Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1956)

Minneapolis Ted Mann has taken over operation of the suburban Westgate, an art house, under lease. Mann also operates the downtown World and Suburban World theatres in Minneapolis, the World and Lyceum theatres in St. Paul, the Skyline drive-in in Duluth and the Orpheum in Dubuque, Iowa. The Westgate formerly was operated by Martin Stein, who operates the suburban Edina theatre. . . . Don Risch and Harold Lembke, operating as the Reno Theatre Corp., have taken over operation of the Grand theatre at Madison, Minn. The house was owned and operated for 35 years by Burt Hulett. . . . Eugene Tacke and his wife were in buying and booking for next spring for the Paul Bunyan drive-in at International Falls, Minn., prior to going to Warrenton, Mo., where they will spend the winter. . . . John Louis, formerly a booker, has been named South Dakota salesman at Paramount replacing Duane Becker, resigned. Katherine Gordon, formerly a booking stenographer, has been named new student booker in a reshuffling of the booking department. . . . Ted Mann, operator of Twin Cities and outstate theatres, is vacationing in Mexico, and his secretary, Esther Bergman, is in Florida for two weeks. New Orleans George Pabst, UA southern district manager, is on tour of the company’s southern exchanges. . . . Floyd Harvey, Jr., New Orleans and Memphis field representative of Buena Vista, reported that the company will soon transfer his headquarters from Memphis to New Orleans. . . . Rene Brunet, of the Famous and the Imperial, and Asa Booksh, manager of the RKO Orpheum, both received their certificate of membership recently in the Managers Round Table from director Walter Brooks. . . . Milton Dureau, president of Masterpiece, is back in swing after a three-week absence because of major surgery. . . . Claude Bourgeois, UA north Mississippi and Memphis field representative, and Floyd Harvey attended the recent Tristates Theatre Owners convention in Memphis. . . . Herb Hargroder, Beverly drive-in, Hattiesburg, Miss., is back in circulation after two weeks illness which kept him confined to his bed. . . . G. Y. Harrell, Jr., Manley, Inc., checked in from a threeweek road trip. Oklahoma City Most Oklahoma City theatres held Halloween parties on Halloween night. The Airline drive-in had a dusk-to-dawn show. . . . The Poncan theatre at Ponca City held a “Spookarama” October 31. Free apple cider and donuts were given all patrons. A. H. Mahnker, of Oklahoma City has been named registered agent of Cooper Foundation theatres of Oklahoma, Inc. . . . “Cinerama Holiday” opened November 8 at the Warner theatre here. All premiere receipts went to the YMCA-junior baseball program. . . . Les Newkirk, manager of the Fox Intermountain Theatres in Boulder, Colo., was elected president of the Chamber of Commerce at its reorganization meeting Nov. 1. Philadelphia Mike Felt, former executive director of the Pennsylvania State Board of Motion Picture Censors and former chief barker of the Philadelphia Variety Club, Tent No. 13, was named delegate to the 1957 convention of the Variety Clubs International in New Orleans. . . . The Sinking Spring drive-in, Sinking Spring, Pa., is still showing on Sundays after more than a dozen lawsuits against the management for alleged violation of the Sunday blue laws. . . . Bob Hanover, local exhibitor in the West Philadelphia neighborhood, has been named chairman of South Philadelphia’s Panorama, promotional business show, which opens Nov. 13 at the Commercial Museum. . . . William Goldman, head of the William Goldman theatres, has resigned from the Mayor’s Theatre Control Board, pointing out that in light of the U. S. Supreme Court decisions on censorship, the quasi-official Board did not have any power, legally or otherwise, to police stage attractions for which function it was formed some years ago. . . . Jack Jaslow, independent distributor, gets the area distributing rights for “Rifi.fi.” . . . Harry Brillman, Screen Guild executive, is confined to Presbyterian Hospital. . . . William Mansell, Warner Brothers division manager, in Chestnut Hill Hospital as a result of a leg injury. Pittsburgh “Secrets of the Reef” will follow “Wages of Fear” in the Guild art house. . . . “Julie” followed “The Opposite Sex” in the Penn, which has “The Power and the Prize” and “Friendly Persuasion” set to follow. . . . “Fantasia” headed next for the Squirrel Hill, following the current “Private’s Progress.” “La Strada” will be the Christmas offering here. . . . “Giant” gave the Stanley a booming $35,000 threatening the “From Here To Eternity” house record. . . . “1984” went first run into a flock of neighborhood houses. . . . The Fulton will re-issue “The Third Man” with “Lisbon” also due in this Shea house. . . . Film Row saddened by the death in Cincinnati of Charlie Dortic, former Columbia Pictures salesmen here. He had switched only recently to Warners in Cincinnati. . . . The local Saints and Sinners will honor Joe E Brown as its “fall guy” in the Ankara nightclub Nov. 18. . . . Carl Ide, KDKA-TV announcer, did a special Cinerama trailer which is being shown now in all Stanley Warner houses in the Tri-State area. Portland Harold Gelman, musical advisor at MGM, was in town to visit his parents. . . . Journal drama editor Arnold Marks and Oregonian drama editor Herb Larsen flew to Seattle as guests of the J. J. Parker Circuit to get a look at Todd-AO. “Oklahoma,” in new process, opened at the Broadway Nov. 9 on a two-a-day basis. . . . This gives Portland four regular first run houses, one Todd-AO, and one art theatre on Broadway. . . . NW Releasing bosses Zolly Volchock and Jack Engerman are promoting the Benny Goodman concert tour in Portland, Seattle, Spokane, and Vancouver, B.C., the latter part of Nov. . . . Paramount theatre executive M. M. Mesher is back from his business trip to Seattle. . . . Isabel Marks and Jack Matlack are doing special promotion work for “Oklahoma!” in Todd-AO. Providence Joseph Jarvis, owner-manager of the Gilbert Stuart, Riverside neighborhood house, gave the Jimmy Fund a shot in the arm when he arranged a special street parade in his town. Chairman of the spectacle, and chief-marshal of the parade, Jarvis succeeded in lining up bands, floats, drum-corps and scores of other features for the event which drew crowds from all over the state. Over $1,300 was raised during the festival. . . . Phil Nemirow, RKO Albee manager, staged a horror show comprising Dr. Silkini’s Asylum of Horrors, on stage, and Boris Karloff in “The Mummy” on screen. . . . Rin-Tin-Tin, accompanied by his trainer, Frank Barnes, recently was in Providence for a special television appearance. . . . Bill Trambukis ran a special midnight horror show at Loew’s State. . . . Arrangements were made by several local houses to set up special facilities to announce election returns on Election Day. . . . By popular request, the Avon Cinema brought back Walt Disney’s “Fantasia.” San Francisco Holiday schedules at downtown theatres include “Love Me Tender” at the Fox, Nov. 21. “The Girl Couldn’t Help It” opens New Year’s Eve. . . . “The Mole People” is the Thanksgiving fare at the Golden Gate. . . . “Giant” is scheduled to continue through Thanksgiving at the Paramount. . . . Loew’s Warfield has scheduled “The Opposite Sex.” . . . John Coyne, MGM, is out of the hospital and resting at home. . . . Stan Creighton, photographer, sprained his right ankle playing golf and is hobbling about with a cast. ... A gold dress helps exploit “The Solid Gold Cadillac” at the St. Francis. . . . New members of the Variety Club include John and Sal Enea, Jack Goodwin, James Mannheimer, Emil Davis and James Donohue. . . . Irene Hildebrand is the new biller at Paramount, replacing Kent Derusha, who resigned. . . . Hortense Morton, Examiner drama critic, is making the rounds of the studios during her vacation. Toronto The Ontario Board of Censors placed eight films in the “adult” category during the month of September. . . . A1 Perkins of the Roxy, Midland, arranged a “Movie Day” meeting for the Kiwanis Club. Thirty members of the club attended along with invited guests including the mayor and prominent local merchants. Speaker of the day was Arch H. Jolley, executive secretary of the Motion Picture Theatres Association of Ontario. . . . New members of the MPTAO are Robert Maynard, Francais, Ottawa, and William Young, Crown, Harriston. . . . The Rotary Club in Listowel will assist Cecil Pelton’s Capitol. The club is sponsoring a draw for a car. To start off the campaign, it was decided to give a free ticket to the theatre with every adult (Continued on following page) MOTION PICTURE HERALD, NOVEMBER 10, 1956 27