The Exhibitor (1966)

CLEVELAND Cleveland’s newest drive-in was reborn when the Auto Drive-In opened. It’s located in Brookpark. Two years ago, the old Auto D-I blew down in a storm. Completely rebuilt on a new site with a large screen, the theatre fea¬ tures a new playground which allows children to entertain themselves while Mom and Dad watch the movie. Also featured are a small indoor auditorium and beautiful snack bar. The ramps are paved. Larry Crawley is man¬ ager. . . . The Capitol, on the west side, re¬ opened. . . . Work is progressing nicely on the two new Loew’s houses, one on the west side and one on the east side in the new Richmond Shopping Center, both set for mid-summer openings. . . . The SW Allen and Loew’s State will feature the Indianapolis Speedway Races May 30. Seats will sell for $5.25 per, and only the capacity of the theatres will be sold. Seats will not be reserved. After the race, the cur¬ rent film attraction will be resumed. . . . Herb Hortsmier is doing the buying and booking for the Hazelwood Drive-In, Chardon. . . . Ai't Ritari will close his Lyric, Fairport Harbor, for the summer. . . . Everyone is smiling around the Paramount exchange these days because of continued success of the company’s revival of “Ten Commandments” at the down¬ town SW Allen. DALLAS Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, the comedy duo, were in on a promotional visit in behalf of their debut motion picture, “The Last of the Secret Agents?” They will also visit Fort Worth. . . . Mrs. Viola Wister, Charlotte, inter¬ national president of Women of the Motion Picture Industry, will be in Dallas to attend the Founder’s Day Luncheon on May 18. The anniversary celebration in Dallas is an impor¬ tant event on the WOMPI international calen¬ dar, since the organization’s first club was founded here in 1952. William O’Donnell, president of Cinema Art Theatres Circuit, will be guest speaker. . . . Raymond Willie, vicepresident and general manager. Interstate Theatres, completed negotiations in New York for the showing of “Hawaii” at the Inwood in December. The film will open a roadshow engagement and will follow the current record holder, “The Sound of Music,” now in its 59th week at the Inwood. . . . Three Dallas theatres, the Palace, Majestic, and Tower, will present the closed circuit telecast of the Indianapolis 500 Memorial Day race on May 30. . . . Mrs. Marie Russey, 20th Century-Fox, has been elected 1966-67 president of the Dallas Women of the Motion Picture Industry. Mrs. Judy Wise, Interstate Theatres, was chosen “Wompi of the Year.” Other officers are Mrs. Dorothy McCann and Mrs. La Verne Gordon, vice-presidents; Miss Patricia Knott, recording secretary; Miss Jo Ann Johnson, correspond¬ ing secretary, and Miss Joyce Cooper, trea¬ surer. . . . Dallas Tent 17 has been awarded the International Variety Club first award for the local group’s promotion of Variety Week in February. Raymond Willie, vice-president and general manager of Interstate Theatres, was chairman of the observance. . . . Norm Levinson, Festival, has one of the Texas per¬ sonalized license plates for his automobile, which reads “FILMS.” . . . R. W. Jacobs was winner of the 12 th annual Academy Awards sweepstakes and received $850 in cash, a trip for two to Hollywood via Delta Airlines, and three days and two nights at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Almost 20,000 ballots were en¬ tered, a record number. Sponsors of the con¬ test included the Dallas News, in cooperation with Delta Air Lines, the Riviera Hotel, and eight theatre circuits. Academy, B. R. and Col. Mitchell Wolfson, president, Wometco Enter¬ prises, Inc., recently presided at ground-breaking ceremonies for the new studios of Reela Films, Inc., Wometco subsidiary. Shown with Col. Wolfson, left to right, are F. F. (Ted) Sack, head, Reela Films; film star Robert Taylor; and Dade County, Florida, Mayor Chuck Pall. Gordon McLendon, 1. B. Adelman, General Cinema Corp., Interstate, Rowley United, Stanley Warner, and Trans-Texas Theatres, which operate 43 theatres in the city. The second through ninth prizes were one year passes to one of the participating circuits. . . . Joe Jackson, Interstate Theatres, has been named convention chairman of the 1967 Texas Drive-In Theatre Owners convention to be held here Jan. 31-Feb. 2. DENVER Norman Nielsen’s Continental, which has been showing “The Agony and the Ecstasy” since the theatre’s opening last January, was to open April 27 with “Oklahoma.” . . . Re¬ cuperating at home from recent hospitaliza¬ tion is Margaret Adrian, Peak, Breckenridge, Colo. . . . The Rialto, Florence, Colo., has been opened by Harald Andrews. . . . Closed due to poor attendance is Gerald Kaschube’s Gayety, Hyannis, Nebr. . . . Neil Ross, formerly of the Bluebird, Denver, is now managing the Golden, Golden, Colo., for Atlas Corp. . . . A 15 year service pin was presented to Mrs. Dena Dunevitz, wife of Sam Dunevitz, Exhibi¬ tors Booking Service, for her work with the Red Cross. Presentation ceremony took place at the General Rose Memorial Hospital here. . . . May 25 to June 9, Columbia Weeks, have been pledged by the local Columbia staff as the period during which every theatre in the ter¬ ritory will be showing Columbia product. . . . The Mesa, Roy, New Mexico, is being re¬ opened by Gerald Dikeman. . . . “Bambi,” which was booked into the Fox Denver during Holy Week as a school spring vacation comeon to attract the moppets, stretched into a three week run, and according to a statement by Jack McGee, head of Fox IntermountainMidwest, and Marvin Goldfarb, Buena Vista division manager, played to 48,000 the first week and is still going strong with heavy adult trade. . . . The Motion Picture Operators, Local 230, cooperated with the Wolfberg Theatres and 25 local firms, including a bank and an insurance agency, in sponsoring a full page two-color ad in the morning paper ad¬ vertising the opening of the drive-in theatre season at the company’s seven area drive-ins. . . . Ralph Batschelet, manager. Fox Denver, has made numerous deals to rent the big down¬ town house to business firms and organizations for meetings when the theatre is not otherwise in use for its regular matinee and evening per¬ formances. Not missing a bet to gamer some extra coin for his firm, he leases space in the lobby to display automobiles and other items for a fee. . . . An eagle two on a par four hole at Green Gables Country Club was scored last month by Bill Agren, Fox-Intermountain Theatres. . . . The Park, Walden, Colo., has been reopened on a one-program-a-week basis by A1 Rodriques. ... It was learned here that Tom Poulos, whom ill health caused to retire some time ago from the operation of the hard¬ top and drive-in in Paonia, Colo., died last month. . . . The Starlite Drive-In, Grand Junction, Colo., recently reported not to re¬ open for the season this year, will now be reopened by Harold Haws, who plans three changes a week, some single bills . . . Pre-cast concrete panels will be the unique construc¬ tion of the new Fox Intermountain hardtop now being erected on South Colorado Blvd. in southeast Denver. It will seat 1,100, have a 60 X 25 foot screen, and projection equipment designed to offer any film process now used or planned for the near future. Richard Jack, writer, has moved to Beau¬ mont, Tex., where he will join the Jefferson Amusement Corp. . . . Bob Hinkle, Cinema Pictures, began documentary on Houston, Dal¬ las, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and Galves¬ ton. When completed. Paramount Pictures will distribute the film. . . . Alan Reichstein turned in a perfect paper in the Houston Post spon ^ sored Academy Award contest. His effort, the . only perfect one in 50,000 entries, won a 1966 i Pontiac Tempest. Frizzell Pontiac, along with virtually all the theatres in this area, was co j sponsor of the contest with the Post. He won the car by naming the winners of Oscars in seven categories as announced by the motion picture industry. Fie hadn’t seen Shelley Win¬ ters in “A Patch of Blue” and Martin Balsam in “A Thousand Clowns.” Second place win¬ ner of a year’s supply of theatre tickets from J any of the participating theatres and $50 in J cash was Carol Ann Anderson. She had one ■ error but won on the basis of her tie-breaking -j slogan. Other winners, some 26, were presented ? a variety of theatre tickets. . . . Roy Hofheinz and producer Harold Hecht are discussing plans for the world premiere at the Astrodome of “The Way West,” to be directed by Andrew McLaglen. The movie will not begin its shoot¬ ing schedule until June 1 and won’t be gen¬ erally released until 1967. . . . Ted Gold¬ smith, publicist for 20th Century-Fox, is In the city on a promotional visit on behalf of “The Blue Max,” which is expected to be shown here on a road show basis in June. ... It was one of Jack Valenti’s first acts as head of the Motion Picture Association of America to have removed from the marquee of the Gaylynn the statement, “Lynda Bird’s Boy Friend George Hamilton in Viva Maria.” The newspaper ads for the film, “Viva Maria,” were also using the line, “starring Lynda’s current boy friend ,, George Hamilton.” Chill Wills eased into town and picked oft' a publicity bonanza for a new ABC television ’ show being produced by MGM and scheduled for release in the fall. To be called “The Rounders,” it is based on the motion picture j of the same name which co-starred Wills, ; Henry Fonda, and Glenn Ford. . . . The down ! town Florida pleased a large crowd at a sneak ! preview which produced gales of laughter as ’ Marty Allen and Steve Rossi performed in 4 their first motion picture, “The Last of the » Secret Agents.” . . . “The Shop on Main | Street” went into its first local run at the San ; Marco Art fresh from winning the Academy Award as the best foreign feature of the year. . . . Ben Dargush resigned as manager of the Beacham, Orlando, and his place was taken HOUSTON JACKSONVILLE 16 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR May 18, 1966