Motion Picture Herald (Apr-Jun 1952)

HARTFORD Tent 31, Variety Club of Connecticut, will sponsor its second annual all-star vaudeville show at the Shubert Theatre, New Haven, shortly. All proceeds will go to the Variety Club Heart Fund. . . . Harry F. Shaw, division manager, Loew’s Poli-New England Theatres, and Mrs. Shaw are on a vacation cruise. . . . A1 Schuman, gen eral manager, Hartford Theatre Circuit, Hartford, and Vlrs. Schuman, have returned from a two-month vacation stay in Miami Beach. . . . Ray Title has resigned as manager of the E. M. Loew’s Hartford Drive-in, Newington, Conn. . . . The Pike Drive-in, Newington, Conn., has a new policy of opening its children’s playground on Sunday afternoons at 2. The drive-in, managed by Paul W. Amadeo, opens its boxoffice at the regular late afternoon time, however. . . . Connecticut State Treasurer Joseph A. Adorno, sun of Sal Adorno, Sr., general manager, M&D Theatres, Middletown, Conn., has been re-elected treasurer of the Eastern Connecticut Republican Association. . . . Jim McCarthy, manager of the Warner Strand, Hartford, is in Miami, Ela., on a vacation. . . . Jim Totman, assistant zone manager, Warner Bros. Theatres New England zone. New Haven, is back from a Philadelphia visit. He was called down by the sudden death of his brother-in-law. . . . L. J. Calvocoressci, father of John Calvocoressci. partner in the Community Amusement Corp., Hartford, is dead. INDIANAPOUS The Eountain Square group closed the Sanders this week, to convert it into business rentals. It did the same with the Granada last year. . . . Several local neighborhood houses now are operating only five nights a week. Two have cut to a one-show-a-night policy. . . . John Malone, MGM division manager, was here last week to help out while branch manager Foster Gauker was on vacation. . . . Joe Cantor, owner of the Cantor Circuit, gave a cocktail party in his home May 4 for Carl Shalit, Columbia district manager. . . . Wm. Carroll, secretary of the Allied Theatre Owners of Indiana, reports registrations for this week’s spring convention at French Lick will near 100. .. . The Hudson circuit opened its new drive-in at Kendalville May 9. ... A new 1,000 car drive-in to be known as the National is under construction on US 40 east of Indianapolis by Jacob M. Smiler. Cost is estimated at $200,000. . . . Present capacity of 10 Marion County ( Indianapolis) drive-ins has been put at 8.500 cars by film row observers. KANSAS CITY Charles Potter and associates, owners of the Erontier drive-in at Atchison, Mo., said all equipment was removed before the Missouri overflowed it; and that reopening is planned for May 10. At the Riverside at Kansas City, also flooded, the equipment had been removed in plenty of time. . . . “With a .Song in My Heart,” in its second week, moved over from the Eox Midwest’s four first runs to the Esquire. . . . The Kimo announces prices of 85c for adults, 65c for students, 25c for children, as a double bill starts. “The Medium” and “Dance Magic”. Previous price scale was 99'c, 75c. . . . “Navajo” after its third week at the Warwick is followed by "Mr. Peek-A-Boo”. . . . "The man in the White Suit” is in its fourth week at the Vogue. Mickey Rooney appeared twice on the stage of the RKO Missouri on opening night of "Sound Off” ; and talked with high school paper reporters in the afternoon. . . . "Mutiny ’ and "Love Is Better Than Ever”, ran six days at the Midland ; were followed by "The Wild North”, that opened big. . . . Miss Ruth Turgeon, secretary to Harry Hamburg, branch manager. Paramount, is using her vacation to make an air trip to Paris. . . . William Gaddoni, branch manager, Loew’s, has received his appointment as distributor chairman for Movietime U. S. A. and similar activities for the Kansas City area. LOS ANGELES Henry Herbel, Warner district manager, Fred Greenberg, branch manager. Bill Watnough, George Tripp, Joe Sarfaty and Frank Reiiner, planed to Chicago to attend the regional sales convention presided over by Ben Kalmenson. . . . The Columbia exchange threw a party for Jules Neddlenian, who is leaving shortly to join the Air Force. . . . Mike Carl Young, manager of the Midway theatre, Los Angeles, found $1,500 in cash and $1,500 in express money orders under one of the theatre seats. He discovered the owner to be a resident of Glendale and hurried to the address to return the money, and as a reward he received a "thank you very much.” . . . Bill Peck of the La Moda, Atascadero, was huddling with Harry Rackin and Sid Lehman. . . . Also in town was Lloyd Miller of the 99 Drive-In, Bakersfield. . . . The new clerk typist at the RKO exchange is Ramona Blanco, who hails from Texas Nickey Neiderhauser, secretary at Warner Bros., is resigning in a few weeks in order to take up residence in Seattle and assume her housewifely duties there. . . . Lucille O’Brien, secretary to Everett Sharp at EWC, is vacationing at home midst a tangle of wallpaper, paint and painters. . . . Dick McKay, film buyer for Arizona Paramount, and George Aurelius, district manager, planed in from Arizona. . . . Se.ymour Peiser, former advertising and publicity director for EWC, has joined the Sherril Corwin organization. . . . Out of towners seen on the row were Harold Martin, San Jacinto, and Ben Bronstein, Palm Springs. . . . Visiting the Warner exchange was Betsy Bogart, who was the first booker employed by the Warner Bros., when they combined with FirstNational pictures in 1922. Betsy was with the company for 23 years. LOUISVILLE According to an article appearing in the Louisville Times here, “Loew’s theatre wants someone to crack a safe in its lobby and keep the contents in connection with ‘My Six Convicts.’ ” The safe contains a $25 Savings Bond, gifts and merchandise orders, totaling more than $50. . . . Phil, Harden, a member of .the local lATSE and newsreel representative in the Louisville area, has contracted with Associated Press for the filming of the Kentucky Derby for television. . . . Joseph McHugh of the Falls City Theatre Equipment Co.’s staff has been elected corresponding secretary of the St. Xavier High School’s Alumni Association. . . . Out of town exhibitors seen on the row recently included : Oscar Hopper, Arista, Lebanon, Ky. ; Homer Wirth, Crane, Crane, Ind. ; E. L. Ornstein, Ornstein Theatres, Marengo, Ind. ; Luther Knifley, Art, Knifley, Ky. ; B. A. Kannapel, Sky-Line Drive-In, Madison, Ind. ; Mr. & Mrs. Fred May, Royal, Carrollton, Ky. ; Bob Enoch, State & Grand, Elizabethtown, Ky. ; James H. Totten, Lakeview Drive-In, Pendleton, Ky. . . . While the admission prices at the first run downtown theatres, and the subsequent run neighborhood theatres have been more or less staple, it has been noted among some of the drive-ins that admission prices have been raised from approximately 8 to lUc per ticket for adults. . . . The Kentucky Association of Theatre Owners are making final preparations for their convention to be held at the Brown Hotel here May 28 and 29. . . . As usual quite a number of celebrities representative of the film industry were on hand for the annual running of the Historic Kentucky Derby. . . . Film star Tim Holt and his company, including "Chito” Martin, and Black Jack O’Shea were visitors in the state and were scheduled for personal appearances. MEMPHIS M. A. Lightman, Sr., president of Malco Theatres, Inc., vacationing in Miami, Fla., was one of the competitive honor winners in the Southeastern Regional Bridge Championships there. . . . Ben Bluestein and M. H. Brandon, Memphis delegates to Variety International meeting at Las Vegas, were eye-witnesses to an atom bomb blast near there. . . . Jack Tunstill, manager. Crosstown, and Mrs. Tunstill are vacationing in Oklahoma City. . . . Marvin Morris, assistant manager of Warner theatre at Memphis, has resigned to accept a position in Houston and has been succeeded by Henry Rogers, of Memphis. . . . Nelson Towler, division manager, Atlanta, was a visitor at Lippert Pictures Memphis exchange. . . . Ben Y. Cammack, RKO district manager, Dallas, was in Memphis on business. . . . Neil Murphy, salesman, Monarch, is back on the job after a leave of absence. . . . Clayton Tunstill, division manager, Malco Theatres, Inc., made a business trip to Helena, Ark. . . . Allen West, son of J. A. West, owner of Hollywood Theare, Memphis, is seriously ill at Methodist Hospital in Memphis. . . . Allied worked with MGM and Loew’s State and Loew’s Palace to bring 11 movie stars, diLoew’s Palace to bring 11 film stars. diCotton Carnival. MIAMI Samuel Abrahams and Irving Eisenstat recently sold the Dixie drive-in to the McComas family, owners of the Tropicaire drive-in. J. M. Arnold of Louisville, Ky., will be in charge at the Dixie. ... For the run of “The Battle of Apache Pass,” Tim Tyler, manager of the Miami theatre, had an uninhibited usher in full war paint and loin cloth, seated on the guard rail of the box office, beating rhythmically on tom-toms. . . . Burton Clark of the Boulevard drive-in reported the return of hillbilly square dancing and entertainment for the Sunday shows. . . . Harvey Fleischman of Wometco’s finds the popular “Big League” contest has stirred up more enthusiasm than any previous contest and he attributed it to the weekly score announcements. The top four, Carib, Miracle, Lincoln and Surf, retained their positions. . . . Harry Kronewitz, recently returned from service, is now managing the Parkway. . . . Bud Childress is out at the {Continued on follozving page) MOTION PICTURE HERALD. MAY 10. 1952 47