Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1962)

s. XHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY ■■i"*«ABOUT PICTURE Shm Little Phrase Caught On With this Twisting going like a house afire, you can't go wrong in setting Paromount's "Hey, Let's Twist!" most any night of the week. We used it on Fri. -Sat. along with "Twenty Plus Two" from Allied Artists to good business. We got a break in the weather for a change too. Used teasers like this: Twenty Plus Two and a Hey Let's Twist! in our local paper. This expression, a catchy little thing, was picked up quickly and we heard it repeated many times prior to playdates. I. ROCHE Starlight Drive-In, Chipley, Flo. ALLIED ARTISTS Dondi (AA) — David Janssen, Patti Page, David Kory. Black and white, and not particularly well done. This one was a little below average gross-wise and 'way below overage quality-wise. Exhibitors, be wise and buy wise — or not at all. — Don Stott, Southwind Theatre, Solomons, Md. Pep. 950. AMERICAN-INTERNATIONAL Master of the World (AIP) — Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, Mary Webster. This one is really very good. Business average. I like American International Seems like a fine company. They treat me pretty good, anyway. Leo has been roughing me up lately. Maybe I'll give my first place vote to them next time. — 'Don Stott, Southwind Theatre Solomons, Md. Pop. 950. BUENA VISTA Absent-Minded Professor, The (BV) — Fred MacMurray, Nancy Olson, Keenan Wynn. Really, it is too bad that Disney does not make more pictures because olmost every one is a real family pioture. Just got around to playing this and find it has everything. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather Nice— B. Widmark Berglund, Trail Theatre, New Town, N. D. Pop. 1,200. COLUMBIA Mysterious Island (Col) — Michael Craig, Joar Greenwood, Michael Callan. A very good science fict'on picture. Lots of action and excitement for al ™e Business average. Another one tha should have been supported better. Where are al the people? Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Fine P^p U2 lF50rr"er' Acodia Theotre, St. Leonard, N. B Pepe (Col)— Cantinflos, Shirley Jones, Dan Dailey Nlce ,cPlor ar>d music, though. People seemed to enjoy this one. Did average business whict t ,?,r ^an )?e expected. Played Sun., Mon. Tues Weather: Cold. — Larry Thomas, Fayette Theotre, Fayetteville, W. Va. Pop. 2,000. Y f od,e Together (Col) — James Stewart, Rioharc Widmark, Shirley Jones. Offbeat yarn played to fail Thf^s^Fr H°wbc^/ke+t?111 t?r competition. Playec rl» w : leather: Cold.— Mel Danner, Cir cle Theatre, Waynoka, Okla. Pop. 2,018 M*“kend With Luta A (Col)— Leslie Phillips, Roberi Monkhouse. Good little picture. The preview, 1 -sheet lf lo°!< like a sex Picture. So they h^ .Jh k'd/ h?^ne and the folks thought it would aae Pl^v/ VHem' CS° bu.siness ^n't quite averThu!;s Fn., Sot. Weather: Good.— B Po^ ° 200 ef9 Und' Tmil Thootre' New T°wn, N. D preview, Sun., Mon. Weather: Nice. — Roy C. Ken drick, Star Theatre, Minco, Okla. Pop. 950. 20TH CENTURY-FOX Marriage-Go-Round, The (20th-Fox) — Susan Hayward, James Mason, Julie Newman. Disappointing, considering the cast. Susan, as usual, was convincing. Julie Newmor certainly didn't present the suggested competition. Played Wed., Thurs., Fri. Weather: Good. — P. B. Friedman, Grand Theatre, Lancaster, Ky. Pop. 3,000. Return to Peyton Place (20th-Fox) — Carol Lynley, Jeff Chandler, Eleanor Parker. We do a very small business on this type of picture, and the same went for this particular orve. It is a very good picture and the color and 'Scope are beautiful. If your area likes a little sex and spirit in their pictures, this should be for you. Played Sat., Sun. Weather: Cold. — Harry Hawkinson j'r., Orpheum Theatre, Marietta, Minn. Pop. 380. Second Time Around, The (20thjFox) — Debbie Reynolds, Andy Griffith, Steve Forrest. Well, we gor a new one for a ohange, but no business. Good little show, but with no advertising how do you let the public know? Get on the ball, NSS! Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Still cold. — Kenn Spaulding, Bijou Theatre, Morrisville, Vt. Pop. 3,450. Tropp Family, The (20th-Fox) — Ruth Leuwerik, Hans Holt. This was enjoyed by below average attendance. Those who sow it praised it. A family movie you can be proud of. Dubbing is just fair. I was ashamed of my town for passing this up for bowling. Played Sun., Mian. Weather: Below zero. — Ken Christianson, Roxy Theatre, Washburn, N. D. Pop. 968. UNITED ARTISTS Alamo, The (UA) — John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey. Had big tie-in with bowling alley and really pushed this big. Result: great crowd, great picture. Big gross for these days which made me feel better about the five hours I put in splicing this feature. Business isn't up to two years ago, but if you make a profit these days, you think it's swell. Played over New Year's weekend. Weather: 'Way below zero. — 'Bill Brooks, Liberty Theatre, Hailey, Ida. Pop. 1,165. Big Country, The (UA, reissue) — Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Jean Simmons, Burl Ives. A repeat; still one of the best westerns ever made. Color, 'Scope, print all excellent. Business below average. Cold here. Played Fri., Sat.— Ken Christianson, Roxy Theatre, Washburn, N. D. Pop. 968. Gambler Wore a Gun, The (UA) — Jim Davis, Mary Anders Mark Allen. This filled out a nice double-bill, with "Scream of Fear" from Columbia as the topper. Played Saturday. Weather: Rainy. — P. B. Friedman, Grand Theatre, Lancaster, Ky. Pop. 3,000. Minotaur, The (UA) — Bob Mathias, Rosanna Schiaffino, Rik Battaglia. Loads of action, color, spectacle— good for action fans. Good attendance. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Cold. — Paul Fournier. Acadia Theatre, St. Leonard, N. B. Pop. 2,150. UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL Midnight Lace (U-l) — Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin. This is a pretty good show, mainly because it stars Doris Day. Although many have -reported poor business, I can report that our business was above average. The color in this was great. Played Sun., Mon. — Steve Durbin, Garold Shoemaker, Ford Theatre, Griggsville, III. Pop. 1,200. Posse From Hell (U-l) — Audie Murphy, John Saxon, Zohra Lamport. A very good western. Audie Murphy still a very good draw here. A good western in color still does business here, but there are far too few of them. Played Wed., Thurs. Weather: Good. — Audrey Thompson, Ozark Theatre, Hardy, Ark. Pop. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER M^ker ° Thk,THU|°n 'doyword' Dean Martin, Ralj t 'rJ™ du foir busln<?ss. Actuolly better th W 1ZEL uscuoli-y doe,s Picture was W Ploy ton*, ' Ala*1 Pop. 1,480 ' J°Cks0n ThC°tre' Flom Honeymoon Mochine, The (MGM— Steve McQuee IdHe comilT'hr Hut+°n' Pa“'° Prentifs. A ga l trie comedy, but new faces and cold weafher ht our business Played foo late. Ployed Sat Su' Tt^re r° thr ..W— Carl P. Anderka Rainb^ Theatre, Costroville, Tex. Pop. 1,500. Morgan the Pirate (MGM) — Steieve Reeves Vale. LaGronge, Chelo Alonso. I believe this is the be Steve Reeves we hove hod the pleasure of pfaym B M2fSr^°t'sfoC/^ory,' P'oy4*1 Fri > Sot. Weather Goo —Mel Danner, Circle Theatre, Waynoka, Okla. Po HoSrarr~t ,M?M)_Stewart Granger, Ha sr fLhJn ThS! PARAMOUNT Man-Trap (Para)— Jeffrey Hunter, Stella Stever David Janssen. I wish I hadn't played it. I cou have made more money by being dark. Played Sc WARNER BROS. Ice Palace (WB) — Richard Burton, Robert Ryan, Martha Hyer, Carolyn Jones. Beautiful picture, well done, a credit to any theatre — but misnamed, and no business. They ought to rename it and reissue it again in a few years. It Would do well, I think. — Don Stott, Southwind Theatre, Solomons, Md. Pop. 950. Did Fine on ' Francis' Regarding assorted gripes concerning poor business on "Francis of Assisi," I say "Nuts!" I have a town of 1,864 people. There are 300 Catholics and 12 other churches including Church of God, Dutch Reformed, Christian Reformed, Seventh Day Adventist, Bible Church, Baptist, etc. — and it can be rough. So when confronted with a picture in the "Francis of Assisi" category, I simply offer the Altar Society a cut on advance sales. In this case we did more than double our usual Sun., Mon., Tues. business. I wish all pictures were as easy to sell as even the less-than-normally successful religious ones. JACK REPP Decatur Theatre, Decatur, Mich. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE REVIEWS Arms and the Man F Ratio: Comedy ("Helden") i.85-i © Casino Films 96 Minutes Rel. Feb. '62 Here is a German-language film with English titles, which would seem to have betterthan-average selling points to aittract art house patrons outside of the German neighborhood theatres. Based on George Bernard Shaw's famous satire, which also was turned into a popular operetta, "The Chocolate Soldier," the H. R. Sokal-P. Goldbaum production stars Lilo (Liselotte) Pulver, currently in "One, Two, Three," and O. W. Fischer, the handsome, mature German film favorite, and features Kurt Kasznar, now on Broadway in "Sound of Music," and Ljuba Welitsch, a former Metropolitan Opera star. But, like so many German films, this is saddled with an old-fashioned, operetta plot which will please the old-timers but leave most young fans bored. As directed by Franz Peter Wirth, the performers over-act to some extent. Miss Pulver makes a charming heroine who is engaged to a Serbian war hero but hides a professional soldier of the opposing forces in her bedroom. The handsome intruder has no ammunition because Ihe fills his knapsack with chocolates (hence the title of the musical). In the end, the heroine turns her Serbian hero over to her ambitious maid, played by Ellen Schwiers, while she falls into the arms of Fischer, who has ingratiated himself with her father. Photographed in picturepostcard Agfacolor, the picture was released in Germany in 1959 as "Helden" and became one of the biggest boxoffice hits there. O. W. Fischer, Lilo (Liselotte) Pulver, Jan Hendriks, Ljuba Welitsch, Kurt Kasznar. FEATURETTE REVIEW The Magic Tide F © Sombrero Pictures (States Rights) 32 Minutes Rel. Possessed of no current marquee merits, this picture should undoubtedly please all audiences. The new husband-wife production team of Bri and Ralph Brooke, who created, filmed and are personally distributing the picture, have endowed it with particular simplicity, charm and warmth. They show an expert knowledge of how to punch a dramatic point across and immediately relieve it with a touch of appealingly "human" and not obviously contrived comedy. Their subject is, in itself, appealing, but required a high knowledgeability of all film techniques in order to make it as effective as it is. In essence, it is the tender love story of two innocent eighlt-year-olds, the girl (Debbie Boyle), the daughter of American tourists visiting a Mexican fishing village and the boy (Octavio Ascal’ini) a bright little native of the village who is immediately attracted to her. Together from surfside scraps of beached fishing boats they joyously and laughingly build a boat of their very own and together, sail it off into a picturesque sea for the climax of the picture. That the towheaded little girl is a victim of polio and has to wear a leg-brace is made dramatically evident in the early part of the picture. The print seen by this reviewer is occasionally flawed photographically by bad lighting, but this is something that can be corrected in the film laboratory by a process known to film editors as "double-printing" of the negative, with strong light ini the printing. The connubial writing-producing-directing and photographing team is assisted by a sensitive and effective score by Allyn Ferguson. In Eastman color. 10 BOXOFFICE BookinGuide : : March 26, 1962