Motion Picture News (Jul - Sep 1927)

1004 Motion Picture News Des Moines JIM McGIVERN, who used to be with Universal here, was a visitor at the office last week. He is now with Universal at Indianapolis. Mr. McGivern was called to Des Moines by the serious illness of his mother. Mr. McGivern is a brother of Mrs. Mary Benjamin, formerly secretary and treasurer of the Des Moines Film Board of Trade. Theatres which have temporarily or indefinitely closed are the Plaza theatre at Dundee, Iowa, and the Opera House at Arlington. Mr. C. W. Lawrence has the Dundee house and A. R. Baird is owner of the Arlington Opera House. Stanley and Cecil, who have been in partnership at the Rialto theatre at Bedford for some years, have decided to dissolve partnership, with one of the owners taking over the interests of the other. The deal has not yet been consummated. Manager Shea of the F.B.O. exchange and the one who awarded the prizes in the gold tournament of the Film Board of Trade, of Des Moines, made public announcement of the winners as follows : E. H. John.son, exhibitor at Audubon, was the champion, defeating Bobby Mitchell of the Paramount office at Omaha. In the consolation match the winner was Mr. Morris, exhibitor at Eagle Grove, while Jimmy Wynn of Educational office at Des Moines, lost to him. Harvey Graham of Bloomfield was winner of the second flight, with Pearl Robbins of the Famous Players sales staff in Des Moines as runnerup. In the third flight, McCullough, Paramount salesman, was winner, with Manager Bill Copeland of the same office as runnerup. In the fourth flight, the winner was Milt Frankel. United Artists salesman, and Harry Cohen, salesman for F.B.O. , won second place in this flight. Clyde Pratt, salesman for First National, was winner over Abe Frankel, owner of Riverview Amusement Park and the Casino Theatre in Des Moines, as well as a number of theatres over the state. This was the first time that Abe Frankel, who is one of the veteran showmen of Iowa, had ever played golf, and heartiest congratulations were extended to him on his success in the tournament. Mr. Frankel has been bit by the golf bug BAD, and if anyone wants to sell him pictures now they must meet him on the golf course. Another unusual event of the match is the fact that Mr. Johnson, winner of the championship flight, is also a veteran in years, and he surprised the betters on the match in winning out over the youngsters. He won a golf cup and a wrist watch as prizes. Two salesmen have been added to the staff of F.B.O. Harry Frankel, formerly salesman for Pathe, is now covering the northern part of the state for F.B.O , while Howard Gould, who also comes from the Pathe office here, is now selling the southern territory for F.B.O. William Beale, for the past eight years with Pathe as office manager and booker, has been secured by the F.B.O. exchange for the same position at that office. Miss Ollie Reese, who had been secretary to the branch manager, is now the cashier for the exchange. Visitors in Film Row last week were Mr. Eddy of Indianola ; Mr. Mathews of the Elmore theatre at Buffalo Center, making one of his rare visits ; Mr. Morris of Eagle Grove; Mr. Curtis of Redfield; Mr. Pettit of Winterset. M. Beatty, booker of the First National office, has returned from his vacation trip. A number of pictures scheduled for the fall season are running against some unusual competition in the long heat spell which has hit Des Moines and the state, making records unusual for September in high temperature registers. However, the continued warm weather put lovra corn beyond danger from frost and this spells prosperity for all kinds of business almost immediately. The Majestic was one of the A. H. Blank houses. The Plaza and the Rialto at Waterloo have been closed while repairs have been made in both theatres. Quite complete changes were made in both houses, making them both up-to-date in equipment and changing the complete scheme of decoration. The theatres are now open to the public. Ep. Smith has bought the Majestic theatre at Fort Dodge and is now operating it under the new name of the Polka Dot. Mr. Smith was formerly an exhibitor at Newton, Iowa, and has been for a number of terms the executive secretary of the M.P.T.O.A. of Iowa. Fred Hinds will continue the operation of the Cresco theatre at Cresco, Iowa. Frank Wewerka, who had negotiated with Mr. Hinds for the ownership of the theatre at Cresco with the plan that Mr. Wewerka should assume the lease of the theatre building which has yet two years to run, failed to conclude the deal. H. J. Cramer at Chariton, Iowa, opened his new theatre to the public last week. The theatre was christened the Ritz and is listed as one of the finest of the smaller theatres of the state. Jimmy Shea, manager, with the sales staff of F.B.O., Bill Seymour, Harry Cohen, Ed Ballentyne, Tim Eashman, Bill Naismith and Harry Cohen attended a meeting at Omaha in which conference was held with E. B. Derr, treasurer for F.B.O., from the home office. The World Theatre at Sioux City is again open to the public. The theatre was reopened last week after having been closed during the summer months for extensive repairs and redecoration. New scenery has been added to the stage, which has been enlarged, and the seating arrangement of the house has been improved and increased. E. P. Smith has bought the Majestic theatre at Messenger, Iowa. New York & New Jersey CHARLES ROSENZWEIG, for the last five years manager of the F.B.O. exchange in New York, will, in the future, supervise the F.B.O. exchanges in Albany and Buffalo, in addition to his duties as manager of the New York exchange, according to an annoimcement by Lee Marcus, general sales manager of the company. Mr. Rosenzweig's new appointment in no wise affects the positions of Harry Wineberg, manager of the Albany exchange, and H. T. Dixon, in charge of the Buffalo office. The latest legitimate house in New York City to join the ranks of the "Little Theatre" movement is the Edyth Totten theatre, 247 West 48th street, where a Vilma Banky film will open Friday evening, Sept. 23. Invitations are out for the reopening of the new City theatre, 530 Bergenline avenue. Union City, N. J., on Friday evening of this week. This house has been entirely rebuilt by its owners, Edward Madden and Louis Simon, who have spared no expense in the way of making the City a strictly upto-date theatre. After an absence of over a month from New York's film curb, the well known Louis Goldberg once again made his appearance this week among the heavy traffic around the entrance of 729 7th avenue. Since Mr. Goldberg's departure from the Mayer & Schneider circuit, for whom he did all booking, his duties as circuit manager for Steiner & Blinderman have kept him down on the East Side most of the time. David J. Lusting, another well known theatre manager, was also a "Curb" visitor on Tuesday. The young daughter of Nathan Mass, proprietor of the Lincoln theatre, Lincoln place and Bedford avenue, died suddenly last Saturday after a short illness. The local film trade offers its sympathy. Leonia, N. J., has at last graduated from a thriving Jersey commimity into a full fledged town that has its own movie, for on September 29, the Leonia theatre, a house of ten or twelve hundred seating capacity, will open its doors to a public which has had to seek its entertainment elsewhere in the past. L. Shoen is the builder, owner and operator. On the 50th street and Seventh avenue corner of the Winter Garden building a new store has made its appearance with a big sign over the door reading — "Nuts" — ^thus guaranteeing to some in that locality rations for the coming winter. Met Al Brandt, another of the Brandt Brothers of Brooklyn, last Tuesday in the building at 735 7th avenue. Al says that their Duffield theatre, in the downtown shopping section of Brooklyn, has recently installed a new Wurlitzer organ. Also that their Terminal theatre, 9th street and Fourth avenue, same boro, is experimenting with a new jazz orchestra number on the stage, much to the delight of Fourth avenue citizens. It is reported that Keith's may put their Riviera theatre, St. Johns place, Brooklyn, on the market if the right figures come along. Some East New York, or perhaps more correctly, Brownsville, exhibitors may have cause for worry when Loew's new theatre mider construction on Pitkin avenue is completed. Buildings are being razed in preparation for the site, which is said to be one recently abandoned by Publix. M. L. Meyer, better known as "Mat," has joined the ranks of Commonwealth's local sales organization after four years' asso ciation with the Pathe-Associated (now Pathe-DeMille) exchange. Mr. Meyer has a faithful following among exhibitors in Brooklyn. Phil Meyer, brother of M. L. and long associated with the PatheAssociated exchange as New York sales manager, is doing very nicely in the same capacity for Jack Bellman, of Hollywood Pictures' local exchange. Not all supply companies are located in the neighborhood of the film exchanges. There is one over in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn which has at its helm Al Brandt and S. Berkowitz, both well known among the trade. Sam Perry, Englewood, New Jersey, exhibitor, is having his troubles these days with some of the help. Sam would not renew his contract under certain specified conditions and the help walked out — mostly musicians, Mr. Perry advises. The first kind words ever expressed by Al Moley n connection with Brooklyn's National League players were spoken when Dazzy Vance trimmed the Pirates early this week. It's hardly necessary to state that Al is the fast working booker at the Prudential Film delivery offices.