Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1940)

JJAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope next year’ll bring you all more success, more profits and better times . . . Larry O’Neil, formerly of the local Cameo (now Proven Pictures) , is now manager of the Holland in Belle Fontaine, Ohio . . . James Warren, formerly usher at the northend WB’s Lenox, is leaving Hartford with the turn of the calendar to join Uncle Sam’s Marines . . . “Arizona” was to have opened at Manager George E. Landers’ E. M. Loew’s this Wednesday after a great exploitation campaign on the part of Landers and his assistant, Hillmer D. Robinson . . . Loew’s Poli Plaza, Worcester, and WB’s Bristol, Bristol, played the double bill of “Face at the Window” and “Torso Murder Case” . . . Ella Fitzgerald and her orchestra played the Lyric, Bridgeport. Connecticut Doings: Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Lloyd of Hartford recently observed their tenth anniversary of married happi7iess. Walter is the popular manager of the local M&P’s Allyn. By the way, he is also a first lieuteiiant in the Quartermaster Reserve Corps, and is subject to call any minute now . . . Capitol, Middletown, brought back Charlie Chaplin m “In the Bank” . . . Lincoln, Hew Haven, played sex films, “Mad Youth” and “Shark Woman,” while the Apollo, also in the Elm City, presented “Reefer Madness,” “How to Take a Bath,” and “The Long Shot,” all on one bill . . . Manager Jack A. Simons, Loew’s Poli, Hartford, reports that as a special New Year’s Eve attraction, Loew’s Poli will present “Flight Command,” to be followed on New Year’s Day with the regular run of “Comrade X” . . . Dead End Kids and the Little Tough Guys were at the Buckingham Hall, Waterbury . . . M&P’s Norwalk, Norwalk, gave away three sleds to holders of lucky ticket stub numbers . . . Strand, Winsted, showed Republic’s “Carolina Moon” . . . Manager Joe Anger’s Astor, East Hartford, played Walt Disney’s “Festival of Hits.” Harris Brothers’ State has added the comedy team. Three Stooges, to the already large list of artists the theatre will present on New Year’s Eve in a three-hour show . . . M&P’s Allyn, for New Year’s Eve, will have “Second Chorus,” while the WB’s Strand will present “Santa. Fe Trail” . . . Mickey Daly of Hartford and Plainfield was a New Haven visitor . . . Regards are in order for the Windsor, Windsor, which is currently observing its first year of operation . . . Circle, Manchester, presented Republic’s “Who Killed Aunt Maggie?” as did also Schulman’s Plaza, Windsor . . . Herbert Goldfield, usher at the E. M. Loew’s, is quite an ice skater. WB Writeups: Hugh Campbell, Central, West Hartford; David Sugarman, Colonial; Tommy Grogan, Lenox; Bill Flanaghan, Lyric; Kennie Faye, Rialto; Frankie Morin, Regal, aiid James F. McCarthy, Strand, attended the WB managers’ get-together in New Haven’s Hotel Taft last Thursday . . . Manager Bill Flaiiaghan of the Lyric reports as indefinite reseating plans for that house . . . Boxoffice at the Daly has been reiiovated . . . Charlie Williams, porter for many years at the Strand, has been ill at home. Meanwhile, Harry Tudowski is filling m . . . Bobbie Hughes, usher at the Lenox, is still convalescing at home from an infected foot. Edward Burns is handling Hughes’ duties at present . . . Daly had an amateur contest on its stage last Thursday . . . Kennie Faye, Rialto manager, reports that the boxoffice and the men’s and women’s rooms at that theatre have been repainted. In New Haven last Tuesday were Martin Kelleher, Princess: Charles Repass, Crown, and Maurice Schulman, Webster, Rivoli, and Plaza-Windsor . . . Marquee at the State has been repainted . . . Bernard William Levy, manager of the local Proven Pictures and also division manager of the Frederick Lieberman Theatres in Hartford and Holyoke, Mass., is now visiting the Holyoke boys three times a week . . . Harrison Harries, Hartford motion picture service man, was in New York . . . The new Irish film, “Here Is Ireland,” may be booked for the Bushnell’s, January 11 and 12, according to Managing Director Bill Mortenson’s plans last week . . . Mary Ravales is the new cashier at the E. M. Loew’s, succeeding Mrs. June Gordon, who resigned to devote all of her time to married life . . . Manager Jack A. Simons of the Loew’s Poli reports that “Flight Command” and “Youth Will Be Served” have been booked for that theatre’s New Year’s Eve show, at 75 cents top. More Loew’s-Poli Doings; Russell F. Grant, student assistajit, won the grand prize of $8 over WTlC-WICC’s “Quiz of Two Cities” theatre program last Sunday. By the bye, Charlie Guadaiio of the Loew’s Poli College, New Haven, cracked — by mistake, of course — via the air waves, “Nothing's too bad for Loew’s Poli.” Then he tur7ied arou7id a7id said that 7iothing’s too good for that circuit. Now what do you say, Charlie? . . . Maurice Radm of Peoples’ Ca7idy Co., Worcester, was hi tow7i last week . . . Me7nbers of the Loew’s Poli basketball team have been a7inounced as follows: Elihu Brooks, Jerry Goldberg, Jules Fra7ik, Paul Pay7ie, A7ithony T. DeMayo, a7id Essex Th077ipso7i. Brooks and Goldberg are co-captahis of the team . . . Wallace J. Cooper, Loew’s Poli assistant 7na7iager, takes the usual bus7na7i’s holiday every Tuesday, his day off, it seems. Instead of gohig somewhere or resthig at home, Cooper is usually see7i on Tuesday arou7id the theatre . . . Revival of “Scarface” and “Hell’s A7igels” did SRO business at the Prove7i Pictures last Sunday . . . Irvhig Freed7na7i, State usher, has hopes of becomhig a radio a7i7wu7icer . . . Jack Bloom, assista7it ma7iager of the State, and a local girl, were to have been rnarried Tuesday 7iight at the E7na7iuel Sy7iagogue. A motion picture entitled “Holiday in Dixie” was shown at a meeting of the Springfield Photographic Society . . . Carmel Mascoli, manager of the Waterbury, Alhambra, and his bride, recently returned from a southern honeymoon. Mrs. Mascoli is the daughter of the Alhambra’s owner . . . Roger Sherman’s, New Haven, ushers wore caps and gowns one week in advance of “You’ll Find Out,” in connection with exploitation on the Kay Kyser starrer . . .Joe Walsh of Southington is now back on the job again after having been on a leave of absence . . . Manager Lou Cohen, Loew’s Poli Palace, obtained a co-op ad with Helen’s Beauty Shoppe on “Tin Pan Alley” . . . The now-famed “Thief of Bagdad” float, on which two men worked four months to create, passed through Hartford on its way to Boston. “Little Nellie Kelly” did two weeks at the Loew’s Poli Palace . . . “North West Mounted Police” we7it hito a fourth week at the M&P’s Ally7i . . . Duke Ellington’s orchestra was the first colored show of the seaso7i at the State . . . Broadway, Springfield, gave away 15 free Xmas poultry last Friday to holders of lucky ticket stub numbers . . . The latest Goldwynism, as reported from the coast: “Why, our pictures even made money at the height of the slump” . . . James Hewins and William B. White are new part-time ushers at the M&P’s Ally7i . . . Rialto, Norwalk, had Producers Releasing Corp.’s “Arizona Ga7igbusters” . . . Frederick W. Stone showed colored motion pictures of the west at the Children’s Museum of Hartford last Sunday. Members of the Yale University Pundit Club staged a fake parade of the Marx Bros, in central New Haven streets, blocked traffic by a series of stallings of their automobiles, were chased by John Law, and ended their adventures by walking into the Loew’s Poli there when the management thought that the real brothers (starring in “Go West”) were giving them a surprise visit . . . Over at Kid Kaplan’s, they’re meeting the 10 p. m. curfew by employing girl musicians to play dinner music from 7 p. m. to the deadline while Joe Puzzo’s orchestra takes their place. Norma7i Edwards is a new usher at the WB’s Regal . . . George E. Landers, manager of the E. M. Loew’s, was in Boston on business last Monday a7id Tuesday . . . Peggy DuP07it is the new candy girl at the E. M. Loew’s, succeeding Lorraine Racine, resigned . . . Add theatre managers’ troubles: John Small, usher. Arcade, Springfield, ivho helps with the theatre’s marquee every 7iow and then, has been havmg trouble with his spelling, to-wit — For “Hit Parade of 1941’s” stars, he lettered the marquee thusly, “Frances Baker and Langford Kenny.” He had “Robert Nazimova” for the star of “Escape,” while for the name of Nazimova, he had “Nazumma.” Picketers for Local 486, lATSE, in front of the E. M. Loew’s, will soon enter their fourth year of continuous walking . , . Members of the Hayes-Velhage post. West Hartford, witnessed a program of war films, including ‘“The War in Europe,” “Bombs Over Europe,” “Finland Fights,” “Graf Spee,” and “1940 Newsreel,” last Tuesday night in West Hartford’s Memorial Hall . . . New seats are to be installed at the E. M. Loew’s sometime in January. Peter Perakos, ow7ier of the Palace, New Britain, and one of that city’s better known sports7ne7i, prese7ited certificates to members of New Britain High School’s farfamed football team last fort7iight in the Hardware City at a get-together in honor of the footballers ... A combined team of Para7nount and 20th-Fox exchange employes, New Haven, met the WB bowlers, and the Columbia pm-smashers opposed a7i all-Co7inecticut Exhibitors’ team last Tuesday night at the Roger Sherman Bowlmg Alleys in the Elm City as tuneups for the proposed state league for industryites. Hold "Movie Party" Springfield, Mass. — A “Movie Party” was held at the offices of the Springfield Free Press, Friday night in honor of local theatre managers. Chairman for the event was Patrick J. Isabella, Springfield theatre artist. Music was furnished by Bert Greene’s E. M. Loew’s Court Square house orchestra. Next in Lemp Series Hollywood — Next in Warner’s Lemp Family series will be “Four Feathers,” which William Keighley will direct from a script by Stephen Morehouse Avery. 58 BOXOFFICE :: December 28, 1940