The Exhibitor (1950)

EXHIBITOR NT-3 The next time Edward A. Jacobson sees a chance to play good Samaritan he’ll wait for a Supreme Court decision. Jacobson, owner, Monroe, is still wait¬ ing a court ruling on whether he has to pay the hospital bill of a patron who was hurt in a washroom fall at the Forest, which he previously owned. See¬ ing that the man was seriously hurt, Jacobson took him in his own car to several clinics in the neighborhood. They couldn’t give the man first aid treat¬ ment because, they claimed, they weren’t equipped for such service. In desperation, Jacobson took the man to Henry Ford Hospital. There, he declared, the hos¬ pital refused to take the patient until Jacobson handed over a $50 deposit, and signed a statement of liability for the hospital bill. The injured man was not capable of signing anything. Next, Ja¬ cobson was handed a $160 hospital bill. His insurance company refused to pay either the bill or the $50 deposit. Joseph Freed, Jacobson’s attorney, said that apparently the case is going to court unless some settlement is reached quick¬ ly. “Theatre owners should not assume any liability on an injury,” he warned. “They may think they are covered, and find they are not.” He still feels, how¬ ever, that there is a moral responsibility to provide first-aid treatment, no matter what the circumstances may be. Jacob¬ son, Freed argued, was acting in accord¬ ance with this moral responsibility when he tried to get aid for the injured man. Indianapolis Walter L. Titus, Republic division manager, was in, and made a stopover in Pittsburgh prior to his return to New York. Two drive-ins broke a precedent by starting with a first-run major attrac¬ tion. The Westlake and Theatair DriveIns are starting a new trend. . . . Mr. and Mrs. M. H. Scheidler and family were in New York City to meet their daughter, Mary Louise, returning from a Holy Year trip to Rome. The Scheidler’s son, Joseph, graduated recently from Notre Dame, sailed for Europe with a group of university students for a bicycle tour. T. O. McCleaster, 20th-Fox branch manager, attended the ATOI convention in French Lick, Ind. . . . Robert Meyer, head booker, and John Barrett, book¬ keeper, 20th-Fox, were on vacation. . . . C. A. Hill, manager of branch opera¬ tions, 20th-Fox, was in. . . . The entire exchange staff of RKO had its annual picnic at Long-Acre Park. Refreshments and a buffet luncheon were served, and dancing and skating followed. “Blue Grass of Kentucky,” according to Monogram officials, has been booked in 300 spots in the exchange area. “Little Rascals” comedies are also doing well. . . . Walter L. Titus, Jr., Republic, stopped en route to French Lick to at¬ tend the ATOI convention. Mrs. Loraine Tony, manager’s sec¬ retary, Columbia, was vacationing. . . . Martha Price replaces Norma Kinkead as general clerk, cashier’s department, U-I. . . . Mrs. Nellie Arbin, head in¬ spectress, U-I, was vacationing. . . . Peter Mailers, Mailers Circuit, left for New York City on business. . . . Alex Kalafat, Kalafat Circuit, Garrett, Ind., visited Ft. Wayne, Ind., and met his brother, Bill, who operates the York, Churubusco, Ind. . . . Jerry Heinlen and wife, Arcade, Gas City, Ind., spent several days in Chicago. The Mailers Circuit opened its War¬ saw Drive-In, Warsaw, Ind. The 600 car theatre is managed by Nick Mailers. . . . The Gravel, Goodland, Ind., closed indefinitely. . . . Irving Tombach, pub¬ licity director, Warners, was exploiting “Caged,” Circle. . . . Ernest Miller, Cinema and Coronet, and his family, motored to the west coast. Harold L. Stewart, 38, a truck driver for Bradford Film Transit was drowned in the White River. He was stricken with cramps. . . . “Caged” opened at the Mary Anderson, Louisville, Ky., with the highest gross in six months, according to Claude McKean, WB ex¬ change manager. An expansion and remodeling project to increase the seating capacity of the Strand, Kendalville, Ind., from 730 to 973 was announced by Cleon Point, manager. Included in the project will be the modernization of 66 feet of Main Street frontage. Exhibitors visiting Film Row were: Don Lebrun, Kent, South Whitley, Ind.; Matt Scheidler, Orpheum-Hartford, Hartford City, Ind.; Harry Van Noy, Van Noy, Middletown, Ind.; Doyle Car¬ ter, Roxy, Bloomington, Ind.; W. R. Nor¬ ton, Key, Red Key, Ind.; Clarence Becker, Indiana, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Fred Wagoner, Rees, Plymouth, Ind,; Joe Million, 41-Drive-In, Veedersburg, Ind.; Arthur Clark, Vonderschmitt Cir¬ cuit, Bloomington, Ind.; Pete Dawson, Rodoe and Shawnee, Louisville, Ky. ; John Micu, State, Fort Wayne, Ind.; A1 Borkenstein, Wells, Fort Wayne, Ind.; and A. Edward Campbell, Ameri¬ can Drive-In Theatres, Buechel, Ky. Pittsburgh Jules Lapidus, Warners eastern and Canadian division sales manager, was in last week. Mort England, one of the owners of Theatrical Enterprises, handling games and premiums, returned after spending over a year in Florida. He expects to announce plans in the near future about new premiums. Martha Harris is the new secretary, replacing Mrs. Freed. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Archie Fineman, Mc¬ Kee, went to New England to see their daughter, Joyce, graduate from Wellesly with high honors. She is engaged to marry the son of Harold Field, wellknown exhibitor in the Minneapolis ter¬ ritory, in September. . . . Jack Robinson made a personal appearance at the Barry when “The Jackie Robinson Story” opened. The Sun Telegraph co¬ operated with exploiteer Charles Baron, and a special showing for newsboys was set up. In return, the newspaper gave the picture unusual publicity. . . . Friends of Lige Brien, Eagle Lion national exploitation manager, were glad to hear he will remain in the same post of Eagle Lion Classics. He was a manager for Warners before going to New York. The board of directors of Allied Motion Picture Theatres Owners of Western Pennsylvania held the monthly board meeting at which time Morris Finkel and Wally Allen gave a full re¬ port of the national board meeting in Memphis. William Finkel, chairman, national convention, held a committee meeting also. . . . Andy Battison and Ben Stahl are introducing a new type of giveaway for theatres. One book of the New Master encyclopedia is given each week. About eight theatres are cur¬ rently using the deal including two Warner Circuit houses and two from the Manos Circuit. . . . Bart Dattola announced the engagement of his daugh¬ ter to Franco Miamonte, formerly of Capua, Italy. . . . Business in the down¬ town houses has been at a new low, and the opening of nine weeks of oper¬ ettas at the University of Pittsburgh football stadium will be no help. The cheapest price for the operettas is about the same as the evening admissions in the first-run houses. The son of James Balmer, Harris Theatres executive, will marry Helen Rich, Detroit, in September. . . . Shea’s Bradford, Bradford, Pa., definitely set an eight-week season of stage shows with a summer stock company aug¬ mented by guest star names. . . . The Blatt Circuit has taken over operation of the Grand, West Newton, Pa. W. P. Best has been named manager. State visitors on Film Row were: Carroll Lawler, Vincent Choate, Armond Pepin, John Walsh, and Eddie Mason, Shea Circuit; John Stahl, Homestead; Bob Lieber, Braddock; Guy Ida, Mac¬ Donald; M. A. Rosenberg, McKees Rocks, Ray Mervis, Aspinwall; William Finkel, Arcade, Pittsburgh; Joe Mur¬ dock, Uniontown; George Saittis, Sheradon; Steve Rodnick, Jr., Oakmont; William Sarraro, New Kensington; Fred Hasley, East Pittsbui-gh; Dave Hadburg, Hazelwood; Lee Conrad, Meadeville; Ray Woodward, Franklin, and Frank Panopolis, Clairton. The Barry, which went into a firstrun policy last year, closed following the run of “The Jackie Robinson Story.” The house has no cooling system, and it is expected one will be installed while the theatre is shuttered. . . . The wife of Perry Nathan, National Screen Serv¬ ice manager, buried her mother in Col¬ orado Springs, Colo., recently. . . . Bill Mack, National Screen Service salesman, visited his family in Syracuse, N. Y. . . . The Allied office is very busy pre¬ paring for the national convention to be held here early in October. . . . Man¬ agers of the downtown theatres held a meeting with owners of parking lots in an effort to arrange some method to in¬ duce patrons to attend first-run houses. Business estimated to be off up to 50 per cent the past few weeks. . . . The house June 21, 1950