The Exhibitor (1950)

EXHIBITOR NT-1 NEWS OF Till: Chicago Earl Williams, Earl, Knoxville, Ill., is recovering nicely from an injury sus¬ tained when he slipped from a ladder while placing streamers on a marquee. . *. . The. Palace has been making a practice on Saturday mornings of ad¬ mitting children and their parents free to all-western programs. . . . Glen Suhorpetz bought the Coliseum, Annawan, Ill., from Mr. and Mrs. Phil Billiet. In Brussels, Ill., Bus Narup opened his new drive-in, located at his Cross Roads place. ... In Thayer, Ill., the rains of the spring delayed the construction of the 300-car drive-in that W. E. Swift, owner, Gaiety, Yirden, Ill., is building on Route 4. Irwin Franklin, distributor, Artkino, was sentenced to 18 months in jail by Federal Judge Walter Labuy for failing to register as an alien, and misrepresent¬ ing himself as an American citizen. Orval Templeton opened his Wheel-In, an outdoor near Mooresville, Ind. . . . Danny Newman, Astor owner, is back as Oriental advertising and publicity chief. A $100,000, 750-car outdoor is being planned by Independent Amusement, Inc., for East Moline, Ill. The corpora¬ tion operates the Memri Drive-In, Milan, Ill. . . . Frank Flaherty closed his Kar¬ lov, and took over operation of the Plaisance. . . . Pines Drive-In Theatre, lnc. , is building the 400-car Pines DriveIn adjacent to the White Pines State Park, Oregon, Ill. Jim Lamb, manager, Lamb, Mt. Morris, Ill., is president. Checking seats at the 400 early in the morning, an aide called to manager Les Stepner, “Someone smuggled in a box of popcorn!” Popcorn is verboten. Rick Williams, producer director, “Rick’s Kids’’ series, has expressed con¬ fidence in the future of the juvenile com¬ edies he is producing here in Chicago, claiming that kid films, such as the “Our Gang” comedies, add the touch necessary to round out the theatre pro¬ gram. Williams sees a universal appeal to such films, with humor and plenty of pleasure for patrons. The successful showing of the first effort of Tele-Movie Pictures, “Hain’t It Awful,” in Chicago theatres, has spurred production in the second and third, “Baker’s Dozen” and “Suds and Duds,” to be released shortly. Van A. Nomikos received many com¬ mendatory letters and phone calls after a TV broadcast. . . . Caviar sandwiches may be had at Eddie Silverman’s swank restaurant located in the center of his newly-opened 4-Screen Drive-In. . . . Steve Bennis started construction of his 500-car outdoor near Lincoln, Ill. . . . Y and W Management Corporation opened its 600-car drive-in at Muncie, lnd. A new bidding-zoning plan has been instituted in this area by U-I, taking effect with “Comanche Territory,” avail¬ able on July 7. It is similar to those used by other distributors. Dallas The south’s largest drive-in, the Den¬ ton Drive-In, opened. C. D. Leon is owner. The al fresco theatre accommo¬ dates 840 cars, and has a snack bar, pic¬ nic patio, and complete playground. The Denton Drvie-In is the third opened by the Leon Theatres in the last few weeks. The Garland Road opened on April 7, and the Hampton Road on May 12. R. N. Rogers, Ennis, Tex., owner, Village Drive-In, was robbed as he sat outside St. Paul’s Hospital. He had just stepped out of the hospital where Mrs. Rogers had given birth to a son. The 183, Dali County’s newest drivein, opened, operated by Hans Smith, mayor, Irving, Tex., and president, Irv¬ ing Amusement Company. The Jefferson Drive-In opened last fortnight. Denver George Kelloff, Ute, Aguilar, Colo., and his bride went on a honeymoon trip to Yellowstone Park and Canada. . . . Back from the Paramount west coast sales meeting .were: Ward Pennington, branch manager; salesmen Paul Allmeyer, Moz Buries, and John Vos, and Alfreda Anderson, head booker. Dan Wagner, who resigned some time ago as RKO salesman, is now with the Robert Patrick booking, buying service as booker. . . . Jerry Safron, Columbia district manager, was here for con¬ ferences with Robert Hill, branch man¬ ager. Film Row visitors included: Kenneth Powell, Wray, Colo.; J. C. Parker, Dalhart, Tex.; N. S. Sawaya and son, George, Trinidad, Colo.; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hall, Akron, Colo.; Herbert Gumper, Center, Colo. ; Frank Aydelotte, Fort Collins, Colo.; Doyle Shelton, Walsh, Colo., and Doyle Shelton, Prit¬ chett, Colo. Des Moines Howard Brookings, Oakland, la., for¬ mer president, Iowa Allied, purchased the Dreamland, Carson, la., making his fourth house. Harold Smith had owned the house for the last 30 years. Brook¬ ings, also a state representative in the Iowa legislature, owns houses at Avoca, Oakland, and Walnut, la. . . . Jack Kennedy, Adel and Winterset, purchased a farm adjoining Winterset, la., and future plans call for constructing a drive-in. . . . Gene Soberhart, manager, State, Cedar Rapids, la., suffered minor burns on his hands when a machine caught fire. . . . Larry Hensler, former formed the L and H Productions as Warner salesman, and John LaDue distributors of Because of Eve Pictures. The two men will cover the Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, and St. Louis terri¬ tory with headquarters at Des Moines. . . . Russ Frazer, Tri-States advertising man, returned to work on a part-time basis following an illness. . . . The new theatre being opened at Bettendorf, la., by Robert Danico will be named the Iowan. . . . The State, Clarence, la., has been reopened after being remodeled. Kansas City At the Paramount sales convention in Los Angeles, field exploiteer Jim Castle was presented with a $200 check in ap¬ preciation of efforts in getting extra breaks for company products. In Topeka, Kans., Sears is host to children of school age on Saturday morn¬ ings in the Gem. A limit of 650 tickets each week has been set. Joe Manfre, Warners’ salesman, was on vacation in Colorado. . . . Joe Neger, 20th Century-Fox branch manager, was in St. Lukes Hospital recovering from an operation. . . . Dale Danielson, KMTA president, returned from Detroit, where he attended the international convention of Rotary Club members. . . . R. R. Biechele, Osage, Kansas City, Kans., spent a weekend at Lake of the Ozarks. The Silver Star Drive-In, Kirksville, Mo., was opened by Day Mangus. It will accommodate 500 cars. . . . Common¬ wealth Theatres is making plans to erect a new 750-seat theatre at Superior, Neb. The building will not be started until this fall. . . . Sam Carver and R. M. Miller, Kansas City, purchased the Roxy, Polo, Mo., from Paul Neal, Lexington, Mo. The theatre has been renamed the Polo. Visitors included: Charles Fisk, Butler, Mo.; Sol Frank, Coldwater, Kans.; George Summers, Unionville, Mo.; Bill Bradfield, Carthage, Mo.; Frank Ward, Attica, Kans., and Bob Adkins, Parsons, Kans. Los Angeles Plans for the first annual golf tourney sponsored by the Variety Club, Tent 25, for the benefit of the Boys Club are pro¬ gressing, with J. E. “Mac” McMarthy, manager, Monogram, and Bill Stahl as chairman. A full day of sports is planned at Lakeside Golf Course on July 7. A Calcutta dinner will be sponsored in connection with it, to be held in the Ambassador Hotel on July 6, open to all members and guests. The tourney, however, is open to members only. Manager Ed Lowry set a workable pattern for Father’s Day at his Ravenna. He set a tieup with nearby business houses to give away merchandise. . . . Fred Smith’s Culver, Culver City, Cal., is winning plaudits for the “Sweet Tooth Counter.” Pearl Phelps and Diane Howe are in charge of this counter, designed like a carnival carousel. Fanchon and Marco derived a plan for three first-run houses by adding the Manchester to the Paramount Downtown and Hollywood. The Manchester is where this circuit first started flesh shows. The Manchester is in a newly populated dis¬ trict now, close by a business district. . . . At the Hollywood, a lone bandit held up July 5, 1950 MIDWESTWESTERN