Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1943)

36 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW February 27, 1943 'E' Flag Award to American Seating Co, Exhibitors of America have many duties to perform these war days. You build unity and morale through motion picture presentations— and you promote and support the various government drives that are initiated to spur war production and civilian defense. RCA Service, like exhibitors, is carrying on important war duties: RCA engineers are rendering scheduled service to projection room equipment in thousands of theatres to "Keep 'em Running"—and other RCA Service groups are installing military equipment and instructing personnel, in this country and at the battlefronts. The RCA Service organization is today more than nation-wide ... it is world-wide . . . serving the home front and battlefronts too! Mtj^^s ayiCTORY BXJV RCA SERVICE CO., INC. RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA Subsidiary Camden, N. J. Left to right: Col. Crosby N. Elliott, Officer in Charge, Procurement Division, Chicago Quartermaster Depot; H. M. Taliaferro, President, Nellie P. Laubscher, Supervisor of Plant Nurses, and R. K. Merrill, Works Manager of American Seating Company; Lt. Commander E. L. Johnson, Cost Inspector, U. S. Navy, Detroit, Michigan. Theatre operators who have encountered difficulties in the procurement of seating" may take comfort and pride in the fact that their troubles may have made possible the manufacture of Army, Navy and Merchant Marine equipment sorely needed. The American Seating Company, long a major supplier of theatre seating equipment, was awarded the coveted Army-Navy "E" for excellence in production on war assignments, in colorful ceremonies at the plant in Grand Rapids, Feb. 2. The presentation of the "E" award, and the right of employes to wear the "E" badge, were in recognition of more than two years of steadily intensified war work on the part of this fiftyyear-old world leader in public seating. Today, more than 90 per cent of the company's day and night production is concentrated upon its military and naval assignments. These tasks are varied and vital. Whole sections of aircraft — wings, spars and other assemblies— are built up and formed with precision out of multiple laminations of wood, resinbonded under pressure and controlled temperatures into structures of tremendous and enduring strength. The company's half-century of experience in the fabrication of wood into hundreds of shapes served it in good stead in the task of conversion of its facilities swiftly from peace to war. In the interests of conserving metals grown critically scarce, American Seating Company engineers developed a new type of pilot seat, for use in combat planes. Formed of plywood, it is scientifically designed to provide the enormous strength required to withstand the strains set up when the pilot pulls his plane out of a power-dive. This seat won quick approval of the armed forces. Equally timely and effective engineering in metals enabled the company's research division to develop a new all-metal seat for tanks and other combat vehicles. Great strength and extremely reliable and positive-acting mechanism for raising and lowering are features of this seat which brought about its quick adoption as standard. Perrizo and Sons Buy Two Theatres in DePere, Wis. The Perrizo family of Oconto, Wis., owners of the Badger and Oconto, purchased the Nicolet and DePere theatres from W. R. Vincent of DePere, who has retired because of ill health. The two newly acquired theatres will be under the management of Francis and Harvey Perrizo, while the father, Charles, will manage the Oconto and the Badger. Glen Theatre Is Razed by Inferno Kansas City, Mo.— The Glen Theatre, 1309 Westport Road, was destroyed by a fire at an estimated loss of $22,000. Blaze Mars Avalon in Warren, Ark. Warren, Ark. — The Avalon Theatre building, owned by Mrs. H. D. Wharton, was damaged by fire last week. Sorry, No Refunds! See It Later "If you don't see the film in full the first time, try, try again," could very well be the moral of this little incident, defending the motion picture theatre. Recalling that the film, "Born to Sing," would be screened at exactly 1:45 p.m., William A. Smallridge, photographer of Bath, Eng., purchased his ticket at the Forum Theatre there 12 minutes before the scheduled announcement only to be told by the cashier that the motion picture had been running about five minutes. Indignant, Smallridge sought the manager for a refund. Whereupon the manager had informed the perturbed photographer that "Born to Sing" would not be screened actually until 1:40. The patron, nevertheless, inisted that he be refunded. Appearing in court to claim his price of admission, the solicitor for the defence asked the Bath resident whether he saw the printed notice: "The management reserves the right to alter or amend programmes without notice." The claimant replied, rather chagrined, "No." His Honor, the judge, ruled, therefore, that the claimant should have taken the alternate course of remaining in the cinema until the film would be exhibited on the next programme.