The Exhibitor (1955)

NT-4 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Mrs. Jane Nelson, born and reared in this area, was recently named man¬ ager, Joy Drive-In. She has the distinc¬ tion of being the first women in Shreve¬ port to manage a local drive-in. She has worked for Joy Theatres, including the dowmstown Joy, the Leo Drive-In, and the Joy Drive-In for the past six years. It seems as if the jobs for men only are fewer and fewer. The deed for the sale of three theatres here and a fourth in Bossier City, La., for $550,000 was recorded in the office of Dozier Webster, clerk of the dis¬ trict court. Don George, Inc., and the Commercial National Bank of Shreve¬ port, trustee of the Don George trust for Delores M. George, sold the theatres to Ollie D. Harrison and Thomas E. McElroy for $150,000 cash, and $400,000 payable in 10 annual payments of $40,000 each. Included in the sale were the Don George, Davis, Don Drive-In, and the Venus. North Carolina Durham The City Council at Laurinburg, N. C., has approved Sunday movies for a sixmonth trial period, voting to allow the town’s two motion picture houses to remain open on Sundays after being as¬ sured by the management that show times would not conflict with church services. Theatres in other blue law lo¬ cations watched with interest. Floyd Hanks, pioneer Lenoir, N. C., exhibitor, who has been in the industry for 40 years, has leased the Avon, Lenoir, to Northridge Theatres, Inc., and has retired. Irwin L. Munford, Wayne Coun¬ ty, N. C., has been named manager, Avon, by the new owners. A. A. “Al” Alston, Burlington, N. C., theatre manager, has announced his candidacy for election to the City Coun¬ cil, Burlington. Here is a Service to — Investigate Its Worth! A COMPLETE LINE OF . . . THEATRE OPERATING FORMS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS — are always in stock for prompt shipment >(sk for SAMPLE SHEETS! Sold ONLY to Subscribing Theatres by EXHIBITOR BOOK SHOP ■ . ^ CInrioo Stri-i ♦ Phl’riH* Ip^sirt 7. P.i Gulf States Allied Sets Meet Agenda NEW ORLEANS — Abe Beienson, president. Allied Theatre Owners of Gulf States, following their monthly board meet at which plans were discussed and formu¬ lated for their upcoming annual con¬ vention to be held at the Edgewater Gulf Hotel, Edgewater Bark, Miss., on April 3-4-5, revealed that a national spokesman from the toll-TV committee will be present, who will not only give the conventioneers the latest on the new menace to our business, but will also be prepared to answer a lot of questions. Also expected is a COMBO representative who will give some revealing figures and statistics on the proper mode and method of selling pictures today. The two special guest speaker.s are in addition to several national industry and Allied leaders, who will participate in the meetings, including Max Younstein, I’A. The social side will include a Gulf cruise to the surrounding islands and surf bathing if the weather per¬ mits, cocktail parties, luncheons, topped with the regular annual ban¬ quet. Highlighting the diversion, a real shindig will be on tap on April 4 when they completely take over a famous Gulf Coast night club includ¬ ing floor show, dancing, and food. Exhibitors in attendance were E. K. Sellers, F. G. Brat, Jr., Locke Bolen, Lefty Cheramie, Sammy Wright, William Butterfield, Nick Lamantia, Ed Ortfe, J. V. O’C^uinn, B. V. Sheffield, Eldon Briwa, Frank Kuffino, B. J. Keyhan, Bob and Frank deGraauw, Joy N. Houck, J. A. Barker, and Frank Lais. The Forsyth, Winston-Salem, N. C., closed its doors permanently at the end of the last show on Feb. 19, and Lrey K. Rice, city manager. Twin City Theatre Coi-poration, said no attempt would be made to reopen at another location. The Forsyth closed to make way for re A shapely model comes out of the box arrangement behind her for a breath of fresh air. Set up by Jack Clem, Florida State Theatres art shop, and manager Charley Whitaker, Baramount, Miami, Fla., when the girl enters the bottom of the contraption she appears to be in the goldfish bowl by her right shoulder through a tricky arrangement of mirrors. The stunt attracted lines of viewers when displayed in advance of RKO’s “Lnderwater,” Baramount. modeling the building it occupied for use as a new F. W. Woolw'orth Com¬ pany branch store, and its closing leaves Winston-Salem wdth only tw'o first run houses, the Winston, also owned by Twin City Theatres, and the Carolina, controlled by the North Carolina Thea¬ tres Company, Inc. Localites were sorry to see the house disappear. The Princeton, Brinceton, N. C., was damaged by Are at night an hour before the film, “Smoke Screen,” was to be shown. No one was in the building at the time the blaze originated, and the fire was not discovered until smoke and heat pressure blew open the front door. Employees had been in the build¬ ing 45 minutes earlier to get the equip¬ ment ready for the show. Francis Rains, owner and operator, estimated the damage at $18,000. He said he had no insurance and was unable to say whether he would be able to reopen the house. The blaze was battled for 90 minutes by firemen before it was brought under control. The stage was burned, the screen destroyed, fans for the heating system damaged beyond re¬ pair, the lenses in the projectors cracked, and film valued at $3,000 was partially destroyed. Winston-Salem The Forsyth, here, has been closed and will be remodeled into a five and ten cent store. South Carolina Aiken District Judge C. C. Wyche, United States District Court, struck from the answers of exhibitor defendants in eight distributors’ percentage fraud suits pending here, allegations that the license agreements for the motion pictures involved in the suits were illegal and void under the anti-trust laws, on the ground that such defenses were insuffi¬ cient as a matter of law. The order was entered in actions brought by Para¬ mount, U-I, Loew’s, United Artists, RKO, Columbia, 20th-Fox, and Warners against Herbert B. Ram, Esther R. Ram, Sam Bogoslawsky, Jacob Bogoslawsky, Max Bogoslawsky, and Ram Amusement Company, as operators of a number of theatres in the Aiken-Augusta area, for damages resulting from claimed under¬ reporting of box office receipts. The court held that, in such suits, defen¬ dants’ “allegations and defenses relat¬ ing to the alleged anti-trust illegality of the contracts in suit” were “insuffi¬ cient as a matter of law and should be stricken.” The distributor-plaintiffs were represented by C. T. Graydon, Columbia, S. C.; T. Sam Means, Jr., Spartanburg, S. C.; Kenneth C. Royall, Dwight, Royall, Harris, Koegel, and Caskey, New York; and Sargoy and Stein, New York. The question of wheth¬ er or not the statute of limitations ap¬ plied was also brought out. Spartanburg Bob Rippy, manager. State, bar been transferred to Monroe, N. C., as man¬ ager of a theatre there. E. H. Everett has become the new manager. State, re¬ placing Rippy. March 16, 195^