The Exhibitor (1959)

February 18, 1959 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 17 be able to see adult movies.” This logic was propunded at the Community Youth Assem¬ bly at the University of Houston. It came close on the heels of Mayor Lewis Cutrer’s announced desire to censor movies and lit¬ erature for teen agers through his Youth Citizenship Committee. The youth assembly proposed teen age movie prices, a proposal that came out of a workshop discussion on “What should our community do about de¬ linquent youth.” Cutrer said neither he nor his commission have anything in mind like censorship laws. He explained that censorship would be an advisory measure, the establish¬ ment of a board that would merely recom¬ mend against movies and literature found to be really objectionable. Two representatives from each high school will be asked to serve on a subcommittee of the Youth Citizenship Committee. The panel that made the movie recommendations was composed of 14 stu¬ dents chosen from a cross section of partic¬ ipating teen agers, in the Community Youth Assembly. JACKSONVILLE Jim Carey at Loew’s Normandy Twin Outdoorer switched back to a first-run policy with the double bill of “Sins of Lola Montes” and “Women of Wongo,” and Mike Meiselman did the same at the Town and Country with an exploitation drive for the opening of “Never Love a Stranger.” . . . Thomas P. Tidwell, 20th-Fox branch man¬ ager; Tommy Tucker, TV and radio head¬ liner; Franklin Frady, San Marco pro¬ jectionist; and Byron Adams, UA branch manager, begun a series of personal calls to the offices of TV and radio stations to inform airways personnel of the benefits and purposes of the Will Rogers Memorial Hos¬ pital in preparation for the next hospital drive. . . . Nearly 4,000 women viewed free showings of films prepared by the American Cancer Society at the Edgewood, Capitol, San Marco, Town and Country, Five Points, Beach and Negro -patronage Strand theatres. Teams of local doctors were on hand at each theatre to answer questions from the audience. . . . As another instance of public service by local exhibitors, local theatre screens gave a week of free screen adver¬ tising to the United Cerebral Palsy Tele¬ thon being conducted over a period of 16 hours in the auditorium of the Hotel George Washington on Feb. 14. MIAMI, FLA, NEWS— Daniel Shull is man¬ ager, Davie Blvd. Drive-In, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. . . . Andrew Malanos is assistant man¬ ager, Gateway, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., replacing Bill Mix, resigned. . . . Mike Rosenkranz, manager, Cameo, Miami Beach, Fla., enjoyed a one-week vacation as first prize winner of Wometco’s “Dollars For Christmas” contest. Mike’s theatre had the youngster who sold the most Wometco Thrif-Tik-It Books during the contest, which ended Christmas Eve. Wometco is continuing the Thrif-Tik-It Book sales throughout the year, giving a commission to the youngsters who sell the books. . . . Mrs. Mitchell Wolfson, wife of the circuit co-owner, was chairman of the benefit premiere of “Inn of the Sixth Happiness” at the Carib, Miami Beach, Fla. Proceeds went to The Queen’s Fund for Greek Orphans, Inc., sponsored by Queen Frederika of Greece. MEMPHIS Tutrovansum, Tutwiler, Miss., is operating again after a brief shutdown, and 65 DriveIn, Conway, Ark., is on week-end operation. . . . Ouachita, Mount Ida, Ark., is closed, as is the James, Cotton Plant, Ark. . . . Joiner, Joiner, Ark., closed. . . . Skylark Drive-In, Frank H. Ricketson, Jr., former general man¬ ager, National Theatres, Inc., is among 15 leading citizens named by President Eisen¬ hower to the board of trustees of the $25,000,000 national cultural center to be built in Washington, D.C. Clarksdale, Miss., has closed until warm weather, as have Fulton Drive-In, Fulton, Ky., and West Point Drive-in, West Point, Miss. . . . Charles R. Bonner advises that he has closed Pines Movie, Pine Bluff, Ark., and L. N. Hynes has sold his theatre at Nettleton, Ark., to W. T. Vaughan. It has been reopened as the Vaughan. . . . Strand, Ripley, Tenn., which burned in late December, has not been rebuilt. . . . Predicts Edwin Howard, Press Scimitar amusements editor, “The big thing on the screen in 1959 will be the best-seller. Books have always been important to Holly¬ wood, but never so important as now. To a producer, a best-selling book — whether fic¬ tion or non-fiction — is a pre-sold picture in the raw.” MINNEAPOLIS Charles Rubenstein has closed his 600-seat neighborhood Dale, St. Paul, bringing to more than a dozen the number of theatres which have closed in the Twin Cities in the past two years. . . . Paul Mans bought the 450-seat Oxboro, suburban Oxboro, from Otto Kobs. Mans also is a partner in the Richfield, suburban Richfield. Kobs retains his Flying Cloud Drive-In. . . . Ev Olson is again han¬ dling the exploitation for Paramount, Min¬ neapolis, headquartering in Chicago. At one time he was associated with the Minneapolis branch as exploiteer before being transferred to Charlotte, N. C. . . . Work is progressing on the new drive-in at the intersection of Highways 36 and 61 north of St. Paul, which Chet Herringer is building. A spring opening is scheduled. . . . James Dam is the new owner, Bill’s Theatre, Tyler, Minn. House formerly was operated by William Jensen. . . . Alvin Thompson and Donald Johnson are the new owners, State, LaCrosse, Wis., having purchased the house from Frank Lesmeister. A theatre in Dodgeville, Wis., will be operated by Lesmeister. . . . Kenneth Prouty, formerly of British Columbia, is the new assistant manager, Gopher. . . . The Strand, Preston, Minn., closed for the winter. . . . The Lake, Eden Valley, Minn., also closed. . . . New projection equipment was installed in the Avery, Garner, Iowa, according to C. E. Mosher, manager. ... A fire, believed to have started in the “attic” of the house, de¬ stroyed the Wells, Wells, Minn., operated by Sid Heath. Theatre was unoccupied at the time. . . . Most loop theatres have hiked ad¬ missions to $1 from 90 cents following the removal of the federal tax. Fewer advance admissions for special pictures are expected in the future, however. . . . About $13,000 was netted from the two performances of the Beryozka dancers sponsored by the women’s auxiliary of the Variety Club of the North¬ west and the University of Minnesota. The proceeds will be used to buy oxygen units for the Variety Heart hospital on the uni¬ versity campus. NEW HAVEN Mrs. E. B. Daniels has reopened the Jeffer¬ son, Springfield, Mass., subsequent-run, on lease from the Herman Rifkin Theatres. The theatre had been previously operated by Tom Sandell and associates, also on lease from Rifkin. . . . Lockwood and Gordon’s Candlelite-Pix Twin Drive-In, Bridgeport, Conn., has been reopened, following installa¬ tion of in-car heaters, which are being provided on a free basis. . . . Eric Crawshaw has been reelected president of Local 439, IATSE, New London, Conn. Also serving are Leslie Nowell, vice-president; John S. Kane, financial secretary and treasurer; Benjamin H. Rose, recording secretary; Frederick C. Nowell, business agent; and trustees and executive board, Thomas Kenure and An¬ thony Osowski. . . . Mickey Daley, president, Daly Theatres Corporation, Hartford, has named William Ricks, who recently com¬ pleted seven years of service as manager of U.S. Army base theatres in various locations, as manager of the 1800-seat subsequent-run Daly, Hartford. In addition, Ricks will super¬ vise the Daly interests’ recently-reopened Plainfield Cinema, Plainfield, Conn., a 500seat first-run. Ricks succeeds Henry Gain, who has left the Daly organization. . . . Hart¬ ford Superior Court Judge Louis Shapiro has reserved decision in the $250,000 law suit by New Britain, Conn., theatre owners and op¬ erators against the city of New Britain, following a hearing in Hartford Superior Court. The suit, pending since mid-1958, was brought by the Connecticut Theatrical Cor¬ poration, Stanley Warner subsidiary, owner and operator of the Strand and Embassy; and Peter G. Perakos, owner, Palace, and lessee of George LeWitt’s Arch St., on the contention that presence of policemen on duty in theatres is contrary to both federal and state laws. Judge Shapiro has ordered opposing counsel to file briefs by Feb. 11. • ■ • A proposed bill that might affect both drivein and four-wall theatre attendance by teen-agers has been introduced into the Con¬ necticut Legislature by Senator Clement L. Raiteri. The measure would ban teen-age drivers from Connecticut roads between mid¬ night and six a.m. NEW ORLEANS Henry G. Plitt, president, Paramount Gulf Theatres, was honored in Jackson, Miss., by Local 589 IATSE at a buffet supper given by the union in the Hotel Heidelberg. He was given a gold lifetime honorary membership card, highest honor given by the IATSE. R. J. Parks, Jr., closed the New Ren, Yazoo City, Miss., for remodeling. . . . L. B. Craig reopened the Ocean City Drive-In, Ocean City, Fla. . . . Lloyd Royal, Sr., head, Royal Theatres, was installed as president of Meridian, Mississippi, Exchange Club. He is also president of Tri-States Theatre Owners Association of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missippi. . . . A. L. Royal Circuit purchased the Royal and Princess, Waynesboro, Miss., from the estate of the late J. O. Bunch. It is said that the Princess will be sold for another type of business, while the Royal will be remodeled. Purchase price was $40,000. . . .