Motion Picture Herald (Sep-Oct 1945)

%HAT THE PICTURE DID FOR . . . the original exhibitors1 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. Columbia SONG TO REMEMBER, A: Merle Oberon, Paul Muni — This is a picture Columbia can be proud of, in fact, from a personal viewpoint, it is not to be topped by any company's picture. But, oh, brother, in my town how they stayed away in droves. If you live in a community where "Turkey in the Straw" and "Chicken Reel" are stock tunes with your customers, I am afraid you will find out, as I did, that Chopin's "Polonaise" is not what they want to hear. Played Sunday, Monday, Sept. 9, 10— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer ANCHORS AWEIGH: Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra— You haven't heard from us before, but we've been eagerly following this department for some time and enjoying it. We have only this to say at the moment. When a picture appeals to the highbrows, the cynics and the goons, the sedate and the bobby soxers, your local friends and "enemies," brother, you've got something! Even in bad weather. That was the result of "Anchors Aweigh" in our town. Everyone from nine to 90 loved it. Some apologized for sitting through it twice. Many seemed determined to explain on the way out that in this picture he or she found something which really "hit close to home." Cheers for "super-commercialism!" In all sincerity let's add this — for the small town; semi-rural, semi-smart set, MGM is the one company really proving to be the friendly company to the exhibitor and his clientele. Let's pray for shorter running time. Played Sunday, Monday, Oct. 7, 8.— B. H. Stevens, Hampton Theatre, Hampton, N. H. BETWEEN TWO WOMEN': Van Johnson, Lionel Barrymore — Good picture which played to better than average business. Played Wednesday, Thursday, Oct. 3, 4. — Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. MUSIC FOR MILLIONS: Margaret O'Brien, Jose Iturbi — Good picture, but no business. Title killed this good picture. Played Sunday, Monday, Sept. 23, 24. — Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. NOTHING BUT TROUBLE: Laurel and Hardy— Typical Laurel and Hardy. Seemed to please the weekend crowd. Doubled with a Western. Played Friday, Saturday, Sept. 14, 15.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. NOTHING BUT TROUBLE: Laurel and Hardy— Played this on a double bill. This could have played alone for one day here as my crowd enjoys this pair immensely. Played Friday, Saturday, Oct. 5, 6.— J. G. Balkcom, Jr., Gray Theatre, Gray, Ga. General patronage. THRILL OF A ROMANCE: Esther Williams, Van Johnson — Very good. It is in natural color. It should do very well in any situation. Played Sunday-Tuesday, Sept. 23-25.— M. W. Hughes, Colonial Theatre, Astoria, 111. WATERLOO BRIDGE: Robert Taylor, Vivian Leigh— This is truly the greatest love picture to come out of this war, although it was too deep for my patrons. A few loved it deeply. Some saw this long ago and came back again. I wish I could shake the hands of all who took part in making this great motion picture, especially Miss Leigh, who, I believe, gave one of this year's, and of all year's, best performances I have seen in my 10 years of moviegoing. If your patrons like this kind of story, play this by all means. You won't regret it. I am sure of that. My patrons only had one remark. They said Miss Leigh shouldn't have died. Congratulations to MGM for this great picture, and I wish I could get more like this, even if they don't draw. Played Tuesday, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 10— Nick Raspa, State Theatre, Rives ville, W. Va. Small town patronage. WITHOUT LOVE: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn — Personally thought the picture was good, but my customers did not seem to take to it. That was noticeable from the small turn out. We had below average business. Played Sunday, Monday, Oct. 7, 8.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. Monogram WHEN STRANGERS MARRY: Dean Jagger, Kim Hunter — Played this on a single bill Sunday midnight. Business not so good. It wasn't the type that kept them up.— Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont., Can. Paramount DUFFY'S TAVERN: Ed Gardner. Bing Crosby and Guests — T can recommend this highly. It is an all-star feature that really clicked. For an evening of wonderful entertainment this has what it takes. Cass Daley com pletely stole the show. Played Wednesday, Thursday, Oct. 3, 4— J. C. Balkcom, Jr., Gray Theatre, Gray, Ga. General patronage. PRC GREAT MIKE, THE: Robert Henry, Stuart Erwin— Used this on a double bill with "Utah" and did well. We can recommend this to any small town exhibitor. Played Friday, Saturday, Oct. 5, 6.— A. C. Edwards, Winema Theatre, Scotia, Cal. Small lumber town patronage. HOLLYWOOD AND VINE: James Ellison, Wanda McKay — This is a fair comedy. It had some laughs and some stars but it was not long enough. Doubled with "Seven Doors to Death." Business way below average, but this is a good show if you can back it up. I couldn't. Played Tuesday, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 3.— Nick Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va. Small town patronage. SEVEN DOORS TO "DEATH: Chick Chandler, June Clyde — This is a very poor mystery story. There is nothing to it. There are no stars and no action, no plot, no nothing. Business way below average. Played Tuesday, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 3. — Nick Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va. Small town patronage. RKO Radio MURDER, MY SWEET: Dick Powell, Anne Shirley— For once Dick Powell got a good role. He was great in this. This is really a good murder-mystery. This had lots of stars, too. But' it did not draw on account of the opposition I had. The other theatre in my town had "Diamond Horseshoe." But this picture is good. Play it. Played Sunday, Monday, Sept. 30, Oct. 1.— Nick Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va. Small town patronage. TARZAN AND THE, AMAZONS: Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce — We played this with a Western on a weekend and found it very satisfactory. — Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont., Can. WHAT A BLONDE: Leon Erroll Veda Ann Borg— Leon Errol comedies have been always a lemon with us, but this feature was a pleasant surprise. It seemed to more than please the weekend crowd. Doubled with a Western. Played Friday, Saturday, Sept. 28, 29.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. Republic BIG SHOW-OFF, THE: Arthur Lake, Dale EvansAverage programmer which seemed to please. Doubled with a Western. Played Friday, Saturday, Sept. 21, 22. — Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. GREAT FLAM ARI ON, THE: Erich von Stroheim, Mary Beth Hughes — Seemed to please the weekend crowd. Personally thought it was too long. Doubled with a Western to average business. Played Friday, Saturday, Oct. 5, 6.— Kyle E. Keltner, O'zark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. JOAN OF THE OZARKS: Judy Canova, Joe E. Brown —This did nice business for us. Doubled with "Tuxedo Junction." Small town and rural theatres are missing a bet when they don't pick these old ones up. Played Wednesday, Thursday, Sept. 26, 27.— Kyle E, Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES: Gene Autry— I always depend on Autry to bring in my business and he does, and with a smile. This looks kind of old, but the voice is still the same. Now that he is on the radio this is backing up his pictures. Play this by all means. Business above average. Played Friday, Saturday, Oct. 5, 6. — Nick Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va. Small town patronage. THOROUGHBREDS: Tom Neal, Roger Pryor, Adele Mara — Right fair little horse picture, but not a "Flicka." Douhled with a Western to average business. Plaved Friday, Saturday, Sept. 7, 8.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. THREE'S A CROWD: Gertrude Michael, Charles Gordon— This is a good murder story. This is also the kind of a show this town wants. It has lots of plot. The one thing wrong with this film is that it has no stars, but I see Republic has gotten a new male star, and he looks good. Business above average. Played Friday, Satur day, Oct. 5, 6. — Nick Raspa, State Theatre, Rivesville, W. Va. Small town patronage. TUXEDO JUNCTION: Weaver Brothers and Elviry— These corny double bills really do a nice business for us. Doubled with "Joan of the Ozark." Played Wednesday, Thursday, Sept. 28, 27.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. UTAH: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans — Roy seems to be the one all of our country folks are waiting for. Business considerably above average. The picture is about on an equal footing with the rest of the recent Rogers' pictures. Played Wednesday, Thursday, Aug. 29, 30. — Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. UTAH: Roy Rogers, Dale Evans — Used on weekend double bill with "The Great Mike" and did well. Played Friday, Saturday, Oct.. 5, 6. — A. C. Edwards, Winema Theatre, Scotia, Cal. Small lumber town patronage. Twentieth CenturyFox CALL OF THE WILD: Clark Gable, Loretta Young— A reissue that played to an above average Sunday crowd. Gable still has the appeal to pull in a good crowd. Played Oct. 7.— J. C. Balkcom, Jr., Gray Theatre, Gray, Ga. General patronage. KEYS OF THE KINGDOM: Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell — Good picture for the type, but not meant for small towns with no Catholic churches. Box office very light. Played Sunday, Monday, Sept. 16, 17.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, .Ozark, Mo. MOLLY AND ME: Monty Woolley, Gracie Fields— This started off wrong. There was too much footage on the drinking and too much English dialect and singing. However, the picture improved. Business poor. Played Wednesday, Thursday, Oct. 3, 4. — A. C. Edwards, Winema Theatre, Scotia, Cal. Small lumber town patronage. NOB HILL: George Raft, Joan Bennett — A well balanced picture with excellent acting, and catch tunes. Played Monday, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2.— J. C. Balkcom, Jr., | Gray Theatre, Gray, Ga. General patronage. ROYAL SCANDAL, A: Tallulah Bankhead, Anne Bax 1 ter — Nice little picture, but no business. Played Wednesday, Thursday, Oct. 10, 11.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. , :V-i SONG OF BERNADETTE, THE: Jennifer Jones, | Charles Bickford — Personally thought the picture good, but business was below average. We have no Catholic churches in our community, which probably had something to do with the slump in business. Played Sunday, Monday, Aug. 26, 27.— Kyle E. Keltner, O'zark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. SUNDAY DINNER FOR A SOLDIER: Anne Baxter, John Hodiak — Good picture. Played to about average business. It is a good down-to-earth, homey story. Played Wednesday, Thursday, Sept. 12, 13.— Kyle E. Ketner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. THUNDERHEAD: Roddy McDowall, Preston Foster— ' This picture was good on the screen and deluxe at the box office. I wish I had one like this to play every week. Played Monday, Sept. 2, 3.— Kyle .E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mb. TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, A: Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell— Good picture which played to a little above average business. Had some adverse comments on some of the scenes, but nothing serious. Played Sunday, Monday, Sept. 30, Oct. 1.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. United Artists GUEST IN THE HOUSB: Anne Baxter, Ralph Bel ; lamy — Average picture of the type which did average business at the box office. Played Wednesday, Thurs ' day, Sept. 19. 20.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. THREE IS A FAMILY: Marjorie Reynolds, Charles ' Ruggles— Doubled with a Western to average Friday and Saturday business. Fair comedy that got by the weekend crowd. O.K. Played Friday, Saturday, Aug. 31, Sept. 1.— Kyle E. Keltner, Ozark Theatre, Ozark, Mo. (Continued on page 36) 34 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, OCTOBER 27, 1945