Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1963)

S XHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY A B 0 U T P I C T U R E ALLIED ARTISTS Tall Stranger, The (AA, reissue) — Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Barry Kelley. This 1957 release, made in color and CinemaScope, made a good supporting feature for my Friday-Saturday change. — I. Roche, Stai'lite Drive-In, Chipley, Fla. Pop. 3,100. BUENA VISTA Bon Voyage (BV) — Fred MacMmray, Jane Wyman, Michael Callan, Deborah Walley. Lacks the Disney sparkle which was in “Piofessor,” “Parent Ti-ap” and “Big Red.” It did a little above average, but nothing extra. Good to see Jane Wyman again. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Rainy. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. COLUMBIA Mothra (Col) — All-Japanese cast. This one didn’t even fool the kids in the special effects department. A fairly good try, but they don’t make science -fiction movies as good as they used to. Remember “War of the Worlds” and “When Worlds Collide”? This one did above average for me, though. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Cold. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. Three Stooges in Orbit, The (Col) — Stooges, Edson Stroll, Carol Christensen. Not quite as good as their “Meet Hercules,” but it will please. It gave me my best Saturday since “Hatari!” Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Cold. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER Lolita (MGM) — James Mason, Sue Lyon, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers. This picture will have its main appeal to those who want to see how they ever made a movie from such a daring book. Shelley Winters’ performance was excellent — should win her an Oscar nomination. Sue Lyon is an attractive newcomer. Hope she appears on the screen again. No complaints on this one as we advertised it “for adults only” and said that it was a highly controversial drama. Played Fri. through Thurs. Weather: Mild. — Donald E. Bohatka, Catlow Theatre, Barrington, 111. Pop. 5,400. Lolita (MGM) — James Mason, Sue Lyon, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers. This was highly overrated. The worst picture Leo has made in a long time. I guess they knew Thinks Public Prevues Would Be Good Idea ^oes anyone have a good, economical idea of how we could show “Prevues” free to the public, possibly every noon, possibly in the outer lobby or concourse of theatres all over the country? I believe such a practice would do much more than present methods are doing to sel coming attractions. A. A. RICHARDS Marion Theatre, Marion, S.C. 4 what it was, as they stayed away. Small towns — lay off it. However, the girl. Sue Lyon, shows some sign of a good actress if given better roles than this. Played Wed., Thm's. Weather: Rainy. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. PARAMOUNT Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (Para) — John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles. Color would have made this a super. As it was, it was still good and should draw them in anywhere. Any picture which has a title song does well for me. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Good. — B. W. Berglund. Trail Theatre, New Town, N. D. Pop. 1,200. Pigeon That Took Rome, The (Para) — Charlton Heston, Elsa Martinelli, Harry Guardino. One of the year’s funniest pictm-es. An excellent comedy that will appeal principally to the adults. A real sleeper 'Hatari!' Is Type of Film Exhibitors Need Most J don’t usually seem to be able to find the time to write, but I felt that I had to say something about “Hatari!” which I played January 20-22. This is one of the finest pictures to come along in ten years, as far as I’m concerned. It seems to me that the film industry, which knows itself how good this picture is, would wake up to the fact that more entertainment like this would bring people back to the theatre. Canadian is a town of 2,800 population and a very good share of this figure attended the theatre during the three-day run. The thing that amazed me was that I did not hear one person who did not enjoy the picture. As I said before, this type entertainment would sure help matters — and TV would do some suffering as we exhibitors have been doing. CHARLES TOWNSEND Palace Theatre, Canadian, Tex. if there ever was one. Why wasn’t it made in color? Anyone can see black and white at home on TV. Very good story with an excellent cast. It was nice to see “BenHur” out of his chariot and into a modern picture. Highly recommended for your best playing time. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Mild. — Donald E. Bohatka, Catlow Theatre, Barrington, 111. Pop. 5,400. 20th CENTURY-FOX Satan Never Sleeps (20th-Fox) — William Holden, Clifton Webb, France Nuyen. A fine picture, but a real dog at the boxoffice for us. Maybe Satan didn’t sleep, but everyone else must have been — both nights. Played Wed., Thurs. — Joe Machetta, Emerson Theatre, Brush, Colo. Pop. 3,600. UNITED ARTISTS Bird Man of Alcatraz (UA) — Burt Lan — 28 — Anybody Have a Reply To This Question? pjaving been an exhibitor in the same spot for 30' years and a weekly reader of BOXOFFICE for about 25 years, I feel that it would not be unreasonable to ask a question. I notice in the reviews in The Exihibitor Has His Say that many refer to and call TV “the Idiot Box.” Since most programs on TV are filmed and old and new movies made for theatres, would it not, therefore, be proper for these same exhibitors to refer to the theatres as THE IDIOT HOUSES and THE IDIOT DRIVEINS? I don’t understand how a person becomes an “idiot” when he looks at a good movie on TV and the same person is quite normal when he is looking at the same thing in a theatre. Do you? J. T. JUSTICE JR. Justice Theatre, Kernersville, N. C. caster, Karl Malden, Thelma Ritter. Not only was the story incredible but Burt Lancaster’s portrayal as the Bird Man was (as usual) excellent. He’ll do doubt receive a nomination for best actor in this. A fine motion picture that was enjoyed by everyone. Played Sun. through Wed. — Joe Machetta, Emerson Theatre, Brush, Colo. Pop. 3,600. UNIVERSAL Cornin’ Round the Mountain and Feudin’, Fussin’ and A-Fightin’ (Universal reissue combo) — Thought this double feature, with one featm'ing Abbott and Costello and the other Ma and Pa Kettle, would do more than usual. But it only did average due to holiday buying. People had Christmas on their minds and not going to the movies. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Icy and cold. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. Lover Come Back (Univ.) — Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall. Well worth playing! Despite its sophisticated theme, for the stars are good enough to fill any theatre, be it in the Ozarks or Broadway. Very well attended. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. — Paul Fournier, Acadia Theatre, St. Leonard, N. B. Pop. 2,150. That Touch of Mink (Univ) — Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young. With all the sports competition, free beer and food given by local candidate, we did pretty weU after all. The pictm-e is very spicy but highly entertaining. Played Sat., Sun., Mon. Weather: Cool. — Carl P. Anderka, Rainbow Theatre, Castroville, Tex. Pop. 1,500. WARNER BROS. Rome Adventure (WB) — Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette, Angie Dickinson. The scenery in this was worth the price of an admission ticket. Miss Pleshette was very good and I was asked when I was going to play another one of her movies. The Italian singer in this looked like a twin to Merv Griffin. This was very well done, though business was only average — too much competition from New Year’s celebrating. Play it. You’ll be glad you did. Played Tues., Wed. Weather: Cold. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. BOXOFFICE Showmondiser : Feb. 18, 1963 Ke an e 'n. . a •<0.