Boxoffice-October.27.1951

BOSTON
Caul Simons, salesman at Columbia, and
his wife celebrated their 25th wedding
anniversary October 20 with a reception at
their Brookline home for 125 guests, including
the Harry Rogovins, Columbia district
manager; the Tom O'Briens, branch manager;
Eleanor Ahearn, secretary; Dick
Stephens, publicist, and all the salesmen,
bookers and office workers. Also present
were the two children of the Simonses, and
one grandchild.
Maurice Wolf of the public relations department
of MGM will address the New
Haven Advertising club November 12, when
the affair will be known as Loew's Poll day,
with Harry Shaw and Lou Brown as cochairmen
... It was fun to welcome back
David Perkins, former exhibitor and manager
for the old M&P circuit in Lowell, who was
in town during the run of "Love and Let
Love," the Ginger Rogers play. Perkins plays
the butler in the production.
Robert Z. Leonard, MGM director, is expected
in town with his camera crew to
take some shots of Marblehead for his newest
production, "Sometimes I Love You," in
which Clark Gable is starred . . . The
Motion Picture Salesmen's club is having a
dinner and screening at the MGM screening
room on Saturday evening.
A Dorchester minister on Sunday characterized
Darryl F. Zanuck's "David and
Bathsheba" as an authentic "moral, social
and theological" presentation of the problems
of David's time. The Rev. Robert H.
MacPherson of the First Parish church (Unitarian)
said the picture is "a real story of
real people encountering real problems. It
is not the story of puppets dancing on a
divine string, nor of plaster saints living
above the realm of human feelings. Mr.
Zanuck should be congratulated for his honesty,"
he continued. "Enough movies of this
kind would make the public realize that
Judaism and Christianity were not revealed
overnight but grew out o'f the struggle and
pain and passions of people who learned in
the crucible of experience the meaning of
life."
Members of Independent Exhibitors who
are planning to attend the Allied Theatres
convention October 30, 31 and November 1 in
New York City are president Norman Glassman,
executive director Ray Feeley, Leonard
Goldberg, Meyer and Joseph Stanzler, Peter
Marrone, Leslie Bendslev, Arthur Howard,
Irving Isaacs, Maurice and Melvin Safner,
Daniel Murphy, Ted Rosenblatt, Fred and
Edwin Fedeli, Julian Rifkin, Sam Resnik,
Walter Mitchell, Mrs. Katherine Avery and
Mrs. Ella Mills.
Following the press screening of "The Emperor's
Nightingale," a luncheon was held
1 327 S.Wabash
Chicago, Illinois
FILMACK
630 Ninth Ave.
New York, N.Y.
at the Hotel Vendome honoring William L.
Snyder, who is presenting the film to American
audiences. It is set for an extended engagement
at the Exeter Street Theatre in
Back Bay. Attending the luncheon to hear
Snyder speak on the film were the film
critics, Miss Viola Berlin, managing director
of the Exeter Theatre; Irving "Mac" Farber
and Eddie Ruff, New England distributors of
the film; George Kraska, who is handling the
puWicity for this area; newspaper drama and
music editors and radio commentators. Two
special windows featuring stills from the
film have been made up at Jordan Marsh
Co. and Kraska has arranged for displays in
the Boston public library and the 38 branches.
Snyder arrived a day in advance for radio
appearances and press interviews.
The Rudolph Valentino silent film "The
Eagle," was screened at the University Theatre
recently for Stanley Sumner, general
manager, who invited the members of the
Harvard university band to see it. Nat Ross
of Ross Films is handling it here and Sumner
is considering showing the 25-year-old
silent as part of his silver anniversary jubilee
celebration . . . John Latchis of Latchis
Theatres was in the district to arrange a
benefit show, an annual event, for the Brattleboro,
Vt., hospital.
A postcard from Al Fowler, former New
England publicist, came in from Columbus,
Ohio, discloses he is back on the road with
"Tales of Hoffmann" for Lopert Films. His
last assignment was with United Artists on
"Cyrano de Bergerac" . . . The same mail
brought a postcard from William Black of
Wellesley, drive-in contractor and builder,
who is vacationing with his family in New
Orleans.
Blythe Barrymore, daughter of the late
John Barrymore and Dolores Costello, is making
her film bow in RKO's "Androcles and
the Lion."
LETTERS
An Open Letter to All Exhibitors
To BOXOPFICE:
It was my privilege to tour part of New
England with the stars of Movietime U.S.A.
last week, and I had an opportunity to see
for myself what a superb job was done by the
stars, and especially the chairmen and committees
in charge, who should be highly commended
for their most efficient planning.
Personally, I think it is the basis of creating
good relationships with the pubUc and press
in all the communities which the stars visited.
I hope that the exhibitor will continue to
follow through with these good press relations
that have been started, and may I
.suggest that as a follow-through, since this
is the 50th anniversary of the motion picture
industry, each exhibitor in his local community
could invite as guests to his theatre
all couples married 50 years or more and
present them with a season's pass. I believe
that local merchants in the town might get
together and give these couples various gifts.
I feel certain that this would create a tremendous
amount of goodwill and additional
community spirit, whereby the local newspapers
would give this idea a great deal of
.space.
WILLIAM S. KOSTER
Executive Director
Variety Club of New England
These Stars
Appearance Skit
Rehearse
BOSTON—In connection with the world
premiere of "Let's Make It Legal," Macdonald
Carey, who is starred in the film
with Claudette Colbert, has developed a
new type of personal appearance which he
has presented to several New England cities.
Rather than the usual walk-on following
the showing of the film, during which
the star refers to "the return to his favorite
city." Carey, Robert Wagner, who
is featured in the film; starlet Joyce Mac-
Kenzie and pianist Larry Carr have worked
up a 30-minute skit of songs, comedy
sketches and routines.
This has proved a happy solution to the
usual strained type of star personal appearances.
Rehearsals for the skit were
conducted in Hollywood so that the entire
show had an air of professionalism as well
as delightful informality. This group appeared
in Boston at the Keith Memorial
on the opening day of the 20th-Fox film
and also visited theatres in Hartford,
Providence, Fall River, New Bedford,
Worcester, Lawrence, Concord, N. H., and
Portland, Me.
Eddie Solomon of the 20th-Fox publicity
office in New York accompanied
them. Boston press and film critics met
the stars, headed by Carey, at a "brunch"
at the Ritz Carlton hotel on the day preceding
the film's opening. Phil Engel and
Earl Evans of the Boston office were in
charge of the arrangements.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Approximately 12,000 persons jammed the
downtown streets of Manchester October
16 for band concerts, vaudeville programs and
block dancing to mark the opening of the
annual Community Chest fund campaign . . .
The recent visit of Hollywood celebrities to
Manchester for Movietime celebration was
recalled by the showing of "Bird of Paradise,"
starring Debra Paget, at the Granite Square
Theatre, and "Strangers on a Train" at the
Pine Island Drive-In. Miss Paget and Hitchcock
were among the Queen City visitors . . .
Basil Rathbone spoke on "The Magic of the
Theatre" at a Colby Junior college artists
series program at the New London Baptist
church October 17.
The Sunday News recently published an
article on the dwindling flow of customer
traffic on Hanover street, one of Manchester's
best known thoroughfares. Later, as an afterthought,
the newspaper also ran an editorial
stating that the previous article had
"failed to dwell on what may well be a more
significant, if less well recognized, factor, and
that is the impact of television on Hollywood."
The editorial added; "Hollywood's
product is shown in Hanover street theatres,
most of which have found it necessary to close
their doors a substantial portion of last year.
Since for at least a generation, Hanover street
has been Manchester's version of the Great
White Way, the decline of Hollywood pulling
power cannot have failed to exert some
malign influence on the size of Hanover street
crowds."
88 BOXOFFICE :
: October 27, 1951