Motion Picture Herald (Sep-Oct 1948)

(Continued from opposite page) of Wometco's new Miracle theatre, opening soon, has selected Mel Haber, now assistant manager of the Lincoln, and Harry Kronewitz, floor manager of the Miami, for his staff. . . . The Normandy theatre's popcorn stand was blown away at the heighth of the hurricane. . . . WMIE officially opened last week. Mitchell Wolfson, co-owner of Wometco, is president of the corporation. . . . "Larcency," at the Miami and Lincoln, took hold of Miami this week, while "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" was at the Paramount and Beach." . . . "Lulu Belle" at the Town, and "Canon City" at the Paramount made up the midnight bill of attractions. . . . "So Evil My Love" continued at the Florida and Sheridan. MINNEAPOLIS Theatre business is basking in a general seasonal upturn at the box office with grosses consistently running to average or better. . . . "The Search" has held through five weeks of an excellent run at the 400-seat World. . . . Stanley Kane, executive secretary of North Central Allied, said preparations are under way for a suit to recover performance fee payments made to Ascap. . . . Clem Jaunich, Delano, Minn., exhibitor who is planning a drive-in at suburban Crystal Village, said he has been threatened with "nuisance suits" to prevent his going ahead with the project. . . . Peter J. Karalis, of Minneapolis, announced plans for a 400car drive-in at Minot, N. D., with the project set for a spring opening. Karalis recently revealed that he will build a 450car stand at Mankato, Minn. . . . Ted Mann of Minneapolis, and associates, reported a landoffice business at the opening of their Skyline drive-in near Duluth. . . . The Minneapolis city council ignored a 3-2 opposition recommendation from its committee and granted a license for reopening of the neighborhood Vogue. Wilford Wolfson and Joe Podoloff are the new owners of the house. . . . RKO is erecting a $200,000 house at Marshalltown, Iowa, to replace the old Capitol, destroyed by fire several years ago. MONTREAL "The Emperor Waltz" at Loew's is still the leader here, now in its third week. . . . "Key Largo" following close behind as far as grosses are concerned. It's at the Princess, also in its third week. . . . "A Foreign Affair" was at the Palace. . . . "Silver River" showing at the Capitol in its second week, and "Bring 'Em Back Alive" doingokay in reissue at the Orpheum. . . . "Raw Deal" showing at Imperial. . . . Canadian films received high praise at the International Documentary Film Festival staged in conjunction with the Edinburgh Drama and Music Festival. . . . Douglas Peacock, coordinator of distribution and promotion, has resigned from the National Film Board. NEW ORLEANS "The Babe Ruth Story," at the Saenger, headed the list of attractions at the downtown houses. "Tap Roots" was at the Orpheum. "Rachel and the Stranger" moved to the Liberty for a second week. "Pitfall" was at Loew's State. The Joy played "Big City." "The Walls of Jericho" was at the Tudor. "Key Largo" was at the Globe. . . . M. L. Gordey has purchased the Cheney theatre, Cheneyville, from Clarence Martin. . . . Charles Waterall has purchased the Baroness at Richton, formerly owned by Mrs. W. S. Sibley. . . . Plans for a new theatre at Vicksburg have been completed by W. A. Prewitt, Jr., and Joy Houck. . . . Film Row visitors : Fred T. McLendon and Al Morgan, Union Springs ; Sam Wilson, Hazelhurst; C. H. and C. B. King, Mobile; I. M. Gautheir, White Castle; Roy Pfeiffer, Baton Rouge ; Neal Robinson, Crestview ; Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Muse, Denham Springs. NEW YORK Clear, cool weather and the end of weekend traveling to resorts was reflected in box office receipts over the weekend. . . . Seven new pictures opened on Broadway this week. They were: Robert Flaherty's documentary, "Louisiana Story," at the Sutton; the James Nasser-United Artists film, "An Innocent Affair," at the Rivoli ; "Hamlet," made in England with Sir Laurence Olivier, and being distributed by Universal-International, at Park Avenue; U-I's "The Saxon Charm," at the Criterion; Twentieth Century-Fox's "Cry of the City" at the Roxy; the Howard Hawks-UA Western, "Red River," at the Capitol, and Warners' "Johnny Belinda" at the Strand. . . . Robert W. Chambers, director of the Motion Picture Association's department of research, has announced that the MPA will make a biennial survey of motion picture theatres in the United States. . . . Eugene Picker, in charge of Loew's New York theatres, has made the following managerial changes : William Carrol, from the Avenue B to the Burland ; Buddy Neustein from the Brevoort to the Bedford, and John^ O'Connor from the Bedford to the Woodside. OKLAHOMA CITY R. Lewis Barton, Oklahoma City circuit owner, has been named Oklahoma County polio fund director for 1949. . . . McAlester Theatres, Inc., McAlester, Okla., has filed a dissolution of its state charter. . . . John Sanders, owners of Cleveland's two theatres, has announced he will stage a free show for all members of the local football team each time they win a game. . . . Mr. and Mrs. George Clark, operators of the theatre at Hydro, closed their theatre for two nights last week ana urged everyone to attend the local fair. . . . John H. Jones has opened his Jake theatre at Shawnee. . . . Houston Theatres, Inc., Houston, Texas, has been incorporated with $5,000 authorized capital stock by James S. Nacol, John J. Woolems and Gerald Lee Shepard. OMAHA ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Manager Larry Caplain of the RKOBrandeis introduced something new to Omaha with a midnight show of 15 cartoons October 1. . . . R. D. Goldberg, of the circuit bearing his name, says he is considering returning to a war-time practice of some circuits : women managers. Already he has hired Mrs. Corinne Gallup, new to show business, as manager of the deluxe neighborhood, Dundee. Women "have more experience in housekeeping," he says. . . . Bill Miskell's Omaha district won the Tri-States Softball championship from Herb Grove's Davenport district. . . . Charles Lorenz, recovering from a heart ailment, is out of the hospital. He is an MGM shipper. . . . Elmer Huhnke reopened the Minne Lusa after extensive remodeling. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Archie Conkling bought out the interest of their partner, Merve Neeley, in the Globe theatre, Griswold, la. PHILADELPHIA Managerial changes at Warner theatres include Dave Fishman moving from the Felton to the Lyric, Camden, N. J., to replace Hamel Fields, who left the company; Ray Rendleman going from the Lindley to the Felton, and Elmer Risley, transferred from the Grange to the Lindley. . . . For the first time in its history, Warners' Mastbaum had a sneak preview, showing "Johnny Belinda" along with the regular showing of "The Rope," which led the field in the downtown district in garnering $35,000 for its first week. . . . Opening of the Italian film, "Angelina," marks the return of foreign films to Warners' Princess, in the center-city sector. . . . While safe-crackers escaped with approximately $1,500 from the office of manager Jack Ehrlich at the Grant last week, the office safe at the Fans several days later proved too rugged for the thieves who tried to crack it. They settled for a typewriter and an electric fan valued at $150. . . . Louis Wakshul, assistant manager for Paramount's Tower and Nixon, was promoted to manager of the circuit's Frankford. a key neighborhood house. . . . Everett Callow, publicity head for the Warner theatres circuit, was given a testimonial dinner at the CR Club as outgoing commander of the Variety Club's American Legion Post. . . . Harry Waxman, independent circuit head in Atlantic City, is general chairman of the Student Assistant Fund there which is staging a benefit performance at the Warner on October 10. . . . Sidney Kapner, one of the owners of the Park, is moving to the West Coast because of an ailing youngster. PITTSBURGH M. A. Silver, zone manager for Warner Brothers, heads the motion picture division committee in this district for the celebration of Pennsylvania Week. His aides include William J. Blatt, Joseph Feldman, Morris M. Finkel, John H. Harris, Fred Herrington, John J. Maloney, Perry Nathan. M. A. (Continued on following page) MOTION PICTURE HERALD, OCTOBER 2, 1948 45