Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

(Continued from page 40) theatre in Logan, la. . . . Two Milwaukeens were here for a meeting attempting to organize a local chapter of the Coliseum. . . . Bud Jones has taken over the Bee theatre at Beemer, Neb., from Rose Nebuda. PHILADELPHIA * Samuel Cummins' new Pix theatre has concluded a long run of "Henry V" and is now playing "The Great Mr. Handel." . . . C. E. Peppiatt, 20th-Fox district manager, has been named chairman of the welfare drive for the Motion Picture Associates . . . A permit was issued to Charles Kahn, owner of the Lane in the Oak Lane sector, for the construction of a one-story addition to the theatre, to cost $35,000. . . . The Elton, which Henry Chertcoff is rushing to completion in Steelton, Pa., is expected to open by summer. . . . John Mazur reopened the long-closed Park in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. PITTSBURGH "Henry V opened at the tiny Art Cinema here to an advance sale of over $6,000. . . . Jim Levine, Paramount exploiteer in this district, is being transferred to the Cleveland sector. . . . Nearby Baden will get its first theatre this spring. Construction is planned by Abe and Martin Rothenstein. . . . James B. Clark, the veteran showman who was a partner in the old Rowland and Clark theatre circuit here, has celebrated his 74th birthday. . . . Iona Karel has resigned from the MGM exchange staff here. PORTLAND Into a third big week goes "The Jolson Story" at the Paramount and "Blue Skies" at Evergreen's Orpheum and Oriental theatres. . . . Following installation of new sound and air-conditioning equipment the Ore theatre has reopened at Norport, Washington. . . . Pioneering suburban road showing of pictures, Mr. and Mrs. C. L. McNeil, owners of "Plaza" in Portland, report nice returns on "Henry V." . . . With rapid closing of Oregon Legislature, looks like Oregon again escapes further theatre taxation. . . . P. J. Koppinger, theatre owner of Woodburn, Ore., making application for a second theatre, to be constructed at a cost of $65,000. SAN FRANCISCO Plans for a Variety Club are zooming ahead with unexpected rapidity. Over $35,000 lias already been collected from individual donations of charter members. The club is expected to open by summer. . . . Sturdy box office business is reported for "Best Years of Our Lives." . . . "Smash-Up" is scoring top records for its dual runs at the Tivoli and Esquire. . . . Standards for rural building have been set up by the Tulare Planning Commission as a result of announcement by the Tulare Theatre Company that they will erect a drive-in theatre in that locale. . . . Charles Muehlmann, well known theatre man who had lately made his headquarters in Sacramento, died" last week after a brief illness. ST LOUIS "It's a Wonderful Life" off to a wonderful start in its first at the Ambassador, gross ing $25,000 in a week marked by bad weather. . . . Ellis Shafton, former salesman with MGM, is now local representative of Selznick Releasing Organization here. . . . George Barbarich, assistant booker at Twentieth Century-Fox, died last week at the age of 44. Death due to heart ailment. . . . Capacity crowd at special premiere of "Beginning or the End" at Loew's State here last week. . . . Princess theatre at Collom, 111., opened by George, Lester and Ray Farber. . . . Alfred Sorenson has sold the Casey theatre at Casey, la., to Mr. and Mrs. William Lyons. ... Sol Hankin, who recently resigned as city salesman for Universal Pictures, has been named St. Louis manager for Film Classics. . . . Sam Weiss has resigned as manager of the St. Louis PRC exchange and has gone to Cleveland to become manager of the Screen Guild Productions branch there. . . . The Hull, 111., theatre sold by Meyer, Melton & King to J. Geyer. TORONTO Half of the first run theatres were playing lioldovers last week, including "Scheherazade" for a third week at Loew's Uptown, the second week of "The Razor's Edge" at Shea's and a second week for "The Secret Heart" at Loew's. . . . "The Turning Point," a Russian war film, went into the Kino theatre after five weeks of "Open City," the Italian picture. . . . Vice-president R. W. Bolstad of Famous Players Canadian said construction of new theatres would be started shortlyon theatres in the Maritime Provinces, the sites being at St. John, Halifax and New Waterford. Famous Players has already started work on a theatre at Windsor, Ont. . . . John Kurk, formerly of Sudbury, Ont., is the new manager of the Ottawa Imperial. . . . The Speech from the Throne at the opening^ of the Ontario Legislature referred to taxingnecessities but made no mention of the proposed amusement tax which may come up later. . . . President Oscar R. Hanson of the Canadian Picture Pioneers entertained his new board of directors at a luncheon when 1947 committee chairmen were announced, principally Hon. J. Earl Lawson of Canadian Odeon for the finance committee; Len Bishop of the Toronto Tivoli theatre, as entertainment chairman and A. W. Perry of Empire-Universal as chairman for membership and organization. : . . National Theatres Service, a branch of Canadian Odeon, has taken over the Biltmore Theatres at Kingston and Oshawa, formerly independently operated. VANCOUVER Hazel Smith, secretary to Odeon's district office for the past six years, was feted at a party given by Howard Boothe recently. She is leaving Odeon to return to private life. Betty Wynne succeeds Mrs. Smith as secretary at the British Columbia district office of the Odeon Circuit. . . . There is a deal in the making between Famous Players and an independent circuit which operates three theatres on Vancouver Island, which will give FP, when completed, nine theatres on the island. . . . With more favorable weather, grosses are picking up again. Night business is tops. Matinees are not up to average. "Till the Clouds Roll By" at the Capitol and "California" at the Orpheum holding up nicely in their second weeks, both above average. "Clouds" will hold for a third week. "The Jolson Story" had a smash opening at the Orpheum and looks set for a long run. Rest of downtowners all did sturdy business. WASHINGTON Washington theatre business was good despite continued cold weather, with "It's a Wonderful Life" holding for a fifth week at RKO Keith's and "Carmen" holding for a fourth week at Sidney Lust's Hippodrome. New entries were : "Nora Prentiss" at Warner's Earle ; "Bachelor's Daughter" at Loew's Capitol ; "Boomerang" at Loew's Palace, and "Sinbad the Sailor" at Warners' Metropolitan. Loew's Columbia opened with "Lady in the Lake," a carry-over from the Capitol. . . . Warners' Metropolitan will present only first run attractions in the future eliminating carry-overs and revivals. . . . The local Variety Club presented a check for $1,800 to the Veterans HousingCenter. . . . Washington showmen won seven out of a total of 13 prizes awarded for the most dimes collected per theatre seat in the recent March of Dimes Drive. . . . The autographed shooting script used by Laurence Olivier in filming Shakespeare's "Henry V" was presented to the Folger Shakespeare Library as a gift of the British government. The Fairlawn Amusement Company has announced the opening of its new Anacostia theatre. . . . Sam Wheeler, general sales manager of Film Classics, will be given a testimonial dinner March 31 at the Mayflower Hotel. Mr. Wheeler has been in Washington film business since 1931. Republic and Feldman In Production Deal Republic Pictures and Charles K. Feldman Group Productions have joined in a production deal involving story properties, stars and directors. The first joint picture will be produced and directed by Lewis Milestone. This is John Steinbeck's "The Red Pony," which will be a Technicolor production getting under way May 15. The secold may be Ben Hecht's "The Shadow," also to be produced in Technicolor. Mr. Feldman and Republic are also negotiating for the filming of "The Glass Menagerie," the Pulitzer Prize play of 1945. 42 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 15, 1947