Showmen's Trade Review (1945)

14 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW November 10. 1945 Si Fabian Predicts Complete Victory Bond Drive Success Presidential Invitation President Truman has invited approximately 90 leaders of the industry to a meeting at the White House December 4 to give the Presidential blessing to the industry's 1946 March of Dimes drive. Among those invited are Nicholas M. Schenck, Barney Balaban, Joseph Bernhard, Harry Brandt, Oscar A. Doob, Gus Eyssell, S. H. Fabian, Harry Kalmine, Malcolm Kingsberg, Charles C. Moskowitz, Herman Robbins, Spyros Skouras, Joseph R. Vogel, Richard Walsh, Ernest Emerling, Edward C. Dowden, Tom Connors, Leonard Goldenson, Walter Vincent and Martin Quigley. Film state chairmen from 48 states are also invited. The 1945 drive collected $5,978,939 for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Says Public Resents Higher Movie Prices The New York public is showing increasing resentment at the high cost of attending movies at the Broadway first-runs, according to Bosley Crowther, motion picture editor of the New York Times, whose Sunday column on October 28 commenting on the current admission scales at the big picture houses brought a fan mail reaction which Crowther declares is 50 per cent greater in volume than average for a controversial subject for his department of the paper. The follow-up to Crowther's October 28th column appeared last week in the form of about 16 inches of space devoted to letters applauding him for his criticism of the maintained high scales at the Broadway theatres. Crowther, who says he has been' checking on reactions to the price scales, regards the heavy response to his recent column as significant, because a year and a half ago he had written a similar story which, he said, had drawn less than half the amount of mail that followed his latest story on the subject. From the tone of the letters, he believes that people today are watching prices more closely and are rising in protest against a policy which they regard as having wiped out the "popular price" form of entertainment long offered by the movies. Complaints have grown in volume during the past six months, Crowther finds. None of the complaining parties have attempted to find any excuse for high prices, such as increased production costs and the general wage scale rises in the industry necessitating top prices at the box-office. All the public cares about is that it is being asked $1 and more for Broadway theatres, and it feels this is too high. Typical indignant letters come from patrons who said they used to go to films regularly once or twice weekly and now can afford to go only once a month, and are losing the film-going' habit, preferring to remain at home and listen to the radio. FPC's Stein Is Elected the New President of the Ontario MPTA Morris Stein, Famous Players Canadian's eastern division manager, has been elected new president of the Motion Picture Theatre's Association of Ontario, replacing N. A. Taylor of 20th Century Theatres who held office for two years. Joseph Garbarino was elected vice-president ; Ralph Dale, secretary and J. L. Hunter, Hamilton theatre owner, treasurer. The directors adopted a resolution protesting against the continuance of the wartime 20 per cent amusement tax and registered complaints with film exchanges regarding the increase in 16-mm. competition for regular theatres. A prediction of complete success up to the standard of previous bond drives, has come from the office of Si Fabian, national chairman of the industry's Victory Loan campaign, as the industry's participation in the drive swung into its second week. Field reports indicate that all divisions of the industry are moving ahead on schedule. Reporting on Bond Premieres and Free Movie Days, Charles M. Reagan, distributor chairman, reported only a few communities lagging with indications being that the 4800 premieres of the Seventh Drive will be topped, since almost that number are already pledged. Free Movie Days are expected to exceed the last campaign. Reports from the field show that Harry Arthur's central division has set a record number of Victory Shows in Eastern Missouri and that the Don McNeill "Breakfast Club" broadcast in Omaha had to give two performances, both sell-outs at the Auditorium, and Kansas City has been given an impetus by a Victory Queen Contest in 30 situations. Introduced ongmally by the west coast region, this contest A manual of suggestions to make Thanksgiving Day "the biggest bond day in history" has been prepared by Oscar Doob, Victory Loan campaign director, and is now being distributed to theatres throughout the country. The nine-page bond-selling aid is chockful of all sorts of ideas to help theatremen increase their bond sales on this day to record-breaking proportions. has proven such a result-getter that the idea is being used in more than 30 states A $25 bond purchase is necessary to cast a vote and $5000 in bonds is necessary to qualify a girl as a contestant. Easing of newspaper space restrictions have given the contest much free publicity with Seattle, Washington, Oregon, San Francisco and Utah especially plugging the idea. Iowat' sales are being stimulated with a giveaway of a new Ford car and the majority of Oklahoma theatremen are staging special events in cooperation with the War Finance Committees. The appearance of General Jonathan M. Wainwright in Kansas City also aided that city's participation" with 250 Free Movie Days, 205 Bond Premieres and 59 Kiddie Shows set. State Exhibitor Chairman John Q. Adams of Texas reports more than 670 Free Movie Days scheduled, together with several hundred Bond Premieres and Kiddie Shows. Linda Darnell has made several personal appearances in Dallas in connection with the drive. The Atlanta area has over 400 Free Movie Days set and Bond Premieres and Kiddie Shows exceed 220. The Hollywood studio committee, Harry Ginsberg, chairman, has 400 volunteer bond salesmen selling to studio workers. Abe Schneider, chairman of the corporate purchases, reports Chick' Lewis Coastbound 'Chick" Lewis, campaign coordinator for the industry's Victory Loan Drive and owner and publisher of Showmen's Trade Review, will leave for the coast this Sunday to confer with the Hollywood Victory Loan Committee in connection with coast radio shows and other activities of the campaign. Lewis, who will make his headquarters at the Ambassador Hotel, will remain in Hollywood for 10 days coordinating the east and west coast committees. that the response was well up to expectations. i^ew Orleans has almost 200 Free Movie Days, Victory Shows and Kiddie Matinees on its books and Maurice F. Barr, Louisiana coordinator, expects a new high in exhibitor participation. Initial area bond premieres have been set for the Paramount, Miami, and the Lincoln, Miami Beach, for November 14, with both including films and stage shows. A gate of $25 million is anticipated from two exhibitions including a football game between two Army Air Force teams and a rodeo by the Texas Prison Systems in Houston, Texas. The Buffalo, Great Lakes, Hippodrome, Lafayette and 20th Century will stage a Victory Show on December 3 in Buffalo, N. Y., with each theatre presenting a new film. '[)' Urges Veterans Enter Exhibition Returned war veterans in the Midwest and Southwest are being urged to enter the exhibition field by Universal Film Exchanges which has placed ads from the company's Dallas branch in papers in Dallas, Kansas City, San Antonio and Wichita. " Display advertisements are appearing in smaller town publications. Universale ads list possible sites for new theatres and offer to make available 100 features, short subjects, newsreel and serials to round out a program. Universal's ads declare in part, "It is likely that you can acquire some existing property than can be converted into a theatre. Sometimes storerooms, auditoriums, halls and even houses have been converted into mation picture theatres. On the other hand you may be in the position to build a theatre. Universal Film Exchanges is ready to talk to you about this. This is an unusual opportunity for war veterans to go into business for themselves." The classified ad, which appeared in the Dallas Morning News, listed towns where theatre opportunities existed. Among the cities where theatre operations are controlled by the R. E. Griffith circuits (Texas and New Mexico), the Long-Griffith interests (Arizona) and H. J. Griffith (Missouri and Kansas) are Ajo, Safford, Superior, Coolidge and Monmouth, all in Arizona ; Chillicothe, Marceline and Slater, in Missouri ; Belton, Brady, Clarkesville, Georgetown, Pecos and Independence, in Texas ; Fredonia, Independence, Osawatomie, Paola and Hiawatha, in Kansas ; and Carlsbad, Hobbs and Portales, in New Mexico. Michigan Allied Re-Elects Ray Branch President for 13th Time Allied Theatres of Michigan re-elected Ray Branch as its president for the 13th successive time at the organization's annual meeting in Detroit this week. Cass R. Beenhler of Charlotte was elected vice-president, succeeding W. James Olson of Clare, and Edgar E. Kirchner and Fred E. Pennell of Detroit were reelected secretary-treasurer and general manager respectively. A total of 300 theatres were represented at the meeting which saw Joseph R. Denniston. Henry Carley, and Glenn Wallace elected new directors. Old directors re-elected are William A. Cassidy, Glenn A. Cross, Thomas H. Ealand, Harry Hobolth, Fred E. Pennell, William Schulte, P. C. Schram, Jacob C. Stocker ar.d Joseph P. Uvick.