The Exhibitor (1957)

14 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR Illinois Allied Meeting Planned By Directors CHICAGO — Directors of Allied Theatres of Illinois, at a meeting last fortnight, dis¬ cussed plans and arrangements concerning the 27th annual meeting and election of the organization, which was scheduled in con¬ nection with a luncheon last week in the Blackstone Hotel. Jack Kirsch, president, announced that the directors also voted to fully support National Allied’s stand on COMPO and recommended that members of the Illinois unit withhold payment of COMPO dues until approved by the National Allied organization; endorsed theatre collections for the Will Rogers Me¬ morial Hospital on dates to be fixed by the local committee; and endorsed theatre col¬ lections for La Rabida Jackson Park Sani¬ tarium, a project of Variety Club of Illinois, during the week of Aug. 9. In the course of the meeting, Kirsch was reelected president of the association for a term of three years. Other officers and di¬ rectors, elected for one-year terms, include Van Nomikos, vice-president, and Benjamin Banowitz, secretary and treasurer; directors are B. Charuhas, Jack Clark, James Gregory, Carl Goodman, Don Knapp, Ronald Kuhlman, Verne R. Langdon, Charles R. Lindau, Howard Lubliner, Sam C. Myers, Arthur F. Sass, Arthur Schoenstadt, Nate Slott, Mayer Stern, and Bruce Trinz. Harry Nepo was ap¬ pointed sergeant-at-arms. Artists branch manager, has taken over management and operation of the Charlotte Poster Exchange, formerly operated by Jay Schrader, who is devoting his full time to the operation of the Visualite. CHICAGO Langston S. Thompsom, 46, executive vicepresident, Wilding Pictures, died. . . . Lou Orlove was appointed Allied Artists publicist. He was formerly with MGM in Milwaukee. . . . William Devaney, MGM branch manager, went to Cincinnati for the funeral of his father. . . . Sam Schumard, ABC Drive-In, and Herb Elisburg, Halsted Outdoor manager, exchanged places. . . . The Crown is the first theatre here to contract for the Sugar Ray Robinson-Carmen Basilio fight over closed TV circuits. . . . Charles McBreen, secretary to the late John Balaban, was appointed secretary to the three B and K division man¬ agers, George Brandt, William Holden, and Abe Platt. . . . Movie attendance for the first six months of the year almost kept pace with that of last year, according to city tax collections. The take for 1957 was $518,400, compared with $566,854 in 1956. CINCINNATI Mike Chakeres, vice-president, Springfield Theater Corporation, and his wife were hosts to 150 guests at a party following the chris¬ tening of their daughter, Valarie Michelle, in the Greek Orthodox Church in Springfield, O. ... In were Sid Cooper, UA district manager, and Jack Haynes, Detroit Theater Corporation. . . . J. B. Hibbert, former man¬ ager, Chakeres house in Xenia, O., now is managing the circuit’s house in Fairborn, O., while manager Grant Frazee is vacationing. . . . Fay Humphrey has replaced Jerri Boone, resigned, as head of Paramount’s con¬ tract department. . . . Sympathy was extended Herbert J. Yates, president. Republic, is seen with the $29,500 Electron Microscope which he recently donated to the Research Laboratory, St. Joseph Hospital, Burbank, Cal. Looking on, left to right, are Dr. Reuben Straus, research director; Mrs. Yates, and Sister Genevieve, St. Joseph Hospital Administrator. to Helen Cerin, secretary to MGM branch manager H. R. Gaus, on the death of her mother. COLUMBUS, O., NEWS— Loew’s houses here may participate with other circuit units in Washington, D. C., and Cleveland in book¬ ing stage attractions this fall. . . . William Nelson has been appointed assistant manager, RKO Grand. . . . Miles drive-ins, which have been playing an increasing number of firstruns, showed “Battle Hell" with “Comanche.’ . . . “Around the World in 80 Days” will open about Sept. 1 at Hunt’s Cinestage, for¬ merly the Uptown, it was announced by Herman Hunt, operator of the house. The 729-seat theatre is now closed and a $150,000 remodeling program is underway. CLEVELAND The Hanna, only legitimate theatre in Cleveland, will inaugurate a summer motion picture policy this month with the local premiere of “Johnny Tremaine.” A wide, 15 foot by 30 foot screen, is being installed, and CinemaScope might possibly be installed at a later date. Manager Milton Kranz says only pictures which have won awards at the Inter¬ national Film Festivals in Cannes will be shown. . . . Jack Silverthorne, manager, Hip¬ podrome, and Jack Lewis, manager, Keith’s 105th Street, have leased the Mayfield from the estate of Mike Masandrea. They are now remodeling it, eliminating the conces¬ sion stand and adding a coffee bar, in antici This effective lobby display featuring a stuffed horse among other things was erected recently by Mark Hendrix, State, Los Angeles, to attract attention to Paramount's "Gunfight At O.K. Corral." pation of opening with an art policy. . . . Horace Adams, president, Independent The¬ atre Owners of Ohio, has purchased the Raceway Track, Florence, Ky. Martin Greengrass, Columbia salesman, was receiving congratulations on the arrival of a second son. . . . David Sandler, president, Sandler Manufacturing Company, announced he is in full production of in-car heaters for the fall season. . . . The preview in the Fairmount, staged by the Variety Club to add to its charity fund, was an unqualified success. Practically all the seats were sold. Another affair is planned for the near future. DALLAS John Rowley, Variety Clubs International chief barker, announced here that the Amer¬ ican Express Company has been appointed the official tour agency for the convention of Variety International to be held in London April 22-25. Within the next few weeks, all American Express offices and local Variety Tents will be furnished copies of a brochure outlining a selection of tours covering various periods of travel time. The arrangement ac¬ cording to Rowley, is not an exclusive one and individuals may deal with agencies of their own choice if they desire. ... A group of six of the city’s top models served as usherettes for the first two showings in the Palace of Columbia’s “Fire Down Below.” . . . The Cinderella, Samuels Boulevard, and Twin Hi-Ways Drive-Ins showed the triple bill, “Rebel Girls,” “Bailout At 43,000,” and the locally-made “Rock, Baby, Rock It.” . . . DENVER A. P. Archer and Joe Dekker, president and vice-president, respectively, Civic The¬ atres, have sold the circuit to the Atoz Amusement Company and Dekker, who has been in the industry for 37 years, is quitting to look after other interests. The houses in¬ volved include the Federal, Oriental, Holiday and the closed Coronet, all in North Denver. Archer, who was in distribution prior to the time he and Dekker organized Civic, will continue as vice-president of Atoz. The president of Atoz is C. U. Yaeger. . . . As soon as new furniture arrives and is in¬ stalled, United Artists will move to 807 21st Street, vacated recently by RKO. . . . Richard Fulham, branch manager, 20th-Fox, was on vacation. DES MOINES Iowa-Nebraska Allied in its regular bul¬ letin, struck out at some recent films deal¬ ing with celebrities of the past. “Are there too many nostalgic pictures and not enough about today’s problems and people?,” the Bulletin asked. . . . The Twixt-Town DriveIn under construction near Cedar Rapids, la., will have the widest curved screen of any drive-in in the state, according to manager Leo Heaton. . . . Harold Wright, who has been associated with a store at Lone Tree, la., announced the opening of the Lone Tree under his management. All new sound and air conditioning has been pro¬ vided. . . . The Grand, Wellman, la., has been reopened after being closed for a year. . . . The Swea, Swea City, la., has been reopened. HARTFORD HARTFORD, CONN., NEWS— Lockwood and Gordon reopened the Torrington, Conn., Drive-In with Vincent Youmatz as resident manager. . . . Frank Wentworth and David Legasse became assistant managers, Alperin July 24, 1957