International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1954)

More Small Houses Go Stereophonic IF DOUBTERS there be as to the practicability of stereophonic sound equipment in small theatres they might ponder an installation now being made by National Theatre Supply. Walter Green, company president, tells of the installation in the pint-size screening room of a state censor board. The tiny theatre seats 85 and the biggest screen the room can take measures 7 by 13 feet. With the battle dust now settling as 20th Century-Fox and various recalcitrant exhibitor groups observe an uneasy truce, IP is receiving an increasing number of reports on installation of stereosound and CinemaScope equipment in the smaller theatres of the nation. Family Size Theatres National Theatre Supply, for example, announces more than 600 installations in family-size theatres, the neighborhood and small town houses that are the backbone of the picture business. Use of such equipment, of course, is now commonplace for the big movie palaces, the Music Halls, the Roxys and the other "Grand Central Station" theatres. Motiograph sends along a list of 185 small theatres in which that company has completed the equipment job. "And this list is for our company only," said Fred Matthews, of Motiograph, "and does not include Altec Service Corporation, RCA, Century, Simplex, Ballantyne, Ampex or any other company. These companies, as well as ourselves, are making installations or filling orders on stereophonic sound." Pointing out that the most important elements of the CinemaScope process are a wide screen, plus true stereophonic sound, Mr. Matthews said that "these elements combine to provide the greatest approach to motion picture story telling ever achieved and the public has spoken for them by attending the theatres which are showing pictures filmed in this medium. The alert theatre owner who wishes to share in the receipts of the many great pictures to be produced for wide screen and stereophonic sound will make an early decision to properly equip his theatre." Disclosing that his company has booked almost 700 orders in the past five months, Walter Green, of National Theatre Supply, said that a rapidly increasing proportion of these sales are to theatres in the 500 to 1000 seats bracket, with many in even smaller categories. Tests Exhaustive As to the 85-seat screen room for the state censor board, Mr. Green said his company had made exhaustive tests to determine the feasability of stereophonic sound in such a small theatre. "The results were as effective and spectacular in this small auditorium as in the largest theatre," he said. RCA installations are proceeding so rapidly that the company is sending Strong Electric Has New Heavy-Duty Selenium Rectifiers equipment by truck from Camden, N. J., as far away as Michigan and Rhode Island. In one recent month, according to A. J. Piatt, manager of RCA Theatre Equipment Sales, more than 100 independent theatres and five circuits, including the RKO and Stanley-Warner chains, placed orders with the company for stereo sound. Ampex, as reported elsewhere in this issue of IP, made 45 installations in the New York area alone in less than one month. 1 A ELECTIONS LOCAL 150, LOS ANGELES, CALIF. Wallace G. Crowley, pres.; Chas A. Vencill, sec.-treas.; Clyde W. Shuey, bus. rep.; E. R. "Sam" Pierson, guide; C. C. Bolinger, Virgil Crowell, John Sickinger, exam, board; Charles Bramel, R. L. MacDonald, Tom Ginthner, trustees ; Al Adams, Harold Angel, Clem Marchand, George O'Brien, H. C. Smith, exec, board; A. Adams, W. G. Crowley, C. W. Shuey, Paul J. Mahoney, Magnus Nielsen, Geo. J. Schaffer and C. A. Vencill, del. to lA Convention. The following were elected to the board of directors of the Local 150 Club, Inc.: A. Adams, H. Clay Blanchett, W. Crowley, M. Nielsen, G. Schaffer, C. Shuey, Leo F. Stockwell, C. Vencill, Harold Angel, R. L. MacDonald, P. Mahoney, and H. C. Smith. LOCAL 173, TORONTO, ONT., CANADA J. Sturgess, pres.; A. Kerrin, vice-pres.; L. Lodge, sec.-treas.; R. Higgins, rec.-sec; P. Travers, bus. rep. (by acclamation) ; D. Siegel, R. O'Connor, L. Applebaum, R. Wilson, exec, board; T. Covert, J. Harris, E. Whyatt, trustees; S. Cohen, sgt.-at-arms (by acclamation) ; G. Robinson, tyler (by acclamation) ; P. Travers, J. Sturgess, G. Jones, and D. Siegel, del. to I A convention. « Above are tvi/o views of the components of the new selenium rectifier produced by the Strong Electric Corp., Toledo, Ohio. Described as extremely rugged and dependable, the rectifier is designed for use with high intensity projection carbon arc lamps pulling from 70 to 135 amperes. Two sets of transformer taps are provided for adjusting output current over a wide range of amperages and to compensate for variations in line voltages from 200 to 250. At left Is shown the fan, switch and transformer and at right Is the grid system. LOCAL 181, BALTIMORE, MD. L. Sieber, pre5. ; H. BieisweQ., 1st vice-pres.; C. Dotson, 2nd vice-pres.; W. MacKinzie, 3rd vice-pres.; T. P. Finn, Sr., sec.-treas.; C. Towers, rec.-sec; C. Bayne, bus. rep.; H. Gentile, C. Grauling (chairman), R. Rushworth, trustees; E. Kastner, sgt.-at-arms; I E. Eich, 0. Niquet, wage scale comm.; C. I Grauling, S. Isaacson, L. Sieber, del. Baltimore Federation of Labor. LOCAL 253, ROCHESTER, N. Y. Louis Levin, pres.; Joseph Pandina, vicepres.; Lester D. Barager, sec; Leon E. Burton, treas.; Fred E. Boekhout, bus. rep.; John Copple, sgt.-at-arms; Harry Levy, trustee; Frank Britt, Louis Goler, Floyd Spencer, Ernest Henley, exec, board; Joseph Vecchio, Sr., and Abe Orden, del. Central Trades. LOCAL 348, VANCOUVER, B. C. CANADA Douglas Calladine, pres.; W. McCarthey, vice-pres.; George Thrift, sec; Ray Wardrop, rec.-sec; Les Walker, bus. rep.; Gordon Sutherland, sgt.-at-arms; L. Walker, F. Smith, and D. Calladine, del. lA Convention. 24 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST • JANUARY 1954