Boxoffice-July.01/1950

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Theatre, Harrisville, Mich. Small town and
resort patronage. * * *
Romance of Rosy Ridge, The (MGM)—Van
Johnson, Thomas Mitchell, Janet Leigh. I
traded this for "That Midnight Kiss." and believe
you me, it was worth it! I would have
died like all the rest of you fellas if I had
played that long-haired epic, and this Rosy
Ridge is still drawing patrons and is a honey
of a hillbilly flicker. I doubled this with
"Never Give a Sucker an Even Break" (Realart),
an oldie with W. C. Fields, and did
above average business. Played Tues., Wed.
Weather: Clear and hot.—Jim Dunbar, Roxy
Theatre, Wichita, Kas. Subsequent downtown
run patronage. * • *
MONOGRAM
Black Gold (Mono) — Anthony Quinn,
Katherine DeMille, Elyse Knox. This is still
a grand piece of entertainment. Some said
It was the best show they'd seen in a long
time. Being old, I played it on Fri., Sat.,
boosting grosses the highest in several weeks.
This should be good anywhere. Weather: Fair.
—Jim Mote, Friendship Theatre. Sterling,
Okla, Small town and rural patronage. * * •
Jiggs and Maggie in Jackpot Jitters (Mono)
—Joe Yule. Renie Riano, George McManus.
What would we little fellows do without
Monogram and their Jiggs and Maggies,
Bowery Boys, and Joe Palooka? This one
pleased all the folks, young and old. It was
doubled with "Rustlers" (RKO) to average
gross. Played Saturday only. Weather: Fair.—
Fred G. Weppler, Colonial Theatre. Colfax,
111. Small town and rural patronage. • * •
Wolf Hunters (Mono)—Kirby Grant. Helen
Parrish. This is a good series—especially for
small towns. Comments on it were good.
Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Cloudy.—L. Brazil
jr.. New Theatre, Bearden, Ark. Small town
patronage. * * *
PARAMOUNT
Samson and Delilah (Para)—Hedy Lamarr,
Victor Mature, George Sanders. This supercolossal,
gigantic Biblical story was the first
showing in small towns that we know of in
this part of Ontario. We were supposed to see
faces we never saw before, but I'm afraid
there will be some we'U never see again. Advanced
prices for small towns have never
paid off for us. Played Mon.. Tues. Weather:
Warm.—Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury.
Ont. Small town patronage.
• • •
RKO RADIO
Green Promise, The (RKO)—Marguerite
Chapman, Walter Brennan, Robert Paige.
I'm stumped! I do not know what to say on
this picture. This one gave me my second
lowest midweek gross since I've been in
business. The 4-H clubs were all notified of
the playdates and the McLean county soil
conservation representative in our area wrote
Skeptical of This Picture
Found Worth Any Date
AaiBUSH (MGM) — Robert Taylor,
John Hodiak, Arlene Dahl. This is one
of the best westerns we have played and
we Jiad favorable comment on it. I was
just a bit skeptical about this picture for
weekend playing time but I think now it
is worthy of any playtime. Business was
just about average. Played Sat., Sun.,
Mon. Weather: Hot.—O. Fomby, Paula
Theatre. Homer, La.
Small town patronage.
• • •
several newspaper articles on the picture
to no avaU. The picture isn't too bad for
all
farm patronage. Played Wed., Thurs. Weather:
Fair.—Fred G. Weppler, Colonial Theatre,
Colfax, 111. Small town and rural patronage.
• * •
Savage Splendor (RKO)—Lewis Cotton Expedition
in Africa. This is one of the finest
jungle pictures it has ever been my privilege
to show. Doubled it with "Make Mine Laughs"
and it is a good thing I showed the jungle
picture first because everyone walked out on
the jumbled mess of scenes from old pictures.
Played Thurs. Fri., Sat. Weather: Good.
M. W. Long, Lans Theatre, Lansing, Iowa.
*
Small town and rural patronage.
Wagonmaster (RKO) — Ben Johnson,
Joanne Dru, Harry Carey jr. Tliis is a fine
western which enjoyed better than average
business. It is a little weak on star power, as
this is the first starring venture of Ben John-
Laughs Came So Fast
Dialog Drowned Out
RIDE 'EM, COWBOY (FC)—Reissue.
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello. If Abbott and
Costello are liked in your community, do
yourself and your customers a favor and
get this reissue. We played it alone
with a two-reel short and cartoon on
Fri., Sat. to above average business. The
laughs came so fast that much of the
dialog was drowned out. Film Classics
also has another reissue which is nearly
as good, "Keep 'Em Flying." Slapstick,
of course, but the people were still
laughing going out on both of these
pictures. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Good.
—R. V. Rule, Alco Theatre, Harrisville,
Mich. Small town and resort patronage.
* * *
son, a cowboy from Fairfax, Okla., who is
personally known to some people in this town.
In time he may develop into a big star.
Played Tues., Wed., Thurs. Weather: Good.
—E. M. Freiburger, Dewey Theatre, Dewey,
Okla. Small town patronage. * * '
REPUBLIC
Bells of Capistrano (Rep)—Reissue. Gene
Autry, Smiley Burnette. This is a good one
among the Gene Autry reissues. Played Fri.,
Sat. Weather: Cool.—L. Brazil jr., New Theatre,
Bearden, Ark. Small town patronage. • • •
20th CENTURY-FOX
Dancing in the Dark ( 20th-Fox)—William
Powell, Betsy Drake, Mark Stevens. This is a
disappointment as there was very little dancing
and not much of a story. We lost money
on this one. Played Sun., Mon. Weather:
Okay.—R. V. Rule. Alco Theatre, Harrisville,
Mich. Small town and resort patronage. • • •
Mother Didn't Tell Me (20th-Fox)—Dorothy
McGuire, William Lundigan. June Havoc.
Don't expect too much of this picture as you
will likely be disappointed. It is a fair comedy
which failed to draw and I had a few
walkouts. I would call it a woman's picture
Scripture-Quoting Hero
Pleased Her Crowd
HELLFIRE (Rep) — WilUam EUiott,
Marie Windsor, Forrest Tucker. This is
a wonderful picture—surprising and a
pleasant change. It has a scripturequoting
hero and we had good comments
from everyone. Business was good. Played
Fri., Sat. Weather: Fair.—Mrs. Pat Murphy,
Queen Theatre, HoUiday, Tex. Oil
field patronage. * * *
which lacked action and it has a light weight
cast, which includes William Lundigan, June
Havoc and Dorothy McGuire. Played Tues.,
Wed., Thurs. Weather: Good.—E. M. Freiburger,
Dewey Theatre, Dewey, Okla. Small
town patronage.
• • «
Pinky (20th-Fox) — Jeanne Grain. Ethel
Barrymore. Ethel Waters. I'd heard so much
about this I guess I expected too much, and
several patrons said the same. However, it is
good. It seemed everyone else had heard
about it, too, and wanted to see it, so business
was good. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Fair.
—Jim Mote, Friendship Theatre, Sterling,
Okla. Small town and rural patronage. • • •
Pinky (20th-Fox) — Jeanne Crain, Ethel
Barrymore, Ethel Waters. This is very good
and was well received here and liked by all.
We did a little above average business on this
one. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Good. Tt.
V. Rule, Alco Theatre, Harrisville. Mich.
Small town and resort patronage.
* * •
Yellow Sky, The (20th-Fox)—Gregory Peck,
Anne Baxter, Richard Widmark. After a week
of low grosses this picture brought me an
average gross. It appeared that Gregory Peck
brought in a lot of nonsteady Saturday night
patrons. It seemed to please all those who
were here, but in my estimation the picture
is draggy in spots. Gregory Peck is good in
the picture, as well as Anne Baxter. The
farmers are catching up with their farm
work, which helped to bring in the average
gross. Played Saturday only. Weather: Fair.
—Fred G. Weppler, Colonial Theatre, Colfax,
111. Small town and rural patronage. * • *
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (RKO)—John
Wayne, Joanne Dru. John Agar. This is a
highly rated feature that sure flopped at my
UNITED ARTISTS
boxoffice. The comment generally was "an Impact (UA)—Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines,
action picture with no action except stealing Helen Walker. This is a good picture but had
some Indian ponies." Played Sun., Mon. no draw here. Played Sun., Mon. Weather:
Weather: Good.—M. W. Long, Lans Theatre, Cloudy.—L. Brazil jr., New Theatre, Bearden,
Lansing. Iowa. Small town and rural patronage.
Ark. Small town patronage.
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UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL
Abbott and CosteUo Meet the Killer (U-D—
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff.
Maybe I played this too late. Anyway, everyone
seemed to know that it wasn't Abbott
and Costello in a comedy like they should be
in. The few kids who came ended up by
standing in the back, scared to death. That's
not what we are in show business for. Played
Sun., Mon. Weather: Good.—M. W. Long.
Lans Theatre, Lansing, Iowa. Small town and
*
rural patronage.
Astonished Heart, The (U-D—Noel Coward,
Cecelia Johnson, Margaret Leighton.
Don't play this—it Is strictly for the art
houses. Both it and the one we doubled it with
("The Rugged O'Riordans") are Engltsh
made. If O'Riordans had been in Technicolor,
it might have had a chance. Played Sun.,
Mon. Weather: Rain.-Al Hatoff, Interboro's
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BOXOFFICE BookinGuide July 1. 1950