Variety (Dec 1942)

W«J»etd>y. DecemlMsr 23, 1942 Denver Zone Salesmen Having Their Travel Troubles; Exchange Briefs Denver. Dec. 22. Train anfl bii>: iiiivcl for film .^alcs- nioii fi)rre<l on llioni by ens ration- Ini; lias ils drawbacks in the Denver lerrilorv. Often it is necessary to go hiindred.s of miles out of thoir way '.o set from one place to another, and then maybe they will gel put oft the train or bus if soldiers or sailors *ho\v up with tickets. Or if a film salesman wajits to KCt from one town to the next. sav. and someone shows lip with a ticket to a point farther elong the line, the latter get.s ire scat. In the Denver area it is no trick at all for a .salesman to use up 3.500 miles on one sales trip. Frank Barnes, recent owner of the Capitol. Sprin.ulield. Colo., went in'.o the army last week. He had pre- viously sold his theatre to Geo. Nescher of Valley Falls. Kans. E K. Baione, Jr., has closed nis Hugo, at Hugo, Colo., and gone to Colorado Springs, where he will manage the Tompkins theatre, a Cooper-Paramount house. He suc- ceed.* John Cowcn, who joins the army. With population driftmg away from the smaller communities, Charles Diller has been forced to close two more of his portable spots. They are the Nugget at Telluride, Colo., and the Uravan, Uravan, Colo. He had recently closed the Vida at Cripple Creek, Colo. The latter closing was brought about by the government ofder closing gold mines. Ro.ss Bluck, Columbia salesman, who underwent an appendectomy at Taos, N. M., was moved to the Pres- byterian hospital. Denver. Columbia brought G. S. Pinnell from the Salt Lake territory to fill in for Bluck. Herman Wobber, 20th-Fox district manager, spent two days from his 6an Francisco' headquarters confer- ring with C. V. Hake, local manager. elected treasurer and assistant tivas- urpr. respectively. Now officers include H;irold Wirlh- wein I Par). Isl v.p : Jack Schwartz I Rep). 2d v p.: Saul Goldman riety Pictures >. secretary ley Johnson iPar) lary. All will be (Va and Stan- assistant sccre- nstalled al the next meeting on Jmii. 17. Loew's Tolcilo I.incup Toledo. Dec. 22. When Loew's Valentine reopens shortly following seven-month shut- down for repairs. Ted Teschner, brought from New Haven to manage Esquire, will be transferred to the Valentine. Esquire was leased by Loew's when the Valentine was darkened, and will continue to be operated by that company. Harry Klotz, assistant at Valentine for ten years, succeeds Teschner. Judith Lubit has been named as- sistant at Esquire, first femme as- sistant here. Abe Ludccar. Cleve- land, to assist Teschner at Valen- tine, expected to reopen by Christ- mas. Changes include addition of 400 seats, elimination of boxes, and remodelling. Setting 'Dimes' in Phllly Philadelphia, Dec. 22. ■Variety Club is co-sponsoring an- nual March of Dimes campaign in honor of President Roosevelt's birth- day. Isaac D. Levy, v.p. of WCAU, and Postmaster Joseph F. Gallagher are co-chairmen of drive. New officers of Variety Club. Tent 13, were inducted Friday night (18) at dinner in honor of outgoing Chief Barker Edgar Moss. Bud Bache elected president of Local B-7. Film Exchange Employees Union. Others chosen include Peggy Brickley, v.p., and Marie Hause, treasurer. Everett Callow, ad mgr. of S-W circuit, named head of public rela- tions committee of the local WAAC. Victory theatre in South Philly has been sold by Pastime Realty Co. to Columbia Theatres Co. for $70,000. Columbia Theatres is owned by Abraham M. and Martin B. Ellis and Mrs. Rose Hexter and her son Hobert. Kenny Adams Back (o Mpla Minneapolis. Dec. 22. Kenny Adams, recently booker vith the U. S. Army pictures divi- sion and, prior to that, RKO head booker, has returned to Minneapolis from St. Louis to take over the post of Universal office manager. He succeeds Lou Berman, assigned to a ■alck' post. Theatre's Party to Patrons San Francisco, Dec. 22. Embassy will throw its annual and unique Xmas party for its patrons Christmas Day, with manager Lee I)ibble as host, in the absence of his partner. Dan'Mc:De&n, who IS iii'the Navy. For four successive years the theatre has fed cake, cookies and punch to the patrons on Christmas Day, much to the delight of every- one concerned. Strand, on Market Street, is being remodeled under its new manage- ment, Golden State Theatres. Fox-West Coast held a meeting at Palace hotel of all district mana- gers, managers and department heads for the distribution of Xmas bonus checks. Harry C. Cox, treas- urer of the parent National Thea- tres, was present to explain newly- devised pension plan, preparatory to its inauguration here. Levy Heads Chi Group Chicago, Dec. 22. Ted Levy. Warner Bros, booker, was selected as president of the newly-organized Film Exchange Em- ployees Union, F-45, AFL, at the or- ganization's flr.st election held at the llackstone hotel last week. Some 100 members voted. Others elected were Carl Carlson (2ath), v.p.; Dorothy Albritlon (WB), secretary; Chris Chinn (20th), treas- urer, and George Benson (WB), business agent. At the annual election of the Reel- fellows Club of Chicago, held at the Blackstone hotel last Sunday (13), Frank Flaherty, of Columbia Pic- tures, was elected president to suc- ceed A. M' Van Dyke. Bob Funk uJ) and Ted Meyers (U) were re- Marjorle Main's Bond Hypo Indianapolis. Dec. 22. Marjorie Main, here visiting her mother, Mrs. Jennie Tomlinson. ap- peared as headliner at midnight bond show at Loew's recently to help Bill Elder sell capacity $46,350 in bonds at $18.75 per. Ken Collins, moving his office from the Indiana to Circle, is having lat- ter redecorated, with a complete in- side paint job. Kenneth L. Dottercr, formerly booker at 20th. now on sales staff. New booker is Don Cox, formerly with RKO. Hazel Patrick named assistant booker. Buck Gottlieb, stu- dent salesman at 20th-Fox, has re- turned to N. Y. office to be re- assigned. Sally Bahn, new Par booker, third femme booker on the row. Otto Ebert. RKO office manager, pinchhitting for Herman Black, sales- man now recuperating from a major operation. WB Dps Erdcky Pittsburgh. Dec. 22. WB has upped Kalmen Erdeky from Oakland theatre to manager of Centre, succeeding Al Katz, who has gone into the army. Film Exchange Employees Local has elected George Ball, 20th, presi- dent; Peter Quiter. U, business agent; Alverne A. Lostetter. U; John Mayer, MtG, and Elizabeth Cunningham, Rep, trustees, and the following to the executive board: Belle Simon, WB; Margaret McArdle. Col: Loretta Guehl, 20th; Nettie Engcl. Col: Laura George, U; Joe Davidson. 20th: Or- lando J. Boyle, Col, and Grace Thomas. 20th. Owner Leo Proflo has taken over Cecil, Pa., theatre, which had been operated under lea.se for number of years by Primo Calleffe. Ralph Craig is now managing the Manos theatre in Hollidaysburg, succeeding Charles Cassoulis, who Is in the army. Craig was formerly with the Harris circuit. Norman Huhn. of the Grandview, has been named manager of the Heights theatre here by the Inve.st- ment Finance Co. That firm recently took over the house from Charles Philbrook. Joseph L. Fechek, veteran projec- tionist and theatre manager, and for last several years a member of the .■itaff. of Mfinlo theatre in Charleroi, has been named manager of that house, succeeding Robert Long, re- signed. Putney theatre in Putney. W. Va., operated by O. Herald, has been caken over by Charley Moore, of Charleston. W. Va., and W. Bobbitt has shuttered his house in Elverlon, W. Va. Joe Dietrick has joined shipping staff at Par. taking over spot vacated by James Rizza's call to colors. Helen Schu has been named presi- dent of newly-formed 20th-Fox Em- ployees' Club. Other officers are: Molly Tognetii, vice-president; Mar- jorie Botsford. secretary; Joe Orn- stein, treasurer: and C. C. Kellen- bcrg, Loretta Guehl and Jack Ell- strom, directors. Amateur 'Gay Nineties Revue,' staged recently at Carnegie Music Hall by Mr.s.. M. A. Silver, wife of WB zone manager, and members of her Ladies' Theatrical Club, netted enough to buy completely equipped station wagon for local branch of Red Cross and $1,000 in addition, which was also turned over to the Red Cross. Jack While, manager of the Nov- elty theatre, has resigned to take a similar post at the Avalon, Los An- geles, recently taken over by his brother-in-law. Sidney Pink, former Pittsburgh exhib. Raymond Rich- man has leased the Novelty. He's the son of the veteran theatre man, Jacob Richman, RKO exchange has been awarded the Treasury T for lining uP W% of their employees to take one-tenth of their salary in War Bonds. WB zone here has Installed a school to train men and women for assistant managerships. John A. (Jack) Piatt, former RCA service engineer here, is on leave after his ship, the U.S.S. Rutledge, went down off Africa last month. Piatt found safety on a raft. Sylvia Kaplan has replaced Ida Friedman at the Rep exchange... Patricia Jancsar is Charlie Under- hill's new secretary at the RCA Plio- tophonc office. She replaces Paula Pay.son, who quit to gel married... Recent nowlywed is Mrs. J. Francis Finncrty, daughter of Dr. Charles E. Herman. Carnegie exhib...M. Ser- venti's theatre. Chicora, Pa., now op- erating part lime only...WB niana- gers tossed farewell party for army- bound Max Silverman, of Squirrel Hill theatre...John DcWall. RKO homeoffice rep, has moved to Phila- delphia after four months at the lo- cal exchange. Brooks Heads M.P. Bookers in N.T. Bernard Brooks, booker Fabian circuit, reelected president of the Motion Picture Bookers Club of N.Y. for 1943. Others reelected are Harold Klein, v.p., who books Julius Joelson circuit; Harry Marolis, treas- urer, of Metro exchange, and Louis Solkoff, financial secretary, also Metro exchange. Beverly Marmour of Snapper circuit, elected secretary, while trustees are Archie Berish of Warner N. Y. branch and Joseph In ber, booking with Brandt circuit. Board of directors include Alex Arnswalder of Metro; Max Freed Century; Lou Fischler, associated with Max A. Cohen; Ed Seuder, of Prudential chain, and Etta Siegal booker with Monogram. Phil Horo- witz, of Universal, new sergeant-at arms for 1943. Club has voted to send holiday gifts to all former members now in the service Gas Rationing Bbffs Biz Contlnned from paie I year, at same time theatres appar- ently coasting on the momentum of the all-time highs that have steadily increased during past year. Drop-ofI has them back to normal and not a loss yet. When January rolls around and the rainy season sets in to further complicate, thealie men look for more trouble. That's when the ad- mittedly poor Los Angeles transpor- tation system will be tested for Its worth to theatres. waiting for bonan'za. the expected holiday Shirts In Buffalo Buffalo, Dec. 22. William MacKenna, brother of George MacKenna, manager of the Lafayette, Buffalo, is in charge of Strand, Niagara Falls. Leonard Raymond, former assist- ant at the 20th Century, is managing the Varsity, succee(ling Kenneth Murphy, who goes to the Jeff, both houses of the Basil chain. John Scime is replacing Vincent Staley, now in the army, as ad artist Shea's Buffalo. Harry -Berman, former manager PRC Buffalo, becomes salesman for Columbia at Kansas City. Basil Brady, manager New Ariel, is on the job after five weeks' hos- pitalization. Charles B. Taylor, Shea-Par pub- licity head, is public relations chair- man of the War Activities Commit- tee of the Industry in the Buffalo and Western New 'York area. No, Calif. Holds Up. San Francisco, Dec. 22. Biz of small town theatres in northern California has in some in- stances held steady and in others increased since gas rationing started. Favorable circumstances are due to fact that any patronage lost by rea- son of farmers not being able to go to town as often as in the past has been offset by the increased business brought by town residents who are now unable to travel to the big city for amusement. t--^ For that reason, most small town exhibs in this territory now look on gas rationing as a boon to their business. They also feel they de- serve a few 'breaks' because of all the patronage they lost by the shift- ing of rural families to industrial centers for the purpose of working in war industries. Friseo Unaffected San Francisco's compact layout, with transportation within easy reach of all, has held gas rationing's effect on show biz to a minimum. Fact (hat city is contained within a small area also makes the four gallon gasoline allotment stretch fur- ther than It docs in most metropoli- tan centers. First run picture houses, for ex- ample, which were expected to be among the hardest hit of all amuse- ment enterprises, have to date noticed no falling off of biz under gas rationing. Philly Happy Az Iz Philadelphia, Dec. 22. Gas rationing, which has been in effect here since last summer, hasn't affected Philly show business to any degree. If anything, it has appar- ently helped. There was a time when Philadel- phians would hop into their automo- biles and hie them.selves to the hot spots in North and South Jersey— and even New York—because of the strict curfew laws here (local boites must close at 2 a.m. week nights; midnight Saturdays, ani are shut tight Sundays). But what with three gals of petrol per week, bald-headed tires, eto., them days are gone forever. Because Philly's bright light sec- tor is handy to public transporta- tions from all parts of the city and suburbs, people are thronging the mid-city spots. If they don't want to travel into town, there are num- erous neighborhood cases within walking distances or at most a short drive from their homes. Many of these are located in the heart of districts populated by flush war workers. What is true of niteries, is doubly true of the deluxe fllmers and legit- ters which are reporting the best seasons in years. Conversely, many spots in the nearby Jersey and up- state roadhouses are almost out of business by loss of Philly patronage. Draft Board Continued from page S directors, writers and designers, al- though nothing official has yet been decided on these classifications. Oc- cupations already declared essential are film editors, cutters, cameramen, laboratory technicians, animators, soundman and other technical workers. Favorable Aspects More optimistic outlook regarding the manpower situation as it affects the production and exhibition branches of the industry is rapidly gaining ground in the trade regard- less of current and potential losses •via the d»-aft and war indtwiry needs: Production execs maintain that pic- lures are more important than per- sonalities, though latter are ad- mittedly valuable. Theatre operators are convinced that Government agencies, such as the War Manpower Commission and the War Production Board want theatres to continue to function if only to provide a lift for defense workers. Contention in trade circles is that manpower changes will give new people a chance not only in the tal- ent department but in the technical and operating branches of the busi- ness. Thinning of union help is con- sidered likely to open up hitherto closed ranks to newcomers, especi- ally in the technical fields. Theatre operators in the metropolitan New York area claim, that in some ca.ses treasurers hav^ been replacing stagehands. Replacement of studio technicians, however, is now receiving most at- tention due to the departure of sev- eral thousand for armed service, Niteries Hurt but Det. Pix Biz Holding Up Detroit, Dec. 22. Gas rationing—combined with the recent Boston fire—has been brutal on the night clubs here, but the pix houses haven't reflected any cur- tailed driving. Detroit's surface transportation, never geared to mass traffic in this automotive center, hasn't collapsed as predicted under the new load and now is shuffling record loads of 2,000,000 passengers daily around the city. There are plenty of 'C books In these parts, considering the fact that the Government has been consider- ate of the hundreds of thousands of war workers and the fact that many travel as high as 50 miles daily to work in the far-flung arsenals, and plants also have worked out share- Ihe-ride programs well. This keeps tanks from gelling too dry here. The niteries are frankly puzzled on what rationing will do and the Boston Are has complicated the pic- ture. Biz went off right after the fire and hasn't come back. Ration- ing came on later, but it was hard to tell how much of a factor it has been In the decline. Downtown spots, which are fed by the same lransportation_..Bervlces which ..are fllling the loop pix houses, are off just as much as the big nabe spots which inclines some to think that it isn't as much rationing as the Are, Plenty of big .ipots, excepting the Bowery and the Club Hoyale in sub urban locations, are well-located where rationing shouldn't hurt them As one club owner pointed out. The cabs still are running and the nitery crowds are great cab riders.' It may be whistling in the dark, but their figuring seems to be that as the Cocoanut Grove fire is forgotten the biz will come back, perhaps during the coming holidays. William Hopkins, West Coast re- gional director of the WMC, Is re- ported slated to meet Nick Schenck in N. Y. this week for discussions on essential classifications. Nitery Biz Worse Pittsburgh, Dec. 22 Pinch of gas rationing began to ease up a bit here last week after first two weeks of the curb. Biz had by no means returned to what had lately become to be regarded as nor mal, but theatres noticed a little up- swing again and so did the niteries. Only the downtown spots, however, Places beyond the Golden Triangle were still In the dumps and general opinion, even among owners them- selves, is that they won't be able to survive beyond the first of the year, And if there were any doubts, the past week-end developments' on the gat situation clinched it. Flock of them have already folded without No Beefs in R. I. Providence, Dec. 23. If there is any one particular group that has absolutely no oom- plaint against gas rationing, it is the local theatre group. Since gas ra- tioning went into effect here several months ago, the main-stemmera and neighborhood houses, too, have been reaping a harvest. R. I. theatres have had one of the largest years they have ever had. Even houses which ordinarily close down for the summer, found it not only profitable to remain open, but found they were doing better biz than they had ever done in the best pre-war autumn and winter seasons. Buffalo's Swltcheroo Buffalo, Dec. 22. Gas rationing is affecting show bii locally contrary to the manner an- ticipated. Expectations were that downtown de luxers would suffer with nabes getting overflow biz due to the restrictions. Just the oppo- site seems to have happened. Main line pic showcases are soaring, the neighborhoods having fallen off markedly since early fall. Situation thought to be purely lo- cal and due largely to fact that terrific amount of coin finding ita way into defense industry payrolls is sendiog workers with full pockets in search of top line entertainment in their leisure hours. Such work- ers were allowed C cards calling for practically unlimited gas rations, but what the new gas bans will mean remains to be seen. Indpls. NSH Indianapolis, Dec. S2. There's plenty of squawking about gas rationing here and busi- ness is generally down from the Kigh levels of a few weeks ago, but most showmen freely admit that it's still better than it was this time last year and that seasonal conditions probably have more to do with the slump than driving restrictions. Mpls. Off Minneapolis, Dec. 22. Business has slumped sharply In the vast majority of the territory's situations since ga-soline rationing started, exhibitors and others In touch with the situation say. Whether the rationing is mainly re- sponsible for the drop, however, is difficult to determine, according to the trade, because the winter's first severe cold, always an adverse box- office factor, hit the territory si- multaneously with the motoring re- striction. It's also pointed out that the close approach of Christmas undoubtedly la playing some part in the reces- sion, although, in this connection, exhibitors say that previously the pre-Chrlstmas drop never started .so early, being confined to the week before the Yule-tide holiday.