The Exhibitor (May-Aug 1948)

THE EXH I B I TOR NT-3 Mrs. Walter Doyle, owners, Rivoli, Troy, spent a weekend in New York City ....Mrs. Elizabeth Hawkins, mother of Mary Flynn, Upstate Theatres, Inc., entered St. Peters Hospital for ob¬ servation. Visitors were.: Sid Kulick, Bell, and David Miller, U-I district manager ....Joe Weinstein, Warner Theatres’ booker, was in Buffalo. -M.E.B. BU FFALO Laura Wells, special Eagle Lion home office publicity representative, was in assisting on "Ruthless”, 20thCentury. Jerry Lipow, FC representative, and wife, Eleanor, have found an apartment, and moved to 6 New Southgate Road. . . . Metro’s short subjects drive is off to a good start, according to Mary Ryan, short subjects supervisor. A trip to the coast is the prize if Buffalo leads on closing day. Mary Golbersuch, MGM assistant cash¬ ier, has been confined due to a virus infection. ... The Film Building’s own Pearl Sherwood is now on the mend, having been confined to her home for the past month with an arthritic con¬ dition. Carl Rindscen, Shea’ s Buffalo mana¬ ger, and his wife, Nan, returned last week from their vacation triptoCalifornia. . . . Herb Pickman, Warners’ exploiteer, was in last week to work with Charlie Taylor and staff on “Silver River”, George Mason’ s Shea’ s Great Lakes. ... Bil 1 Brereton, Basil Circuit advertising director, was con¬ valescing in St. Francis Hospital following an eye operation. A leading used car dealer went for a cooperative ad on the Stanley Steamer stunt during the showing of "Summer Holiday”, Shea’s Buf falo. ... Eddie Miller, Shea’ s Hippodrome, capitalized on the current safety campaign spon¬ sored by The Courier Express and the Buffalo police department by bringing back the timely MGM short, “Drunk Driving”. Max Yellen, 20th Century, was named chairman, motion picture division, United Jewish Fund Drive. Buffalo’ s share is $1,771,525. He expects to cover all film exchanges and theatres for checks and pledges to this worthy cause. Harry Cotton, Alexander Film Company representative, was in to find a local representative for his company to re¬ place Andy Anderson, recently resigned. -M.G. MALONE Bert Ruder and assistant Lloyd Barton, Schine' s Malone, recently promoted a full-page of co-op. ads from local merchants on “Unconquered”. The film’ s title was cleverly worked into each of the ads with the theatre ad centered on the page, making for a very striking effect. When Un i v e r s a l I n t e r n a t i o n al ‘ s "Dear Murderer" recently opened atNew York’s Winter Garden, the company aided the local Green Cross For Safety campaign with the above booth. Besides providing effective bally for both campaign and picture, the booth spearheaded the dis¬ tribution of 10,000 heralds containing entries to a safety contest tieup. ROCHESTER Although five drive-in theatres were projected hereabouts some weeks ago, none is actually under way, and some exhibs are reported cooling because of high costs. The Greece Town Board quickly rejected a petition of George Barrus for a zoning permit for a drivein on a Latta Road site after neighbor¬ hood squawks. James Eshelman, Paramount city mana¬ ger, attended the candy convention in Chicago, and was to speak on the Drincolator, which had a successful tryout in the remodeled Paramount. .. .Loew’ s manager Lester Pollock was disappointed in plans for getting a new auto when the Chrysler strike stymied a fleet deal. enlargements in color for the lobby, special newspaper stories, radio con¬ tests featuring recordings from the film, search for French war brides and Ex-G. I.’s entertained by Miss Bergman during the war, book and music store tieups, posters on light poles and newsstands, plus exceptionally heavy newspaper advertising. Rochester was one of five situations dreaming up test promotion campaigns for “Hatter’ s Castle”, with James Eshelman, Ed Wahl, and Arthur Krolick combining talents. It featured a special letter to a selected mailing list, use of unique teaserads in thedailies, window cards, ' promotion via radio, and continuous warning that it's not for children. William Tishkoff, veteran Rochester exhibitor, bought out his partners in the Central Drive-In, Gradon Hodges and Elmer Ellis, and dropped his action to dissolve the corporation. He quickly opened the theatre, and announced that in-car speakers would be installed as soon as possible. Dave Hamill, Embassy, switched from burlesque to split policy of vaudeville and films weekends, and double feature films the other four days.... A street in Caledonia is named for Morris Slotnick, area theatre man, who, with a partner, launched a house-building program there five years ago. Exhibs say those package adventure films pay off as long as they are topnotchers, but the publ ic quickly senses when weakies are spotted in. ...Pro¬ jectionist Louis Goler expects to bring in the Straits Shows again this summer. The Capitol lobby is now a study in shades of rose following an attractive redecoration job, and the candy .stand is being remodeled for installation of a Drincolator before arrival of hot weather. ... Tex Ritter and his horse were booked in for the opening of Max Raney’ s Bar M Ranch, East Bloomfield. John W. Coyne reported that the Parkr way Drive-In, being built near Canan¬ daigua by Sam Slotnick and Sam Gandel, was more than half completed. It will have capacity for 700 autos, with possi¬ bility of expansion, in-car speakers, and oiled runways. -D.R. Manager. Arthur Krolick, Paramount, arranged a "saturation” radio campaign for “The Big Clock”. ... Manager Lester Pollock, Loew' s, aided by Louise Wilson and Bill Healy, put on one of his biggest campaigns for “Arch of Triumph”, in¬ cluding huge spotlighted photographic SCARS DA LE W. Stewart McDonald, vice-president Warner Theatres, recently took office as president, Town Club (Continued on page NT-4) Trying to pick a winner in the Skou r as Roosevelt, Flushing, L . I . , "Cutest Child ' contest really had the judges stopped, at least temporarily, when they had to select from nearly 300 photographs. The j udging took pi ac e at a luncheon given by manager Mildred A. Fitzgibbons in a New York restaurant. Seen left to right are: Melvin Ellsworth, art editor, Parents magazine ; Vy Prosser, Walter Thorn¬ ton Model Agency; N . H a r k n e s s , The New York Sun , and Miss Fitzgibbons. June 2 1948