The Exhibitor (1956)

24 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Dallas Variety Club Dedicates New Site Dallas — The year-old promise of Variety Club chief barker Clyde Rembert to provide the club with new quarters during the first year of his administration was realized last fortnight when beautiful, entirely new quarters on the ninth floor of the Hotel Adolphus were dedicated. Following a six p.m. cocktail party, din¬ ner was served in the club quarters to 300 guests. On the dais were Rembert, chief barker-elect Edwin Tobolowsky, In¬ ternational chief barker John H. Rowley, ringmaster R. J. O’Donnell, executive director George Hoover, and prominent city and county officials. Also on hand was the honorable Bruce Alger, the only Republican Congressman from Texas. The affair was opened with an invocation by the Right Reverend Monsignor W. J. Bender and closed with the recitation of “Creed of Variety” by ceremonial officer Wallace Walthall. Don C. Douglas acted as toastmaster. The new quarters contain over 6,000 square feet, said to be the largest Variety Club in the world. There is a large dining area and a space for an orchestra and dancing. A private card room is provided and the bar is large enough to provide ample space for guests and gin rummy players. Two other private rooms can be arranged by folding doors partitioning off a part of the main dining room. In addition to this, there are two lounge areas. The club sports its own kitchen with over $25,000 worth of equipment. Because overhead will be greatly in¬ creased, an extensive membership drive in under way, the goal being 200 new members. COLUMBUS, O., NEWS— The Indianola, north side neighborhood house which was dark for several weeks, reopened with A1 Jarvis as manager and Jack Needham as booker. The Indianola, operated by Frank Marzetti of the neighborhood Lin¬ den, has resumed family -type features following several months of art film policy under direction of Charles Sugarman, who operates the World. Jarvis formerly was general manager, Miles drive-ins here, and was associated with United Paramount Theatres. . . . Season passes issued by Mrs. Lelia Stearn for 1957 for the Southern contain this note: “Southern Theatre ... A Proud House . . . Ageless . . . Indestructible.” The Southern, opened some six decades ago, has been a legiti¬ mate theatre, first run film house, and a subsequent-run theatre. Cleveland Frank Slavik sold his last remaining theatre, the Mumac, Middlefield, O., to Stan Robinson, an industry newcomer, and will devote his time exclusively to his ice cream manufacturing business and to his restaurant. For the time being he will do the booking for the new owner, who takes over officially on Jan. 1. . . . For the third years, Sam Fritz, manager, Hilliard Square, has been named entertainment committee chairman, Madison Avenue Business Men’s Association, which is stag¬ ing a free Christmas party for children in the Hilliard Square on Dec. 22. . . . Frank Illinois Variety Unit Donates $44,838.38 To La Rabida CHICAGO — Jack Kirsh, president, Allied Theatres of Illinois, and chief barker, Variety Club of Illinois, Tent 26, made formal presentation of a check for $44,838.38 to La Rabida Jackson Park Sanitarium, represent¬ ing proceeds from Varietly Clubs the¬ atre audience collections during the week of Oct. 12. Albert Pick, Jr., president, Pick Hotels Corporation, and chairman of the Sanitarium’s board of trustees, accepted the check on behalf of La Rabida. Murphy, Loew’s Theatres division man¬ ager, is giving a bonus picture with every Saturday matinee during this month in all theatres of his district. . . . Harry Buxbaum, Paramount branch manager, at¬ tended a district sales meeting in Pitts¬ burgh. . . . Universal branch managers and sales personnel of Pete Rosian’s dis¬ trict attended a meeting in Pittsburgh. . . . Ralph Cobourne is reopening his Shoreway, Toledo, O., on a holiday parttime basis. Also reopening for the holiday period is Loew’s Esquire, Toledo. . . . United Artists has moved into new quar¬ ters in the Film Building. It is the most modem branch office in the city and does credit to branch manager Danny Rosen¬ thal’s taste in furniture and decorations. . . . Universal’s Christmas party will be held Dec. 21 with a dinner at Cavoli’s Restaurant. Dallas Proceeds from a showing last week of Cinerama’s “Seven Wonders Of The World” were to benefit UNICEF. The pro¬ gram, at eight p.m., in the Melba, was part of a nationwide benefit project in observance of UNICEF’s 10th anniversary. . . . Now in its 21st year, Tent 17, Variety Club, celebrated the occasion by dedi¬ cating the new quarters on the ninth floor of the Hotel Adolphus. International Ring¬ master R. J. O’Donnell described the lay¬ out as “the finest Variety quarters in the world, and I’ve visited every one but Ireland’s.” ... A print was received at the Interstate Circuit offices from the Technicolor laboratories of “The Heart Of Show Business,” presented by Variety Clubs International. . . . Richard Bond, president, Dallas Collosseum of Motion Picture Salesman, was elected vice-presi¬ dent of the national body during the UA's Velde, Tunick Meet Cleveland Area Circuit Heads CLEVELAND — James Velde, United Artists general sales manager, and Gene Tunick, eastern district man¬ ager, were introduced to some 50 local circuit heads and theatre owners at a luncheon last fortnight in the Statler Hotel. Milton E. Cohen, east¬ ern division sales manager, made the introduction in a brief speech, which was followed by equally brief speeches by the guests of honor. Out-of-town Ohio exhibitors present included Jack Haynes, United Detroit Theatres: Jack Armstrong, Bowling Green; Ed Prinsen, Youngstown; and A1 Bourdouris, Fred Lenz, and H. E. McManus, Toledo. City-State Division Of Tax Power Seen Raleigh, N. C. — A commission created by the 1955 North Carolina Legislature to study the state’s tax structure and rec¬ ommend revisions has proposed steps to eliminate overlapping tax powers of state and local governing units, under which the power to tax movie houses would be reserved to the cities, with the state taxing drive-ins. The commission also proposes to abolish the present privilege license tax plan, providing for a fixed flat fee, and to replace it with a new occupa¬ tion tax based on gross revenues. In the case of both the city and the state tax, the maximum levy would be set at six tenths of one per cent. It is estimated that the gross revenue of drive-ins in North Carolina is $8,300,000 annually, and the proposed tax would produce an annual revenue of $50,000, it was understood. No estimate was given in the commis¬ sion’s report of the estimated revenue to cities under the plan. It was stated that under the present system, theatres paid the state $276,068 in the fiscal year 195556, compared with $239,115 in 1946-47. The report was submitted to Governor Luther H. Hodges for presentation to the 1957 Legislature when it convenes next Feb¬ ruary. “Under the proposed plan, cities would have authority to tax motion picture the¬ atres while the state would tax drive-in theatres,” the Commission said. “Even if all cities levied the maximum rate of tax authorized, theatres (on the basis of 1955 gross sales) would get relief in the aggre¬ gate. An examination of individual the¬ atres indicates that again the small the¬ atres would get more relief than large theatres (who may pay a higher tax), principally because large theatres pay a smaller proportionate tax today than small theatres. Drive-in theatres as a group also would derive relief from the pro¬ posed plan. “No change has been recommended at this time in the method of fixing other amusement activities. In effect, an admis¬ sion tax is now collected from carnivals, circuses, football games, automobile races, and similar activities. The Commission believes that this is fair since these ac¬ tivities do not have fixed expenses in the same measure that theatres have,” it was stated. The Commission also recommended that peanuts and popcorn sold in theatres no longer be exempted from the state’s three per cent sales tax. The present law, it pointed out, exempts food and food prod¬ ucts for human consumption, defining such products and excluding certain food prod¬ ucts from exemption. By interpretation, it said, peanuts and popcorn sold at the¬ atre concession stands “have been exempt¬ ed as ‘food products for human consump¬ tion’ while other similar products sold ‘on premises’ consumption by theatres or at concession stands have been taxed.” It is estimated that the tax on peanuts and popcorn would bring in $95,000 annually. St. Louis convention. . . . John Rowley, Rowley United Theatres, and chief barker, Variety Clubs International, was guest speaker at the annual Thanksgiving luncheon of the WOMPI chapter, held in the White Plaza Hotel. December 19, 1956