The Exhibitor (1964)

10 best films of the year selected by Virgil Miers of the Dallas Times Herald, three premiered at the Fine Arts. Also out of the 26 outstanding films of 1963, eight opened at the Fine Arts. More than 50 per cent opened and played at the Fine Arts, according to Welch. . . . Virgil Miers, Dallas Time Herald, listed his selection of the top 20 films shown in Dallas as measured by their first run en¬ gagements only. His top 20 includes "How the West Was Won” in first place. In order the others are “Cleopatra,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Irma La Douce,” “Mutiny on the Bounty,” “The LShaped Room,” “Summer Magic,” “Gypsy,” “Under the Yum Yum Tree,” “McLintock,” “In Search of the Castaways,” “To Kill a Mocking Bird,” “Spencer’s Mountain,” “The Great Escape,” “Bye, Bye Birdie,” “Hud,” “Come Blow Your Horn,” “The Thrill of It All,” “Barabbas,” and “Son of Flubber.” . . . Tony Randall is scheduled to be a visitor to Dallas in early February in behalf of his latest film, “The Brass Bottle,” which will premiere in Houston, Tex. . . . Slim Pickens was in Dallas as a stop on a promotional tour in behalf of “Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” which is scheduled to open at the Fine Arts on Feb. 19. DETROIT A dragster, thundering at night on the left hand side of the street, crashed into James Smith, 17, who was returning home. He was killed instantly. Young Smith was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Smith of Pontiac, Mich., who operate the Huron and Eagle. HOUSTON Texas Lt. Gov. Preston Smith wil be hon¬ ored at a testimonial dinner Jan. 30 in the Grand Ballroom of the Rice Hotel. The vet¬ eran Texas lawmaker and theatre operator has announced that he will be a candidate again for the state’s second highest office during the forthcoming elections. . . . Slim Pickens flew in from Dallas in behalf of his latest film, “Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” The cowboy star will be seen in the role of an H-bomb pilot pilot in the film which opens at the Tower on Feb. 19. . . . Tom Carlisle was in the city to talk about “From Russia With Love.” . . . Jeanette Mc¬ Donald is reportedly on the road to recovery following her recent operation here. . . . George Christian, Houston Post, was among the newspaper editors who attended the pre¬ miere showing of “The Incredible Mr. Limpet” at Weeki Wachee Springs, Fla. JACKSONVILLE Teams of WOMPI members staffed a solici¬ tation booth in the George Washington Hotel lobby for a full week as one of their contri¬ butions to the March of Dimes drive. . . . Carroll Ogburn, who left here several years ago to take an executive post with the War¬ ner Bros, division office in Atlanta, has re¬ turned here to take over the reins of the local Warner Bros, branch office from Johnny Tomlinson, who has resigned from the com¬ pany to open an independent booking agency in the Florida Theatre Bldg. . . . The Florida, Hollywood, Fla., a deluxe Florida State The¬ atres house managed by Hal Stanton, was completely destroyed by a middle-of-thenight fire during midJanuary. The theatre was empty at the time and no one was in¬ jured. It is reported that FST plans to re¬ build the Florida as soon as debris is clearned away. . . . Charley Turner, Metro salesman, has shifted from an office job to the road again following the transfer of Steve Formato to New Orleans. . . . Patricia Bryan, Univer¬ sal staff member, is at home recovering from successful surgery in a local hospital. MIAMI , FLA. Mrs. Lillian Claughton, president of Claughton Theatres, was voted one of Miami’s Six Outstanding Women of 1963, by the Miami News. Mrs. Claughton was cited for her work in organizing the women’s com¬ mittee of Variety Children’s Hospital, serving as president of the women’s division of the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, and serv¬ ice on the board of directors of the Amer¬ ican Cancer Society. Last year, Mrs. Claughton was elected president of the Greater Miami Hotel Association, the second woman in its history so honored. . . . Miami Beach’s Roose¬ velt filed a $2,160,000 anti-trust suit against 14 Greater Miami motion picture exhibitors and nine national film distributing companies. Entered in a New York court, the suit claims the firms conspired to prevent the Roosevelt from getting quality motion pictures on first-run engagements. Wometco Enter¬ prises, Florida State Theatres, Brandt The¬ atres, Inc., Claughton Theatres, Inc., and Loew’s Theatres, Inc., were among local con¬ cerns named in the suit. Martin Caplan, Roosevelt manager, said his theatre was not included in the so-called “split” and that it hadn’t played an important picture since “El Cid” opened for a 10-month roadshow en¬ gagement in December, 1962. Paramount, MGM, Universal, and others were among major film distributors named in the action, which claimed they granted other Miami Beach exhibitors better rentals and permitted extended runs while ignoring the Roosevelt. The suit, brought by 227 Theatres, Inc., op¬ erators of the Roosevelt, seeks an injunction restraining the “monopoly” and asks that the theatre be allowed to negotiate in good faith for more desirable features, claiming that un¬ less this is done, the Roosevelt will be forced out of business. . . . Paul Haggerty is trainee assistant manager of the Normandie and Surf. . . . Sympathy was extended to Cecil Allen, Mayfair, in the death of his brother in Illinois. John Reed managed the Biscayne Boulevard art theatre while Cecil was in Illinois attending the funeral. . . . Stanley Mesh has been appointed assistant controller, Wometco Enterprises, Inc. The announcement was made by Wometco comptroller Arthur H. Hertz. . . . W. P. Packler is now in charge of Wometco Enterprises, Inc. personnel dept, following the Christmas night death of per¬ sonnel director Robert F. Green, from a heart attack. . . . The Wometco Enterprises, Inc., board of directors increased the com¬ pany’s dividend payout to stockholders by 11 per cent by declaring a regular quarterly dividend of 14 cents per share on the com¬ pany’s Class “A” stock and a quarterly divi¬ dend of five cents per share on the Class “B” stock, to be paid on all stock now outstanding. MEMPHIS Rotus Harvey, San Francisco, international chief barker of Variety Club, with other national officers and chief barkers from Mexi¬ co City, Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, and St. Louis, were in Memphis to help the local tent plan future fund-raising events. The Memphis tent sponsors the Variety Children’s Heart Institute and works with the University of Tennessee medical units in heart research. Harvey, James Carreras, first assistant chief barker, of London; George Hoover, executive director of Variety; and Bob Bostick, regional representative of Memphis, were guests of honor at a banquet. Bostick is with National Theatre Supply. Dan Coursey, branch man¬ ager, 20th-Fox, Memphis, succeeded Richard L. Lightman, Malco Theatres, as chief barker of the local unit. Other officers are Bailey Prichard, first assistant barker; Fordyce Kaiser, second assistant; Watson Davis, prop¬ erty master; and George Overton, dough guy. . . . Rocket Drive-In, Magnolia, Ark., has reopened for weekend operations. . . . Dixie Drive-In, Hope, Ark., was closed during the month of January. ... In Arkansas, the Ken, McCrory, closed. Skylark Drive-In, Pocahon¬ tas, and 65 Drive-In, Conway, have closed for the season. ... At Prairie Du Rocher, Ill. the Prairie has closed. . . . Tommie’s DriveIn, Kennett, Mo., has closed, as has Airvue Drive-In, West Helena, Ark., and Starlite Drive-In, Gassville, Ark. . . . W. E. Moore, office manager, Filin Transit, Memphis, has been informed that the Whitehaven Drive-In, Grenada, Miss., and Joy Theatre, Pontotoc, Miss., have closed. . . . Skyvue Drive-In. Savannah, Tenn., has closed for the season, and Savannah is open. Both places are under the same ownership. . . . Interest is keen in the contest to select “Miss Variety.” The winner of the sixth annual contest is to be announced during Variety Clubs Week, Feb. 9-15. Nathan S. Reiss, chairman of the local unit’s development committee, has again mailed letters appealing for funds for the Variety Children’s Heart Institute. NEW HAVEN-HARTFORD In first plan of its kind for downtown Hartford, the Stanley Warner Strand is of¬ fering free patron parking after 6 p.m., Mon¬ days through Saturdays, and all day Sun¬ days, at an adjacent lot. William Decker, SW Hartford resident manager, is paying the lot 35 cents per car. . . . The Noah Wallace Parent Teacher Association in Farmington is offering a series of foreign films, screened in the high school auditorium. Tickets are $1 per person or $2.50 for the series. Initial attrac¬ tion: “The Bicycle Thief.” . . . The independent Strand, Winsted, provided lucky patrons with a number of bonus meal tickets for exotic Arab dinners in a nearby restaurant, as part of its promotion for Columbia’s “Lawrence of Arabia.” . . . Franklin E. Ferguson, general manager, Bailey Connecticut Theatres, has arranged for reservation service to Whalley, New Haven, engagement of 20th-Fox’s “Cleo¬ patra” at the huge Sears Roebuck shopping center in West Hartford. Additional sales fa¬ cilities are maintained at the Rivoli, Hart¬ ford, and radio station WBIS, Bristol. . . . The Springfield, Mass., Civic Center Commission has proposed a Civic Center, containing a 2500-seat theatre and convention hall con¬ taining 50,000 to 100,000 square feet of floor space. Estimated cost is $6 million. Facility is needed, the commission comments, for public assemblies, conferences, concerts, lec¬ tures, dramatic production and musical pro¬ grams, commercial exhibits, and trade shows. WANTED: Drive-In Theatre Manager for year round po¬ sition. Top Salary and many benefits. Contact Mr. N. Schermerhorn Walter Reade-Sterling, Inc. Oakhurst, N. J. or Call KEIIogg 1-1600 February 5, 1964 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 17