The Exhibitor (1959)

May 20, 1959 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 17 close a deal soon for a movie house, which currently operates on week-ends. . . . Mori Krushen, director of exploitation for United Artists, visited Buffalo recently and held “open house” in the Statler Hilton, where he greeted a number of Western N. Y. exhibi¬ tors. Colonel Bill Shirley, U.A. field repre¬ sentative, aided in staging the reception. Maurice Chevalier has been added to the list of next season’s presentations by the Zorah Berry division of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Chevalier will bring his one man show to Kleinhans Music Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 10. . . . Mr. and Mrs. George H. Mackenna, general manager, Basil’s Lafayette, led the grand march at the Second Annual Volunteers Award Ball in the Hotel Lafay¬ ette. Mackenna is chairman of the Buffalo USO Committee. More than 300 awards, some of them representing 1000 hours of volunteer service, were presented at the affair. . . . Phil Engel, Fox field representative who head¬ quarters in Boston, was in Buffalo with Brad¬ ford Dillman, star of “Compulsion,” to aid in the advance promotion of this picture, a Center theatre booking. CHARLOTTE Mayor William G. Enloe, of Raleigh, N. C., city manager for North Carolina Theatres, was re-elected to the Raleigh City Coun¬ cil in the municipal election, May 5. . . . The North Carolina Legislature has enacted into law a 75-cent an hour state minimum wage bill after adopting an amendment ex¬ empting theatre ushers, doormen, cashiers and concession attendants. Final action on the bill, backed by Gov. Luther H. Hodges, came in the Senate after the measure already had been passed by the House. It is esti¬ mated that some 1,000 theatre employes are involved in the exemptions. CHICAGO Honus Swan, veteran B. and K. manager, was transferred to the Adelphia. . . . George C. Regan, Trans-Lux Distributing Corp., bet¬ tered a severe attack of flu. . . . John Rector, B. and K. veteran, was named Portage man¬ ager. . . . Charles F. Carpentier, Illinois Se¬ cretary of State and E. Moline theatre owner, received plaudits at a $100 plate Republican Testimonial dinner attended by 1,400 re¬ cently. . . . William Margolis, chief barker of Variety Club, is planning for the near future a Testimonial Walt Disney Night. . . . Larry Whitaker, veteran B. and K. manager, was named to oversee the Howard. . . . Winners in the poll taken by the Clark among its patrons were Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, Rudolph Valentino, Spencer Tracy, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery and Lon Chaney. CINCINNATI Nathan Wise, Chief Barker, Tent Three, Variety Club, is seeking additional volun¬ teers for the seventh annual street sale of a special edition of the afternoon Post & Times-Star, May 26. The club is hoping to raise $25,000 to support its workshop for the mentally handicapped at Goodwill Industries. ... Film star Doris Day, here for a rest with her family before starting a tour to promote her new film, “It Happened to Jane, was hostess for a cocktail party in Hotel Netherland-Hilton for the local newspaper and TV contingent . . . States Film Service, Buena Vista and Continental Distributing Corp. have moved their offices from the first to fourth floor at 1634 Central Parkway. COLUMBUS, O. NEWS— Ken Prickett, ex¬ ecutive secretary, Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio, announced the signing of Joseph Rembrandt, Center-Mayfield, Cleve¬ land, as a member of the association. . . . Mershon Auditorium, on the Ohio State Uni¬ versity campus, was temporarily closed after a section of plaster fell from the ceiling. The accident caused transfer of the four-day en¬ gagement of the Speech Department’s “Show Boat” to the downtown Veterans’ Memorial auditorium May 20-23, where it will be in more direct competition with downtown movies. CLEVELAND Peter Wellman has sold his Girard, New Mock and Wellman, Girard, O., to A1 Gar¬ field, until recently Youngstown representa¬ tive for Berio Vending Company. Wellman is continuing ownership of the Hickory DriveIn, Sharon, Pa., which his son, Michael op¬ erates; the Shane Drive-In, Andover, O., managed by Dick Steen; the Northside and the Westside Drive-Ins, Youngstown which are leased to Associated Theatres Circuit of Cleveland; the Atlantic Mills, Youngstown, and other real estate holdings. He plans to devote more time to real estate with travel interludes. . . . “Sleeping Beauty” on 35 MM comes to the Hippodrome for a local firstrun engagement early in June. The picture, according to district manager Ted Levy, goes into general release the end of June. DENVER A. B. Hilliard has taken over the manage¬ ment of the Nugget, Telluride, Colo., from Reuben Stroh who has moved to California. Hilliard will operate the Nugget along with the Chipeta, Ouray, Colo. . . . The completely remodeled and rebuilt Wadsworth Drive-In, which is headed by Charles Reagan and Mrs. Vera Cockrill, of the Denham, opened here, recently. . . . Tom Robinson, office Man¬ ager for Columbia Pictures, sports a beauti¬ ful new wrist watch commemorating twenty five years of service with his company. The Denver Columbia Branch now has five em¬ ployees with twenty five years of service or more. Other twenty five year veterans are Branch Manager Bob Hill, Salesmen Sam Dare and Barney Shooker, and Booker Betty Morr. . . . Sam Feinstein setting dates for his Kar Vu Drive-In, Brighton, Colo. . . . Bob Smith, for many years a partner with Joe Ashby in operating houses in Steamboat Springs and Oak Creek, Colo., prior to his selling out, a recent visitor. DES MOINES A last-minute attempt in the Iowa legisla¬ ture to pass a resolution prohibiting the use of daylight time in the state failed. Sen. Lawrence Putney had filed the resolution. When he called it up on virtually the last day of the session, it was tabled. Only two counties, Clinton and Scott, bordering Il¬ linois, have adopted daylight time. . . . Jim Rickets, office manager and booker at Col¬ umbia, has taken over the booking duties at Tri-States Theatre Corp. Dick Rolling, of Minneapolis, has replaced Rickets at Colum¬ bia . . . Mable Magnusson, of Universal, was named president of Des Moines WOMPI at the recent annual meeting . . . The State, Cedar Rapids, la., has been closed by TriStates Theatre Corp. Willis Ford, city man¬ ager for Tri-States, announced the house will be closed for an indefinite period. . . . The Des Moines Variety club has changed its name to Variety Club Tent 15 of Iowa. Pre¬ viously it was known as the Des Moines club . . . The Norka, Akron, la., has opened under the management of Dale Sypherd . . . The Villisca Rialto, Villisca, la., has been taken over by Carl Bolling, of Oklahoma City and C. E. Metcalf, of Nebraska City. DETROIT The Greater Detroit Motion Picture Coun¬ cil held its annual luncheon at the Women’s City Club where members and guests heard Alden Smith, executive vice-president of the Cooperative Theatres of Michigan. It was likewise the occasion of installation of re¬ cently-elected officers for the coming term. These included Mrs. Harry Jarvis, president; Mrs. B. R. Springborn, vice president; Mrs. Earl Seielstad, second vice-president and Mrs. Frank Reiss. Serving their first terms were Mrs. William C. Blacksby, secretary; Mrs. Dawson Taylor, correspondent secre¬ tary. . . . After what has been said to have been very spirited competition it was an¬ nounced here today “Anatomy of a Murder” currently shooting on Michigan’s Upper Pen¬ insula will go to the United Artists for a world premiere July 1. JACKSONVILLE Harold Turbyfill, Paramount booker, re¬ cently left here for a six months’ tour of duty with the U. S. Army. He has been temporarily replaced by Howard Bunch, for¬ merly A1 Hildreth’s assistant at the Arcade. . . . Lee Knight, new to the industry, is now booking for United Artists. . . . Glenda Palmer, formerly of the Metro staff, is the new assistant cashier at Allied Artists, re¬ placing Barbara Kaufman, who resigned when her husband was transferred to an¬ other city. . . . Mary Hart, Florida State Theatres home office worker, was elected president of WOMPI at the group’s annual election of officers, recently. ... Jim Carey, manager of Loew’s Normandy Twin Outdoorer, plans to conduct a 10th Anniversary Jubilee at Florida’s largest drive-in theatre. Carey announced that the jubilee will be carried on over a 10-day period, June 17-26, with 100 awards lined up for patrons. NEW HAVEN Irving Mendelsohn, UA resident manager, hosted a “United Artists Leadership Begins at 40!” party, recently, the occasion marking his company’s 40th anniversary. . . . George E. Landers, Hartford division manager, E. M. Loew’s Theatres, headed a Connecticut press delegation to the May 12 world premiere of Columbia’s “It Happened to Jane,” in the Astor Theatre, Boston. The Arwin produc¬ tion, starring Doris Day, was filmed on Hart¬ ford area locations a year ago. . . . The Taft Realty Corporation, seeking $100,000 addi¬ tional rent for the Shubert, New Haven, from Yorkhaven Enterprises, Inc., and others, has lost an appeal to the State Supreme Court of Errors, Hartford. . . . Joseph Cossette, pro¬ jectionist, Loew’s Majestic, Bridgeport, has been re-elected president of Local 277, Mo¬ tion Picture Machine Operators, Bridgeport. All other officers were re-named. NEW ORLEANS The J. G. Broggi booking offices have been engaged by H. H. Moreau to handle the buy¬ ing and booking for the Tiger Drive-In, Shreveport, La. . . . The Underskyer caters to 1327 S. 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