Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

[ I ALBANY Thanksgiving Day gave a needed hypo to local business, which had been off in a very early pre-Christmas slump. The Palace played "Margie" and "Secret of the Whistler." The Strand, which frequently books a single feature, had "Never Say Goodbye." a ... The Mohawk, 900-car drive-in, opened last June by the Fabian circuit in a pooling j] arrangement with Neil and Harry Hellman, finally closed for the season. It was the lat 1 est outdoor darkening in history here. The Saratoga, also a Fabian-Hellman situation, closed six weeks ago. . . . The Mohawk is located midway between Albany and Schenectady. The Saratoga is at Lathams Corners. Edward Minch, who rose to the rank of I major in ordnance' during five years of I Army duty, is now assistant manager of the ! Strand, Albany. He was in the African and Mediterranean theatres. Warners have an I ex-Army officer as assistant at the Ritz, too. He is Glen Davie, who came out of the service with the rank of captain. . . . Ray Moon, 20th Century-Fox New York City manager, and new district manager for Albany, and Sam Lefkowitz, Warner Pictures district :l manager, attended the Variety Club dinner j at Jack's restaurant. ATLANTA Weather cool and clear but business is still good in some parts of Georgia, and in others business is off. . . . Exhibitors in the Atlanta area, a survey indicates, are determined to retain their present price scales as 1 long as good business holds. . . . Special Saturday morning shows in Columbus, Ga., have proven so good that another theatre will have Saturday shows. . . . Fire destroyed the Earle theatre in MacClenny, Fla., owned by E. D. Chessman in Jacksonville. He will rebuild at once. . . . Cliff Wilson, formerly with Monogram and Columbia, in Memphis, has been made special sales representative for Kay Film Exchanges. New changes for the Bijou Amusement Company, Nashville, Tenn., as follows : J. R. Rogers has replaced Don Hassler, resigned, at the Ritz in Wilmington, N. C. Clifford LaFrance is the new manager of the Ritz in Monroe, La. James Erwin is being transferred from Monroe, La., to the new Ritz in Rocky Mt, N. C. Syd Levy, present manager of the Ritz, will leave for a short vacation and after his return will take to the road as supervisor. At the first meeting of the 1947 crew of the Atlanta Variety Club, the following were elected : Charles Durmeyer, chief barker ; first assistant chief barker, Oscar Lam; second assistant chief, John Cunningham ; dough guy, Walter Speigh ; property master, Guy Brown. Jack Dumestre was reelected national canvasman, and clowns are E. E. Whitaker, Emory Austin, E. D. Martin, Foreman Rogers, Ike Katz and Mack Jackson. { BALTIMORE Brownout plus future uncertainty of fuel due to coal strike made attendance dwindle for several days prior to beginning of week starting Thanksgiving Day, November 28, when on that day the public swarmed back into theatres. Outstanding is Mayfair with "I've Always Loved You," playing its seventh week. Stanley opened very big with "Deception." Keith's opened fine with "Two Years Before the Mast," and had late features Wednesday at 12:04 midnight, and at 2.01 a. m. Thursday. "Margie" continued to draw strong at the New theatre. "Undercurrent" pulled big at the Century. "Lady Luck" started fine at the Hippodrome. The Little held "Adam Had Four Sons," for _ second week. Times and Roslyn opened big with the showing of "Bedlam," plus "Secrets of a Sorority Girl." Loew's theatres, Century, Valencia and Parkway, through city manager William K. Saxton, with Hearst's News-Post and Sunday American and Station WBAL and Baltimore Community Fund, arranging sixteenth annual Christmas party for needy children with candy, toy, Santa Claus and film show, for Sunday morning, December 22. Walter Gettinger remains as manager of the Vogue, now changed to Laffmovie, andsold to New York and Boston interests. Governor H. R. O'Conor appointed 18 persons on committee to follow through on Government's order for brownout. New Nemo, remodeled from the old Nemo, opened Thanksgiving Day by Joe Walderman and Howard Savitz. Mr. Walderman is also booking for the new Madison, opened December 3, and operated by Harry Heyman. Mr. Walderman now operates the Monroe, Park, New Nemo, and books for the Madison. WHEN AND WHERE December 9-10: Theatre Owners of Oklahoma convention, Skirvin Hotel, Oklahoma City. January 7: Television Broadcasters Association annual meeting, Waldorf-Astoria, New York. January 22-23: Allied Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Western Pennsylvania 26th annual convention, William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh. January 26-28: Theatre Owners of North and South Carolina convention, Charlotte, N. C. BOSTON Arthur Moger, publicist at Warner Brothers, played Santa Claus again this year to many of the children of the Children's Hospital, taking four films out to the hospital to show to the little patients and then supplying some 400 gifts for the children. . . . Harry Browning, Chief Tub Thumper, announces that five new "Tubs" have been formed in cities in New England and the east. ... Mr. and Mrs. Bert McKenzie — he is the veteran publicist for MGM in New England — have sold their home in Chestnut Hill and have moved to an apartment in Brookline. . . . Captain Harold Auten, representing J. Arthur Rank, was in town recently discussing new playdates on "Henry V" in this territory. The picture ended its record-breaking seven-month run here at the Esquire theatre December 4. CHARLOTTE Canova theatre at Conover, N. C, Catawba County, has this sign in the lobby: "Mothers, you can bring the babies ; our cry room is now open for our patrons. . . . Harry Wayne has replaced Bobby Mock as booker at Warners. Bobby has been moved up to the contract department. . . . Grace Honeycutt has resigned from Warners to accept the position of booking clerk at PRC. . . . Joe Gins was in the Charlotte PRC booking office this weekend before leaving for Chicago, where he will be associated with J. Arthur Rank. He was formerly division manager for PRC. . . . H. A. Plater, manager of the Lincoln theatre, a house for Negroes, located in the heart of Charlotte's colored district, says that as soon as building restrictions permit, his theatre, which is operated by the Bijou Amusement Company out of Nashville, Tenn., will be enlarged and modernized, at a cost of $45,000. The Lincoln now seats 870. Plater, who has been in the business for 23 years, also supervises the 420-seat Savoy, another theatre in the Charlotte Negro district. CHICAGO Business slumped badly the first few days of the dimout, but picked up gradually until Thanksgiving, when all theatres reported very heavy business. Chicago theatre owners, for the most part, have enough coal to last them till New Year's Day. Undoubtedly, many will have to close if the coal strike is still on at that time. . . . The Woods theatre will charge a straight $1.80 for "The Best Years of Our Lives" when it opens this month. . . . The Variety Club, December 1, moved their headquarters from the Congress Hotel to the Continental Hotel on North Michigan Boulevard. Chief Barker Jack Rose says that when the clubrooms are completed they will house one of the finest tents in the entire country. . . . Word has been received here that two former Chicagoans, Meyer Levin and Herbert Klein, have produced a new picture in Palestine. Hebrew actors are starred in the film. . . . Christmas screen fare at Chicago Loop theatres will include "Blue Skies," "The Razor's Edge" and "The Jolson Story." . . . The current showing of "Margie" at the Oriental is reportedly the first time Class "A" product of 20th Century-Fox has ever been shown at the Essaness house. {Continued on page 42) MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER 7, 1946 39