Boxoffice (Jul-Sep 1962)

s. X HI B I TOR HAS HIS SAY ™™*iABOUT PICTURES^Mi Some Cream Still Left In 'That Touch of Mink' We played U-I's "That Touch of Mink" after 54 theatres in and around Chicago milked it almost dry. Business good despite this fact. Grant and Day still very popular here. Audrey Meadows was beautiful. Why not give Gig Young the lead role in his next picture? The ladies like him! We advertised this for Adults Only, as it should be, and received many fine comments for doing so. This picture was rated B by the Legion of Decency. Excellent color, settings, and Miss Day's costumes were elegant to say the least. Played seven days. DONALD E. BOHATKA, asst. mgr. Catlow Theatre, Barrington, III. BUENA VISTA Big Red (BV) — Walter Pidgeon, Gilles Payant, Emil Genest. Disney scores again. I wish I could play one of his every week. Beautiful color and scenery. It did excellent business both nights. Disneys are the little fella's big helper these days. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Fair and warm.— James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. COLUMBIA Devil at 4 O'clock, The (Col) — Spencer Tracy, Frank Sinatra, Kerwin Mathews. A very excellent picture with good color. Excellent cast and top story. By all means play this one. — Harry Hawkinson, Orpheum Theatre, Marietta, Minn. Pop. 380. Safe at Home! (Col) — Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Patricia Barry. The local Boy Scout troop sponsored this and did very well. I agree with another exhibitor, Mantle and Maris can't act, but really know their baseball. Played Tues., Wed. Weather: Very hot. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. Three Stooges in Orbit, The (Col) — Stooges, Carol Christensen, Edson Stroll. If your patrons like the Stooges, don't fail to use this. Their best picture to date. Did good business. Good trailer on this helped business. Played Wed., Thurs., Fri. — S. T. Jackson, Jackson Theatre, Flomaton, Ala. Pop. 1,480. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER Horizontal Lieutenant, The (MGM) — Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Jack Carter, Miyoshi Umeki. Pretty good service comedy. The second night was better in attendance than the first. Hutton and Prentiss are a very good team. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Very warm. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. Sweet Bird of Youth (MGM) — Geraldine Page, Paul Newman, Sandra Knight. Small towns, stay away. It has some good acting, but this kind of picture appeals to very few here. Below average business both nights. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Hot. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. PARAMOUNT Breakfast at Tiffany's (Para) — Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal. Beautiful coloring; waited for this picture for three months after three cancellations. Finally got in and business was above average. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Warm. — Al Aguiar, Lincoln Theatre, Lincoln, Calif. Pop. 3,226. Escape From Zahrain (Para) — Yul Brynner, Madlyn Rhue, Sal Mineo. This did a nice job of balancing an action program at the drive-in. Did pretty fair business doubled with "Hell Is for Heroes," also from Paramount. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Good. — Don Stott, 301 Drive-In, Waldorf, Md. Pop. 1,100. Escape From Zahrain (Para) — Yul Brynner, Madlyn Rhue, Sal Mineo. Very good in every way. Play it. It has action and a sprinkling of comedy to make it one of the year's best. Received many fine comments. Another fine performance by Brynner. How come James Mason's name wasn't with the credits? (Editor's note: His First Cancellation Now everything has happened: Have never canceled an advertised picture before, but hod to do it in the ease of 'The Cabinet of Caligari," 20thFox release, a morbid and objectionable excuse for motion picture entertainment. Booked this on the strength of a recommendation by the Fox salesman (who's really a helluva nice guy) and the review in one of the trade magazines which listed it as "Excellent." Dated this as the top half of a double on the action change, but pulled it, as mentioned above. It depresses and confuses throughout, with an explanation coming at a time when the impression formed previously is so strong that it falls on deaf ears. The mentally ill patient disrobing does not help the picture . . . OTTO SETTELE Seemore Theatre, Seymour, Wis. We understand this was a hush-hush tryout of a "new character," which, unfortunately, will probably turn up in a TV series). Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Rainy. — James Hardy, Crescent Theatre, Jasonville, Ind. Pop. 2,500. Hatari! (Para) — John Wayne, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons. This one surprised me. The picture has a bad title, that's for sure. It is really very enjoyable. Beautiful photography and lots of action. The elephants were a real riot. Good for any situation. Played Wed., Thurs. Weather: Good. — Don Stott, 301 Drive-In, Waldorf, Md. Pop. 1,100. Kell Is for Heroes (Para) — Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, Bob Newhart. Played this one very late to a fair crowd of mostly kids, which saved us. Good action picture, but ending left everyone up in the air as to what would happen next. Bob Newhart liked by all. Good double-bill material. Played Tues., Wed., Thurs. Weather: Warm to hot. — Donald E. Bohatka, Catlow Theatre, Barrington, III. Pop. 5,400. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (Para) — John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles. This has had enough publicity so that people came out to see it and we had an average crowd. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: About 80. — Larry Marnes, Mooers Theatre, Mooers, New York. Pop. 1,000. One of Year's Best Played U-I's "Lover Come Back," the Rock Hudson-Doris Day starrer, rather late, but still had good business. Many funny situations, good direction and good acting. One of the best comedies of the year. Play it, and advertise it. We played it Sunday through Wednesday to good results. MEL DANNER Circle Theatre, Waynoka, Okla. 20th CENTURY-FOX Bachelor Flat (20th-Fox) — Terry-Thomas, Tuesday Weld, Richard Beymer. A honey of a movie that had them laughing all the way through. Worth your best playing time, anytime. Terry-Thomas and the dog are delightful. It's nice knowing that Hollywood has finally discovered the fine comic, Terry-Thomas. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Fine. — Dave S. Klein, Astra Theatre, Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia, Africa. Pop. 13,000. State Fair (20th-Fox) — Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, Tom Ewell, Ann-Margret, Alice Faye. A fine picture for cities and towns of all sizes. The kind of motion picture that makes one still believe that there is nothing wrong with this business that good pictures won't cure. Good color, good story, very good cast — but also the poorest focusing job since "Giant." Played Sat. to Tues. Weather: Good, Hot. — Otto Settele, Seemore Theatre, Seymour, Wis. Pop. 2,000. UNITED ARTISTS Alamo, The (UA) — John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey. This one's just plain great, there's no getting around it. Played this one as a single feature and did well. This is unheard of in a drive-in, but I have done it several times this summer and haven't suffered. Every American should see it. Get out the flags and play the National Anthem proudly. — Don Stott, Calvert Drive-In, Prince Frederick, Md. Pop. 500. Sergeants 3 (UA)— Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford. All I can say for this one is: "Picture, swell; business, good; confection receipts, lousy." This picture was no sleeper for damn sure. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Warm. — Al Aguiar, Lincoln Theatre, Lincoln, Calif. Pop. 3,226. UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL Lover Come Back (U-l) — Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall. A wonderful show and two popular stars, but business was 'way off due to the "B" rating. Played Sat., Sun., Mon. Weather: Very hot. — Carl P. Anderka, Rainbow Theatre, Castroville, Tex. Pop. 1,500. Pharaohs' Woman, The (U-l) — John Drew Barrymore, Linda Cristal, Pierre Bice. Utterly ridiculous and nonsensical picture. John Drew Barrymore gets my nomination as worst actor of the year. The picture has beautiful sets and costumes, but it's so corny it got laughs from the kids. It compares poorly with "Colossus of Rhodes" and others. Not much action. It's better to leave this in the can. Some pictures much cheaper than this one were much better liked. — Paul Fournier, Acadia Theatre, St. Leonard, N. B. Pop. 2,150. WARNER BROS. Majority of One, A (WB) — Rosalind Russell, Alec Guinness, Madlyn Rhue. What a delightful comedy and nice entertainment all the way through — but no cash customers. I just don't know what the people want. Played Sat., Sun., Mon. Weather: Hot and dry. — Carl P. Anderka, Rainbow Theatre, Castroville, Tex. Pop. 1 ,500. Majority of One, A (WB) — Rosalind Russell, Alec Guinness, Madelyn Rhue. Now here is a real goodie — that failed, of course. I should never have put this under contract for this small town. "Don't touch my moustache," Roz sez, and everyone just looks stupid. They never even got the point of the whole picture. — Don Stott, Calvert Drive-In, Prince Frederick, Md. Pop. 500. FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE REVIEWS The Island Zenith Int'l F 96 Minutes Ratio: Drama 2.35-1 © Rel. Sept. '62 This Japanese production is unique in that it has no dialog whatsoever and yet the simple slory is easily communicated to the viewer. It is difficult to believe that watching the daily life of a Japanese family — pxarents and two small boys — as they struggle to meet the needs of existence could be interesting. But it is more ihan just interesting; it is absorbing. The family lives on a small island in an inlet of the Japanese coastline. The island is their world surrounded by water and, yet, has no water of its own, thereby making it the most precious commodity. To obtain it, they have to propel a crude craft to the mainland, fill buckets and carefully bring the water back to the island. Then it is rationed for watering crops, cooking, berthing in a metal barrel and also supplied sparingly to their livestock. The crops, when matured, are traded for necessities of life. The slight story is climaxed by the death of one of the young sons, but even tragedy has its allotted time and life must go on. It is difficult to determine whether the characters cere professional performers or the actual inhabitants of the island. Everyday sounds and the music are the only audible backgrounds and a very haunting melody is carried through the picture. The film was produced and directed by K'aneto Shcmdo. The camera work of Kiyoshi Kuroda is outstanding. This is ideal art theatre fare. Nobuko Otowa, Tctiji Tanoyama, Shinji Tanaka ar.d Masanori Horimoto. Violin and Roller F Comedy-Drama 1.85-1 © Artkino 55 Minutes Rel. Sept. '62 Latest product of the certainly unique, project to be recommended around the film world, Moscow Film Studios' experimental diploma division, this wistfully concocted import, embellished considerably with Soviet color, shows admirably indeed what can be done with governmental backing of process-toprocess, actual-production schooling for the desperately needed new talent in any nation's motion picture industry. The men responsible for this tender yarn of a withdrawn, overly sensitive young lad and his encounters with aides and adversaries while pursuing musical study were given their diplomas upon film's completion. And what producers Tartovsky, Konchalovsky and Ovchinikov have accomplished, in terms of a minute study of a tyke's growing awareness of the adult world around him is far from amateurish dawdling; they have learned their craft well and given their story substance and sentiment, transcending purely nationalistic boundaries. Igor Fomchenko is a most fetching young hero of sorts. Released by Artkino Films. Igor Fomchenko, Vladimir Zamansky, Nina Archangelskaya. 'I Thank a Fool' Booked In 150 Key Situations NEW YORK— MGM’s “I Thank a Fool,” starring Susan Hayward and Peter Finch, which opened at the Victoria Theatre Friday (14) will also open in more than 150 other first runs late in September and early October. The other cities include Chicago, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, Washington, Minneapolis, Dallas, Memphis, Atlanta, Indianapolis, St. Paul, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Denver and San Francisco. 10 BOXOFFICE BookinGuide :: Sept. 24, 1962