The Exhibitor (1955)

NT-2 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Ihoati'e the day befoi'e and that they may have done the damage in an act of veng'eance. . . . Repi’osentatives of Den¬ ver women’s civic g’l'oups plan a CARD benefit closed circuit television extrava¬ ganza to be shown at the Paramount on March 28. Denver will be one of 40 cities, and the only one in the Rocky Mountain ai-ea, to get the show, to be televised by the American National Theatre and Academy, who will divide proceeds on a 50-50 basis with CARE. Des Moines Cliflford L. Niles, 70, former theatre operator, died at his home in .4namosa, la., from cancer. He is survived by five daughters and one son, Charles, who at one time was national treasurer for Allied. . . . F. W. Naulteus sold his Maple, Mapleton, la., to Charles D. Vickers of Cudahy, Wis. . . • Don Hicks, manager. Paramount, has return¬ ed to his desk after an illness of 10 days. Kansas City Two important independent circuit heads, after attending MGM Workshops at Jackson, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn., were so impressed with the sessions, they have decided to send their man¬ agers and key home office personnel to the Kansas City workshop, March 8 and the Dallas workshop, March 9. M. B. Smith, director of advertising, publicity and public relations. Commonwealth Circuit, Kansas City, Mo., has notified Mike Simons, director of customer rela¬ tions and conductor of the workshops, that the circuit will send 39 managers, five district men and two home office executives to the Kansas City session. Thomas E. McElroy, managing director of the circuit bearing his name, Shreveport, La., attended the Miss., session and advised MGM that, he was making plans for all key per¬ sonnel in the organization to attend the March 9 workshop at Dallas. Bob Wolfe, office manager, Columbia, has resigned his position to become salesman for IFE. He will cover Des Moines, Omaha, and Denver, headquar¬ tering here. . . . Claude E. Mori'is, Jack Thomas Productions representative, has been in Kansas City several weeks. He has set “Karamoja” and “Half Way To Hell” with all major circuits. . . . Zella Faulkner, office secretary, KansasMissouri Theatre Association, and her husband left for a vacation in New Orleans. Janet Crosswhite, Commonwealth sec¬ retary, was in an automobile accident and is confined in St. Lukes Hospital. . . . Bert Pirosh, head film buyer. Na¬ tional Theatres, was a Kansas City visi¬ tor at the Fox Midwest office. He was on his way back to Los Angeles after visiting in New York and Milwaukee. . . . Gene Snitz, Columbia salesman, hosted an ai'ea screening at the Maiy Lou, Marshall, Mo. The screening was followed by a luncheon and cocktail hour. Radio and newspapeimen from Brookfield, Boonville, Sedalia, and Mar¬ shall were invited. The pictuie screened was “The Long Gray Line.” Governor Goodwin J. Knight of Cali¬ fornia recently went on record honoring MG.M and the month of February as “Go To The Movies .Month.” He is seen sign¬ ing the proclamation in his offlice with, left to right. Bill Blake, .MG.M San Francisco field press representative; .Mrs,. Virginia Knight; and Hulda Mc¬ Ginn, executive secretary and legisla¬ tive representative of the California Theatre Owners Association, looking on. Visitors on k’ilm Row were Leon Pugh, Fort Scott, Kans. ; Harold Owen, Seymour, Mo.; Marvin Banks, St. Louis; and John Smith, Stockton, Mo. director of customer relations, announced that Milwaukee ticket selling workshof) has been aflvancocl to March 28 instead of May 2 and wall be held in conjunction with the Allied of Wisconsin’s Conven¬ tion in Milwauk.-e. . . . The Fenway, Fennimore, Wis., and the Falls, Menomi¬ nee Falls, Wis., have installed CinemaScope with wide screens and anamorphic projection. The recent meeting h<dd at tlu' Miller Bivwery hy Wisconsin Variety Club was well attended. Their imw quarters in the Schroeder Hotel, south room, is open for cards for club membei’s. On Feb. 27 a business and board meeting will be held with a dinner in honor of George Hoover, international chief barker. . . . Dick Katz, U-I booker, is the proud father of a new baby boy, named Allen David. This is his first child. Phil Newman, new manager. Stan¬ dard’s Delavan, Delavan, Wis., replaces Erv Steffens, who was killed in an auto¬ mobile accident, last week. Newman formerly managed the Palmyra, Pal¬ myra, Wis. . . . Paul Zimmei-man, former booker at U-I and PYx Wi.sconsin Theatres is now managing the Honey Bear Farm. Los Angeles Jerry Schur, who until recently man¬ aged the Cretona, a George Skouras en¬ terprise, is now a resident of Los .•\ngeles. . . . The recent dance held by Variety Tent 25 was so successful that it will be scheduled as a legular monthly social event. . . . Sam .4spass, National Theatre Supply, is recuperating at home after being hospitalized for surgery. . . . Carl Miller, recently made branch man¬ ager of Warners branch office in San Francisco, was vacationing here. ... At a luncheon held at Roger Young’s and attended by bookers, salesmen and ex¬ hibitors, Frank Reimer was feted by his friends and associates to celebrati' his promotion to branch manager of Warners office in Milwaukee. Reimer was presented gifts of matched luggage and an electric razor from the office stab'. . . . Off to Honolulu with his wife for a vacation was Irving Levin of Real lU't 1 ^icturps, . • • Mrx P who operates the .4stor and Victoria, New 4 ork, returned east after a 10-day stay here, during which time he visited the major studios. . . . Hap Simpson, fmnierly associated with 4 innicof Theaties, is currently managing the FWC Granada, Wilmington, Cal. . . . George Tripp, Warners salesman, was back fiom a swing through the .4rizona territory • • • • Spied on the Row buying and booking were Bill Alford, Desert, Hot Springs, Calif.; Bert Kramer, Coronado, Calif.; Joe Markowitz, Encinitas, Calif.; Gordon West, Fillmore, Calif.; and Moses Hernandez, Guadalupe, Calif. Milwaukee Melvin Dhein, is the new owner of the Stratford, purchasing same from Frank Carthait, the former owner. . . . Henry Grozga is the newly elected presi¬ dent of the Milwaukee Motion Picture Commission. The commission has ap¬ pointed 18 persons to assist in its film reviewing chore. . . . Mike Simons, MGM Estelle Steinbach, Fox Wisconsin Amusement Corporation, is chairman of the Blue Mothers March of Dimes, which is being held now. . . . William H. Cooper, international secretary-treas¬ urer, Building Service Employees Union, which handled maintenance of the thea¬ tres in Milwaukee, died. Minneapolis Howard Gould has taken over manage¬ ment, Crystal, Glencoe, Minn., for his bi-other, George, who will devote his time to other business interests. . , . Charles Weiner, sales representative. Buena Vista, attended the company’s first regional sales conference at the Blackstone hotel in Chicago. . . . Ivan Fuldauer, MGM midwest pi’ess repre¬ sentative, was in helping Norm Levin¬ son, new regional press man, make con¬ tacts in the Twin Cities. . . . Recent out-of-town exhibitors on the Row were Clint Norene, Frederick, Wis.; Mel Fil¬ lers, Arlington, Minn.; and Joe Breezinski. Greenwood, Wis. . . . Ben Segal, auditor, Selznick Releasing Organiza■tion, was at Independent Film Distribu¬ tors. . . . Wedding bells rang recently for Bill Burke, booker, MGM. Don Swartz, operator. Independent Film Distributors, is sporting a nice tan after returning from a vacation in Miami Beach. . . . C. J. (Fay) Dressell, branch manager, RKO, was in St. Mary’s hospital for a checkup. . . . Theatres which have installed CinemaScope re¬ cently include the Lyceum, Deer River, Minn.; Lyceum, Gilbert, Minn.; Capitol, Bristol, S. D.; New Webster, Webster, S.^ D., and Elk, Elkton, S. D. Village fathers of suburban Golden Valley, Minn., have decided to uphold an anti-drive-in ordinance put on the books several years ago by a previous council, and have turned <lown a pro¬ posed .$()()(), 000 amusement center, which February 16^ 1955