Motion Picture Daily (Apr-Jun 1951)

2 Motion Picture Daily Friday, May 18, 1951 NEWS in Brief • Personal Mention Chicago, May 17.— Barring a last minute hitch, Warner Theatres' Jeffery and Hamilton houses will be taken over at midnight by James Coston, who resigned recently as Chicago zone manager for the Warner circuit. Coston, a veteran circuit operator who left Warner after failure of a deal to acquire a number of WB theatres to be divested under the consent decree, has been negotiating for the two theatres for some time. • Jack Cohn, Columbia Pictures executive vice-president, and Joseph A. McConville, foreign sales vicepresident, have departed here on the S.S. Queen Mary to attend sales conventions of the Columbia British and Continental organizations. • "Fabiola" has been booked into five key theatres following its world premier at the Joy Theatre in New Orleans, it was disclosed here by William J. Heineman, sales vice-president for United Artists, which is releasing the Jules Levey picture. It has been booked into the United Artists Theatre, San Francisco ; Keith, Baltimore; Trans-Lux, Washington; Grand, Cincinnati, and Astor, Boston, with openings scheduled for late May and early June. • Chicago, May 17. — Six more theatres have closed here. Emil Stern and his son, Arthur, shut all four of their theatres, the Avon, Ardmore, Liberty and Rosewood at the close of business Saturday. The elder Stern was a founder and one of the original partners, of the local Essaness circuit, against which he has a law suit pending at the present time. Also closed were the Dale, of this city, and the Rex, Chicago Heights. London, May 17.— P. H. Shirley, who for the past three years has been assistant to John Davis, managing director of the J. Arthur Rank Organization here, resigned from Rank's Odeon group. • Dallas, May 17. — In compliance with Federal Court orders, the Interstate circuit announced here that it will relinquish operation, effective May 30, of the Martini, Tremont and Key theatres in Galveston. They will be transferred to the Martini Estate. The Paramount affiliate retains the State, Queen and Broadway in Galveston and on May 24 will open a new drive-in, the Oleander, in that city. ERIC A. JOHNSTON will be in New York today for an informal uncheon conference with industry friends. • Armand Denis, jungle film producer, was awarded the Adventurer's Club gold medal for "exceptional achievement" in 1950 for his production of "Savage Splendor" last night at the Hotel Savoy-Plaza here. • Evelyn Koleman, director of advertising-publicity in the East for Roy Rogers Productions, has left here to spend three weeks with Roy and Dale Evans Rogers at their home in Encino, Cal. • J. G. Frayne, engineer manager of Westrex's Hollywood division, has returned to the West Coast from New York. • Sam Galanty, Columbia Mideast division manager, is due to arrive here today from Washington. EC. GRAINGER, head of the • Shea circuit, returned here yesterday from a two-week tour of Shea theatres. • Orton H. Hicks, head of the 16mm. department of Loew's International, will give his annual lecture to the class on foreign trade at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration of Dartmouth College today. • Mamie Dureau, office manager and booker at Masterpiece Pictures, New Orleans, accompanied by her daughter, Catherine Lourdes, are spending a two-weeks vacation in New Britain, Conn., and New York. • Mary E. Tuttle, director of home office personnel for RKO Theatres, has been elected president of the Personnel Club of New York. • John K. Hilliard, chief engineer of Altec Lansing Corp., has returned here from Europe. Houses Unit Makes Move to Tax-exempt Non-Profit Shows Receptions for Awards Winners Harry K. Hecht, 68 Passaic, N. J., May 17. — Harry K. Hecht, 68, president of the Hecht circuit, operating theatres here and . in Patterson, died today after a short illness. Survivors are his widow, daughter and two sons. His son-in-law is Maury Miller, president of Theatre Owners of America of New Jersey. Funeral services will be held at the Temple Emanuel, Passaic, 11 A.M., Sunday Lynn Farnol, public relations counselor, in behalf of the Joint Public Relations Committee of Motion Picture Theatres of Greater New York, was host here vesterday to Quigley Showmanship Awards winners, Charles Doctor of the Capitol Theatre, Vancouver, B.C., and J. P. Harrison of the Campus Theatre, Denton, Texas, at a reception in the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. The reception was one of several scheduled for the two showmen this week. Following the presentation of the award plaques at the A. W. Schwalberg testimonial dinner Tuesday evening at the Waldorf Astoria, they were guests of Dan Terrill, exploitation director of M-G-M, at Wednesday's luncheon of the Associated Motion Picture Advertisers. They were dinner guests that evening of Al Stern, RKO Pictures' trade paper publicist, and later that night were guests of Sid Rechetnik of Warners at a theatre party. Round of Visits Yesterday they visited 20th Century-Fox's home office and met Spyros Skouras, Charles Einfeld, Rodney Bush, Jonas Rosenfield, Earle Wingart, and other company executives. Wingart was their host at luncheon and at the Yankee Stadium. Following the Farnol reception they went to the Latin Quarter with Milt Livingston of Universal. Today they will visit Max Youngstein and other officers at United Artists and later will inspect Radio City Music Hall. Columbia's Harry McWilliams will be host at dinner tonight and at a theatre party. NPA Grants Six Appeals; Rejects 11 Washington, May 17. — The National Production Authority has granted six theatre construction ap peals and turned down 11 others. Those granted were: A $74,500 drive-in in DeKalb County, Ga., for the Community Theatres Corp.; a $55,000 theatre in Morehead City, N. C, for E. Everett Enterprises, Inc a $107,310 theatre in Sidney, Nebr. for Fox Alliance Theatre Corp. a $26,018 drive-in at Summit Township, Pa., for Peter and Bernard Camerlo ; a $23,900 drive-in at Portland, Ind., for William C. Mailers; and a $165,557 theatre and five shops in Wichita, Kan. for Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Slot hower. 11 Denials Denied were the following applications: a $12,000 proposal by J. J Rodriquez to aircondition a theatre in Dallas, an $86,250 drive-in in Kankakee, 111., proposed by Alvin Levine; a $72,000 theatre in Joppa, 111., proposed by Cluster Theatres; an $11,782 theatre in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, proposed by Raul Rarrera; a $39,000 Quonset hut theatre for Camden, N.Y., proposed by Robert L. Thompson; a $7,400 drive-m in Silver City, New Mexico, proposed by Ray and Herbert Johnson; a $26,269 drivein in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, proposed by J. Oscar Conwell: a $7,363 drive-in in Grand Junction, Colo., proposed bv R. French and A. C. Ebert; a $24,644 drive-in in Sandpoint, Idaho, proposed by Weskill and Son; a $90,000 drivein in St. Louis County, Mo., proposed by Kilgore Amusement Co., and a $40,000 drive-in relocation, job, in Jefferson City, Mo., proposed by De Luxe Drive -In Theatres, Inc. Washington, May 17. — The House Ways and Means Committee today voted to exempt from the 20 per cent admission tax tickets to non-profit cooperative or community center motion picture theatres, admissions to civic symphony orchestras, the Metropolitan Opera and similar non-profit organizations and other entertainments where the proceeds go to non-profit religious, educational or charitable organizations. The exact proposal, which would lose the government $16,000,000 annually, would also exempt these events : community supported symphony orchestras ; non-profit cooperative or community center theatres ; affairs of National Guard associations, Reserve Officers associations, Veterans organizations and police and fire departments ; opera companies where they are not run for the purpose of making a profit ; non-profit agriculture fairs and concerts conducted by non-profit civic organizations. Admissions to elementary and high school sports events would be exempted, but not admissions to college athletics. Nor does the change exempt admissions to wrestling, boxing matches, carnivals, rodeos or circuses. Plan Film on 'Macy's' "The Girl From Macy's" is being planned for production at the RKO studios by the Jerry Wald-Norman Krasna Co Republic Sets Dividend A dividend of 25 cents per share on preferred stock payable July 2, to stockholders of record at close of business on June 11, 1951, was declared yesterday by the board of directors of Republic Pictures. NEW YORK THEATRES RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL Rockefeller Center "THE GREAT CARUSO" MARIO LANZA • ANN BLYTH Dorothy KIRSTEN Jarmila NOVOTNA Blanche THEBOM Color by TECHNICOLOR Ait M-G-M Picture Pius Spectacular STAGE PRESENTATION Washington, May 17. — A nationwide program of educational meetings which will be conducted in 20 principal industrial centers from Coast-toCoast to acquaint business and industry with the operation of the Controlled Materials Plan. The meetings will be conducted by the National Production Authority, United States Department of Commerce, and began this week Paramount Present* Appointment with , mmmi < Alan Ladd Phyllis Calvert Bill d3hs nt Sfc«srw MS". f.*P ns Midnight Feotvr* Nighllr Academy Award Winner. "Year's Best Actress"! 21st record week! JUDY HOLLIDAY BORN YESTERDAI 1 Columbia Picture; O Ul JUdJr1 . J-i-i ajua ^ _ . ■ MOTION PICTURE DAILY. Martin Quigley, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher; Sherwin Kane, Editor; Terry Ramsaye ^rTeot ne ^rde It^tJ^lkiZT-QM^, Sundays and holidays, by Quigley Publishing Company, Inc., 1270 Sixth Avenue Rockefeller Center New York 20 Y. Telephone Clrde ^ J Brady, Secretary ; New York." Martin Quigley, President; Red Kann, Vice-President; Martin Quigley Jr Vice-Pr^en^TAea J-^^^^»^^m^^^ William R. Weaver, James P. Cunningham, News Editor; Herbert V. Fecke. Advertising Manager;. Gus H. Fause 1 Produ ction M anager. HoUy wood Bureau, Yticc me bu g Washmgton, D. C.