The Exhibitor (1959)

ALBANY Sam Davis darkened Onteora at Fleishmanns in the Catskill Mountains after a suc¬ cessful summer and left by car with wife and son for Coral Gables, Fla., where he will be associated with Miami Land Realtors. . . . Martin Moskowitz, 20th-Fox assistant sales chief, was in for meetings with branch man¬ ager C. G. Pantages and circuit officials. . . . Sylvester Albano cut back to weekends at Albano Drive-In, Ravena. . . . Bijou, Troy, operated by the Wilson family, reopened after summer close-down. . . . James Benton, head, Benton Theatres, becomes Mayor of Saratoga Springs on Jan. 1. . . . Confusion between the Schwartzes in the Columbia ex¬ change ended when Merrill Schwartz, office manager-booker, adopted the name of Mel Shaw for business purposes. He notified ex¬ hibitors by letter that the step was taken to avoid confusion with branch manager Her¬ bert Schwartz. . . . Warners is occupying bright new quarters on the second floor of RTA Building, 991 Broadway, a block south of Film Row, having moved from 1087 Broad¬ way. . . . Complimented on all sides for the leadership he provided and the skill he dis¬ played during two terms as chief barker, during which the Variety Club liquidated all its debts, expanded its Heart Club funds, built up a surplus, and purchased a building for a home, Samuel E. Rosenblatt announced he would not be a candidate for reelection. A new crew was elected at a recent meeting and will be installed at the next membership meeting. ATLANTA Waters Circuit, Birmingham, Ala., has closed the Newman. . . . The Rex, Alexander City, Ala., was purchased by Bennis Good¬ win from R. J. Hassett. . . . Mrs. Bernie Shapiro, Triangle Poster and Printing Com¬ pany, returned to her home following a hospi¬ tal trip after her return from the WOMPI con¬ vention in Jacksonville, Fla. . . . Cecil Grimes, Druid, Tuscaloosa, Ala., has entered a local hospital. . . . Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Bowers, Warrior, Warrior, Ala., are parents of a baby son. . . . Fred Jabaloy, former owner, Prin¬ cess, La Grange, Ga., last owned by the Bailey Theatre Circuit, has reopened this theatre. . . . Louise Schuessler, daughter of Howard Schuessler, booking agent, was mar¬ ried to Larry Baldwin. . . . Gene Goodman, manager, United Artists, is back at his office following a bout with virus. BOSTON Karl Fasick has joined MGM’s publicity and advertising staff to handle special exploitation for the Boston engagement of “Ben-Hur.” For the past eight years he has been ad -publicity director for Loews Thea¬ tres in Boston. The film will open at the Saxon soon after the world premiere at Loew’s State, New York City. . . . Fully recovered from a serious internal operation, Phil Bloomberg, Salem exhibitor, was wel¬ comed back after a two-month hospitaliza¬ tion. . . . Robert Wise, who directed Susan Hayward in her Academy Award-winning role in “I Want To Live,” was in to talk to the press on his latest film, UA’s “Odds Against Tomorrow. ” . . . Carroll Baker was introduced to the press at a luncheon given by Paramount, with Arnold Van Leer handling the affair. She was interviewed on her newest film, “But Not For Me,” in which she stars with Clark Gable, which opens shortly at the Metropolitan. 22 BUFFALO Charles A. McKercian, manager, Seneca, an AB-PT community house in south Buffalo, is treasurer of the Seneca-Cazenovia Park¬ ing Association, which opened a new co¬ operative parking lot. McKernan has been putting in a lot of time ' in planning the new 100 car parking space which should be a big help to the theatre box office. . . . Ben Dargush, manager, Center, acted as host at a special screening of “The FBI Story” for principals of western N.Y. high schools. . . . The Diana has reopened in Medina, following a $25,000 remodeling job. A new heating system, new seats, new screen, and redecora¬ tion are among the improvements. Alex Stomelli has operated the house in recent years. The Dipson Circuit of Batavia owns the house. . . . The largest silver anniversary dinner ever held by Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester honored nearly 600 men and women. Another 180 40-to-60 year veterans were guests at the fete in the Kodak Park recreation building. . . . The non-profit Broad¬ way Theatre League of Buffalo opened their season of Broadway legit hits on the stage of Basil’s Lafayette with Joan Blondell in “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.” . . . Roy W. Nagle, Buffalo historian, spoke on Early Buffalo Show Business, before the 6:29 Club of Buffalo Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Nagle showed many interesting scenes pertaining to early theatre business in western New York and discussed many personalities associated with the local enter¬ tainment world way back when-including the late Michael Shea, whose name always will be associated with the Buffalo show world, and Edward L. Hyman, vice-president, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, who started in the exhibition end of the business as assistant manager of the old Mark -Strand when the late Harold Edel was managing director of this early film house in downtown Buffalo. . . . Joe Harmon, Hayman Theatres, Niagara Falls, sat in on a Cataract City radio station round table dis¬ cussion of motion pictures and took advan¬ tage of the opportunity to plug “Sign of the Gladiator,” now a current attraction in the Falls. . . . The Skyway Niagara and the Skyway, Athol Springs, both operated by Skyway Drive-In Corp., Bill Brett, general manager, are now operated week-ends only. . . . Samuel Raimondo, formerly associated with the local branch of National Screen and Film Industries, is now a member of the maintenance staff at Shea’s Buffalo. . . . The Catholic theatre, formerly the Niagara, which has been closed all summer, has reopened and is offering one show a week. Religious pictures are featured. Blase Pa¬ lumbo is manager. The theatre is owned by the Catholic diocese of Buffalo. . . . Leon Herman, formerly with Republic and Colum¬ bia in Buffalo, is now selling films to TV, working out of New York city. CHARLOTTE Screen actor Dale Robertson helped Dur¬ ham, N. C., kick off its annual United Fund campaign, being principal speaker at a dinner meeting of campaign workers and making several public appearances in Durham. . . . W. G. Enloe, city manager at Raleigh, N. C., for North Carolina Theaters, Inc., has been elected first vice-president of the North Carolina League of Municipalities. He is mayor of Raleigh. . . . The Rialto, Durham, N. C., reopened after having been closed during the summer while its facilities were used by the Durham Star Playhouse, a summer theater group. Nathan Swartz, manager, says the house will specialize in MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR art and off-beat films and will be open only at nights, with shows at 7 and 9 o’clock, Mondays through Friday, with 2:30 p. m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. . . . Bob Stroh, former producer-director and news director of television station WFMY-TV at Greensboro, N. C., has been named manager, National, Greensboro, and T. R. Alexander, who has been acting manager there, has been transferred to the Carolina, Greensboro, as assistant manager. CHICAGO The Hilltop Drive-in Joliet, Ill. is undergoing improvements. ... A property line argument is holding up construction of the new Rodgers Theatres house in Carbon dale, Ill., which will replace the structure destroyed by fire last February. . . . The Fine Arts building which houses the World Playhouse and a Teitel Film Company office, was sold at auction to A. C. Feldman. . . . Mike Kassel, Continental Film Distributors, and his wife were accorded a 20th wedding celebration. . . . Lee Brody was named to the Filmack staff. . . . Stanley Pratt, Teati'o Del Lago manager, and Joan Castro were wed. . . . Local critics were taken by Universal to New York to preview “Pillow Talk.” . . . Tom Dowd, Central Film Distri¬ butor and operator of the Capri, is the father of his sixth child. . . . Louis Reddell, 83, retired theatre owner, died in a hospital. . . . The Woods is installing a large screen for the premiere of “Solomon and Sheba.” . . . Residents of Chicago Ridge, Ill., picketed the Starlite Drive-In, carrying signs, “Don’t patronize filthy movies,” etc. . . . Robert Arens was named assistant manager, Avalon. CINCINNATI On the basis of highly laudatory local newspaper reviews, Columbia’s “Porgy and Bess” appears set for an extended run at the Valley. Samuel Goldwyn was in for the Oct. 1 opening, which was a benefit screening for the Cincinnati Summer Opera, with admissions pegged from $7.50 to $25. The price range for regular screenings is $1.50 to $2.50, with tickets now on sale through February on a hard -ticket basis. . . . Attrac¬ tive three-color quarter-page ads are being run in the local newspapers for Louis deRochemont’s “Windjammer,” which opens Oct. 14 at the downtown Capitol. . . . The suburban Carmago is booking films with feminine appeal for midweek matinee screen¬ ings, having started on Oct. 1 with the popular 20th-Fox oldie, “The Three Faces of Eve.” . . . The first-run Kearse, Charleston, W. Va., has been sold by Mrs. Louise Wright to Albert Aaron. . . . Mildred Post, former Screen Classics booker, is now a Buena Vista clerk. COLUMBUS, O., NEWS— Earle Wakefield, motion picture advertising director of Life magazine, will speak on the current Life study of filmgoing habits and the “why of theatre attendance” before the Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio con¬ vention here Oct. 28 at the Deshler-Hilton Hotel. The Life study is based on interviews of from 300 to 600 carefully chosen homes, representing averages in income, cultural level, location, etc. One of the study topics is “What intrigues people in terms of film content and advertising.” . . . Mari Ann Sourlas, 22-year-old Ohio State University co-ed, from Columbus, will be awarded the Queen Isabella Tiara, a gift from Marilyn Monroe, at local Columbus Day ceremonies. Sam Shubouf, Loew’s Ohio manager, ar¬ ranged for the Monroe award in connection with the Ohio’s revival run of “The Seven October 21, 1959