Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1962)

MINNEAPOLIS 'Mark' Brings Patrons To Milwaukee Arty MILWAUKEE — “South Seas Adventure” in its seventh week at the Palace here led the grossers for the week. Close behind, however, was “King of Kings” at the Strand. In third place was “The Mark” at the neighborhood first-run Times Theatre. (Average Is 1 00) Downer — Secrets of Women (Janus) 175 Palace — South Seas Adventure (Cinerama), 7th wk 225 Riverside — The Innocents (20th-Fox), 2nd wk. ..100 Strand — King of Kings (MGM), 7th wk 200 Times — The Mark (Cont'l) 190 Tower — The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (WB), 3rd wk 100 Towne — Tender Is the Night (20th-Fox) 140 Warner — Sail a Crooked Ship (Col); Fear No More (Sutton) 120 Wisconsin — Too Late Blues (Para) 150 '1, 2, 3/ Builds in 8th Week In Minneapolis Deluxer MINNEAPOLIS — The second best weekend in the eight weeks of its run helped “One, Two, Three” at the St. Louis Park Theatre lead the list of first-run offerings with a rating of 180 per cent. Not far behind was “The Innocents” in its second week at the Gopher with a rating of 175 per cent. Most other attractions were above average for the week. Avalon — Not Tonight, Henry (IFD); Sapphire (U-l), revival, 7th wk 125 Century — Search for Paradise (Cinerama), return run, 4t‘h wk 105 Gopher — -The Innocents (20th-Fox), 2nd wk 175 Lyric — S’il a Crooked Ship (Col), 4th wk 125 Mann — Flower Drum Song (U-l), 8th wk 100 St. Louis Pork — One, Two, Three (UA), 8th wk. 180 State — Journey to the Seventh Planet ( A I P) 120 Suburban World — Mary Had a Little (UA) 90 Uptown — Murder She Said (MGM), 2nd wk 150 World — A Majority of One (WB) 125 Weather Break Is a Boon To Omaha Theatremen OMAHA — All first-run offerings were well received here with two holdovers showing strength. Exhibitors were heartened by a break in the cold weather that for a time appeared to have put patrons into a deepfreeze. Admiral — Journey to the Seventh Planet (AIP), 2nd' wk 140 Cooper — Seven Wonders of the World (Cinerama), lltih wk 130 Dundee — Invasion Quartet (MGM) 100 Orpheum — The Singer Not the Song (WB); Loss of Innocence (Col) 115 State — King of Kings (MGM) 175 Man in Ticket Line Robs Lincoln Theatre Cashier LINCOLN, NEB. — Exhibitors in Lincoln are hoping that stickups, like accidents, don’t go in three’s. Last weekend a bandit held up the Stuart Theatre boxoffice and escaped with an undetermined amount of cash. This episode followed by one night a stickup at the Nebraska Theatre boxoffice, when a man wearing a dark blue, hooded sweat shirt escaped with an estimated $350. The man handed cashier Judy Herbaugh a note telling her to put all the money in a sack and hand it to him — that he had a gun. Others in the ticket line behind him were not aware that a hold-up was taking place. Opens New Britain House HARTFORD — Independent exhibitor Brooks LeWitt has reopened the longclosed, 900-seat Arch Street Theatre, New Britain, as a subsequent-run. BiU Levy, operator of the Heights Theatre in suburban Columbia Heights, and his son-in-law, Mel Lebewitz, operator of the Parkway Theatre, have taken over operation of the Ritz in northeast Minneapolis from Sol Fisher. Previously, Fisher leased his Varsity and Campus theatres near the University of Minnesota to Ted Mann. Levy and Lebewitz took over the Ritz February 7. Charles Creamer of Minneapolis Theatre Supply is back from El Paso, Tex., where he visited his sisters . . . Oscar Woempner, who operates the Franklin, Minneapolis, and theatres at Willmar, Owatonna and Hutchinson, is vacationing in California for two weeks . . . Emmy Lundquist, cashier at United Artists, vacationed in California. During her absence from the exchange, Marian Santrizos helped out. Bill Weidig, 20th Century-Fox auditor, was in . . . Louis Kosak, operator of the Sibley Theatre at Sibley, leased the Legion at Gaylord from the estate of Louis Voight . . . Baldwin Kuchenbecker resigned as manager of the State at St. Peter to enter another field . . . Elizabeth Crowl is the new stenographer at Allied Artists. Myron “Mike” B. Adcock, manager of Warner Bros., attended a regional sales meeting in Dallas . . . Northwest Theatres will have its annual meeting March 13, a day ahead of the North Central Allied convention . . . Ernie Peaslee and his son Ernie jr., who operate the Auditorium Theatre at Stillwater, will take over the Towne at Fargo, N. D., March 1 from Gordon Aamoth. Their opening attraction will be “Lover Come Back.” Outstate exhibitors on the Row were John Rohr, Pine River; Ed Fredin, Cloquet; Bernie Larkin, Madelia; Logan Nelson, Mitchell, S. D.; Mike Guttman, Aberdeen, S. D.; Charles Fiala, Paynesville; Arvid Olson, Pine Island; “Doc” Reynolds, Princeton; Fred Schnee, Litchfield, and Pete deFea, Milbank, S. D., who just returned from a vacation in Mexico. Don Alexander, manager of the Riviera Theatre, St. Paul, was down with the flu. “King of Kings” opened at the house February 9 on a policy of two matinees and one evening show at popular prices with no seats reserved. When the picture played the Academy Theatre, it was on a hax’dticket, reserved-seat policy. The Riviera is following the plan that has been used in some cities on the west coast. The Fields cosponsored an invitational showing of “Light in the Piazza” with the Faculty Women’s Club of the University of Minnesota. Since the film is set in Florence, Italy, the theatre lobby was given a Florentine dressing with sculpture borrowed from Walker Art Center. After the show espresso coffee and a variety of fancy goodies were served. KMSP-TV will take over the premiere showing of “El Cid” when it opens Wednesday (21) at the Academy Theatre. The station will invite sponsors and advertising agency executives and will conduct a drawing for seats for the station’s viewers. Station personalities will be hosts at the premiere. Tuesday (20) a special press preview of the film will be held at the theatre . . . Jack Benny was in for a checkup at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Kenneth Anderson, general manager of Cooper Foundation Theatres, Lincoln, Neb., told about the operation of the foundation’s theatres and plans for its new Cooper Cinerama Theatre in suburban St. Louis Park at a press luncheon. The event was held February 9 in the new Minnesota Press Club quarters in the Radisson Hotel. Anderson said that work is going ahead on the new theatre which will seat about 800 persons. There will be free parking for 400 cars and the total project represents an investment of over $1,000,000. The new house is scheduled to open the week of July 4 with “How the West Was Won.” Jack Kelvie, booker at Theatre Associates, is vacationing in St. Louis . . . The car of Marvin Maetzold, head booker at Columbia, turned up on a downtown Minneapolis street a few days after it was stolen from in back of the exchange. The premiere Friday (16) of “West Side Story” at the Mann Theatre will be a benefit for the Minnesota Heart Ass’n. Tickets at $5 include not only the show but a buffet dinner at the Radisson Hotel. On hand for the event will be George Chakiris, the actor-dancer in the picture, who will fly in from Hollywood. Einar Bank, operator of the Rialto Theatre at St. Charles, died February 4 at Worrall Hospital in Rochester where he had been a patient for some time. Twin Drive-In Ads Legal Says Nebraska Engineer OMAHA — Advertising on a drive-in theatre screen on the southwest edge of Omaha does not violate the ban on billboards or advertising next to Interstate Highway 80, according to state engineer John Hossack. The Twin Drive-In, property of the Center Drive-In Theatres owned by Russell Brehm of Lincoln and United States Senator Roman Hruska, has one screen next to the highway. It is within 660 feet of the Interstate, where advertising is controlled under an act of the legislature. A provision in the advertising regulations permits advertising of activities being conducted upon the property, the state engineer said. Thus, the drive-in can advertise itself on the screen structure. The same rule applies to farms, which may advertise their farms or products for sale. Cinerama House to Diego LOS ANGELES — A Cinerama franchise for San Diego has been secured by Lockwood & Goi'don, New England theatre operator which plans immediate construction of a specially designed theatre at 58th street and University avenue. Jxily has been slated as the opening for the new house, with MGM-Cinerama’s “How the West Was Won” as the initial attraction. BOXOFFICE :: February 19, 1962 NC-1