Variety (Sep 1939)

Wfdnesday, September 6, 1939 PICTURES VARIETY 21 F.P.-Canadians 8 in Maritime; Theatre-Exchanges Staff Moves St. John, N. B.. Sept. 5, With the recent opening of the new Vogue, Sydney, N. S., Famous Playei-^ enlarged its maritime prov- inces' chain to eight hoases, includ- ine the two largest fllmeries in the tcn-ilory. Before the establishment of the Vosue, as sister house of the Capitol m Sydney, F. P. had acquired . the Orpheus and Oxford, both m Halifax. The Orpheus is one of, the senior exhibiting entities in the mar- itiines having been in operation about 30 years. The Oxford was opened several years ago. The Or- pheus had been a link in the RKO and Spencer chains, as well as oper- ated by four independent exhibitors Bt different times. Sellg's Berth Denver, Sept. 5. Robert W. Selig, former G-B dis- trict manager, and who successfully started the Hiawatha, Denver, on its way as a class American and foreign picture center, has been made ex- ploitation manager, a newly-created position, for the Fox Intermountain division. Cliarles Lowen, former as- sistant to Selig, goes back to the Hiawatha as manager. Other changes made by Rick Rlcketson, division manager, include the mov- ing of Charles Morehead, formerly at Bcaliice. Neb., to Fort Collins, Colo., as city manager, succeeding Lloyd Boreing, who goes to Po.ca- tello, Idaho, as assistant manager, Otto Bartusch is moved from Lara- mie, Wyo.. to Sterling, Colo., suc- ceeding Bob Penner, made city man- ager at Alliance, Neb. Rev. O. Martorell reopening his five-town portable circuit for the winter. The spots are Capulin, San Luis, San Pedro, Ft. Garland and Chama. all in Colorado. Church & Co., brokers, have bid In the Palace theatre when it was put up to satisfy paper they held. A dime grind, it was sold some months ago by Paul Hoppen, but he took it back a few weeks agd. C. A. Muloch still manager. Robert Spawn, short booker for Gibralter Enterprises, has gone with Harry McDonald, who operates in Wyoming and Nebraska. McDonald building a new 550-seater at Mit chell. Neb., to replace his present house. Hopes to be ready for Nov. I opening. Tom Ward named assistant man ager at State, and about the aame time announces a baby boy at bis home. Sam Feinsleih, who operates in Wyoming and Nebraska, was-ia a se- rious auto accident in which he re- ceived severe cuts about the face, and other members of his party were placed in a hospital. Accident oc- curred near Lusk, Wyo., near his home. Ollie Wog, former salesman here. Thank You . . . BROOKS ATKINSON For Your Swcllcaant Notic* In THE NEW YORK TIME3 "It la Ben Blue of the movlon who Introduces the only comio business the 'SoaiiiIhU' alTorda. Light on hia feet, gay. Impish and In- noc'i>nt, h« Icssea In a bit of sardonic truoklnK that is up- roni'lous. X Hpontnneous gan- t6niiii)l»t In something freah that 8ui(a blm, h» provides tlx one not* of real Joy t^ie _curr#nt 'Heandals' let lo03e."_ BEN BLUE Now Appearing - GEORGE WHITE'S "SCANDALS"' Wide Open Spaces Lincoln, Sept. S. George O. Monroe, Colonial operator here, has played about 200 westerns in . the last two years. The open spaces Anally got him. He bought a house this week to live in the outskirts of town. transferred from L. A. branch to the Universal exchange here, succeeding Carl Mock, moved to Indianapolis. Fred Flanagan has moved one of his portable equipments from Vona, Colo., to Seibert, Colo. Flanagan also operated at Stratton, Colo. Gainmel Adds t Buffalo, Sept. 5. Colonial and Columbia, east side nabes owned and operated by Joseph Schuchert for the past 20 years, have been sold to Al Gammcl. This makes five houses now comprising the local chain. • Erection of a new theatre at Fre- donia, N. Y. The New Randolf, Randolf. N. Y., will be opened Sept. 9 by Keith & Garfield. The former Roxy, East Syracuse, remodeled and renamed the East, for reopening Labor Day. by A.'DiBello. Edward Wise becomes manager of the new Dipson-Basil Bailey, east side nabe formerly belonging to Shea. The New Attica, at Attica, N. Y., built by Martina Bros., opens Sept. 1. Peter Dana, former Buffalo film executive and now Universal Kansas City manager, visiting Buffalo. Roy Haines, Warners' eastern sales manager, in for local checkup. EXPERIENCE A keyiintir In nny »iircMHfu1 iwrflonS "•11'—" voluuble uHMt In (iio i>tll<-i'. A KiMH] nil iiround Berrctjiry— runilllHr with r)| liriinrlirii' of hIiow- liiislni-HN — nnd wKIl (M«v«r«l jwirn' 'Xlirrlriice In bark of her. Box 82, Variety, New York ated by John Wolfberg, Ken Baird as manager. Theatre, lormerly the Mokan, and located just inside the Missouri-Kansas state line, has been closed during the summer for ex- tensive remodeling and renovating, and now goes under new label. Haycock-Whittaker's Lease Salt Lake. City, Sept. 5. Barely out of their 'teens, Hal Haycock and Earl Whittaker, Salt Lake City youths, signed a lease to operate burg's newest deluxe nabe, Olympus, located at Holiday, swanky suburban district. Phil S. Gu.ss, pres- ident of the Intermountain Theatre Supply Co., owns the house. Joe Cantor's. Chain of 5 Indianapolis, Sept. 5. Joe Cantor, ex-sales manager for United Artists, who went into the exhibiting end of the biz in 1936, has organized a new chain ^of five nabes. Cantor has operated the Rivoli for three years, and adds to this holding under the present deal the Emerson, Parker, Golden and Garrick, which he will rechristen the Esquire. Elite Adds One Operation of the Barclay, N. Y. indie house, has been taken over by the Bregman's Elite Circuit. For- merly operated by Consolidated The- atres. New addition makes the Elite's fifth, the others being the Annex, Greeley, Savoy and Chatham. WlllUms* New Dixie Ashddwn, Ark., Sept. 5. K. Lee Williams opened new Dixie here under the managership of Jewel Callaham, son of S. B. Callaham, former owner of two Broken Bow theatres recently ac- quired by the Williams circuit. WB Defense to Kuhn; That AH the 'Nazi Spy' Stuff's in the Record wit. Zone Moves Stratford, Wis., Sept. 5. Balzel 8c Zoellner have opened the Stratford here, operating week- ends. Ray A. Felt, stage manager at Or- pheum, Madison, named member of the city board of education there by Mayor James R. Law. Felt is biz agent for the Madison local, lATSE. Ben Van Korn named manager of Fox Paradise, West AUis, succeed- ing Buck Burnett, transferred to the circuit's Riviera as manager. Plans announced for remodeling auditorium at Brillioh into theatre. Nick Rajacic, former manager Peoples, Calumet. Mich., now at Fox Marinette, Marinette. Kenneth Zur- cher succeeds. Orph, Dabaque, Beopens Dubuque, la., Sept. 5. Mort Singer's Orpheum reopened Sept. 1 after summer layoff, now showing 'A' pictures instead of duals as previously. Louis McComish back as manager. With Orpheum's .'A' pictures, Avon takes on Or- pheum's doubles policy. LINCOLN Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc., Milton Krims, Leon G. Turrou and John W. Wexley filed an affirmative answer in the N. Y. federal court yesterday (Tues.) to the $5,000,000 libel action against them by Fritz . Kuhn, as president of the German-American Bund. Warners' answer consisted of denying certain of the charges . of Kiihn, and then launched an affirma- tive defense asserting that the story and screen play of 'Confessions of a Nazi Spy' was based on two trials, one in N. Y. and one in the Panama Canal Zone, in which certain persons ' ere convicted of espionage. Warners charged that the Bund is a German, not an American organ- ization, and then taking the charges of the Bund one by one, they agreed with them, as to their presenting of these charges in the film, but assert that since the charges are all true, and since the purpose of the Bund is to destroy Americanism and do away with the present government of the U. S., they are entitled to a disrnissal of the libel action. A de- mand for a jury trial was also filed. Warners also won a victorj- in a similar action based on libel in the same picture,' when fc ieral judge Samuel Mand[elbaun vacated an ap- plication by Katherine Moog to ex- amine S. Charles Einfeld, Lya Lys and Milton Krims before trial. Warners will allow the three to be examined after they have finished their examination of the plaintiff. Miss Moog, like Kuhn, claims libel in the film, and she seeks $75,000 damages. PAR VS. MINN. INDIES OVER DUALS Minneapolis, Sept. 5. . With the Minnesota Amus. Co. (Paramount northwest circuit) and local independents locking horns over the measure, the city council ordinances committee has taken un- der advisement a proposed ordinance to kill double features by limiting the time of continuous film per- formances to two hours and 15 min- utes. The action was taken by the committee after L. B. Schwartz, counsel for Northwest Allied, rep- resenting the independents, argued that passage of the ordinance comes within the city council's authority under a city attorney's opinion that it would be invalid unless it can be shown that it bears a reasonable re- lationship to the community's health, comfort, welfare, safety and morals. Schwartz cited medical opinions to the effect that double features im- pose eye strain and are injurious to children's: nervous systems. Presi- dent W. A. Steffes, of Northwest Al- lied, predicting that 'every Minne- apolis theatre will be double-featur- ing within 30 days unless the ordi- nance Is passed,' asserted that twin bills would affect the community's morals adversely because there wouldn't be enough 'respectable pic- tures' to go around and 'exhibitors would bring in all the vice, dope and other objectionable films they could get their hands on.' Sues to Renew Lease Des Moines. Sept. 8. Operators of the Avalon, nabe, filed suit in district court against the building owners to obtain renewal of their lease on the property. The operators are E. M. Garbett, A. E. Thiele and Elias Garbett. Sr., and they have filed against E. W. Patter- son and his wife, property owners. In exercising an option contained in the present lease, which expires Sept. 30, the operators notified the property owners of their desire to renew the lease for an additional five years. The owners havie refused to sign a renewal lease. The petitioners ask that the suit be tried before expiration of the pres- ent lease and that the building own- ers be enjoined by the court from bringing a law action. Johnson's Move San Antonio. Sept. S. H. H. Johnson, formerly with RKO in Pecos, Tex., new manager of the Liberty, Rising Star, Tex. Col. H. S. Cole building Ihird house at Bonham, Tex., the Elite. Already has the Grand and Best there. Newest Interstate house in Austin, T.ex., opened there Friday (18), the Austin; Francis Vickers, manager. Paramount exchange in San An- tonio closed its doors Saturday (26i and has been moved to Dallas. (Continued from page 11) week, 'Oz' (M-G), eight days, very nice $4,200. Stuart (LTC-Cooper) (1,900; 10-25- 35) 'Livingstone' (20th). Mid-week opening and going nicely all the way. Looking for $4,000 in eight days, better than recent average. Last week, 'Tomorrow Comes' (U), fair $2,800 on femme trade. Varsity (NTI-Noble) (1,100; 10-20- 25) 'Winter Carnival' (UA) and '12 Crowded Hours' (RKO). Surpris- ing start indicating $2,300. good. Last week, 'Girls Paris' (Col) and 'Outside Walls' (Col), nice $2,100. St. Louis May Get '39 MPTOA Conveotion Oklahoma City, Sept. S. In a letter to Morris Loewenstein, MPTOA secretary, Ed Kuykendall, MPTOA president, has stated that it will be impossible to hold the 193S annual convention of the MPTOA in San Francisco as previously planned, Jersey Allied Watches Duals Double-featuring evil is to receive a thorough going-over at the an- nual convention of New Jersey Al- lied which starts meeting today (6). Industry- also is watching to see what happens in Minneapolis should a city ordinance against dualing go through, due to multiplicity of labor troubles on the west coast at this time. Kuykendall informed Loewenstein that if conditions permitted the 1940 or 1941 meet would be held in Frisco however. New York Theatres Oakland's New One Oakland, Cal., Sept. 9. Opening of new flr.st-run house, the Esquire, is outgrowth of dispute between Fox-West Coast and the Warners on bookings, since settled. Dave Richards, manager for sev- eral years of Orpheum. resigned to study law. Edgar Calley named to succeed. Clark Rader Addlnr Columbus. Sept. S. Clark Rader. owner of a small (Dhio circuit, will build a 500-seat theatre in Eaton. Warners' Majestic, Mansfield, dosed since July 1, reopened. Wayne i Williams, former manager, continues. Horace Wersel will open a new : theatre in New Solon in near future. 'Geste' Big 6G, 3 Days, Denver,'Name' $10,000 Denver, Sept. 5. Biz over the holiday was good, with 'Beau Geste' at the Denham having long lines, beating 'Union Pacific,' which was plenty strong. Film looks set for at least two weeks. 'In Name Only' and 'Four Feathers' also solid. Estimates for This Week Aladdin (Fox) (1,400; 25-40)— 'Chips' (M-G), after a week at each the. Orpheum and Aladdin. Fine $5,000. Last week, 'SUnley' (20th), atter a week at the Denver, was strong at $4,000, and moved to the Rialto. Broadway (Fox) (1,024; 25-35-40) —'Tropics' (M-G) and 'Rookie Cop' (RKO), after a week at the Or- pheum. Very neat $3,000. Last week, 'Oz' (M-G) big $4,500, after a week at the Orpheum, Denham (Coekrill) (1,750; 25-35- 40)—'Star Maker' (Par), four days after a week, and 'Beau Geste' (Par) three days. Mighty $12,000, about half of which can be credited to 'Geste.' Last week, 'Star Maker' (Par) strong $11,000. Denver (Fox) (2,525; 25-35-40) 'Four Feathers' (UA). Good $9,000. Last week, 'Carnival' (UA), aided by strong stage show, did a_big $12,- 000. BETTE DAVIS MIRIAM HOPKINS ^ OLD ^ BRENT ^ SnrBAND K-WAT k All IN KMOW OZZI t NILSON AWMIOMMnd HAMMT HMIUM nnm lOUM MIMA 25^ Alr-Condltlonsd H(«ii« Tlmrtdar Tim Thrill tjint yuu've waKeil for 9n^nr9 iuisitmi Robert Hedy TAYLOR LAMARR "LADY OF THE TROPICS" T.uNt TlineH Toduy—*\Vliciird o( OxJ RKO »OT\OH Alr-Conaitloned bLOCW'S rRflt TlniAS TodUijr ''BEAU GESTE'* On Slajie ED SULLIVAN Thundar 'They Shall I Have MubU'I In PerMon Kd SalUvaa I HNrv«f,t M.uonJ IlAnc«ri| Olliem Alr-CondKloned CsRlinuoui from 10 . ?rleea. tr*Mr«i)«4l«iM UU Shtw U-M tm Nllhlltl Robert Donat in M-C-M's[ GOODBYE MR. CHIPS with Crrcr Giirann • 4lh II0NTH| TITLE CHANGES Giles, K. C, Reopens Kan.sas City. Sept. 5. Giles, 1.300-jeat subsequent run. opened. House is owned and oper- Orpheum (RKO) (2.600; 25-35-40) —'Name Only' (RKO) and 'Miracles Sale' tM-G). Healthy $10,000. Last week, 'Tropics' (M-G) and 'Rookie Cop' (RKO) nice $9,750. Paramount (Fox) (2,200; 25-40)— 'Stole Million' (U) and 'Cowboy Quarterback' (WB). Good enough $3,500. Last week, 'Blondie Vaca- j Hollywood, Sept. 5, tion' (Col) and 'Exile Express' (GN) | 'Uncensored' hew tag on 'Scotland al.so $3,500. I Yard' at 20th-Fox. Rlallo (Fox) (878; 25-40)—'Stanley' { 'We Shall Meet Again' final handle (20th). after a week at each the ■ for'West of Frisco'at Warners. Denver and Aladdin, and 'Forgot- Republic switched from 'Headline ten Woman' (U). Acceptable $2,500.1 News' to 'Sabotage.' La.st week, 'Each Dawn' (WB), after i 'Pack Up Your Troubles' release a week at each the Denver and title for 'Tin Hats' at 20lh-Fox, Aladdin, and 'Inside Information' | 'Patsy' is new tag on 'Looking (U) did a nice $2,500. After Sandy' at Metro, YEAR of HITS St!"> MUSIC HALL "GOLDEN BOY" Spectacular Stage Production* HKf,D OVKK BING CROSBY In Pariimouoi's "STABMAKER" IN rt:R.soy LARRY CLINTON AND III.H ORt'HK.STH.t PARAMOUNT "THE UNDER-PUP" with GLORIA JEAN lINITKn Tin/rtT T Bnmdwity AKTI.STS XUWU attOlliHt. Deor^ OlKD A.M. . MIDNITE •HOWS