Motion Picture News (Jan - Mar 1928)

M a I 'J 2 8 W> ondlNewsfrom Correspondent^ RKI'( )l\'rS cuiiiiiiL; in Irciiii \ a rious iK'inlilxirhcjdds in Ww York City and vicinil> wonld in dicate tliat business at tlic prcst-nt time is anvtliint but satisfactory, a number of reasons l)einu ad\;iiu-ed as contribiitintj factors to the shmip at the fx).\ olTlices. Of course everv Spring it is usual to extend a certain amount of sympathy in view of the comiufi daylinht saviu!' season and most exhibitors will also ai::ree that Lent does not make any perceittible bullae in the bank account. It has also been said that many of the ueishborhoods have been creatiy overseated, a condition which has resulted in the closinjx of a munber of the smaller Iiouses. However, in addition to all this it is agreed by many exhibitors in this section that there exists beyond a doubt a slight business depression which has had the effect of tiphtenin^ purse strings of the customers. It is not a particularly bad one — and one which will undoubtedly rectify itself when the present polif'cal situation becomes more clarified. The box ofifice situation is less alarmin" in theatres alomr Broadway and in those of the larger adjacent cities. These houses always sret their share of the considerable transient trade and even with a weak picture get by with the de luxe tyjie of show, which practicalh all are presenting. To some extent these theatres are also nulling trade away from neighborhocxls. But the big houses have also felt the slump somewhat, as is evidenced by the very noticeable fluctuation of receipts. One week they do fairly well ; the next, quite a bit below average. New York & New Jersey .\fliT a four weeks' trip to I'lorida, where he visited tiie cities of Miami, St. Augustine aiid Palm Beach, Lawrence Bolongino, general manager of the Consolidated Anuisements F,nteri)rises in New York City, has returned much improved in health. Previous to leaving for the South, Mr. Bolongino was on the sick list. His partner (Mr. I'uncke) is reported to be preparing for a six months' visit in European cities. Sydney Cohen is expected to start construction on his new Strand theatre, 161st Street and Westchester Avenue, in the early Spring of this year. The old 600 seat Strand will be torn down and present ijlans are said to call for the erection of a 2,500 seat theatre on the same site. Another well known theatre owner to start breaking ground for a new house is Sam Lesselbaum, who has a 2,500 seat project under way in Canarsie. During the past few years Canarsie has advanced from a small community to a population said to be at least 30,000. Morris Blinders is the owner of the one other theatre in this section, the Canarsie theatre. Delay in installing certain equipment is said to be the cause for the postponement of the opening of the new Stanley theatre at Journal Square, Jersey City. A definite date appears hard to determine at the present writing but this theatre will positively open during the latter part of March. Of course, every iine knows !)> this time tli.it the w. k. Nellie l<evell has been named publicit> director for this big 5,(KJ<) seater. Walter Reade I'.nterprises have recently eipiipped the Strand and I'juijire theatres in New liruswick, N. J., with new screens from XatifMial Theatre .Suiiply. National has also re-e(|uii)i)ed the lx>oth of the Broadway, a Pnblix house in Poughkeepsie, and the .Strand at Yonkers. Joe Weinstock's Tremont theatre, a new 3,000 seat theatre has been officially taken over on lease by Loew, Inc., and will be opened Decoration Day with a program of pictures and vaudeville. Stores and offices also form part of the theatre building. The Tremont section is becoming quite a theatre centre these days, which, of course, means a center of much competition. Within a few blocks of the Weinstock property is the Ellsmere, formerly owned by Mr. Weinstock, who is said to have recently repurchased a half interest : Keith's new Chester, said to be doing a remarkable trade, and the Boston Road theatre, the latter now a couple of years old. Walter Greene, first vice president of National Supply Company, recently returned from a two weeks' trip through Eastern division territory. Joe Hornstein is holding the fort at 1540 Broadway. Dave Solomon, well known salesman for National Supply, had a rnonst;i( hr ;i lrv\ uccks wjn, now he hasn't got it. Why? Ask Dave. Morris Seidlitz, frjriiKTJy asso I ialcd witli Syrlney Cohen's Tremont theatre, is now in charge of the Allerton tiieatre, Allerton and White I'laiiis Avenue, the I{ronx. It is reported tliat Mr. Seidlitz is doing a very nice business there and this would further belie a rumor a few weeks past that the Allerton would be placed on the market. These columns carried a rejiorl. without confirmation from the .Mlerton Theatre Corporation, that the Allerton had been sold, but this was subsequently denied by one of the executives. The Webster theatre, Webster .•\veimc and 167th Street, is to be reopened by Coleman Bros. Another house, closed for some time and about to be reopened, is the Royal theatre, located on So. Boulevard. Moc Goldman, also operating the Art theatre in the same locality, will take charge. Morris Blinders, who has a lease on the new Tuxedo theatre, Jerome .-\ venue, is said to be considering a sublease of the house to another party. The Lafayette theatre in Harlem has changed from a policy of vaudeville, etc., to pictures. Alillburn, N. J., is slated for Sunday pictures, according to report. Another new theatre to be built by the Jersey City Theatre Co. in the Boulevard Plaza section of Hoboken, is the report. Hicksville, L. I., will have a new theatre this Summer to be operated by Casey and Wheeler of the Playhouse Operating Co. Morris Kutinsky has returned from a trip South. Kansas City IT was a merry war betw^een the Pantages and Gayety theatres of Kansas City to obtain Josephine Haldeman Julius and her companionate husband, Aubrey Roselle, for a bo<:)king, the Pantages theatre, first run motion picture and vaudeville house, winning out. Roselle and his wife, who are students in the L^niversity of Kansas and who have received wide publicity in the Kansas City territory, were scheduled to begin their act at the Pantages March 9, the Pantages having been the highest bidder at $600 weekly, its is understood. Following the booking it was necessary to employ an extra telephone girl at the theatre to answer questions concerning the young couple's appearance, Charles Charninsky, Pantage's manager, said. The booking wil be for one week, a later booking to include the entire Pantages circuit. Three men, all ex-convicts, were arraigned in Kansas City Tuesday in connection with the $452 hold-up of the Benton theatre, suburban house. The bandits robbed the cashier and escaped in a motor car, three men later being arrested and held in connection with the case. Jack Roth, veteran theatre manager of Kansas City, who for the last fourteen months has been managing the Loew house in Memphis, Tenn., has returned to Kansas City to manage the Madrid theatre. H. A. Jones, who has been managing the Crane theatre, Carthage, Mo., has been transferred to the Kansas City ofifice of the Midland Circuit, he having been succeeded at Carthage by Harry Wren of St. Joseph, Mo. The following changes in theatre management and ownership and improvements made at theatres in the Kansas City territory have been announced ; H. Crowd's interests in the Navojo theatre, Hardtner, Kans., have been purchased by Walter Dial; the Hubbell theatre', Trenton, Mo., which was damaged by fire recently, has been reopened by Manager W. M. Hubbell : the Grand theatre, Beloit, Kans., will be closed one week for rdeecorating : the United Studios, Inc., of Chicago, have been awarded the contract for the decorating of the new Tackett theatre, Coffeyville, Kans., according to John B. Tackett, owner of the theatre ; the LaCrosse theatre, LaCrosse, Kans., has been leased by A. F. Weber and C. C. Haas, of Great Bend. Kans. ; the Lenora Opera House, Lenora, Kans., has been purchased by John Schieferecke, from Percival Bros., of Hoxie, Kans. ; the Rex theatre, of Bronson. Kans., has been opened by Joseph Paffin, of Parker, Kans. .Among the out-of-town exhibitors in the Kansas City market this week were : Lawrence Brueninger, Orpheum, Topeka, Kas. ; T. D. Block, Odessa, Mo.; C. M. Pattee, Pattee theatre, Lawrence, Kas. ; Walter Wallace, Orpheum, Leavenworth, Kas. ; Frank Weary, Farris theatre, Richmond, Mo. He who has the reputation of being the smallest film salesman in tlie Kansas City territory — Max Meyer, weight 90 pounds — now is selling features for the Tiffany exchange. Miss Bernice Nowlin and Miss Catherine Lawler have been added to the office force of the Warner Bros., branch. C. C. Ezelle, southern and western sales manager for Warner Bros., was a Kansas City visitor, incidentally arriving in time to look over the new Hupmobile sedan bought the other day by M. C. Sinift, Warner Branch manager. Roy Churchill, F B O branch manager, and Beverly Miller, National Screen Service representative in Kansas City, returned from Chicago, where the former had attended a sales meeting of his company. Carl G. Howe has succeeded Wesley Dunlap as booker at the Educational branch.