The Film Daily (1937)

THE ■^H DAILY n BIZ ON UPBEAT IN NEW ORLEANS AREA (Continued from, Page 1) tory. In retrospect the average for the entire territory can he placed conservatively at 15 per cent over '11935. This lead has held till now and may even move up, since exhibitors acknowledge that product is not only better but is getting bet iter results at the box-office. The iSaenger Theater here, long at the tail of the "A" houses, is moving I up, topping Loew's State, record grosser here, for almost two i months. Possibly the most important development throughout the territory j has been the expansion and invasions of circuits. Saenger and its i affiliates are still the dominant fig I ures, but E. V. Richards and M. A. I Lightman of Memphis have taken over the Ed Kuykendall and other i interests in north Mississippi, while i Strand Enterprises of Union, Tenn., are moving strongly into Mississippi and the Milton Starr circuit of Negro houses will add two more spots by going into Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Fla. The smaller circuits, such as those run by the Bailey family and Joy Houck's Joy theaters are in an expanding mood. Apparently this is not an altogether welcome development to the exchanges. While it means less widely scattered sales effort, concentrated billing points and booking facilities, it also means less film rentals per house, for the circuits, large and small, are sharp traders. Through the territory there is a tendency to raise admissions. Giveaways are still prevalent in the territory and will be for time to come. Outside of New Orleans where household equipment is still given away, dishes are dead as premiums. But even in New Orleans money is losing ground. Exhibitors acknowledge that it takes more and more money to bring out the crowds. Short Shots from Eastern Studios By Sid Weiss NEW RKO EXPANSION MOVES IN N. Y. ZONE Kilbride to Operate New $250,000 Detroit House Detroit — New theater to be erected at a structural cost of $250,000 has been announced for the northwest section of Detroit, at Grand River Ave. and the Detroit Terminal Railroad. House will be named the Beverly, and is being erected by Mamie Kogan and Robert J. Silberstein. Barney L. Kilbride, circuit owner, is taking a lease on the house. Pro-Picketing Move Flops I 1 Lincoln, Neb.— Two movie operators, •Jfoy M. Brewer, of Grand Island, and Mace Brown, Omaha, were behind a move here at the unicameral legislature to have the Nebraska body repeal the 16-year old law which prevents picketing by labor organizations Committee on labor was not much interested, since the law stood the test of a referendum vote not long ago. TONY BUNDSMAN is directing X tests for "Gone With the Wind," with Charlie Harten at the camera, at the Astoria studios. Among the interested onlookers is Bruce Cabot, east on a vacation. Al Christie has started production on latest of the Bert Lahr series, titled "Movie Madness." Cast includes : Sally Starr, Louise Larabee, Louie Soren, Russ Brown, Foster Williams, Jack Harwood and George Lewis. • The Lincoln studios located across the Hudson, in Ridgefield, N. J., and recently taken over by Bergi Contner, has been renamed Producers Service Studios Inc. Sets, props and other equipment have been taken over from the now closed Photocolor studio at Irvington. Com plete reconditioning of the studio will be completed next week. • Roy Mack has started work on a Josephine Huston short at Vitaphone with Charlie King, Elmira Sessions, Morgan Conway and the Debonair es in the cast. • Addenda . . . John Condon has returned to the Vitaphone Studios following a brief Atlantic City sojourn . . . Al Christie is getting his boat in shape for those summer weekends . . . Triple Look-Alikes: Otto Kruger, Al Wilkie and Chris Beute, assistant director. Al Marriner is directing industrials for Audio Productions with Bill Miller at the camera . . . Bill Watson starts on the next i Harry Gribbon short in a few days I on the Astoria lot. (Continued from Page 1) ed on the sites and are expected to be ready about the first of the year. RKO has made a lease arrangement with Randforce under which it will begin operation of the Lefferts and Republic Theaters on Labor Day. Lawyers are now working on papers under which the RKO Alden, the Century circuit's Merrick and the Skouras Fox Theaters will be pooled on Labor Day and on a pooling deal involving the Riverside and 81st Street Theaters, also scheduled to go into effect on Labor Day. In addition RKO has made a deal with Walter Reade to jointly operate a new theater which Reade will construct at South Broad Street and Maddock Avenue, Trenton. This theater will be ready for occupancy in September by present plans. Thos. W. Lamb is the architect. New Para. Recording Pact Draft Submitted by Erpi (Continued from Page 1) expects it to be approved with few changes, The Film Daily was yesterday advised by Whitford Drake, Erpi president. Officials of other major companies are still considering the drafts of new pacts with Erpi. Theater Leasehold Case Ends in Favor of Grove Triple Programs Tested Chicago — Triple week-end programs— two feature pix and stage bills — are ness Circuit at the Sheridan, man aged by Harry Wren. Coop Booking Krim Circuit v,, ,.••:, il(1 ■< Detroit— Cooperative Theaters of , , , ., „ Michigan has taken over booking being tested by the Essa f ., K • Circuit of theaters, in for the Krim Circuit of theaters, including, temporarily, the Downtown, i a first run house. Gering, Neb. — An important de cision on theater leaseholds was i rendered in district court here when a jury found in favor of B. B. Grove on an appeal from an adverse decision in county court. Grove, who owns the Grove and leases the Riviera, was sued by LeRoy J. Cross, owner of the Riviera's building. LeRoy Cross sought to break a lease given Grove by John Cross, who holds a mortgage on the house. John Cross contended, and was upheld, that terms of the mortgage gave him right to lease the building. Grove, whose former lease expired last October, continued to hold the building under terms of a new contract with John Cross. But LeRoy Cross attempted to give a lease to W. V. Wakefield as representative of the Gibraltar circuit, which controls the theater situation in Gering's twin city of Scottsbluff, Neb. Republic Suit Hearing Today Hearing will be held this morning before Federal Judge Leibell on the i application of Republic Pictures of the Southeast for a temporary injunction restraining Republic Pictures from distributing its product in the southeast territory through any other distributor than that of the petitioner. Republic Pictures of the Southeast claims Republic breached its contract by giving its product to another distributor.