Moving Picture World (Jan-Feb 1927)

436 San Francisco Moving Picture World Bureau , Berkeley, Cal., Feb. 3. PROPERTY owners in the vicinity of Taraval street and Twenty-ninth avenue, San Francisco, realizing the value of having a high-class moving picture theatre in their midst, have raised a fund of $20,000 toward the construction of a theatre by the Samuel H. Levin Theatres, which is to cost $200,000, exclusive of the land. The amount raised will be held in trust and wall be payable on the erection of the steel framework. Plans for the theatre have been prepared by Reid Bros., architects. The theatre will be the eighth to operate under the banner of the Samuel H. Levin Theatres. The DeLuse Empress Theatre, San Francisco, is to be reopened under thd direction of Mrs. Viola Langer, who conducts the Point Theatre at Point Richmond, Cal. George Roy, of Reno, Nev., was a visitor at San Francisco recently and made a stay of several days arranging bookings. He reported a very open winter in the Sagebrush State, with the amusement business in good shape. Sam Kahl and B. B. Kahane, of Chicago, and Max Gordon and F. W. Vincent, of New York, all of the Orpheum Circuit, were recent visitors at San Francisco. L. E. Kennedy, manager of the San Francisco branch of Pathe, made a trip recently through the San Joaquin Valley to meet exhibitors in their own bailiwick. Ample rains have greatly improved the business outlook in that section. Howard J. Sheehan, district manager for William Fox, has returned to his San Francisco headquarters from a month’s stay in the Pacific Northwest. L>. A. Heinrich, for the past five years traveling auditor for William Fox, has joined the auditing department of the San Francisco exchange, succeeding M. J. Noonan. Charles Munro, general sales manager for William Fox in Australia and New Zealand, arrived at San Francisco the third week in January, accompanied by Mrs. Munro, and has since left for New York by way of the Royal Gorge and Niagara. The return trip will be made by way of the Grand Canyon and Hollywood. Mr. Munro stated that ninety-five per cent of the films exhibited in Australia are American made and that a marked preference is shown for pictures which depict the advance of civilization in Western America. Colma The New Colma Theatre, at Colma, has been returned to the ownership of Dr. C. H. Lindner and is being operated under the management of Jack Rodney. Oakland William K. Mitchell, formerly with the Dimond Theatre, is now with the Senator Theatre, a West Coast house. Santa Rosa Walter Sachs has resigned as manager of the California Theatre and is now with the road show attraction, “What Price Glory?” Berkeley Manager H. W. Stierburne, of the U. C. Theatre, recently offered patrons of this house an unusual treat by securing for three days the use of the Auditorium Orthophonic Victrola used at the Sesqui-centennial Exposition at Philadelphia. San Jose Victor Benson has announced his intention of erecting a 1,000-seat house on The Alameda at a cost of $75,000. Newcastle Whittemore & Wrenn have arranged to open a moving picture theatre. MOVING PICTURE WORLD Montana Moving Picture World Bureau, Butte, Mont., Jan. 26. COLUMBIA’S exchange in Butte has been changed to a shipping station since the first of the year. Merrill Denton, booker, has been transferred to the salesman’s desk and E. C. Shaffer, exchange manager, will now make headquarters at Spokane though he still retains the management of the Butte office and will occasionally visit Butte. The office is in charge of Miss Boyle. G. H. Warren, salesman for Pathe in the local Butte branch exchange, has been promoted to feature sales manager, taking the place of Joe Soloman, who was promoted to the same position in the Pathe San Francisco exchange. Tom Walsh, salesman for Pathe out of the Butte office, spent the holidays with his parents in Butte. The New Judith Theatre at Lewistown, conducted by Rolla Duncan, former U. S. marshal for Montana, and more recently half owner in the Babcock, Regent and Lyric Theatres of Billings, where he was poastmaster until he resigned and moved with his family to Lewistown, is now in full swing of popularity. Mr. Duncan has a ten years lease on the New Judith. John Gavan, manager of the Liberty Theatre of Butte, has a change of program every day and lately has been receiving many compliments on the character of his programs. Dillon W. B. Hartwig, manager of the Hartwig Theatre at Dillon, Mont., will co-operate with Beaverhead County High School this year in the effort to raise funds to send all the boys of the senior class to the vocational congress to be held in Bozeman beginning January 31. Tickets for a show will be handed over to the senior boys and they will be awarded a percentage of the proceeds. Kentucky Moving Picture World Bureau, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 4. AFIRE broke out in the projection room of the Cherokee Theatre, Bardstown Road and Bonnycastle avenue, recently, and resulted in destruction of several reels of film, slight burns to the projectionist, and orderly emptying of the several hundred people in the theatre at the time that the film took fire. The past month has been one of the meanest that the exhibitors of Louisville haye experienced in a long time, due to abnormally bad weather conditions. Starting on January 17, there was a solid week of rains, in which a precipitation of about six inches was experienced, this closely following two inches of snow, and two days of zero weather. Merchants have been complaining bitterly over the fact that the bad weather has kept people at home, and the same conditions have applied in the theatres, where both matinee and night business has been below normal. There is a bitter fight being waged against the City and the Sewer Commission by merchants and exhibitors, regarding plans of the city for tearing up Fourth street, for 4he better part of nine months in this year, while constructing a new sewer, the business interests fighting for underground work, done in such a way as not to interfere with traffic and business. Film Building Open The new fireproof building, housing Griffith Amusement Co., Educational, National Equipment Co. and Anderson Theatre Supply Co., was opened at Oklahoma City, January 1. with a dance, banquet and musical entertainment. It is a busy spot. February 5, 1927 New England Moving Picture World Bureau, Springfield, Mass., Feb. 3. SPRINGFIELD is the scene of extensive new theatre projects that will give, in addition to houses already located in the city, representation to owners of the larger circuits. A house is being built for Marcus Loew; S. Z. Poli will build his second theatre in the city; Famous-Players is seeking a site while William Fox already has a playhouse there. While fire raged in an adjoining building, several hundred persons were imprisoned in the Victoria Theatre at Lawrence, Mass. They were unable to leave during the hour or more while firemen were fighting the flames. Manager George Woods succeeded in averting a panic in the Victoria after an excited passerby had dashed into the place and yelled “fire.” Manager Woods ordered the audience to file out orderly and the people started to do so. When they reached the exits, however, they were ordered back to their seats and remained there until the fire was extinguished. The heat in the theatre, from the fire, was intense, but as there was virtually no smoke the patrons suffered slight .discomfort, although they were worried. The company headed by Arthur Friend, former Paramount executive, that has built theatres in New Haven, New London and Derby, Conn., which are being operated by Marcus Loew, has purchased a Main Street location in Springfield and will spend $550,000 in construction of a playhouse, also to be operated by Mr. Loew. It will be named the Massasoit Theatre, being on the site of a building of that name. The company paid $1,500,000 for the property. The Massasoit will seat approximately 4,000 persons. Arland W. Johnson of New York City is the architect. Mr. Friend also proposes to build theatres in Portland, Me., and Manchester, Vt., indicating that Marcus Loew in the near future will be firmly entrenched in New England, a section of the country in which he has been represented only by his three theatres in Boston. Famous-Players had made a deal with the Goldstein Brothers of Springfield for the construction of a theatre on the site obtained by Mr. Poli, but as the latter was the first to meet the price demanded by the city, $137,000, the present status of the Famous-Players-Goldstein agreement is not known. However, the Goldsteins have begun to dismantle a church which they purchased and on the site of which they propose to build a theatre. Famous-Players likewise is understood to have an option on a Main Street site, but no announcement has been made of this company’s plans in connection with the reported realty deal. William Fox, another circuit owner, presents a motion picture policy in Fox’s Theatre, which has for a number of years been under the able management of Irving MacDonald. Nebraska Moving Picture World Bureau, Omaha, Neb., Jan. 26. WILLIAM WHITE has bought the Cozy Theatre at Page, Neb., from J. P. Shanner. Frank Delire sold the Community Theatre at Platte, S. D., to W. A. Twamlyn. A. O. Lambert has sold the Opera House at Monticello, la, to E. J. Maloney. Thomas & Tomandl have bought the Opera House at Morna, Neb., from S. E. Rodman. H. D. Fiene has bought the Opera House at Delmont, S. D„ from Axel Berg. C. C. Twisel has bought the Empress Theatre at Chelsea, la., from Kupka, Hrabak & McNall.