Variety (Dec 1944)

18 PICTUBES Wednesday, December 20, 1914 Film Leaders to Honor W. A. Steffes h Mpk: Other Exhibitor Briefies Minneapolis, Dec. 19. Film lenders, including Will Hays, have been invited to attend testi- monial banquet which Northwest Va- riety club will tender W, A. StcHes, retiring chief barker, at Nicollet hotel here Jan. 5. Maxr will be in recognition of Steffes' achievements during his incumbency, including a campaign which raised nearly $90,000 for the Sister Kenny Infantile Paral- ysis Foundation. Donald Guttman, cencral manager Harry Dickerman circuit, has taken over the chain ftom Dickerman. Latter says he's retiring from the film business. Dickerman circuit is among the more successful inde- pendent operations. Texas Hooie for Spanish Pix San Angelo, Tex,, Dec. 19. Plans have been started for a new house to show Latin-American pic- tures here, Robb & Rowley circuit building it. Will be a 1,000-seater. EiUb* Set GI Xmaa Farty Columbus, O., Dec. 19. All servicemen in this area will share in a Christmas gift collection sponsored by Columbus exhibs and CJhio Independent Theatre Owners Assn., with local theatregoers asked via trailers to bring gifts for the GI Christmas Pai-ty to theatres Dec. 21. Commanding officers of nearby bases pointed out that thousands of ser- vicemen and women would be un- able to go home for Christmas. Gifts, will be collected by Army trucks and distributed at parties Christmas day to be held in recreation halls of Army and Navy posts. Blnmenteld Men Nix Mgrs, . San Francisco, Dec. 19. Theatre managers of Blumenfeld chain have not Joined new Managers Guild. Disclaim any ties with the guild. M. A. Bosenberg Qails WAC Pittsburgh, Dec 19. HI health has forced M. A. Rosen- berg, local indie leader; to resign as co-chairman with WB's M. A. Silver of War Activities Committee In this territory. Martin Sheam, former Warner manager, recently honorably dis- charged from Army, rejoined cir- cuit's managerial staff; goes to Lib- erty in Sharon, where he replaces Sam Blandl, resigned. overscribed by. $50,000 in Ave hours. Moberly is the home of Lt.-Gen. Omar N. Bradley. Fred Wehrciiberg, head of MPTOA of eastern Mi.<youri and southern Illi- nois, shunted back to St. Louis hos- pital becau.<!e of arthritis. Everett Hayes sold his Grand, Sul- livan, III., to Lee Norton, who oper- ates houses in Mascoutah, III. Bay Tabman Canadian Assn. Chief Ottawa, Dec. 19. Ray Tubman, Capitol manager and key man here for Famous PlayerSr Canadian, ielected 1945 president of Motion Picture Theatres' Assn. of Ontario (Eastern Division). Ray succeeds Steve McManus, manager 20th-Fox Elgin, Bisson's New House Ottawa, Dec. 19. Louis Bisson, French - Canadian RCAF vet, got city council okay for postwar construction of a film house in Htill, Que., across the river from Ottawa. Bisson already has the property but has not completed plans for the theatre. . Friendly. Aides Schwartx Sol Schwartz, general manager of RKO out of town theatres, appointed Danny Friendly to his home office staff. Latter discharged from the Army recently. Spltka Moved t« Findlay, O. Findla'y, O., Dec. 19. Charles R. Spitka, manager State, Lima, transferred to Findlay, O., to manage Harris, replacing Paul Bien, resigned. Start on New Dallas House Dallas, Dec. 19. P. G: Cameron has started work on his Urban theatre here. House- is near the site of old Urban, destroyed by Are early this year.. Cameron also plans to remodel his Peak and Grove theatres here. rlgo in Warner'Bros, midwest dis- trict publicity office. Kramer, who will cover such mid- west cities as Minneapolis, Detroit and Milwaukee, was editorial staffer of Chi Tribune for four years and assistant to Larry Welters,.radio ed, two years, prior to joining WGN in 1940. He left WGN in August, 1942, to join the AAF, returning in Octo- ber last year after honorable dis- charge from the service. Postwar Theatre — Continued from pace S' ^^^ Orient and Australia, but other Coast citifes, now booming with war- time shipbuilding and other war in- dustries, are not rated so favorably in the postwar picture. Outside of New York State, Texas is getierally tabbed as the state most likely to eiijoy peacetime prosperity because of mineral possibilities, in- cluding oil. Diversified business in that state, including shipping to some degree, also makes its after-war pos- sibilties loom good. Reports to vari- ous trade associations do not make the various war-boom communities on ttte West Coast shape up so well. While major circuits just now do not contemplate any extensive the- atre building, there will be plenty of theatre equipment replacing done. Estimated that several hundr^ mil- lion dollars will be spent on new theatre chairs, booth equipment, car- I>ets, etc. Streamlining of air-con- ditioning and mass production is ex- pected to bring cooling systems' cost down to such a moderate price that hundreds of film theatres will be able to install such equipment, I MIssonri House Reopened Roxy, Brunswick, Mo., destroyed by fire last year, reopened as the El Jon. The Fourth Street and Grand, Fox Midwest houses, and the Sosna, owned by Louis Sosna, all of Mo- Derly, Mo., co-opod In putting over the town's quota for Sixth War Bond drive. The quota of $52<.000 was Charnas' Addition ■ Swanton, O., Dec. 19. Nat B. Charnas, Toledo, who ope- rates several houses in that city, has reopened LaFrance, Swanton, O., which he purchased recently from the Leo Pilliod estate, following re- modeling and redecorating. M-W Adds Home, Tonngatown, O. Youngstown, Dec. 19. Peter Wellman, operator of Mock and Wellman theatres at nearby Girard, has taken, over the Home theatre here. WB Gets WGN, Chi, Flack Chicago, Dec. 19. Stanton Kramer, WGN flack and member of special events staff there for the past four years, leaves Dec, .30 to join Ted Tod and Lucia Per- 21 WORDS THAT SPELL CHRISTMAS BOND SALES! PUT THIS MESSAQE IN YOUR 6tfi WAR LOAN LOBBY ^he War Bonds you buy thig Chi^stmas SpMd the Christmas when yon may say- Peace on Earthy Good WiU Towards Men^^ • Ross Federal Service, Inc. Detroit's BIdg. Plans Detroit, Dec. 19. Theatre building plan£ here con- tinue to-be ambitious with the WPB inclined to nod favorably on some of the projects for big houses , in war- inflated communities. Up for government approval at the present time is a 1,500-seat house, the Academy, which Walter Shafer has underway for Wayne, Mich., where he now operates the 833-seat Wayne theatre. One oddity about the new construction is that it would d«vote the entire cost of $120,000 to a thea- tre with none of the built-in stores, bowling alleys and other features of other big local projects. Shafer will ust his present house, only a short distan c e irom the new house, as a subsequentrrun theatre. Ottews's Newest Ottawa, Dec. IS. Still another postwar theatre is in the blueprints for this capital with Nelson Amus. Co., formed by local businessmen, purchasing property on Rideau street for construction of a 1,200-seater as soon as building re- strictions are dropped. WPB's DalUs OK Dallas, Dec. 19. Indications here are' that B. R. McLendon has received priority from WPB to construct a. new the- atre here. Materials were on the ground and preliminary work was under way here this week on a lot which was understood to be, or was, McLendon's. Building permit was taken out in the name of Gordon McLendon, son of McLendon, now in the Navy. Both Interstete Theatres Circuit and McLendon were denied permits for the erection of houses here and took the cases to the WTO in Washington. Galdber^'s Balldlnf Ftaa* Cedar Rapids, la., Dec. 19. Ralph S. Goldberg, who operates seven in Omaha, announced recent- ly he expected . to build a new theatre here afteir.ihe war. He also plans hew theatres for Des Moines, Davenport, Council Bluffs and other Iowa cities. In most of these places, Goldberg aald, new buildings will be constructed. CB'way Battle | CoBtiaae^ fiwa page 1 new hits has smacked most of the holdovers and those attractions which were doiioc moderately well. Suddenly those shows in the latter category have been announced to leave town, which will help solve the theatre st)(u1age. Included In that group are "Chicken £veiT Son- day» (Plymouth), • "Catherine Was Grear Oioyale) although latter has been doing much better tlian ex- pect^. "He Perfect Jfairlagc" (Barfymore) and 'TDie Searching Wind" (Pulton), After.Broadway tattle* down to wmnalcy la the post-Mew Tear folBft tt win be discerned wfacfibcr TUe irUh Vathat?'. flEmpin) If fected. The run leader entered its sixth year recently, and while it has been off, the dip lias been believed to be mostly because of the annual pre-Christmns slump. Definitely af- fected by the new crop Is "Angel Street" (Bijou), which recently com- pleted its third year but is about washed up. , "Kis.< nnd Tell" (Bilt- more) replaces it but, like "Father," its chances-of going through another .season will be tested. Possible, too, that the holdover three-person socko, "The Voice of the Turtle" (Moi-o.sco), may reiaet to the new hits but the advance sale, however, extends into spring. The same will probably apply to the run musicals, and. already it is definite that "Carmen Jones" (Broadway) will take to the road. Show spurted when Sunday per- foirnces were started 'but the show is now announced in its final weeks. Coming in and regarded by experts as a cinch success is "Laffing Room Only." bowing into the Winter Gar- den Saturday (23), "Mexican Hay- ride," which led the list for many months, having moved to the Majes- tic. The new musical candidates In- clude "Central Park." "On The Town," "Sing Out, Sweet Land" <both the latter arriving next week at. the Adelphi and International, respectively), "Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston," "Lady In ?" and "Glad to See You," which has been in tryout trouble and is currently in Boston: also "La Vie Parsienne," which, however, is listed for the N. Y. City Center. But they'll tell you that "Okla- homa!" (St. James) will still be around when most of the current musicals will have gone on their way; Paper Shortage Continued from page 1 with the ad to appear in Time, Life, Look, New Yorker, Fortune, Esquire and a slew of dailies. It's figured that, with window displays included, upward of 20,000,000 people will see The Nose's testimonial to the Per- sonna blades. No dough is being exchanged on the deal. Film companies and top talent agencies are receiving more requests now than in some time for name en- dorsements. Paramoimt has set. a swap arrangement with Kalox tooth- powder and Bezel, vitamins, both made by McKesson & Bobbins, v.ith Par players giving their stamp of approval in exchange for the ad pub- licity. Actors involved include Fred MacMurray, Betty Button, Dorothy Laniour and Veronica Lake. Again, it Is a coin-free deal. Coin for Crosby Along the same lines, the William Morris agency has set Evelyii Knight to praise Mar-o-Oil, a hair shampoo, and has, one jiending for Vaughn Mom-oe for another account. Same agency lined up Danny Kaye for Stratford fountain pens, which also has ads featuring Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante-Garry Moore. Strat- ford pens are not enxiorsed, however, inkery firm saying it's pen gives "de- pendable performances," and that stars of the Durante-Kay-Cantor standing are also 'dependable per- formers." It's regarded as a tacit endorsement, however. - Occasionally, it's said, a really top, top name may hold out for coin and get it, as believed to be the case, in Bing Crosby's deal, with Chesterfield dggies. ELECT NEW OFnCERS FOR VARIETY CLUBS Memphis, Deo. 19. New directors elected by Mem- phis Variety club for coming year are: Al Avery, R. L. Bostick, K. R. Gillctt, Tom Kirk, Herb Kohn, J. W. Prlchard, Ed Sapinsley, Ed William- son, Bailey Prichard, Tom W. Young and M. A. Li^htman. J. Ci TunstiU, city manager, Maico theatres, Owensboro, Ky., promoted to field division manager for circuit and executive assistant to M. S. Mc- Cord, secretary of Lightman chain. •TunstiU will operate from new of- fices in Owensboro, supervisini^ 80 houses io Tennessee, .■ Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi. Adolph H. Baker, assistant city manager there, becomes city ni,nn- ager^ . . Cincy Variety Club Sesh Cincinnati, Dec. 19. ■ New officers of Tent 3. Variety Clubs of America, installed Dec. 11, include Ralph Kinsler, chief barker; Lev Bugie and Harry Hart- man, assistant chief barkers; SaulM. Greenberg, property master, and Pete Niland, dough guy. Canvas- men are Harry David, Harris Dudle- son, Arthur Frudenfeld, Mike Green- berg, Allan S. Moritz and Harry R, "Pop" WesseL Holdover canvas- men are Maurice White, retiring chief barker: Frank Wes Huss and William Oriie. Installation ceremony was in the tent's Netherland Plaza quarters. Anderson Ueada N.W. Variety Minneapolis, Dec. 19. Art Anderson, Warner Bros.* branch manager, elected chief i>arker of Northwest Variety club, succeed- ing W. A. Steffes who declined re- election. Other officers: Tom Burke, Monogram branch manager, flrst as- sistant chief barker; M. A. Levy, 20th-Fox district manager, second as- sistant; John Brahton, Minnesota Amus. booking manager, secretary; Bill Grant, Republic inanager, treas- urer. Eddie Golden will m.c. testimonial banquet for Steffes, Jan. S. HcGlnley Beads IndpbL Variety Indianapolis, Dec, 19. Lawrence J. McGihley, Universal branch. manager, re-elected chief barker of Indianapolis tent No. 10. Variety Club here. Earl Penrod, of Affiliated Enterprises, is first assist- ant chief barker; Harry Hayes, of United Artists, second assistant; Her- man Morgan, Jr., Affiliated Thetarec. secretary, and Al Blocher, of Y and W Theatres, treasurer. Albany Variety's Haase Organ Albany, Dec, 19. Local Variety Club Is to publish a monthly newsnaper, Floyd Fitz- simmons. Metro exploiteer, editor. IQie paper is a new project initiated by the 1944-45 crew, of which Her- man L. Ripps, M-G-M manager, is chief barker. (iibney Script for Durbin Hollywood, Dec. 19. Sheridan Gibney, who recently completed, a legit play, "Calico Wedding," checked in at Universal to write a screenplay, still untitled, as a future starrer for Deanna Durbin. Currently the actress is working in "Lady On a Train" and will make "Merry, Merry Marriage" before starting on the Gibney script. w«yn« and marlln To All Our Friends Everywhere GREETINGS JULES ALBERTI AGENCY