The Exhibitor (1949)

THE EXHIBITOR NT3 It already has one drive-in owned by A. B. Reese. Florida CORAL GABLES New manager of the Tropicaire DriveIn is Wood Kirkpatrick. DE FUNIAK SPRINGS The Ritz recently held a benefit for the Girl Scouts. Admission was clothing for needy children overseas. H I ALEAH Wometco Theatres, Miami, opened the new Essex, a gala event with a parade headed by Mayor Milander and owners Mitchell Wolfson and Sidney Meyer. House seats 1,200. All proceeds of the opening night went to the Hialeah Optimists Club. MIAMI Co-operating with The Miami Daily News in its recent celebration of The Youth Round Up's first birthday was the Bernstein Circuit which donated 200 passes to the Dixie and Little River. Bill Pagan, Dixie, who did the distributing, was a very popular fel¬ low. Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Corbett, general manager, Claughton Theatres, Inc., spent a week’ s vacation in Nassau, B. W. I., recently. ... Mark Chartrand, publicity director, Wometco, is keep¬ ing a sensitive finger on the pulse of proposed state legislation favor¬ ing an amusement tax. Ray Nye, assistant, Rosetta, was very enthusiastic over the booking for a week of jane Morley, “the girl with the radio mind" ....The confec¬ tions and popcorn business at the Biltmore is definitely increasing, with the personable blonde candy gal, Rhoda Haber, doing the vending. “Get well'‘wishes from fellow Variety Clubbers went tc Harry Saffer, who had an unexpected stay at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The Saffer family energy is evident in the thriving business which Bernie and Rosalind Saffer have worked up as "jack and Jill" caterers. ... At the Colony, where “Paisan" has been running, manager Ryt Suesse had a very unique lobby display. ... Womentco’ s WTVJ, televison station, is progressively building up an interesting schedule. ... Jack Heggerty, manager, Normandy, was among the many who arranged a special Easter Saturday matinee for the youngsters with a stage presentation. At the Florida, James Bennett, manager, arranged a very lovely floral tribute to the first 100 ladies at¬ tending on Easter Sunday, and doled out pink carnations, and red and pink roses. ... Eagle Lion special publicity man, Dick Dube, was in. . . . The newly opened Essex, under the managership of Walton oakerson, continues to thrill patrons. Additional services include “umbrella lending” checking services, and“call cards" for patrons expecting to be paged. The 25th anniversary of the founding of Metro was observed by the preview showing of “The Stratton Story" and "The Secret Garden", followed by dinner parties for theatre owners, civic leaders, and press representatives. The Colony was the place, A. B. Padgett, manager, MGM* s Atlanta office, was host at both occasions. "My Dream Is Yours” has its dual world premiere at the Paramount and Beach. In addition to a big adver¬ tising campaign, the promotion in¬ cluded the cooperation of local disc jockeys, who staged a "Doris Day Week”, each station devoting an entire day to plugging the star’s recordings of the hit tunes from “My Dream Is Yours". With the cooperation of The Daily News, Bugs Bunny, famous cartoon character who appears in the picture, was shown in ads with full credit in pre-Easter ads of a group of local merchants. OKEECHOBEE The new drive-in will open on May i. TALLAHASSEE A resolution memorializing Congress to reduce or abolish the federal tax on amusement admissions, so that municipalities might impose similar levies locally, was introduced in the Florida legislature by Representatives Archie Clement and James A. McClure, Jr., Pinellas County, and Neil C. McMullen and John L. Branch, Hills¬ borough, Fla. After asserting that the state and its various municipalities are in dire need of revenues, the resolution declares that taxes levied upon admissions to amusements “is essentially in the field of taxation that should be within the province of the state and municipalities". The resolution contended that state and local authorities could collect such^ a tax with a minimum of expense. Georgia DALTON Sunday movies became legal here when City Council voted to grant a license to the Veterans of Foreign Wars post to sponsor showings at that time. The post has been sponsoring Sunday shows since last summer. GAINESVILLE John Thompson, owner, Drive-In, changed the name to the Family Open Ai r. MACON City Council has given approval for showing of Sunday movies. NASHVILLE The Open Air reopened. Chester Morris is manager. SMYRNA C. F. Bransoome has taken over the Janquill from his brother. Mississippi TUPELO John Miller, owner, 78 Drive-In, with 500-car capacity, announced the spot will open soon. North Carolina DURHAM Midway Drive-In Theatre, Inc., ob¬ tained a certificate of incorporation from the North Carolina Secretary of State to operate theatres with author¬ ized capital stock of $50,000. In¬ corporators are J. N. Wallace, Kath¬ leen Morris, and A. H. Borland, all of Durham. The Carol ina-Duke Drive-In, located on the Chapel Hill Boulevard, an¬ nounced a new policy of charging only 75 cents per car, including tax, with no limit to the number of passengers. KANNAPOLI S Jackson Park Theatre, Inc. , obtained a certificate of incorporation from the North Carolina Secretary of State to operate theatres with authorized capital stock of $100,000. Incorpora¬ tors are H.M. Sloop, j. V. Dwiggins, and A. A. Mitchell, all of Kannapolis, and others. KING The King, new drive-in whose con¬ struction was delayed by bad weather, held its formal opening on April 15. It is located at the intersection of East Main Street and the Dan River Road. KINSTON E. S. Holland has started work on his drivein. OXFORD The Sky-Line Drive-In, Henderson Highway, held its formal opening. Clarence, Randolph, and Hal Currin are the operators, and the theatre has been equipped with the latest RCA projectors and sound equipment. WINSTON SALEM The Carolina has installed new seats and aisle lights and new ornamental shell wall brackets. New stage dra¬ peries and curtains are to be in¬ stalled, along with a new screen. In¬ stallation of Motiograph-Mirrophonic projectors also is planned. South Carolina CAMDEN City Council has okehed Sunday movie showings. COLUMBI A Completion of two new drive-ins here will soon bring the total num¬ ber operating in the area to four. Construction has begun on a new 400car drive-in to be located one mile north of the city. It will be named North 21, and will be operated by T. G. Castles and R. C. Saunders. They hope to have it open within three weeks. Another new drive-in, to ac¬ commodate 230-cars, will be located on Rosewood Drive in front of the Fairground. W. T. Cameron said this spot will be known as the Sky-Way, and will be opien on May l. Two other drive-ins, the Alta-Vista, an inde¬ pendent, and the Starlight, operated (Continued on next page) April 27, 1949