The Independent Film Journal (1952)

REGIONEWS ALBANY Xoil Heilman opened his 40-room Mount Vernon Motel at East Greenbush, near the Auto-Vision. Heilman plans to add another wins' lor commercial travelers, to include a sales meeting room and display rooms. . . . Irving Shiftman, one-time E’agle-Lion salesman, is now performing similar duties for UA, while Ray Powers, formerly head booker for Warner, is date setter for UA at its sub-branch in the National Screen Service headciuarters at 443 N. Pearl St. . . . Louis W. Schine of Schine Circuit, Plarold Gabrilove, pres, of RTA Distribu¬ tors, and their wives sailed on a six-week tour of North Africa, Israel, Rome, France, Spain and Portugal. ... A number of Schine theatres in the Albany and Buffalo ten-itories are reported to have placed orders for CinemaScope installations. So have Benton Theatres of Saratoga Springs. National Drive-In Theatre Institute, Inc., which registered a certificate here some months ago, changed its name to National Theatre Institute, Inc. ATLANTA Carl Floyd & Associates, new owners of the Silver Moon Drive-In at Lakeland, Fla., have appointed Phil Lentz as mgr. . . . The new 35-car Holiday Drive-In at Erwin, Tenn., owned by Earl Hendren, opened to the public. . . . Kenneth Wiliams, new owner of the Booker T Theatre in Knoxville, Tenn., took over from Tom Bolden. . . . Buying and booking for the Ruby DriveIn, Rockwood, Tenn., will be handled by A1 Rook Booking Service. . . . George Weeks, owner of the Carver Theatre, Decatur, Ga., has acquired the American Theatre in At¬ lanta. ... A 20-ton air-conditioning system was installed in the Largo Theatre, Largo, Fla., unit of Floyd Theatres. . . .Jay Soloman, Independent Theatres, Chattanooga, Tenn., will be married in Chicago in May. Florida State’s Hillsboro Drive-In at Tampa, Fla., first to be built in that area, reoi)ened after extensive remodeling. Thea¬ tre will now have room for 750 cars. . . . Bill Wolfson, city mgr. for Alabama Thas., reports that' the Fairview Drive-In at Mont¬ gomery, Ala. is to be expanded consider¬ ably. . . . M. H. Haymans opened his new Candler Drive-In at Metter, Ga. for 292 cars. . . . Manley Popcorn Co. opened a branch office in Jacksonville, Fla., with Harry Gardner as mgr. . . . E. K. Cargill, former owner of an ozoner at Macon, Ga., will open a new one at Albany, Ga. in May, to accommodate 400 cars. A unicpie screen tower, eliminating dis¬ tortion at the fringe of a drive-in lot, has been developed and constructed at the Pinecreast Drive-In, Jacksonville, Fla. The ozoner is owned jointly by Capt. Hans G. Vige and L. L. Broward who collaborated in inventing the new screen with the assist¬ ance of projectionist Tom Lewis. . . .Cas¬ cade and West End theatres, Atlanta, have closed. . . . Installation of a 3-D screen lias been completed at the Ritz Theatre, Winter Haven, Fla. . . . The Bar-X DriveIn at Jasper, Fla. opened for the season with improved playgrounds, new equipment and enlarged snack bar. . . . Despite mili¬ tary protests and senatorial backing, an 850-car ozoner is rapidly taking shape at Opa-Locka, Fla., 1,500 feet from a jet plane runway. Owner N. B. Bernstein started a squabble that reached all the way to Washington when he took out a permit to erect the theatre. ... A group headed by Larry Morris has purchased the Ritz Theatre, Hollywood, Fla. Extensive alterations will be made. . . . John Mc¬ Kinnon appointed mgr. of the Miracle The¬ atre, Coral Gables, Fla. 20 Hollywood stars have volunteered to play a big part in the annual Old Newsboys Day on May 15, sponsored by Atlanta Vari¬ ety Club and The Constitution and Journal. Funds from sale of a special edition of the Journal Constitution will go to Cerebral Palsy. ... In Ala., the Melba, Birmingham; Princess, Florence ; and Lanett, Lannett, installed 3-D ecpiipment. . . . Charles L. Funderburke was appointed mgr. of the Gem Theatre, Cuthbert, Ga., unit of the Martin Theatres. . . . Frank Lavery, form¬ erly with RKO, Atlanta, appointed mgT. of the Bailey theatres in Panama City, Fla. 20th-Fox executives enjoy the reception accorded the CinemaScope demonstrations which were held at the Roxy Theatre in New York for five consecutive days to take care of the 30,000 eager viewers. L to R: Charles Einfeld, vice-pres.; Spyros P. Skouras, pres., and A1 Lichtman, director of distribution. . . . Glover Johnson’s new 350-car 411 Drive-In at Centre, Ala. will be ready for opening in June. Johnson owns two thea¬ tres in that town. . . . The new 700-car Bel Air Drive-In, Nashville, Tenn., set to open in June, cost some $120,000. . . . Mr. & Mrs. Charles Rook’s new ozoner at Bushnell, Fla. made its debut with free admis¬ sions on opening day. . . . Lewis Cook, thea¬ tre owner in MilliJort, Ala., is a new member of the Lamar County Commission, appointed by Gov. Pearson to succeed his father, who resigned on account of ill health. . . . Mrs. Anne Green appointed mgr. of the Bama Theatre, Hackleburg, Ala. BOSTON Tom Dowd has resigned as mgr. of the Beacon Hill Theatre to become managing director of Lockwood & Gordon’s Avon Theatre, Providence, R. I., effective May 16. . . . The Allen Theatre, Lowell, closed for four years, was sold at public auction for $7300 plus back taxes of $3400. Highest bidder was the Five Cent Savings Bank of Lowell, holders of the first mortgage, so the theatre is up for sale again. . . . A1 Lourie, Adams Theatre, Dorchester, has taken a long-term lease on the Bowdoin Drive-In, Brunswick, Me. from Sgt. Tom Foley of the Portland police. Lourie is air condi¬ tioning the Adams with Westinghouse ecpiipment. . . . Mary Baldasari of Walpole is Bill Koster’s new secy, at Variety Club headquarters in the Statler Hotel. . . . WNAC-TV, which played a prominent part in the TV coverage of several motion pic¬ tures, has upped its signal to 220,000 watts, promising a much clearer picture. Louis Richmond moved his offices from the Hotel Bradford to 90 Beacon St., a building which he purchased recently. . . . TV set installations in the Greater Boston area have exceeded the million mark. . . . Philip Smith, head of Smith Mgmt Co. and MidWest Drive-Ins, is ecpiipping his 15 conventional theatres for 3-D showings. His engineers are working on development of new 3-D wide angle projection for drive-in use in the 1954 season. . . . Charles Cifre is heading' a company to distribute the new 25-inch diameter 3-1) magazines as set by the SMPTE and promises May deliveries from his headquarters at 20 Piedmont St. . . . Clifford E. Pai'ker of Alexander Film Co. was upped from northern sales mgr. to gen. sales mgr. for the company. . . . For the fourth consecutive year, Hy Fine, dist. mgr. for New England Theas., was appointed chairman of m.]). theatre div. in New Eng¬ land for the national Cerebral Palsy Drive. Ed Rosenfeld of Trans-Lux Theatres in N. Y. has been api)ointed dist. mgr. for the circuit here. . . . An injunction was granted against picketing the drive-ins at Fairhaven, Dartmouth and Wareham, Mass. Picketing started when non-union ])rojectionists were hired following failui’e to come to agreement on new contracts. Ex¬ hibitors claim that under revised Mass, licensing regulations, the union’s demand for two men in a bootli is no longer re I I : 26 THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— MAY 2. 1953