Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1956)

( Continued from opposite page ) Ritz at Bald Knob, Ark., were on Film Row booking. . . . Henry Haven, Haven Theatres, Forrest City, Ark., has closed his Starlite drive-in, Brinkley, Ark., for the season and gone into a Saturday and Sunday only operation with the Haven drive-in, Wynne, Ark. . . . Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Hitt, Cozy and Plaza at Bentonville, Ark., and Concord and Apollo at Springdale, Ark., came to Memphis on business for their theatres. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Joe Davis, Ellis, Cleveland, Miss., were Memphis visitors. Miami A gold life time pass to the Wometco Theatres for his wife and himself was one of the bonuses received by Ernest Drolet, doorman of the Gateway, when he celebrated his golden wedding anniversary recently. . . . The juvenile patrons of eight of the neighborhood theatres of the Florida State circuit are waxing enthusiastic over the forthcoming “dog show” where pets will be judged by accredited veterinarians and earn prizes. . . . The Cameo had hypnotist Frank Freeman as a stage attraction for the opening of “The Search for Bridey Murphy.” . . . Ralph Puckhaber, of the FST publicity office, reports that six of the circuit houses will run preHallowe’en midnight shocker shows on the Saturday preceding the night of the witches. ... A direct tie-in between the movies and Wall Street was arranged during the local run of “Solid Gold Cadillac” when the brokerage firm of Bache & Co. set up a staffed information booth in the theatre lobbies for consultation with patrons interested in learning about investments. . . . The local Variety Club recently opened its new clubrooms in the Miami Colonial Hotel. The quarters on the mezzanine floor are reported to be the best yet. Milwaukee If Milwaukee’s Common Council passes the ordinance, an “adults only” classification could be placed on certain motion pictures shown here. No person under 18 would be allowed to attend a film so classified. . . . John Parostinak, formerly head shipper at the Paramount exchange here, is now with Milwaukee Film Center. . . . New at the Paramount exchange is John Radke, head shipper, formerly with RKO. . . . Jerry Kramer, former salesman at Universal, has left the industry to go into another business. Minneapolis Marvin Maetzold, head booker at Columbia, was one of four men chosen in the state by the Royal Arch Masons for outstanding work in their respective lodges. He was given a citation. . . . Dick Schack is the new assistant in the advertising department of Minnesota Amusement Co. . . . Ernie Hill, city salesman at Warners, spent his vacation hunting in northern Minnesota. . . . Roy Fleischbein, head of service for NSS, vacationed in Florida. . . . B. D. (Buck) Stoner, Paramount central division sales manager, was in for a sales meeting. . . . Ben Marcus, Columbia midwest district manager, was in on a routine exchange visit. . . . Ted Mann is INTO RETIREMENT THIS prosperous and healthy looking gentleman is George W. Turner, for 36 years a salesman for MGM in Minneapolis. He's holding the scroll the Variety Club there gave him as he retired at 73. George likes Florida. spending $75,000 to remodel his Orpheum theatre at Dubuque, Iowa. The project will include a complete “front to back” remodeling. . . . Albert Krieger, operator of the Krieger theatre, Gackle, N. D., has been awarded a law degree by LaSalle Extension University, Chicago. New Orleans Henry G. Plitt, president of Paramount Gulf Theatres, has been elected chief barker of New Orleans Variety Tent No. 45. Other officers elected include Harold F. Cohen, first assistant; George Nungesser, second assistant; Carl Mabry, doughguy, and William Briant, property master. Elected to the board at large were: Maurice E. Barr, Joel Blustone, Daniel M. Branden, Roy Nicaud, Irwin Poche, and Don Stafford. . . . Ann Schenck is back cashiering at the Center after several weeks’ absence due to a major operation and recuperation. . . . Bob Sidman was here engineering advance publicity for Columbia’s “Solid Gold Cadillac,” the current attraction at RKO Orpheum. . . . Ida Klos, Paramount Gulf’s feature booker, is back after a vacation jaunt in Alexandria, La., Vicksburg, Miss., Pine Bluff and Eureka Springs, Ark. . . . Claire Aubert, secretary to Warner Bros, office manager, Gus Trog, and Irwin Bretmeyer were to be married October 20 in St. Augustine’s church. . . . Mrs. Loraine Cass’ “thrill of a lifetime” was at the recent WOMPI convention, where she was presented a diamond wrist watch by the national association in recognition for her “remarkable and energetic” term as president during 1955-56. Oklahoma City United Theatre Owners of Oklahoma will hold its second annual convention March 6-7 in Oklahoma City at the Biltmore Hotel. ... A complaint charging State theatre manager P. J. Keough with violating city anti-noise ordinances by playing the song “Oklahoma” in front of the theatre, was dismissed in municipal court Oct. 7. Dick Dugger, assistant city attorney, asked that the complaint be dismissed on the grounds that no one, except a traffic policeman, could be found who objected to the song being played. . . . “Cinerama Holiday” will premiere in the city Nov. 8 at the Warner theatre. “This Is Cinerama,” now at the Warner, will end its run Nov. 6 after a recordbreaking stand of 25 weeks. . . . The Criterion theatre had a sneak preview October 12, plus regular showing of “The Best Things in Life Are Free.” . . . “Oklahoma” ended its engagement at the Rialto theatre, Tulsa, Okla., Oct. 18. Warren Patton, general manager of Tulsa’s Downtown Theatres, said more than 80,000 persons attended during the run of “Oklahoma”. Philadelphia Organizational efforts have been started to organize the operators of drive-in theatres in the eastern Pennsylania, southern New Jersey and Delaware area into a formal exhibitor group. . . . The Penypak, key neighborhood house which was sold recently by Melvin Fox together with adjoining commercial properties, will be converted into a merchandise mart with 28,000 square feet of selling space. . . . William Goldman, head of the William Goldman Theatres, has been named chairman of the Mayor’s Board of Theatre Control, also as a member of the Board of the newly-created Philadelphia Central City Development Corp. ... In the budget message which Mayor Richardson Dilworth presented to City Council, he urged a 50 per cent cut in the city’s amusement tax which had shown a steady decline because of lesser attendance. He said that reducing this tax from 10 per cent to five would mean a drop of $1,200,000 a year from that source. . . . Warren Wielland closed the Apollo on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N. J., for the winter season, confining his operations to his avenue theatres during the off-season period. Pittsburgh “Love Me Tender” will be the Thanksgiving Day bill in the Fulton theatre. . . . Fred Kunkel, former assistant manager in the Penn, is back there temporarily from his present post in the Perry theatre, to assist Charles E. (Chedie) Funk while Bill Zeiler, the Penn manager, is on vacation. . . . “War and Peace” opened up poorly in the Penn, but management predicts a healthy run after word-of-mouth gets around. . . . Richard Egan spent two days here grabbing a lot of publicity breaks for “Tension at Table Rock” which had its world premiere in the Stanley. . . . Win Fanning, the Post-Gazette assistant movie critic, and his wife, Vicki, taking a month off to fly to Germany to visit her folks. . . . The Penn will follow “War and Peace” with “The Opposite Sex” and “Friendly Persuasion” in that order. . . . “Richard III” opened strong in the Squirrel Hill following two weeks of “Madame Butterfly.” . . . “Rebel in Town” and “Huk” went first run into a flock of neighborhood houses, with still another brace, “Francis in the Haunted House” and “Showdown at Abilene” likewise. (Continued on following page) MOTION PICTURE HERALD, OCTOBER 20, 1956 35