Motion Picture Herald (Sep-Oct 1948)

FROM THE FIELD David Harris, The Herald's circulation director, travelling in the interior, reports in correspondence from Erie, Pennsylvania: The average exhibitor need not fear a box office bust in the immediate future. Hotels, where the situation is still very tight, and restaurants, where they seem to think a slice of ham is of more value than a dollar bill, push people around and get fancy prices, even from the natives. The customers seem to enjoy being clipped. Much venture capital seems to be coming into exhibition, due to the changing complexion of the business. A case in point: Batavia, N. Y., for many years a closed town, sold to Warners by Dipson, now boasts two new theatres, one built about 11 months ago by the Dipson interests, the other a recently opened de luxer costing about $750,000, built and being operated by newcomers in this business, Mancuso Bros., who also have all the General Motors dealerships in the town besides bowling alleys, bars and grills, and what have you. In western New York business is off about 10 per cent below 1947, which was an extremely good year. Smart exhibitors are not complaining but do point out that admission prices are not in line with today's dollar. First runs average about 60c, tax included. Subsequent runs about 30c, including tax. About venture capital again, a newcomer from Pennsylvania just opened a new theatre at Vestal. N, Y., at a cost of over $150,000 for 600 seats. Theatre is located on Highway 17. 5 miles west of Binghamton, surrounded by a large new drive-in theatre and 6 other houses in Endicott and Johnson City, not forgetting Binghamton. The most interesting feature of these new operations is the fact that these newcomers are by-passing their branch managers and taking their story to the sales managers in New York. If they don't get results at the home office, next stop — Washington, D. C. The new theatres are begirfning to take their toll from the older established houses. The older ones are beginning to spruce up. Exhibitors are beginning to really buy equipment. Short Product in First Run Houses James R. Grainger Sales Drive Started by Republic Celebrating the tenth anniversary of his association with Republic, the James R. Grainger 10th Anniversary Drive was inaugurated Monday, and will continue through December 31, it was announced by co-captains Edward L. Walton, assistant general sales manager, and Walter L. Titus, Jr., division manager. Cash prizes are to be awarded for the best showings. New Drive-In Opens Ground has been broken at Jacksonville, Fla., for the building of a $250,000 outdoor theatre, the Normandy Outdoor Twin Theatre. Capacity will be 1,700 automobiles and there will be enclosed seating facilities for an additional 1,000 customers. The theatre has two screens, placed back to back. NEW YORK— Week of September 27 ASTOR: Haredevil Hare Warner Bros. Feature: The Babe Ruth Story Monogram CAPITOL: Half -Pint Pygmy MGM Fabulous Fraud MGM Feature: Luxury Liner MGM CRITERION: Scrub Me, Mama Universal River Melodies Universal Diving Champions Columbia Feature: The Saxon Charm Universal GLOBE: Foghorn, Leghorn Warner Bros. Mysterious Ceylon Warner Bros. Feature: The Rope Warner Bros. MUSIC HALL: Three Little Pigs RKO Feature: Good Sam RKO PARAMOUNT: Gypsy Holiday .... Paramount Her Favorite Pools Paramount Feature: Sorry, Wrong Number Paramount RIVOLI: Big Sister Blues Paramount Comptown Races Paramount Feature: An Innocent Affair UA ROXY: The Hard Boiled Egg. . .20th Cent. -Fox Football Finesse 20th Cent. -Fox Feature: Cry of the City 20th Cent. -Fox STRAND: Roaring Wheels Warner Bros. So You Want To Be a Politico. .Warner Bros. Rattled Rooster Warner Bros. Feature: Life With Father Warner Bros. CHICAGO— Week of September 27 APOLLO: Heavenly Daze Columbia Feature: Northwest Stampede Eagle Lion GRAND: Pixie Picnic UA Strikes to Spare RKO Feature: Larceny Univ.-lntl. PALACE: Superman Columbia Don't Hook Now UA Unfinished Business Monogram Feature: Rachel and the Stranger RKO STATE LAKE: So You Want To Be a Detective Warner Bros. Her Favorite Poo/s Paramount Feature: Walk a Crooked Mile Columbia Indian Theatre Director Studying U. S. Television F. H. Sidhwa, managing director of Globe Theatres, Ltd., Bombay, India, has arrived in New York to study U. S. television developments and Hollywood production. Meeting the trade press last week, Mr. Sidhwa said there was little prospect of television being introduced in India for "several years," but he withed to study the medium for his country. Mr. Sidhwa is a pioneer Indian exhibitor. He opened his first theatre in Rangoon in 1911 and still operates that house. He has two others in Bombay, two in Madras and one each in Calcutta and Bangalore. He plays about 35 weeks of U. S. product in most of his theatres. Only one of his houses uses native product. Industry Providing 51 Yeshiva Scholarships To mark the opening of the 51st year of Yeshiva University, New York City, the Motion Picture Industry Scholarship Fund will provide 51 scholarships for needy students during the 1948-49 school year, it was announced last week by G. S. Eyssell, president of Radio City Music Hall and chairman of the drive for the fund. Members of Mr. Eyssell's committee included : Barney Balaban, Nate Blumberg, Jules W. Catsiff, Irving H. Greenfield, Monroe Greenthal, Dan Michalove, Charles Moskowitz, Charles D. Prutzman, Harold Rodner, Sam Rosen, Abe Schneider, George P. Skouras and George J. Schaefer. Sack Has Limited Rights Sack Television Enterprises has been given permission to accept television bookings for "Woman Speaks" in territories not already covered by Film Studios of Chicago, the latter company has announced. Sack has not acquired the national television distribution rights as previously reported. Ruth "Business Refutes Critics Except in a few spots such as New York, people pay comparatively little attention to the professional newspaper critics, a circumstance evidenced strongly in the case of "The Babe Ruth Story," Edward Morey, vice-president in charge of sales for Monogram-Allied Artists, said in New York last week. "Our picture is a natural for the broad masses who made an idol out of the Babe," Mr. Morey said. "The critics try to find fault with the technical part of a production. The public is not interested in these aspects of picture-making. It wants to be entertained. To the public Ruth is a kind of hero and that is the way we portray him in the film. The critics want reality and so some of them slammed the picture." According to Mr. Morey the film so far has had some 300 bookings and is doing "sensational" business. The only spot where business has apparently been affected by adverse critical reaction is New York. Here the picture has been playing the Astor theatre. It is in its ninth week. Mr. Morey sees cheer ahead when the film goes to the ■ neighborhoods about November 1. "This is a natural for the neighborhood house," he said. Monogram has more prints of "The Babe Ruth Story" in circulation than of any other previous film. Theatre Roof Collapses In Berlin, Killing 18 The roof of the 366-seat Pamet Kino theatre in the American sector of Berlin collapsed Sunday night, killing 18 Germans and seriously injuring nine others. That sector of Berlin was extensively bombed during the war and the theatre roof might have been weakened then, it was said. 48 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, OCTOBER 2, 1948