Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1949)

'BATTLEGROUND' BOWS ON WEST COAST The military mingled with formal dress at the west coast premiere of MGM's "Battleground" held on Dec. 1 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. A full scale military dress parade, the first on Hollywood Boulevard since the end of World War II, was headed by the 80-man Sixth Army Band (top left) from the Presidio, San Francisco. Director William A. Wellman, Brig. Gen. Gerald J. Higgins, second in command to General A. C. McAuliffe at Bastogne, and Dore Schary, MGM vice-president in charge of production (upper right) were on hand for the special occasion, as were also Robert Pirosh, author and associate producer of "Battleground" (bottom left, introduced by Paula Stone) and Van Johnson, George Montgomery, Dinah Shore (Mrs. Montgomery), Mrs. Cooper and Gary Cooper (lower right). Film opens in Cleveland Dec. 25, and in St. Louis (3 theatres) Dec. 31. mm f OR TBE sHOwnANsaip mul Through a national tieup between 20th Century-Fox and the Fred Astaire Dance Studios in connection with "Dancing in the Dark," nearly 500,000 moviegoers in key cities will receive free dancing lessons. The promotion provides that on the opening day of the film in every city where the Astaire salons are located, a free $5 guest dance certificate will be given to every patron entering the theatre. Cities included in the tieup are Atlanta, Baltimore, Battle Creek, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Davenport, Dayton, Detroit, Gary, Green Bay, Hammond, Houston, Jackson, Mich., Joliet, Kalamazoo, Macon, Milwaukee, New York, Peoria, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, Racine, San Antonio, San Francisco, Springfield, St. Louis and Wilkes-Barre. In addition, the dance studio will provide from three to six couples from its teaching staff to perform on the stages of the theatres playing the picture and introduce the new "Dancing in the Dark" step. * * * Two book editions of "The Heiress," the long-run Broadway play which became a Paramount picture, and a special motion picture edition of Henry James' classic, "Washington Square," on which the play and picture are based, have just been published. The special movie edition of "Washington Square," priced at one dollar, is published by the United Book Guild. The jacket carries a portrait of Olivia de Havilland, star of "The Heiress," with full credits to the picture on the reverse side of the cover. The jacket carries the title, "The Heiress," with a note stating that the original name of the James classic is "Washington Square." More than 100,000 copies of this book have been prepared for national distribution and will be made available to book dealers in each situation where the film is exhibited. Promotion material aiding in the sale of the book and the picture will also be available through the United Book Guild. The two editions of the play are a 25-cent Pocketbook edition published by Bantam, and another by the Dramatists Play Service of New York. SANTA WAS THERE. When Manager Lester Pollock of Loew's Theatre, Rochester, held his recent annual Thanksgiving Cartoon Show, Santa Claus was there to award prizes (donated by Unit Parts Corp.) to the lucky youngsters. Ads, trailer, pole cards and lobby display announcing the show were started two weeks in advance. Result: capacity audience. Above, Pollock assists Santa in presenting bicycle to little boy. SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW, December 10, 1949 Use Talent Search To Build Business Five theatres of the Kansas City division of the Commonwealth Circuit are out to drum up some business and counteract the traditional slack period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and their weapon is live talent. Under direction of Eddie Mansfield, city manager, the Summit, Home, Tenth Street, Midway and Ashland theatres have begun a talent contest which will run through Dec. 16. Weekly talent nights are being held in each of the Summit, Midway, Home and Tenth Street theatres, and a grand finale will be held on the December date at the Ashland. The Ashland neighborhood house on the East side, is the largest of the five and has full stage equipment. Two winners from each of the other four theatres will comprise a special revue to be presented at the Ashland, the show being completed with a line of girls and stage band, which Mansfield will produce with Rudy Vinzant, Ashland manager. Contests in the other theatres are being handled by individual managers — Frank Meyers, Summit; Robert Wolf, Midway; Howard Wolf, Tenth Street; Norris Creswell, Home. Weekly prizes of about $25 are given in each of the four houses, all neighborhood subsequent-runs. The full prize list at the Ashland has not yet been completed, but the cash awards probably will total about $50, with other awards of merchandise to add to the loot. From time to time various amateur nights, searchfor-talent shows, and other live entertainment events have been tried out in Commonwealth city houses, according to Mansfield. These have not been tried for some time, however, and in seeking something different for a city-wide promotion the search for talent appeared the best bet, he said. Returns on the first talent programs brought capacity in three of the four houses, Mansfield said. — K.C. St. Louis to Premiere ^South Sea Sinner' Universal-International's "South Sea Sinner" will have its world premiere on January 12 at the Missouri Theatre, St. Louis, as part of some 50 day-an-date openings in the territory. The premiere will be tied-in with a homecoming celebration for Star Shelley Winters who will go to St. Louis in advance of the opening for press and radio interviews and a round of civic events. She will make personal appearances at the theatre on opening day and then visit other key cities in the midwest which will participate in territorial openings. Ben Katz, U-I midwest field representative, is already in St. Louis working on the advance campaign and will remain there through the opening. He will be joined shortly by additional promotional representatives from the U-I stuilios and eastern home office. Asst. District Attorney Reviews 'Adam's Rib' When "Adam's Rib" played Loew's 'Regent Theatre in Harrisburg, Pa., the Evening News invited Dauphin County Assistant District Attorney David S. Kohn to review the film in detail. Kohn's report was favorable. He not only told the story and commented on the acting but interspersed comments on the legal aspects of the film from a prosecuting attorney's point of view. His review created quite a bit of extra interest in the film. — HRB.