Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1947)

(.Continued from page 36) Edge." The picture, in the Fulton, will do better than $200,000 before its run closes. . . . The Warner Brothers-Loew pool was dissolved here this week. From now on Loew's will operate the Penn and Ritz theatres and Warners will control bookings in the Stanley and the Warner theatres. . . . Jim Levine, who had charge of exploitation in the Paramount exchange here, has been transferred to Cleveland. . . . Jack Kahn, of Warners' exploitation department here, has been transferred to the Chicago-Milwaukee district. PORTLAND Holdovers are again the rule at first runs. "The Jolson Story," a full four weeks at Paramount, moved to Evergreen's Playhouse for a fifth downtown week. "Blue Skies," a full three weeks at the Orpheum. "California" held for a good second week at Paramount. "Best Years of Our Lives" is playing a road show engagement at Music Box theatre. . . . S. J. Gregory, vice-president and general manager for Mid-State Amusement Corporation, announces early construction of a 600-car outdoor unit at Walla Walla, Wash. . . . John Bretz named city manager for Evergreen State Theatres in Aberdeen and Hoquiam, following service in Spokane houses. Clarence Achim resigned. . . . Post Street theatre, Spokane, with a block of four Paramount features, becomes a first run house, with elimination of vaudeville. House seats 1,400. . . . Com petitive bidding for pictures has not started as yet in Portland trade area, but plans are being made for this new buying plan early in April. SAN FRANCISCO "Smash-Up," which has concluded a fourweek stay at the Tivoli and Esquire theatres, garnered one of the top records for those houses. . . . "The Beginning or the End" at the Warfield and "The Locket" at the Golden Gate slumped so badly both were pulled at the end of the week. . . . Other box office business is looking up with the Paramount opening under its new management with a reserved-seat opening of "My Favorite Brunette," proceeds to go to the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund. . . . Leonard Goldenson, president of Paramount Service Corporation, was here last week with other company executives arranging for the transfer of management. . . . Accompanying him was Jerry Zigmond, who will be managing director of the Paramount, St. Francis and State. . . . The local Variety Club will hold its first banquet and installation of officers this week. . . . Plans for the annual Campership benefit shows to raise money to send needy children to summer camps swings into action with Irving Levin of San Francisco Theatres, handling the chairmanship. . . . Louis Schwartz, manager of the Palace theatre, a Golden State house, announces his house will donate all proceeds from Italian pictures to feed the starving and homeless in Italy. SEATTLE "The Jolson Story" went into its 14th week at the Liberty, still grossing about $13,000 weekly. "My Favorite Brunette" was the only other holdover, going into its second week at the Paramount and Blue Mouse. . . . On the Sterling circuit : Fred Lammer is the new manager at the Madrona. Stan Goodman has taken over at the Woodlawn. . . . The Clallam Bay theatre, operated by Al Fernandez, was among the buildings destroyed in the huge fire at Clallam Bay recently. . . . Peter Barnes, operator of the Hollyburn theatre in Vancouver, B. C, has purchased the Ruby theatre at Chellan and will take over May 1. . . . Herbert Rosener, of Herbert Rosener Productions, San Francisco, visited Film Row. Out-of-town exhibitors visiting the Row on booking tours this week: Howard Taylor, Sequim; George Borden, Blaine; Art Zabel, Olympia; Gene Groesbeck, Enumclaw; Keith Beckwith, North Bend; Ollie Hartman, Coulee Dam; E. L. Adams, Bellingham; John Owsley, Tacoma; Mike Barovic, Puyallup; Bill Evans, Centralia. . . . Ed Vaughan has been appointed manager of the Palomar, replacing Jack McCallum. Fred Lanners is his assistant. . . . Don Geddes is managing one of the Golden States theatres in San Francisco. He was former manager of the Fifth Avenue here. TORONTO Four of the eight Toronto first run theatres held their attractions for a second week in spite of the pre-Easter competition and still another spell of snowy weather. The holdovers comprised ''The Jolson Story" at the Eglinton and Tivoli theatres and "I See a Dark Stranger" at the Victoria and Capitol. Grosses were under par for "The Perfect Marriage" at Shea's, "Johnny O'Clock" at the Imperial and ''Lady in the Lake" at Loew's. . . . Gordon Lightstone, Canadian general manager for Paramount, was elected president of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, succeeding Leo M. Devaney of RKO Radio. The new vicepresident is David Griesdorf, PRC general sales manager for Canada. . . . 20th Century Theatres, an affiliate of Famous Players, has announced plans for the construction of a separate theatre annex to its Elgin in Ottawa for the showing of special or foreign films, the adjacent auditorium to seat 350 compared with the 800 capacity of the main auditorium. . . . Odeon Theatres of Canada has purchased blocks of stores and apartments in Brantford and Montreal for new theatres. . . . Word has been received in Toronto that J. Arthur Rank plans to visit Toronto May 16-19 after a stay in New York and Chicago and will go later to Vancouver and Los Angeles. . . . Theatre managers in Ontario have been advised that electric power restrictions, due to wintertime shortage, have been removed and house fronts can again be fully lighted. VANCOUVER The bill calling for classification of films in B. C. was voted down in the legislature at least for this year. The attorney general told the house that in all cases the censors had the fullest cooperation from distributors when they considered it advisable that certain films should be advertised as unsuitable for children. . . . "The Jolson Story" in its third week at the Orpheum is still doing outstanding business and for the first time in the theatre's history a picture holds for a fourth week. The "Overlanders," Australian picture, also doing above average at the Vogue and Hastings theatres. Rest of town below average business. . . . Dean Clements of the University of British Columbia was appointed chairman of the arbitration board to decide wage and working conditions in the B. C. theatres of Famous Players between Projectionists 348 and the circuit. WASHINGTON Washington theatre business felt the preEaster slump, with the only holdovers being "The Best Years of Our Lives" at RKOKeith's for a third week, and "My Favorite Brunette" at Loew's Palace, for a second week. New openings in town were "Johnny O'Clock'' at Warners' Earle; "Framed" at Warners' Metropolitan; "Swell Guy" at Loew's Capitol ; and a carry-over "Boomerang" at Loew's Columbia. . . . KogodBurka's Apex theatre went on the air over station WMAL with the Carpel Krazy Kwiz Show being broadcast from the stage. . . . On April 7 the Sidney Lust Theatres will join with the Kiwanis Club of Prince Georges County in sponsoring the 12th annual Easter Egg Hunt to be held in Magruder Park, Hyattsville, Maryland. FOR THE GREEK WAR ORPHANS, the meeting of Washington, D. C. film industry representatives aiding the current drive. Left to right, seated: Al Benson, RKO branch manager; Jerry Price, United Artists branch manager; John S. Allen, exchange drive chairman; Harrison Martin, Universal branch manager; John O'Leary, Twentieth CenturyFox branch manager. In the same order, standing: Harry Cohen, Frank Scully, Harry Buxbaum, Paul Wall, Jack Goldberg and Tom Baldridge, MGM. 2 8 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 5, 1947