Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1945)

32 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW January 20, 1945 REGIONAL Continued executive board be restrained from exercising any of their powers or duties as of^cers except by special permission of the court. Under the decree the court ordered the union to provide for a seniority system by amending the constitution under which members would be entitled to positions newly opened or vacated on basis of length of membership. The court ordered that contracts between members and exhibitors be reduced to writing, giving wages, hours and working conditions. It also was alleged in the petition that the treasurer collected sums in excess of $22.50 quarterly from applications of men whose $500 initiation fees were on deposit. Complainants allege the treasurer made these excess collections with the knowledge and approval of the officers and executive board of the union. The U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals has under advisement the petition of Kaufman for a stay of its mandate denying his a;)peal. Adam A. .Adams, owner of the Paramount and Adams theatres, is leaving Feb. 3 for a threeweek vacation at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sydney Franklin, manager of the Little Theatre, reported that "The Song of Bernadette" broke all house records for the 13 years he has been operating the theatre. The March of Dimes started last week, seven days ahead of time, in the Adams and Paramount, coinciding with the first Newark showing of "Frenchman's Creek" at the Paramount, and the personal appearance of Patsy Kelly, film comedienne, at the Adams. Arnold Leaparo is new manager of the Broad. He comes to Newark from the Earle Theatre, Long Island City. The many North Jersey friends of Sam Silver, former manager of the Broad, radio "gag" writer and columnist for the Rutherford Republican, will be glad to know he is now manager of Warners' Harris, Donora, Pa. Arthur Stevens, former chief of service. Paramount, home from overseas on furlough, dropped in to visit his friends at the theatre. Harry H. Weiss, manager of RKO Proctor's, induced Mayor Vincent J. Alurphy to issue a public proclamation setting aside last Saturday as "Winged Victory Day." Mayor Murphy urged war workers to greater efforts. Proceeds of the showing of the film, made by the Army Air Forces, are to be given to the Army Emergency Relief. Jay Wren, publicist for the Adams and Paramount, has announced a radio show, featuring local talent and professionals from the stage of the Paramount Feb. 1. All ushers at the Paramount were given new and colorful uniforms this week. Publicist Wren explained the uniforms were ordered last summer before the textile situation became acute. Daughter of theatre manager Lionel Stapleton of Arlington, N. J., cherry-blonde Vivian Blaine, 20th Century-Fox star, will shortly marry her manager, Manuel George Frank, according to word received here. The bride-to-be (perhaps a bride by the time this gets into print) will start work soon in 20th-Fox's "State Fair." VANCOUVER The National War Labor Board reversed the Alberta W ar Board's order directing payments of double time to projectionists employed by Famous Players in Calgary for work performed on statutory holidays. The overtime provision had been introduced on an application to the board by the Projectionists Union, AFL. The National Board upheld the circuit's contention that work on statutory holidays had been an accepted condition of employment for some years standing. Projectionists' Local 348 in Vancouver also lost its case against Famous Players under similar conditions. With no sign of a settlement of the street railway strike, five days in duration as the weekend approached, a drop of approximately 35 per cent in business in downtown theatres was registered, although suburban theatres were the beneficiaries through the lack of transportation. Empire-Universal in Canada plans to establish a separate sales organization in the Dominion to be known as Eagle-Lion Distributors to facilitate the distribution of British pictures. French film officials are eyeing" the Canadian field, especially Quebec, for the postwar period, it has been reported by a National Film Board member who recently returned from Europe. Hitherto French product did not get much in the way of distribution in the Dominion. Banning of horror programs from schedules of private radio stations was under discussion at meetings of heads of various divisions, and the board of governors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. While censor boards have taken no exception to horror films, there seems to be a policy by some theatres to bypass them. Babe Covel, former manager for Warner Bros, here before taking over the Montreal office, has been appointed district manager for Trinidad by Wolfe Cohen, his former chief in Canada. He will make his headquarters in Port of Spain. Maj. Russell Robson, after four years' service with the armed forces, returned to civilian life with the management of his theatre at Vuccan, Alberta. Bill Jones, RKO manager here, and Reggie Dodderich, Calgary manager, left for Portland to attend the Ned Depinet drive meeting headed by Bob Folliard, drive captain. Upon their arrival they learned that Folliard and Harry Gittelson were snow-bound in Montana. Herb Alclntyre to:^k over the helm in their absence for the Seattle, Portland and Canadian representation. Danny Boyle, manager of the Empress Theatre, MacLeod, who has been staging shows at the near-by Air Force camps, has removed his equipment following the order for discontinuation under the British Empire training plan. John T. Fiddes, 65, pioneer Canadian showman, and manager of several Western Canada theatres, died in Winnipeg last week. Ray Tarling, formerly with Empire-Universal, returned here after service with the RCAF. He was imbedded in a hospital for over one year as a result of injuries sustained in a bombercrash over England. He anticipates being discharged from military duties shortly. Tarling also revealed that Frank Vaughn, former manager here for Empire-Universal, and also a former member of the RCAF, has returned to Toronto and is with E-U there. Bill Grant with Regal Films here before taking over the booker's desk at Calgary has resigned and returned to Vancouver. Leo Devaney, RKO Canadian general manager, was a visitor here last week, conferring with circuit and theatre heads Gordon Snyder has been demobilized from the RCAF after a long period of service, and is back on his old job at the Odeon head office. CHICAGO The Chicago Variety's Club's new officers and crew were installed Friday (19) at a ceremony for members only at the Blackstone Hotel's grand ball room. The 1945 slate installed : Jack Kirsch, chief barker ; Jack Rose, first assistant ; Edward Brunell, second assistant ; John Balaban, dough guy ; Irving Mack, property master ; Johnny Jones, Hal Halperin, William Baker, William (Doc) Bamford, Ben Elsenberg, Tom Flannery, ' Lou Harrison are the canvas-men. Bob Hope in "The Princess and the Pirate," at the Essaness Woods Theatre now in its eig'hth week, is on the way to eclipse Loop records. Heavy and unique advertising is helping to boost the daily attendance. Midwest Power Conference has been set for .April 9-10 at the Palmer House. A feature will be the sessions on heating and air conditioning. Theatre owners here will cooperate with the Junior Association of Commerce executives to help reduce juvenile delinquency by establishment of recreation centers throughout the city. B and K Northside managers and assistants attended a meeting at the Granda Theatre last week where Walter Immerman general manager, and Dave Balaban, district supervisor, spoke on changing theatre conditions and house upkeep. A luncheon followed. Edward Blackman, former partner of Leo Spitz, has joined Randolph Bohrer and Maurice M. Loman in legal partnership. They will specialize , in theatrical litigation. Two far-flung outposts of the industry have recently acquired new DeVry 35'-mm. projectors. Norman Olsen of the export department announced the installation of the company's projectors in a new theatre at Tananarive, Madagascar, and in the Lyric at Kodiak, Alaska. Ned Depinet drive in the RKO exchange here got under way (19) with the premiere of "Tall in the Saddle" at the Palace Theatre. Bob Hickey, RKO publicity director, is in Minneapolis completing plans for the premiere in that area. Charles Silip has organized Theatres Realty Corp., to buy theatre properties, with the first deal reported covering the Anetta Theatre, Cicero. The house was in the Bartelstein chain. Abrams and Abrams handled the legal details for Theatres Realty Corp. Ann Hunter has resigned from B and K Television station news department and will go overseas as a war correspondent. John Sokey, for several years city salesman for Warners, has been promoted to the management of the Oklahoma City branch. E. L. Goldberg, salesman for Republic, re(C on tinned on Page 34) MEDALS FOR SHOWMEN. At the luncheon given In Hollywood Jan. 11 by the California Theatre Council, silver medals were awarded to West Coast exhibitors for their participation in the 6th War , Loan, with Ted Gamble, national director of the War Finance Division of the Treasury Department, distributing the medals. In photo above Gamble presents the awards to Rodney A. Pantages, of the Hollywood Pantages; Louis J. Halper, Warner Bros., and Marco Wolff, Paramount theatres.