Variety (August 1950)

22 PICTURES Wednesday, August 16, 1950 Clips from Film Row ♦♦♦ ♦ +4 ♦ 4 ♦ ♦ V + 4 » ♦ » ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ » » 4 r 4 + » ♦ ♦ ♦ » > 4 ♦ ♦ ■ ♦ > 4 ♦ ♦ LOS ANGELES Monogram appointed W. • A. Johnson acting manager* of its Des Moines exchange, taking over for George Taif who is on leave of absence because of illness* Mixup in a three-way firsfcrun deal caused the Manchester thea- tre, 1,600-seater, to serve a two- week closing notice: on its em- ployees. House ; is . operated by Southside theatres, headed by Roy Wolff. Wolff explained that the theatre has been operating as a first-run outlet playing day-and- date with the Paramount Holly- wood and Paramount Downtown theatres for three months without Paramount product. He said the house will resume operations when- ever first-run product with the two other' Paramount theatres is avail- able. for his 900-seat Gopher, former Paramount circuit first-run “B” house, which the big chain re- linquished in compliance with the consent decree* He now owns and operates. RKO already has ap- proved the demand, Harold Field, owner of a 30- theatre circuit, believes that a re- turn to the sort of attire that us- ually made showmen conspicuous in yesteryears is in order. He feels that showmen should stand out in their communities in every way, including appearance. Field pre- sented each house manager with a hew conspicuous plaid coat. Along with the coats have gone directives from Field to Use them as a pattern for their attire hence- forth. CHICAGO Alliance Theatres wound up their 18-week drive, in Which house man- agers compete for prizes totalling $5,000. Balaban and Katz: circuit con- cluded* its 13-week showmanship drive, with awards presented in a luncheon- at. the Bismarck Hotel* 'Winners of a two-week, all-expense trip to the Coast were Milton Of- ficer, manager of the Central Park here; William Heasman, manager of Plumb theatre, Streator, 111., and Milton Brown, manager Or- pheum, Galesburg, 111. S. J. Gregory, Alliance Theatre topper, returned from Richland, Wash., after supervising construc- tion of circuit's new house there. Economy drive by Paramount’s local exchange resulted in release of 16 clerks and minor employees. MINNEAPOLIS Current North Central Allied bulletin upbraids Universalfor demanding top percentage for *Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town” and ‘‘Francis.” It also accuses the company of forcing pictures in violation of the consent decree. President Bennie Berger oi North Central Allied charges -that distributor heads are to blame “for ' the present poor business that the- atres are suffering because they don’t give exhibitors an inceptive for exploiting pictures.’* - In economy m o v e, Paramount branch discharged 11 office staff members. With 33 employees still . left, however, it still will have one of largest staffs of. any exchange '• here. ' El Lago, independent neighbor- : hood house, joining ranks of those demanding earlier availability. It wants 42 days instead of 48. Charlie RubCnstein, circuit own- er, won Northwest Variety Club golf tournament for third succes- sive year and retains permanent possession of club trophy. . Bennie Berger demanded the right to bid on first-rim product PITTSBURGH John Zomnir, Eagle Lion Clas- sics sales chief and manager of the E-L exchange here before the merger with Film Classics, is leav- ing for San Francisco to work un- der James Hendel, who is super- vising head of six ELC branches on the West Coast. Hendel was Zorn- nir’s immediate predecessor at old E-L Pittsburgh exchange. With transfer of Stuart Jacobson to Cin- cinnati office, new ELC salesman here is Joel Golden from .Cleve- land, whoWas a local booker for Paramount 10 years ago. . Kalmen Erdeky, manager of Strand in Greensburg, transferred by Warners to the Ritz in Clarks- burg, W;*Va., where he" succeeds the late O/ Alton Rea, who died a few weeks agft Bill Brooker, Par exploitation man in the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia area, resigned and is being re- placed by Mike Weiss_ fonnerly with 20th-Fox. J. G. Carruthers, owner of Lee and Guthrie theatres in Grove City, named James G. Bell to manage them. .Until recently, Bell piloted the Penn and Victor in New Castle, Pa. Arthur L. Mayer, vet filmite named by COMPO’s board of di- rectors as its exec veepee, imme- diately swung into action to get the all-industry org operating. Mayer estimates that he needs a “substantial staff” if ai(jj the Rec- ommendations made by 'the board are to be carried out.- He is hud- dling with various applicants for the No. 2 exec spot in the group as well, as with candidates for other 4 ENGINE DOUGLAS DC-4S Direct from LaG.uardia and Newark Round Trip Special CALIFORNIA $80 Z? Fly New—Pay Later 1 WAY $80 Miami $35 non-stop Chicago $24 PlutTa* mm AMERICAN ' AIRLINES BALTIMORE First subsequent-run nabes here have started upping their scales this week, the Durkee chain lead- ing the way with a lift of a nickel for all 30c and 35c houses. Rome and Schwaber houses following suit in selected locations and move is expected to become general all over town. No excessive beefing indi- cated. Downtown deluxers are standing pat on 60c and 65c tops. Latest addition to growing list of nabe deluxers, the North wood, opened in elaborately built shop- ping cejiter in fast-growing North- wood suburban area. House seats over 1,000 and is playing 21 days behind downtown openings* Joe Grant, identified with film and real estate holdings hfcre, is operating. ST. LOUIS Bill Slater, Universal eXploiteer, cooking up! cuffo publicity for visit of Spring Byington here for local preem of “Louisa.” Sheriff Lowal Ragan of Heega, 111., purchased the Heega, 300- seater in Heega from Barney Dia- mond. Frank X. Reller owner of the American, Wentzville, Mo., and Harry Miller, owner of two houses in Festus, Mo., are among 90 Miss- ourians who sailed for Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome. The Sun, 1,500-seater in mid- town St. Louis, recently opened to cater to Negro trade, shuttered fbr indefinite period. Mayer considers his new ppst “as the’ biggest and most important job I have ever held.” He. has had a long line of industry and Govern- ment posts and is currently film consultant to the Emonomic Coop- eration • Administration. Mayer believes he will have to resign that job. He is taking the question up with ECA officials. ; His appointment is regarded as a strong move by COMPO board members', since he combines per- sonal popularity with a thorough grounding in both industry and Governmental (chores. His salary will be $25,000 plus expenses. For many years, Mayer operated the Rialto theatre, Broadway action house. During that period he wrote extensively in a humorous vein on the patronage and problems of that sort of operation. He was fre- quently dubbed the '“merchant of menace’’ because of the Rialto’s penchant for horror and mystery pix. During World War II, Mayer served iff a number of posts. He was assistant coordinator of the War Activities Committee. He also atted as film consultant to the Secretary of War: Additionally, he held down the job of assistant to Basil O’Connor, prez then of the Red Cross. In 1948-49 he trekked to Germany to act as chief of the motion picture branch of the American Military Government. For many years Mayer was part- ner with Joseph Burstyn in a com- pany distributing foreigri-lingo pix. That partnership broke' up alter his return from Germany. \' s Mayer’s TOA Talk Continued from pa|e 4 terests of its members are affected rather than those of the industry generally. In this regard, questions of manpower and labor relations may be taken up by TO A alone or In conjunction with COMPO. Org also feels that it should keep up its Washington contacts for possi- be theatre problems. TOA-ers now feel that COMPO must get moving immediately by circularization of literature. It should also send out speakers to grassroot meetings. Those func- tions should be carried out by COMPO rather than TOA, it is said. Sullivan planed to Dallas Mon- day (14) to line up final details on the TOA convention along With Robert J. O’Donnell, convention chairman. He is due back in New York tomorrow (Thurs,), PHILADELPHIA (Continued from page 12) Last week, “Broken Arrow” (20th), fine $18,000 for third stanza. Goldman (Goldman) (1,200; 50- 99)—'“Furies” (Par) (2d wk), Still neati at $13,000. Last" week, sturdy $17,500.“ ^ '■ 1 Karlion (Goldman) (1,000; 50- 99.)—“Annie Get Gun’ ? (M-G) (2d wk). Fancy $7,000; Last week, $ 8 , 000 . Mastbaum (WB) (4,360; 50-99)— “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” (WB). Big $35,0Q0 or hear. Last week, “Admiral Was Lady” (UA), dim $13,000. Randolph (Goldman) (2,500; 50- 99)—“Duchess. of Idaho” (M-G) (3d wk). Nice $15,000. Last week, solid $20,000.- Stanley (WB) (2,950; 50-99) — “711 Ocean "Drive” (Col). Sock $23,000 or '“over. Last week, “Rogues Sherwood Forest” (Col), $8,500 for second week. Stanton (WB) > (1,475; 50-99)— “Convicted” (Col). Smash $16,- 000. Last, week, “Modern Mar- riage” (Mono), $7,500. Trans-Lux (T-L) (500; 50-99) — “Kind Hearts, Coronets” (EL) (4th wk). Big $4,500. Last week, $5,500. v K.C. Cool But Biz Hot; ’Duchess’ Stout $20,000, ’Furies’ 13G, ’Trail’ 10G Kansas City, Aug; 15. . .Midland leads the town this week with “Duchess of Idaho,” sock $20,000 and sure of holdover. “Cariboo Trail” is slow at the three Fox Midwest first-runs. “The Furies” is giving the Paramount a nice week, and may hold. “Treas- ure Island” continues strong in its seebnd week at Missouri theatre. Cool summer weather still is a big aid. Estimates for This Week Esquire (Fox Midwest) (800; 45- 65) — “Passionelle” (Indie) and “Torment” (Indie). Average $3,500. Last week, “Port of New York’ ’ *EL), and “Kill or Be Killed” (EL) slim $2,000. Midland (Loew’s) (3,500; 45-65)— “Duchess of Idaho” (M-G) and “Stafe Penitentiary” (Col). Getting royal $20,000, and will go a sec*, ond. Last week, “Three Little Words” (M^G) and “Beware of Blondie” (Col) (2d wk), pleasing ; $12,000. Missouri (RKO) (2,650; 45-65)— “Treasure Island” (RKO) and “Bunco Squad” (RKO) (2d wk). Fast $9,000. Last week, $14,000. Paramount (United Par) (1.9Q0; 45-65)—“The Furies” (Par). Fine $13,000 and will hold. Last week, “Flame and Arrow” (WB) (2d wk), $6,500. Tower * Uptown - Fairway (Fox Midwest) (2,100; 2,043; 700; 45-65) — “Cariboo Trail” (20th) and “Love That Brute” (20th). Slow $10,000, and moves out after 6 days. Last week, “Cactus Creek” (U) and “One Way Street” (U), same. ' Local 230 Victor In NX Publicists Election In an election held in New York yesterday (Tuesday), to determine What union should represent RKO publicists and artists, Local 230- Sign & Pictorial Display Workers ’AFL triumphed. Balloting gave Lo- cal 230 26 Votes while three em- ployees voted for no union at all. Election took place after the Na- tional Labor Relations Board per- mitted the RKO group to bargain individually rather t h a ri partici- pate in industry-wide sessions. Some time ago the RKO employees resigned from the old Screen Pub- licists Guild* Latter unit is now part, of the Screen Employees Guild and was not • listed on the ballot. UP TV Try Continued from page'4 ( the effect of the scale on atten- dance. These tests are being im- posed at the suggestion of the Big Ten, which is vitally interested in the potential of theatre TV. If the Big Ten test goes over, judged by its boxoffice attraction, tremendous UP chain will be in the_ field for other football tieiips, with baseball looming as another lucrative possibility, Goldenson in- dicated. UP prexy who has always been upbeat on the tremendous, potential of theatre TV, sees,the likelihood of 1,060 theatres throughout the country latching on to the movement once its earning powers are demonstrated. High cost , of equipment presently is recognized by Goldenson as a deterrent but he predicts that logjam will be broken by mass as- sembly methods. Other theatre TV proponents are hailing the UP deal as the final break needed to demonstrate the new medium’s drawing power. Pre- vious sports tests such as last year’s World Series never met the requirements because they were non-exclusive, it is pointed out. Big Ten has banned home tele- casting of the games. On this score, fact is cited that sponsorship of a Big Ten game brought in only $7,500 or there- abouts while theatre TV, presents — the- football leaghe’ and others around the country with far greater revenue possibilities; Paid viewing in theatres, moreover,. would not hit attendance with the same force as cuffo hearth-arid- slipper telecasts. Although it is creating a small Chi circuit-for the gridiron show- ings, UP will go ahead with its plans for other installations. Gold- enson said. Once Chi and Detroit houses are equipped, circuit in- tends supplying theatre TV to its Milwaukee showcase. Circuit has not projected its plans, further be- cause the supply of equipment is still necessarily slow. OUTDOOR REFRESHMENT, SERVICE from Coast to Coast over % Contury Refreshment Service for DRIVE - IN THEATRES SPORT5ER VICE CORP. P6<utc fPORrStRVICt BLDG, • BUFFALO, N Y WA 2S06 film Beach . County—East Coast ol Florida. Rentals—season or yearly. On fho ocean and lake front/ city; town and country. Hotel, homos and units. „ • COAST LINE-REALfY Ann Barrett, Realtor • Boynton Beach. Florida Sales* Hemes, Income, feuajnesi, ftrmi, [ttc. PHILADELPHIA Crew of 70 technicians headed by Director Mark Robson is in town to begin shooting Universal- International’s “Lights Out,” much of which will be filmed in hearby Phoenixvilie, and Valley Forge, Pa. Closing sequences will be shot in Philadelphia. Arthur Ken- nedy and Peggy Dow head the cast contikgent here. Lou Davidoff, for many years a Stanley Warner exec, took over as general manager of the A. M. Ellis chain, Aug. 14. DALLAS The Hartex at Harper purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Game!. House would be open four nights weekly. Wa L. Anderson and R. W* Hen- drick bought the interest held by Ri G. Gunter in Star Dust Drive- -In which they operate at San . Angelo. Anderson arid Hendrick in turn; have sold an interest to Lee | Williams* in the ozoner. Continued from page 3 when the control bill is passed by the Senate. Attending the conclave . were MPA A prexy Eric Johnston, his administrative assistants Joyce O’Hara and Edward Cheyfitz; gen- eral counsel Sidney Schreiber, treasurer Fred Du Val, legislative rep Jack Bryson and veepee Fran- cis Harmon. They represented the organization’s New York and Wash- ington offices. Delegates also heard Johnston review the recently negotiated Anglo-American mone- tary agreement. U.Sv Calls Joe Goetz Cincinnatti, Aug. 15. Col. Joseph F. Goetz, managed of Mid-States Capitol and Shubert theatres, has been Ordered to re- port to Air Force headquarters in Washington Aug. 19 for temporary duty on a mobilization assignment. He was chief of motion picture and entertainment section before returning to inactive status last March. WASHINGTON (Continued from page 12) average. Last week, “Lawless” (Par), fair $4,000. Keith’s (RKO) (1,139; 44-80.)-^ j “Treasure Island” (RKO) 1 2d wk). Spcko $12,000 after torrid $20,000 last week. Holds, Metropolitan (Warner) (1.163; 44- 74)~“CongOlaise” (EL) and “Ten- I sion” (M-G). Okay $6,000. Last ; week, .■■G* L Joe” (EL) (reissue), big • $7,500. Palace (Loew’s) (2,370; 44-74)r- “Where Sidewalk Ends” (20th). Sluggish $13,000. Last week, “Three Little Words’’ (M-G) (2d Wk), fine $14,000. Playhouse (Lopert) (485; 50-85) -—“Panic in Streets” (20th). Sock $9,000. Last week, “Henry V” (UA) (reissue) (2d wk),-good $5,000. Warner (WB) (2,164; 44-74)—“711 Ocean Drive” (Col). Firm $12,000. Last week, “Flame and Arrow” (WB) (2d wk), steady $10,000. Trans-Lux (T-L) (650; 44-80)— “Kind Hearts” (EL): (5th-final wk). Okay $5,000 after $6,000 last week. SEATTLE (Continued fropi page 13) from Texas” (U) and “Adam and Evalyn” (U), $8,800. Palomar (Sterling) (1,350; 40-52- 97)—“Peggy” (U) (2d run) plus Nel- lie Lutcher heading stageshow. Great $11,000. Last week, “Cariboo Trail” (20th) (2d run) plus Flo Ash and revue onstage, nice $8,500. Paramount (Evergreen) (3,039; 59-84)—“BrokemAmriv^H^thHmd “Triple Trouble” (Par). Trim $12^ , 000. Last week, “Stella” (20th) and i “Destination Murder” (RKO), $7.- 1 700. IN pe ksoni FRANCES —R/oi— SUMMER ICR CARNIVAb •—- radio city Music hall-*— Rockefeller Centir “SUNSET BOULEVARD” William HOLDEN • Gloria SWANSON Erich VON STROHEIM A Paramount Picture Spectacular Stage Presentation A v HAL WAUIS Production ' BARBARA . ■ s?,, " a| STANWYCK WINOELl WAITIR COREY HUSTON APirimoiiat Picture 'P4RA/VfO(/*r ^ MiUn.fM Fi.lHfe 1 ' Ni,hil/ 1