The Exhibitor (1964)

an arrangements committee. . . . S W Strand, Hartford first-run, has announced a Golden Age Club, offering reduced admission to per¬ sons over 60: Matinees, 50 cents; evenings, 75 cents. . . . The LeWitt interests have sold the 1,000-car Berlin Drive-In, Berlin, Conn., to the Front Drive-In Theatre, Inc., Binghamton, N. Y., for $425,000. Theatre was owned by Lakeside Realty Company, princi¬ pals including Brooks LeWitt, Miriam LeWitt, attorney Harry N. Jackaway, and estate of attorney George LeWitt. . . . Peter Perakos, Jr., office manager, Perakos Theatre Associ¬ ates, New Britain-based circuit, has lined up a 1985 Ford Mustang model to be awarded to holder of lucky ticket in October at the Plainville Drive-In, Plainville. In return for nightly newspaper advertising, screen, and concession building promotion, and the op¬ portunity to display a Mustang (1964, of course) and have a salseman explain merits of driving same, Somers Ford, New Britain, is providing the car free. Moreover, drivers of Ford cars only are admitted free Tuesday nights. A similar promotion was conducted with fine effect two years ago, a Chevrolet dealer (Wilcox-Rau) cooperating. . . . Sey¬ mour Levine has leased the 700-car capacity Clinton Drive-In, Clinton, to Meyer Kravitz of New Haven for an undisclosed sum. Levine will continue to operate the Lenox, Hartford (hard-top) and Mansfield Drive-In, Mans CLARK TRANSFER INC. 829 N. 29th St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19130 CEnter 2-3100 1638 Third St., N.E. Washington, D. C. 20002 DUpont 7-7200 PROGRESSIVE ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION CO. INC. 240 N. 13th ST. • PHILADELPHIA 7. PA. Theatre Installations and Maintenance Film star John Ireland recently helped the Linwood, Fort Lee, N. J., celebrate its first birthday by cutting the cake as manager Mrs. Ronnie Levasseur, left, and Suzy Krasnomowitz, Fairlawn, New Jersey's entry in the Miss America contest, looked on. field. . . . Eddie Lord reopened the Palace, Norwich, with a first-run policy, his initial attraction Paramount’s “The Pasty.” . . . Two more shuttered Connecticut theatres are re¬ suming operations after Labor Day. The Abbey, Southington, and the Rialto, Windsor Locks, will open on Friday-through-Sunday policy, effective Sept. 11. The theatres are owned and operated by the Southington Colonial Corporation and Windsor Locks Ri¬ alto Corporation, respectively. PHILADELPHIA Harry Brillman, veteran exhibition and dis¬ tribution executive, has left Ellis Theatres to join United Artists local exchange as a salesman. . . . Robert Friedman, United Art¬ ists branch manager, and exploiteer Max Miller met with area exhibitors to plan the saturation engagement of the first Beatles’ film, “A Hard Day’s Night.” . . . Warner Brothers revealed that 53 theatres in the Philadelphia territory were lined up already for the Theatrofilm production of Richard Burton’s Broadway hit, “Hamlet.” Observers feel this may usher in a whole new era of theatre entertainment. The record number of area engagements was credited to the im¬ portance of the film and what exhibitors regarded as fair sales terms. . . . Jack Zamsky, who formerly served with United Artists as salesman in the Philadelphia territory, is located now in Hollywood. He sends regards to all the friends he made in this city. PORTLAND One of the first official duties for Irwin Yablans, newly appointed MGM branch man¬ ager here was to host Harve Presnell, sing¬ ing star of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” currently playing here. Presnell was in Port¬ land with Howard Herty of the MGM studio press division on a personal appearance visit. He had luncheon with the press at the Ben¬ son Hotel. The hotel dispatched their Lon¬ don-styled Austin taxi to the airport to pick him up. Yablans, former assisant manager of Warner Brothers Boston and Los Angeles offices, was Portland branch manager for the same studio here in 1962-63. While in Los Angeles, he married a member of the office staff there, the former Diana Ornstein. The MGM office now includes Frank Staeger, booker and office manager, and Loraine Har¬ din, secretary. Katherine Marshall, Music Box manager, opened with “Becket” on a continuous policy. The no-reserved ticket policy, she says, is better for summer scheduling. . . . Five theatres, four neighborhood hardtops and a drive-in, will open with the Beatles’ United Artists’ comedy, “A Hard Day’s Night,” on Aug. 12. The theatres are the St. Johns, Roseway, Moreland, Bob White, and Amphitheater. About 400 Portland teen-agers and adults will go to Seattle on Aug. 21 to see the Beatles (live) at the Coliseum there. SALT LAKE CITY Groundbreaking ceremonies here signaled the beginning of construction on a $300,000 recreation center, the idea for which origi¬ nated with Don Kostopuolos, well known as a former theatre owner and operator in the Salt Lake City area. Site of the new center is 2V2 miles inside Emigration Canyon, a 10 minute drive from downtown Salt Lake City. Kostopuolos’ interest in handicapped children, many of whom found happy mo¬ ments while being entertained at the exhibi¬ tor’s theatres on holidays, dates back many years. All work on the center has been donated. Five acres immediately adjacent to the highway and Emigration Creek are being leveled and graded by local SeaBees, with R. M. Humphrey, Cmdr., and Robert Garrett, CPO, United States Navy, supervising. The unit will clear land, build roads, and bridge the Creek for the center. Equipment is on loan from Ft. Douglas. A fall opening is anticipated for “Camp Kostopuolos” where facilities will include dormitories for 150 handicapped youngsters. The project is in¬ corporated under the name of Harmony Chari¬ ty Club of Utah. . . . Long run movies held over for the “Fourth” included “Pink Panther,” “Becket” and “Tom Jones.” . . . Rio Conchos, filmed in Southern Utah, is set for a Salt Lake opening soon. . . . Paul Mantee, appearing in “Robinson Crusoe on Mars,” put in local appearances over the weekend, accompanied by the monkey seen in the film. Visits included local children’s hospitals. . . . “Circus World” or “The Greatest Story Ever Told” will be booked into the Villa here, according to Fox Theatre city manager Ted Kirkmeyer, recently re¬ turned from a West Coast business-pleasuretrip. SAN ANTONIO Pola Negri, a part-time local resident for many years, has donated her personal 700 volume library to Trinity University. The collection, volumes on theatre, costume de¬ sign, fashion, French and English history, and literature, will be housed in the Rare Books Room of the recently completed Chap¬ man Graduate Center on the Trinity campus. The collection, a result of Miss Negri’s life¬ time interest in the theatre and entertain¬ ment, was gathered during her travels throughout Europe. The books will be availa¬ ble for public reference and research. Miss Negri, who starred in silent films during the 1920’s, has been dividing her time between Europe and San Antonio. She retired from films in 1933, but recently returned to Holly¬ wood to appear in Walt Disney’s “The Moon Spinners,” which opened for a first run show¬ ing at the Olmos. . . . Local Beatle fans will have an opportunity to get an advance look at the English singing group’s first fea¬ ture length movie, “A Hard Day’s Night,” at the Texas on Aug. 8. 18 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR August 5, 1964