Boxoffice-March.10.1951

I
with a large assortment of tropical plants and
flowers as well as many fruit trees.
• * •
The manager of the Dixie Theatre at
Goulds, Fla., was out when I called. The
assistant manager at the theatre in Perrine,
Haywood Robinson, said he was leaving soon
to go into defense work.
At the Hi-Way Theatre in South Miami,
W. F. Caudell, manager and owner, has remodeled
the front, added an attractive marquee
and cleaned up the interior with a coat
He also installed new seating. Since
of paint.
he did most of the work himself, Caudell was
forced to close down the 600-seater from
November 1 to January 1. With a large parking
lot the showcase is quite attractive for
neighborhood patronage and is rapidly gaining
back the juvenile customers. Caudell
hails from Fairmount, N. C, and says he has
not yet fully recovered from a long illness
during the early part of 1950.
• * •
George Wilby of the 27th Avenue Drive-In
at Miami showed me some of the improvements
made since the airer was opened last
May 26. He said three different churci'ies
will hold combined Easter sunrise services at
the drive-in this year. George will serve
everyone free coffee and doughnuts as he has
always believed in community effort to build
and hold patronage.
At the Hialeah Theatre, Manager David
H. Gridley showed me some of the improvements
made at the house since Claughton
Theatres took over. The showcase now has
an attractive boxoffice and lobby. Gridley
moved up to managership from assistant
manager at the Circle in Miami Springs.
• * *
L. A. Kortum, manager of the Circle Theatre
in Miami Springs, said he thought the
current cycle of war pictures was driving
patrons away from the boxoffice, since families
don't want to be reminded that their
menfolks were already on the front lines going
through the same horror that the pictures
depict. Kortum said people go to shows to
laugh and relax and ease the tension of
every day living. He said that it has become
common practice for patrons to call the theatre
to find out what the picture was about
because they had been so misled by titles
in the past.
Kortum said selling and advertising of a
picture was becoming more difficult and it
looked like house-to-house selling of pictures
might have to be done as the personal angle
and contact would help bring patrons back,
especially if the picture they came to see
was one of the better films. Kortum said it
ought to be apparent to Hollywood by now
that certain actors could only play certain
roles and should not be cast in parts which
did not fit them and which the public
resented. He thought that once better pictures
were produced on a large enough scale.
Shown above is the new boxoffice and
attraction board of the Naples Theatre,
Naples, Fla. The concrete building goes
bacli 115 feet to connect with the quonset
hut type theatre. The extension
opened last Christmas day.
the industry would have nothing to fear from
television.
* * *
George Hoover of the Paramount Theatres
has some construction ideas about theatres
and pictures. He thinks independent producers
have a chance to produce some worthwhile
pictures at prices the average theatreman
can pay and remain in the black since
the independents are not saddled with so
much overhead and might have a fresh approach,
not being bound by tradition.
The Olympia Theatre in Miami is celebrating
its 25th anniversary and Bob Daugherty,
manager, has put up in the lobby shots
of the construction and the original ad showing
the theatre opening with "The Grand
Duchess and the Waiter." Adolph Menjou
sent Bob a telegram which has been blown
up and displayed in the lobby. Daugherty
will soon celebrate his 23rd year with Paramount
as he was former city manager of
Tampa, Fla.
• * «
An old friend of mine, Edward Melniker,
former manager of Loew's Grand in Atlanta,
has purchased the Coral Way Drive-In at
Miami. He is working hard to get the theatre
in shape and has yet to put in a new attraction
board and driveway lights. Melniker has
always been a great community worker
wherever he has owned a theatre. He started
with toew's at St. Louis 224 years ago and
has managed several other important houses.
He has been living in Nashville, Tenn., for
the past two years.
* * «
I talked to Keith McComas of the Tropicaire
Drive-In at Miami who told me that his
brother Jack, who has been concession manager
there, will soon return to Kentucky.
Keith had been fishing and caught five
dolphin and several kingfish.
Theatre Tickets Given
For Traffic Violations
PRENTISS, MISS.—Theatre tickets, not
fines, were handed out to traffic violators as
Prentiss went on a week-long "traffic spree."
It all happened in the week preceding the
showing of the highway patrol's "Death on
the Highway" safety film.
Patrol Capt. A. S. Windham praised theatre
manager Dick Bryner for helping in the
success of the demonstration. Judge Frank
Gardner cooperated in issuing traffic violators
tickets to Bryner's theatre for a double
feature and the safety film. More than 2,000
saw the film and those who did not attend
were liable for the regular fines.
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BOXOFFICE March 10, 1951 67