Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, October 15, 1949 E-13 Every Theatre Needs the Best In Projection and Sound (Continued from Page E-5) W. E. Sound Activities Turned Over to Altec Users of Western Electric Company loudspeakers, microphones and disc reproducing equipment henceforward can obtain maintenance parts and service through Altec Lansing Corporation, and through Graybar Electric Company, which will act as distributor for Altec in sales and service, as formerly for W. E. Western Electric Vice President F. R. Lack announces that his company has withdrawn entirely from commercial activities in those fields; and has concluded an agreement with Altec Lansing as of October 1st for the protection of present and future users of equipment of W. E. design. Commenting on the announcement, Altec President G. L. Carrington says: "This development will enable both Altec Service and Altec Lansing to round out and expand their interacting activities, not only in the motion picture field but in the audio industry generally. The addition of these splendid Western Electric products to our present line of sound apparatus enables Altec to supply all branches of the audio industry with their essential technical equipment." Industrial Product Short Good Show for Workers Who Make It Shorts featuring industrial products can be good entertainment in communities where such products are made. Movies Are Adventure, one of a series of public relations shorts put out by the motion picture industry, ran for a full week at the Orpheum Theatre in Gardner, Mass., instead of the three days originally planned. The "magic theatre chair" referred to throughout the picture was made by the Heywood-Wakefield Company which has its headquarters in Gardner. Manager Dana Kennon exploited the short (which ran with Gome To The Stable) by featuring it in his local newspaper advertising and through the editorial columns under the heading, "Hollywood Salutes Heywood-Wakefield." The Heywood-Wakefield house organ, Shop News, ran an editorial article in the issue that went on the streets the day before the short opened. Added Drive-In Revenue from Children's Miniature Trains Miniature trains, some of them with capacities of as many as 48 paying customers per ride, are now offered to driveins in a variety of types by Miniature Train and Railroad Company. Track gauges are 12, 14, 15, and 16 inches, according to the type of train ordered and the choice of the user. Designs are ultramodern; one locomotive is an exact scale model of one of the latest G. E. diesel locos; all locom.otives and coaches are of the streamliner type. Drive is by gasoline motors through fluid clutches and some models have air brakes on every wheel, making for faster and smoother starting and stopping and therefore more rides per hour. Track comes in 10-foot straight sections and in curved sections, allowing ample latitude in laying out the •^oute of the "railroad." design. Unhandy, small, hard to clean, cluttered-up, flimsy units ai'e not even considered. We do not believe in cheap bargains of assembled units of various makes that cannot be properly matched without use of shims, etc. Span-of-U se Principle "We have an expected-span-of-use for each item. It is figured on hours of operation, not on so many years. Our theatres are considered as falling into three classes: first run, grind houses and night houses. Mechanisms are all the same type, so they can be interchanged. After one-half its useful life on the first run, a mechanism is thoroughly reconditioned and sent either to a grind house or a night house. This keeps the first run theatres in tip-top shape, and the grind houses and night houses receive frequent change of mechanisms, so that none operates with obsolete models. As older equipment nears the end of its useful life, it is traded in. "Sound is bought as a unit. We do not shift this equipment to other theatres, but replace it after its expected span of use. "Screens are bought according to situation— some cheap, some expensive. Our greatest problem is puncture. Usually the screen is damaged before its span-of-use is reached." Eastman Kodak Co. to Build 600-Seat, $200,000 Theatre Eastman Kodak Company will build a 600-seat, $200,000 theatre at Rochester, New York, adjoining George Eastman House. Its facade will match the Georgian architecture of the photographic center. Seating will be of the stadium type. The theatre will be used for showing motion pictures, teaching special phases of photography, and for lectures. -PM SCREEtlS EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES FOR EVERY THEATRE NEED N ATIO N AL j THEATRE SUPPLY J NOW sPEOAUzmcy IN REFRESHMENT SERVICE FOR DRIVE-IN THEATRESy SPORTSERVICE Corp. jacoss bros. 703 MAIH ST. • BUFFALO, N. Y. • WA. 2506 For Every Siie Thaatn 9-11 WEST PARK ST. NEWARK 2, N. J.