Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1961)

Write — £ XHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY ■^"■ABOUT PICTURESHHBi YOUR REPORT OF THE PICTURE YOU HAVE FUST PLAYED FOR THE GUIDANCE OF FELLOW EXHIBITORS ALLIED ARTISTS I Passed for White (AA) — Sonya Wilde, James Franciscus, Pat Michon. This is an okay production as a whole, with some of the acting and direction better than the material deserves. Play it, it's highly exploitable. Your patrons will like it. Business here was much better than average. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Cool. — Paul Fournier, Acadia Theatre, St. Leonard, N. B. Pop. 2,150. BUENA VISTA Jungle Cat (BV) — True Life Adventure. A real entertaining short feature that brought in adults and kids alike. One father with five youngsters said this was the first good family picture I'd had in two weeks and they all enjoy good clean pictures. The co-feature, "Hound That Thought He Was a Raccoon" was better than the feature — very interesting. Disney rentals are so high generally we are lucky if we have a few dollars profit. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Good. — Leonard J. Leise, Roxy Tnectre, Randolph, Neb. Pop. 1,029. COLUMBIA Let No Man Write My Epitaph (Col) — James Darren, Burl Ives, Shelley Winters. Please, take my advice and don't book it. Murder tor small towns. Would have saved money if we closed those three days. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. — Paul Gamache, Welden Theatre, St. Albans, Vt. Pop. 8,600. 3 Worlds of Gulliver, The (Col) — Kerwin Mathews, Jo Morrow, June Thorburn. Enjoyed by a few youngsters; no appeal for adults. Only 60 per cent of average gross. A real disappointment. Played the third Patterson-Johansson fight with it — took a loss on the program. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Good. — Leonard J. Leise. Roxy Theatre, Randolph, Neb. Pop. 1,029. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER Ask Any Girl (MGM) — Shirley MacLaine, David Niven, Gig Young. Here is a real fine little comedy m 'Scope and color. We didn't do too well with it, but no fault of the picture. Worth best playing time. Played Sun. through Wed. Weather: Too nice. — Charles E. Smith, LaMar Theatre, Arthur, III. Pop 2,000. Bells Are Ringing (MGM) — Judy Holliday, Dean Mortin, Fred Clark. Our New Year's picture. A heck of a way to start the year. No biz. Not a small town pic. Holliday is Broadway — why must we play and pay for her type of entertainment? — Ken Christianson, Roxy Theatre, Washburn, N. D. Pop. 968. Please Don't Eat the Daisies (MGM) — Doris Day, David Niven, Janis Paige. This is a good comedy in color and 'Scope. I know it brought adults I haven't seen since "The Ten Commandments." This was my best drawing card in over three months. The patrons were satisfied and so was I. We didn't get hurt on the price — we never do at MGM. Played Sat., Sun. — Harold J. Smith, Wilson Theatre, Wilson, N Y Poo 1,100. PARAMOUNT Desert Fury (Para), reissue — Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, Burt Lancaster. This is a pretty good old one (1947). It's in color and that always helps. It's nothing to rave about, but not bad. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. Charles E. Smith, LaMar Theatre, Arthur III. Pop. 2,000. Psycho (Para) — Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, John Gavin, Vera Miles. The trailer kept many from coming it sold too hard on horror. Everyone agreed Welcome Mat Is Out . . . De Mille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" will never be refused a date in this theatre as long as we are in business. It pleased everyone, from the tiniest kids to our senior citizens who come but three times a year. Did above average business on a Fri. -Sat. date. Fayette Theatre, Fayetteville, W. Vo. G. J. THOMAS a good show, but too morbid. Still waiting for another "Rear Window" — Hitchcock's best. Teenager and adult trade was satisfactory, so was in the hit class here. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Cool and windy. — Ken Christianson, Roxy Theatre Washburn, N. D. Pop. 968 Psycho (Para) — An, bony Perkins, Janet Leigh John Gavin, Vera Mile. This is too bloody for our patrons; no business. Played Sat., Sun. WeatherCold. — Carl P. Anderka, Rainbow Theatre, Castrovi lie, Tex. Pop. 1,500. Visit to a Small Planet (Paro) — Jerry Lewis, Joan Blackman, Fred Clark Not one of Jerry's best, but it should please the overage moviegoer. It lacked color and that is whot we need more of these days. Played Sun. — James Hordy, Shoals Theatre, Shoals Ind Pop. 1,555. 20th CENTURY-FOX Can-Can (20th-Fox) — Frank Sinatra, Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier, Juliet Prowse. Can't understand it. Wonderful picture, very witty and most entertaining, but boxoffice poison. Why? The extra 15 cents admission? Played one week. — Paul Gamache, Welden Theatre, St. Albans, Vt. Pop. 8,600. Captain's Table, The (20th-Fox) — John Gregson, Peggy Cummins, Donald Sinden. Satisfactory British comedy that did average. Unknown English actors and English accent were a big drawback. Beautiful color and some hilarious sequences helped put it over. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Good. — Leonard J. Leise, Roxy Theatre, Randolph, Neb. Pop. 1,029. Flaming Star (20th-Fox) — Elvis Presley, Dolores Del Rio, Barbara Eden. This was a well -made picture. 'Scope and color added to its oppeal. I think this is Found a Surprise Hit Played "Bobbikins" from 20th-Fox with a Stooges comedy from Col. and the program hit for us to make a good weekend. Did a lot more than pictures that were twice as high plus percentage— so how do you run a show? What do they want? MAYME P. MUSSELMAN Roach Theatre, Lincoln, Kos. Elvis' best to date. John Mclntire seems to carry his part out in anything he stars in. Business wasn't as good as expected, but it was a good average week. Played Fri., Sat., Sun. Weather: Fair and cool. — Harold J. Smith, Wilson Theatre, Wilson, N. Y. Pop. 1,100. Lost World, The (20th-Fox) — Fernando Lamas, Michael Rennie, Claude Rains. Lacked a lot of cash, but it was pretty good and with nice color. It seemed our kids and teens enjoyed it, but not enough to help out on Monday. — Mayme Musselman, Roach Theatre, Lincoln, Kas. Pop. 1,636. Man Who Understood Women, The (20th-Fox) — Henry Fonda, Leslie Caron, Cesare Danova. If you understand this picture, then you should be a psychiatrist. It's a big complexity (for nothing) from beginning to end. My advice is to give Fox a talking to. — -Paul Fournier, Acadia Theatre, St. Leonard, N. B. Pop. 2,150. UNITED ARTISTS Facts of Life, The (UA) — Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Ruth Hussey. We actually made a dime on this picture and our people liked it. Hope is usually too fast for them, but they caught on and laughed enough to make us feel good anyway, because we've been on the long-faced side for quite a while. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Nice. — Mayme P. Musselman, Roach Theatre, Lincoln, Kas. Pop. 1,636. Man With a Gun (UA) — -Robert Mitchum, Jan Sterling, Henry Hull. Now here is about as good a western as you can find. It's very old (1955) and probably on TV, but it's still worth theatre dates. Played with "The Angry Red Planet" from AIP to good business. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. — Paul Fournier, Acadia Theatre, St. Leonard, N. B. Pop. 2,150. Woman Like Satan, A (UA) — Brigitte Bardot, Antonio Vilar. No one need worry about censorship here. By the time Kansas censors okay it and the first-run operators cut out the spicy parts for their private collections, it's tame enough for anyone. Of course, the continuity is gone, and the kids tell you what you missed, when they saw it in nearby larger towns. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Business below average. — Ben Spainhour, Twilight Theatre, Greensburg, Kas. Pop. 1 ,500. UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL Midnight Lace (U-l) — Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin. A real disappointment at the boxoffice. Picture was fair, with good cast and color. It is amazing how the public can "smell" a picture. This was slightly offbeat. Gave it a good plug, but no dice. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Good. — Leonard J. Leise, Roxy Theatre, Randolph, Neb. Pop. 1,029. Money, Women and Guns (U-l) — Jack Mahoney, Kim Hunter, Tim Hovey. I didn't like the title of this picture, but I did like the cast. I thought the title would hurt it, but it certainly didn't and the cast made a good job of a nice outdoor color picture. Had I played it on my best playing time, it would have made up for some of my losses. — F. L. Murray, Strand Theatre, Spiritwood, Sask. Pop. 500. WARNER BROS. Hanging Tree, The (WB) — Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden. This western was very popular because of the song, also it is a very fine western. Gary Cooper does not seem to lose much of his punch or his drawing power. I did better on this picture than I did on many of the so-called blockbusters. It is a nice entertaining picture and will be enjoyed in every situation. Played Fri., Sat. — F. L. Murray, Strand Theatre, Spiritwood, Sask. Pop. 500 — Right Now TO: The Exhibitor Has His Say BOXOFFICE, 825 Van Brunt Blvd.. Kansas City 24, Mo. Title Company Comment Days of Week Played Weather Title Company Comment Days of Week Played Weather Title Company Comment Days of Week Played Weather Title Company Comment Days of Week Played Weather Exhibitor Theatre Population City State 10 BOXOFFICE BookinGuide :: May 29, 1961