Variety (November 1952)

Wednesday, November .5, 1952 PSmBff PICTURES 19 Picture Grosses % WASHINGTON (Continued from page 9) “Werewolf London" (Indie) (re- issues). Looks to hit good $6,000 or near. Last week, “Hellgate" (Lip), $5,000. Palace (Loew’s) (2,370; 50-80)— “Dreamboat" (20th) (2d wk). Slim $7,000 in final 5 days after disap- pointing $12,000 last week. Playhouse (Lopert) (485; 50-$l) “The Thief" (UA) (2d wk). Very steady $7,500 after big $9,500 last week. Stays again. . Warner (WB) (2,174; 50-80)— “Miracle of Fatima" (WB) (2d wk). Holding at $12,000 after stout $19,000 opening week. Trans-Lux (T-L) (600; 60-$l)— “Eight Iron Men" (Col). Big $6,- 000. Holds. Last week, “Carrie" (Par) (6th wk), okay $3,000 in final 6 days. 'Quiet’ Sockeroo $25,000, Denver; ‘Lure’ Lush 19G Denver, Nov. 4. ' “Quiet Man" is the big news here this week, with smash takings in two houses. “Lure of Wilder- ness" also is. good in three spots. “Androcles and Lion" shapes big at Paramount. “Lion" and “Quiet Man" will hold. Estimates for This Week Aladdin (Fqx) (1,400; 50-85) — “Lure of Wijderness” (20th) and “Old Oklahoma Plains" (Rep.) day- date with Tabor, Webber. Good $7,500. Last week', “Rainbow Round Shoulder" (Col) and “Brigand" (Indie), fair $6,000. Broadway t ( Wolf berg) (1,200; 50- 85)—“Because You’re Mine" (M-G) (3d wk). Off tp $5,000. Last week, good .$91)0(1. . 5 . . Denham (Cockrill) (1,750; 50-85) —“Somebody Loves Me” (Par) (2d wk). Mild $7,000. Last week, fair $10,500. Denver (Fox) (2,525; 50-85) — “Quiet Man" (Rep) and “Tropical Heat Wave" (Rep). Great $20,000. Last week, “Back at Front" (U) and “Cry Beloved Country" (UA), $9,000 in 6 days. Esquire (Fox) (742; 50-85) — “Quiet Man” (Rep), and “Tropical Heat Wave"* (Rep). Sock $5,000. Last week, “Back at Front" (U) and “Cry Beloved Country" (UA), $1,500 in 6 days. Orpheum (RKO) (2,600; 50-85)— “Fearless Fagan" (M-G) and “My Man and I” (M-G). Slow $8,000. Last week, “Devil Makes Three" (M-G) and “You for Me" (M-G), fair $11,000. Paramount (Wolfberg) (2,200; SO- BS)—“Androcles and Lion" (RKO). Big $16,000. • Holds. Last week, “Washington Story” (M-G) and “Lady Iron Mask" (20th), $11,000. Tabor (Fox) (1,967; 50-85)—“Lure of Wilderness" (20th) and “Old Oklahoma Plains" (Rep). Also Aladdin, Webber. Trim $8,000. Last week, “Rainbow Round Shoulder" (Col) and “Brigand” (Indie), $6,500. Vogue (Pike) (600; 60-90)—“Tom Brown’s Schooldays" (Indie). Poor $1,500. Last week, “Under Paris Sky" (Indie), fine $2,500. Webber (Fox) (750; 50-85) — “Lure of Wilderness” (20th) and ‘Old Oklahoma Plains” (Rep). Good $3,500. Last week, “Rainbow Round Shoulder" (Col) and “Brig- and” (Indie), $3,000. KANSAS CITY ‘ (Continued from page 8) Assignment Paris" (Col) and “My Man and I" (M-G). Dull $8,- 000. Last week, “Because You’re Mine" (M-G) and “Holiday for- Sinners" (M-G), mild $9,000. „ Missouri.(RKOX J2M&; -50,75 W Lusty Men" (RKO) and “One Big Affair" (UA). Average $7,000r Last week, “Miracle of Fatima” (WB) (2d wk), pleasing $7,000. Orpheum (Fox Midwest) (1,912; 75-$l)—“Snows of Kilimanjaro" (20th) (3d wk). Big $9,000. Last week, sock $12,000. House will close out picture policy with this one. Paramount (Tri-States) (1,900; 50-75)—“Springfield Rifle" (WB). mfly $12,000 in 9 days. Turning Point” (Par) opened today (Tues.). Tower, Uptown, Fairway, Gran- ada (Fox Midwest) (2,100; 2,043; 700; 1,217; 50-75) —“Full House" .^Oth) and “Wife’s Best Friend" uOth). Light $11,000., Last week, Bonzo To College" (U) and “The Raiders" (U), slow $10,000 in 6 days. Vogue (Golden) (550; 50-85)— High Treason". (Indie) (2d wk). Sturdy $2,000'. Will go a third. Last "■eek, great $2,800, ‘RIFLE’ HOT $13,000, . BUFF.; ‘SNOWS’ 14G, 2D Buffalo, Nov. 4. Biz is very spotty here this stanza but “Springfield Rifle" is doing nicely with a fat total at Para- mount. Other newcomers are mild to dull. “Snows of Kilimanjaro” still is great on second stanza at the Center. “Because You’re Mine" is lagging in second week at the Buffalo and stays on five days. Estimates for This Week Buffalo (Lo.ew’s) (3,000; 40-70)— “Because You’re Mine" (M-G) and “Hour of 13" (M-G) (2d wk). Hold- ing only 5 days, with tame $7,500 likely. First week was nice $14,000. Paramount (Par) (3,000; 40-70)— “Springfield Rifle" . (WB) and “Night Without Sleep" (20th). Rousing $13,000. Last week, “Crim- son Pirate” (WB) and “Fargo" (Mono) (2d wk-4 days), $5,500. Center (Par) (2,100; 70-$l) — “Snows of Kilimanjaro" (20th) (2d wk). Great $14,000 after terrific $20,500 opener. Lafayette (Basil) (3,000; 40-70)— “Yankee Buccaneer" (U) and “Dance Hall Girls” (Indie). Slug- gish $8,000. Last week, “Back at Front” (U) and “Secret People” (Lip) (2d wk), okay $5,500 in 5 days. Century (20th Cent.) (3,000; 40- 70)—“Untamed Women" (UA) and “The Fighter" (UA). Fair $9,000. Last week, “Hellgate" (Lip) and “Scotland Yard Inspector” (Lip), ditto. ‘Mine’ Rousing $16,500, Toronto; ‘Somebody’ 16G Toronto, Nov. 4. Plenty of musicals current among newcomers, with “Because You’re Mine," “Somebody Loves Me" and “Everything I Have Is Yours” looming big. “Big Sky" looms healthy in second frame. Estimates for This Week Crest, Downtown, Glendale, Mayfair, Scarboro, State (Taylor) (863; 1,059; 955; 470; 698; 694; 35- 60)—“You for Me" (M-G) and “Scotland Yard Inspector" (Lip). Dull $10,000. Last week, “Woman of North Country” (Rep) and “Rose Bowl Story" (Mono), same. Eglinton (FP) (1,080; 40-80)— “Washington Story” (M-G). Nice $7,500. Last week, “River" (UA), $ 6 , 000 . Imperial ' (FP) (3,373; 59-80) — “Big Sky" (RKO) (2d wk). Neat $10,000. Last week, $13,500. Loew’s (Loew) (2,096; 50-80)— “Because You’re Mine" (M-G). Big $16,500. Last week, “Ivanhoe" (M- G) (4th wk), $12,500. Odeon (Rank) (2,390; 50-90) — “Story of Mandy" (Rank). Nice $11,000. Last week, “Penny Prin- cess” (U), $10,500. Shea’s (FP) (2,396; 40-80)— “Somebody Loves Me" (Par). Big $16,000. Last week, “Just for You” (Par) (3d wk), $9,500. Towne (Taylor) (693; 50-75) — “Camille" ‘(M-G) (reissue) (3d wk). Holding well at $5,000. Last week, $5,500. University (FP) (1,558; 40-80)— “Wife’s Best Friend” (20th) (2d wk). Nice $8,000. Last week, $12,- 000 . Uptown (Loew) (2,743; 40-80)— “Everything I Have Is Yours" (M- G). Neat $8,000. Last week, “Hori- zon West” (U), $6,500. ( PHILADELPHIA (Continued from page 8) 99)—“Eight Iron Men” (Col). Fine -$l§y09O.-—Last-- -week,- “■Back- ’••at- Front” (U), $10,000. Mastbaum (WB) (4,360; 85-$1.20) —“'Quiet Man" (Rep) (5th wk). Weekend helped to okay $10,000. Last week, $12,000. Midtown (Goldman) (1,000; 75- $1.30) — “Snows of Kilimanjaro" (20th) (3d wk). Socko $20,000. Last week, $24,000. Randolph (Goldman) (2,500; 50- 99) — “‘Because of You” (U). Good $16,000 or near. Last week, “Way of Gaucho" (20th), dull $7,000 for second week. Stanley (WB) (2,900; 50-99) — “Savage" (Par). Mild $12,000. Last week, “Lusty Men” (RKO) (2d wk), NSG $8,000. Stanton (WB) (1,473; 50-99) — “Black Castle” (U). Slow $7,000. Last week, “Toughest Man in Arizona” (Rep) and “Without Warning" (UA). $7,500. Trans-Lux (T-L) (500; 85-$1.20) — “Night Without Sleep" (20th) (2d wk). Off to $3,000 in 5 days. Last week, oke $4,500. W. Va. Exhib Thinks Admen Know Much Of The Answer to B.O. By JOHN A. GOODNO Huntington, W. Va. A publicity or advertising man should be consulted before produc- tion starts on any picture. He’s the periscope on the submarine that tells you where to fire and when to fire, arid more importantly what to fire. The publicity adman frequently knows in advance what will make the public say, “Gee, I want to see that picture!” Furthermore the pub-adman is a producer at heart anyway. He didn’t start out that way of course but being a front-line fighter, he’s seen so many near-misses and been called on to rescue so many “exploitation pictures" that un- consciously he’s gone home at night and produced a picture that he knew had what it took at the old boxoffice. Me, I got a million of ’em! My red hot special for last week is “TV Follies of '53" which I have (mentally, anyway) all set up. Ex- ploitationally we could give 15% of the gate to the hospital up in Sar- .anac and 10% to Lowell Thomas and his Cinerama crowd as sort of a laboratory fee to hasten pro- duction and engineering of those sets to cut it down to one operator arid possibly save our balcony—you know, a sorta “Get us out of the trenches before Lent!" Now the longhairs on the Coast ain’t gonna like this adman produc- ing pictures but maybe Dizzy Dean was right when he said they ain't gonna eat either. The idea to them of a-Ned Alvord telling the late George Bernard Shaw what would click at the boxoffice wouldn't make sense but Shaw was a pub- adman at heart. However, the picture looks brighter. Who knows, the 1938-41 boxoffice dip may be ending now in the 1948-52 history-repeats fash- ion, as the Dow Jones boys slide- rule it out. By the way, they got this alibi business down to a sci- ence-way ahead of us. You only have to look out the window down here and see the autumnal beauty of the broad Ohio Valley and movin’ along down there is Old Man River. Gone are the packet, boats, the show boats and the horse and wagons at the wharves but instead you see the sleek diesels moving right along, hauling more freight .than was thought possible two decades ago. Old Man River will always be with us and so will the theatre. Let’s keep rollin’ along. ‘Rifle’ Sharp $9,000, Seattle; ‘Lure’ Oke 8G Seattle, Nov. 4. Holdovers of two pix playing at upped scales are attracting the most interest here this session. “Ivanhoe,” in third round at Music Hall still is big, while “Snows of Kilimanjaro" continues well in third frame at Fifth Avenue. “Springfield Rifle" is okay at Or- Dheum to pace newcomers. “Lusty Men" looms passable at Liberty. Estimates for This Week Blue Mouse (Hamrick) (800; 65- 90)!_“Quiet Man” (Rep) (4th wk). Good S2.500 in 6 days. Last week, solid $3,700. Colisfeum (Evergreen) (1.829: 65- 90)—“Lure of Wilderness" (20th) and “If Moscow Strikes" (Indie). Okay $8,000 or near. Last week, “Golden Hawk" (Col) and “Strange Fascination" (Col), oke $7,700. Fifth Avenue (Evergreen) (2.336; 90-$1.25) — “Kilimanjaro" (20th) (3d wk). Fancy $8 000 for 5 days. La.st-W.eek,... swell, &L4J5QQ— Liberty (Hamrick) (1,650: 65-90) —“Lusty Men" (RKO). Passable $7,500. Last week, “Horizons West" (U) and “Stranger in Be- tween" (U), slow $4,000. Music Hall (Hamrick) (2,283; 90- $1.25)—“Ivanhoe" (M-G) (3d wk). Still big at $10,000. Last week, socko $12,000. Orpheum (Hamrick) (2.599; 65- 90)—“Springfield Rifle" (WB) and “Park Row" (UA). Oke $9,000 or over. Last week, “Yankee Buc- caneer" (U) and “Toughest Man in Arizona" (Rep), mild $6,700. Palomar (Sterling) (1,350; 45-70) —“Son of Paleface" (Par) and “Merry-Widow” (M-G), (2d runs). Opened Monday (3). Last week, “Daltons Ride" (Indie) and “Des- trey Rides" (Indie), okay $3,500. Paramount (Evergreen) (3,039; 65-90)—“Hangman’s Knot" (Col) and “Scotland Yard Investigator" (Lip). Very dull $6,000. Last week, “Monkey Business" (20th) and “Lady Iron Mask" (20th) (2d wk-5 days), $5,300. Class Showings of Arty Pix Spread Nationally as Boost to Boxoffice Malayans Ogle Pix Avidly, Avers Evans Hollywood, Nov. 4. Natives of Malaya are the most avid consumers of film entertain- ment in the world, according to John Evans, head of government motion picture censorship in that territory. As guest of honor at a Produc- tion Code luncheon, Evans said Malaya had 350 theatres and 5,000 16m sound projectors to entertain its population of 7,000,000. In 1951, he added, they saw approximately 900 features, 350 of which were made in Hollywood. ‘Pay-What-You-Want’ Scores Big in Mpls. Minneapolis, Nov. 4 Don Robertson, owner of the St. Paul 526-seat State, is finding his recently instituted “pay-what-you- want-to". Tuesday nights “profit- able." The voluntary payments plus the considerably increased concession stand business net him more than he previously garnered on those evenings, he says. The boxoffice is closed on the Tuesday “family nights” and the public has free ingress to the showhousc, which ordinarily charges, 30c ad- mission under its policy of dual last runs. The Internal Revenue Bureau has ruled that the 20% admission tax need not be paid from the “do- nations" which those attending are encouraged to make after seeing the show. Robertson, however, says the plan isn’t “a one-man fight" against the tax, a£ some industry members had suspected. 20th Ups Tulipan Ira Tulipan, tradepress public- ity contact at 20th-Fox, last week was named newspaper publicity contact. He is succeeded by Harold Rand, Tulipan’s assistant for the past 13 months. Tulipan, with 20th since 1942 and before that with Warner Bros., takes the place of Meyer Hutner, who has moved up to associate publicity manager. Code Balks MPA A • - Continued from page 7 * the Code looms high. So far, the majority of their pix aren’t sub- mitted for a Code seal and the indie distribs maintain that the absence of Code approval as a rule doesn’t deter exhibs from booking the pix. The situation concern the MPAA in yet another aspect since it adds fuel to the censors’ arguments. Currently on the hot seat, the scissor-wielders point to foreign imports as a reason for their con- tinued existence. Discussion of adherence to U. S. Code provisions go hand in hand with any talk on expanding the market here. An MPAA spokes- man expressed his conviction last week that “there will be a toning down in fpreign pictures as they make an effort to understand our situation here." Question of Code adherence is causing much exasperation among producers abroad. Some countries have codes patterned approximate- ,!y._ ter.. the.. U.....S_... exampie^.but, this doesn’t necessarily save them from trouble hem The French and Italians in particular argue that tailoring their pix to official Hol- lywood standards would thwart any attempt at individualism and would ruin their basic appeal to U. S. audiences. Conflict was highlighted at the recent “Salute to Italian Films Week” in New York, where a cer- tain number of paying customers were to have been admitted at each screening. Plans for public admission had to be abandoned for at least two festival pix— “Times Gone By” and “Umberto D”—when it was found they couldn't obtain a seal from the New York censor. Foreign countries solve this dif- ficulty in many instances in their own theatres at home by tagging certain productions “Adults Only.” Practice is practically unknown in this country. “Curtain at 8:30" gimmick, which turns the theatre over to a “class" film with trimmings at the s’ow mid-week'spot, is catching on wide- ly. Policy is seen as not only boosting attendance and bringing in a new kind of clientele, but also as a first-rate wedge. for foreign pix, which otherwise might never be seen in a community. Experiments, which started in Canada a year and a half ago, are being copied all over the country according to Harry Fellerman, head of Universal’s Special Films Division, who last week returned from a tour of nine exchanges in the mid and far-west. Fellerman said many circuits are adopting the “let’s go arty" slant on a once-a* week or twice-a-month* basis, sell- ing tickets either singly or, at a reduced rate, for an entire series. U naturally is eager to push its Rank product, but recognizes that there aren’t enough British films around to fill the bill. To alleviate exhib fears of Im sufficient foreign product to go through with the “Curtain" idea, U is offering to provide theatres with any information they may need on what foreign pix are han- dled by whom. Fellerman says British films are preferred and are winning mapy friends, but other foreign imports are welcome also, particularly if they are pictures that have been preceded by word- of-mouth praise. Fox-Midwest circuit calls its se- ries “An Evening at the Theatre" and sells tickets at $3 for a series of four. Fox Intermountain in Denver has adopted the “Gold Medal Cinema Series" tag, aqd Fox theatres in Kansas City run their special shows as the “Lyceum" series. Fellerman says a lot depends on the amount of work the local man- ager is willing to put into the pres- entations. “Once a couple of Brit- ish pictures get into a situation, they open the way and stimulate interest for others," he reports. “This is a new type of showman- ship where we really must go out and sell." The British are helping by improving quality and shorting the running time of their product, Fellerman believes. In the east, the Walter Reade circuit and the American Commu- nity Theatres are among the chains that have explored the “arty” ap- proach. Reade started late last year in Plainfield and Red Bank, N. J. Kingston and Saratoga were added for another quartet series of shows last spring. Latest chapter in the Reade “Curtain at 8:40" experiment kick- ed off last week in six houses for a series of four shows. Circuit is using “The Lavender Hill Mob" (British); “Under the Paris Sky" (French); “Rashomon" (Japanese), and “Encore” (British). There’ll be a repeat in the spring. Regular show is cancelled for the “Curtain at 8:40" night. Thea- tres close down their concession stands and serve free coffee. Tux- edoed ushers add class. The fea- ture is coupled with one or two art shorts. Reade chain says it’s had inquiries about its special shows from 20 to 30 circuits all over the country. Chi Indie Asks 225G From Majors, Others Chicago, Nov. 4. The _Re_na._ west side...ind.ie,...haji. fifed suiF"against ail the majors (except 20th(-Fox and RKO), Bala- ban & Katz and the 20th Century Theatre. Triple-damage claim for $225,000 was filed by Leonard Grossman and his wife in Chi Fed- eral Court and asserts the majors favored the B&K circuit and 20th Century, which is operated by Jack Kirsch, head of Illinois Allied The- atres. Pair operated the Rena from 1949 to January, 1951, and suit says that they were forced to give up the house because of failure to obtain better product. Salesmen Reelfcct Joe Murphy Minneapolis, Nov. 4. The Minneapolis Reel Fellows, local member of the Colosseum of Motion Picture Salesmen of America, at its annual election, re- tained president Joe Murphy and all of its other officers.