Boxoffice-August.19.1950

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Pop^Sorg Seed Given
To Private Planters
COLLEGE STATION, TEX.—Popcorn,
the
favorite confection of theatre and sports
fans for many years, may have a rival
before long in pop-sorghum.
Plant breeders at the Texas A&M agricultural
experiment station have developed
pop-sorghum by crossing Haiti's petite mil
and India's shallu.
Pop-sorg has one advantage over popcorn.
The hull is thinner and more tender, which
means less husk to lodge between the teeth.
R. E. Karper. agronomist in charge of
Texas A&M grain sorghum investigations,
said the aim was to produce a farm or home
confection for areas where sorghum grows
well and corn does not. Pop-sorg, he says,
is a natural for package caramel and candied
confections because of its small size.
Some of the seed has been given to private
planters and there should be enough
of it next year to warrant greater experimentation
on the possibilities of its use in
confections, a Texas A&M spokesman said.
Pop-sorg is said to be as delicious and nutritious
as popcorn and Karper also foresees
its possible use as a puffed breakfast cereal.
Pop-sorg stays crisp for a considerable time
after being popped.
Mountain Lion Disrupts
Showman's Camp Trip
From Western Edition
LOVING, N. M.—Orin J. Sears, operator of
the Apache Theatre here, and his family have
been the target of numerous jokes about his
recent lion "hunt," in which they saw a real
mountain lion but made the sight as brief
as physically possible by leaving the scene
with the maximum of
speed.
In the words of the local newspaper, the
"biggest mountain lion I ever saw" caused
Sears, his wife Dolly and 15-year-old son Bill
to beat a hasty retreat from where they had
started to spend their overnight camp outing
in the Sacramento mountains about eight
miles west of Mayhill, N. M.
"They arrived at the camp site at about
4:45 p. m., cooked supper and made camp.
They crawled into their bed rolls at about
8:30 p. m. Only a few minutes later, Mrs. Sears
heard a noise. Orin got up and went to the
car to get his rifle and two large flashlights.
When the lantern showed this big lion, which
he estimated as at least six feet from nose to
tail. Sears said: 'I wouldn't have been more
surprised if I had seen an elephant.'
"While Bill loaded the rifle. Sears kept a
flashlight pointed at the lion. He said the
lion walked in a half circle around the camp,
keeping within range of the flashlight. When
the rifle was loaded. Sears took a shot, but
doesn't think he hit the lion.
"After that, the Sears family didn't waste
any time in packing up. They left their
camp spot by 9, and were home before 11 p. ni.
"Their cocker spaniel dog was with them on
the trip, but did not give any warning of the
mountain lion. Sears said the dog was old
and had been injured in a fight just a few
days earlier, and probably was too weak and
tired to take much notice.' "
Orin is letting all his friends "have a
laugh," only, he insists, it wasn't so funny
at the time.
cbatmas Float in
HEARNE, TEX.—The Chatmas Amusement
Co., operating the Chatmas and
Queen theatres here, had a colorful float
in the annual Alfalfa Fiesta parade. Glitter
stars covered the float, which featured
a small stage curtained in blue velvet
draperies. Riding the float were
Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Donald Duck,
enacted by Mary and Andrea Mitchell and
Eddie Henderson, children of theatre employes
Joe Mitchell and Ed Henderson.
Hearne Parade
Shown with the float in the above picture
are George Chatmas and S. H. Siede,
who recently became a Chatmas associate,
and the three cartoon characters.
J. G. Chatmas was so busy as chairman
of the fiesta that he couldnt' be stopped
to get in the photo.
George Chatmas reported work has been
started on the new Queen Theatre. The
old Queen was destroyed by fire early this
year.
Texas Parade Magazine Expresses
Tributes to Theatre Executives
HOUSTON—Lavish praise for "the men
who operate the thousand motion picture
theatres in Texas" is contained in Houston
writer Don Hinga's article, "Glamor Plus
Dollars," in a recent issue of Texas Parade
magazine.
"Hollywood is the focal point of production
of motion pictures," Hinga writes. "Texas
is the focal point of exhibition.
"In Karl Hoblitzelle, president of Interstate
Theatres, Texas has the dean of the
nation's film exhibitors. In R. J. O'Donnell,
vice-president and general manager of Interstate,
Texas has the white-haired king of
exhibitors. Recognition of this eminence of
O'Donnell is the fact that he has been
cho.sen as president of the Variety Clubs International,
charity organization of show
people in all parts of the globe.
"When the double feature program was
sweeping the country, O'Donnell pioneered
in the development of the short feature that
would provide a balanced program and a
single feature policy.
"Interstate set up a separate department
that scanned every short subject that was
made to fit it into balanced programs. It
was this pioneering that encouraged Hollywood
to make more short subjects—educational,
entertaining and inspiring—subjects
that many times brought a message that
cleared up the muddled thinking of millions
on problems confronting the nation at the
time they were shown by Interstate.
"Interstate has not been alone in this
.
great work. Robb & Rowley, in its chain of
theatres, has held to the same high standard
of excellence. And so has R. I. Payne, general
manager of Theatre Enterprises, and
Julius Gordon with his Jefferson Amusement
Co., to name a few of the larger circuits
in Texas.
"Texas theatres were the first to have
nurses and maids on duty for patrons, the
fii-st to install earphones for hard-of-hearing
persons. Cry rooms, where mothers could
retire with fretful infants and still see the
picture, were first in Texas. Children's
chairs, so small fry could be more comfortable,
were another Texas first.
"Perhaps the greatest contribution of
Texas theatres has been in service to the
community in which they are located. Your
theatre today is the focal point in community
service . . More often than not,
.
the theatre manager is high on the list of
those who are heading up community campaigns
. . .
"During the last war, no other industry
furnished leadership for the many campaigns—war
bonds. Red Cross, scrap drives
and many others—as did the theatre . . .
"In the motion picture theatre, for an
average cost of 30-odd cents, including tax,
the theatre patron buys a ticket on the magic
carpet of filmland
."
BOXOFFICE :
: August 19, 1950 71