Boxoffice-11.11.1950

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ExhihiioT Has His Say
(Continued Irom page 3)
was a fine picture. The acting was wonderful.
Played Thursd?,y. Weather: Warm.—Marcella
Smith, Vinton Theatre, McArthur, Ohio.
Small town patronage. * *
Love Happy cUA) — Marx Bros., Ilona
Massey, Vera-Ellen. This one drew well, and
to my surprise, it pleased nearly all patrons.
One patron remarked that the violin-andpiano
act was worth the admission fee.
Played midweek. — C. E. Bennewitz, Royal
Theatre, Royalton, Minn. Rural patronage.
Red Light (UA) — George Raft, Virginia
Mayo, Gene Lockhart. This was doubled with
a Durango Kid western, "Bandits of El Dorado"
(Col) and left such a good feeling with
customers that no one left during the western.
Both pictures are above par for their kind.
Played Saturday. Weather: Clear and warm.
—Arden A. Richards, Craigsville Drive-In
Theatre, Craigsville, W. Va. Farmer and coal
miner patronage. *
UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer (U-D—
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff. Although
funny in spots, this did not evoke
the usual amount of laughs that this zany
pair usually bring forth. Also, my gross was
down due to the fact that it had been shown
everywhere else in a radius of 50 miles from
me. I find that reissues actually do better
than do some of these A&C later features.
It's the same old "beef" with the little town
exhibitor — we just can't get any of them
ahead of our nearest exhibitors. Played Wed.,
Thurs. Weather: Fine autumn weather.—I.
Roche, Vernon Theatre, Vernon, Fla. Small
town and rural patronage. * * *
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (U-I)—Donald
O'Connor, Gale Storm, Walter Brennan. It
is an amusing, light thing in pretty color,
which was off slightly at the money window.
O'Connor is good, no doubt, but here he still
doesn't quite draw for top bracket prices,
despite "Francis." We aren't griping, though,
because in the main Universal has been a
help to the small town in recent months.
Played preview. Sun., Mon. Weather: Okay.
William J. Harris, Crown Theatre, Lincoln,
Ark. Rural and small town patronage. * * *
Gal Who Took the West, The (U-I) —
Yvonne DeCarlo, Charles Coburn, Scott
Brady. This has a very fine plot, fine music
but brought only a moderate crowd in very
fine weather. The hunting season interfered
and the picture was a wee bit too short for
its quality of advertising. It had been here,
too. Played Tliurs., Fri. Weather: Clear and
warm.—Arden A. Richards, Craigsville Drive-
Saves Superwesterns
For Fall Business
KID FROM TEXAS, THE (U-D—Audie
Murphy, Gale Storm, Albert Dekker.
This did 38 per cent above average business.
All comments on it were good.
The picture was short but we had no
complaints about that. I saved most of
the superwesterns for fall business
when the people who like them have the
money. It pays! Played Monday.—N. D.
Patterson, Tate Theatre, Coldwater, Miss.
Small town and rural patronage. *
In Theatre, Craig.sville, W. Va. Farmer and
coal miner patronage. *
Ma and Pa Kettle (U-I)—Marjorie Main,
Percy Kilbride, Richard Long. With the
checker breathing down my neck, I found
when we counted up that this picture grossed
200 per cent. Why don't the checkers come
when we take a beating on a picture? You
really wonder where all the strangers come
from, and how to convert them into regular
patrons. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: One
night it rained.—Carl Neitzel, Juno Theatre,
Juneau, Wis. Small town and surrounding
area patronage. * *
Woman in Hiding i^U-I) — Ida Lupino,
Howard Duff, Stephen McNally. Aye, for
shame! We got so interested in this one that
we missed a changeover while spinning the
reels in the booth. It is gripping all the way,
and it's hard to remember a poor movie in
which Ida Lupino was cast. It did only aver-
Gangster Pictures Fail:
Prefer Family Comedies
TXTE WELCOME new contributor N. D.
Patterson this week from the Tate
Theatre at Coldwater, Miss. Patterson
introduces himself thus:
"I am new in theatre business (bought
this theatre in April) and have read
your EHHS with much interest but have
felt I belong on the sideUnes. However,
after seven months I have found that I
am in a much better position when I am
looking for pictures for dates rather than
looking for dates for pictures! Reading
the other exhibitor reports helps to find
just the right picture for an open date.
"We have a small town here with farming,
dairy and cattle country around us.
I do not consider this an action house,
as gangster pictures always fall off 20
or 30 per cent, and superwesterns will
only go well in the fall. This is not an
art house, either. We do our best business
on good comedy and family pictures."
WARNER BROS.
Flame and the Arrow, The (WB) — Burt
Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Robert Douglas.
I should have played this a whole week,
judging from the turnout for three days. The
boxoffice was happy, I was jubilant, and the
patrons were well satisfied and entertained.
This was a wonderful motion picture and a
credit to the industry. For the first time,
Burt Lancaster had a role that did the man
justice and no doubt will boost him in the
popularity polls. Coupled with Roy Rogers'
"Twilight in the Sierras" for Thurs., Fri.,
Sat. Weather: Clear and hot.—Jim Dimbar,
Roxy Theatre, Wichita, Kas. Downtown subsequent
run patronage. • • •
God Is My Co-Pilot (WB)—Reissue. Dennis
Morgan, Dane Clark. Business was above
average on this fine war picture. Tokyo Joe,
the Jap fighter-pilot villain was hated by the
patrons. They clapped when Morgan finally
shot him out of the sky and there was enough
action to satisfy everyone. War films are
// They Like Musicals
This Will Please
ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (MGM) —
Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern.
Betty Hutton, the energetic bundle
of female dynamite and Keel make a nice
selUng package. Good color, humorous,
and if your crowd Ukes musicals at all,
this should go over great. And the kids
will Uke the Indians. We did 25 per cent
above average business, but we did get an
exceptionally nice break in the weather.
It was mild and clear for the three days,
Tues., Wed., Thurs.—Robert B. Tuttle,
Sky Drive-In Theatre, Adrian, Mich.
Rural and city patronage. *
popular here if I don't ^lay them too close
together. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Good.—
Carl Neitzel, Juno Theatre, Juneau, Wis.
Local and surrounding area patronage. * • •
God Is My Co-Pilot CWB)—Reissue. Dennis
Morgan, Andrea King, Dane Clark. If you
haven't played this long ago, play it now. It's
our best midweek yet and you can buy from
this company right. Played Wed., Thurs.
Weather: Good.—Curt and Elsie Bigley,
Princess Theatre, Humeston, Iowa. Rural and
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small town patronage.
Smart Girls Don't Talk (WB)—Virginia
Mayo, Bruce Bennett, Robert Hutton. We had
the good fortune to be on the set at the
Warner studio in Hollywood when visiting
California a year ago. So we enjoyed seeing
the picture, but we didn't have too many to
enjoy it with us. Played Wed., Thurs.—Harland
Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont.
General patronage. * * *
Pie in the Eye (WB)—Short. For deep
belly laughs, I do believe this brought forth
more than any slapstick comedy I have ever
run. This 18-minute short is a collection Of !
scenes from the old Mack Sennett days—all
pure corn on the cob. I should have played
this on Fri., Sat. and will bring it back in a i
year or so, as folks ran me down to tell me
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how much they liked it. Rural towns, play
this, by all means. Played Tuesday. Weather:
Pine.—I. Roche, Vernon Theatre, Vernon,
age business. However, we consider that good,
Fla. Small
as we have yet to find a heavy drama
town and rural patronage. * * '
that pays off well in a small town—unless it's Story of Seabiscuit, The (WB) — Shirley
of Gone-With-the-Wind caliber. Played Temple, Barry Fitzgerald, Lon McCallister. I
Tues., Wed., Thurs. Weather: Okay.—William
J. Harris, Crown Theatre, Lincoln, Ark. did poor business everywhere, but let me tell
have read in BOXOFFICE that this picture
Rural and small town patronage.
* * • you, this picture topped them all here, of
those shown the past six years. It had the
praise of all the people and they are still
talking about it. Figuring 100 per cent as the
average crowd, we did 400 per cent with it. j
Good going, Warners. Keep that McCallister;
with you and get him in more pictures like
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this and you have one of the biggest stars
coming up. Mark our words, Lon will be one
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of the top stars in Hollywood some day. He
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sure is tops here. Played Sat., Mon. Weather:
Fail-.—Sam Holmberg, Regal Theatre, Sturgis,
Sask. Rural patronage. ' * *
MISCELLANEOUS
It Ain't Hay (SG)—Reissue. Bud Abbott,
Lou Ccstello. I played this some time ago.
but in checking over my records, found that
it was sixth on my list of top-grossing pictures.
It is average for these A&C reissues,
which is plenty good. If these boys go In
your spot, pick this one up. We had a new
print. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Fair.—
Carl Neitzel, Juno Theatre, Juneau, Wis.
Small town and surrounding area patronage.
BOXOFFICE BookinGuide Nov. 11, 1950