The Independent Film Journal (1952)

BOSTON (cont'd.) quired. . . . Samuel Goldstein, Western Mass. Theas. prexy, announced a $175,000 improvement program for houses in Pitts\ field, Greenfield, Northam2:)ton and Holyoke. !' Goldstein has 14 houses and recently gave bonuses to his circuit emjfioyees. BUFFALO An official announcement, confirmins: the reported leasing of the Century Theatre for a 10-year period by UA, is expected soon, and 3-D equiioment develo^jed in the Buffalo plant of American Optical Co. will be in¬ stalled. The Century is presently operated ■ by Midland Properties, Inc. ... A tax lien of $2,874.98 against Jack D. Fairchild of Buffalo, an oj^erator of the Encore Thea¬ tre in Los Angeles, has been transferred to the Erie County Clerk’s office. . . . Midway Drive-In at Maple Springs, N. Y., owned by Blatt Bros., reopens May 8. . . . The George E. Drive-In of Meco Theatres has reopened at Endicott. . . . Reopened under new ownership of Paul Fields of the Berfield Corp. is the East Drive-In at Bennett, formerly owned by Auburn East West Drive-In Thea. Corp., headed by Anna Wallace. . . . Francis Tate’s Phelps Thea’ tre at Phelps is closing to redecorate. Tom Hopkinson of N. Y. is the new M-G-M public relations rejjresentative for the Buffalo-Albany exchange area. . . . Mike Jaseo, formerly with Republic, has joined I Paramount as city salesman. Leo Muiqffiy ; replaces Jasco at Republic. . . . Nine area I drive-ins are cooperating to devote the entire receipts, including concessions, from ; one night’s show to the local Children’s ! Hospital Medical Building Fund. They are ' A1 Wright’s Aero, Alex Wintner’s Buffalo, j Marvin Atlas’ Broadway, Hariy Berkson’s Delaware, Frank Stephen’s Park at Orchard j Park, Irving Cohen’s Sheridan and the I Niagara and Lake Shore SkyWays operated 1 by Bill Rosenow of Theatre Service Org. Mjmon Gross will make the jjresentation. , . . . The Buffalo Historical Society is showf ing free colored motion pictures each Sun: day afternoon in the Society Bldg. The Transit Drive-In, Lockport, is now operated by a partnership of Anthony ' Ragus and Louis Battaglia. G. F. Tatar [ was Ragusa’s former partner. . . . The Cinema at Rochester is picking up the ; cor]ooration name, Philmore Ent. Inc. . . . Julius Ricci closed the Park at Lackawanna. : Robert C. Russell, an usher at the Center , Theatre, was stabbed with a hunting knife I when he tried to bar four teenage rowdies I from breaking into the theatre through a I rear exit. Mgi’. Leon Serin reports plans to I install new tyi)e doors to eliminate attempts ; to break in. . . . The State at Waterloo has changed its policy and will now play ■’ WMT-WT-FS. . . . The Cameo in Bingham! ton will be closed Mon., Tues. and Thurs. i CHARLOTTE j' " Colonial Theatre at Florence, S. C., has ; been remodeled and redecorated. It seats i 906. G. E. Schnibben is owner and D. C. Barbot mgr. . . . Jack Pardue, mgr. of the Starlite Drive-In at N. Wilksboro, N. C., is printing a direction map on the back of his weekly programs, indicating principal highways leading to the theatre. . . . The Sumter Drive-In, Sumter, S. C., was sold by Max Edelsburg to his former mgr., , E. C. Jackson. . . . Leon Gibson, mgi'. of I Broadway Theatre, Fayetteville, N. C., reelected to a three-year term on the board Debbie Reynolds, on a cross-country tour for M-G-M's "I Love Melvin," in which she is starred with Donald O'Connor, is photographed in Boston with branch manager Ben Rosenwald (left) and New England exhibitor Norman C. Glassman. of the Carolinas’ Red Feather Service. . . . A bill to outlaw Sunday movies in Davie County was introduced by Rep. J. N. Smoot. CHICAGO Marks Bros. ’ Skokie, Ill. drive-in has added a bottle-warming service for parents who bring babies to the shows. . . . Great States’ Majestic Theatre is receiving a $40,000, 340-ton Westinghouse air-condi¬ tioning unit, installed by Kroeschell En¬ gineering Co. . . . Southern Theatre, Oak Park, reopened April 17. . . . “ Silver Lin¬ ing” will be released in the loop bv Warner following “House of Wax” premiere at Chicago Theatre May 1st. . . . Gardner Theatre Supjrly installed 3-D Motiograph equipment in the Palos Theatre, Lowell, Ind., managed by Pat and Lorette Burns. . . . Sam Gorelick, RKO exchange mgr., is passing out cigars on the birth of a grand¬ son. . . . Essaness looj) Woods Theatre has received 1200 American bodiform seats and new carpets for the entire house. . . . Ab¬ bott Theatre Supply reports orders for 26 stereophonic installations, with B&K, Great States, Coston Circuit, Standard Theatres among firms placing oi’ders. Compco Corp. is introducing Triad stero projection system, with Hal Fischer head¬ ing the new dei>artnient. . . . Three Dimen¬ sion Co. moved its plant and offices to 3512 N. Kostner Ave. . . . Great States equipping its theatres in South Bend, Peoria, Rockford and Joliet with stereo¬ phonic equipment. . . . Fox exchange here, in an all-out drive to obtain proxies for management, reports much cooperation. . . . Subsequent runs in this territory for “Sa¬ lome” will have to wait until July 1 as the film is in the Grand Theatre for eight weeks and doing well. . . . Oriental Theatre has secured first run for “The Juggler” to follow cun-ent attraction. . . . The Win¬ ston Theatre anti-trast case, based on the limited two-week loop mn in the Jackson Park decree, has been set for arguments in Seventh District Appeal Court May 15. Now that the stage version of ‘‘Call Me Madam” has departed, the Oriental Thea Watch These Dates! May 4-5: Pittsburgh — Allied MPTO of Western Pennsylvania convention — Wil¬ liam Penn Hotel. May 4-5: Minneapolis — North Central Al¬ lied Independent Theatre Owners conven¬ tion — Nicollet Hotel. May 5-6: Little Rock — Independent Thea¬ tre Owners of Arkansas convention — Marion Hotel. May 5-7: Old Point Comfort, Va. — Virginia Motion Picture Theatre Owners Associa¬ tion convention. Hotel Chamberlin. May 11-12: Oklahoma City — Theatre Own¬ ers of Oklahoma convention. May 12-13: Des Moines — Allied Theatre Owners of Iowa and Nebraska convention. May 13-14: (changed from Apr. 28-29) Kansas City — Allied Theatre Owners of Kansas-Missoviri convention — Phillips Hotel. May 18-23: Mexico City — Variety Clubs, International convention. May 26: Denver — Rocky Mountain Inde¬ pendent Theatres convention — Variety Club. Dinner-dance at the top of the Park. May 31-Jime 2: Atlanta — Alabama Thea¬ tres Ass’n and Motion Picture Theatre Owners and Operators of Georgia joint convention — Biltmore Hotel. June 9-10: French Lick Springs, Ind. — Al¬ lied Theatre Owners of Indiana conven¬ tion — French Lick Hotel. June 28-30: Edgewater Park, Miss. — Mis¬ sissippi Theatre Owners annual conven¬ tion — Edgewater Gulf Hotel. July 8-10: Atlantic City — Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey convention — Traymore Hotel. Sept. 28-30: Dallas — Texas COMPO Con¬ ference — Adolphus and Baker Hotels. Oct. 3-7: Boston — National Allied Conven¬ tion — Hotel Sheraton Plaza. Oct. 6-7 : Kansas City — Kansas-Missouri Theatre Assn, convention — President Hotel. Oct. 31-Nov. 4: Chicago — TOA-TESMATEDA joint trade show — Conrad Hilton Hotel. Nov. 12: New York — Motion Picture Pio¬ neers dinner. Nov. 22-24: Charlotte — Theatre Owners of North and South Carolina convention. tre management rejoorts much better boxoffice with the movie version. Having them in direct comj^etition with each other hurt both shows. . . . Otto Eitel’s Palace Theatre gets Cinerama about July 15. Seating ca¬ pacity will be cut from 2500 to 1800. Union will have same number of operators as N. Y. run. . . . John Schaffer was named mgr. of H&E Balaban ’s Hilltop outdoor theatre, Joliet. Sol Weitzenfeld named comgr. of the circuit’s Commercial Theatre. 3-D equiiiment is being installed in their Windsor, Commercial and DesPlaines thea¬ tres. . . . Telenews is suspending its news¬ reel policy to try out run of “Peter Pan” and “Bear Country.” . . . R. J. Miller opened his McHenry, Ill. drive-in for the season. The four suits filed in Federal and State courts by Emil Stern, former v.p. of Essaness, and Katherine LeRoy, executrix, THE INDEPENDENT FILM JOURNAL— MAY 2, 1953 27