The Exhibitor (1951)

EXHIBITOR NT-1 NEWS OF THE New York City Crosstown The film exchange committee of the Joint Defense Appeal is now moving ahead in its efforts to mobilize support behind the JDA campaign of Greater New York, it was announced by Saul Trauner, branch manager, Columbia, chairman. The committee, part of the Joint Defense Appeal amusement divi¬ sion, includes Ben Abner, Warners; Lou Allerhand, MGM ; Abe Dickstein, 20thCentury-Fox; Nat Goldberg, U-I; Ed¬ ward Mullen, United Artists; William Murphy, Republic; Jack Pearly, Para¬ mount; Jack Safer, Monogram; Herman Silverman, RKO, and George Waldman, Eagle Lion Classics. Bosley Crowther, motion picture critic, The New York Times, was the special guest speaker at a meeting of the Film Board of Trade. Introduced by Louis Nizer, counsel to the board, he made an off-the-record talk on censorship and motion picture attendance. A question and answer period followed. John K. Hilliard, chief engineer, Altec Lansing Corporation, left for a six-week trip to Europe for the purpose of sur¬ veying the development of microphones and loudspeakers in the principal coun¬ tries of Europe. Phil Reisman, RKO vice-president in charge of foreign distribution, returned to the home office following a tour of the company’s offices in South America. . . . Margaret Sheridan, east with Winches¬ ter Productions’ publicist “Scoop” ConIon, on Howard Hawks’ “The Thing,” left for Wilmington, N. C. to be “queen” of the annual Azalea Festival. . . . Thor Heyerdahl arrived by plane to be honor guest at the American premiere of, “Kon-Tiki,” Sutton. Interboro Circuit announced the resig¬ nation of supervisor Samuel Handler, associated with the organization for 15 years. Handler is leaving the industry to enter the real estate field . in Long Island. In an effort to obtain closer co¬ ordination between the theatres and the home office, the following managers will now have local supervisory duties. Those being promoted are: Herman Slepian, Clifford Loth, James Pisapia, Richard Berner, and Abraham Vallet. Lew Pres¬ ton, with the organization for 25 years, is not affected by the changes, and re¬ mains in his capacity as a supervisor. The amusement division, United Jew¬ ish Appeal will hold a “father-and-son” luncheon on May 3 to set its campaign for overseas Jewish aid into high gear, it was announced at a meeting of the executive committee of the division by Sam Rosen, Fabian Theatres, and Abra¬ ham Schneider, Columbia, UJA division chairmen. Guests of honor at the lunch Aiding in the advance promotion of LT-I’s “Lip Front,” premiered recently at Loew’s State, New York City, Tom Ewell, left, starred in the film, meets Walter Schoenfeld, who served with the 45th Division in Africa and Sicily with Bill Mauldin, GI cartoonist-writer, whose best-selling book inspired the picture. eon will be past chairmen of the UJA amusement division, Barney Balaban, Jack Cohn, Matthew M. Fox, S. H. Fabian, Billy Rose, Fred J. Schwartz, and Albert Warner. Herbert Horn, RKO general manager for Germany, arrived for his annual home office conferences with Phil Reis¬ man, vice-president in charge of foreign distribution. A1 Kahans, Metro manager, Thailand and French Indo-China, was in for con¬ ferences with home office executives of Loew’s International Corporation. Bernard Brooks is now doing the buy¬ ing and booking for the Hollowbrook, Peekskill. Cy Seymour, formerly with National Screen Service, is now associated with Harry and Sam Goldstone, Famous. Cinema Lodge, B’nai B’rith, observed a Presidents’ Night at the Hotel Astor with Tony Martin as guest of honor. In a special feature, several of Cinema’s outstanding members of the past year were presented with B’nai B’rith cita¬ tions by the various Cinema Lodge past presidents, Alfred W. Schwalberg, Ar¬ thur Israel, Jr., Irving Greenfield, Adolph Schimel, Jack H. Levin, Robert M. Weitman, S. Arthur Glixon, and Saul E. Rogers. Those receiving citations in¬ cluded Leo Jaffe, Henry Randel, Myron Sattler, Richard Malkin, Milton Living "Home-I-Tis'' Featured In Schine Campaign Gloversville — -The Schine Circuit has inaugurated a co-op ad campaign in three upstate cities in an effort to entice patrons back to out-of-the-home enter¬ tainment. Plans call for the extension of the newspaper-radio drive to other cities in which Schine houses are operated. The campaign, conceived and organized by Gus W. Lampe, Schine general manager, features the coined word, “Home-I-Tis,” described as “A chronic condition of dis¬ content and boredom caused by habitual¬ ly staying at home.” The towns first getting the campaign are Auburn, Os¬ wego, and Watertown. Some of the catch lines being used are “Are You A Slave To Your Home?”; “Mister, Why Not Take The Chains Off Your Wife?”; “Family In A Rut?’’ etc. The ad series points out that the movies have color NOW, and highlights the super-size of theatre screens as com¬ pared with television, as well as the re¬ laxing comfort of the theatre. Bumper strips, window cards, table tents, radio spots, four trailers, and 40 x 60’s for the theatre lobbies are all being used in the campaign being participated in by restaurants, night clubs, taverns, taxi companies, parking lots, gas sta¬ tions, candy and sandwich shops, etc. In the final details of drafting the campaign Lampe was ably assisted by Bernard Diamond, assistant to L. W. Schine; Seymour Morris, advertising and publicity director, and Lou Hart, zone manager, Northern New York. ston, Jack Weissman, and Robert K. Shapiro. The Gotham, 950-seat Times Square house, recently operated by Brandt Theatres, was taken over by Israel Zatkin, general manager, Lane Circuit. The house will be closed for extensive altera¬ tions and redecorating, and reopen late this month. A new name for the house is being contemplated by Zatkin. Tom Baldridge, MGM field represen¬ tative for Charlotte and Washington, D. C., was in for a conference with Dan S. Terrell, head of the company’s ex¬ ploitation forces. . . . Jesse Lasky, co¬ producer, MGM’s “The Great Caruso,” arrived from the coast. Upstate New York Warner Theatre managers in Syracuse at a recent “April Shower of Showmanship” meeting, at which zone manager Charles A. Smakwitz presided. April 11, 1951 NEW YORK