Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1940)

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Now Syracuse Gets Premiere Tremors Syracuse — The Greeks had a word for it. It was Syracuse. Jules Levey added a couple of boys to this town’s name and produced a picture. Syracuse then became “The Boys From Syracuse.” As a result, Universal will stage a threetheatre premiere here at the Paramount, Keith and Eckel on July 18. It will have all the trimmings of a Hollywood hullabaloo. There will be chariots replacing taxis and togas taking the place of pants. Joe Penner, Eric Blore, Constance Moore and Peggy Moran are coming on from Hollywood for the fiesta. Rodgers and Hart, Abbott and Costello and Milton Berle will shake the dust off Broadway and shift to Syracuse for the opening. Levey, the producer, will be on hand with a number of home office Universal executives. Mayor Marvin will welcome all the visitors and members of the city council will play host to the celebrities. And all will get the air as they enter the theatres. The air will take the form of a national broadcast and one and all will have to put on their best Greek manners. Industry Drive in Fall lor Red Cross Is Planned New York — At a meeting of the MPPDA, a committee of exhibitor representatives was appointed to draft tentative plans for sponsoring an industry drive to benefit the Red Cross. If the plan is adopted it will go into the nation’s theatres in the fall. On the committee are Joseph Bernhard, Harry Brandt, H. A. Cole, Leonard Goldenson, Ed Kuykendall, C. C. Moskowitz, Robert H. Poole, Spyros Skouras, Leslie E. Thompson, Walter Vincent and Nathan Yamins. Pat O'Brien Leaves WB After "Flowing Gold" Hollywood — Upon completion of his role in “Flowing Gold,” Pat O’Brien checks off the Warner contract list after a sevenyear association. O’Brien entered pictures by way of “The Front Page” in 1932 and shortly thereafter became a Warner player, appearing in more than 40 pictures. Sign Swedish Actress Hollywood — Signe Hasso, Swedish actress, has been signed to a long-term contract by RKO. She is now en route from Stockholm. Original for Clarence Brown Hollywood — Patterson McNutt is doing an untitled original for Clarence Brown, Metro producer. Sees Opening of Screens To Brief Advertisements Colorado Springs — J. Don Alexander, president of Alexander Film Co., sees an opening of circuit screens to “one-minute-or-less” talking film ads as an effective weapon against the possible effect of television on the boxoffice. So he told 150 company representatives gathered here for the annual convention. Reasoned Alexander; “Television, like radio, must be financed by commercial sponsorship, and sponsors like to get the most for their money. Where accustomed to reaching huge armies of theatre-goers economically with everything in the way of live-action, music, and voice that television will have to offer, plus the benefits of color and billboardsized images, commercial advertisers will be reluctant to spend tremendous sums to televise tiny, black-and-white images with limited action to the thinly scattered owners of television sets. “Executives of the major chains thus will be doing themselves a dual service by diverting their way the huge appropriations that would otherwise help build a counter-attraction.” Adapts Wellman Yarn Hollywood — W. L. River is scripting Paramount’s ‘"The City That Never Sleeps” for Producer-Director William A. Wellman. Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck have the toplines. How to operate motion picture theatres profitably Here is a new book full of HOW TO DO IT information, written by a man who believes that the first objective of theatre management is to make money. In this book he covers motion picture theatre management from A to Z, giving the best results of years of experience as a guide in establishing successful policies, building profitable business, and efficiently operating any size theatre. The Management of Motion Picture Theatres By FRANK H. RICKETSON. Jr. Get This Great Aid to Theatre President, Fox Inter-Mountain Theatres, Inc. Management! GET IT TODAY!! 375 pages, 6x9, illustrated, $3.50 Send check or money order to ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS, 4804 East Ninth Street, Kansas City, Missouri 30 BOXOFFICE July 13, 1940