Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World (Jan-Mar 1928)

36 EXHIBITORS HERALD and MOVING PICTURE WORLD February 11, 1928 LIVE NEWS FROM COAST TO COAST Cincinnati CINCINNATI.— B. F. Keith's two-a-day vaudeville and picture house has been closed and will be razed to make room for a more pretentious structure. Meanwhile a short season of pictures will be played. . . . Managing Director Isaac Libson, Cincinnati, is remodeling an entire floor of the Palace Theatre Building for executive offices. . . . The Mayflower, Troy, O., owned by Troy Amusemen Company, opened last week. The seating capacity is 500. . . . The Palace, Hamilton, of which Silver and Turberg are managers, is celebrating its eighth anniversary. . . . The Regent, Hamilton, dark for several months, has reopened for Sundays only, with pictures and stage acts. James Sclnvalm has been made manager. . . . John A. Schwalm, president Jewel Photoplay Company, Hamilton, announces he will build a modern house on the site of the Jefferson theatre, which was recently destroyed by fire. . . . The Majestic, Springfield, O., with Phil Chakers manager, is being remodeled at an approximate cost of $100,000. Movietone will be featured when the house reopens. . . . Harry Moller, Marion, O., has been named assistant manager of the Capitol and Gem, Sidney, O. New England BOSTON— Leavitt's theatre at Rochester, N. H., has been closed temporarily. . . . Del Bibber, manager of First National at Boston, is able to be out-of-doors for the first time in over two months after his recent operation. . . . The Opera House at Poultny, Vt., has been closed. . . . R. Clement has purchased Grange Hall, Freedom, Me. . . . Frank Lydon has acquired the Ideal at Milford, Mass. . . . The Orpheum, Canton, Mass., has been acquired by the Regional chain. C. Gaffner has sold K. P. Hall at Freyburg, Me., to a company of local men. . . . The new Union, Taunton, Mass., will open within the month. . . . The Rialto has opened. James Greeley, formerly with the Keith-Albee theatres and later with Universal houses, is the owner and manager. . . . Charles Steams, former manager of the Bangor office of United Artists and more recently salesman, has been appointed branch manager at New Haven. . . . L. B. Gorman's newest theatre, the New Maine, with seating capacity of about 1,000, has opened. Pittsburgh PITTSBURGH. — Mr. Filson, local manager of the Lyric Amusement Company, says that Point Pleasant's new theatre will open April 1. . . . A great surprise greeted Al Harteau, office manager of the Pathe exchange, who went home after working overtime at the office to find co-workers had remembered it was his birthday. . . . An old trouble of the legs has returned to Manager J. O. Hooley of the Sheridan, East Liberty. But he expects to be on the job in a week or two. . . . Now Pathc and Universal, like Fox, are challenging any make-up team in the Film Row for the basketball championship. The three-cornered fight promises a bunch of thrills. The captains of the teams are David Siverman, Pathe ; Joseph Hanna, Fox, and Joseph Pemberton, Uni versal. . . . The Pittsburgh Press has Sherwood George working on the road. He was formerly a film salesman. . . . Recent exhibitor visitors were Carl Becker, Butler ; William Gray, Monongahela ; Samuel Hainwvitz, New Kensington, and Theodore Mikalozvsky, Masontown. . . . George Tice is booker for Paramount. He held that position in the Universal exchange. . . . Lumas has added Charles Molte, one of the best known film salesmen in the local territory, as special representative. . . . Stanley S. Neal, former F B O salesman here and now manager of sales for the Theatre Ad Mat Service of Uniontown, was a recent visitor. . . . Miss Ruth Sell is the new head cashier at the Warner Brothers' local office. She was formerly cashier at M-G-M. . . . Louis Engel is on the .road in the West Virginia territory for Warner Brothers. He is a former Pathe salesman. Indianapolis INDIANAPOLIS.— Detectives have discovered no further clews in the threatened kidnapping of little Marilyn Nicholson, fouryear-old daughter of 5". R. Nicholson, manager of the American theatre at Terre Haute. A negro and his wife are being held in jail in connection with the case. When apprehended the woman denied any knowledge of threats to kidnap the little girl and denied having made a telephone call to the Nicholson home. The little girl and her 9 year old sister have been removed to Indianapolis for safe keeping. . . . Announcement is made of the marriage of Miss Greta C. Bjom of Chicago, to George P. Florey, manager of the ball room of the Indiana theatre. The ceremony was performed at the Garfield Boulevard Presbyterian church in Chicago. . . . The management of the Circle theatre recently entertained with a dinner party at the Hotel Lincoln in honor of Ruth Taylor, Paramount star, who appeared in person at the theatre, and whose picture "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" will be shown in two weeks. William Wright, her publicity man, is a former Indianapolis newspaper man. Salt Lake City SALT LAKE CITY. — Alexander Pantages, the theatre magnate, visited his house in this city a few days ago. New theatres in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and New Orleans are contemplated, he said. . . . Manager W. E. Shipley and his assistant manager, P. C. Peterson, of the Gem, are expected to return from Honolulu within the next few weeks. . . . Louis Marcus, head of the Louis Marcus Enterprises in the Intermountain territory, is in Colorado due to the death of his brotherin-law at Pueblo a few days ago. ... A new theatre is to be built, it is reported. The house would have a seating capacity of about 700 and be ready for the opening about April 1. Messrs. Lawrence and Smart are sponsoring this venture. . . . District Sales Manager R. S. Ballantyne and District Representative L. L. Savage of Pathe, have left with Branch Manager A I O'Keefe for Butte, Mont. . . . Daind Bershon, United Artists division sales manager, has been in Salt Lake City conferring with Manager Harry Stem. Milwaukee MILWAUKEE.— Henry A. Staab, executive secretary of the M. P. T. O. of Wisconsin, was a speaker at a meeting of the postal education bureau. . . . Nat. Nazzaro, Jr., who directed the stage band at Midwesco's Wisconsin theatre while Dave Schooler was on his vacation, has been booked for twelve straight weeks at Newark, N. J. . . . The position of David J. Goldman, former manager of the Milwaukee Theatre Circuit's Downer, who is now manager of the Little theatre, LaGrange, 111., has been taken by Stanley Gross, former manager of the circuit's Venetian. Emit Franke, formerly manager of the State, has taken Gross' place, and H. J. Tondreau, formerly at the Kosciuszko, is now manager of the State. Arthur Wertheimer, formerly of New York, has been named manager of the Murray, to succeed Eugene Arnstein, who has been named manager of the Kosciuszko. . . Mount Sinai is the first Milwaukee hospital to show motion pictures to its patients, and will continue to do so. Kansas City KANSAS CITY. — Harry Taylor has been re-elected president of the Kansas City Film Board of Trade for 1928. A. H. Cole, Paramount branch manager was re-elected vice-president, and C. A. Schultz, Midwest Film Distributors' branch manager, secretarytreasurer. E. S. Olsmith and L. J. Doty were elected to the board of directors. . . . Universal branch managers from Dallas, San Antonio, Des Moines, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Omaha, Sioux Falls, Chicago and Oklahoma City attended a sales meeting at the Hotel Muehlebach last week. Bemy Bernfield Educational salesman, tipped the operator of the Strand theatre, Emporia, Kas., for screening three one-reel subjects last week. The other day Russell Bore , Educational branch manager, received a letter from the operator, containing ten cents. The operator believed the tip excessive. . . . The De Luxe theatre, Bucklin, Kas., has been sold by Mrs. Emma Elland to C. C. Johnson & Son of Ellinwood, Kas. Ph iladelph ia PHILADELPHIA— The Equity Theatres Corporation, representing an amalgamation of Philadelphia independent theatre owners, has recently taken over several houses, which now brings the total number under the Equity banner to more than 30. . . . Plans have been prepared by the Hoffman-Henon Company, architects, and contracts have been awarded for a 3,000-seat theatre to be erected in East Liberty, Pittsburgh, at a cost in excess of $2,000,000, and to be leased to Stanley. . . . Edgar Moss manager of the Fox exchange, has left for a several weeks' vacation in Havana. . . . William Andrews, an inspector employed by the Pennsylvania Board of Motion Picture Censors, received injuries from which he died January 24, when the automobile in which he was riding on the Sproul Highway near Media, Pa., skidded and overturned. . . . Bob Lynch, general manager for M-G-M here, accompanied by Mrs. Lynch, sailed recently via the Panama Canal for California.