Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1945)

22 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW May 5, 1945 1 i2 u DENVER Albert De Bernardi, Jr., drama and film editor of the Denver Post, died following a heart attack. John L. Steele, rancher, has entered the industry by buying the Cactus Theatre at Limon, Colo., from E. W. G. Weiselmann, who is going on a long vacation. W. H. Ostenberg is busy with architects and contractors in an effort to get action on the rebuilding of the Egyptian, Scottsblufif, Neb., which was destroyed by fire a few weeks ago. He expects to be building by June and to have the house in operation before the first of the year. Betty Long, Columbia booker, is on a vacation Fox Intermountain Theatres are redecorating and modernizing the Webber Theatre and after May 15 will put it on a day-and-date with downtown first-runs. It will play day-and-date with either the Denver and Esquire, or with the Paramount. This will give South Denver its initial first-run. Fred P. Brown, United Artists salesman, spent several days in Ft. Benning, Ga., in April to acquaint himself with the routine of the War Bond show which will tour Colorado the last of May and the first of June. Brown will be advance man and liaison for the Colorado War Finance Committee. The show will consist principally of showing how the Infantry takes Japanese pill boxes, using all the equipment of war, including flame-throwers, bazookas, machine guns, etc. Fox Intermountain Theatre notes . . . C. W. (Stub) O'Brien, city manager, Montrose, Colo., has joined the Army; Jack Henry, assistant manager of the Aladdin, Denver, takes the Montrose job; A. C. Stalcup moves from the city managership at North Platte, Neb., to a similar job at Sheridan, Wyo. ; Russell Berry moves from Rawlins, Wyo., to the North Platte job; Charles Wallace moves from house manager of the Paramount, Cheyenne, to city manager at Rawlins ; Margaret Lansing, Rawlins city manager, to Paramount, Cheyenne, as house manager. CHICAGO Four hour shows are on the way out in loop theatres. The last one played McVicker's Theatre with "Objective Burma" and "Guest in the House" on a twin bill with shorts which ran beyond that time last week. Managers here report that patrons tire at these long shows. Most loop first-run houses have single feature bills with shorts. It is a certainty from now on that these long shows will be confined to the neighborhood houses. The independent Jovan Monroe Theatre is showing "Princess and the Pirate," on a percentage deal. If successful there is no doubt that it will make similar deals for future bills. Republic's "Flame of Barbary Coast," premiered here at the Essaness Woods Theatre using newspaper, radio, billboards, street car cards, and for the first time, poster sheets on the L cars. The Chicago State Street Council comprising the big stores and the Balaban & Katz theatres on that street have completed plans for V-E Day celebration. Plans call for the closing of the stores if the signal is received during the business day of the victory. If received at night the stores will be closed all of the following business day. As yet what the loop theatres will REGIONAL NEWS INDEX Boston 32 Chicago 22 Cincinnati 30 Columbus 27 Cleveland 27 Denver 22 Des Moines 28 Detroit 30 Harrisburg 28 Indianapolis 22 Los Angeles 30 Memphis 22 Milwaukee 32 Montreal 31 New York 31 Omaha 28 Palm Springs 27 Philadelphia 30 Pittsburgh 31 Portland 28 St. Louis 31 Vancouver 28 Washington 27 do on that day is still under consideration. The office of Alex Manta and Jack Rose are now booking 30 theatres. PRC sales manager Morton Van Praag announced "Strange Illusions," a PRC film will have its premiere at the Oriental Theatre in the loop week of May 4. Emil Stern, Essaness partner, has returned following a visit with his son, Lt. Arthur, hospilized at Springfield, Mo., recovering from injuries received in oversea's duty. A large delegation from the industry attended the funeral of Julius Goodman of the Goodman Harrison Theatre Circuit who died last week. Interment was at Rosehill Cemetery. Sam Lamansky, business agent of the Film Employes B45 local, announced that Universal and United Artists exchanges started paying their employes the 10 per cent increase allowed by the War Labor Board in its recent decision. The payments are retroactive to Dec. 1, 1942. Ben Lourie, Columbia district manager, announced that 500 theatres in the Chicago area, including the Chicago, Apollo, RKO Grand, and Rialto in the loop, are showing Columbia films in honor of the Montague anniversary. June 6 is the tentative date set for the 7th War Loan free movie day here. Ben Eisenberg, Monogram manager, Abraham Gumbiner, Louis Harrison, Sam Jaffe and Jack Kirsch, theatre owners ; Jack Flynn, MGM Western manager ; Thomas Flannery and Manuel Smerling have accepted places on the Leo N. Levi Hospital Association of Hot Springs. The hospital and clinic is free, nonsectarian and is operated under the auspices of the B'nai B'rith. The Northern Trust Co., trustee, has sold the Monroe Theatre, formerly operated by the Trinz Circuit, to a synicate headed by James Jovan. Lt. Com. John J. Manley, formerly manager of the Chicago Arena Theatre has been placed on the inactive list and has accepted an executive position with the Wacker Corporation. Manley was a navigator aboard the aircraft carrier Wolverine. Lt. James Gibson, former assistant manager of the Elco Theatre, has been awarded the Air Medal in recognition of his work in bombing German plane factories. Donald Szobody, also a former employe of that theatre, was promoted to sergeant and has received the Air Medal for bravery in air combat. MEMPHIS Tom W. Young, distributor chairman of the War Activities Committee for the Memphis area, announced that his committee is hopeful that each of 433 theatres in the area will make some special effort during the War Bond drive May 14June 30. "I am appealing to every theatre owner or manager to have a bond show, or a day when admission will be by bond purchases, or a children's war stamp show. I feel this is a patriotic must for theatremen." Meanwhile, Arkansas has been divided into seven districts and a series of luncheon meetings are being held to work up interest in the bond campaign, exhibitors attending from a radius of 30 miles. Mrs. Edith Evans is chairman of the Newport area where the luncheon was held May 1. Miss Emma Cox of Osceola held her district meeting at Jonesboro, May 2. Paul Jones of Pine Bluf? conducted the May 3 meeting there and at Eldorado Remmel Young of Hope and Cecil Cupp of Arkadelphia were cochairmen at a meeting on May 4. M. J. Pruniski of North Little Rock will be chairman of the meeting May 8 at Little Rock, and Ollie Brownee of Fort Smith will hold his luncheon meeting on May 9. Harry Ruh of Berry has set his meeting for May 10 at Fayetteville. Phil Williams, advertising and publicity director of the March of Time, was a Memphis visitor last week. Jimmie Gillespie, 20th Century-Fox exploiteer, was in Memphis last week on "A Royal Scandal." Fox Memphis ofScials are holding their heads because of a tentative May 17 booking for Memphis, five days after Mae West is scheduled for a personal appearance in "Catherine Was Great." Clif Wilson, Monogram booker before induction into the Army recently, has been sent to Fort Sill, Okla., for his basic. Harry E. Ruh, Berryville, Ark., exhibitor, made one of his occasional trips to Memphis Film Row this last week. Other exhibitors seen along the Row were L. J. Lenhart of Kansas City, representing Commonwealth Circuit in Arkansas ; Lyle Richmond of Senath, Mo., John Mohrstadt of Hayti, Mo., Walter Lee of Heber Springs, Ark., John Shannon of Portageville, Mo. and Whythe Bedford of Hamilton, Ala. Ben Cammack of Dallas, district manager of RKO, visited the Memphis branch last week. Joe Simon, Warner house manager, has returned from New York. INDIANAPOLIS Local theatres are having trouble with juvenile vandalism. The Indiana has had to remove all furniture and paintings from the mezzanine for safe-keeping and avoid destruction. Youngsters have pulled down curtains and draperies and destroyed furnishings in rest rooms. Loew's had to remove writing from walls. Lipstick seems to be the favorite weapon, being used freely on wash room walls. One vandal was apprehended by police and taken to the juvenile aid division during the week after shooting the screen with paper wads and causing a commotion among patrons. The situation is far from being under control at present. Several hundred patrons of another community theatre were thrown into a panic last Monday night when two unidentified teen-age boys tossed torpedoes into the house. Seats at another neighborhood house were nicked with knives. Exhibitors report increasing damage to (Continued on Page 27)