Reel Journal (June 1931)

Page 4 THE REEL JOURNAL June 16, 1931. Business Generally Good; “Laughing Sinners” High Loew’s Midland— Laughing Sin¬ ners (M-G-M), Joan Crawford and Neil Hamilton. Business: 20 per cent above average. Summary: Screen version of “Torch Song,” the popular stage play. Enter¬ tainment Merits: 87 per cent. Short Subjects: “Ambitious Peo¬ ple,” Herman Timberg (M-G-M); “Curiosity” (Col.); Metronews. Newman- The Maltese Falcon (Warner Bros.), Ricardo Cortez and Bebe Daniels. Business: Usual. Summary: Mystery thrill¬ er with a lot of complicating sit¬ uations to keep the audience in¬ tensely interested. Entertainment Merits: 80 per cent. Short Sub¬ jects: “Don’t Divorce Him,” Andy Clyde (Edu.); “Via Express” (Para.); 20 Legs Under the Sea” (Para.) ; Paramount News. RKO-Mainstreet— White Shoul¬ ders (RKO), Jack Holt and Mary Astor. Business: 10 per cent above par. Summary: Gripping drama of a husband who stifles his wife with love, then hounds her with hate. Entertainment Merits: 80 per cent. Short Subjects: Com¬ edy, News and Vaudeville. RKO-Orpheum (first half) — Too Young to Marry (First Na¬ tional), Loretta Young and Grant Kansas City (week end¬ ing June 12)—With fairly good attractions and also pleasant weather, business at the theatres was gen¬ erally good. “Laughing Sinners” (M-G-M) drew the topnotch business of the week with grosses 20 per cent above the ave¬ rage. “White Shoulders” (RKO) and “Kick In” (Para.) brought favorable returns at the Mainstreet and Royal respectively. “Hell Bound,” which open¬ ed at the Orpheum on Wednesday, proved an ex¬ cellent box-office attrac¬ tion, playing its last per¬ formance there Monday night when the theatre closed for the season. RKO-Orpheum (second half) — Hell Bound (Tiffany), Leo Car¬ rillo, Lola Lane and Lloyd Hughes. Business: Good. Summary: An outstanding gangster film with a new star—Leo Carrillo. Entertain¬ ment Merits: 90 per cent. Short Subjects: Comedy, News and Re¬ view. Royal — Kick In (Paramount), Clara Bow and Regis Toomey. Business: 10 per cent above ave¬ rage. Summary: Gangster story taken from the well-known stage play. The picture really belongs to Regis Toomey. Entertainment Merits: 75 per cent. Short Sub¬ jects: “Dangerous Females” (Par¬ amount) ; Pictorial No. 10 (Para¬ mount) ; “My Wife’s Gone to the Country,” Screen Song (Para.); Paramount News. Uptown — Not Exactly Gentle¬ men (Fox), Victor McLaglen and Fay Wray. Business: Average. Summary: Fast-moving western ■ . - ■■■ . ~ | plenty of fights and rough Withers. Business: Fair. Sum- stuff. Entertainment Merits: 85 mary: Fairly good attraction of per cent. Short Subjects: Ed- the younger generation. Enter- die Buzzell (Col.); “Sky High’ ':?inment Merits: 75 per cent. (Vita.); Burns Detective Mystery at Universal’s booking department. Short Subjects: Comedy, News (Edu.); “Pop Goes Holiday,” Car- ment. and Review. , toon (Vita.); Universal News. A. Appleman of the Appleman Krystal Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., makers of marquee signs and flashers, was another visitor in this week to confer with W. C. Denney of the National Theatre Supply. * * * * W. A. Aschmann, central divis¬ ion manager for Big 4 Produc¬ tions, was in Kansas City last Sat¬ urday to confer with Bob Withers of Midwest in regard to the new season’s lineup of westerns. Mr. Aschmann waxed enthusiastic over the forthcoming pictures by his company. He also expressed praise for Kansas City’s Film Row which he says certainly has some towering buildings. He left the same day for St. Louis from where he will probably return to his headquarters in Milwaukee. Mrs. C. J. Dalton, who two months ago was Miss Mary Gaw- throp, has returned to her former post as switchboard operator for the Paramount exchange. * * * Film Row is still talking about Miss Nettie Davis who is no longer cashier at Pathe. It seems hard to believe that she is no longer con¬ nected with the company after 14 years. Jean Baldwin, formerly employ¬ ed as stenographer at Columbia, is now serving in the same capacity last Tuesday. The newlyweds are now on their honeymoon. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cassill re¬ turned this week from Chicago bringing back with them their two children who have just been grad¬ uated from high school. One is a son, age 19; the other a girl of 17. An automobile accident near Film Row at 18th and Baltimore was the center of interest last Monday evening while many ex- Miss Ruth Turgeon has been | T. R. “Tommy” Thompson, un- ; promoted from stenographer in til recently branch manager for Paramount’* accounting depart- j United Artists in.Milwaukee, has , p eople“were on their way ment to secretary to Oscar Mor- 1 joined the local Pathe sales force home from work gan, branch manager. She sue- as city salesman. Tommy is well-< * * * ceeds Miss Bertha Dubinsky who known to many here, having pre- p&t Garlow wantg it known that became Mrs. Maurice Schweitzer viously been salesman and booker he . g nQ longer connected with Uni _ /for the U. A. ^exchange. Iversal as salesman and is now * * * ^representing Columbia in north- Among the out-of-town exhibi- west Kansas (which automatically tors in last week included: R. O. ! makes him a member of the four Robinson, Rigney, Albany, Mo.; “Must-Get-Theirs,” the other three Mr. and Mrs. Koenigs, Royal, Se¬ neca, Kas.; W. M. Goodnight, Star, Sweet Springs, Mo.; E. Nolan, Ozark, Cassville, Mo.; Mr. Waer, Waermore, Plattsburg, Mo.; W. E. Ward, Strand, Sharon Herbert Griffin, sales manager for the International Projector Co., of New York, makers of the Simplex projectors, was here Mon¬ day to visit W. C. Denney of the National Theatre Supply Com¬ pany branch. Griffin was on his way back to New York from Hol¬ lywood where he attended the an¬ nual meeting of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers. Bob Kay, junior feature booker at the Metro exchange, has been being Joe Rosenberg, William Bradfield and Johnny Flynn). New Oil Shield A very light and inexpensive - _ , _ oil shield for projectors has been Springs Mo.; Charles Fisk, Opera p i ace d 0 n the market by H. L. House, Butler, Mo.; C. C. Mein- j^ ew t on , p ro j e ctionist of the Or- tosh, Plaza, Clay Center, Kas.; Mr. pheum Theatre at Neos ho, Mo. and Mrs. F. J. Ledoux Perkins ^ The fits the head of any and Star, Holton, Kas.; Mr. Dud- gi m pi ex projector using Western geon, Mainstreet, Ornck, Mo. j Electric universal bases. The de- * * * vice can be attached in ten minutes Roy Churchill of RKO attended by any projectionist without bolts, a regional sales meeting in Chi- nuts or screws, and is guaranteed cago last Saturday. He was back not to throw the projector out of Monday highly enthused over the alignment with the screen, keeping new product and looking fine and the oil from dripping into the deli- dandy. | cate parts of the sound apparatus.