed Lowry, master of ceremonies at the Ambassador in St. Louis, has been sued for $10,000 for injury to a pedestrian by Lowry’s automobile. * * * R. Rathbone, formerly of Memphis has succeeded Harry Weiss as manager at the First National exchange in St. Louis . . . Many Gottlieb, manager of the St. Louis Universal exchange, has resigned and has been succeeded by Leo Abrams, formerly of Albany, N. Y. Oshkosh Opera House To Be Used for Films OSHKOSH, WIS. — A new motion picture theatre was in prospect here last week with the purchase of the Grand Opera House by Sol Winokur of Chicago. Winokur said he would remodel the building for use as a picture house. One of the city’s historic landmarks, the building was purchased through attorneys from Mrs. Isabel T. Maxcy, owner since 1927, for a reported price of $40,000. It was constructed in 1883 and boasted the second deepest stage in the state. Many famous stars of the stage performed at the opera house, including Lillian Russell, Mme. Schumann-Heink, Jenny Lind and Charles Winninger. Originally owned by John Williams, the building was sold to W. G. Maxcy and W. D. Cummings in 1919. Plan Whitefish Bay House; Fox Wisconsin to Operate MILWAUKEE — A permit has been issued for a $326,400 motion picture theatre and office building to be built at 316-38 East Silver Spring drive, Whitefish Bay. It will be operated by Fox Wisconsin. The house will not be constructed until existing restrictions on such construction are lifted, according to the Dome Realty Co., the firm issuing the permit to build. Fox Wisconsin may start construction on the nonamusement portion of the structure if amusement controls are continued after the slated expiration date on March 31, a Dome Realty official reported. The threestory brick building will contain offices and stores. 62 BOXOFFICE :: April 3, 1948