Showmen's Trade Review (Jul-Sep 1943)

38, SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW July 24, 1943 REGIONAL NEWS FROM CORRESPONDENTS {C oiitinucd from Page 37) returned from their business session at the annual convention in New York City. Ike Libson, head of RKO Theatres in Cincinnati, who also accompanied the convention party, was joined by his daughter and son-inlaw, Mr. and Mrs. Julius J. Fischer, in a reunion with his son. Staff Sgt. Robert J. Libson, stationed at Ft. Monmouth, N. J. Wilbur Heatherington, local RIvO office manager, is planning his first vacation since 1941. Universal . reports receipt of a letter from former Clerk Dick Breslin, now stationed in New Guinea. Paramount staged the world premiere of "Henry Aldrich Swings It" at the Lyric Theatre, Versailles, Kentucky, which town is the home of Mimi Chandler, who plays an important part in the picture. Joe Oulahan, branch manager, and Bob Perry, who handled the campaign, were present. Happy Chandler, Mimi's father, former Governor of Kentucky and now U. S. Senator, was in attendance. Universal's Pam Deering and Ruth Rudin are on the vacation list. Peter Rosian, Universal's district manager, is leaving on a business trip to the home office. New York. Bill Poppe, former assistant cashier at 20th Century-Fox, is now stationed with U. S. Forces in England. CLEVELAND Bill Blair, former manager of the Hanna Theatre and more recently of the Rialto, has temporarily divorced himself from the theatre field to become personnel manager of one of Cleveland's larger war plants. Tom Mooney, son of Milton A. Mooney, president of Cooperative Theatres of Ohio, plans a double feature event in August at which time he will receive his pilot wings and soon after marry Miss Marguerite Plunkett of this city. Esty Schmertz Kaufman, daughter of I. J. Schmertz, 20th Century-Fox branch manager, has gone to Denver to join her dentist husband who has been assigned for duty at Fitzsimmons General Hospital. "Stage Door Canteen" is rolling up new records in this territory in both time and attendance, Morrison Orr, United Artists branch manager, reports. Three weeks at Loew's State in Cleveland was a 22-year all-time record. The picture also held three weeks in Akron, two weeks in Steubenville, two weeks in Youngstown and sixteen days in Mansfield. Nate Gerson, former manager of the Embassy Theatre, has joined the Vitagraph booking force. Tony Stern, who recently arrived here from Pittsburgh to succeed Nat Fellman as head booker for the Warner Theatre Department, is the proud father of a second daughter named Linda Joy. Sanford Leavitt, assistant to Washington Circuit General Manager M. B. Horwitz, reports in Washington on July 26th for training as assistant field supervisor of the American Red Cross. Leavitt is married and has a three-yearold daughter. Mrs. E. B. Orr, mother of Morrison Orr, United Artists branch manager, died last week of a heart ailment at her home in Piqua, Ohio. Loew's Ohio Theatre, closed since 1938 will have "For Whom the Bell Tolls" as its openingattraction soon after the first of September, J. R. Vogel, Loew official, stated during a visit to Cleveland last week. The ladies of the Variety Club, who have done a big job supplying food to the Stage Door Canteen and USO, met last Monday to plan an extension of their activities in both organizations. Nat Wolf, Warner zone manager, was in New York last week. National Screen Service is building an elaborate new exploitation front for the Strand Theatre, Youngstown. Smith & Beidler's Park Theatre, Toledo, is also being treated to a new NSS front. DALLAS The physical plant of the Dallas Little theatre has been sold to satisfy bond holders, and the house converted to the showing of Spanish language pictures. Opening will be Sept. 17, with the house called El Teatro Pan-Americano. Lou G. Bissinger, owner of the Queen, is on his annual vacation to the Pacific Coast, where he has relatives, including grand-children. Will Dorbandt, Athens, was in Dallas past week with his son, 17, whom he is placing in S.M.U. Claude C. Ezell has returned from a trip through the Southeast where he was arranging showing for "Ravaged Earth." Picture has been doing big business in circuit houses in Texas. Forest White, operator. Maple, has purchased a cafe in the same building, made an opening into the auditorium, and will sell candy, soft drinks, sandwiches. P. G. Cameron announces WPB clearance for the rebuilding of his fire-destroyed Grove. Work is dependent upon availability of materials and labor. Audry Cox, Lamesa, will remodel a house as soon as materials, labor, and house equipment can be had. Grand Prairie was a somnolent little town basking in the Texas sun between Dallas and Forth Worth, but even at that it had two theatres. Came the North American Aircraft plant with thousands of workers. Then two more houses went in. The Wings, the latest addition NEW SEASON THEIR SUBJECT. Close-ups of leaders who outlined RKO Radio product plans and sales policies for the new season at rhe company's convention in New York last week are shown above. Top: Ned E. Depinet, president of RKO Radio Pictures, at the speaker's stand. Lower photo: N. Peter Rathvon, president of Radio-Keith -Orpheum, and Floyd B. Odium, chairman nf the hoard of RKO. represents about a $40,000.00 mvestment. While the Wings was building, the Walker burned. It is nearly re-built. This gives the town four theatres with three exhibitors and the competition is fierce for films. Also, the volume of business is not up to expectations. Now comes polio to do a knockout to the box-offices, and on top of that North American changes payday from Friday to Monday ! Shades of Texas Blue Laws — these Grand Prairie exhibitors were hailed before the police court for operating on Sunday. Fines were $50.00, with appeal to the County Court. Prosecutions for Sunday showings passed out of vogue ten years ago. Raymond Cornes, Cornes theatre, Farmersville, has a woman employe with a young child. The employe will not allow the child to attend the shows while the polio scare is on. This incident was Cornes' first realization of where his trade had gone. Adults stayed away, too. DENVER The Orpheum packed them in all week with George White's Scandals on the stage and "Forever and a Day." "Stage Door Canteen" is still strong^ in a carryover week at the Aladdin. "Dixie" was strong enough in its third week at the Denham to go into a fourth week. Frank Sheffield, Republic salesman, has joined the merchant marine and will report for duty this weekend. Jimmie Ecker, booker, will take over the salesman end and Doris Goodson, his secretary, will do the booking. Ecker and Gene Gerbase, manager, go to Los Angeles for a week to attend a Republic sales meeting. ^ The Tellride Mines, Inc., has opened the Tellride theatre, with Reuben Stroh as manager. Ross Bluck is helping out at the PRC exchange a few hours daily, but says it will be two months before he will go back to work regularly. He is looking fine. Barney Shooker, Columbia salesman, is in St. Joseph hospital, Deadwood, S. D., and expects to be there for a couple of weeks before returning to Denver. A'Ir. and Mrs. Henry Friedel have returned from a three weeks trip east, combining business with vacation. He is Metro exchange manager. E. J. Blaylock, who now operates the Pueblo, Ruidoso, N. M., has bought the Tiguex theatre at Bernalillo, N. M., from Dennis Baca. DES MOINES The Three F Theatre Corp. of St. Louis park, Minn., has filed articles of incorporation with the Iowa secretary of state's office, which is expected to result in sale of a group of Iowa theatres to the Harold D. Field interests. The papers list 5000 shares of non par value stock. Listed as officers were Harold D. Field of St. Paul, Minn., as president ; Herman Fields of Clarinda, la., as vice-president; and Gertrude Framhein of St. Louis Park, Minn., secretarytreasurer. Harold Field is also the head of the Pioneer theatre circuit. It has been reported the Field interests were planning to purchase at least three theatres in Iowa and it is believed the new corporation was set up for the operation of the newly-acquired houses. Leo Wolcott of Eldora, prexy of the AlliedIndependent Theatre Owners of Iowa-Nebraska, has entered the Masters Golf Tournament at Ames, the toughest golf tournament in the state. Wolcott is one of the outstanding golfers in the state. The Ren Theatre at Renwick, Iowa, has been purchased by Harlev H. Kuhbus. The theatre formerly was owned by V. E. Gorhani. Marjorie Ulm, former file clerk at Warner Brothers exchange in Des Moines and one of the first girls in film row to put on the Marine uniform, stopped in to visit her friends while en route to her home at Glenwood. She is now a corporal and stationed in Washington, D. C.