Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1939)

TT IS reported that Aaron Goldberg’s downtown Circle soon will be turned into a newsreel house . . . The President is now getting 20 cents per at its boxoffice, a nickel more than formerly, and a nice rise in receipts has been the result . . . The new Tivoli has been really going to town, and the management already has seen fit to raise its top to 75 cents from an original 35. All this in two weeks’ time. Ramblings on the Row. Out-of-town exhibitors, many of them here for Tuesday’s ITO meeting at the Hotel Empire, were much in evidence along the Row this week. Among those spotted were: E. V. Clover, Oroville; O. Restano, Sonora; John DiStasio, Liberty, Sacramento: D. O. Downing, Regent, Oakland; Ray Kelsall of the Liberty, Victory and Jose, San Jose; Bill Peters, El Rey, Mantica; G, R. Moore, Suisim Theatre, Suisun; H. C. Oastler, Winnemucca, Nev.; and Walter Eldred and wife, Colfax . . . Also seen was J. A. Harvey sr., of Oakdale, president of the Harvey Amusernent Co. Warner’s screened “We Are Not Alone,’’ starring Paul Muni, Monday night . . . Rodda Harvey is back from a Montana hunting trip. Sh-h-h, but we understand he bagged four bucks and three elks. Quite a shoot, if you ask us . . . Cecil Pace will open at Rodeo Thanksgiving Day with one of the finest small town houses in the west . . . The Colfax Theatre at Colfax, which burned down recently, will reopen as a 400-seater New Year’s Day . . . Both of these houses have installed Simplex equipment furnished by National Theatre Supply. JoJm Martese will open a new house at Gonzales soon . . . Morris Berg will reopen the Lincoln, Alameda . . . The Suisun Theatre, Suisun, is closed for repairs aiid will reopen December 1 . . . The Garberville Theatre, Garberville, will reopeji next week after being closed for remodeling. San Franciscana: With the fall and winter season a definite arrival here, the amusement spots are showing increased activity. The Market St. first-runs and the subsequents generally are doing a bigger boxoffice, but are being faced with serious competition of several name bands that are now holding forth at some of the swank hotels. San Pi’anciscans seem to be going for them more than ever at present, as evidenced by the fact Glen Gray and his Casa Romans have set an all-time attendance record at the Palace Hotel. However, the theatres are not doing bad, and if the rate of increase of the past three weeks continues for any length of time, there’ll be plenty of broad smiles on the faces of the men in the industry in the Bay area. It seems that Golden Gate International Exposition officials are intent on giving the ’40 Fair plenty of buildup at the expense of a duped public, for newspapers here continue to insist in their columns that the money necessary for Treasure Island's reopening has not yet all been raised. However, it appears just a scheme to keep the Fair idea hot, for, as stated here last week, we have it on reliable authority that on or about May 29 next is the date set for the repeat performance which theatre owners here again will have to buck for about four months. Extended runs are the rule here, and plenty of excellent bookings are being held up because of them. “Babes in Arms,’’ “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” and “Lucrezia Borgia” are all in their fourth week, while “The Roaring Twenties” has entered its third week on Market St. . . . Ed Beck, publicity director at M-G-M, is really going to town in exploiting Garbo’s comedy hit, “Ninotchka,” in the Bay area. He’s also creating quite a lot of interest in the M-G-M short, “Drunken Driving,” by tyi?>g up with safety councils, traffic judges, etc. His friends along the Row are just finding out that John DiStasio, Sonora exhibitor, has been mayor of that town for the past six years . . . D. B. Levin, formerly with San Francisco theatres, has associated himself with the Goldberg circuit . . . Fox West Coast prexy Charles P. Skouras is on a northern California inspection tour . . . The Senator, Sacramento, has installed new Simplex sound equipment. The raucous Ritz Brothers gave the Golden Gate one of its biggest weeks in a long time. Louella Parsons and her “Stars of 1940” are now holding forth at that house and giving its environs quite a Hollywood atmosphere . . . J. A. Harvey jr., and wife are on a month’s vacation in Mexico . . . Irving Akerman, who operated the Casino until recently, has opened offices in the Golden Gate Bldg. ^AiiLir iiLA\iiiiiie J^LFRED LUNT and Lynn Fontanne, the modern re-incarnation of Katherine and Petruchio in Shakespeare’s immortal comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” were greeted by a throng of admirers upon their arrival here. Their presentation of “Shrew,” before sell-out audiences, was admirable. Dr. J. A. Widtsoe, A. Smith and A. E. Bowen, members of the L. D. S. Council of 12 apostles, have returned from Hollywood after studying the script for the forthcoming picture, "Brigham Young.” The attorney general has charged the Princess Theatre, Bingham, Utah, with conducting a lottery. The game under fire, said to be a variation of Bank Night, is known as “Jack Pot.” "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” opens here at the Centre on November 24 . . . In for conferences with W. W. McKendrick, Monogram branch manager, was Ralph Abbott, representative of Jam Handy of Detroit, commercial film makers. Monogram handles the short reels. Cody, Wyo., and Boise, Ida., are sticking to the old Thanksgiving date — November 30. Turkey Day will be observed here a week earlier, or on the President’s date. The New Theatre at Vernal, Utah, equipped by Intermountain Theatre Supply Co., will open on November 19 . . . The Parma, Parma, Ida., gutted by fire recently, is being rebuilt. 1ID> IE W V IE R “jQRUMS Along the Mohawk” played to several standouts and took in the most money at the Denver, with “Jamaica Inn” playing to big business likewise at the Denham and being held for a second week. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” after strong weeks, one at the Denver and one at the Aladdin, is moving to both the Rialto and Broadway. 'This is only the second time that a film, after having played in first runs has been moved to two others day and date. For the most part business was good in first runs. J. J. Goodstein has leased the Bideawee in Denver for 10 years, and after spending approximately $10,000 remodeling , will reopen about Christmas. Goodstein has operated and owned a number of theatres in the Denver area. The Bideawee is the house that gave Harry Huffman, now city manager for Fox theatres, his start in the business. Huffman bought the theatre as a means to attract folks to that part of towm so as to boost business at his drug store, but soon the theatre business was in his blood and he left the drug store to others to operate and he entered the theatre business. Fox houses copped a nice bit of exploitation when Harry Huffman arranged for a booth at the Denver auto show. Beautiful girls passed out coupons for the weekly Ford drawings at the theatres, and a young man took snapshots of various persons attending the show. The photos were taken by permission of the one being photographed. The photos were then posted in front of the various Fox houses, different ones in front of each, and if anyone identified themselves, he or she received a free pass to a Fox house. Ralph Abbott and Jack Haley, representatives of the Jam Handy Film Co., Detroit, were in Denver conferring with Lon Fidler, their distributor. Ted Kemper, St. Louis, booker for army posts, was in Denver on his regular trip, and while here cut down his film commitments about half, due to the moving of most of the troops south for winter maneuvers. Doug Pratt, RKO auditor, who left on his vacation after checking accounts at the local exchange, got as far as Omaha where he was forced to submit to an emergency appendectomy. Fred Lind, United Artists salesman, received his final papers making him a full-fledged citizen of this country. Lind, a native of Russia, has long been in the film business in the Denver area. Henry Bolte, Californian, has taken over and reopened the Lyons Theatre at Lyons, Colo. Gene Gerbase, Republic manager, left on a sales trip through New Mexico at about the same time that Frank Sheffield, salesman, came in from a successful trip north. Marjorie Wright has succeeded Eleanor Downey as secretary at the Republic exchange. Miss Downey resigned to be married. 40 BOXOFFICE :: November 18, 1939