Boxoffice-January.07.1950

. . . Sam
. . Walter
. . Denise
. . Oscar
. . Nicholas
. . Alan
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BROADWAY
Ctanley Kramer, producer of "Home of the
Brave" and "Champion" for UA release,
was the principal speaker on the first George
Washington Carver memorial program of the
Mutual broadcasting system January 5 . . .
Hal Wallis arrived for conferences with Paramount
executives and to attend the opening
of "Thelma Jordon." which will follow "Samson
and Delilah" at the Paramount Theatre
Galanty, Columbia mideastern division
manager, was here from Washington
for home office conferences.
John Joseph retm-ned from the coast to
take up his new post in charge of MOM publicity
in the east . . . Wendell Corey will arrive
January 9 to begin a series of radio and
press interviews for "Thelma Jordon." He
will remain two weeks . Huston and
his wife have returned after completing work
in the Hal Wallis production "The Furies,"
and will remain in the east until June.
Shelley Winters got in from California for
a week of press interviews and radio appearances
in connection with her U-I film, "South
Sea Sinner," which will follow "Bagdad" into
the Criterion . . . Thomas Hodge, director of
films and publications division of the British
Information Services, has left for a new post
with the film section of foreign office and
will sail on the Franconia for England January
20.
Joseph R. Voifel, Loew's vice-president, and
Seymour Mayer, of Loew's International, returned
from London . Darcel, accompanied
by Tom Rogers of the MGM publicity
department, left for Philadelphia to
make a personal appearance . Morgan,
Paramount sales manager for shorts and
news, returned to New York headquarters
from Kansas City and Chicago where he met
with exhibitors and branch executives.
Stanley Markham of the MGM studio publicity
department, left for the coast after five
days in town. Floyd Pitzsimmons, MGM exploiteer
in Albany, has returned to his up-
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The Modern Theatre Section
state New York headquarters after a brief
visit
to the home office.
. . .
Robert Mochrie, RKO vice-president, flew
to the coast for a ten-day conference
F. J. A. McCarthy, U-I sales manager, left
on the same day for Atlanta . F.
Cummings. MGM head of exchange operations,
and assistant Harold Cleveland flew
to Cleveland on business . Ray,
RKO director, left for Boston (4) to scout
locations for a forthcoming picture.
Washington Tent Gives
TV Set to George Bedell
WASHINGTON—The Washington
Variety
Club gave a television set to George E. Bedell
Jr., a patient at the Home for Incurables
here since 1941 and an honorary member of
the Variety Club, at a ceremony at the home.
Present were F^'ed Kogod, Jack Flax, George
Crouch, Paul Rich, Sara Young and Dorothy
Kolinsky.
Bedell, who has been confined to a wheel
chair for many years, was instrumental in
raising over $3,000 in the Variety Club's recent
welfare drive. Through his connection
with the club, he has been responsible for
acquisition of a dental clinic, eye clinic and
diagnostic clinic at the home, all donated
by Variety.
He also was instrumental, in obtaining an
extensive shutin film program at the home,
which the Variety Club furnishes with the
aid of local film exchanges.
Secretary to the famed General Gorgas in
the surgeon general's office prior to World
War I, Bedell later shifted to the Department
of Agriculture until his illness forced
him to give up his work. Bedell was born in
New York but came here in his early childhood.
His father established the Bedell
Mfg. Co.
Drive-In for Coney Island
NEW YORK—George C. McCullough, president
of the Coney Island Chamber of Commerce,
has disclosed the sale of the burnt-out
site of Luna park to a syndicate, represented
by Leon Rosenberg of Brooklyn, for installation
of a drive-in theatre and parking lot.
The theatre will seat 600 spectators and accommodate
600 cars and the parking lot will
have a capacity of 1,000 cars.
Adolph Zukor Is 77
NEW YORK—Adolph Zukor, chairman of
the board of the new Paramount Pictures
Corp., observed his 77th birthday Saturday
17 1. Congratulatory messages were received
from everywhere. Zukor and Mi-s. Zukor
celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary
Jan. 10, 1947.
Theatre Aid Sought
For Brotherhood
NEW YORK—Evei-y effort will be made
this year to induce theatre managers to emphasize
Brotherhood week publicity as part
of the public relations effort on the local
level. Brotherhood week, sponsored by the
National Conference of Christians and Jews,
runs Februai-y 19-26.
Ted Gamble, amusement division chairman,
says that if local exhibitors wiD use
all the publicity and display material sent to
them, and, in addition, will make personal appeals
to civic organizations like Kiwanis,
Rotary, Lions and the American Legion, their
cooperation wall be hearty. The aim is to get
ten "membership" applications from each
theatre manager, and as many as possible
from the civic groups. All company salesmen
will be asked to discuss the subject with exhibitors.
Details of the campaign, displays of
roughed-out poster displays which are soon
to be sent to printers, and plans for a press
sheet were explained Thursday i5) at a luncheon
at the 21 Club. Gamble reported to the
committee that he is rapidly lining up his
organization. He left for the coast Thursday
night to secure cooperation in preparing
trailers and other forms of publicity.
Gamble outlined six objectives for the cajnpaign
as follows:
Ten memberships per theatre in the
National Conference of Christians and
Jews at $1 per membership.
Special brotherhood observances in
theatres.
Wide promotion of this cause through
special display material.
Greatest use of special newsreel clips.
Brotherhood chapters formed with the
theatres the focal heads.
Brotherhood week to be made a community
event in the finest sense.
A copy of these six objectives has been
sent out to 18,000 exhibitors by means of a
letter from Gamble, calling on exhibitor support
for the drive.
Altec Signs 420 Theatres,
Including 41 Drive-Ins
NEW YORK—Altec Service Corp. has
signed sound seiwicing agreements with 420
theatres in 44 states, of which 41 are drive-ins.
R. W. Alcorn Meets Press
NEW YORK—R. W. Alcorn, producer, was
host at a tradepress luncheon at the Stork
Club Friday (6i. He was accompanied to
New York by Ned Crawford and members of
his publicity staff to confer with United Artists
executives on advertising and exploitation
plans for "Johnny Holiday," which stars
William Bendix.
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D. A. Lipton in New York
NEW YORK—David A. Lipton, U-I director
of advertising and publicity, was due here
Monday (9) after a stopover in Chicago for
conferences on "Fi-ancis," "Borderline," "The
Kid From Texas," "Buccaneer's Girl" and
"Outside the Wall."
Kramer at Carver Memorial
NEW YORK—Stanley Kramer, producer of
"Home of the Brave" (UAi, was guest of
honor and principal speaker at January 5
ceremonies honoring the memory of George
Washington Carver, Negro scientist. They
were broadcast coast-to-coast by Mutual.
32 BOXOFFICE January 7, 1950