Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1946)

ALBANY Film row is a-buzz with predictions of terrific business in the summer situations — the Catskills and the Adirondacks. It is predicted the take will exceed that of the best pre-war year. Of the circuits, Kallet conducts the greatest number of resort situations. Schine and Smalley each have a few. The Strand theatre, Carthage, which was practically leveled by a fire in February, 1945, is scheduled to reopen soon. The Schine circuit has completely rebuilt it. The town has been pictureless in the interim. . . . Max Eestabbe, RKO manager, is recovering from an illness which overtook him while on a business trip to Saratoga. . . . Joe Grand, owner of the Eagle in Albany, has been named new buyer for Upstate Theatres, 12 independent houses combined for cooperative buying and booking. Mr. Grand succeeded John Gardner, of the Colony in Schenectady, who served the usual year term. Owner of the Eagle for the past two years, Mr. Grand has been district manager for Tri-State Automatic Candy Company for 10 years. ATLANTA Danny Demetry, former owner of several theatres here, will open a night club July 3. . . . Tom Guninan, special representative of PRC, is back from a trip to the Charlotte branch. . . . Grover C. Parsons, for the past three years Paramount manager, resigned to become PRC south-southwest manager. . . . William Richardson, head of Astor Pictures here, is back from a trip through Florida. . . . John K. Jenkins, Astor Pictures, of Dallas, was a visitor. . . . Hal Jordan, special sales representative of Monogram Southern, is back after a two-week vacation in Florida. . . . Elmo Chapman, manager of the theatre in Starke, Fla., was killed in a plane crash at Daytona Beach. William B. Zoellner, former branch manager of the Atlantic office, will leave for New York and his new duties with Loew's International July 1. . . . Ernest Fox; Loew's relief manager here, moves to Memphis, Tenn., in the same capacity. BOSTON Constant thunder showers have besieged New England all this week. . . . The Revere dog racing track opened on Friday evening, and will undoubtedly have its efifect upon the night theatre grosses. . . . John Huntington and Lee Falk, just back from the service, will open two summer theatres this year instead of one — the Brattle Hall in Cambridge and Boston Summer Theatre here — June 24. . . . Paul Cohen is back in the advertising department at M & P theatres after serving three and a half years overseas. . . . Ralph Snider has booked Joe E. Lewis for the Bradford Roof in July. . . . Boston's Vaughn Munroe is financially interested in the new Marshard venture, The Meadows, soon to open on the Worcester turnpike. BUFFALO The Police Department here is engaged in a survey of theatres and film exchanges in an effort to compile figures on the amount of damage caused in recent months by vandals. Property damage is reported to have been extremely high. . . . Doing top business this week is "Cluny Brown" at the Buffalo. . . . Jerry Colonna will appear in a Hollywood Jam-Boree the night of June 25 at Memorial Auditorium. Other stars will include Tony Romano, Fay McKenzie and Bonnie Lou Williams. . . . Buffalo's new Midtown Theatre is holding "Waltz Time" for an extended run. . . . The next Schine anti-trust case hearing is scheduled for June 27 before Federal Judge John Knight. ... Of unusual interest to theatregoers here was "Our Old Car," MGM's short at the Great Lakes, marking the golden jubilee of the automotive industry. . . . Arrival of warmer weather has brought business at drive-ins into its own. CHICAGO Jim Booth, one of the Essaness old-timers, will leave the circuit June 28 and will take a month's vacation out west. He will join one of the local film exchanges on his return from Hollywood. . . . Joe Weiss, long-time aide for Jack Kirsch, has set up offices as a theatrical broker. . . . Jay Frank, who recently resigned as midwest publicity director for 20th Century-Fox, is handling a new promotional item and is in Hollywood conferring with west coast advertising heads. Warner division manager Roy Haines had so little time in Chicago he had to confer with district manager Harry Seed in the Blackstone Hotel barber shop. . . . Dick Brill is working with Lucia Perrigo on Warner publicity, while Frank Casey, formerly in the Navy handling public relations, has been appointed aide to Al Weinberg in the Warner Theatres publicity staff. . . . Chicago Herald-American film critic Ann Marsters is doubling as a radio commentator. Her new "Celebrity Notebook" show is broadcast five days weekly over WGN. . . . Archie Herzoff was presented luggage as a goingaway gift. He'll handle advertising out on the west coast for Frank Rosenberg at Columbia Pictures. Jimmie Savage had the scores of well-wishers howling with his farewell talk at the Herzoff shindig held at the Variety Clubrooms June 14. . . . Succeeding Mr. Herzoff as Chicago theatre publicist will be Eddie Seguin who is being shifted from other loop theatre publicity to handle the ace B&K house. Don McNeill is celebrating his 13th year as toastmaster of ABC ^ Breakfast Club." P. T. Kelty, onetime treasurer and assistant manager at the RKO-Palace, and now assistant manager of the circuit's Orpheum in Kansas City, came through town with his bride en route east on a honeymoon. She is Eloise Schmidt, formerly with the Albert Whitman Publishing Co. here. . . . Jack Rose says he expects 300 at the next Variety Club golf tournament which will be held at Hickory Hills on August 22. . . . Art Patzlaff has resigned as office manager at the Warner Bros, exchange to devote fulltime to his private business. Johnny Sokely is the new office manager. CLEVELAND | Bernard Kranze, RKO district manager, and Mrs. Kranze are vacationing in French Lick Springs, Ind. . . . Howard Burkhardt, Loew State manager, is visiting in New York. Walter Kessler is pinch hitting. . . W. Gordon Bugie, son of PRC Cincinnati branch manager, is here as student PRC salesman. . . . Warner district manager Charles Rich holds a sales meeting in Pittsburgh following a territorial swing. ... Peter Bathory, RKO exploiteer, with six Goldwyn Girls in tow, visited radio stations and newspaper offices. ... J. Maxwell Joice, Paramount exploiteer, held four days of screenings of "Searching Wind" for civic and educational leaders. . . . G. Knox Haddow, Paramount home office representative, was here on a business visit. . . . Albert E. Ptak's new Lorain drive-in will open June 29. . . . Sidney Garfinkle, in civvies, is back with Vendola Concessions. . . . Gilbert and Mrs. Lefton of Academy Film Service flew to New York on business. . . . Leo Jones, Upper Sandusky theatre owner, head for Providence and a vacation with his family. . . . Perc, Jack and Ray Essick are back from Toronto. A check for $500 from the Variety Club heart fund goes into the UNRRA fund. . . . Milt Mooney's Co-operative Theatres of Ohio, has taken over booking and buying for Mrs. Nazera's four Elyria theatres. Also her M. C. Auto Theatre, Creston, just reopened under new ownership of R. J. Martin and Eddie Cain. COLUMBUS John Hardgrove, former manager of the Southern, is the newly-appointed supervisor of the six-theatre Academy circuit. . . . F. & Y. Building Service officials report "satisfactory" progress on the new Esquire and University theatres, units seven and eight of the expanding Academy theatres. . . . CharlesMacDonald, owner of the Southern, York, Pa., was greeting Columbus friends last week. He was stationed at Port Columbus with the Navy during the war. New members of the Variety Club include Harold Schwartz and Frank Yassenofif, partners in the Riverside and Eastside auto theatres, and Joseph S. Summer. . . . Ralph Walker, former head usher at Neth's State, is the new assistant manager of the Southern. DENVER Business at first runs is steady. . . . More than 400 have been invited to the reception following the wedding of Suzanne Bell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Bell (he's WB exchange manager) to Michael J. 36 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JUNE 22, 1946