Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1962)

Mill City Is Strong Despite Cold Wave MINNEAPOLIS — Although cold weather cut down business to some extent, grosses here continued to run well above average in most theatres. “The Longest Day,” now in its third week at the Mann, again led the pack at 250 per cent, a drop of 50 per cent from last week. “Only Two Can Play,” in a second week at the St. Louis Park, did 175 per cent, while “Gigot,” in a first week at the World reported 150 per cent. Only two theatres of 11 did below average busi ness. (Average Is 1 00) Academy — Boccaccio '70 (Embassy), 4th wk 100 Campus — Antigone (Ellis) 90 Century — Oklahoma! (20th-Fox), revival 80 Cooper — The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (MGM-Cinerama), 14th wk 180 Gopher — The Scarface Mob (Desilu) 100 Lyric — Requiem for a Heavyweight (Col), 2nd wk. 100 Mann — The Longest Day (20th-Fox), 3rd wk 250 State — The Manchurian Candidate (UA) 120 St. Louis Park — Only Two Can Play (Kingsley), 2nd wk 175 Suburban World — Carry On, Teacher (Governor), 2nd wk 100 World — Gigot (20th-Fox) 150 Disney Double Bill Is Omaha Crowd Catcher OMAHA — Far and away the best crowd catcher among Omaha first runs last week was the State Theatre, which introduced “Lady and the Tramp” and “Almost Angels,” ringing up 320 per cent. “The Chapman Report” had a fairly strong third week at the Orpheum and “Windjammer” again beat average in its ninth week at the Cooper. Admiral — White Slave Ship (AlP) 120 Cooper — Windjammer (Cinerama), 9th wk 125 Dundee — Dentist in the Chair (SRI 90 Omaha — No Man Is an Island (U-l) 110 Orpheum — The Chapman Report (WB), 3rd wk. . . 90 State — Lady and the Tramp (BV), reissue; Almost Angels (BV) 320 MINNEAPOLIS season’s first cold wave, acoompanied by strong winds and chilling rains, dampened considerably Mill City theatre business over the weekend. Winter seems to be coming in strong and with it all sorts of gala holiday film fare for Twin City moviegoers . . . John McCashlin, manager of the Fargo Theatre, Fargo, N.D., was in town for a few days of his vacation last week. “Gay Purr-ee,” booked in at the Lyric, Minneapolis, and the Riviera, St. Paul, both Minnesota Amusement units, is getting royal promotional treatment with a Friskie Cat Food tieup in all major 'Twin City supermarkets being used to full advantage, according to Bob Thill, manager of the Lyric. Both the Lyric and Riviera will show the film as their Thanksgiving feature. Harry Hollander, Columbia exploiteer from New York, and Louie Orlove, exploiteer for Fox, in from Milwaukee, both spent time in Minneapolis on business this past week . . . Lyle Leek, owner of the Pix Theatre in Whitehall, Wis., announced plans for the construction of a drive-in theatre there. Bob Thill, Lyric Theatre manager, reports that “Requiem for a Heavyweight,” now in its second week there, was certainly an “actors’ picture.” On one afternoon (Continued on page NC-2) DES MOINES John J. Gaskel, 68, business agent and past president of the projectionists Local 286, died of a heart attack at his home. He was a projectionist at the Paramount Theatre. He is survived by his wife, two sons, a sister, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren . . . Iowa United Theatres recently purchased the buildings which house the circuit’s Humota Theatre at Humbolt and the State at Washington. Iowa United had rented the buildings for a number of years prior to the purchase. Plans call for exterior remodeling at both places . . . Remember the glittering Wurlitzer that rose like a giant out of the pit after the main feature had ended? On a less pretentious scale, organ music has returned to two Iowa motion picture theatres in connection with the MGM operetta series. Ray Langfitt, manager of the Algona Theatre, and Jim Greene of the Grand at Estherville, brought in electric organs for the series and a keyboard concert precedes their operetta showings. Central Stater Larry Day finally made it around the four sides of his home with a paint bucket. Larry started the outside paint job last May and blames the delay on a “lazy brush” . . . Ludy Bosten is reopening the Strand at West Liberty for six weeks preceding Christmas, in a move to cooperate with the community’s merchants . . . Jack Renfro of Theatre Booking Service at Omaha was in . . . Ditto Burton Hood, who has the Lux Theatre at Massena. The Lux will close early in December . . . Happy birthday (12) to Joyce Brain of Paramount. The occasion will be marked by parades, speeches and the closing of many public offices! The coincidence, of course, that Veterans Day (11) falls on Sunday. Dick Davis, owner of the Pioneer DriveIn at Des Moines, packed up the family and went to Miami and the TOA convention. Following the TOA confab, Dick, his wife, two sons and his mother planned a threeweek tour of the sunny south . . . Karen Bitting has joined the Columbia office as general clerk . . . Margaret Shields and Gill Ries returned to their desks at Central States after autumn vacations . . . Alice Patton, Frank Rubel’s secretary at CST, vacationed in Colorado. Jon Townsend Fridley, formerly Baby Boy Friedley, celebrated his one-month birthday and expressed appreciation that his parents, Mr. and Mrs. (Varsity-Capri) Fridley finally had decided on his upfront name . . . Topping a whopping array of prizes slated to be given away at the Variety Christmas party is a chance to live it up for three nights and two days at the Desert Inn, Las Vegas. The prize takes care of the entire hotel expense, including meals. The Variety party will be December 10 at Jewish Community Center. Betty Hemstock, local WOMPI president, reports that the sale of Christmas candy and nuts is underway. In addition to 371 pounds of pecans, walnuts and the like, there are salted nuts and mouth-watering sweets. These make appropriate gifts as well as good munching at your own home, and the money will be put to good use by the WOMPIs. Members of the group also have begun their annual project of dressing dolls for the Salvation Army Christmas distribution . . . Lionel Wasson, manager of the Iowa Theatre at Sheldon, was to enter Veterans Hospital in Sioux Falls, S. D., during the week . . . Exhibitors who attended the 20th-Fox advertising seminar here on the “Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah” were informed about a wide and penetrating campaign planned for the film. Tony Abramovich, city manager for ’TriStates Theatres, hosted a screening of “Gigot” for priests and nuns on Saturday (3) at the Ingersoll. The film opens there on the 9th . . . Charles Caligiuri, Paramount manager, attended a regional managers meeting on November 5, 6 in Chicago. New Omaha Cinerama Theatre Bow Dec. 21 OMAHA — The Indian Hills Cinerama 'Theatre is scheduled to open December 21, according to an announcement by the Cooper Foundation Theatres with headquarters in Lincoln. The gi’and opening will be a benefit performance in connection with the West Omaha Sertoma Club, Cooper officials said. The first offering in the theatre built specifically for Cinerama productions along the lines of the foundation’s Cooper 'Theatre in Denver will be “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm.” The Omaha Cooper Theatre, which has been showing Cinerama productions exclusively for several years, will shut down tomporarily November 29. It will be closed until the latter part of January, then open with “Mutiny on the Bounty.” Presently showing at the Cooper is “Windjammer.” MILWAUKEE ^he results of the Children’s Film Festival held last April at Madison, in connection with such questions as “Can children appreciate and understand good quality films?” and a host of other questions, have been released and made public. The festival took two years to whip the affair into shape and drew 5,000 kids. Tickets were a quarter each, with each school in Madison allotted a specific tumber. Thousands were unable to secure tickets, so great was the demand. Read all about it in Boxoffice. William Self, a former Milwaukeean who has been an executive producer in the television division of 20th Century-Fox, has been placed in charge of all the company’s television activities by Darryl F. Zanuck, its new president. Self succeeds Peter G. Levathes whose connection with the studio has been terminated, according to a Fox spokesman. Self, now in New York, will return to Hollywood to make nine new pilot films. He went to Hollywood as an actor in 1944 and eight years later became a producer in charge of the Schlitz Playhouse television (Continued on page NC-3) BOXOFFICE ; ; November 12, 1962 NC-1