Variety (February 1959)

PICTURES 'Wednesday, February 11, 1959 1/£ri£¥y Rent Paym ents Unpaid , Bank Sues FE remgmwoief Japan’s A Man’s Country Six Hartford Houses Go Dark—Shoe Manufacturer Buys Pike Drive-In Hartford, Feb. 10. Dark clouds shadowed the film Industry in this area last week. Six houses were shuttered via lbgal ac¬ tion and one drive-in was auc¬ tioned off. In Hartford and West Hartford, five nabes were closed Wednesday (4) after owners of the buildings seized operating equipment for nonpayment of rent. All are owned by the same realty firm. Earlier in the week another Hartford film- er bit the dust when its operator gave up his lease. Closings reduced this areas hard- tops by* nearly one-third, there be¬ ing listed 20 first and second runs hereabouts. Last season, the Glas¬ tonbury Theatre, a small nabe failed to relight after an abortive year of operation. In next door Newington, The pike Drive-In was sold at public auction Friday (7) for $85,000. The auction was held on order of the. Superior Court to satisfy fore¬ closure action brought by the'First ■ National Bank of Boston against the - operators. Turnpike Theatre Corp- First to close was the Parsons Theatre, lately operating as an art house. Filmer, located in the down¬ town area, is skedded to go down as part of an east-west highway program. However, that is in the future. Lessee Bernard Menschell of Bercal Theatres, claimed shut¬ tering was due to high operating costs and lessened b.o. take. Men¬ schell operation of the Manchester Drive-In 011681x6 at nearby Bolton Notch continues. Dwindling attendance was blamed by the Hartford Operating Co. for the seizure and shutdown of their five houses in Hartford and West Hartford. Hardtops were operating under a - lease from the Park Street Investment Company. Latter company sent sheriffs out Tuesday night (3) to attach operat¬ ing equipment in four houses, the . Central in West Hartford, the Art, ■ Lenox and Colonial in Hartford. A fifth house, the Lyric also in Hartford, was “voluntarily shuttered after the other four were attached. Although the Pa k Street In¬ vestment Co. stated that it: would reopen the houses shortly under ( their banner, a long legal delay in such a move was foreseen. Suits and counter-suits will have to be disposed .of before that dan take place. The equipment was seized be¬ cause the theatre management failed to pay the January rents for the five houses. According to an attorney for the operating com¬ pany, two law suits against it have been filed in the court of Common Pleas. One is for the collection of the rent and the other is a replevin suit. Neither suit, he said, could result in the legal eviction of the operating company, an action that would have to be taken before any¬ one else could operate the houses.’ Bank accounts of the operating company have also teen seized. All five houses had been operat- ing in recent years on an abbrevi¬ ated sked. Full showings on Satur¬ days and Sundays. Other days of > the week, only night film casings. One, the Art, featured art and for¬ eign film, the others played second runs. At the time of the closings, the five filmers were grossing a little ; better than 50% of what the take ; had been 12 years earlier when the operating company took them over. In the 1946-47 fiscal year, the five grossed $510,000. In 1958 this was down to $295,000. During that 12- year period, some. $1,250,000 had been paid out in rentals while an 1 approximate $300,000 had been put back into the theatres for improve¬ ment, a spokesman said. Crux of the seizures and shutter¬ ings was $5,250 for rent plus $600 for theatre maintenance for the month. Buyer of the Pike Drive-In, Pioneer ozoner in this area, is Ted Poland, a shoe manufacturer, of Boston. He will operate. With the sale were included all physical prop¬ erties of the theatre except some concession stand eouipment. Land Was not included. L°are carries an option to the land after March, 1931 for a price of $37,000. ‘Million-$ Pushcart’ Hollywood, Feb. 10. Discussions are being held between Albert Zugsmith and Bed Doff regarding Zugsmith’s production company and Doff’s Fryman Enterprises c©-produc¬ ing “Million Dollar Pushcart,” which would star . Mickey Roohcy. It’s based on a Bobert Wilder tome. Two companies are current¬ ly co-producing “The Big Op¬ erator,” starring Booney, at Metro, for release by the .Cul¬ ver City company. In "Push¬ cart,” Booney would play the role of an insurance adjuster. If the deal goes through, ..Doff, Fryman prexy, would produce the film. He is pro¬ ducer ,of “Operator.” Meanwhile, Booney is being dickered by producer Warner. LeBoy for the lead in “Short Packages,” Broadway play to be presented next season. It’s a drama. Tri-States Cham Ends 2-Mao Shift Des Moines, Feb. 10. After years of effort, Tri-States Theatres and other firstnms in the circuit’s territory have finally eliminated the two-man shift pro¬ vision in their pacts with the pro¬ jectionists. New agreement, cen¬ tering on the disputed issue, has been ratified for Tri-States situa¬ tions in Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines, Davenport, Bock Island and Sioux City. In Kansas City, 'new contracts were jointly negotiated for the major exhibitors by Loew’s, Fox- Midwest and Tri-States. Effective starting dates vary from city to city. Morris-MCA Alumni Continued from page 3 = with Music Corp. of America—-is helping the young producers in corralling not only performers but some of the best of the young, writ¬ ers and directors.. For example, they retained Meade Roberts, cur¬ rently represented' on off-Broad- way with the well-received “Mis¬ tresses and tylaidens,” to write the screenplay of “The Fugitive Band.” They’ll have -Sumner- Locke Elliot working on “Breakfast,” with John Frankenheimer scheduled to di¬ rect. Similarly they have Franken- heimer associated with-an original screenplay being, penned by J. P. Miller. Irving Wallace has been retained to prepare the Banium story, his research already having resulted in a'book on the noted showman. i According to Shepherd - an arti¬ culate spokesman, the- indie com¬ pany, known as Jiirow-Shepherd productions, will not devote itself solely to motion pictures, but when. the opportunity arises will also be¬ come involved in legit aid televi¬ sion. Both partners agreed that this appeared to be the trend and the desires of young producers such as themselves. Despite their • all-encompassing plans, Jurow and Shepherd con¬ sider themselves realistic. They are not, they insisted, establishing elaborate offices and a large staff and are eliminating all the accou¬ trements stigmatizing Hollywood producers. "We even travel tour¬ ist class,” Jurow asserted. Los Angeles, Feb. 10. Boy Wolff, brother of Fanchon and Marco and for many years as¬ sociated with the Fanchon- & Marco Circuit, will be feted with a testi¬ monial luncheon March 4 in the Cocoanut Grove. Event will mark his 40th anniversary in show biz and his retirement. Starting his career as a singer and piano player for the Jerome Bemick Co., Wolff in 1919 became personal manager for his brother and sister’s dancing act in Osca- loosa, la. For the past several years he has been prexy of F&M and org’s Southside Theatres in the L.A. area, both of which recent¬ ly were sold to a group headed by Edwin. Zabel and -Bobert L. Lip- pert. Sherrill Corwin, prexy of Met¬ ropolitan Theatres, and Harry Arthur, prexy of the St. Louis Amusement Co., will be co-emcees at luncheon. Pappas, Boston Importer, Joins 20th-Fox Board Thomas A.. Pappas of Boston has been elected to the hoard of 20th- Fox, bringing its membership to 11, 20th prexy Spyros P. Skouras | reported this week. ! Reason given for the expansion of the board is that many of its melnbers travel a great* deal, and that it’s often difficult to assemble a quorum when fast decisions are to be made. ‘ v Pappas is president of ‘the C. Pappas Co. Inc., importers and ex¬ porters. He’s on the board of sev¬ eral industrial outfits and insur¬ ance companies, and is active in civic and. community affairs. Drive-In Men Lectured On Barbecues, Weeds Galveston, Feb. 10. ’ Claude Ezell, head of Border- town Theatres met here with man¬ agers of the ozoners operated throughout the state by the organi¬ zation and laid plans for reaping what is expected to be one of the biggest harvests of outdoor theatre patronage dollars in the history of the industry. Ned E. Depinet, a Bordertown director who formerly was presi¬ dent of BKO pictures was one of the special speakers. Others in¬ cluded Sam Dembow Jr., also a director, formerly veepee in charge of-operations for Paramount The¬ atres; Lee Aronstein, representing the San Antonia interests, and En- sley Gault, southwest manager for Coca Cola in Dallas: Included were forums and open discussion periods. Forum leaders included Brandon Doak on head booker, bookings, bid picture, win¬ ter schedules and outside ads; Ensley Gault, “Plusmanship”; Bob ; Montgomery, profits in barbecue; Bill Finch, purchasing agent, sup¬ plies; Lee Parrish, Mist machines; Dowlen Russell, screen, building' and related rest estate interests of the circuit; Winston Taylor, main¬ tenance, and Dan Goodwin, weed killers and premises upkeep. Subjects during the discussion periods included concessions prices. Snack bar help, profitable foods. Ways to attract patrons to the con¬ cessions stand and best way of dis¬ pensing products, admission price, film delivery rate, good public re¬ lations, the juvenile problem, feas¬ ibility of patio seats, radio cam¬ paigns and, special holiday public relations. Tim Ferguson, general chairman for the Texas Drive-In Theatre Owners Assn, convention which is scheduled to be held Feb. 16-18, reveals that 41 manufacturers and suppliers have reserved booths at the Hotel Adolphus, Dallas. Continued from page 2 Crowd Frightens Retailer Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 10. Downtown merchants have been moaning the blues for months (dem ol’ Shopping Center Blues) about the dearth of people on the central city streets. Saturday (7) they got a good crowd on ope of the principal shopping blocks—and one of them promptly blew the cop whistle on the guy who was responsible. Block-long line of kids and parents were lined up waiting to enter Grand Theatre for parade of 10. cartoons and double-feature horror bill when firemen showed up for “reoucst” inspection of the Stanley-Warner house. Everythin:? vas oh- y end they went away, explaining to Bert Lei ']. ten, vet nxirrgf r of the Grand, that one of Ids merchant neighbors had complained. ■ updated geisha offer a partner in • dancing, dining, drinking, conver- • sation and whatever other favors ! the patron can cajole. Those at : clubs catering to foreigners speak ; enough English to be understood, but not enough to shed their studied and professional charms. Club management attitudes to¬ ward. after-hours activities of their hostesses differ. Many encourage the girls to go drinking at spots, which by virtue of no-dancing no¬ floor-show policies, can stay open to the wee hours. This strengthen¬ ing .of the bond between hostess and gUest* usually means repeat business at the home club. Repeat guests are the backbone of the hostess system, and these indi¬ vidual situations can continue as long as the hostess keeps the guest baited and jn an anxious state. No Soliciting Some clubs strictly forbid pros- tying by their/hostesses, although admittingly\they can’t gumshoe | the girls hoine every night. At I other locations, arrangements can be made either with the manage¬ ment or by direct contact for noc¬ turnal companionship. As to be expected, hostesses are in the business for the tall coin it provides, and are astute business¬ women. In general, they are sav¬ ing for the day when their charms will he less enticing, to give them means to open some kind of busi¬ ness for themselves. » •The Benibashi, one of the most popular Tokyo night clubs for visit¬ ing and resident foreigners, rotates 150 hostesses, with 120 being on duty at one time. Adding other night clubs (defined as those estab-' lishments serving dinner and offer¬ ing a floorshow) such as the Copa- cabana, Queen Bee, Manuela’s and the Hibiya Inn, there are about 300 hostesses. When cabarets and cofee shops are counted, the figure *runs • into the thousands. Fees - The hostess charge at the Beni- basha is 1.000 yen ($2.77) an hour, with drinks costing 350 yen (a .dollar is 36p yen) plus a moderate cover charge. Of the hostess fee, the girl pockets-800 yen, plus 150 yen for every drink. Tips are her own, as she works strictly on a commission basis. The Benibasha hostess, working five nights a week, will earn a monthly average of 150,000 yen ($416) with a low of $277 and a high of $833. Com¬ pared to the average department store girl or office worker who takes home a monthly wage of about $25, being a hostess can indeed he a lucrative profession. Benibasha hostesses must agree to a guest’s request for after-hours drinking or the management wants to know the reason why. If there is a conflict in personalities and the hostess makes a proper expla¬ nation. she will be freed of her obligation. But club topper Chulchl Tsujis- Jiita is firmly against prostying by his girls. He has been known to fire a girl for posing in the nude for a patron and, on ahother occa¬ sion, he d’seharged a waiter who was soliciting. He says he gets about s 80 applications a month for the job of hostess, but since his turnover is slight, he chooses his girls carefully, checking their per¬ sonal history. He estimates that his club gets about 90% foreigners at the bar and 65 to 75% at the tables, with 85% of his patrons being stag. The average age of a Benibasha hostess is 24, most of them retiring at 30. In the two years the Beni¬ basha has been open, 14 hostesses quit to get married, usually to men they met as club guests. Four married Americans and are living in the U.S. Hostesses specialize in either foreign or Japanese guests, usually depending on their ability to speak English. Those plying their trade with foreign guests will usually earn more, although men in the shipp ; ng busi¬ ness from both sides of the fence are regarded as the biggest spend¬ ers. Most of the Benibasha hostesses come from, middle-class families, some working as models or film extras during their off-hours. Their expenses are high, with clothes and taxi fares eating greedily Into their, earnings. The hostess business began to flourish after the war with the influx of GIs and foreign business¬ men, but most of the top d”bs are now out of the range of the GI pocketbook. While the hostess profession was considered degen¬ erate by Japanese at first, it is now looked upon with more favor, most citizens realizing it as an¬ other variation of the working girl. Hostesses seek to eventually open their own night club, bar, restaurant or shop, with some go¬ ing into real estate and even stock investing. There are no overall controlling regulations for hostesses, each club setting its own policy. The Benibasha holds a monthly gabfest where both management and the girls make recommendations and present their grievances. Other clubs hold weekly and even daily sessions. A hostess interviewed by this reporter has been in the business for seven years, before that work¬ ing as a model and office girl* One of the top earners at the Benibasha, she lives with her mother, but insists she is ‘Very independent” and is saving money to open a shop. Engaged this year to a manufacturer of precision ma¬ chinery, she expects to marry next year and then go into Business. Congenital Gamblers Like most other hostesses, she likes to gamble. If not for this leaning, she would already be re¬ tired. But over a period of three nights, she and another hostess were taken in a card game to the tune of 1,000,000 yen ($2,777) each. She’s now earning back her losses. Earlier this year, one Benibasha hostesses lost her house by, gam¬ bling add committed suicide. The girl interviewed admits a careful study of her profession and has come to the conclusion that a hostess does best by selling personality and character. She must not show gold-digging traits and make sure the guest under¬ stands the price! scale. While this girl makes no bones about her yen for yen, preferring older pa¬ trons for that reason, she main¬ tains that a moderation in this respect bring a bigger payoff over the long hauL Diplomacy goes hand in glove with personality, she reveals. Sometimes she has three guests at different tables at the same time, and must juggle them with¬ out ill feelings, If she has a guest she doesn’t like, she admits she will stay away from the table for long periods, but the trick is to keep him unawares. She enjoys hearing the guests talk among themselves, allowing her to brush up on her psychology and English, but says she can’t let it be revealed that she under¬ stands enough English to compre¬ hend the off-color jokes being swapped or her stock-in-trade naivete will be lost. She .averages about four drinks herself over an evening, then call¬ ing for whiskey cokes and getting a coke when she feels she’s had enough. She sleeps until nine, naps in the afternoon and reads Tolstoy. Many gifts from guests come her way, including rings and gold watches, although she snickers at the latter, saying, “Always gold. I like platinum.” Her greatest professional prob¬ lem is fending off sex-minded guests, a category she admits in¬ cludes about 90% of her patrons. Asked how she manages this, she replied, “I have a very good ex¬ cuse always. But this is a very commercial business. If I tell you, I’m out of business.” Ed Hyman Hits Trail Edward L. Hymafl, v.p. of Amer¬ ican Broadcasting-Paramount The¬ atres, left New York this week with his assistant, Bernard Levy, for an extended tour of AB-PT theatre af¬ filiates in. various cities and a stay of 10 days on the Coast. Agenda includes a onceover of newly-completed productions in Hollywood plus an analysis of up¬ coming schedules from the various . studios. Hyman thereupon will put * together a “Report from Holly¬ wood,” which will list all feature releases for the balance of the cur¬ rent year. Sally Miller set as special assist- . ant to Leon P. Blender, general sales manager of American Inter¬ national Pictures.