The Exhibitor (1951)

NT-4 EXHIBITOR proper guidance, and declared that juve¬ nile crime rates are lower in the smaller communities, where the motion picture is the sole source of entertainment. Ed¬ wards buttressed his defense of the mov¬ ies as a good influence on youth. Salt Lake City The picture showing the life of Ru¬ dolph Valentino may never be shown in Utah because of a law peculiar to this state. W. G. Seib, Salt Lake branch manager, Columbia, announced his New York office has wired him to keep the picture out of local theatres. Reason is that the Valentino heirs threaten suit on grounds that the picture invades their privacy. Utah and West Virginia are the only states where this law reigns. The picture had been scheduled for the Centre. Charles M. Pincus, retiring manager, Centre, was honor-guest at the Old Folks semi-annual theatre party at the Utah when more than a 1000 members watched him receive a scroll written by 72-year old Milton H. Ross. It was presented to him for having originated the old folks theatre parties 13 years ago. Seme 340 convicts watched their first film in their new home. Virtually all the men behind bars sat in individual seats to watch it in the prison’s new audi¬ torium, and there was room to spare. San Antonio Clarence H. Moss has been recalle 1 to duty with the USAF. He is at present manager, Broadway, Interstate Circuit. . . . Bob Shelton, former manager, High¬ land, is now managing the Uptown. . . . Jack Walker, Uvalde, Tex., has been named manager, Highland. Ken Lemke, former public relations director, Statewide Theatres, is now in a similar capacity with the Josephine. . . . Franklyn Flores, assistant booker, Clasa Mohme, had a siege of pneumonia. . . . Special Good Friday services were held at the Empire through the coopera¬ tion of Interstate. Among exhibitors in to book were: Mrs. E. I. Cuellar, Rex, Mission, Tex.; Ramon Ruenes, Victoria, Brownsville, Tex.; Mrs. E. R. Ruenes, Ruenes, San Benito, Tex., and L. E. Harvey, man¬ ager, Falcon Dam, Falcon Village, Tex. The Aztec, Snyder, Tex., was robbed. ... Jeff Wolfe, manager, Gulf DriveIn, Corpus Christi, Tex., booked a high wire and limber pole artist for a threenight engagement. The Osage Drive-In has been opened at Cornus Christi. Tex., by Chester W. Kyle, Kingsville, Tex., and Leter Miller, Corpus Christi. The drive-in cost $165.000 to build, and has a capacity of 650 cars. ■ Kyle is partner in two theatres at Kingsville. San Francisco Harold Wirthwein. western sales man¬ ager, Monogram and Allied Artists, ar¬ rived for conferences regarding northern California releases of “Navy Bound.” Cliff Giessman, district manager, Oak¬ land, Cal., Blumenfeld Theatres, re¬ signed. With 25 years of theatre manage¬ ment behind him, he has not announced his plans for the future. . . . Jack McDougall, manager, Fox, Oakland, Cal., is recuperating from an operation. . . . Graham Kislingbury, distinct manager, North Coast Theatres, and a member of the “Gang Dinner” committee of the Union League and San Francisco Press Club, will play host to MGM producer Dore Schary, on May 11, when he will be guest of honor at the club’s “Gang Dinner.’’ Hulda McGinn, public relations repre¬ sentative, California Theatres Associa¬ tion, will be in Sacramento, Cal., for the next three months representing theatres in northern and southern California at the legislative session. . . . Jean Gomes, a former resident of Moss Landing, Cal., is the receptionist at George Mann’s Theatres. . . . Harold Citron, general manager, North Coast Theatres, and Norman Newman, head film buyer, were in. . . . Gladys Paul, WB contact clerk, returned after a flu attack. . . . Max Bercutt, Warner exploiteer, with head¬ quarters in San Francisco was ill at his home in Lcs Angeles. . . . L. E. Tillman, Columbia branch manager, at¬ tended the company’s branch manager’s meeting in New York. Inez Brodie, his secretaiy, returned after hospitalization. . . . Dan McLean, coowner, Embassy, returned from an early vacation in Mexico City. . . . Mary Marquard, sec¬ retary to assistant branch manager John Coyne, MGM, returned after ill¬ ness. . . . Page Woodside, MGM bookerstenegrapher, resigned to return to Flor¬ ida. . . . Mike Naify, Golden State Thea¬ tres chief; Herman Wobber, western sales manager, 20th-Fox, and Fox West Coast northern California advertising and publicity director Fay Reeder were the northern California showmen who at¬ tended the $100-plate Conference of Christians and Jews dinner in Los An¬ geles. The 1951 annual convention of the PCCITO has been set or July 16, 17, 18, and 19 at Del Mar, Cal. July 16 will be registration day, and delegates will be housed at the headquarters, Del Mar Turf and Surf Club. The business ses¬ sions will be held on the same lines as for the past two years. Delegates will work in committee to bring back their recommendations to the convention floor. AFL janitors called a strike against 21 San Francisco theatres and 65 others elsewhere in northern California, but temporarily postponed a threatened walkout in Fox West Coast and several other major houses. Struck theatres here were of United-Paramount, Golden State, and Nasser Brothers. Exempted firstruns “pending further negotiations” were the Fox, Loew’s Warfield, Golden Gate, Orpheum, and United Artists. Other downtown exemptions were the United Nations, Esquire and Embassv. George Hardy, international vice-presi¬ dent, Building Service Employees Union, said the main issue was a demand for pay increases, and that the union and the employers were “not far apart’’ on the demand for a straight 10 per cent raise in the present $12.75 daily pay scale. George Bowser, general manager, Fox West Coast, called the union office in Los Angeles, and asked for a truce. Therefore, picketing of Fox was post¬ poned pending a meeting. Similar ar¬ rangements were made with Loew’s Warfield and other exempted houses. Seattle Thirty-five executives and Wsahington and Oregon managers of Evergreen Theatres assembled in an all-day meet¬ ing to launch the National Theatres spring drive in the ninth Charles P. Skouras Showmanship Campaign. The meeting ended with a cocktail party and dinner. Among the executives present were: Frank L. Newman, president; W. H. Thedford, vice-president; George Pat¬ terson, treasurer; Vic Gauntlett, direc¬ tor of publicity; Frank Christie, buyer; Lowell Parmentier, purchasing agent; Carl Mahne, Washington district man¬ ager; Mose Mesher, Oregon district man¬ ager; Bob Rosenberg, Washington book¬ er, and Lew Messier, Oregon booker. Floyd Henninger, after an absence of eight years dui-ing which he served var¬ ious other companies, returned to the booking department of RKO. He suc¬ ceeds Robert Walker, assistant booker, who recently resigned to become a sales¬ man for Monogram. . . . John Bateman, who resigned from the booking depart¬ ment at Paramount, has been appointed by William Forman as manager, Fife Drive-In, near Tacoma, Wash. Barney Rose, western district man¬ ager, Universal-International, was here from California. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Ed Darby, Nachez, Wash., reopened their Top-Hi Drive-In, Toppenish, Wash. They also operate the Nachez. . . . Girls of the 20th Century-Fox officed honored Frances Seegar with a dinner at The Norselander. Mrs. Seegar recently re¬ signed as cashier. Margaret Colasurdo, assistant cashier, has been promoted to cashier. . . . lone Reynolds has suc¬ ceeded Pat James as receptionist, 20th Century-Fox. Mrs. James retired to await a blessed event. . . . Bud Hamil¬ ton, Republic salesman, returned from a swing through Southwest Washington. Among state Northwest exhibitors on The Row were: Peter Koppinger, Montesano; Walter Graham, Shelton; G. O. Spencer and Les Theuerkauf, Tacoma; Norman Clyde, Langley; Lionel Brown, Edmonds; A. G. Peechia, Eatonville, and Keith Beckwith, North Bend. Sam Nathanson arrived from Los Angeles to arrange the road show en¬ gagement of “Cyrano de Bergerac,” Met¬ ropolitan. . . . Kay Rex, stenographer, Republic, for the past 10 years, retired. She has been succeeded by June Taranina. . . . Henry Haustein, Paramount, returned from Los Angeles. . . . Frank L. and Mrs. Newman returned from an extended stay in Palm Springs, Cal. March 28, 1951