Motion Picture Herald (1954)

( Continued from preceding page ) chief, sponsored a benefit at the Strand theatre for the Negro alumni group of BethuneCookman College. KANSAS CITY The death of Charles P. Skouras was noted as a personal loss by many film people of Missouri. He had visited Kansas City in September, talking before the silver jubilee convention of the Fox Midwest circuit, in Excelsior Spring. . . . Kansas Citians patronized the American Royal live stock and horse show, October 16-23, in large numbers, in preference to motion picture theatres. The show was held outside the downtown district, and relatively few visitors to the city for the show attended theatres. Attendance at theatres, however, was not off drastically. Three houses had over-average, and one of these was a holdover. . . . Four of the six first runs this week were CinemaScope. Nearing the end of the drive-in season, the L.P., Lakeside and New 50 are on a weekend schedule. LOS ANGELES W. C. Ricord, for many years associated with National Theatres, has resigned to join United Artists Theatres in the capacity of supervisor. . . . Barbara Sheftel has resigned her position as clerk at the 20th CenturyFox office. . . . Marty Foster of the Guild theatre in Portland was a visitor here. . . . Off to San Francisco was Alex Cooperman, IFE western division manager, to meet with S. Hurok, famous opera impresario. . . . Transferring from Philadelphia, Robert Clark has joined the local MGM staff as a salesman, working through the San Diego territory. . . . Off to Arizona on company business was George Tripp, Warner Bros, salesman. . . . Out of town exhibitors on the Row for buying and booking purposes were Harold Stein, Sierra Madre ; Ben Bronstein, Palm Springs; Gordon West, Fillmore; and Frank Valuskis, Buena Park. MEMPHIS "Human Jungle,” Allied Artists film banned in Memphis recently by censors, has opened at Avon theatre and Sunset drive-in, both in West Memphis, Ark. . . . Variety Club, which opens its Convalescent Children’s Home this week, is busy collecting toys and games which can be used by the young patients. . . . Ben Bluestein, business man and active Variety Club barker, is recovering at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Memphis from a heart attack suffered while at work. . . . Prof. H. L. Watling, English handwriting analyst, has been appearing at Plaza theatre in Memphis giving free analyses. . . . R. L. Bostick, National Theatre Supply Co., has been on a business trip to Oklahoma City. . . . T. E. Shaw sold his Booth theatre at Hollendale, Miss., to B. F. Jackson. . . . Ritz theatre, Selmer, Tenn., and Savannah theatre, Savannah, Tenn., reopened for business last week. MIAMI The six-week trial of the anti-trust suit of Claughtons vs. six major film companies, was declared a mistrial after jury deliberations of 8 hours continued deadlocked at 11 to 1 in favor of the defendants. . . . Austin Moon, formerly associated with theatres in this area, was killed in an automobile accident in Jacksonville, Fla. . . . Tent 33 of the Variety Club held elections recently and voted in the following slate : Maurey L. Ashmann, chief Barker; Hal Kopplin, 1st assistant; Stanley Berenson, 2nd assistant; Stanley Stern, property master; and S. K. Bronstein, dough guy. Board members are sonny Shepherd, Henry Neyle, Lee Ruwitch, Sid White, Jesse Weiss and Tom Jefferson. Installation will be in January. . . . Bill Dock, director of advertising for the southeast division of Florida State Theatres, resigned to become affiliated with Fincher Oldsmobile. Howard Pettingill, advertising executive from the Jacksonville office, has taken charge of the local office. MILWAUKEE Big plans are formulating in preparation for a testimonial dinner in honor of Harold J. Fitzgerald, former president of the FoxWisconsin Theatre Corp., to be held November 11 in the Schroeder Hotel. Top leaders in Milwaukee and throughout the country will be here. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Winslow Kelly, Luck, Wis., have taken over the DeLux theatre there from Mrs. Beulah Andrews and have installed CinemaScope. . . . Oliver and Ray Trampe attended the Allied Artists convention in Chicago recently. . . . The Madison 20th Century Drive-in Corp. has taken over the Badger Outdoor from Roger E. Joseph of Milwaukee. MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota Amusement Co. has named new managers at the Garrick and Lyric theatres in Duluth. Roy O. Prytz, former manager of the Skyline drive-in in Duluth, has taken over management of the Garrick, while Venice Barness, who managed houses for MACO in Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota, is now heading the Lyric staff. . . . Ted Mann and George Granstrom, owners of several Twin Cities houses, have taken over operation of the Lyceum in downtown St. Paul, from Mrs. Howard Dale. . . . Magnetic, single track CinemaScope has been installed in the Loring. . . . New on Film Row are Joan Grussing, biller at Columbia, and Margaret Weihe, stenographer at Warners. . . . Inez Mae Anderson, contract clerk at RKO, was married to Neil J. Bronstad Oct. 29. . . . Benjamin Mann, father of Ted Mann, owner of several Twin Cities theatres, and Marvin Mann, Minneapolis, exhibitor, passed away after a long illness. He was 72. . . . Ben Berger, president of Berger Amusement Co. and North Central Allied and chairman for the Crusade for Freedom in Minnesota, left for Europe by plane as one of a group of Crusade drive directors who will make a survey of conditions abroad. NEW ORLEANS Prophit and Hinckle’s Star drive-in, Tallulah, La. will close for the winter after business October 31, advised H. G. Prophit. Also closing for the winter is Ralph Martin’s Pines drive-in, Homer, La. . . . The Gulf, Pensacola, Fla. is closed temporarily for remodeling. . . . The Hub drive-in, Monroeville, Ala. will close on October 31, scheduled for reopening in early spring. . . . Roland Hoffman, Dixie Theatres office manager and his wife are off to Claremont Harbor for a vacation. . . . MGM manager Louis Ingram. Memphis, Tenn., called on Paramount Gulf’s buyer and booker J. T. Howell. . . . Wm. H. Murphy, Jr., manager of Southeastern, reports the following installations of RCA CinemaScope equipment: A. R. Caruth’s, 51 drive-in, Brookhaven, Miss.; R. S. Stalling’s new Pines drive-in, Pineville, La. ; the rebuilt Kenner Cinema and new Kenner drive-in, Kenner, La.: J. S. Wingate’s, Gay Lee drive-in, DeQuincy, La. ; Billy Fox Johnson’s Fox drive-in, Alexandria, La., and the Fox drive-in, Marshal, Tex.; Tom Barrow’s new Palm (indoor), Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., and W. J. Ilsley’s Rebel (indoor), Columbia, Miss. OKLAHOMA CITY Warner theatre was showing the MGM reissues, “A Woman’s Face” and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” this week. . . . "Dragnet” is now showing at four suburban theatres in Oklahoma City. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Morris Lowenstein, in Washington, D. C. and New York City this week, will return next week to attend the national convention of Theatre Owners of America in Chicago Oct. 31-Nov. 4. Mr. Lowenstein is president of Theatre Owners of Oklahoma, and a delegate to the convention. . . . The Uptown theatre here is under new management. Miss Darlene Sieber, owner of the theatre building, has bought the lease of the theatre from Mr. Ferris, who has operated the house for a number of years. The theater is being remodeled and redecorated, and new equipment installed. Miss Nita White is the new manager, and Nolan Kelly is assistant manager. OMAHA Mr. and Mrs. Louis Skeen of Edison have leased the theatre at Bertrand, Neb., and scheduled the reopening date for October 29. The Skeens, former restaurant operators at Bertrand, have been operating roller rinks at Edison, Ansley, Kenesaw and Bertrand. . . . Paul Tramp, Oxford exhibitor who suffered four fractures of his arm in an auto accident, has returned home from a Grand Island hospital. It was necessary to graft bone. . . . Eleanor Horwich, former Columbia office manager now with the Chicago office, visited the Omaha exchange. . . . John Grabenstein has installed new seats in the Liberty theatre at Eustis. . . . Bud Marshall, on the Theatre Booking Service staff, will marry Beverly Speer of Council Bluffs November 12 in the Fifth Avenue Methodist Church. PHILADELPHIA Melvin J. Fox, head of the Fox Theatres chain in this area, was named to the board of the Campaign Council of the Philadelphia ( Continued on page 34) DEAL DIRECT AND SAVE on Quality Theatre Bquipment ^ Factory-to-you Values on the BEST for DriveuKv iVi'i/H] ins and Indoor Houses. SATISFACTION mM GUARANTEED. Write for complete catalog and valuable portfolio FREE. firs! -American 1717 Wyandotte St., Kansas City 8, Mo. 30 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, OCTOBER 30, 1954