Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1932)

42 MOTION PICTURE HERALD December 3, 1932 JENKINS' COLyUM TRAVELERS... Shawnee, Okla. DEAR HERALD: The day we got to Shawnee one of the principal banks closed its doors, and we didn't have a thing to do with it. Shawnee has four theatres — the Bison, managed by A. J. Hornbeck, the Criterion, Roy Williams, the Liberty, Mr. Momans, and the Ritz, managed by J. Jones. We had a delightful visit with Mr. Hornbeck and Mr. Williams but Mr. Momans was out of the City and we did not get to meet him. Mr. Jones was confined to his home by sickness but we met his son and daughter, two very delightful young people. V Harry Lowenstein of the Ritz and Palace at Ardmore is one of Oklahoma's prominent theatremen. He has been purveying entertainment for those Sooners so long that the community has come to regard him as its mainstay. Nothing but the best that Hollywood can offer has any inducement for Harry. He picks 'em like a monkey picks fleas, and Ardmore folks never question his entertainment, they know it will be good anyhow. That's the kind of a theatreman Harry is, and further than that he's a swell chap. V Ollie Brownlee operates the Sooner and University theatres at Norman. Ollie is a hot number. He gets up every morning after having been up the night before, and the flash he puts up in front of the Sooner and University is the reason why so many Norman folks have weak eyes. Norman is where the state University is located. We told Ollie to bet both theatres on the Cornhuskers in their big football game and make himself some easy money, but he hadn't been familiar with our judgment long enough to have the proper amount of confidence in us. Ollie is a swell fellow but he's too suspicious. We met the lady who operates Norman's third theatre and she showed us every courtesy. As we recall the name now, it is Mrs. Berry, but whether that is right or wrong it doesn't matter so much because she was certainly very nice to us and we won't soon forget it. V Gerald Stettmund of the H. & S. theatre at Chandler doesn't seem to be able to break himself of some very bad traits. When he was a boy he put in more time playing marbles on Sunday than he did going to Sunday school. He threatens to write the Herald and give the readers the lowdown on our conduct, and we want to warn them in advance. Don't you believe a word he says, fur 'taint so, no matter what he says. His wife told us in confidence that her whole life had been wasted in trying to get him to tell the truth and that she had given it up as a bad job. Poor woman, we felt sorry for her, for she's a lovely lady. As we said before, don't you take any stock in what that guy tells you. He told us that he could get more information out of a sale bill than he could out of the Herald and then he handed over the wherewithal for a two year renewal to the Herald. That's the kind of a guy he is. V H. A. Walling of the Princess theatre at Bristow is another of Oklahoma's oldtime theatremen. H. A. has two theatres in Bristow, one of which he operates only on Saturday and Sunday. Bristow is a right snappy town and the Princess is a very beautiful theatre, and with H. A. as manager we could see nothing lacking to meet all the entertainment requirements of Bristow. This is the center of the pecan industry and it is bringing considerable revenue to Bristow. V Speedy Moulder has taken over the Criterion at Sapulpa which was formerly operated by James Zartaludis. Mr. Moulder also operates the Empress and Mr. Zartaludis operates the Yale. Both of these gentlemen claim business is very bad but the tendency is toward improvement. V J. P. Shipley operates the Yale and C. O. Fulgham operates the Orpheum at Okmulgee. Both of these houses are in the Griffith Circuit and Mr. Fulgham is also district manager for several of the Griffith houses throughout northeastern Oklahoma. We found both of these gentlemen very energetic and with a disposition to get for their houses every nickel possible, and we believe the Griffith brothers have made a wise choice in chosing these men to manage their business. In fact we have found all managers of the Griffith houses so far as we have gone to be rather above the average of circuit managers, which probably accounts for the success of the Griffith houses. V At Okmulgee we met Mrs. Humphrey, who operates a confectionery right next to the Orpheum theatre. Mrs. Humphrey is a sister of Charlie Murray and we told her she ought to be proud of it and she said she was. V A lot of you exhibitors have expressed a wish that you could find some kind of changeover device for vour machines. Well, if you will consult the Herald and Better Theatres you will find a device advertised by Ben Garros that we understand is giving perfect satisfaction and it might pay you to investigate this. V J. B. Terry operates the Paramount at Wewoka. Wewoka is right in the center of the oil field and the fact there is considerable activity at this time makes this an ideal spot for a theatre. We believe business is about as good there as in any spot we have found lately. V Durant has three theatres — the State and Ritz managed by T. M. Davidge and the Metro owned by J. B. Terry, who also owns the Paramount at Wewoka. These theatres can play all day Sunday but are not allowed to play Sunday nights. V There, what did we tell you. Our Cornhuskers trimmed the Sooners five to nothing, one field goal and a safety. That wasn't very much but it was plenty. They just can't beat those cornfed babies no way how they can fix it. V Next week we will be down in Texas pesticating around with the Longhorns. Hope thev will treat us as nice as thev always have. J. C. JENKINS, The HERALD Man THE NEW DEAL To users of TICKET MACHINES SPECIAL FEATURES of the NEW SILENT AUTOMATIC TICKET REGISTER Absolutely NOISELESS in operation. GREATER SPEED in selling tickets. SELF-SHARPENING KNIVES of Ageless Steel. TICKETS cannot JAM, TEAR or CUT SHORT. NO REPAIRS to worry about. BONDED GUARANTEE of RESPONSIBILITY. A QUALITY BARGAIN— DISTINCTIVE and DIFFERENT 'AAfBARD TICKET REGISTER CORP. 1600 BROADWAY NEW YORK, N. Y. Joseph M. Schenck, president of United Artists, was due in Hollywood from New York. John Hertz, Paramount's finance committee chairman, returned to New York from the coast. Gertrude Stern, writer, was due in Hollywood from New York to work for Radio. John Nolan, Fox West Coast district manager, arrived in New York. Office conferences. J. W. MacFarland, vice-president in charge of distribution for Powers, left for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Joan Blondell, player, due in New York on December 8. Si Seadler, Metro advertising director, is vacationing in Havana. Dorothy Lee, player, arrived in New York from South America. Spyros Skouras was scheduled to leave Hollywood for the East, stopping at key cities en route. James Cagney, player, was due in New York from Hollywood. David Karsner, author of "Silver Dollar," traveled to Denver to attend the picture's world premiere. Lou Brager, Warner exploitation man, was transferred from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. George Cukor, director, is due in Hollywood from New York. Clara Bow arrived in New York from Hollywood. Jack Rieger, of De Luxe Trailers, returned to New York from the West Indies. Charles Laughton, player, left Hollywood en route to New York and London for sixmonths' vacation. Wera Engels, player, arrived in New York from Germany en route to Hollywood for RKO. Sidney Fox, player, arrived from Europe. Joe Simmons, of Tower Productions, was due in Hollywood from New York. Ernest W. Fredman, publisher and editor of Daily Film Renter, of London, sailed from New York. Abraham Lehr, vice-president and general manager of Samuel Goldwyn, Inc., arrived in New York from Coast on annual trip. Harry Green, player, returned to New York after a year in England. Nat Wolf, Warner Ohio zone manager, is in New York for conferences. Robert Ripley, writer, is due in New York from Italy. Ernest Truex, player, was due in Hollywood from New York to appear in MGM's "Whistling in the Dark." J. P. McEvoy, writer, is due in New York from Genoa, Italy. Betty Roberts, head of RKO scenario department, was due in New York from Hollywood. Dr. Irving Langmuir, associate director of General Electric laboratories, sailed for Stockholm. M. K. Robinson and P. S. Wilcox, Eastman Kodak officials, sailed for Europe. Charles E. McCarthy, director of advertising and publicity for Fox, due in Hollywood from New York. Edna Ferber, writer, sailed for London. William German, general manager of Jules Brulatour's New York office, arrived in Hollywood. William Morris, Jr., who succeeded his late father as head of William Morris agency, sailed for Paris. Robert Hawkinson, of Radio's foreign sales staff, returned to New York from Cuba and Mexico. Sam Bischoff, producer for World-Wide, was due to leave New York for Hollywood. Dita Parlo, German player, sailed for Europe.