The Exhibitor (1951)

NT-2 EXHIBITOR . . . Jerome Reinhart has come to terms with the projectionists as regards his Harrisburg, Pa., Drive-In and all pic¬ kets have been withdrawn. For the time being, the ozoner is operating weekends only. The League of Showmen’s Wives held the annual meeting in the Variety Club rooms. . . . Leo Jones, Upper Sandusky, O., notified exchanges that he is re¬ opening his Forest, Forest, O. Hope Kramer, daughter of Associated Circuit executive Abe Kramer, started before the cameras at RKO. She is ap¬ pearing with Janis Carter, another Cleveland girl, and Robert Young in “Half Breed.” Local 160, projectionists’ BowlingLeague will meet the Detroit Nightin¬ gales in Cleveland on April 3 in the first of two matches to see who gets the William Kramer Trophy for the year. On April 17, the Cleveland team goes to Detroit for the final match. The trophy, which has been held by each of the contestants, is currently in the posses¬ sion of the Cleveland team, presided over by Tom Smart. Price scale for the reserved seat road¬ show presentation of “Cyrano de Ber¬ gerac” at the Lower Mall has been revised downward from $2.40 top to $1.80 top. Sales resistance was so strong that the Lower Mall management sought consent from the Stanley Kramer organization for a price change. Detroit Detroit juke box addicts could hai'dly help knowing “Born Yesterday” was playing at the Michigan. Publicity man¬ ager Alice Gorham stickered 2200 music machines with urgings to play “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and then go hear Judy Holliday sing it to Brod Crawford in the Columbia picture. John Tatu, Jr., Tatu and Metes Cir¬ cuit, has a new son, Raymond John. Television may force half of Detroit’s 181 theatres to close down within two years, it was predicted. This dark picture was given by theatre owners to the Com¬ mon Council, sitting as a board of review on tax assessments. Irving Goldberg, partner with Charles Komer in Com¬ munity Theatres, speaking for a theatre group, estimated that TV already had cut into attendance in Detroit and nationally by 50 per cent. Goldberg also revealed the owners’ private rating of current TV shows as to their effect on movie business. “When there’s a prize fight, our attend¬ ance falls off,” he said. “When Milton Berle is on, it falls off a little more, and when Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis are on, we really are in trouble. The Kefauver crime hearings have been murder.” Goldberg and other owners were protesting continuing high assess¬ ments. The assessors, however, contended that theatres still were showing a profit. Dillon Krepps, manager, United Artists, greeted Thelma Ritter at Willow Run Airport on her arrival in conjunction R. D. O’Keefe, who for the past three years has been operating a drive-in, which he built at Bloomington, Ind., was recently named zone manager for the Denver-Salt Lake City zone for Hall¬ mark Productions, Inc., by Kroger Babb. with “The Mating Season,” United Artists. Milton Hale, Paramount exploiteer, arranged 55 window displays in super¬ markets advertising “The Lemon Drop Kid.” Lemon drop candy in large bowls are shown in the displays, and those guessing how many drops are in the jar win free passes. Hale also reported that a party was given at the swank Detroit Yacht Club for all heads of supermarkets to discuss the advertising campaign. Mike Simon, Paramount branch man¬ ager, and Milton Hale, exploiteer, re¬ turned from a sales meeting in Pitts¬ burgh. ... A grand opera week was inaugurated at the Palmer Park. New operas were shown each day. William Flemion has taken over as manager, first-run Coronet, owned by Albert Dezel. Sam Carver held the post before he took over operation of the Jefferson and Park. Carver returned last fall from Kansas City, where he was managing theatres. He is planning to take over the Oliver and Sheridan from the Auto City Circuit. Indianapolis Financial support for COMPO was urged in an ATOI bulletin. The same Francis, U-I’s “talking mule” star re¬ cently received a “Patsy Award” as one of the “Picture Animal Top Stars Of The Year” on the stage of the Cathay Circle, Hollywood. The awards were made by the American Humane Association. On hand to congratulate Francis were, at right, Chill Wills, who was Francis’ voice; Piper Laurie, featured in the new Francis picture, “Francis Goes To The Races,” and actor Ronald Reagan, m.c. Tommy Phillips, left, a member of Nor¬ man Siegel’s publicity staff at the Para¬ mount studio, on the coast, was recently awarded a trophy as the best press agent of the year by Edward Strong, Sunday editor. The Los Angeles Times. bulletin also questioned whether allow¬ ing free, children who accompany adults, into theatres would help the boxoffice. It claimed that it had been tried in the state, without any measur¬ able change in children’s business. The federal tax also has to be paid if the theatre continues to charge regular ad¬ mission for an unaccompanied child. The second meeting of the “Ned Depinet Drive” was held at RKO. Present were Nat Levy, eastern division sales manager, and his assistant, Frank Drumm, home office, New York, and Morris Lefko, district manager, Cleve¬ land. . . . Bernard Broger, manager, Republic, visited Nashville, Tenn., to call on the Crescent and Rockwood Amuse¬ ment Companies. . . . Russell Bleeke joined the ELC sales organization, and will call on the exhibitors in the southern territory. Gene Tunick, manager, ELC, was in New York to attend a branch managers’ meeting. . . . W. C. Kohlhorst, Fairy, Napanee, Ind., has been released from the Elkhart, Ind., hospital after being confined by pneumonia. . . . Gene Rovenstein, Comet, Burbon, Ind., redecorated his lobby. . . . The March business meet¬ ing of the Colosseum will be held on March 31 in the Hotel Antlers. Kenneth L. Dotterer will preside. . . . Norma Wilkerson, bookkeeper, Warners, is vaca¬ tioning in Phoenix, Ariz., visiting her sister. Bonnie Bush is the new availability clerk at United Artists. . . . The United Film Booking Service, operated by Ted Mendlessohn, will do the booking and buying for the Elwood Drive-In, Elwood, Ind., and the Noblesville Drive-In, Noblesville, Ind. . . . Booker James Franklin, 20th-Fox, confined by a virus infection, returned to work. Exhibitors on Film Row were: Mrs. M. A. Wood, Best, Terre Haute, Ind.; Kenneth Bernard, Oxford, Oxford, Ind,, and the Comet, Otterbein, Ind.; Mrs. Verne Gorell, Isis, Winamac, Ind.; J. Whitley, Colonial, Kokomo, Ind.; Ken¬ neth Law, Cozy, Argos, Ind.; Mrs. Hilda Long, Hippodrome, Sheridan, Ind.; Guy Hancock, Prewitt, Plainfield, Ind.; Robert Hudson, Jr., Hudson Circuit, Richmond, Ind.; Floyd Morrow, Drive-In, Shively, March 28, 1951