The Exhibitor (1966)

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First Restaurant-Bar-Theatre Coming To Mich i Quo Vadis Site DETROIT — The Shafer family, longtime theatre operators in Detroit’s western suburbs, bought 25 acres of swampland, filled it in, and built the Algiers Drive-In, one of Detroit area’s biggest drive-in moneymakers. Slicing off a portion of the drive-in property, the Shafers moved ahead last year with a swank new indoor theatre called the Quo Vadis, which opened just six weeks ago. Now the Shafers, brothers Martin and Charles and their mother Lillian, are putting in a restaurant and cocktail lounge in the Quo Vadis. When it opens later this year, it will represent the first combination restaurant-bartheatre in the United States, the Shafers claim. The brothers estimate the Quo Vadis com¬ plex alone has cost approximately $850,000. The land, they say, is now worth about $350,000. This may sound like big money, but the Shafers are by no means finished with their “swampland.” At the moment, they are drawing up plans for a new six-story hotel containing 90 rooms which will also be built on the site. The hotel, which will include some apart¬ ments, will cost an estimated $2.5 million and will be linked to the “Top of the Quo Vadis,” as the theatre restaurant is called, by a 550foot, glass enclosed walkway built on stilts above the Quo Vadis parking lot. This will be no ordinary walkway, as it will be 100 feet wide and will contain 18 small shops such as are often located on the ground floors of major downtown hotels — smoke shops, apparel shops, and the like. The Quo Vadis restaurant will seat 400 and will be convertible to conference rooms or banquet rooms. Construction will mean taking another bite of the Algiers Drive-In land, but the Shafers have no intention of closing the theatre. The Quo Vadis restaurant will provide customers a perfect view of the drive-in screen. The sound will be piped into the cocktail lounge, and the customers can watch the movie while waiting for a table. Meantime, the Shafers are enlarging the Quo Vadis parking lot to handle close to 800 cars against the 380 current capacity. On the Shafer drawing board is another indoor house as well as a two-sided drive-in theatre. So far, the location remains a strict secret. Just 18 months ago, the Shafers completely changed their Shafer Garden City Theatre, from a house seating 700 and catering mainly to children to a completely remodeled theatre seating 500 and called La Parisien, replete with the French motif, “rocking chair” seats, and even a heated area under the marquee. The change cost $200,000, but the Shafers feel their investment was well worth it. “In the first two weeks we grossed more than in the previous year,” says Charles Shafer. In the first year, revenues matched those of the previous five years, he says. The Shafer chain was launched when the late Walter Shafer, father of Martin and Charles, purchased the Wayne Theatre in Wayne, Mich., in 1932 (since closed). The Shafer Garden City was added in 1939; the State, Wayne, in 1946; and the Wayne DriveIn in the early 1950’s. Sorority Honors Columbia For ‘‘Human Relations" LOS ANGELES — Columbia Pictures was honored by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in a ceremony that marked the first time a major Negro organization has cited a motion picture company. Columbia vice-president Gordon Stulberg accepted the award from Mrs. Julia B. Purnell, Supreme Basileus of the AKA, before some 1500 sorority delegates at the Statler Hilton following a major address by Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP, The award in the form of a medallion was given to the film company “for its human relations efforts in the awareness of the need to project the true image of America through motion pictures.” Basis for the honor is Columbia’s effort to develop acting and craft talent among all groups, the use of Negroes in non¬ stereo-typed roles in motion pictures, and for its contribution to movies as an en¬ tertainment medium. Theatres Urged To Try Repertory Film Program NEW YORK — Exhibition can profit hand¬ somely from a resurgence in repertory film programming, says Tom Brandon, president of Brandon Films and a pioneer of the reper¬ tory concept. “The people, young and old, who like art films are still with us,” Brandon said, “but the so-called loss of identity of the art theatre makes it increasingly difficult for them to find what they like.” If an all-music or all-news radio station changes its program, the dedicated audience which listens regularly will switch it off. In like manner, to switch into the fast-growing market of art and movie history-oriented mod¬ ern audiences, exhibitors should consider re¬ creating the art image by regular schedules of specified days each week and/or periodic repertory weeks, months or seasons, he added. In order to illustrate the point, Brandon has arranged a three-month repertory program to be selected from Brandon’s World Cinema Series at the Rugoff-operated Fifth Avenue Cinema in New York City commencing early October. The agreement provides for possible extensions of the program into 1967. Encouragement of repertory playdates by theatre owners in today’s market, Brandon is convinced, can be as successful as reissue pro¬ gramming prior to the advent of television. In fact, theatres are in a position to establish a successful repertory operation by program¬ ming the all-time classics and the productions of new filmmakers in order to attract film ap¬ preciation groups and the new young custom¬ ers interested in film study in the nation’s high schools and colleges. In so doing, he added, the theatres alleviate the film shortage and generate a new source of product in the art film inventories. New Drive-In Policy Wins Editorial Plaudits BUFFALO — Speaking editorially in its cur¬ rent edition, the Amherst Bee says: “With the announcement that the old Wehrle Drive-In Theatre at Transit Road and Wehrle Drive is under new management, residents of the area have high hopes that a better class of pictures will be shown, and the actions of many of the younger viewers will be improved.” The new management has changed the name too. It is now the Wehrle Outdoor Theatre and is being remodeled and refurnished for the convenience and comfort of patrons. This is the outdoor theatre in the area serving portions of the towns of Lancaster, in which it is lo¬ cated, Clarence, and Amherst. Families in these towns are looking forward to being able to view pictures that are inter¬ esting, enjoyable, and relaxing, and above all, not too far from home. Many complaints and protests were made in the past about the ob¬ noxious pictures and the undesirable actions of some of the younger clientele. Families found it unwise to take their children when they would have liked to enjoy an entertaining evening. “The Amherst Bee extends to this new man¬ agement its best wishes for success in present¬ ing films that entire families may enjoy in comfortable and relaxing circumstances,” the editorial stated. The Wehrle recently was leased by John Martina and Morris Slotnick of Jo-Mor Enter¬ prises, Inc., Rochester, and Herbert Slotnick, Syracuse. Manager is Sarkes Stephen, and James J. Hayes is supervising both the Jo-Mor Cinema in downtown Buffalo and the Wehrle outdoorer. Levine Chairs IFIDA Gala NEW YORK— Joseph E. Levine, president of Embassy Pictures Corp., will serve as dinner chairman for the international film awards dinner-dance to be held on Friday evening, Jan. 20, 1967, at the Hotel Ameri¬ cana. Announcement of the appointment was made by the governing committee of the International Film Importers and Distribu¬ tors of America. Levine, recipient of a special IFIDA cita¬ tion at this year’s gala for his contribution in producing and distrbiuting outstanding in¬ ternational film attractions to American the¬ atres, in accepting the chairmanship, said, “It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I accept the chairmanship of the IFIDA 1967 award presentations, which are rapidly be¬ coming one of the more important events in the foreign film industry here in the United States. Each passing year brings greater sig¬ nificance to the IFIDA awards.” Wow, What A Politician! UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIF.— Jill St. John has been elected mayor of Universal City for the coming year, succeeding Joan Staley, it has been announced. The young star takes over the office that was created when the studio opened in 1915 and Herbert Rawlinson was named the first mayor. Miss St. John is the fourth successive female to fill the office. Tippi Hedren and Angie Dickinson preceded Miss Staley. The last male mayor was Rock Hudson, who was elected in 1962. Miss St. John was sworn in by Los Angeles Mayor Samuel W. Yorty in ceremonies at the studio attended by the honorary mayors of the surrounding communities. 12 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR August 24, 1966