The Exhibitor (1950)

NT-4 EXHIBITOR committee of the Variety Club had cool¬ ing units installed in the card room and ladies rest room. Canasta games are also being played on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Drive-In operators report business off between 10 and 20 per cent from last year. . . . Eagle Lion and Film Classics consolidated, and Film Classics moved to the Eagle Lion building. Leo Gottlieb is the branch manager. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Bill Finkel, Arcade, visited their daughter in Charleroi, Pa. Charlie Truran, Jr., National Screen Service salesman, was laid up with pto¬ maine poisoning. . . . The Blue Sky Drive-In is giving the kiddies a thrill by having the Elwood City, Pa., fire truck come up once a week, and give free rides, with the siren going full blast. It has increased patronage. . . . The Spotlight 88 near Beaver Falls, Pa., is using fireworks on Thursday. . . . Most Film Row executives attended two drive-in openings, Dipson’s, Steubenville, O., and the Twin 22, four miles from Pittsburgh. Twin Drive-In on 31-E north of Jeffer¬ sonville, Ind., instituted a “Buck a Car” night, with a car and all its occu¬ pants admitted for the price of $1. . . . W. Leon Hisle is manager, Ralph Cundiff and John W. Weddle’s new Ken¬ tuckian, Liberty, Ky. In addition to the Kentuckian, Messrs. Cundiff and Weddle operate the Allen, Liberty. . . . L. D. Bale, Horse Cave, Ky., and Phil Thomp¬ son, Edmonton, Ky., announced plans to build an approximate 500 car drive-in one mile south of Horse Cave, on U. S. Highway 31-W. The board of directors of the Ken¬ tucky Association of Theatre Owners stated that legal counsel will file suit promptly to test the constitutionality of the state’s one cent per 10 cents admis¬ sions tax on the ground that it is “dis¬ criminatory and confiscatory.” Michigan Bay City The Lafayette gave out free records to the first 200 adult admissions at an evening show. STATES Kentucky Louisville H. R. Blankenbaker and W. R. Callam’s new drive-in under construction at Salem, Ind., was going into the fin¬ ishing stages. The theatre was sched¬ uled to open with an approximate 500car capacity. . . . Out-of-town exhibitors seen on the row recently included: George Peyton, Griffith, LaGrange, Ky.; Clark Bennett, Valley, Taylorsville, Ky. ; J. C. Smith, Bloom, Bloomfield, Ky. ; Hugh Kessler, Pal, Palmyra, Ind.; W. R. Callam, New Drive-In, Salem, Ind.; E. L. Ornstein, Rialto, Marengo, Ind.; Lyell Webb, Webb, Burkesville, Ky. ; Walter Wood, Riverview Drive-In, Carrollton, Ky. ; A. N. Miles, Eminence, Eminence, Ky. ; and Bob Enoch, State and Grand, Elizabethtown, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. Gene Lutes and their daughter, Carolyn, returned from a va¬ cation at Miami Beach, Fla. Lutes is district manager for Chakeres Theatres. . . . Municipal Enterprises Theatair FOR AU RED FEATHER SERVICES Mrs. Floy M. Pilmore, 81, widow of the late Dan Pilmore, at one time active in the theatrical business, died. Clinton Frank L. Fitzpatrick, connected with the State, East Lansing, Mich., for many years, purchased the Clinton. Grand Rapids The Division Avenue Drive-In has been incorporated by the Beltline DriveIn Theatre Company. Jackson Earl Hoffman, manager, Capitol, was host to nearly 1,000 children of Jackson schools who are members of safety and hall patrols at a theatre party. Several prizes donated by city merchants were distributed. The Hill Top Drive-In, recently opened. Larry Dingee and John Buck are owners and operators for the 150-car capacity theatre. Port Huron A collection of war souvenirs valued at $1,300 on display at the Lake in con¬ junction with “Sands of Iwo Jima,” was stolen from the theatre. A Japanese knee mortar, hand grenade, clip of am¬ munition, battle flag, cold weather gar¬ ments, etc., were taken in the theft, according to Robert C. Odle, owner of the collection. Ohio Columbus Joseph E. Garrett, 81, father of Roger Garrett, former manager and organist, University, Academy Theatres, died. . . . The Ohio Supreme Court upheld the Division of Film Censorship’s ban on “The Devil’s Weed.” The censor board had found the film “is not of a moral, educational, amusing, or harm¬ less character.” Hallmark had sought to have the board’s decision reversed. Peter Wellman, Girard, O., showman, is touring “The Lonesome Road” throughout Ohio. The film has been showing at the Gayety with C. Harry Taylor as commentator. Several newspaper and television per¬ sonalities were inducted into the Navajo tribe by Chief Natay and his wife, Pop Chalee, in advance of “Annie Get Your Gun,” Loew’s, Ohio. . . . Ned Welch, business agent, Local 386, is projection¬ ist for the new South Drive-In, Acad¬ emy Theatres. . . . The Elbow Room, sandwich shop, opened in the Loew’s Ohio building. Pennsylvania Kittanning Charles Beck succeeded Jack Hays as manager for Dipson’s three houses. Beck comes from New Haven and Pitts¬ field, Mass., where he managed art theatres. Northeast Ken Blakely, owner, Keller’s and the Grand, Westfield, N. Y. just completed purchase of land on the outskirts of Ripley, N. Y., with plans for a 500-car drive-in. The location is halfway be¬ tween Northeast and Westfield. West Virginia Clarksburg Snyder’s Drive-In, the third outdoorer in the Clarksburg area, was opened on June 10 by Clarence Snyder, local busi¬ nessman, who also operates the Roll-ADrome Skating Rink. The new drive-in is on Route 20, called the Buckhannon Pike, about five miles out-of-town. Lov¬ ett and Company, Clarksburg equipment firm which supplied the DeVry projec¬ tion and sound equipment, ran a fullpage ad in local papers, mentioning the equipment, and exploiting the exclusive features of the deluxe ozoner. Lovett’s ad listed a steel tilted screen, the only one in this immediate area, supplied by Lovett and the Drive-In Theatre Manu¬ facturing Company. Snyder will also feature Artificial Moonlight, a “Vis-OBar” where patrons can obtain refresh¬ ments while viewing the screen through large plate glass windows, and a roof garden, from which point the screen also can be viewed. Later, picnic facili¬ ties will be available. John King has been employed as projectionist. His son, Bill King, is projectionist, Sunset DriveIn, O. Gray Barker, booking the situa¬ tion, scheduled 20th-Fox’s “Canadian Pacific” as the grand opening attraction. Philippi Virginia Howell, manager Sky View Drive-In, offered souvenirs to all fathers attending the special Father’s Day showing on June 18. The gifts were promoted by Mrs. Howell, Iaquinti’s Steak House, popular restaurant, which also runs screen advertising at the Sky View. The Philippi ozoner is owned by the Alex Silay interests. June 21, 1950