The Film Daily (1940)

Building Remodeling Equipment Maintenance VOL. 78, NO. 101— Second Section NEW YORK, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22. 1940 TEN CENTS VITASOUND GOES IN ALL WARNER HOUSES New Theaters, Remodeling Show October Gain Survey Shows Projects And Expenditures More Than in Oct. Last Year Both the number of projects and j expenditure involved in new theater construction and the remodeling of existing houses showed a gain during October in the U. S. continental territory east of the Rockies, as compared to the corresponding month in 1939, it is disclosed via a survey con1 ducted by film theater architectural firm of John and Drew Eberson. Figures for the past month show that 68 projects were undertaken in (.Continued on Page 5) NTS Does Brisk Biz In Southern Areas Orders for Motors and Generators Lead Sharp Upswing in Electrical Goods Volume Increases ranging from 15.8 to 51.4 per cent were registered in the electrical goods field in the first nine months of this year, the National Electrical Manufacturers Ass'n declared at mid-week. Orders received for motors and generators for the first nine months accounted for the aforementioned 51.4 per cent figure which was ahead of the like period of 1939 and 34.4 per cent greater than the base period, 1936. The total, however, was still 3.9 per cent behind the 1937 figure. Atlanta — National Theater Supply Co. branch here reports recent installations for the following houses: R. E. Martin's Martin, Andalusia, Ala., a Walker screen, Super Simplex projector, Peerless Magnarc lamps, Alexander Smith Crestwood carpet, and Hertner transverter; Tankersley & Hampton's Royal, (Continued on Page 7) GRC Reports Progress; Unicon Ready Shortly General Register Corp. has shipped to the Beachem Theater, Orlando, Fla., a three-unit Automaticket on an order received from National Theater Supply Co. of Charlotte; also a three-unit Gold Seal was shipped to the Darlton Theater in Pawtucket, R. I., on order received from the Cap ( Continued on Page 4) L Sure It's TurUey Day — But House'll Open Chattanooga — Film fans hereabouts, as well as Independent Theaters, Inc., will have something extra to be thankful for on next Thursday, which is Tennessee's Thanksgiving Day. The 600-seat Capitol Theater will open with first-run pictures, plus bringing big-time vaudeville to this city. Theater is one of the 18 in the U. S. equipped with Trans-Lux and is seventh house to be opened by Independent Theaters, of which Abe Solomon is prexy. Sonovox Will Help Films, Says Wright In the wake of a recent demonstration in the Waldorf-Astoria of his new sound device, Sonovox, its inventor Gilbert Wright, son of the American novelist, Harold Bell Wright, described the development as one which makes sounds talk, or, rather, sounds speak words when used by Sonovox, such as the whistle of a train, or the bell or the roar (Continued on Page 7) Gordons Set to Put Up Theater in Newport News Newport News, Va. — Indian River Amusement Corp. will construct a new and modern second-run theater at 34th St. and Washington Ave. here. Plans, it is reported, are now in the hands of the architects and construction is expected to commence the first of December. Officers of the corporation are: Julian Gordon, president; Jerome RCA Moves to Fill Demand for Screen RCA Mfg. Co., as result of exhibition field acceptance of the new Magic Screen, and the attendant desire of houses in many instances to order this particular type of equipment "sight unseen," has already arranged to increase factory capacity to take care of orders, it is stated by E. C. Cahill, manager of the company's Photophone Division. He added that advance demand has been such that deliveries have fallen (Continued on Page 6) Capitol Supply Busy In N. E. Territory Boston — K. Forkey has had Mirrophonic sound equipment installed in his Magnet Theater, Dorchester, Mass., by the offices here of Capitol Theater Supply, and G. Pike's Lisbon, Lisbon, N. H., has received this type of sound in addition to Cyclex projector lamps. Motiograph projectors have been placed by Capitol in Gould's Castle, (Continued on Page 5) Acoustic Envelope Developed Makes Effect On Stage Like Small Room Mid-West Theater Supply Lists 11 Installations Cincinnati — Sales record of local Mid-West Theater Supply Co. discloses recent equipment orders filled for the Trimble, Mt. Sterling, Va., a Virginia Somerset screen; Glenn, Georgetown, Ky., a Da-Lite screen, two Senarc lamps, two Benwood Linze rectifiers; and for the Ken(Continued on Page 6) Chicago — Newly developed sound control which creates on the theater or concert stage the acoustic characteristics of a small, highly reverberant room and surrounds a singer or instrumentalist with an "acoustic envelope," thus enabling artists to hear themselves, was disclosed here by Dr. Harold Burris-Meyer of Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N. J. Describing the "Paul Robeson Technique," which it is called after (Continued on Page 5) First Installations Going Into N. Y. Strand and Two Theaters on West Coast Coincident with official announcement by Warner Bros, studios that the practical perfection of "Vitasound," Hollywood's latest improvement of the talking screen, has now been attained, sources close to the company said yesterday that plans have been made to equip Warner theaters as fast as possible with the new sound, and that the first of the circuit's units to install the develop ( Continued oti Page 4) FPC Buys Properly For $200,000 Stand Victoria, B. C. — It was announced here this week that the Famous Players Canadian Corp. have completed purchase of the property on which they will build a new motion picture theater. Plans for the thea (Continued on Page 4) Up-State Houses Are Improved Via Becker Buffalo — Becker Theater Equipment, Inc., has installed a Motiograph Mirrophonic De Luxe sound system in Dan North's Avondale in North Tonawanda, and an identical system in Otto Gratzer's Mexico, Mexico, N. Y., plus a Raytone screen, Motiograph projector, Ashcraft projection lamps, and Baldor rectifiers. Through the Becker organization, Cammel Theaters' local houses, the (Continued on Page 7) Theater Dark Cavity But Dentistm Fill Kingwood, W. Va.— Dr. Lewis H. Urling, i local dentist who's also a film exhibitor, is reopening his shuttered Pine Theate? | in Pine Grove, W. Va. New sound and booth equipment have been installed, ! and as you might expect, the house will i be appropriately operated on a "grind" j policy. This latter has been established ! by the good dentist with the hope that it will mean more than the temporary I filling of the Pine's auditorium