The Exhibitor (1950)

EXHIBITOR NT-1 news of mi: Cincinnati Frank Huss, Jr., president, Greater Cincinnati Independent Exhibitors, has asked sales managers of all distributors to reduce film rentals for suburban houses as well as to review expectancy quotas for the area. Huss, “because we are in trouble and need help,’’ showed the decline in the city’s three per cent admission tax. For the first three months of 1950, receipts were off 43 per cent. Huss said Cincinnati has suffered more than other areas, and that television has particularly hit theatres. When audi¬ ences tire of television, he said, it will be time enough for the companies to get the kind of terms they are now asking. The 17th annual convention of the West Virginia Theatre Managers Asso¬ ciation will be held on Aug. 30-31 at the Greenbriar, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. The local delegation to the recent Paramount convention, headed by James J. Grady, branch manager, reported it the best they ever attended. Virginia Monahan, secretary to E. M. Booth, Loew’s resident manager, an¬ nounced her engagement to Roy Butz, a University of Cincinnati student. . . . Bill Bierman is a new apprentice booker at U-I. . . . Hal Kamin has been ap¬ pointed bookkeeper at Realart. Marie Donelson, office manager and booker, Screen Classics, was in Detroit. . . . James Doyle, Paramount salesman in Kentucky, was elected to the 100 Per¬ cent Club. . . . Woody Bressler, Dayton, Ky., is hospitalized with a broken ankle. In town were Moe Dudelson, UA dis¬ trict manager; Milton Cohen, Eagle Lion division manager; Alec Moss, Mo¬ tion Picture Sales; Meyer Adelman, pres¬ ident, States Film Service; M. K. Mur¬ phy, Cumberland, Ky. ; Lou Clemmens, Dayton, O.; K. R. Stout, Lancaster, O.; J. F. Carnahan and Bud Hughes, Man¬ chester, Ky. ; Stephen Lang, Whitesville, W. Va., and Charles Scott, Vevay, Ind. Vacationing were: Harriet Barnhart, bookkeeper, Screen Classics; Virginia Reyes, contract department, Eagle Lion Classics; May Scholle, States Film Ser¬ vice; Cliff Garbutt, booker, Loew’s; Mar¬ ian Conley, cashier, and Mary Magee, switchboard operator, Paramount; Jack Finberg, UA branch manager, and Flo¬ rence Shoemaker, cashier, U-I. Lee L. Goldberg, Realart franchise holder for the Cincinnati territory, an¬ nounced that officially Arthur H. Levy has become associated with him in the capacity of sales manager in the Cin¬ cinnati exchange. Jay Goldberg continues as branch manager, Cincinnati office. Cleveland Two new theatres opened, the super deluxe 1800-seat State, Cuyahoga Falls, Recent recipient of a Veterans of Foreign Wars Citizenship Award for outstanding service to his community is Louis Nye, manager, Hoosier, Whiting, Ind. Nye was cited for promoting and directing the yearly cleanup drive, preventing juvenile delinquency by conducting proper enter¬ tainment, war bond selling, and for his leadership in many other civic services. O., which fulfills its promise as “the theatre of tomorrow,’’ and the smaller, more modest 800-seat Willow, Indepen¬ dence, O. The State held an industry preview with speeches by Mayor George Anderson, owner M. B. Horwitz, presi¬ dent, Washington Circuit, and Ray Brown, Jr., manager. Architect George Ebeling has presented many innovations of design and construction. The Willow opened on June 22. Arnold Porozynski, one of the owners, is also managing the house. Nancy Davis, starred in “The Next Voice You Hear,’’ stopped off en route to the west coast, accompanied by George Nichols, MGM studios, to accept the Cleveland Movie Critics Circle award for “Annie Get Your Gun.” Presentation of the trophy was made by Omar Ranney, The Press movie critic, at a lunch¬ eon in the Statler Hotel attended by the members of the showmanship campaign committee. Jack Sogg, MGM branch manager, was a guest. Nat Wolf, Warner Theatres’ Ohio manager, and Mrs. Wolf entertained some 250 guests in celebration of their 25th wedding anniversary. Among the out-of-town guests were Mrs. A. H. Al "Stella" Premieres Set in Mideast Area New York — Spearheaded by the world premiere of 20th Century-Fox’s new com¬ edy “Stella,” at the Rialto, Louisville, Ky., on July 20, 200 theatres in the fivestate area of Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan will open the picture in a mass day-and-date book¬ ing on July 23, it was announced last week by Andy W. Smith, Jr., vice-presi¬ dent and general sales manager. The saturation opening will be launched in Louisville with a gala premiere celebration sparked by the personal appearance of Mature and five of Hollywood’s most beautiful “Stellas,” as well as by important civic backing from The Louisville Courier Journal. Mature and the “Stella” troupe will tour the five-state area for one week following the premiere, visiting key centers in the territory. They will also be present at the Cincinnati opening on July 21 at the Capitol. Stirling Silliphant, promotion mana¬ ger of the film company, and Bill Danziger, formerly director of exploitation of Paramount, who has been engaged to do special exploitation work, met with Mark Ethridge, publisher, The CourierJournal and Neal Dalton, public rela¬ tions director, to set up plans for the gala event last week. In Cincinnati, Irving Kahn, home office exploitation staff, arranged for a huge five-state spot announcement cam¬ paign and tie-in broadcasts to be heard over WLW. Unusual promotional plans are underway in connection with the town of Stella, Ky., located in the sat¬ uration area. bert, Charles Albert, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Adler, and Mr. and Mrs. Irving Gandall. Independent theatre owners are dis¬ tributing petitions to secure signatures favoring repeal of Daylight Saving Time. A three-week campaign was launched at a meeting of the Cleveland Motion Picture Exhibitors Association when Councilman Jack Russell explained in detail how best to get the needed 24,600 certified signatures necessary in order to submit the question to the voters in the November election. Ernest Schwartz, CMPEA president, appointed a follow-up committee consisting of Marshall Fine, Jack Essick, Leroy Ken Here are some of those in attendance at the recent directors’ meeting of the Kentucky Association of Theatre Owners in the organization’s headquarters in Louisville, Ky. July 5, 1950 MIDEAST