The Exhibitor (1960)

stars of “The Story of Ruth,” which is com¬ ing to the Center. . . .Jim Lavorato is busy these days moving the National Screen Serv¬ ice office into the basement of the Film Building from the old and long established office on the upper floors of the same structure. CINCINNATI 20th-Fox’s “Can Can” has been booked into the Valley for a June 20 opening, and the Columbia duo, “Stranglers of Bombay” and “The Electronic Monster,” go into 55 area houses and drive-ins for late May screen¬ ings. . . . Tri-State Theatre Service is now booking and buying for two Levin Brothers drive-ins, Dayton, O., and for six roofed houses and drive-ins owned by Don Keesling, Bramwell, W. Va. Philip Borack who joined his father, William, in 1955 in the Tri-State operation, headquartered here, re¬ cently was elected vice-president. . . . Be¬ cause this city has become an important midwest vacation spot, local exhibitors are looking forward to excellent summer tourist business, with long runs for high-rated films. . . . Frank Schrieber, U-I branch manager, was in Holland, Mich., for the tulip festival, and Milton Gurian, Allied Artists branch manager, was in Chicago for a company meeting. COLUMBUS, O., NEWS— Mrs. J. F. Nye has been installed as president, Columbus and Franklin County Motion Picture Coun¬ cil. Other new officers are Mrs. H. C. Weaver, first vice-president; Mrs. J. E. Walker, sec¬ ond vice-president; Anna May Randolph, recording secretary; Mrs. E. F. Fickell, cor¬ responding secretary; Mrs. N. E. Wright, treasurer; Mrs. J. C. Camp, parliamentarian; and Mrs. W. G. Dennis, Lt. Col. Harriet McDonald, and Mrs. R. D. Hennon, members of the board. . . . Thomas F. Shutt has been named promotion and public service mana¬ ger of the Columbus Dispatch. Theatre co¬ operation with the newspaper will be in his charge. . . . Closed circuit telecast of the Johansson-Patterson fight will be shown at RKO Palace June 20. . . . Ed McGlone, manager, RKO Palace, made a plea for sup¬ port of family -type pictures in a talk to the Holy Name Society at Bishop Hartley High School. CHICAGO John Luebbling, popular manager of Today, died in a hospital after several months’ ill¬ ness . . . Joseph H. Ruby, builder of the Dalton, Dalton, HI., died . . . The engagement of Carol Aurelio, daughter of Louis Aurelio, Lopert midwest manager, and Dr. Gerald Cara was announced . . . Henry Ehrlich has been appointed to direct Paramount publicity . . . The Garrick, a Loop landmark for 68 years, is being offered for sale by B and K . . . Morris Schwartz, 100 who was a dis¬ tributor starting in 1912, died in a rest home. He was the owner of several small theatres on the south side. His sons joined him in the organization of Schwartz Films, Inc., and took over when he retired at the age of 67 . . . Variety Club accepted sponsorship here for the Miss Chicago Contest. Dan Goldberg and Julian Portman are co-chairmen for the event. Midcontinent Film Company will have a role for the winner in a film they will produce here . . . B and K will present the J ohansson-Patterson heavy-weight cham¬ pionship bout June 20 at the State Lake, Up¬ town, Tivoli and Marbro. Admissions range from $5.50 to $3.60 . . . L. K. Nelson has formed the Blue-J Amusement Company at Mervin Mirisch, vice-president, Mirisch Com¬ pany; William J. Heineman, United Artists vicepresident; and David E. Weshner, Mirisch Com¬ pany sales representative, recently attended a preview of "The Apartment" at the Village, Westwood, Cal. The film is a UA release. Aledo, Ill. . . . Fort Wayne Drive-In, Fort Wayne, Ind., celebrated its 13th anniversary . . . Alliance Amusement Company is cele¬ brating its silver anniversary . . . Sol Meltzer, 61, Rockne owner, who had been in the business 35 years, died . . . Thomas Trant, 65, for 40 years manager of the Illington and Marshall Square, died. CLEVELAND An industry “first” was launched last week when a group of exhibitors headed by Leonard Mishikind, president of General Theatres Circuit, and Blair Mooney, presi¬ dent of Cooperative Theatres of Ohio, started a play date drive for a distributor, Rudy Norton, manager, Imperial and American International Pictures exchange, who is con¬ valescing from a heart attack. The exhibitor sponsored playdate drive, aimed to speed Norton’s complete recovery by relieving him of business worries, is his reward for more than 25 years of friendship and service to theatre owners in this area. . . . Hearings on “The Lovers” case was scheduled to open in Common Pleas Court on May 23 before three judges. Up for trial is Nico Jacobellis, mana¬ ger, Heights Art, Cleveland Heights, charged with exhibiting an “obscene” picture. . . . Ted Levy, Buena Vista district manager, states his company will take over the Allen for June 14 for an invitational screening of “Pollyanna.” Guest list will include exhi¬ bitors, civic, community and industrial lead¬ ers. . . . Variety Club held a buffet supper and gin rummy tournament for Joe Wein¬ stein, Warners booker, who after being sta¬ tioned in Cleveland for 10 years, has been transferred to the Pittsburgh office. . . . Irving Reinhart, owner, Towne, Canton, O., did not go through with previously an¬ nounced plans to take over the Ohio, Steu¬ benville. . . . The Motion Picture Council of Greater Cleveland has reelected Professor Miller Jordan of Fenn College to serve a second term as president. Other officers are vice president, Mrs. James G. Prutton; re¬ cording secretary, Mrs. Bernard Delaney; corresponding secretary, Mrs. H. M. Bums; treasurer, Mrs. Arthur Gibbons. DE5 MOINES Darryl Steen has been named manager, Royal and Spirit Drive-In, Spirit Lake, Iowa, succeeding Richard Berry. Steen had been assistant manager of the threatre at LeMars, Iowa. . . . Vandals worked overtime at the Lakeland Drive-In, north of Milford, Iowa. A total of 19 concrete bases and posts for speakers were tipped or pushed over result¬ ing in broken wires and a repair crew work¬ ing overtime to fix up. . . . Workmen are re¬ modeling the Roper, Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the building to be turned into a shopping arcade. . . . The Skylark Drive-In, near Creston, Iowa, is now operating during the week after starting out this season on weekends only. ... A $15,000 remodeling program is underway at the Paramount, Waterloo, Iowa. JACKSONVILLE Local motion picture industry figures were among the more than 500 volunteer workers who staged a successful 17-hour United Cerebral Palsy telethon which was telecast by WFGA-TV from the auditorium of the George Washington Hotel on May 21-22. Par¬ ticipants in the show included Mayor Haydon Bums; Darren McGavin, star of the TV “Riverboat” and “Mike Hammer” shows; Peter Breck, another TVer from “Black Saddle”; Gene Fullmer, middleweight box¬ ing champion; and 30 singing and enter¬ tainment acts. Pledges and cash donations totaled more than $100,000. . . . John N. Thomas, manager, downtown Empress, for many years, has retired after 45 years of service to the motion picture industry. He planned a lengthy visit with relatives in Chattanooga and other parts of Tennessee before returning here to live. . . . George Ludwig succeeded Jimmy Langston as relief manager, Arcade, while manager Jack Ste¬ venson and Mrs. Stevenson were visiting in Atlanta. . . . Sherman E. Armstrong, new assistant, San Marco, and Mrs. Armstrong became the parents of Sherman E. “Shawn” Jr. . . . The Florida was the scene of one of the most successful cultural projects staged here in years. Capacity crowds packed the 2,200-seat theatre on May 18 and 19 for the stage showing of “Kismet,” a musical per¬ formed by members of the local Opera and Choral Society with an assist by two Broad¬ way stars. . . . Judge May, the Florida Times -Union’s motion picture entertainment editor whose friendly advance reviews of coming attractions are highly prized, by local first-run exhibitors, used a dry-point carica¬ ture for the first time May 22 to illustrate his review of “The Mountain Road,” coming to Sheldon Mandell’s downtown St. Johns. Here¬ tofore, critic May has always used scene stills to herald motion pictures. His innova¬ tion added much eye appeal to the enter¬ tainment pages. . . . With the temporary closing of Fred Kent’s Beach Drive-In and Cecil Cohen’s Wesconnett Drive-In, the num¬ ber of operating outdoorers here shrank to eight as against 15 conventional theatres. . . . Edith Wubben, formerly of Minneapolis, is a new member of the office force at Warner Bros. . . . Arvin K. Rothschild, local exhi¬ bitor, was reelected president of Continental Enterprises by the corporation’s board of directors following an annual stockholders meeting in the Roosevelt Hotel. Named to CE’s board were Elkin B. Gerbert, James Mullaney, D. S. Weinstein, and Rothschild by a group of nearly 100 stockholders. CE has 16 Negro-patronage theatres, of which 12 are in current operation. The firm re¬ cently produced in Hollywood a feature mo¬ tion picture, “Raymie,” starring David Ladd, Julie Adams, and John Agar. It was directed by A. C. Lyles, formerly of this city, and is now being distributed by Allied Artists. . . . All 32 members of the male-and-female Film Row Bowling League now attract public at¬ tention with their new sport shirts which bear the slogan: “Movies Are Your Best Entertainment.” . . . Philomena “Phil” Eckert, Columbia staffer and WOMPI president, was among the trophy winners in a contest of the Ladies Forsyth Bowling League. . . . 16 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR June 8, I960