The Exhibitor (1954)

MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR NT-1 iMiWS OF thf: BRANCHES Cincinnati Members of Tent 3, Variety Clubs, and its Ladies Auxiliary staged a joint in¬ stallation ceremony and dinner dance in the Restaurant Continental, Nethcrland Plaza Hotel, with several hundred present. The principal speaker was George Hoover, international chief barker. The affair was preceded by a cocktail hour in the clubrooms in the hotel. Business trips were made by Robert McNab, 20th-Fox branch manager, to Bramwell, W. Va.; George A. Kirby, Republic branch manager, to Columbus, O.; and Sam and A1 Levin, Dayton, O., exhibitors, to Chicago. Ray Frisz, Chakeres Circuit, Springfield, O., and Vance Schwartz, local exhibitor, escaped the cold weathei' hereabouts by vacationing in Florida. In town wexe Howard Minsky, Para¬ mount division manager; Leo Green¬ field, Buena Vista sales representative; Frank Decker, Allied Artists West Vir¬ ginia salesman, and J. J. Shubert, New York, owner, local Cox and Shubert, who visited here with his wife while enroute to Florida. Exhibitors in were Frank Allara, Matewan, W. Va.; J. Woodrow Thomas, Oak Hill, W. Va.; George B. Lively and C. B. Huekle, Huntington, W. Va.; Frank Mandros, Cabin Creek, W. Va.; Harold Moore, Charleston, W. Va. ; Harry McHaffie, Mamet, W. Va.; Charles Scott', Vevay, Ind.; Guy Greathouse, Aurora, Ind.; George Turlukis, Hamil¬ ton, 0.; Harley E. Bennett, Circleville, 0.; Frank Yasseivoff, Columbus, 0.; Wil¬ liam Settos, SpiingTield, O.; Bob Har¬ rell, Cleves, O.; and James Denton, Owingsville, Ky. Lester Rosenfeld, exhibitor, St. Al¬ bans, W. Va., is recuperating from an illness on a Florida vacation. . . . Wil¬ liam Burns, Warner, head booker, and May Howard will be married Feb. 12. . . . Juanita Crabtree is a new clerk in the cashier’s department at U-I. Cleveland Three top industry men were in town to tell the members of the press about their new pictures. Philip Dunne, direc¬ tor-producer of “Prince of Players,” met the press at a 2()th-Fox luncheon. His coming was in advance of a special deluxe opening of the picture at the .Allen. Paramount was host to the press to present George S-^ton and William Perlberg, director and pinducer of “The Bridges .At Toko-Ri” and “The Country Girl.” Both are advocates of tlm feweibut better picture policy adopted by all of the major studios. They believe tin' iiiovi( going public will support only top SW's Silver to Receive Man of Year Award PITTSBURGH — M. A. Silver, zone manager, Stanley Warner Thea¬ tres, a veteran of 39 years in showbusiness, and leader in industry, civic, and communal endeavors, both on a national as well as local level, has just been named by the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh for its annual .Alan-of-the-Year Award. This marks the first time in the 15 years of the citations by the chamber that an individual has been cited for achievement in the enter¬ tainment field. Silver was nominated for bringing Cinerama to the Warner, for his continued activities in charitable affairs, and for his policy of giving over local Stanley Warner theatres for the holding of annual world movie premieres for the benefit of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. With 11 winners in other fields of endeavor, Silver, one of the nation’s top showmen, is to receive his award at the .5Ian-of-the-Year Dinner in Hotel William Penn on Jan. 31. pictures and that there isn’t any profit either to the producer or the exhibitor in the so-called program pictui'e. “To relieve the so-called product shortage, the exhibitor should not dissipate the good product by double featui'ing it,” Perlberg stated. Both Perlberg and Seton are enthusiastic over their coming pro¬ duction of “Porgy and Bess.” Jeannie Johnson, “Sign of the Pagan” ballyhooer, was in town to stimulate public interest in the production cin-rently playing at the Hippodrome. . . . Milton .A. Mooney, head. Co-operative Theatres of Ohio, checked into his office after a six-week vacation cruise to the Orient. Mrs. Bernie Rubin and .A1 Sunshine, who are continuing operation of Imperial Pictures following the recent death of Bernie Rubin, are in New A'oi'k to meet the producers and distributors whose pictures Imperial distributed in northern Ohio. . . . P. L. Tanner, Film Transit Company, is back in town, having sold his Miami, Fla., home. “Mom and Dad,” Hallmark production, is playing to near capacity business in four local theatres. University, Sun, Standard, and Southern vvithout benefit of newspaper advertising. The Plain Dealer and News refused all copy. The Press ran copy several days and then withdrew' it entirely. Card Mandor, handl¬ ing the publicity for the multiple en¬ gagement, distributed 300, ()()() mail box heralds the first w'eek and an additional 130,000 the second week. He also used 18 radio spots a day. The Press withdrew' its acceptance of advertising copy not on the basis of the picture w'hich, it reported editorially, “in the opinion of The Press medical w'liter Don Dunham is not, of and by itself, particularly objectionable,” but because, in it’s opinion, “the widely distributed junk mail circular is baw’dy, cheap and phony.” Shea Ohio managers Dale Tysinger, .Ashtabula; Ray McNealy, Geneva; and Harry Buck, Conneaut, w'ere Film Rowvisitors. Tysinger ran into a natural promotion recently w-hen he brought in practically the entire Mills Brothers circus troup from its w'inter quarters in Jefferson County to promote his en¬ gagement of “Three Ring Circus.” The circus animals w-ere on displa.v in Shea’s .Ashtabula lobby along w-ith their attend¬ ants to explain their habits to patrons. Jack K. Vogel, drive-in architectural engineer, Wellsville, 0., repoits he has contracted with Sidney Lusk to enlarge the screen tower of his Hillside Drive-In, Marlboi'o Pike, Md., to a w’idth of 108 feet. Other contracts entered into by Vogel are to increase the size of the screen tower of F. H. Durkee Enterprises North Point Drive-In, Baltimore, Md., and also w'ith Norbert Stern, Pittsburgh, to remodel the Harmar Drive-In, Harmarville, including a new screen towei'. Robert Wile, secretary. Independent Theati'e Ow-ners of Ohio told exhibitors to be over cautious in their picture buy¬ ing now' that state censorship is out. He warns that the state legislature has plans to introduce new enforcement laws and extra caution should be exercised not to show’ any picture of a question¬ able nature. “Whatever possible gain there might be in showing a question¬ able picture now can be completely w'iped out not only for you but for every ex¬ hibitor in the state,” Wile states in his latest bulletin to ITO members. Seen at the recent trade screening of Paramount’s “The Bridges .At Toko-Ri” in Cincinnati, were, left to right, Vin Kramer, sales representative; Joseph Blum, .Mount Healthy, O., exhibitor; Herbert Gillis, Paramount branch manager; Carl Ferazza, Keith’s, Cincinnati: and Robert Morrell, general manager, Shor Ent x-rprises. .Jannarif 26, 1955 MIDEAST