The Exhibitor (1966)

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Dur wood's K.C. Empire To Be Twin Salt Lake City Exhibitor Files Anti-Trust Action As Circuit Stresses The Unusual KANSAS CITY — Two theatres will emerge from what is now the Empire Theatre under plans announced by Durwood, Inc. The Em¬ pire currently is the Cinerama house here, now playing “Russian Adventure.’ The run will close Nov. 6 with the conversion to the over-and-under theatres to begin immediately thereafter. An opening is planned for early February, 1967, with “Grand Prix” in Cine¬ rama as the attraction at Empire I. “Sand Pebbles” as a road show attraction will open early in March in Empire II. The present lower level theatre will become Empire I with about 900 seats. The upper level will become Empire II with about 1,100 seats. Both will be the ultimate in today’s luxury theatres with push back seats, giant screens, elegant decor and appointments, and with an elevator of large capacity to serve the upper theatre, said Stanley Durwood, presi¬ dent. The Empire presently is a theatre of about 1,300 seats, about 900 of them on the main floor. It was built in the 1920’s as the Mainstreet for vaude-picture operation and at its peak seated about 2,700. After the heyday of vaude, the theatre had been dark for a number of years before being leased from RKO by Cinerama and revitalized as the Missouri Theatre. Durwood acquired the theatre from RKO in 1960, and completely remodeled and re¬ decorated and changed the name to the Em¬ pire. The new Empire I will comprise what essentially is the main floor of the present the¬ atre, with a main floor booth. The new Empire II will be in what is now the balcony. This will require building of a new floor from the cap of the balcony to the top of the present proscenium, making the upper level theatre an amphitheatre. Balcony risers will be recast to provide 40-inch spac¬ ing between rows. A new booth will be built approximately at the center of the amphi¬ theatre. What is now the upstairs mezzanine will be enlarged further to become a spacious lobby for Empire II with about 3,000 square feet, almost identical in size to that of the first floor theatre. In keeping with the ultra plush con¬ cept, Empire II will be completely carpeted. The decor will be variations of the royal blue and gold theme which now prevails in Empire I. The present boxoffice will serve both the¬ atres by utilizing two sales windows. Completion of these theatres will total three in the one building. The Academy Theatre of 136 seats in the upstairs lounge will continue to operate. This project adds one more to the list of unusual theatres built by Durwood here within recent years. It was the first in the mid-west with twin hard-top theatres, Parkway I & II in the suburban Ward Parkway Shopping Center. Later, it built the Emabssy twins in a lower level of the Country Club Plaza. In July, Durwood opened The Screening Room as a candidate for the world’s smallest theatre with 94 seats. It is in the Midland Theatre building, making three theatres in that structure, including the Studio Theatre of 150 seats in the lower lounge, the first “recroom” commercial theatre. The circuit now is busy building four the¬ atres in one cluster in the Metro Plaza Shop¬ ping Center for openings in November. It has operated the Roxy Theatre as a downtown Understanding Urban Problems Is First Step Toward Progress HARTFORD — Inadequate parking that is strangling downtown trade is among the prime problems facing America’s urban centers, H. Ralph Taylor, U. S. Depart¬ ment of Housing and Urban Development, told the 52nd Management Conference of the American Chamber of Commerce Ex¬ ecutives here. “The first quality,” he said, “a city must have to begin erasing urban blight is a com¬ plete understanding of the total urban problem. “It is relatively easy to identify and an¬ alyze the physical problems, among them: substandard housing, traffic congestion, ob¬ solete industrial plant, and inadequate parking, that strangles downtown trade. “However, it is much more difficult to analyze and understand the basic social problems.” Two Hardtops For NGC LOS ANGELES — National General Cor¬ poration has received authorization from New York Federal Court Judge Edmund L. Palmieri to build a new 1100-seat conventional theatre in Anaheim, Californio, and a 950seat conventional theatre in Seattle, Washing¬ ton. continuous run first run, and the Capri as a downtown hard-ticket theatre for many years. It also has hard tops and drive-ins in St. Jo¬ seph and Jefferson City, Missouri, and Leaven¬ worth, Kansas. Each of the Empire theatres will have a re¬ served seat policy, Empire I being the prime Cinerama house. Empire II will have a road¬ show policy with extended runs the rule, said M. Robert Goodfriend, general manager. The cost of the project is expected to be about $300,000. Architects are Hugh Hamlin and Charles Pike of Northern & Hamlin, A.I.A., and decor is by Hollis Jack Galleries. The project is being supervised by Robert Schumann, Durwood’s coordinator of con¬ struction. SALT LAKE CITY — Woodland Theatres, Inc., operator of the Woodland Drive-in, has filed suit in the U. S. District Court seeking $330,000 from three other motion picture oper¬ ators for alleged violations of federal anti-trust laws. The defendants are Parkwood Drive-In Theatres; Park-Vu Enterprises, Inc., Sero Amusement Company, William R. and Emma Everill, Leon J. and Beth E. Frickberg, and Ellis and Gayle Everill, all of Salt Lake City. The suit states that on June 17, 1963, the Woodland was leased to the three couples for operation. It claims the defendants from 1965 to the present combined and conspired to sup¬ press and eliminate competition among them¬ selves and with other exhibitors in the licensing of motion pictures; that they combined and conspired among themselves to pool the theatres they operate on a prearranged percent¬ age basis; that they combined and conspired to relegate the Woodland to an inferior motion picture playing position with regard to the other theatres. The Woodland claims it has lost theatre rentals, its reputation, prestige, and money and seeks $50,000 damages on this count, which can be trebled under antitrust laws. The suit seeks a restraining order to prevent the defendants from further alleged violations. Woodland is also seeking $180,000 in dam¬ ages because the defendants failed to abide by terms of the lease agreement which included building a new projection booth and snack bar and failed to pave part of a parking lot and install in-car heaters. The suit also seeks to have the lease agree¬ ment declared void so the theatre can revert to its owners. Miss Crest To Showcorp. NEW YORK — -“Sharply increased activity in domestic theatrical and television distribu¬ tion is pressing Showcorporation to seek and attract new outstanding key personnel,” it was noted by Robert Manby and Fred Schneier, who head the distribution company. They an¬ nounced that Louise Crest will join Showcor¬ poration as director of sales and services.” Miss Crest, until recently vice-president of Janus Films, Inc., and president of Janus Films Library, the company’s 16mm. non¬ theatrical division, brings to Showcorporation wide experience in 35mm. and 16mm. film sales and servicing. American International recently held its first world-wide sales convention at the Americana Hotel and seen on the dais, left to right, are Mikey Zide, AIP assistant sales manager; Erwin Lesser, east coast assistant sales manager; James H. Nicholson, AIP president; Samuel Z. Arkoff, AIP executive vicepresident; Milton Moritz, national director of advertising and publicity; and Leon P. Blender, AIP vice president of sales and distribution. 12 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR October 26, 1966