Boxoffice (Oct-Dec 1963)

MILWAUKEE J^oy E. Aitken, film magnate of the silent era, best remembered for “The Birth of a Nation,” and Clark Wilkinson, film historian, were honored guests at the Milwaukee Press Club’s Family Night festivities, during which a number of oldtime movies were shown. Regarding D. W. Griffith, Aitken had this to say: “To hear people talk of Griffith, one gets the idea that he was his own boss. From the time we hired him away from Biograph in 1913, he took orders from Harry E. Aitken (Roy’s late brother) right up to the time he left Triangle in 1917. Much of these points will be brought out in my book which will be published early in 1964.” Theatreman Don Perlewitz is going to "diversify” come the Christmas season. He plans to have a lot selling Christmas trees at 51st and Lisbon avenue . . . Since the new Mayfair Theatre opened after the new telephone directory was delivered, the theatre’s number does not appear, so here it is: SPring 1-1414. The Point Theatre, which opened the day before the Mayfair, is listed in the directory. Its number is EVergreen 3-8900. That cocktail party they gave in honor of Pat O’Brien and Dennis Morgan, who were starring in “Show Boat” at the Pabst Theatre, was attended by persons from all segments of the entertainment industry. One guest even came in on a wheelchair with his leg propped up in a cast. Then somebody suggested that Pat and Dennis autograph the cast ... by the time they did their stuff, others decided to get into the act, and the leg received a total of some 65 autographs in all colors. Phil Megna, a parttime actor, will produce, write and direct a film series to be called “The Open Eye.” It will be shot at the Holiday House here, starting November 10. Megna said he had been encouraged by Frankie Avalon and Joseph Balistrieri, both of whom are associated with Challenge Productions, Hollywood. To produce a film of this type in Hollywood, said Megna, would cost about $80,000 for the pilot film. “We don’t have that kind of money.” The film will be sent to Challenge Productions for appraisal on completion, Megna said. Gertrude Levy, former cashier at the Columbia office, is now secretary to Meyer Kahn, manager at Allied Artists on Filmrow . . . Pro Provencher, former salesman for United Artists, and now retired, still makes the rounds with his advertising gadgets and gimmicks for promotional ideas, “just to keep out of mischief, and keep in touch with the boys” . . . The Cass Theatre at Cassville has been taken over by J. Ko.tewa from F. Yocum. Services were held here for Willy Schmidt, 69, a former cellist with the old Milwaukee symphony orchestra. Schmidt began his career with orchestras in silent movie houses. Later he played with the symphony, and from 1947 to 1957 he was a cellist at Karl Ratzch’s restaurant, retiring shortly afterwards. . . . Stan Gross, manager of the Warner Theatre, is back on the job after weathering a couple of operations on his eye. Stan got a big lift in his promotion of “Mary, Mary,” with an announcement by Buelah Donahue over WTMJ-TV in color to the effect that he was screening the picture for all girls named Mary. All they needed to do was write in. A1 Elewitz, Columbia publicist, was in town. A1 formerly was the Milwaukee Sentinel’s Sunday entertainment editor. Jack Krueger, president of the Milwaukee Press Club, reports that guests of members are welcome to attend the big anniversary dinner dance scheduled for Sunday evening (10). The cocktail session starts at 6 p.m., steak dinner at 7 and the festivities immediately afterward. Jack said: “We’ve kept the fee down to $2.50 a person, which might come as a surprise, but that’s not all. Reservations must be in by the 9th. Confirmation may be had by phoning George Moffat, club manager, at BRoadway 3-7375. The club will be 78 years old, oldest club of its type in the nation. Buffalo Shop Center To Get 1,000-Seater From Eastern Edition BUFFALO — A new motion picture theatre is planned at the Thruway Plaza at Harlem and Union roads. Commer Bros. Management Co., which operates the 47store center in Cheektowaga, said construction on the 1,000-seat theatre, costing about $500,000, will start within 60 days. The building will be leased to General Drive-In Corp., a Boston-based national chain which operates 51 theatres and 13 bowling alleys in shopping centers from Maine to Florida and Texas. The theatre, of glass and brick, will include an art gallery. A General Drive-In Corp. statement emphasized: “It’s our policy to bring entertainment to the public in those places most accessible to the public.” Acoustic aids, the company said, will include an all-transistor sound system and a staggered seating plan which will feature pushback seats and an unusual amount of leg room between rows. The projectors will be able to show all types of films now in use. The screen will be the largest that can be fitted into the building and there will be three boxoffices. The Thruway Plaza theatre will be the first roofed-in motion picture house built in the Buffalo area since 1950, when the Abbott Theatre went up at 1298 Abbott Rd. in Lackawanna. Wilby-Kincey Plans Charlotte Theatre CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A contract has been awarded for construction of what is being planned as “the most elegant motion picture theatre in the South.” It will be the Park Terrace Theatre and will be at Park Road Shopping Center near the S&W Cafeteria and North Carolina National Bank. Paul R. Younts, who with A. V. Blankenship developed the center, said the theatre will cost in excess of half a million dollars. The Park Terrace, which will seat about 1,000 persons, will be operated by the Wilby-Kincey Theatres which also operates the Carolina, Imperial and Dilworth theatres here. The C. P. Street Construction Co. has the construction contract. Preliminary work has already started and completion of the building is expected in early 1964. Features of the theatre will include an unusual and large lobby giving the impression of an open garden, a richly draped auditorium, luxurious seats and luxurious carpeting. The theatre will have a glass, two-story front opening into the lobby. Lush evergreens and foliage will be planted in the lobby where lounge and concession areas will be located. A large skylight over the lobby will heighten the outdoor effect. An open stairway with a cantilevered balcony will lead to the manager’s office and equipment room. The theatre will have a curved screen which will cover the entire rear wall at the stage. Equipment for showing all types of motion pictures, including those filmed in 70mm process, will be installed. Butterfield at Pontiac Reduces to Art Field DETROIT — A change of name and policy for the Strand Theatre at Pontiac marks the passing of Butterfield from regular theatre operation in this former circuit stronghold. The Strand, with seating capacity reduced from 1,127 to 992, becomes the Forum Theatre, and is being switched over to an art policy, still under the Butterfield flag. Old records list six Butterfield houses in Pontiac, all within a block of each other, in what was considered the biggest concentration in one area of a city anywhere in the country. Pontiac (population 82,223) is the biggest city within 50 miles of Detroit. It marks the nearest approach to Detroit of the Butterfield circuit operation, which once had 100 theatres and was rated as the largest independent circuit operation in the country at the time. Paradoxically, the headquarters of the circuit has been maintained in Detroit for close to half a century. BOONTON, N. J. Large Core Greater Crater Area means MAXIMUM LIGHT Evenly Distributed NC-4 BOXOFFICE :: November 4, 1963