The Exhibitor (1961)

NEWS CAPSULES \/ FILM FAMILY ALBUM Go Id Bands Charles Tolis, general manager, Tolis Thea¬ tres, Hartford, Conn., was married to Helena Wells. Obituaries Ernest A. Altree, Springfield, Mass., thea¬ tre manager for 20 years, who retired eight months ago as manager of the Phillips, that city, died at his home after a brief illness. Maurice L. Fleischman, 79, died in Miami, Fla. Formerly of New York, he once owned a large chain of theatres. He opened his first theatre, a nickelodeon, in New York in 1910. He went to Miami in 1940 and built the Essex House and Cardoza Hotels. He was former owner of the Roberts Hotel, Miami. Surviving are his son, Harvey, vice-presi¬ dent, Wometco Enterprises, Inc., a daughter, and five grandchildren. Clarence B. Kantrowitz, 57, for many years in the independent film exchange business, died suddenly at Hartford Hospital, where he had been taken from his home. Mrs. Bertha Kaplan, 64, widow of the late Samuel Kaplan, for many years on the staff of Harris Brothers’ State, Hartford, Conn., died. Leonard S. Picker, 51, west coast legal rep¬ resentative, United Artists, died suddenly at his North Hollywood, Cal., home. He had been associated in legal and executive ca¬ pacities with ASCAP, Columbia Pictures, Eagle-Lion, and RKO, joining UA in 1954. He is survived by his mother, his widow, their two children, two children of a previous marriage, three brothers, Eugene, a vicepresident of UA; Sidney, a former motion pic¬ ture executive; and Arnold, UA executive vice-president. Col. Hopes Montague Stays NEW YORK — Columbia president A. Schneider announced that executive vicepresident A. Montague has been functioning on a “less demanding” basis for the past six months, but that he hoped that “in succeed¬ ing phases of his contractual relationship,” Montague would see fit to continue his pres¬ ent function as one of the company’s senior policy makers. FORMS FOR THIS PAGE CLOSED AT 2 P.M. ON MON., NOV. 27 Texas Film Carriers Outline All Schedules DALLAS — Members of the Texas Film Carriers Association outlined their network of available film shipping routes that run the length and breadth of Texas and parts of New Mexico and Oklahoma. The occasion was a cocktail party given by the Carriers at the Dallas Variety Club. Present were bookers and shippers from all exchanges, executives and employees of sup¬ ply companies, as well as circuit and in¬ dependent film buyers and bookers for thea¬ tres around the state. Spokesman for the film truckers was Walter Morgan, president of Morgan Express and a director in the Carriers Association. He displayed the handsomely bound folder which was designed for bookers and shippers. Contents of the folder include time schedules to and from Dallas to every theatre in this exchange area. Also listed are special instructions for emergency shipments as well as inter-line shipping arrangements. Among the many other helpful points revealed were the in¬ dividual routings with delivery and return time listings of each of the 18 film hauling companies. Morgan stated that film carrier rates had received no hike in over two years even though their revenue had declined consider¬ ably due to theatre closings, extended runs, and reduction to week-end only operations. Morgan stressed the savings involved in using the services of the film carriers and pointed out that while the bus and air line companies can transport passengers and freight and Railway Express can handle all types of freight traffic, most of the film haul¬ ers are restricted to film and concession sup¬ plies. He maintained that the film carriers need¬ ed the shipper’s support and cooperation in order to continue operating the 18,725 miles traveled daily in serving Texas theatres. To facilitate a better relationship Morgan an¬ nounced a committee of three film carriers had been appointed to stand ready to dis¬ cuss at all times any transportation problem that might develop. More than 100 persons were guests of film carrier hosts. yt BROADWAY /\ GROSSES Turkey Day Boost NEW YORK — The Thanksgiving holiday bettered grosses in the Broadway first-runs considerably. All had hold-over product. “THE COMANCHEROS” (20th-Fox). Para¬ mount reported $28,000 for the fourth week. “FLOWER DRUM SONG” (U-I). Radio City Music Hall announced $123,000 for Thursday through Sunday, with the third week bound to top $170,000. Stage show. “BACHELOR IN PARADISE” (MGM). Capitol claimed $35,000 on the second week. “KING OF KINGS” (MGM). Loew’s State reported $42,500 for the seventh week. “SUMMER AND SMOKE” (Paramount). DeMille hit $24,000 on the first full week. “SUSAN SLADE” (Warners). Warner tal¬ lied $20,000 on the third session. “SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS” (Warners). Victoria had a $23,000 third week. “DEVIL AT FOUR O’CLOCK” (Colum¬ bia) . Criterion had $28,000 for the sixth week. “PARIS BLUES” (United Artists). Astor did $23,000 on the third week. “WEST SIDE STORY” (United Artists). Rivoli had $47,000 for the sixth week. Hayes Heads Buffalo Tent BUFFALO — James J. Hayes, manager, Cin¬ ema, has been elected chief barker of Tent 7, Variety Club of Buffalo. He will be installed at a dinner Jan. 21 in the clubrooms. Other new officers for 1962 are Nathan Dickman, B & D Distributors, first assistant chief barker; Thomas W. Fenno, WJKB radio, second assistant chief barker; Charles E. Funk, manager, Century, property master; and Myron Gross, manager Co-operative The¬ atres of Buffalo, dough guy. Anshien Joins Embassy NEW YORK — Bert Anshien has been ap¬ pointed national print controller for Embassy Pictures Corp. Among the celebrities attending the recent world premiere of Hal Wallis' Paramount picture, Tennessee Williams' "Summer and Smoke" at the DeMille, New York, sponsored by the American Theatre Wing, were, left to right, Mr. and Mrs. Barney Balaban; Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Pickman, Paramount vice-president and general sales manager; Mr. and Mrs. George Weltner, Paramount vice-president in charge of world sales; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hazen, associated with Hal Wallis; Pamela Tiffin, who makes her debut in the film; Geraldine Page, who co-stars with Laurence Harvey; and director Peter Glenville. The gala affair drew considerable public attention. 4 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR November 29, 1961