Moving Picture World (May-Jun 1927)

June 11, 1927 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 435 Live News from Coast to Coast NOTES ABOUT WIDE-AWAKE EXHIBITORS AND EXCHANGE MEN FROM ALL POINTS Canada Moving Picture World Bureau, Ottawa, Canada, June 8. EXHIBITORS of Quebec City, Quebec, have launched a counter-move against the agitation by religious authorities and others for the closing of theatres in the municipalities of Quebec which has been pronounced since the Laurier Palace Theatre disaster in Montreal last January and which has gained momentum since the opening of the Royal Commission to inquire into the tragedy. The fire and panic which cost 78 lives took place on a Sunday, and, as a result, there has been considerable discussion regarding Sunday shows. To combat this agitation, the exhibitors of Quebec City placed lists in the local stores to be signed by people favoring Sunday performances. No less than 10,000 signatures had been secured by June 4, it was announced. J. Paquet, manager of the Auditorium Theatre ; A. Moisan and Joseph Tanguay of the Victoria and J. A. Fraser of the Empire are among those directing the counter-campaign. Toronto James Lynch, widely-known exhibitor of Canada, is the manager of the new Runnymede Theatre which was opened by Famous Players Canadian Corp., on Bloor street. West, Toronto. June 2. Mr. Lynch is one of the company's leading managers, having had charge of theatres in Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Fort William and Windsor during his career. Manager Lynch started off with "The Fire Brigade" as the opening feature at the Runnymede which accommodates 1,800 persons at one sitting-. The Runnymede Theatre is in a peculiar position. Onehalf of it is in the city of Toronto and the other half is in the Swansea rural district. It presents an interesting tax problem. The house was designed by Raymond Card, Toronto architect, and the builder was N. G. Reynolds. The theatre has a small but wellequipped stage. The B. and F. Circuit of Toronto, operating nine neighborhood theatres in the Ontario Capital, will have their tenth house ready by the middle of July. This is the Gerrard Theatre which is under construction at Gerrard Street East and Woodbine Avenue. The organization comprises Sam Bloom and Sam Fine veteran exhibitors. For three years Jack Allen has been busy as the booker of the Toronto branch of Film Booking Offices of Canada, Limited. Merit has its reward and now he has been promoted to the sales staff. Mr. Allen has succeeded as booker by R. W. Smith, formerly with First National in Vancouver, B. C1., and Toronto. Guelph J. A. Stewart, manager of the Capitol Theatre, Guelph, Ontario, recently conducted a special show in the dining hall of the Ontario Reformatory at Guelph, one of the largest penal institutions in Canada. This was one of the very few occasions when outside entertainment had been provided for the prisoners. Hamilton, Ont. A start has been made on a handsome new suburban theatre on Barton street, Hamilton, Ontario, to serve a substantial residential section. Old buildings on the site are being demolished. Winnipeg Walter F. Davis, popular manager of the Metropolitan Theatre, one of the largest of Winnipeg", Manitoba, has just returned to his duties after a periodical trip to his old home in Alabama to see his aged mother and other relatives. Minnesota Moving Picture World Bureau, Minneapolis Minn., June 8. ALL Finkelstein & Ruben's Minneapolis theatres will now be under the management of Ralph Branton, who will also continue as manager of the Educational exchange at Minneapolis. The Garrick Theatre, F. & R. first run theatre in Minneapolis, closed recently and will not be reopened until late in the summer. Eddie Gruenberg has returned to Minneapolis to become salesman for Universal in northern Minnesota. Gruenberg went to Omaha last fall to join the sales staff of Famous Players-Lasky. Bagley E. R. Wright, of the Family Theatre at Bagley, Minn., acted quickly enough recently to prevent the showing of a Norwegian picture by a traveling man with a portable machine. The owner of the film booked the picture at the Family Theatre originally but later conferred with businessmen and arranged for the showing in the school auditorium. Wright Communicated with the fire marshal's office and also convinced the business men that it was poor business and the show was cancelled. Another successful children's matinee was conducted at F. & R.’s Nolomis Theatre in Minneapolis recently when two hundred youngsters gathered before the theatre to be filmed in a movie. The motion picture will be shown at the Nolomis soon. During the movie prog-ram Manager George Peterson announced an essay contest. Faribault The employees of the Grand and Sun Theatres in Faribault, Minn., recently organized the F. & R. Pep Club of Faribault. The recreation rooms on the third floor of the Grand Theatre have been set aside for the exclusive use of the members. The officers elected were: President, Bert Glaser; vice-president, Ed. Syverson; secretary-treasurer, May me Wink ley. Heron Lake The local post of the American Legion has purchased the Grand Theatre at Heron Lake, Minn., and will operate it. International Falls A1 Peterson, owner of the Grand, International Falls, has turned over the management of the Gem Theatre at Littlefork, Minn., to Franklin Rose, formerly operator of the projection machine. Monticello The Lyric at Monticello, Minn., will now be managed by M. J. Huss, operator of the theatre at Bird Island for two years. Frazee The Palace Theatre at Frazee, Minn., has been closed for repairs by the manager, George Baer, following a fire last week which destroyed the stage curtain and scenery. Granada Hiatt & Tomlinson have remodeled the Idle Hour Theatre at Granada, Minn,, and have installed new seating. Paul Gulick of New York, associated with Universal for years, recently spent a busy day in St. John, N. B., at the invitation of W. A. Sault, manager of the ’St. John office of Canadian Universal. Universal’s "The Cat and the Canary” was given a special screening at the St. John Opera House which was attended by members of the New Brunswick Censor Board and many exhibitors, after which a banquet was enjoyed. St. Louis , Mo. Moving Picture World Bureau, St. Louis, Mo., June 8. JOSEPH ERBER, head of the Western Vaudeville Managers Association in St. Louis and a syndicate of St. Louisians has purchased the 47-acre Lake Hill Park in Valley Park, Mo., for approximately $200,000. Erber at one time owned the Lyric and Avenue Theatres in East St. Louis and prior to that managed the Majestic Theatre in that city. He also operated the Washington Theatre in Belleville, 111., several years ago. Funeral services of Leopold Silberberg, 88 years old, of 5914 Bartmer avenue, S't. Louis, Mo., father of Jules F. Silberberg, assistant orchestra conductor at the Missouri Theatre, were held on May 31. Interment was in Mount Olive Cemetery. Rogers, A-k. Cooper & Marshall have started construction of their Victory Theatre on Second street in Rogers, Ark. The house will seat about 700 persons. It will be two-story with basement, 50 feet by 140 feet. Harry Redmond of the Majestic Theatre, East St. Louis, 111., has announced that bids will be taken very soon on the big new theatre he plans to erect on Collinsville avenue in East St. Louis. The H. & B. Construction Company, Plain Dealing, La., has the contract to build a theatre on Fetzer avenue near Harriett street in Shreveport, La., for A. L. and J. E. Walker. Charles Morel of El Dorado, Ark., will operate the house. It will be one story and balcony, 40 by 124 feet and cost upwards of $25,000. Charles P. Skouras, general manager of Skouras Brothers Enterprises, operators of the Ambassador. Missouri, Grand Central, West End Lyric and the houses of the St. Louis Amusement Company group, has returned from the Pacific Coast where he attended a convention. While out West he also observed the Fanchon and Marco stage productions in the West Coast Theatres. He plans to incorporate some of the best points of the West Coast shows in the Brooke Johns shows in the Missouri Theatre. Barney Dubinsky of Jefferson City has announced that upwards of $10,000 will be expended on improvements to the Miller and Jefferson Theatres in Jefferson City duringthe summer season. Both houses will be entirely renovated and redecorated while new1 projection equipment will be installed in both houses. Pine Bluff, Ark. Roland Siegel of the Community Theatre, Pine Bluff, Ark., has awarded the contract for the construction of his new theatre on West Sixth avenue to T. J. Jones. The new house will be 40 by 90 feet and cost upwards of $12,500. Siegel recently purchased a theatre in Stuttgardt, Ark. Good Albany Business Seldom, if ever, have the motion picture theatres of Albany, had a better week’s business during any May than that of last week. It rained every day, it is true, but instead of keeping people away from the theatres, the weather was of that disag-reebale sort that sent the people flocking to the motion picture houses for entertainment and likewise warmth, for more than one head of a household had let the furnace fire out. With an evening’s entertainment and warmth for 25 cents, it was only natural for people to forsake their clammy homes. Some of the theatres, which were inclined to disclose their receipts for the week, revealed attendance records equal to January and February.