Motion Picture Herald (Jul-Aug 1944)

"what the picture did for me" Columbia COVER GIRL: Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly— Good -lough for any man's showhouse. Did not stampede them the box office, but pleased all who attended. Played luiday, Monday, August 6, 7. — H. Goldson, Plaza Theas, Chicago, 111. Neighborhood patronage. COVER GIRL: Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth— We had :ad lots of reports on this picture and talked to Combia's representatives. They over-estimated a little in ■edictions here, as we did below average business. Mays it was the heat, and maybe we played it too old. he picture was swell as far as acting and direction and >lor went. Personal comments are O.K. on this. Played 'undav, Monday, July 30, 31. — Burris and J. Henley Brnith, Imperial Theatre, Pocahontas, Ark. Rural pat «>nage. COWBOY CANTEEN: Charles Starrett, Jane Frazee— ot of laughter, great applause, a picture well done. I layed with "It Happened Tomorrow" (UA). Audience K>k to both pictures very well. We want more of this ;nd. Played Sunday, Monday, July 30, 31.— C. F. rieghbaum, Arc Theatre, Lafayette, Ind. Small town 1 tronage. CRIME DOCTOR'S STRANGEST CASE: Warner axter, Lynn Merrick — Did very well with this one. ooler weather helped. Played Sunday, July 30. — Harnd Rankin, Plaza Theatre; Tilbury, Ont. GHOST THAT WALKS ALONE, THE: Arthur Lake, ;nn Roberts — Very good. Suitable for double billing, layed Sunday, August 6. — Harland Rankin, Plaza Theae, Tilbury, Ont. HEY, ROOKIE: Ann Miller, Larry Parks— Our patrons : emed to enjoy this picture. A bit corny in spots, not mparable to "Buck Privates," but just about the same pe of picture. Played Friday, Saturday, August 4, S. j'H. Goldson, Plaza Theatre, Chicago, III. Neighborhood itronage. KLONDIKE KATE: Ann Savage, Tom Neal— A good dure, enjoyed by all who came to see it. Played Thursly-Saturday, August 3-5. — C. F. Krieghbaum, Arc Thea■e, Lafayette, Ind. Small town patronage. MY KINGDOM FOR A COOK: Charles Coburn, Mar''lerite Chapman — Played on weekend with "Riding 'est" (Columbia). Found it O.K. Played Friday. Saturly, August 11, 12.— Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, lbury, Ont. ••RIDING WEST: Charles Starrett, Shirley Patterson Starrett quick on the draw. Customers like him. Double lied with "My Kingdom for a Cook" (Columbia), ayed Friday, Saturday, August 11, 12.— Harland Rann. Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont. TWO SENORITAS FROM CHICAGO: Joan Davis, pix Falkenburg — We picked up this little picture due the strength of Joan Davis' rise in popularity, and it oved to be O.K. for us. Wish Columbia had a few »re like it to swap with us. Played Tuesday, August 1. Burris and J. Henley Smith, Imperial Theatre, Poca■ntas, Ark. Rural patronage. WHO'S HUGH?: All Star Comedies— Lots of en'terinment from this short. — Harland Rankin, Plaza Theae, Tilbury, Ont. •letro-Goldwyn-Mayer 3ROADWAY RHYTHM: George Murphy. Ginny mms — Gorgeous Technicolor, nice show, all in all. Worth UT best time. Several new stars to keep your eyes Played to full house. Played Tuesday-Thursday, !y 18-20.— Arnold Shneeberger, Ritz Theatre, Tipton, d. Farmer and small town patronage. SLIGHT: Ingrid Bergman. Charles Boyer — A nice n of the type. Unusual role for Boyer, but well acted, d nice midweek business. Caused much good comment, ayed Tuesday-Thursday, August 1-3. — Arnold SchneeIrger, Ritz Theatre, Tipton, Ind. Farmer and small /■-n patronage. ~MY NAMED JOE, A: Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne— e public protests against so many war pictures. We rely would be happy without them, but like spinach, r^bably Hollywood knows what is best for us. Played nday, Monday, July 23, 24.— H. Goldson, Plaza TheaChicago, 111. Neighborhood patronage. -OST ANGEL: Margaret O'Brien. James Craig— Of the pictures we have shown in the oast year (over ') this has been the most universally liked and enjoyed every element of the audience. Every rank and every e of personnel thought it tops, and pulled out handrchiefs in the last scene. Many saw it more than once, is a tribute to the film that attendance rose constantly rl that the film today is still in great demand by y ship lhat has not shown it. In Navy parlance, it's Played Wednesday, Thursday, February 9, 10.— Lt. . . . the original exhibitors' reports department, established October 14, 1916. In It theatremen serve one another with information about the box-office performance of product — providing a service of the exhibitor for the exhibitor. ADDRESS REPORTS: What the Picture Did for Me. Motion Picture Herald, Rockefeller Center, New York 20. Herbert S. Nusbaum, Naval Air Station, Navy 117, FPO, New York. Naval personnel. LOST ANGEL: Margaret O'Brien, Marsha Hunt, James Craig — This was a nice little escapist picture and well acted throughout. Margaret O'Brien is capable of lifting the heart of anyone and even though business was only average, we were proud to put such a picture on our screen. Played Wednesday, Thursday, July 26, 27. — Burris and J. Henley Smith, Imperial Theatre, Pocahontas, Ark. Rural patronage. MADAME CURIE: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon— No good for small towns. Slow, and should have been shortened 1,000 feet. Many walkouts. Such pictures hurt future business for me in a small town. — Ben Brinck, West Point Theatre, West Point, la. MEET THE PEOPLE: Dick Powell, Lucille Ball— Didn't see it myself, but had adverse comment on it. Guess it pleased some others who didn't say. With the cast it had it should have done better. Played Tuesday Thursday, August 8-10. — Arnold Schneeberger, Ritz Theatre, Tipton, Ind. Farmer and small town patronage. MILLION DOLLAR CAT: Technicolor Cartoons— Good cartoon. — H. Goldson, Plaza Theatre, Chicago, 111. SONG OF RUSSIA: Robert Taylor, Susan Peters.— This feature did not do any business for us. Many stayed away, fearing it was an operetta, and there was little appreciation of the musical part of the picture. Too highbrow for our trade. Played Sunday, Monday, August 6, 7.— A. C. Edwards, Winema Theatre, Scotia, Cal. Small lumber town patronage. Paramount HENRY ALDRICH HAUNTS A HOUSE: Jimmy Lydon, Charlie Smith — Aldrich pictures have lost their drawing power. — Ben Brinck, West Point Theatre, West Point, la. LADY IN THE DARK: Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland —"Lady in the Dark" put us in the red. Speaking of colors — that was about the only favorable comment we had on the picture. Played Tuesday-Thursday, July 1820— H. Goldson, Plaza Theatre, Chicago, 111. Neighborhood patronage. MIRACLE OF MORGAN'S CREEK, THE: Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken — This picture is really a small town natural, no fooling. Played it an extra day. Played Monday, Tuesday, August 7, 8. — Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont. NAVY WAY, THE: Robert Lowery, Jean ParkerNice little programmer. Well liked here. Much interest in show due to the fact that Great Lakes Naval Training Station is not far away. Played with revival feature on Saturday, "Journey for Margaret," and did O.K. Played Friday. Saturday, July 21, 22.— Arnold Schneeberger, Ritz Theatre, Tipton, Ind. Farmer and small town patronage. STANDING ROOM ONLY: Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard — Swell show. No war, but just plain, good comedy. Audience really enjoyed this one. Give it a good buildup; feel sure it won't disappoint. Played Sunday, Monday, July 30, 31. — Arnold Schneeberger. Ritz Theatre, Tipton, Ind. Farmer and small town patronage. STORY OF DR. WASSELL: Gary Cooper, Laraine Day — Excellent — and that goes for every last one of the cast. It is a splendid story, and is one picture of excess length that I don't see how it could have been cut, although many of these long pictures would benefit by cutting. I am another exhibitor who can complain about dark scenes. We, too, had trouble with "Purple Heart." In some shots you just could not follow the action, and there have been many night scenes that way lately. This is not good. There should be enough light on these scenes so the patrons can at least distinguish the characters. — A. E. Hancock, Columbia Theatre, Columbia City, Ind. STORY OF DR. WASSELL: Gary Cooper, Laraine Day — A very well liked picture. It will not go down in history as among the greatest of the DeMille epics, but it carries a lot of entertainment and a lot of thrills. The color and pyrotechnics help, but it is too long and its deeplv enmeshed in the current fad of telling the story via flashbacks. Played Sunday, Monday, June 25, 26. — Lt. Herbert S. Nusbaum, Naval Air Station, Navy 117, FPO. New York. Naval personnel. STORY OF DR. WASSELL: Gary Cooper, Laraine Day — This proved one of the best box office pictures we have ever played. Came third to our all time champion grosser, so that should explain what kind of picture it was in our situation, and what kind we feel it should be anywhere else. Flayed Sunday-Tuesday, July 23-25. — Burris and J. Henry Smith, Imperial Theatre, Pocahontas, Ark. Rural patronage. UNINVITED, THE: Ray Milland, Ruth • Hussey— This picture has a poor name. Did better than I expected in spite of the heat wave. Played Wednesday, Thursday, August 9, 10.— Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont. RKO Radio MARINE RAIDERS: Pat O'Brien, Ruth Hussey— Guess we played this too hot, and didn't get the advantage of the city newspaper advertising. Anyway, it wasn't pre-sold to our patronage as it was below average in gross. However, the few who did see it enjoyed it. Maybe the fact that it was another war picture kept others away. Played Wednesday, Thursday, August 2, 3. — Burris and J. Henley Smith, Imperial Theatre, Pocahontas, Ark. Rural patronage. SHOW BUSINESS: Eddie Cantor, George Murphy— This is the type of entertainment the public is craving, and it is good, too. The high spot is Eddie Cantor and George Murphy, in black face, in "Dinah." It is light on story as are all musical comedies. Satisfying customers is all that matters, and this one did. — A. E. Hancock, Columbia Theatre, Columbia City, Ind. SHOW BUSINESS: Eddie Cantor, George Murphy— This was one of the biggest disappointments we have had. Was sure we would do over our average preferred time gross, but fell several per cent below. Guess Cantor can't d-rag 'em in any more here. The picture was swell and one of the best musicals from RKO in some time. A very good picture to play for those who wish to loosen the tension on war nerves. Played Sunday, Monday, August 6, 7.— Burris and J. Henley Smith, Imperial Theatre, Pocahontas, Ark. Rural patronage. TENDER COMRADE: Ginger Rogers, Robert RyanFailed to do business. Nice show and all liked it that saw it, but guess we played it too late. Played Sunday, Monday, July 23, 24.— Arnold Schneeberger, Ritz Theatre, Tipton, Ind. Farmer and small town patronage. Republic HANDS ACROSS THE BORDER: Roy Rogers, Ruth ,,ry, n "nusual Western. Lots of singing and very well done. Played with "Jack London" (UA). Had a large crowd, and everybody liked both pictures.— C. F Krieghbaum, Arc Theatre, Lafayette, Ind. Small town patronage. IN OLD MONTEREY: Gene Autry— Reissue. Still draws them in, even if our air conditioning was out of order.— Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont. LADY AND THE MONSTER, THE: Vera Hruba Ralston, Richard Arlen— If these horror pictures are coming back into popularity I don't know what to do. Can't sell them to my audiences at all, not even the good ones like this. Played Wednesday. Thursday. August 9, 10 — Leroy Strandberg, Roxy Theatre, Hinckley, Minn. Rural and small town patronage. MY BEST GAL: Jane Withers, Jimmy Lydon— This was OK on a single day. change, and the Aldrich series boosted the picture some due to Jimmy Lydon being in it. Certainly wasn't sensational and wasn't sold to us as such so we didn't expect too much. Played Friday, August 4.— Burris and J. Henley Smith, Imperial Theatre, Pocahontas, Ark. Rural patronage. Twentieth CenturyFox CANDLELIGHT IN ALGERIA: James Mason. Carla Lehmann— Not as bad as expected for a British film Good storv and well directed and acted. Did not do much business. Used revival hit. RKO's "Two Weeks to Live," on Saturday and saved the day. Played Friday, (Continued on page 42) OTION PICTURE HERALD, AUGUST 26, 1944 39