Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1927)

1914 M otion Picture News Des Moines JOSEPHINE BAUMGARTEN, until recently an employe of the booking department of Fox Films at the Des Moines office, has severed connections with Fox. Prior to her work at that office, she was assistant secretary of the Iowa Theatre Owners' Association. Miss Baumgarten will undoubtedly continue in some line of film work. Due to the fact that the name "The Roxy Theatre" is a copyrighted name, Youngclass and Latta who named the Rex theatre, which they bought recently, the Roxy, have again renamed the house and will call it The Foxy. They have the ownership of the two theatres at Perry, Iowa. Universal claims the lead in the bowling contests with three games won against F. B. O. last week. Universal, Famous Players and F. B. O. tied the week before for second place with Pathe taking the leading score. The team of Famous Players claim that they were not able to do so well because they did not have the support from the girls in the rooting stand that they had the week before. O. H. Garland, salesman for Pathe, is now out of bed but will not go out on the road until this week. He has had a severe attack of the grippe. Dewey Maaske, who has the Maaske hall, will show pictures there. He has purchased the projection machine owned by the Odd Fellows. Perry, Iowa, voted for Sunday shows in a heated battle, with 1,416 for and 1,153 against, when Youngclass and Latta, who bought the two houses there, urged that the town have a chance to change their opinion from the vote out on Sunday shows that they gave them four years ago. A number of adjacent towns will probably put the matter to a vote soon as in the majority of cases the election has been to ask the return of Sunday shows. A. C. Wilson and I. H. Hildreth, traveling auditors for Fox Films, have been at the Des Moines office the past week. Lionel Wasson, who has been at Waterloo doing special publicity on the new theatre there, which is being built for the A. H. BlankPublix chain, has returned to Des Moines, while Herb Grove, manager of the Des Moines theatre in Des Moines, has gone to Waterloo to take charge of the opening of the hause at Waterloo. This theatre is to be christened the Riviera and is now scheduled to have its opening on December 29. Lionel Wasson is taking charge of the Strand theatre in Des Moines while Jess Day is managing the Des Moines theatre. Harry David, executive of the Publix Shows here, is making his headquarters at Omaha instead of Des Moines for a time. The Gem theatre, Des Moines suburban house, has been sold by Roy Jones, who built the house and has run it for the past several years, to Fred Worrell, who was manager of the Rivoli theatre at Oskaloosa, one of the Hostettler houses. A. J. Levy, formerly of Kansas City, is now on the staff of Pathe in Des Moines. He is assistant to Les Phillips, sales manager. Youngclass and Latta have purchased a new screen for the Grand theatre at Perry. This house has not been in operation since it was bought by the partners, who announced at the time that the theatre would be remodeled before opening. E. F. Woods, who recently bought the Isis theatre at Lynnville, last week bought 75 new chairs for the theatre. He is making quite extensive repairs in the theatre, has redecorated it and put in a new heating system as well as repairing the booth equipment. The theatre is a 300 seat house. C. B. Stombaugh, western division sales manager, and Mr. Hill, feature sales manager, visited the Des Moines office of Pathe. Charles Fenton of Oilman, who has the Fenton house there, and M. R. Pettit, of Winterset, were callers last week. J. F. McLoon, traveling auditor, was another from the home office to visit the Des Moines branch. The Capitol theatre has bought two machines equipped with Peerless lamps and two new spotlights. The Lyric Theatre at Walnut, Iowa, which has been under the management of E. B. McCord, has been sold to Arthur A. Johnson, of Harlan, Iowa. He is making several changes in the house. Grantham and Peters, of Fairbank, Iowa, who have the Polly theatre at Fairbank, have purchased the Arlington opera house at Arlington on lease and have bought the theatre equipment from the former owner, A. R. Bird. Minneapolis AM FETING was held in Minneapolis last week between the local Film Board of Trade and four members of the Milwaukee Film Board of Trade. The men who came to Minneapolis were Ben Koenig, secretary of the Board, Sam Shurman of M-G-M, Charles Trampe of Midwest, and P. McCarthy of First National. Among problems discussed were those arising from the fact that the Minneapolis and Milwaukee territories overlap in Wisconsin. The Bayport theatre at Bayport, Minn., which has just reopened, is managed by E. E. Iverson, for merly of Brainerd, Minn. The interior of the building has been remodeled and the equipment thoroughly overhauled. Minneapolis was visited last week by Bill Danzinger, special representative of the Harold Lloyd corporation. Last month the Gem theatre at Littlefork, Minn., was opened by Jean Jewett and E. J. Chilgren. Late this month the new theatre at Huron, S. D., will be opened by manager Donald J. Harris. The theatre is to be known as the State as a result of a name contest held recently by the manager. There is a seating capacity of 700 and one of the special features is a glassenclosed, sound-proof room where mothers may take crying babies and continue to watch the show without disturbing the rest of the audience. Finkelstein & Ruben is planning more elaborate Christmas parties than ever before for children. Thousands of children in the northwest will be made happier because of the firm's holiday program. Finkelstein & Ruben entertained 51 Montana boys and girls this week at a theatre party at the State theatre in Minneapolis. The children were visiting in the city on their way home from Chicago, where they attended the International Livestock show and the sixth annual junior club congress. Minneapolis' "thrift stockings" are full to the top this year, according to the city's banks and trust companies. Merchants are looking for a record period of holiday shopping, as there has been a fine crop in the northwest, and there should be plenty of money to spend, not only on Christmas, but on the movies. Exhibitors n general are looking forward to a very busy and prosperous winter. Philadelphia JOHN FREEMAN, who was formerly manager of the Grand theatre in Chester, has been transferred to the Keystone theatre as house manager. Tom Lancaster, known in this territory for many years as a vaudeville performer, has been appointed by Marshall W. Taylor, joint manager for the Zimmerman interests in the Stanley Company, as resident manager at the Queen theatre in Wilmington, Del. Elaborate ceremonies marked the breaking of ground for the Jules E. Mastbaum Rodin Museum on the Parkway in Philadelphia on December 7th. This museum, which will house the collection of Rodin masterpieces secured by Mr. Mastbaum during his lifetime, was provided for in a clause of his will. The speakers included Mayor Kendrick, E. T. Stotesbury and the French consul in Philadelphia. Following a meeting of the board of directors of the Stanley Company of America, it was decided to name the new 5,000 seat theatre being erected by the Stanley Com pany at 20th and Market streets, the Mastbaum theatre instead of the Jules theatre, as originally planned. It was felt that the name Mastbaum would better perpetuate the former president of the company than the mere title Jules. Present plans provide for a formal opening of the Stanley Company's Kent theatre in Kensington, the northeast section of Philadelphia, about January 1st. This is a 2,000 seat house and will be the most elaborate and up-to-date neighborhood house added to the Stanley chain in Philadelphia during its history. Mrs. Charles Segal, wife of the owner of Segal's Palace, the Apollo, and several other neighborhood theatres in Philadelphia, is now a patient at the Jefferson Hospital, where she will remain for some time. Marshall W. Taylor, one of the district managers who has charge of the Stanley, Wilmington and Chester houses and also of several theatres in Philadelphia, has moved to Doylestown, Pa.