Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

(Continued from page 48) Harrisburg as to whether popcorn warmers will be allowed to operate in theatres. The state authorities are holding these sessions following the recent trouble in Lancaster. . . . The Variety Club, Tent 13, also elected the following: Morris Wax, exhibitor, first assistant chief berker; Harold Cohn, exhibitor, second assistant chief barker; Mike Felt, exhibitor, dough guy; Mort Magill, United Artists branch head, property master; and Edward Emanuel, house committee head. . . . The Children's parties at the Astor, in Reading, Pa., are drawing very well, the same policy is also going great at the Embassy, in Reading. . . . Business in Reading has picked up, exhibitors attributing a good share to Christmas Savings Funds disbursements. PITTSBURGH "Margie" is giving the J. P. Harris its best business in many months. It is being held over for a second week. "Deception" also is getting a second week in the Stanley here. . . . Ben Andur, Pete Dana, Cliff Daniel, George Eby, Sam Fineberg, Bill Finkel, Sam Speranza, Bert Stern, Tom Troy and John Walsh have been elected to the Variety Club's board of directors for 1947. . . . Joe Hiller and John Walsh have been elected delegates to the Variety Clubs annual convention in Los Angeles. Elmer Ecker and Johnny McGreevey are the alternates. . . . The Warner Brothers-Loew pool agreement will come to an end this month. Which means no Penn pictures will move over to the Ritz and the Warner theatres. . . . Joe Gins, who was with Columbia here, has been named special sales representative for J. Arthur Rank Pictures in Chicago. PORTLAND Eric A. Johnston, President of Motion Pictures Association, and former Spokane industrialist, guest speaker at Spokane Chamber of Commerce, and giving highlights of his trip to Europe. . . . William A. Clayton, noted Hollywood cameraman, nearing the half-way mark in filming "Life in Tacoma." Finished product to be shown Hamrick-Evergreen's Temple theatre, Tacoma, Dec. 16-20. Len Gruenberg, '47 Ned Depinet drive captain, accompanied by Harry Gittleson, assistant to Walter E. Branson, RKO Radio, covering Pacific Northwest key cities. ST. LOUIS Most of the first run houses here below average stride, with only Loew's State, featuring "Undercurrent," and St. Louis with "Cloak and Dagger," able to muster sizeable grosses. ... A burglar routed from Fair theatre, neighborhood house, by a cop who heard him hammering on the safe door in the office. . . . Mrs. Hachkatoun Magarian, mother of A. D. Magarian, owner of the DeLuxe and Gaty theatres in East St. Louis, died in a fire in her house. . . . Ground broken in Decatur, 111., for the big 2,000-seat theatre to be erected by Publix-Great States circuit. . . . Kenneth Solomon, navy veteran, named assistant manager for the Grand theatre at Chilli cothe, Mo. . . .New Laclede theatre, under management of Ford Anderson, opened at Laclede, Mo. . . . Bruce Bohle replaces Bernard Ehrenreich as critic for the St. Louis Star-Times, one of two afternoon dailies here. . . . Managers of Loew's Theatres in Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Louisville, Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis, and their wives will be guests at a special Christmas party to be given at local hotel by Mike Cullen, division manager. Roy Muehlemann, who had been manager of the Granada, Fanchon & Marco-St. Louis Amusement Company's deluxe neighborhood, Granada, promoted to manager of the first l-un Missouri, succeeding Harry Crawford, who died recently. SAN ANTONIO "Torrid Zone," a return engagement picture, played a four-day stand at the Empire theatre last week. . . . "Blue Skies," Paramount's musical, was given a preview showing here at the Aztec for a special midnight entertainment for local Interstate employees and their friends. ... All Texas Consolidated and Interstate houses are again offering the Gift Book for sale as the ideal Christmas present for all the family. . . . Frank Trevino, owner of the Ideal Theatre, Pearsall, has his house on the market at a bargain, so he says. It is complete with 450 seats. . . . "Margie" was one of the best dramas to play the Majestic theatre in many a, moon. Indian summer weather helped to increase the box office take here. TORONTO The Eglinton, Victoria and Uptown theatres continued with a second week on British pictures, with "They Were Sisters" at the first two and "Caravan" holding at the Uptown although the Christmas shopping rush was in full swing. ... It looks like a struggle to continue with pro basketball in Toronto but pro hockey is maintaining popular favor. . . . "Henry V" is in its 15th week at the International Cinema at $1.80 top and may stay until Christmas. . . . Chairman O. J. Silverthorne of the Ontario Censors doesn't see a film shortage here, saying there'is a substantial backlog of new product which should tide over the theatres in the coal and strike crisis. Six Toronto theatres were playing James Mason pictures, some of them revivals, in one day, according to a checkup, the films being "They Were Sisters" at two first runs, "I Met a Murderer," "Secret Mission" and "Hotel Reserve," the last-named | at two neighborhood "houses. . . . Voters at j Sarnia, Ont, rejected a proposal for Day i light Saving there next summer in a referendum, but the question carried by small mar j gins in similar votes at London and Chatham, Ont. ... the Ontario censors have classed nine more features as "Adult Entertainment," these being "Nocturne," "Bedelia," "Decoy," Secret of the Whistler," j "Undercurrent," "The Dark Mirror," "Rage in Heaven," "Angel on My Shoulder" and "So Dark the Night." . . . The Hollywood theatre, Toronto, has boarded up its next j door parking lot to start building a duplicate theatre to operate under a policy to show the same program in both houses at staggered hours. . . . Arch H. Jolley, secretary of the Motion Picture Theatres Association of Ontario, Toronto, gives his talk on the film industry in three more towns, j Tilbury, Brockville and Kingston. . . . On | tario centres start to announce that boxing Day (Dec. 26) will be observed as a civic holiday which should boost theatre attendance substantially. WASHINGTON j "Notorious" is still the big grosser in Washington, going strong in its third week at RKO Keith's. Loew's Palace held "Undercurrent" over for a second week. Business was good, with new openings: "The Verdict" at Warner's Earle, after one week of "Never Say Goodbye"; "Gallant [ Bess" at Loew's Capitol. Warner's Metropolitan opened with "Dark Mirror" for a second downtown week, after one week at the Earle, and Loew's Columbia put in "No Leave No Love" after a week at the Capitol. The Variety Club of Washington pre ! sented a station wagon to the D. C. Society j for Crippled Children, institution which cares for youngsters with cerebral palsy. Mrs. John Drake, member of the board of trustees, accepted the car from A. E. Licht I man, chairman of the Welfare Committee, and George A. Crouch, a member of the Welfare Committee. The station wagon was part of the more than $47,000 distributed by Tent No. 11 in 1946. . . . John j J. Payette, Washington zone manager for Warner Bros., distributed to each theatre employee handy wallet-size folders on patron relations. Titled "A Thought for Today — And Every Day !" the folders list seven j points to remember about a patron, "the most important person in our business." Sidney Lust's Bethesda theatre has been added to the list of film houses presenting special Saturday morning programs for children in cooperation with the Motion Picture Association. . . . The British Information Services held a preview of six j short subjects on December 11 at the In j terior Department Auditorium. The 6 British films were "The Storv of Monev," "Father and Son," "Make 'Fruitful the , Land." "Public Opinion," "Instruments of the Orchestra," and scenes from "Macbeth." Screen Guild Sets Four Production of four, features, two based on James Oliver Curwood stories and two on mystery stories, will be put into production early in 1947 for Screen Guild Productions ! release. 50 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER 14. 1946