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. . "Battleground"
. . Two
. . Jack
Reissues Do SRO, 'Jolson Is Fair;
Lubbock Showmen Scratch Heads
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HARVEY A.
LUBBOCK. TEX.—Two examples of why
too many people in the motion picture bu.siness
get ulcers in trying to estimate and
supply patronage entertainment preferences
occurred in Lubbock recently.
The Tech Theatre of the Preston E. Smith
enterprises was the scene of one and the
New Lindsey and the Clifton, of the Lindsey
circuit, of the other.
E>eparting from usual policies, "Tobacco
Road" and "The Grapes of Wrath" were
booked as a double feature at the Tech, located
in the most prosperous area of Lubbock
at the edge of the "silk stocking" district
and across the street from the Texas
Technological college campus.
Tige Pormby, Smith manager, said some of
the theatre's most regular patrons warned
that the venture would be a monumental flop.
So what happened? The boxoffice grossed
more than 200 per cent of the average receipts
during the three-day showing. Allnight
showings were SRO.
At about the same time, the New Lindsey
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was showing "Jolson Sings Again." The attraction
at the Clifton, directly across the
street from the New Lindsey, was the reissue
of "Trail of the Lonesome Pine."
The management frankly expected "Jolson"
to be a terrific draw, but wasn't too optimistic
for "Trail."
"JoLson" did play to good business. But the
gross was disappointing. Not once during the
full-week run were the customers lined up at
the boxoffice waiting to get in. Meanwhile,
"Trail" was playing to capacity business across
the street. Several times, waiting lines
stretched two abreast more than a half block
from the entrance.
The management didn't pretend to know
the answer to the why of these happenings.
A conjecture was that a hike of five cents in
the afternoon and ten cents at night in adult
admissions may have cut the "Jolson" gross.
Even so, the top for Jolson was only 60
cents. "Trail" packed them in at 55 cents.
The experience, however, seemed to have
left most operators of the Lobbock area with
one conviction. They are going to be cautious
in booking added-price attractions.
HOUSTON
J^a Riviera, the French restaurant on Montrose
boulevard, is rapidly becoming the
favorite spot for show folk. Bill Livingston
and Frank Parker of Hollywood visited the
place em-oute to New York. Impresario Edna
Saunders and pianist Samson Francois were
recent diners. Art Finger, radio man and
Variety clubber, was there recently. Others
include Carol Bennet, woman's editor of
KPRC: Paul Peters, 16mm film producer;
Bill Roberts, F>ress columnist; Walter Waldhauser,
magazine editor, etc.
Two masked men robbed Jim Dezendorf,
manager of the Lindale Theatre, of $100 when
they surprised him in his office. One of the
hoods held a gun on Dezendorf while the
other tied him hand and foot, then cleaned
out the safe. The loot included $40 in March
of Dimes money . Lutey, Variety
Club manager, and wife Helen have a newbaby
girl named Lemoine . . . Frank Sinatra,
a favorite at the Shamrock hotel, will be followed
by Harpo and Chico Marx.
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DALLAS, TEXAS
. . . "Pinky"
"Sands of Iwo Jima" was in its third week
at the Kirby . went into a
second week at Loevv's State
chalked up five extra days of playing time
at the Majestic . new plays had their
world premieres here Tuesday (7) : "Oh,
Genevieve" at the University of Houston
Theatre and "Season With Ginger" at the
Alley Theatre.
The River Oaks revived "Rebecca" . . . Dave
Westheimer, former assistant amusements
editor of the Houston Post, has just had a
novel. "The Great Fallacy," published.
'Pinky' Starts 2nd Week
DALLAS— "Pinky" went into its second
week here with big grosses. "Home of the
Brave" played two weeks here last year, and
"Lost Boundaries" had one good week last
fall.
Theatre Bowlers Win
FREDERICKSBURG, TEX.—For the fifth
consecutive time the Palace Theatre bowling
team has won the Turner club's regular
bowling tournament.
98
BOXOFFICE :: February 11, 1950