Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1943)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW October 23, 1943 IN SPOTLIGHT AT PREMIERE. Among the notables who attended the premiere in New York last week of "Behind the Rising Sun" were the RKO personages above. Left to right: S. Barret McCormick, Major L. E. Thompson, Edward L. Alperson, Margo, Rcbert S. Wolff, Ned E. Depinet. REGIONAL — Continued Circuit, Indianapolis and Libson-White Circuit, Cincinnati. Willis Vance, president of Exhibitors Forum, and Wes Huss, Jr., president of Associated Theatres, announced last Friday that all arrangements had been made for the school children's scrap iron matinee Friday, October 29. Members of the Motion Picture Operators' Union will donate their services. CLEVELAND Howard Burkhardt, manager of Loew's State Theatre, led all Loew theatres throughout the country in the sale of war bonds during the September Bond Drive. His total for the four weeks was $3,101,425. In addition, during this period, the State Theatre sold $6,386.45 worth of war savings stamps. It was done via rallies and a bond booth in the Public Square, in addition to personal solicitation and sales over the theatre bond counter. Morrison Orr, United Artists branch manager, is back from a long week-end in New York where he went on a combined business and pleasure trip. Louis E. Mayer, manager of the RKO Palace Theatre, reports that he is being swamped with applicants for participation in his forthcoming Frank Sinatra Singing Contest being staged in cooperation with The Press. Contestants will vie five successive nights on the Palace stage for the honor of being selected as Cleveland's Frank Sinatra. Bob Hope made good in his own home town. "Let's Face It," booked into Loew's State Theatre for one week, opened to the best business in a year and was held a second week. Sam Galanty, Columbia district manager, paid local Branch Manager Lester Zucker a visit last week. Another prominent visitor was Sam Seplowin, Republic central division manager. Nat Wolf, Warner zone manager, has been named head of the motion picture division for the War Chest Drive, now starting. His aides are John Kalafat and Jack Shulman, prominent independent theatre owners. Nat Charnas, who owns a string of Toledo theatres, was in town on his monthly booking visit. Lt. Don Smith, son of Lemotto Smith, owner of theatres in Coshocton, Warren and in Huntington, W. Va., is reported to be a prisoner of the Japanese. Lt. Smith was a pilot of a Libeator bomber attached to the 14th Army Air Force in China under Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault. He has been in the service more than two years and has been overseas since last February. Film men home on furlough last week included Jerry Whitesell, former MGM booker and now petty officer 3d class in the U. S. Navy stationed at a California base. Hank Howard, head of the local RKO Radio exploitation department, has said "I do" to his draft board, and changes to khaki this week. Allan F. Cummings, head of MGM exchange operations, was here on a routine visit. And the Sam Schultzes — he is local Monogram branch manager — celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary last Thursday. Ray Wallace's Strand, Morrison, and Columbia theatres in Alliance are having their faces lifted. National Screen Service is doing the rejuvenating. J. R. Cummings, Columbia auditor, is in town. Friends of Bob Schwartz of the Film Bldg. Cigar Store gave him a farewell party last Thursday, prior to his leaving for the Army. Henry Greenberger, head of Community Circuit, and Mrs. Greenberger are in the west visiting the camps where their son and son-in-law are now stationed. Edna Charns of the Warner theatre depart ment will lead the Warner Club through its year's activity, having just been named president. Other officers were elected as follows : Jane Meisel, chairman of entertainment ; Evelyn Friedl, chairman in charge of welfare ; "Jerry" Kepner, secretary; Marjorie McCord, treasurer and head of the membership committee ; and Lillian Fisher, chairman of the committee in charge of contributions and loans. The board of governors has been increased by Bert Stearn, Vitagraph branch manager; Arthur Engelbert, Vitagraph cashier, and Eddie Miller, manager of Warners' Hippodrome. DALLAS Louis Charninshy, Rialto-Capitol manager, has returned from Chicago where he went as a delegate on a community welfare meeting. While in Chicago he sold four turtles for the Variety Turtle Derby to be held in Dallas on October 23. Joy Houck, in his Joy theatres, observes a booking policy different from any over practiced before. In opening the Joy in Dallas, he booked for his Saturday midnight show PRC's "Escort Girl," and used the same subject for six successive Saturdays. This followed a use of the same subject for 24 successive Saturday midnight shows in Houston in his Joy there. Theory is that this duplicate use attracts a different patronage each week and builds up the general patronage for the house. J. M. (Soda) Reynolds, office manager for Texas Allied, is in school training for work at North American Aviation plant at Grand Prairie. Lonnie Legg, Denison exhibitor, works at the cheese plant of the Kraft Co. in Denison. It is his war industry employment. He continues to look after his theatre. Doc Allen, assistant manager. National Screen Service, says the notice of the shortage of shipping tins which appeared in last week's issue of STR has been eiTective in getting returns of many tins. Liberty Film Lines, according to Joe Jack, is losing its best men in the father draft and the WMC critical labor area designation for Dallas. John Franconi, Monogram, has been on his regular monthly visit to the Monogram K. C. exchange. E. B. Coleman, MGM exploiteer, was confined to a hospital for four days with a touch of la grippe. Booking along the Row : W. W. Rucker, Round Rock ; Hans Smith, Irving ; Jack Lilly, Commerce ; H. R. Bisby, Garland. Police stopped a show at the Fox, downtown late run, showing "Human Wreckage" and a nude reel. House was closed for several hours while a screening was held for the officers. Front posters were confiscated. After some deletions and withdrawal of the nude reel, show was allowed to go on. DENVER Jimmy Micheletti, Metro salesman, is in the Army. M. E. (Bud) Austin, office manager and booker Warner Bros, exchange, has joined the Coast Guard. Mike Lee, recent Columbia salesman, is now selling for Monogram. He is succeeded at Columbia by A. L. (Buss) Campbell, recently at Salt Lake City. Lon T. Fidler, Monogram franchise holder, is in Los Angeles for a stockholders' meeting of Monogram. King Trimble, Universal exchange manager, has returned to his old job as salesman in San Francisco, and is succeeded by Mayer Monsky, recently salesman for the company out of Des Moines. Bob Ryan has resigned as salesman for Universal and has been succeeded by Leo Chapman of Denver, a newcomer to the business. P'rances Sekulich, former contract clerk, Universal, is now booker. Tony Archer, Joe Dekker, and Claude Graves recently brought back two elk and four deer, while George Nescher bagged a buck and a doe. Others are withholding information as to their luck. Woody Williams has bought the Victory, Eads, Colo., from Mrs. Barbara Aldrich. C. G. Dillon, theatre operator, is in a Denver hospital having some work done on a shoulder. Civic Theatres have moved their headquarters to Film Row at 2144 Champa. DES MOINES A second school for training women theatre managers will be started some time in November by Tri-States Theatre Corp., with the six graduating in the first class assigned as assistant managers in the circuit. The second school will be larger than the first one, and candidates will be selected from applicants answering advertisements in middlewest city newspapers. G. Ralph Branton, general manager of Tri-States, will be in charge of the school. A patron of the Des Moines Theatre, Mrs. Susie D. Woodward of Des Moines, filed a suit in Polk County District Court against TriStates Theatres, asking for $25,000 personal injury damages as a result of a fall in the theatre Nov. 11, 1941. She claims she caught her foot in a loose carpet at the head of the balcony stairs and fell to the bottom, suffering a broken arm