Showmen's Trade Review (Jan-Mar 1947)

34 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, February I, 1947 REGIONAL NEWSREEL (Continued from Page 33) was held through the courtesy of Manager Morris Keppner of the theatre. A testimonial dinner in honor of Representative-at-Large A. N. Sadlack of Rockville will be held on Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Princess Theatre, Rockville, sponsored by the V ernon Republican town committee. Byron McClellan has been installed as president of Local 439, IATSE, in New London. Other installed officers are : W. W. Lucas, vice-president; William F. Totten, recording secretary; William A. Reed, financial secretary and treasurer; Fred C. Nowell, business agent; John S. Kane, Salvatore Fatti, and Irwin Dawley, board of trustees. In cooperation with the March of Dimes drive, Manager Tom Grace, Eastwood, East Hartford, had a March of Dimes collection booth on the sidewalk in front of the Eastwood building. Matthew Graham, Sr., former house fireman at the M&P Allyn Theatre, Flartford, died last week. He was a retired Hartford fire department captain. Charles L. Repass, dean of Hartford theatremen, died at his home here Tuesday, Jan. 21. He was in the film industry for 37 years. Repass, who began his career with a theatre in Pittston, Pa., had been manager for 17 years of the Crown Theatre, Hartford, at the time of his death, Jan. 21. Burial was in Rocky Hill, Conn. The New Haven Warner Club has moved into new quarters in the Roger Sherman Theatre building. A large lounge and a game section are among features of the new layout, which was furnished and decorated under the supervision of the club's former president, Cy O'Toole, who is in charge of construction and maintenance for the Warner circuit in this territory. President of the club is Francis Flood. DES MOINES Leo Wolcott of Eldora, chairman of the board of the Allied-Independent Theatre Owners of Iowa and Nebraska, included a five-point program for members of the organization in a recent bulletin. The five points were 1 — Get to know more of your brother independent theatre owners. 2 — Do as the distributors do — exchange useful information with other exhibitors. 3 — Learn to analyze the deceiving arithmetic of sly sales policies. 4 — Do business only with those companies who are square with you. ' — Fight for your rights. Mr. Exhibitor: Investigate i Filmack's NEW Prevue Trailer Service before signing any trailer contracts. Write, wire or phone Filmack 1327 S. Wabash, Chicago 5, III. and receive full details. PRE-PROJECTION PEEK. Judging from the manner in which he is holding the print, Albert Lewin (right), producer, director and writer of "The Private Affairs of Bel Ami," is trying to get a diferent slant on the color sequences of the film which United Artists will release. Lewin is in New York for a month for conferences with UA officials, after which he will go to London and Paris for the same purpose. With him above is Robert Hilton of' UA. Gulistan Wilton Theatre Carpet JOE HORNSTEIN has it! A group of juveniles at Dubuque has started the ball rolling to solve many of the juvenile delinquency problems by forming an organization which will have a committee in each school and also a citywide coordinating committee composed of representatives from each school. At the organization meeting held at the Avon Theatre one of the problems discussed was how to combat vandalism in theatres. The youths were shown the film "Courtesy Comes to Town." E. W. Kerr of Council Bluffs, who operates the Rialto Theatre there and others in southwestern Iowa, has purchased a plot at Bedford for the construction of a new house. Gladys Erickson, 38, switchboard operator at the home office of Tri-States Theatre Corp., died following a short illness. Flora Ash, cashier at the Uptown at Gladbrook,. Ia., died after an illness of several months. Edgar Strause, a World War II veteran, is having trouble getting a building permit to construct a new theatre at Burlington. The city planning and zoning committee's recommendation for a permit was turned down by the city council because of a controversy over building the house in a residential area. The Pastime Theatre at Iowa City is undergoing a modernization program with the name of the house changed by the owner. Earnest Pannos, to the Capitol Theatre. Policy changes and redecoration will be included in the program. Ohio Tax Receipts Up Ohio's receipts from the state's three per cent admission tax in 1946 were about a half million dollars greater than for 1945, report of the State Treasurer, Don H. Ebright, discloses. The 1946 collections amounted to $3,050,842 as against $2,484,250 for 1945. Increased theatre patronage was also indicated by the report. A greater number of films were reviewed by the state censor board during the past year, as evidenced by collections of $259,111 for 1946 compared to $218,417 the previous year, a gain of $40,694. Mrs. Patricia Van Patter, daughter of Leo Wolcott, owner of the New Grand at Eldora, and her husband, Keith Van Patter, have joined the staff to learn the theatre business. Wolcott is chairman of the board for Allied Independent Theatre owners in Iowa and Nebraska. Geraldine Hamburg, daughter of Harry Hamburg, manager of the Des Moines exchange for Paramount, has returned to New York where she is doing extra parts in the Metropolitan Opera. COLUMBUS Ira Epstein, now in charge of the combined Indianapolis-Cincinnati territory for Warner Brothers, was in town in advance of the Palace's showing of "Humoresque." Dr. A. David Eckert, local physician, is the newest associate member of Tent No. 2, Variety Club of Columbus. Robert Gibbons, former relief manager of the Ohio and later assistant manager of the Capitol, New York, has been promoted to manager of Loew's Plaza, New York. Mrs. Lelia Stearn, operator of the Southern Theatre, turned over the theatre to Wing 28. Nightingale Cottage, for a Saturday morning Walt Disney cartoon program. Fred Oestreicher, Loew's publicity manager, is on the sick list. Eugene O'Neill's new play, "A Moon for the Misbegotten" will have its premiere at the Hartman Feb. 20 with James Dunn in the lead. Practice of dualing "blood-curdling murder mysteries" with films of special appeal to children, like Walt Disney's "Song of the South," has prompted a critical survey of Hilltop movie bills by the Hilltop Community Council Inc., composed of 27 West Side civic organizations in Columbus. Acting on complaints of women members, Charles P. Maus, president of the council, said Hilltop theatre owners would be interviewed in an attempt to correct the situation. DALLAS Membership, both active and associate of the local Variety Club of Texas, Tent 17, has been closed, according to a decision of the board of directors. However, members in good standing may sponsor an application of proposed new members, to be passed on by the membership committee, of which Phil Longdon is chairman. If passed it will be filed for the usual two-week approval period on the bulletin board before election of the prospective member. Ted Jones, division manager for Griffith theatres, has resigned to operate his own company under the name of Jones Enterprises, Inc., which has recently purchased an interest in Arizona Theatres, to be jointly operated by Jones and L. F. Long. Jones plans to move to Los Angeles from where he will direct his new enterprise. "The Outlaw" moves over to showings in Fort Worth after its engagement in neighborhood theatres here. Tom Luce has been named head booker at the Paramount exchange here and Sebe Miller has been promoted to a salesman's spot. William Bendix made a personal appearance here last week at the Veterans Hospital. Stan Willbur is a new salesman here for Universal-International.