Variety (April 1953)

26 PICTURES PStotEfr ^cJneeJay, April IS, 195$ i nmitn i t m o mm ♦■»♦■♦ + ■»■♦-♦♦» ♦> '»>■ ♦ ■♦ ♦ ♦• ♦♦♦♦♦♦ ■ +♦+ m + i 44HMUMMK^HHHf f 4HH4H44M M - 4 ♦ NEW YORK William Mueller, Warner Bros, studio sound department chief, back to the Coast Monday (13) after observing public reaction to War- ner Phonic sound at Paramount Theatre preem of "House of Wax ” Cinema 16 showing "That thej Deaf May Speak/’ film portraying educational and emotional needs! of deaf children, at Central Needle Trades Auditorium today (Wed.). The 11 Weiss Bros., two of whom are actively in the picture industry, had their annual get together April 7 at the home of one of the brothers, Dr. Bernard Weiss, in Forest Hills, N. Y. The oldest brother, Samuel, is owner of the Stamford * and Avon Theatres, Stamford, Conn. Alexander is man- ager of Loew’s Pitkin, Brooklyn. Meyer t Morris and Leo operate Weiss’ Restaurant in Broad Chan- nels, Aaron is In the restaurant business in New Jersey. Howard is in the wholesale paint business, and William . in the , wholesale liquor business. David and Ed- ward are retired. In addition to the annual get- togethers, the 11 brothers meet each week at the home of Samuel .In Stamford. OMAHA Omaha World-Herald sponsor- ing free monthly film parties at Tri-states’ Omaha Theatre for city kijis. License renewal for the Omaha ,Drive-In granted by county board. "Denison, la., Bulletin printed long letter of tribute Donna Reed wrote her grandmother, Mrs. Mary Mullenger, on .latter’s'.89th birth- day there last month. Ernest JCassfebauih, manager of Seward, Neb,, theatre, planning benefit-May 14 to help send the city’s basketball team-to Seward, Alaska, for exhibition game. Gilbert and Sandra 1 West took over the Peru,. Neb., theatre.- 'Corby Theatre here to host an- nual Easter basket party for all Northside kids. 'Hastings, Neb., drive-in and Starview ozoner in Lincoln bowed last week. ‘ .West Dodge Drive-in here .and Kar-Vu . ozoner, Torrington, Wyo., opened last week with TerTytown, Scottsbluff due to bow this session.' Dan Flanagan, manager of the Pioneer, Arbor and Drive-ins in Nebraska. City, transferred to ‘ Hi- awatha, ! Kans., by Mid-Central chain; jreplaced by Chet, Posey • from Beloit, Kans. LOS ANGELES Unitetl Artists closed a deal with ‘Aubrey j Schenck and Howard W. Koch for the release of "Smoke Signal,’’j to be produced in Pathe- color. ! Filmaikers Releasing Organiza- tion ha$ ilined up'15 independent exchanges: John Mangham, Atlan- ta; Albert Swerdlove, Boston-New Haven; J J. Francis White, Char- lotte; Albert Dezel, Chicago-De- trolt; Jay Goldberg, Cincinnati- Indianajpblis; Herman ’ Beiersdorf, Dallas; Tom H.. Bailey, Denver- Salt Lake; Charles Kranz-Irvlng Levin, Los Angeles; Donald Swartz, Minneapolis-Milwaukee; Harold F. Cohen, New Orleans; Jack Bell- man, NeW York; Al Grubstick, San Francisco; Bert Steam-Milt Brau- man, Pittsburgh; Bernie Mills-Jack Berkson, Washington, and Ray Lewis, .Canada. Helen Ainsworth, Corp. sold "Stolen i Identity/’ made-in-Vienna film, td Fox West Coast for its Southern California houses. MINNEAPOLIS RKO discontinued its Sioux Falls, S. D., exchange in economy’s interest and assigned its manager, Sherm Fitch, to sales staff here. Sioui Falls territory has been ap- portioned to Minneapolis, Denver and Omaha exchanges. T Boost In loop firstrun adult ad- missions from 50-76c to 65-85c brought no adverse reaction from patrons, according to Harry B. French, president of Minnesota Amusement Co. (Paramount cir- cuit). Twin Cities’ seven drive-in thea- tres got off to a slow start in the face of snow, rain and 30 degree temperatures. Chick Evans, 20th-Fox ex- » ploiteer, in town drumbeating for "Invaders from Mars.’’ Harold Field, circuit owner, re- cuperating in Florida from heart attack. . Ben Friedman, circuit owner, un- x del- observation in Mt. Sinai hos- pital here. Former Pa^ifriicfilitt J 'c3^' -Sales- man Joe Wolf appointed I.F.E. Film Co. Sales rep for Twin Cities as well as Des Moines and Omaha. . Harry B. French, Minnesota Amus, Co. prexy, back from a Flor- ida vacation. "Call Me Madam" set for Para- mount Radio City April 24. Paramount circuit’s competitive bid for . "Moulin Rouge" was the winner, and picture goes into Cen- tury here. W. H. Workman, Metro branch manager, finally around again after long illness; plans to resume duties within fortnight. On strength of its Academy Award, "Quiet Man" picking, up many repeat runs in territory. Paramount circuit raised its chil- dren admissions from 9c to 20c in all local theatres although two independent neighborhood houses here now admit kids free when ac- companied by adults. Three Twin Cities’ independent neighborhood houses, two here and one In St. Paul, among the terri- tory’s 14 that already have or- dered necessary, equipment for 3-D pix. ALBANY William C. With, a member of the Palace staff since 1931, ap- pointed manager,, succeeding the late Alex ‘Sayles. An assistant manager In recent years/ With started as usher on a part-time basis while attending school here. The Strand in Watervllle ac- quired by C. E. McLaughlin. from Morris Slotnick, who has retired from exhibition after years of op- eration in Watervllle, Oriskany Falls and Utica, Afc Laughjiri’s son, Spencer, is managing the Strand. Phil. Rapp has been transferal' from ,the Stage, Schenectady/ until next fall, to handle supervision of i he Fabian-owned Mohawk and )rive-ins. His brother, Louis Rapp, MU' handle the State While he is away. Jake Varnell r former supervisor of construction for J. G. ‘ Griffith Co.; Texas company specializing in drive-ins, will manage Harry La- ment’s Middletown this -season; Varriell, who directed the building of the Overlook, Poughkeepsie, and the ■ River view in Rotterdam' for Lamont, replaces Howard Camm^r. Latter goes to the RiverView as manager, succeeding Gerald Schwartz, a partner of Lamont’s Schwartz now runs the Overlook.' CHICAGO • Ralph ■ McCoy resigned as WB country salesman. Jim Fineglio, former manager of Times Theatre, Qgelsby, 111., takes over from Joe Etheridge as opera- tor of Collins, Joliet, Hi. House has been shuttered for several months. ’ ' Monroe Theatre snagged 3-D Wolcott-Marciano fight film. Byrd, McVickers, Normal' and Newberry theatres joined Allied Theatres of Illinois. / City amusement tax collection .March report shows theatres con- tributed $99,575 as against $93,900 last year. Overall figure for three months show $267,678 for this quarter as compared to $263,776 in 1952. ' - p . - Balaban & Katz bought 3-D sound systems for eight Chi houses and 16 downstate. • Robert Bachman upped from northern supervisor for Alliance Theatres to post of assistant booker for the circuit. , Great States chain ordered 22 3-D installations for its houses. Chi police censor board last month reviewed 111 pix, rejecting one and classifying two for adults only. Supplemental damages for $900,- 000, making the total amount re- quested $2,400,000, being asked in the Congress Theatre rental suit. Attorney Tom McConnell Claims that Balaban & Katz withdrew a $625,000 bid for the house after eliminating other.bidders. PITTSBURGH Bernie 'Elinoff-upped to post of chief booker and buyer of shorts for /Stanley-Warner theatres in this zone, replacing Charles Mason who resigned to go with F. D. (Dinty) Moore’s booking-and-buy- ing office. George Gilliam, former- ly with WB in Cleveland and more recently of Chakeras circuit in Springfield, O., comes here as booker for Pittsburgh city and Main Line houses for Stanley- Warrier. „ Dic ^ Cvetic promoted to man- ager of -the Strand in Oakland With Robert Murphy’s transfer to the Columbia in Erie. ■ Roseanna Feinberg, secretary at Associated Di<M-l)ii«TAdJtr^6mce ■ i here, announced her engagement to Herbert M. Solomon, eastern district manager for Sportservice ^Buffalo, N. Y.) Concessionaires. John Reilly returned to Warner fold again as manager pf the Mel- rose in Carrick. The Joseph-Raad and Jur thea- tre circuits moving their general offices from Fairmont td Parkers- burg, W. Va., with Joseph S. Jo : , seph in charge. Joseph-Raad chain, operating the Smoot, Strand and Hiehle theatres Jn Parkersburg, re- cently bought controlling interests in both the Mur and Starlight Drive-Ins. PHILADELPHIA Site of the Earle Theatre, on which a W. T. Grant store will be erected, sold by the Grant Realty Co. to the New York Life Insur- ance Co., for $1,476,000. Earle’s demolition slated to begin next month . Randolph Theatre, flagship of William Goldman chain, installed four RCA projectors in booth for current run of Columbia’s 3-D "The Man in fhe Dark." Everett Callow, Stanley Warner publicity chief, took Phllly crix and newspaper party to New York for last week’s preview of "House of Wax" (WB). Jack Beresin, International Vari- ety Clubs- chief barker, will be feted at dinner in Believue-Strat- ford next Monday (20). Proceeds ’from the affair will go. to Tent 13 Camp for Handicapped Children. PORTLAND, ORE. Marvin 7 Fox, Hamrick city man- ager, 1 appointed William Bteese manager of Roxy* with' William Budrius night manager. Warren Goodwin named manager of. the Liberty. . Jack Matlack, general manager off tJfq/J. Jv. ■Parker Theatres, * has resigned to build arid run a drive-^ in of his’ own. Matlack- had been with the Farker outfit for nearly 10 years. Tom Walsh, of Indiana Amtis. Co. and other eastern cir- cuits, will take over. *' Town loaded with field men this week.. .Walter Hoffman- Para- mount; Allan Wiederi, MGM; Earle Keate, UA; and Sammy £iegel, Col. -Heaton 1 Randall, Coast sales man- ager for National Theatre Supply here to confer, with J. J. Parker ireps.’ •' AKRON, O. Nat 1 Rosen, of Philadelphia, named manager of the' State Cuy- ahoga Falls, O., near here, replac- ing Louis Lutz, New Castle, Pa./ who quit after three Weeks. ; : The ’ Belle, Bellcfontaine, O., closed by Radio Corp. of America,' which had operated the house, since last Dec. 13. Alton F. Cams, house manager, blamed, inability to get sufficient fir$t-run films. RCA was principal creditor of the theatre, which had been closed since July 4, 1951, in a creditors’ suit.’ Charkeres Theatres, operators of the Logan, in Logan, O., started construction of a $100,000 Drive-In south pf Logan. I CALGARY, CAN. Grand at Natal, B.C.,' purchased by Leon Henrlet, of Coleman, Alta., from William Cole, who has operated the house,,for 19,years. Cole will run a theatre at Yellow- knife. Rex Colmer, operator of a Drive-in at Cranbrook, B.C., is building an ozoner at Marysville, B.C., which will have equipment for showing 3-D films. BUFFALO Resignation of Clayton Eastman as Warner Bros. Buffalo branch manager has resulted in several staff realignments in the company's field sales'department, Distrib chief Ben Kalmenson named Nat Mar-, cus, Milwaukee branch manager/ to the Buffalo post, with Cincin- nati topper Ralph H. Dunbar mov- ing over to Milwaukee. James S. Ambrose was appointed to head the Cincy office. All changes are effective immediately. Herb Gaines named head of the Buffalo Loge of the Colosseum of Motion Picture Salesmen of Amer- ica. Other new officers are John McMahon, secretary, and Michael Jusko, treasurer. DALLAS Village Drive-In at Ennis ope for season. Ozoner was purchi by Mr. and Mrs, M. B. Miller f Mr, and Mrs. T. L. Richey. Cedars Drive-In at Bayt bought by the Cedars Drivt Theatre Corp, ' John Meyer former operator. New owners 1 closed the Texas Theatre but continue to operate the Bay BrunediJ/ i £3^9/1/. j:i, jnrn. ’(N.Y* Stock Exchange) For Week Ending Tuesday (14) Weekly Weekly Weekly Tues. Net, (Quotations furnished by Dreyfus & Co .) Widescreen’s Edge Continued from pace * screen conversion, already exten- sive, appears gaining further impe- tus almost daily: Unitedi Artists* president Arthur B. Krira revealed that the com- pany’s entire inventory is being reappraised with the view of fashioning some of the completed pix for stero sound and large screen exhibition in 1 addition to straight 2-D showings. United Artists-has a. total of 65 features either completed or set to roll in the next six months and only two of these* "I the Jury" and "Ring Around 'Saturn/' are in 3-D, Krim revealed. . William Wyler also joined the ranks of -widescreen advocates as against 3-D. Just prior to his re- turn trek^ to Rome over the. past weekend, the .producer-director told Variety he feels that "the big screen In one form or another is the answer." Wyler adds: "3-n as we have seen it is not natural — less natu- ral than normal photography. It’s not progress toward realism; the ordinary picture when well pho- tographed Is more realistic. The dimension is exaggerated in 3-D. People do 'not want characters jumping out at them from the screen." Paramount, which has the "San- garee" 3-D’er on its upcoming sked, also has a couple of conventional "flats" being held back from re- lease, with the plan to groove them first for theatres equipped for wid- ened-screen handling. These are George Stevens’ "Shane" and George Pal’s "When Worlds Col- lide." Par, now-readying Cecil B. De- •Mille’s "Greatest Show on Earth" for reissue, also is eyeing large screens for the reruns of the circus epic. As concerns "Shane,” this will be the first production showri via the widened screen technique at N. Y.’s Radio City Music Hall. As- pect ratio will go to 1.66 feet of width to every foot of height in the screen’s measurements. This is in contrast with the usual Hall 1.33-by-l screen proportion. In an aside to the 3-D vis-a-vis. widescreen trends, incidentally, there’s now a switch in trade con- jecturing anent film companies’ sales of dated pix in their vaults to television. Initial reasoning was that any widespread adaptation to 3-D would hasten such unloading, since the oldies*, in 2-D, would no longer be competitive to films of ■the 3-D pattern. Now, however, development of the widescreen techniques is looked upon as heralding the ped- dling of pix to TV. 20th-Fox prez Spyros P. Skouras covered this yesterday (Tues.) in his annual re- port to stockholders, stating that the anticipated wide adoption of Cinemascope will cue the sale of some of 20th’s "older films." . Regardless 3-# or the widescreen which receives the greater prominence in trade use, film execs studying the two ap- proaches believe that in the dis- tance is a "marriage" of the two. That’s the inevitable, they say, al- though It’s i difficult to make any predictions about the time of its arrival. ^ Supporting this, it’s related, was an experiment conducted at the Metro studio in Culver City. Some footage from a ■ musical was pro- jected on a widescreen and in 3-D as well. New Yorkers who were on the Coast* at the time relayed this week that the results were the greatest of any'system yet shown. "When such startling effects can be achieved, it’s obvious that the combined.wldescreen and 3-D must be developed for theatres," said a non-Metro .distribution V.p. There will be .great expense and many problems in getting the equipment, he added, but the "marriage" definitely is in the film industry’s future. j Ohio Exhibs Continued from page 10 s=J Ohio Senate’s education commit- tee. The resolution called film censorship "unconstitutional, re- strictive, capricious, arbitrary and an affront to human freedom. Sec. Robert A. Wile, in a shrewd move, had the 136 members of the Ohio Senate and House lunch with theatreowners last Wednesday. Hearings on the Mosher bill are scheduled to begin at the State House April 20. Wile is now lining up a list of witnesses in support of the bill. Tim Claggett, of MPAA, Is also in town to aid in the anti- censorship battle. Arthur Mayer, author of "Merely Colossal," ahd Metro’s Mike Si- mons, speaking at the final .ban- quet session Wednesday, welcomed television as an adjunct, and a valuable one, to show business. All officers but one (second vice- president) and all board of direc- tors but one were reelected. The new lineup is: C. F..Pfister, Troy, president; F. W. Huss, Jr., first v.p.; Horace Adams, Cleveland, second v.p.; Lee J. Hofheimer, treasurer. Directors: Myers S., Fine, Cleve- land; Hoy L. Russell. Millersburg; Louis Wiethe, Cincinnati; Roy E. Wells, Dayton; Horace Shock, Lima; Marvin Frankel, Elyria; J. Real Neth, Columbus; Martin G. Smith, Toledo; Paul Vogel, Wells- ville; Peter M. Wellman, Girard; Henry Greenberger, Cleveland; Louis F. Eick, Martins Ferry; and Park Belden, Akron (newly-elect- ed). Secretary Wile continues his term after reappointment by the board fefet * w J *