The Exhibitor (1951)

NT-2 EXHIBITOR On the recent opening day of Warners’ “Force Of Arms,” Circle, Indianapolis, a featured stage presentation was the in¬ duction of a WAC recruit. She was accompanied by the 35th Army Band, an escort, a color guard, and a few ranking officers who came. The stunt was arranged by J. E. Castanias, assistant to manager W. C. Wolverton. Eddis Johnson, manager, Washington, Bay City, Mich., and Harold Bernstein, owner, Bernstein Circuit, recently chatted with Broderick Crawford when the Columbia star visited Bay City to make personal appearances with “The Mob.” Ernest T. Conlon, general secretary, “Movie Theatre Time in Michigan,” says the program must be continued. The committee has extensive plans to stimu¬ late and encourage immediate aggressive actions through clinics held throughout the state, where members of Women’s Clubs, PTA, and other groups may attend, and where speakers representing the film industry may attend, and where these speakers representing the industry can present the theatre in a favorable light. This city is rapidly becoming an island in a sea of sex films. Each week brings an increase in the number of “adult feature” films being shown at theatres just outside the Detroit city limits. Several drive-ins in particular are almost completely devoted to the pseudo “educa¬ tional’’ films. They have been kept out of Detroit itself by the untiring vigi¬ lance of Police Censor Herb Case. He has put in many hours of overtime re¬ cently checking attempted inroads of the cheap sex films. But Case’s jurisdic¬ tion extends only to the city limits. He has no power to close down a theatre right across the street from Detroit despite the most glaring violations of decent standards. He has received strong support, however, from the Michigan Catholic, powerful organ of Catholic opinion in Michigan. That paper re¬ cently loosed an editorial blast at one of the films which it considered most objectionable. The question of whether the few theatres violating the ethical code of Michigan entertainers may be curbed is a matter for considerable heated debate. Some exhibitors who de¬ finitely do not approve of the type of fare being offered at the offending thea¬ tres still defend the right of those theatres to offer sensational films. Others argue that the offensive pictures are a blow at the entire entertainment in¬ dustry, and urge a crackdown to keep these few theatre owners on the line of moral decency. A stubborn fire in the rear of a bakery located next to the Hazel Park sent 200 patrons out into the street. Gerald Stillwell, manager, stopped the show when he discovered the fire next door, and sent the patrons out to avoid panic. Dillon Krepps, managing director, United Artists, was guest speaker at the October meeting of the Greater Detroit Motion Picture Council. His sub¬ ject was “Research as It Applies to Motion Pictures.” Harold Sandelman, one time connected with Broder Theatres and now salesman for 20th-Fox, is leaving to go into the automobile selling business. He joins two other ex-showmen, Jack Goldhar and Benjamin Zimmer, who operate the Goldhar-Zimmer auto agency. Irving Goldberg, Detroit “Movietime” chairman, last week proposed that a co¬ operative theatre gift book plan be launched as a permanent product of the “Movietime, U.S.A.” campaign, and was scheduled to meet with other industry representatives to work out details of this and other promotion ideas. Under Goldberg’s plan, a central clearing house would be established to handle redemption of tickets in the gift book, and take care of the situation created by varying admission prices. The gift book program would be put into effect in time to meet the Christmas gift-buying season. Ray Brown, manager, State, Cuyahoga Falls, O., recently received from Mayor George Anderson acting on behalf of Jay Emanuel Publications, Inc., a merit award from EXHIBITOR, rating the theatre “as one of the most modern and well-appointed built during the preceeding year.” The State is owned and operated by the Washington Circuit. Over 2,000 residents of Bryan, O., turned out recently to greet Jeanne Crain and Ernest Pascal when they arrived to take part in the town’s celebration of “Movie¬ time, U.S.A.” Left to right are seen Ralph Ely, secretary, Chamber of Commerce; Miss Crain, Robert Kerr, head, Chamber of Commerce, Paul Brinkman, and producer-director Pascal. It was “Movietime, U.S.A.” in Upper Sandusky, O., recently when Jeanne Crain, 20th-Fox star, and Ernest Pascal met Mayor C. M. Beaston, Superinten¬ dent of Schools Roger Downing and Leo T. Jones, theatre owner of the area. Indianapolis Till Luckett, Dream, French Lick, Ind., is confined at home after an automobile accident. . . . Bruce Kixmiller, Colonial, Bicknell, Ind., took a day off to go nutting. He is an authority on wild nuts in Indiana forests. . . . John Schwin, Wigton, LaGrange, Ind., left with his wife and a party of friends for Miami, Fla. . . . Kenneth Law, Cozy, Argus, Ind., accompanied his mother to Roches¬ ter, Wis., where she will enter Mayo Brothers’ clinic. Jesse LaBrun, Kent, South Whitley, Ind., was rushed to a hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., for an emergency appen¬ dectomy. . . . Roger Wright, Madrid, Ackron, Ind., was happy with the re¬ sponse from civic personalities regard¬ ing “Movietime, U.S.A.” However, he was disappointed by the absence of many stars. . . . Harold B. Hyle, Star, Fremont, Ind., is getting ready to leave for his annual deer hunt at Messagoloi, Canada, about 100 miles from nowhere. Monogram is busy readying its new location at 440-442 North Illinois Street. . . . William Carroll, executive secretary, Allied Theatres Owners, Inc., and Presi¬ dent Trueman Rembusch, Indiana Allied, attended the meeting of Allied MidSouth of TOA, Memphis. . . . Verne October 31, 1951