Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1936)

64 MOTION PICTURE HERALD July 2 5, 19 3 6 Eil J. C. JENKINS-HIS COLYUM I| Fargo, North Dakota Dear Herald: You no doubt have heard preachers and other people talk about hell. Well, this place isn't hell, but it is a suburb of it. We drove in here today in a blistering south wind that felt like it came out of a red hot oven and the government thermometer registered 114 in the shade, but if they have any shade around here we have failed to find it. Our hotel room is as hot as a bake oven and we'll betcha that if it doesn't cool off before morning we will look like a fried catfish. We have about worn out the bellboy bringing us icewater. When we got in here today we were as limp as a dishrag and the only dry stitch on us was — well, there wasn't any. We heard a fellow telling about North Dakota. He said up here they had an early fall, a long winter, a late spring and a dry summer, and we said to him, "Well, brother, outside of that the state is all right, isn't it?" and he replid, "Yes, it is, if you don't count the grasshoppers." We had intended to go on into the state but have been advised not to go any farther because they told us that the farther we went the worse we would find conditions, and they are certainly bad enough around here. This town is located in the Red River Valley of the North, and the Red River Valley has been the backbone of the agricultural section of the state, but this year they won't raise enough to feed a grasshopper, unless he is on a diet like ourself, and who ever heard of a grasshopper being on a diet. We called on J. W. McCarthy, who has 26 theatres in North Dakota, and J. W. says he has never known conditions as bad as they are this year, that many people are leaving the state and that the cattle are being moved to wherever they can find feed for them. Putting two and two together, we have concluded that North Dakota is in a bad way, from an agricultural standpoint, but outside of that we would say that she is all right, which, of course, includes Senator Lemke, who is going to run for president on some kind of a ticket, but we don't know what it will be yet. Our judgment is that a lot of the people out here are going to need some help from their Uncle Ezra or Uncle Sam or they will have a hard time getting through the winter, regardless of who is president. V When we came up from the south the other day we stopped at Wadena and called on J. C. Quincer, who operates the Wadena theatre, and right here we want to warn you boys to look out for anybody whose initials are "J. C." He may be all right, but as a rule he needs watching. This, of course, don't go for J. C. Quincer ; he doesn't need any watching; he is 100 per cent, spring or fall, cold or hot, wet or dry. We had a nice visit with him, but it was a short one because he had company at his house and he couldn't fool away any time with a Vagabond Colyumnist. We couldn't blame him, but he said he didn't want us to let his subscription expire to the Herald. That's just the way it is with these theatre boys : they all realize they need the Herald, and why shouldn't they, because it covers the field like an April shower. V Today we called on Andy and Herb Anderson at Detroit Lakes. They have built a beautiful new theatre that is no doubt the pride of Minnesota. They already had a good one, but that's just the way it is with these Anderson boys : they are always right out in the front rank doing things, and they realize that Detroit Lakes needed something besides her beautiful lakes to write to the old folks back home about, so they put up a swell theatre that is the talk of the town, and if Detroit Lakes ever needs a better theatre they will build it. We would have liked to have stayed and visited with them longer, but we are a working man, even if it is hotter than Oh, gosh, gee whiz, we will have to call the bellboy to bring us some more icewater. V Bemidji, Minnesota This is where the Chippewa Indians used to hunt and fish and where Big Chief Bemidji and his squaw lived before the Waerhauser Lumber Company came in and took possession of the country and cut off the timber. The town is named after this chief and there is a statue of Bemidji erected in a park on the edge of Bemidji Lake and they have the old chief looking northeast, the first one we ever saw looking in that direction. The reader has our permission to pronounce the name of this town anything he likes, but he must take his own chances. If SHORT PRODUCT PLAYING BROADWAY Week of July 18 CAPITOL Three Little Pups MGM MUSIC HALL Living Jewels RKO Radio Mickey's Moving Day United Artists PARAMOUNT Sporting Comparisons Paramount Greedy Humpty Dumpty ... Paramount The Rhythm Party Paramount RIALTO And So To Wed RKO Radio RIVOLI Mickey's Moving Day United Artists Cities of North Africa Harold Auten ROXY Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky Paramount Dummy Ache . . . . ........ RKO Radio Going Places, No. 24 Universal STRAND Shanghaied Shipmates Vitaphone Whale Ho Vitaphone I'm Much Obliged Vitaphone he gets the lockjaw that will be his fault. He can probably pronounce it better when he has the mumps and takes a bite of lemon. Bemidji has a population of something like 7,500, quite a bunch of whom come here to spend the summer. It is a pretty good town except when it is 45 below zero. Right now it is 100 above and has been around 105 all day, and as a result we are inclined to go down and jump into Bemidji Lake. The managers of the two theatres here in Bemidji had gone away when we called. Both were out of town and we didn't see them. There is no doggone sense in people leaving a town like this one with a fine fishing lake right at their back doors, but some people will do it. We had the pleasure, however, of meeting an old friend who used to play the violin in the orchestra in our theatre with the Clint and Bessie Robins company, and the Clint and Bessie Robins company will be pleased to know that we met Bill Bender and that Bill sends them his regards. Clint and Bess now operate the Pace theatre at Gordon, Neb., for the Black Hills Amusement Co. Coming over here today from Fargo, N. D., we stopped at Ada., Minn., and called on Mr. J. Ulman of the Orpheum theatre and had a very delightful visit with him, J. says we were there and called on him once before, but we had forgotten it. V Miss G. E. Gannon is building a new theatre at Mcintosh. She said she thought it would be ready to open about August 1st. She already had one but she says she will turn that one into something else. Mcintosh doesn't impress us as large enough for two theatres and when Miss Gannon gets her new one open it will be all Mcintosh will require. Our call on her was a very pleasant one. V Mr. Danielson of the Liberty at Fosston was out of town when we called and we failed to meet him. Too doggone bad for both of us. V E. R. Wright still operates the Family theatre at Bagley; not only that, but he operates a drugstore also, and this keeps him pretty busy and keeps him from doing anything he shouldn't do. Our visit with him was a very pleasant one. We remember calling on him last year when we were on our way to Winnipeg, Canada. Bagley is located right in the deer country and the people of Bagley don't have to go hungry for meat. At one time it was an important lumber point, but today they go to the theatre instead of the sawmill. V It's going to get hotter than — ; well, it is going to get hot today, and so we are going to cut this off and get on the road while it is cool. Some sense in that, isn't there? J. C. JENKINS The HERALD's Vagabond Colyumnist The HERALD covers the FIELD like an APRIL SHOWER.