Motion Picture Herald (May-Jun 1947)

ALBANY The Palace went all-Metro with "High Barbaree" and "Little Mister Jim." The Strand had "Suddenly It's Spring" and "Killer at Large." The Ritz booked two action pictures, "Ramrod" and "Too Many Winners." That Warner house went back to its regular prices, 40 and 50 cents, after successfully playing "The Two Mrs. Carrolls" as a moveover from the Strand at Strand prices. The Grand started a run of "Duel in the Sun." . . . John Ducharme is assistant manager of RKO-Proctor's theatre in Troy. ... A delegation of Albany industry friends attended the Bar Mitzvah and reception in Gloversville of Charles R. Schine, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Myer Schine. , . . C. A. Smakwitz, assistant zone manager of Warner theatres, flew to Hollywood for a week's visit. ATLANTA Two new theatres recently opened in the south; Rio, Snead Ferry, N. C, owner R. E. Cutherton, and the New at Goodwater, Ala., opened by Frank Nail. . . . Troy F. Bullard, 59 years old and for the past four years doorman at the Capitol theatre, Birmingham, Ala., died there after a long illness. . . . Gault Brown, manager, Madisonville, Tennessee, was in the city recently as were R. D. Word, Words circuit of Alabama; Louis Rosenbaum, president, Muscle Shoals Theatres, Florence, Ala., and W. E. Griffin, Lyric theatre, Cullman, Ala. . . . Harry Willoughby, manager of the East Lake -theatre, Birmingham, Ala., has returned -there after a trip to Atlanta. ... In Jacksonville, Fla., from Atlanta were: Ollie Williamson, branch manager Warner Brothers, and Clyde Goodson, Atlanta branch manager, Paramount Pictures. . . . Paramount's new exchange at Jacksonville, Fla., was opened June 9 with Al Duren, -former sales manager in Atlanta, as Jacksonville branch manager. . . . "Duel in the Sun" moved over to the Rhodes Center for the third week showing and still playing to great business. . . . "Gone with the Wind" -will open at Loew's Grand June 25. . . . S. B. van Delden, sales manager for Wil-Kin Theatre Supply, Inc., has returned from a business trip to Chicago. . . . Charlie Durmeyer, chief barker, -Variety Club, Atlanta, has returned to his office after a business trip to New York. BALTIMORE General uprise in attendance for week beginning June 12. Mayfair did so well with "Ramrod" it was held a fourth week. Century doing great with "Duel in the Sun" for second week at advanced prices. Little •pulling strong with second week of "This Happy Breed." Five first runs starred new pictures. "Michigan Kid," with Jerry Colonna in person, doing big. Keith's doing -nicely with "Calcutta." Stanley opened fine -with "It Happened on Fifth Avenue." New got raves from the critics on "Miracle on 34th Street" and the public answered big. Town going along nicely with "Adventuress." Roslyn and Times doing nicely with "Renegade Girl," and Valencia offered two on one t>i11: "Sea Devils" and "Allegheny Uprising." Projectionists' union of Baltimore elected officers June 9 including: John P. Codd, president; Conrad Backert, first vicepresident; Joseph Tudor, second vice-president ; Harry Cluster, business agent ; Charles Leventhal, recording secretary ; F. Rollins, financial secretary; William Holthaus, treasurer ; Tobias Hartz, sergeant-at-arms. . . . Work of late Frank A. Hornig, president of M. P. T. O. of Maryland, Inc., is now being done by acting president L. C. Garman, vice-president. . . . Allied Convention in Atlantic City will be attended by Baltimore film men and those who expect to go are: Chauncey Wolf, L. C. Garman, Meyer Leventhal, Jack L.. Whittle, Harry Silver, Herman Blum, Harry Vogelstein. . . . Al Vogelstein, Variety Club member, appointed to show films to various institutions with underprivileged children. . . . Robert Goodman, assistant to Julius Goodman, Ideal theatre, died suddenly in his sleep June 14. BOSTON Heavy. rains and cold weather alternating with a mid-week heat wave left grosses sagging in most houses. "The Egg and I" held over at Keith Memorial for a third week and "The Best Years of Our Lives" stayed a third week at Keith Boston at prices only slightly upped over the regular prices. "The Barber of Seville" doing big at the WHEN AND WHERE June 23-25: Associated Theatre Owners of Indiana convention at Lake Wawasee, Ind. June 24—26: Allied Theatre Owners of New Jersey annual convention at the Ambassador Hotel, Atlantic City. June 30: Film industry testimonial dinner to, Jack Flynn, retiring mldwestern sales manager for Loew's, at the Continental Hotel, Chicago. July 6-8: Officers of the Allied Theatre Owners of the Gulf States and the Mississippi Theatre Owners meeting at the Hotel Biloxi, New Orleans, to discuss consolidation of both organizations. July 13-16: Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio annual convention at the Breakers Hotel, Cedar Point, Ohio. Kenmore theatre in the second week. The Metropolitan following up the sneak preview of "The Miracle on 34th Street" at the Fenway with a solid promotional tie-in with Boston department stores and a novel twosheet in subways playing up the local angle with names of Hub streets on which a miracle could happen. . . . Henry Schwartzberg, well known in Boston theatre circles, installed as president of the Temple Sinai Brotherhood in Brookline on June 11. . . . Sam Lefkowitz, Warners district manager, visited the Boston office with more news about the November 1 debut here of the new WB newsreel. . . . Joan Mansfield appointed assistant to Art Moger, publicity director of Warner Brothers. ... A noonday holdup of the Keith Memorial box office June 9 netted $50. . . . The Tremont theatre's closing for renovations set ahead another week. ... A son was born the first of the month to Walter E. Foley, manager of the Lancaster here. BUFFALO Miss Irma Vincent, MGM film inspectress, died at Millard Fillmore Hospital after an illness of three weeks. She was secretary of Local B-9, IATSE, and MPTO, and a member of the Actors' Equity Association. . . . The Mercury theatre revived silent screen days by playing "Gaslight Follies." . . . Elmer Lux, RKO branch manager, is being mentioned as Democratic candidate for president of the City Council. . . . Capacity crowds attended the Buffalo premiere of "Duel in the Sun" at the Hippodrome at advanced prices. . . . McLarty Business Films, with a backlog of $70,000 in orders for 16mm industrial, advertising and educational motion pictures, has purchased a onestory building at 45 Stanley Street. . . . Charles B. Kosco, former Pittsburgh salesman, is 20th-Fox's new branch manager. Acting branch manager William Graham has been transferred to the Chicago office. CHARLOTTE Paramount Pictures sent a team of photographers from Atlanta to take pictures of the all-Negro air show staged at the Plaza airport in Charlotte June 14-15. ... Ed Heller, manager of the Charlotte Kay Film Exchange, announces that his company will have the following re-releases: Six Tim McCoy westerns, eight Tom Sawyer westerns, six Tom Keene westerns, and two dramas with Rita Hayworth. . . . Tom Little of B. & L. Enterprises, owner of a circuit of theatres, has been chosen by City Council of Charlotte to fill the vacancy on the City Civil Service Commission. . . . The Center theatre at Mt. Olive, N. C, owned and operated by Harry Cook of Mt. Olive, was hit by a costly fire the past week which destroyed the booth equipment and all the film in the booth. CHICAGO Loop business held comparatively steady this week Although "The Best Years of Our Lives" finally left the Woods for "Miracle on 34th Street," "The Jolson Story" is scheduled to run still another seven days at the Apollo. This will set a new record as the longest engagement ever to play in Chicago at popular prices — 26 weeks. "Odd Man Out," the J. Arthur Rank production, (Continued on following page) MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JUNE 21, 1947 33