Boxoffice-August.19.1950

. . Al
Usherette 'Bride' Gets
Marriage Proposal
HALIFAX—Manager Freeman Skinner of
the Paramount used his head usherette in
promoting patronage for "Father of the
Bride." Sara Poulan, a brown-eyed brunet,
was assigned to don a bridal gown, veil,
orange blossoms and pumps daily during the
engagement and sit in the front seat of a
parked car at a busy street corner. She
spent eight hours each day on that assignment.
While going through with it. she received
a marriage proposal, but voted in the negative.
She was invited to join the touring
Water Follies, and to be a professional model
at Boston, but declined both offers. She
likes her Paramount job, but opines she wore
the wedding outfit long enough without looking
bored—her instructions from Skinner
stressed avoiding looking bored. She did some
ushering in Ontario theatres before joining
the Paramount force.
Air Conditioning Goes
In Tivoli in Saskatoon
WINNIPEG—Bill Popham, manager of the
Tivoli, Saskatoon, reports the recent installation
by Fleming-Pedlar of a $25,000 refrigeration
air conditioning system. Odeon has
installed at the Tivoli, and the Beacon in
Winnipeg, new neon and mazda-splattered
Martel-Stewart built marquees, the only ones
in western Canada at an expenditure of
$13,000. The marquees are visible for blocks,
featuring Adler third-dimensional letters.
TORONTO
Ctan Gosnell, manager of the Toronto Uptown
and property master for Variety,
rounded up barkers for a club meeting August
15, instead of the usual last Tuesday in the
month, so that Chief Barker Morris Stein
could make early announcement of club
activities in the next few weeks . . . Arch J.
Mason, of Springhill, N. S., mayor of the
town and chairman of the national committee
of the Motion Picture Exhibitors Ass'n of
Canada, stopped here for a conference during
a trip to Saskatoon for the convention of the
Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities.
Dick Main, owner of the Simcoe at Sutton,
Ont., handled publicity for the annual Sutton
horse show and fall fair August 10-12.
Main also helped the Red Barn stock company
at nearby Jackson's Point . . . Manager
Vic Nowe of the Toronto Hyland reported
that 58,012 paid admissions had been recorded
for the first eight weeks of "Kind
Hearts and Coronet." The theatre seats 1,359.
George Oullahan of Fontonite has been
kept on the run for the weekly two-night
stunt at 14 independent neighborhood theatres.
The cash prize for the group last week
was $980, which was even better than a jigsaw
contest offer of the Toronto Evening
Telegram . . . Arch H. Jolley of the Motion
Picture Industry Council of Canada has been
invited to the annual meeting of the Maritime
Motion Picture Exhibitors Ass'n at Port
Cumberland hotel, Amherst, N. S., September
27.
Louis Ziff, theatreman and former mayor
of Fort Erie, was married in Toronto to
Stella Cohen of London, England. Ziff also
is president of the Fort Erie Chamber of
Commerce . Sedgwick, manager of the
Palace at St. Catharines, had a big Saturday
matinee with three features and a star photo
giveaway of William Boyd. The screen fare
comprised "Roeketship XM," "Motor Patrol"
and Hopalong Cassidy in "Fool's Gold."
Helen Allen, former film reviewer, spotted
a marquee sign at Birchcliff which she
thought indicated Scottish frugality. The
problem actually was a matter of space. The
title of "Tight Little Island" appeared as
"Tite Litle
Isle."
Nine Graded as Adult
TORONTO—The Ontario Board of Censors
apparently tightened up during July, with
a larger number of features classified as
adult entertainment. Nine graded pictures
for the month are "F>rivate Angelo," International;
"Outrage," RKO; "Once a Thief,"
United Artists; "On Approval," Monogram;
"The Great Plane Robbery." United Artists;
"The Great Jewel Robber," Warner Bros.;
"Frightened City" and "Convicted," Columbia,
and "The Armored Car Robbery," RKO.
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BOXOFFICE ;
; August 19, 1950 93