Motion Picture Herald (Jan-Feb 1948)

ATOMIC RESEARCHERS LIKE MOVIES TOO George B. Odium FOR AN exhibitor who is at all times up to his elbows in Government documents requiring his signature an average of 336 times a week to get out film checks alone, George B. Odium is a man who enjoys his work. There are also, of course, endless streams of reports and vouchers. As general manager of four of the six theatres at the Government's ultra-secret atomic research city of Oak Ridge. Tenn., he not only has to provide the motion picture entertainment for the center's 40,000 people but also must keep the kaleidoscope of Government offices in Washington and Oak Ridge happy with a continual flow of daily, weekly and monthly reports of the Theatre Operations department which he runs for the RoaneAnderson Company under the supervision of the Atomic Energy Commission. Has Staff of 69 Assisted by a staff of 69, which includes office help, projectionists, cashiers, doormen and ushers, Mr. Odium runs three of his theatres — the Grove, the Ridge and the Center — on a first run, and sometimes prerelease, single feature policy, with his fourth — the Jefferson — a subsequent-run house catering to the fans of double feature and Western fare. The other two theatres at Oak Ridge are run by private concessionaires — one as a drive-in and the other on a subsequent-run policy. Each of Mr. Odium's four theatres is a modern house seating up to 1,000 and equipped with the latest in projection and sound equipment. Unlike the temporary theatres erected on Army posts during the war, the Oak Ridge houses, according to Mr. Odium, are as good if not better than many of the first run theatres in key cities. Remodeling Program Started However, he noted, the wear and tear they have undergone since they were erected is beginning to show and the first theatre is undergoing a remodeling and improvement program which is to include the installation of new carpeting and a modern air-conditioning system and redecorating. The other three theatres will initiate similar improvement programs within the next year. For the operation of the Oak Ridge theatres Mr. Odium draws upon his long experience in the field of exhibition, both as an independent exhibitor in New York and on Long Island and as an executive with major company circuits. Prior to assuming his present post 18 months ago he was with the Paramount home office in New York. As an independent exhibitor, Mr. Odium recalled he had a choice of film advertising media. Today, however, he is somewhat handicapped since Oak Ridge puts out only a weekly newspaper in which space for advertising is severely limited. To supplement this local and restricted outlet he takes additional space in the nearby Knoxville daily paper, which has a wide circulation among Oak Ridge workers. Community Centers For the convenience of the patronage each theatre is located in a community center which comprises shopping districts, other recreational facilities, business offices and public services, including local police and fire departments. To complete the community picture the theatres serve as churches for religious services Sunday mornings. Recently, however, funds have been provided for the construction of several chapels. Because the theatres are operated almost solely for the entertainment of Oak Ridge residents and the overhead is kept at a minimum, admission prices are generally lower than those at theatres outside of the atomic center. With the exception of the Jefferson, admissions are 36 cents in the afternoons and 48 cents at night, tax included. The Jefferson, because of its subsequent run policy, has a 36-cent top price. Children's admission is nine cents at all times. All four of the theatres have a continuous run policy from noon until midnight — seven days a week. Since his audiences are representative of nearlv everv state in the union, Mr. Odium has little difficulty in selecting the type of picture to play. Unlike many small town and rural audiences Oak Ridge tastes are such that the people enjoy any good picture despite its locale, the treatment or the theme. Particularly successful, Mr. Odium pointed out, was MGM's "The Beginning or the End," the story of the development of the atomic bomb. He attributed the success of this picture to the curiosity of the atomic center's workers who were anxious to see how the story, which they knew so well, was treated on the screen and to see the actual scenes of Oak Ridge which were included in the picture. Disappearing Mud "The audience enjoyed it immensely," Mr. Odium related. "But they laughed at several of the more serious scenes where the screen writers had taken advantage of literary license for dramatic effect." As an example he cited one scene in which the hero waded knee-deep through a Tennessee quagmire, notorious for its glue-like quality, and emerged without a bit of the redclay mud sticking to him. In another scene a general officer from Washington walked to the barren area vvhich was to be Oak Ridge ; stuck his cane into the ground, and laid out plans on the spot for the atomic city. "Oak Ridge workers know that the city took months of planning and careful selection," Mr. Odium said. Has Few Problems Although the operation of the four theatres requires a much greater attention to detail and to Government reports than the average exhibitor has time to give, the city's chief of theatre operations says his work isn't as nerve-racking as it sounds. "Where else but at Oak Ridge can an exhibitor operate four theatres without worrying about full and continued employment of his patrons who have money to spend?" "Also," he says, "Oak Ridge's climate is delightful — no snow at all this year." And the center provides him with a. house. Front of the Grove theatre. Oak Ridge, Tenn., one of the four houses managed by George 8. Odium in that hush-hush town of atomic energy research. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, JANUARY 24, 1948 2B