Variety (December 1952)

52 umm Wednesday, December 31, 1952 fr 1952—Big Grosses^ Low Profits Continued from page 14 promote more touring shows by Investing in road pMduelion' As a permanent/actor, the CLT campaign is obviously limited by the number and quality of touring shows available. The latter clearly depends on the supply of suitable scripts. On that, basis, neither looks too promising as a long-range prospect. Chicago Exhibitors In State of Optimism Chicago, Dec. 30. .Chicago exhibitors are in a state of restrained optimism, just hoping that 1953 will hold up to the last • six months of 1952. Last half of *52 seems to have stemmed the tide of closing theatres and falling receipts. While there aren’t any new theatres opening or scheduled in the near future, the flood of ‘ shutterings seems to have ceased, at least for the moment. Chicago October tax receipts showed an increase over a year ago, and the November report was off only half of 1% from 1951, the smallest rate of decline in the past four years. In addition, most of the theatre large-screen TV efforts have been successful. All in all it’s been good so far. While the summer’s usual dol- drums and reports of the political conventions were. expected to hit the boxoffice extra heavy this year, most owners were surprised at the light punch they had to take. Of course, Chicago Theatre, with the town’s lone vaudeville offerings, swept up again. In addition, there were several long-run attractions, “Greatest Show on Earth” settling 17-week record at the Palace and “Quo Vadis” at the Oriental doing 10 weeks. Pace kept up this fall with at- tractions showing little sign, of a letup over the .summer. Many of the attractions were upped-priced releases, and also several of the Loop film houses boosted their ad*- mission. Attendance-wise it hasn’t hurt any as yet. Nabes have been doing fairly. well, with about 12 houses relighting after closing dur- ing the hot weather. . • There continues to be an increase in the number of houses using foreign product. At present, almost 24 rely almost exclusively on for- eign films, mainly British. In addi- tion, there is acceptance by about 00% of the rest cf the houses fo r top import product. Drive-ins have been doing very well here, although not up to sock results of 1951, but weather and politics onvteevee hit them a little harder than the regular theatres. However, several stayed open until Thanksgiving. Ozoners here can play day-and-date with the Chi first-runs, and most of them double their pix. Theatre teevee had a healthy year, except for the Paramount in Gary, in the midst a national steel strike. However, none of the houses televised football this year, leav- ing only boxing as the main fare. Vaudeville, once the mainstay of many houses, is now limited just to the Chibago Theatre^ which has been doing well since the beginning of summer with name lures. 1952 Spotty at B.O. For New Haven Amus. New Haven, Dec. 30. In retrospect, the year 1952 shapes up as a spotty one for this moderate-sized show biz center. There are probably few cities of comparable population that house such a wide variety of potential diversion under a single sky-piece. In addition to obvious film fare, which gets pretty thorough cover- age not only via standard houses but also by drive-ins, community has a comprehensive entertain- ment menu that includes the coun- try’s GrajJe-A legit at the Shubert; local ana network television via WNHC-TV; top blade shows like “Ice Follies” and “Ice Capades” at the Arena; bigtiine concert series at Yale’s Woolsey Hall; a lively summer amusement park in Savin Rock; five strawhats within an hour’s ride; pop concerts in Yale Bowl; occasional vaude and name bands; a variety 6f nite spots; etc. With such an extensive list* at- tempting to lure the spender’s dol- lar, it isn’t surprising to note that the dollar has been spread pretty thin'over the amusement industry ^ as a whole hereabouts for the 12 ^Sjnths of 1952. jpix have had their ins and outs, / and the situation in general can b"e BbTTed'^dbv’fi t5' < a“smtlS^Yift-rras already been defined elesewhere numerous times, viz.: when a house has a good film, it does biz; when a house has a good film, it does biz; when it doesn’t, it doesn’t... period. TV has had its innings here dur- ing ’52 and has steadily increased its following. Indications that the medium is still in the novelty stage for many citizens is pointed up by the fact that, while some of the in- creased sales merely mean the” ac- quisition of a more modern set by an established fan, by far the ma- jority of the sales represent first- time buys. This increased activity has had the obvious effect of put- ting the brakes on other types of entertainment, meanwhile upping the stock of local WNHC-TV. Of interest is the fact that when a lo- cal transportation company applied for a boost in fares, it claimed that video kept people home instead of coming to town for entertainment, thus creating a loss of transporta- tion revenue that required replace- ment via increased fares. Spotty is the 1952 word for local legit also. Shubert, with its nation- wide reputation for incubating new ones, has encountered a situation of shopping similar to the pix problem. No longed do ducat-pur- chasers flock to everything that comes along. They tfait for tlje good ones... and the fact that there haven’t been too many of those for the last half of the ’51- ’52' season and the first half of the ’52-’53 season means that biz has been teetering on. a see-saw all year. House records have been es- tablished in both directions. Year, as a whole, can be rated only fair, with not a single smash hit preem- ing here. . Name bands and vaude called it a day after a couple of abortive trys, but “Ice Capades” and “Fol- lies” found profit in their annual stopovers. The “Olsen & Johnson- Skating Vanities” played to a host of vacant pews. Summer, on the whole, was stag- nant from a b.o. angle. Pop Con- cert series was nothing to write home about from a black ink view- point; Ringling-Barnum laid an egg in its one-day stand; Savin Rock park rang up an indifferent ov.erall season despite occasional flurries; and the general response to strawhat fare was lukewarm. Nite spot action simmered down to weekend biz, and not a sensa- tional lot of that either. All in all, amusement purveyors are not too sorry to see ’52 fold up its tent as they cross their fin- gers for the new upcoming 1953 session. able season and the legitimate presently is enjoying a greater degree of prosperity here than for many years. Moreover, if such entertainment as wrestling and sports like U. of Minnesota football and professional basketball may be ntciuucu Ttr ore siiwvv 'tsuaiiv category the situation stacks up as far from hopeless. They’ve all done very well and continue to thrive. Then, too, theatre bars here have been rolling along on all cyclinders since they started turning to strip- pers and exotic dancers for their entertainment pieces-de-resistance. On the other hand, burlesque, as usual, is hanging on by the skin of its teeth, the one local theatre, the Alvin, devoted to this form of amusement, having the toughest kind of sledding, particularly dur- ing the period preceding its closing for the preholiday term. And, re- turning to sports, American Asso- ciation league baseball had a dis- mal season. Neighborhood and suburban film theatres are in the worst shape, but the situation isn’t too healthy downtown, either. Since TV’s ad- vent three years ago, four Twin Cities downtown theatres, two each in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and 14 neighborhood and suburban houses have given up the ghost. Industry leaders believe that Min- neapolis eventually will have to do with at least one and possibly two or three fewer downtown theatres. Also, it’s a known fact that many more neighborhood and suburban houses are in a bad way. But three independent neighborhood and sub- urban theatres with a “fine arts” policy are doing relatively well. At least, their grosses occasionally range from $1,200 to $2,000 a week, which is much more than the aver- age competitor is able to chalk up. They play foreign pictures almost entirely, many of them first-runs. In surveying the drive-in theatre and legitimate scenes, considera- tion, of course, must be given to the fact that their seasons are brief. The ozoners arp lucky, if they are able to .^operate a totaf of five months a year. The Lyceum, local home of legit, has had only eight shows so far this season, and there, are no bookings _definitely in pros- pect for the rest of the season. But the eight all racked up splendid grosses, giving the house its best season in many years. End of ’52 Finds Mpls. Amus. Lagging Minneapolis, Dec. 30. End of 1952 finds the local en- tertainment industry, and particu- larly film exhibition and the better supper clubs, still A sundering in more or less doldrums. Its sad plight continues to be blamed principally on TV, but with a full realization that a part has been played by such other adverse fac- tors as general economic conditions resulting in reduced entertainment purchasing power, continuous emergence of more competition, in addition to video, for the enter- tainment dollar, and high theatre- going and supper club costs, in- cluding transportation, parking and baby sitting. There is no diminution in fears anent the future, despite a bolder front and a surface optimism in some quarters, and the uncertainty confronting the industry seems no less than it was 12 months ago, according to such comparatively optimistic leaders as Harry B. French and Bennie Berger, Min- nesota Amus. Co. (United Para- mount Theatres circuit), president and North Central Allied head, respectively. There is a hope that Cinerama and third-dimension pix may help to effect a boxoffice revival. ‘ Also, the anticipated elimination of the 20% admission tax, the improvement in screen product and the increasingly fewer theatres in consequence of shutter- ings, along with the wearing off of TV’s novelty and the sameness and inferiority of much video fare, may reverse the present downward trend. While the picture generally is dark, drive-in theatres here and throughout the territory have, for the most part, had another profit- Springfield Once Used Te Buy Anything—Once Springfield, Mass.,' Dec. 30. This was a town which once would buy anything, from the Cherry Sisters to the Boston Sym- phony. Today it’s a town that is shopping carefully, and buying lit- tle. City is focal point of area known' as “Greater Springfield, 1 * with po- tential draw of 500,000, but neith- er pix, legit, nor longhair draw anything like what they need to sustain themselves. Pix and legit have fared the worst. One film house, the Broad- way, property of Western Mass. Theatres, hasn’t opened doors all season. It is also fixed up for legit. Second-runs have cut out weekday matinees; first-runs shrug and say “we’re getting our share,” which meafts there isn’t enough to go around. Open-airs have cut into pix biz downtown, where houses now have to rely largely upon what they can get when former are shut, despite air-conditioning and other attractions. Two-week run for pix used to be ordinary. Now it seldom happens, except in case of “Quiet Man,” and big Technicolor musicals, largely at Loew’s Poli. Video is obviously hitting hard, with some reports as high as sale of 1,000 sets a week in area. New, local station, WWLP, headed by William L. Putnam, is to go into operation, soon on 5-to- midnight basis. Legit very spotty. Good b.o. for bright, classy hits such as “Gentle- men Prefer Blonaes,” but n.g. for Gilbert & Sullivan; medium for Cornelia Otis Skinner. 1,500-seat Court Square is meeting competi- tion from Municipal Auditorium, hired by outside promoters for First Drama Quartet, Elsa Lan- chester, et al., and 3,000-seat West Springfield Coliseum, for Martin [and Lewis, and ice shows. St. Loo Legit Hardest Hit of the Amus. St. Louis, Dec. 30. Show biz has been limping along in St. Louis since the teeoff of the 1952-53 season, with the American theatre, the No. 1 legit house of the towq, being hardest hit. SlnceJ the late opening (Oct. 13) the house has been dark for five weeks, end- ing Dec. 27, due to switching in bookings and closing of pieces skedded for local showing. “Gen- tlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Jane” both closed before reaching St. Louis, and “Top Banana” and “Paint Your Wagon” were diverted from ——Loiiis;—fle nse - —rel ights- Dec. 27 with “Strike A Match.” When pieces have been available here biz has been good. “Call Me Madam,” in a two-week stand at an upped scale, grossed $70,000; “I Am A Camera” raked in $21,- 000, and “Bagels and Yox” grabbed a swell $21,000 in one week. The Ansell Bros.’ midtown Em- press, with a $2.50 top prevailing through the season, an increase of 50c over last season, has a policy of bringing visiting stars to its res- ident stock cast, and grosses have ranged from $8,000 to $18,000. Vis- iting players are working on a per- centage scale whereas last season they received a flat guarantee. The Ansells, owners of a chain of pic houses, lost $34,000 in their first legit venture. Biz at the pix houses, after a terrible summer slump, has’ picked up and films such as “Ivanhoe,” etc., even at upped scale, have reg- istered fine grosses. This is a con- servative town and natives follow the state slogan “show me” before buying. Exhibs attribute the fall- ing off of biz, reported to be from 15% to 20% down from last year, to the inroads of seven ozoners in the immediate St. Louis area and TV. There are more than 450,000 video sets in ’ St. Louis and sur- rounding territory. Name bands are being constant- ly booked into the Casa Loma, ‘a widely patronized ballroom in South St. Louis, with the admish being upped on occasions. And smaller bistros also provided less- er names for dansapators. The three largest niteries, Bou- levard Room, downtown, and the Gfiase Club and Town and Country in the west end are clearing the nut and just recently the manage- ment of the Boulevard Room cut the four-week engagement of floorshows to a fortnight, the same policy that prevails at the Chase. The Boulevard Room also brought back its line of sik lookers and this constitutes the only line in a local nitery. Jukebox biz is good as the music boxes are to be found in al- most every public spot. The Grand, a Hirsh unit, is the sole burlesque house, and since the closing of the Jefferson Barracks, south of St. Louis, as an Army training center, biz has not been too good. What’s Happening In ^ Buffalo Shouldn’t... Buffalo, Dec. 30. Somewhere, O. Henry, after ob- serving that nothing ever happened in places like Nashville or Buffalo^ proceeds to spin a yarn of romance under the magnolias in Nashville.- The story concludes ith the au- thor raising his literary eyebrows and inquiring, “I wonder what’s happening in Buffalo?” Well, if the inquiry relates to show business, what's happening in Buffalo, with" very few excep- tions, shouldn’t happen to a duck in a drought. And speaking of droughts, in undisputed first place on the roster is the legit theatre, which is currently dragging out as dismal a season as the town has seen in its long history. The ranks of legit theatre-goers have tapered off to niearly zero because of the dearth of road attractions and the reluctance of some touring man- agements to play the town any longer. From. August to date eight legit shows have stopped off here, mostly ’for four-day engagements. With the exception of “Mr.-Rob- erts” and “Constant Wife,” they would have probably done better to have stayed in bed. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” with a pallid road cast, did fairly well, but, the rousing “Paint Your Wagon” fell flat on its face, while tidbits like “Anonymous Lover” are something for the birds. Eight indifferently received three or four-night legit shows in five months are all Buffalo has been able to^ attract so far this season, and this in a town which once supported two legitimate theatres, each with 40 attractions a season. Except for the macabre comment that Buffalo has degenerated into an indifferent four-day stand (split- ting the rest of the week with Roch- ester and with many top .attrac- tions avoiding both because un- willing to make the'split), further comment on the condition of legiti- mate drama hereabouts is super- fluous. -rjtpgie observers seem to think that the rash of strawhats in the locality augurs well for the -future of legit. This may or may not he so, but the fact is that summer impresarios are showing almoU uniformly comfortable margins of profit in their operations and there is no question that many are at- tending the barns who are unac- customed— to - > v i s it4ag— leg - Kia - ‘ i n—Tbe - regular season. As for pictures, the situation re- mains spotty but hopeful. While everyone agrees that despite a no- table dropoff of interest at the box- office, there is nothing the matter with film biz that good pictures won’t cure. One operator to high- light his claim that good pictures alone are what are needed, points to the fact that last August, dur- ing the hottest spell of the sum- mer, “Quo Vadis” (M-G), at in- creased admission prices, broke the 25-year boxoffice record of his sub-run house. Top pictures do bumper business hereabouts, but there just doesn’t seem to be enough of them available to keep the public activating the turnstiles. The 10 drive-ins operating in the local area during the past summer all did from fair to excellent busi- ness, and there is bold talk of some entering the lists shortly for earlier availabilities. In the nightclub field, the town is studded with minor spots, all advertising hectically and all ap- pearing to be doing business. At the top of the~heap, the Town Ca- sino, followed closely by the Chez Ami, and with McVan’s only a cut below, are all outstanding opera- tions. The strong and ever-present threat of the demise of flesh en- tertainment highlights the potent fact that a score of concerts, read- ings, personal appearances and the like at the chi-chi Kleinhans Mu- sic Hall play to sellout business. As far as Buffalo is concerned, it appears that the mere announce- ment of a bevy 0 " star names in- toning some high-powered poem or play in person, or of a group of be-bop performers in for an eve- ning of uninhibited musical send- ing, is sufficient to jam the 2,500- seater. Bridgeport; Quiet Despite Big Payrolls , Bridgeport, Dec. 30. For a defense boomtown where unemployment is lowest in-years and Chamber of Commerce statis- tics evidence high payrolls, savings and store-spending, Bridgeport has been remarkably quiet on the show front. Legit bookings at the Klein Me- morial Auditorium have been prac- tically nil, and the only offering this season, Joan Blondell in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” o was a disappointment. First-run film houses report a slight increase over '51, with sup- port of outstanding attractions, even at boosted scale, indicating public readiness to pay for such product. One of main stems, the Loew-Poli Globe, has cut‘to week- end operation. Several nabes are dark, and as a whole the nabes have been complaining. Bridge- port’s only art theatre, the Art Cinema, now in second year of policy, is not doing as well as in first. Ritz Ballroom, state’s No. 1 all- year dancery, reports names on up- grade. Biggest draw of season has been the Eckstine-Shearing-Basie- Ellington all-starrer, which pulled 2,300 at $2.40 top, and Ralph Flan- agan was second with 2,000. At Pleasure Beach, summer resort, Billy May was the season’s topper. Brideport, a TV-addicted city within the radius of New York channels as well as WNHC-TV, New Haven, will have its own tele- caster, Channel 43 UHF, early in the new year. WICC, the 600-kc. broadcaster which is hoping the new TV will be the first UHF on the air in New England, has had its best local biz year of the decade since the sta- tion was taken over from Tom O’Neil by Phil Merijyman and as- sociates, who shut down WLIZ in making the move. Upward Trend In Ottawa Show Biz Ottawa, Dec. 30. An upward trend in business conditions generally, plus better product, has resulted in noticeably upped show business in the Ottawa area, Ottawa’s show biz is mainy filmers, and both chain and indit houses report a good year. Famous Players-Canadian Corp. houses have had better boxoffice than last year, and 20th Century Theatres generally report un* proved biz. 20th’s key house, tne Elgin, benefited from several long (Continued on .page .53)