Boxoffice-May.03.1952

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NATIONAL EXECUTIVE EDITION 

I'Uluding 1h< S«(t>v««t hfNt PA^ft .>f All Edilio'U 

MAY 3, 1952 

SECTION

HIGH TO HOUmo T 

fl\0 

The Skies Are 

Bright With 

M-G-M Hits! 

"BELIEVING IS 

ENTHUSING" 

"Since the exhibitors making this 

trip will be representative of all 

exhibitor groups their report to 

fellow showmen can have widespread 

influence. Let the enthusiasm 

flow through to the public and the 

pay-off will be substantially evidenced 

at the box-office. 

—Ediforial in 

BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE 

ii 

LEO SCORES AGAIN 

>> 

'A foreward step to better understanding 

between the source of the 

product and the purveyors of entertainment 

to the theatre going public. 

What better means to a spirit of 

understanding than to get together 

and look at the product which is the 

bloodjbone and sinew of the business." 

—Editorial in SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW 

"SEEING IS 

BELIEVING" 

"A most dramatic and unprecedented 

move. Leo is extremely proud of such 

product as 'Scaramouche', 'Ivanhoe', 

The Merry Widow', 'Lovely to Look 

At', Tat and Mike' as well as other 

films. Metro says 'Seeing Is Believing.' 

They are going to let the product 

speak for itself. The optimism which 

will be generated will kindle sparks 

of showmanship all over the country. 

Already the industry is experiencing 

a healthful radiation from this 

activity." 

—Editorial in 

"GOOD BUSINESS 

RELATIONS" 

THE INDEPENDENT 

"It's a new departure in the field of 

good business relations that should 

pay off. Metro is to be congratulated." 


THE EXHIBITOR 

n

TRADE FRBSS Cte^ 

\\ 

* tYONO 

ft 

UtVING m 

PAT 

^^"* 

lAlKt 

AND 

MANY MORE! 

"Carbine Williams" • "Mr. Congrcss- 

Man" • "The Girl In >X'hiie" • "The 

Stor\ of Three Loves" (Tech.) • "One 

Piece Baihing Suit" ('/'«/». ) • "Pl\ mouth 

Adventure" {Tech.) • "Prisoner of 

Zenda" (Tech.) • "Everything I Have 

Is Yours" (Tech.) • "Tribute To A 

Bad Man" • "The Devil Makes Three" 

"Fearless Fagan" • and others. 

"WILL PAY RICH 

DIVIDENDS" 

"Metro which has a way of establishing 

industry precedent naturally 

would be the company to conceive 

such a merchandising plan as 

'Operation Seeing Is Believing.' The 

contribution to industry public relations 

could prove to be of the first 

magnitude. The return to their home 

communities of the theatre owners 

highly enthusiastic over what they 

have seen can and will pay rich 

dividends. A doff and extra flourish 

of our chapeau to Leo the Leader." 

—Phil M. Daly in 

FILM DAILY 

"M-G-M's SMART MOVE" 

"M-G-M is 

making a smart move m 

corralling important exhibitors and 

bringing them to Hollywood. With 

a 

a good layout of product, as M-G-M 

certainly has, any company would 

have little difficulty placing it in 

important theatres. Bringing the 

theatre men to Hollywood is certain 

to create enthusiasm that could not 

be worked up better and quicker. 

This new showmanship by M-G-M 

will pay off big." 


ANOTHER METRO 

MASTER STROKE" 

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 

"A master stroke of good will and 

salesmanship. M-G-M's 'Seeing is 

Believing' Tour will enable exhibitor 

leaders to bring back a well grounded 

report to the thousands of theatre 

men they represent. There is plenty 

of evidence out Culver City way that 

M-G-M has much to offer its theatre 

customers. -Ediforial in FILM BULLETIN I

^ 

A stolen fortune 

salvaged from the 

seas _ a periled 

pursuit through 

hidden catacombs 

f i|^ forbidden treasure, 

THE 

forbidden lips, 

and the lashing 

fury of the ship 

called Mara Maru! 

TEMPTMIOH 

. . In South Seas 

Shadows' 

THE TREASURE \ 

^^

RUTH 

I PICERNI RICHARO WEBB • • OAN SEYMOUR GEORGE RENAVENT • • 

ROBERT CABAL 

ilCHARD NASH 

MUSiC BY 

MAX STEINER PRODUCED BY DAVID WEISBART DIRECTED BY GORDON DOUGLAS Wi Ml 

|lit?i 

^m^^.M

VUSrRALlAK STORY 

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Vol. 61 

3, 19 5 2 

No. 1 

MEETING OF THE MINDS 

7 •^^ HE meeting of the minds, for which every 

constructive factor in the industry has long 

prayed, came to fruition in the dcliixMalions hist 

week on the establishment of an arbitration system. 

From the outset, the keynote of unity 

sounded by Eric Johnston pervaded the sessions 

and there was quick agreement on initial 

of importance looking toward a final 

a workable plan. 

jininls 

accord on 

The smoothness with which the early discussions 

were conducted, the understanding and 

desire for harmony indicated in the attitude of 

every participant in these sessions, serve well the 

belief that the industry's various elements can 

get together and work together for the common 

good—even on matters over which there is strong 

contention. 

Once the machinery of the arbitration plan gets 

into motion, a long step forward will 

have been 

taken to eliininate the roadblocks in this industry's 

path of progress. That will be a slow 

process, to be sure, and it will require patience 

and tolerance that may at times be trying, but 

worth enduring for the sake of eliminating intraindustry 

conflicts which have but led to costly 

litigation. 

Lip to this writing the more difficult probleins, 

such as making film rentals an arbitrable subject, 

had not come up. This may prove a difficult 

hurdle, but it should not be permitted to scrap 

the good results initially achieved. It is not 

necessary to reiterate the realization on the j)art 

of the industry's leaders engaged in these conferences—and 

of those in the field—that some 

solution must be found to put the industry's 

house in order, making it livable for distributor 

and exhibitor—and competitors among the latter. 

This need, apparent for at least 20 years, has 

become more and more urgent with each passing 

year. It will become more aggravated and force 

the industry to the brink of ruin, if this need is 

not soon answered. 

While there was enthusiasm and ciuduragement 

over the arbitration conferences currently 

held, a word of caution is in order. 

There should 

be no long delay in carrying the deliberations to 

completion and then in obtaining quick ratification 

and final 

Dcparlment of Justice approval. 

One more thing: It is to be hoped that there 

will not be a repetition of the experience 

with COMPO. It started out similarly, in 

Chicago, with accord surprisingly and quickly 

reached, but which became bogged down after 

delegates to this meeting returned to their head- 

(|uarlers and the spirit of cooperation gave way 

to selfish thinking. The delay in implementing 

COMPO was costly to the industry—and to the 

individuals who let personal viewpoints stand 

in its way. \ 

It wt)uld be well to remember that perfection 

will not be the instant result of this or any other 

movement designed to integrate the industry's 

forces. Arbitration will not be the solver of all 

problems, nor will it serve to satisfy all who find 

need to make use of its facility. However, even 

those who may lose a decision through arbitration 

mav gain in the long run from benefits of 

indirect accrual. This may sound I topian, but 

that's the way we see it. For only good can come 

from the industry's ability to settle its trade differences 

amicably and quickly, without resort to 

courts of law. To top this off. there is the big 

plus that would come from all 

factors being able 

to get back to the business of making and marketing 

pictures and doing the necessary job of 

selling them to 

the public. 

Those 'Double A' Duals 

Harry M. Vi arncr s|)otlighted a practice that 

isn't doing this business any good, when he told 

the Warner sales staff meeting at Pittsburgh 

that salesmen should "educate" exhibitors not 

to i)Ut two big pictures on one hill. .As he said, 

these bills "dry up the earning force of both pictures 

without regard for studio cost or the 

thinning out of pictures available to this current 

market." 

When big pictures are played there should be 

enough cxi)loitatioii effort to get the best possible 

grosses out of them. 

When two big pictures are 

played at once an effective campaign is impossible. 

The public gets the idea that there is 

something the matter with the attractions. 

Some exhibitors think these super bills take 

business away from the competition. 

If they have 

to play two weak pictures the following week, 

grosses suffer. 

\JL>^^ /dML/i^'y*-^

m 

ARBITRATION PLANS READY 

FOR REGIONALS LATE IN MAY 

After Approval They Go 

To Justice Department 

For an Official OK 

NEW YORK—All indications point to 

completion of an arbitration plan during 

the week starting May 26. After that It 

will be necessary to refer the plan to regional 

exhibitor units for approval and to 

send it to the E>epartment of Justice. 

Justice department approval is necessary 

because the plan will involve amendments 

to the antitrust decrees. 

Some of the conferees who attended the 

four days of conferences—April 22-25—at the 

Hotel Astor expressed the opinion that the 

new arbitration system could be put into operation 

with the opening of the new selling 

season in the fall. 

BASIS FOR OPTIMISM 

This optimism was based on the remarkable 

progress made during four days. 

In that period it was agreed that the system 

would be administered by a national 

committee to consist of 12 members, three 

each from Allied. TOA, distribution and one 

each from ITOA. MMPTA and WTO, with 

seven members constituting a quorum. Details 

of the committee's work would be handled 

by an executive secretary and whatever 

staff he may consider necessary, with the 

understanding that expenses will be held 

down. 

Adoption of this plan disposed of the suggestion 

from some quarters that an outstanding 

figure be hired to administer the 

system. 

The national committee, which probably 

will have New York headquarters, will send 

out forms and regulations for guidance of 

local arbitration committees in exchange 

areas, so that procedures will be uniform. 

How many local committees will be set up 

remains to be decided. It is not expected 

that there will be committees in every exchange 

area. While the Goddard consent decree 

arbitration system operated, some offices 

had nothing to do. Distributors and exhibitors 

will be equally represented on each local 

committee. 

LEGAL COSTS A MINIMUM 

Expensive legal technicalities will be kept 

out if possible. If an exhibitor does not have 

counsel, distributors will not be entitled to 

counsel. If an exhibitor appears with counsel, 

one lawyer will be named for all the distributors 

included in the complaint. 

There will be no appeal board. 

Specific plans for operation will be drafted 

by a committee which includes Herman Levy. 

chairman; Nathan Yamins, Allied; L. S. 

Hamm. WTO; Mitchell Klupt, MMPTA; Milton 

C. Weisman. ITOA, and Robert W. 

Perkins, distributors. It is expected that this 

report will be ready May 26. 

Another committee, which will report at 

the same time, will draft rules and regulations. 

This group includes Abram F. Myers, 

Allied; Mitchell Klupt, MMPTA; Milton C. 

Weisman, ITOA; L. S. Hamm, WTO; Austin 

GRANT POWER TO 

AWARD DAMAGES 

Bidding Disputes Placed 

On Arbitration Lineup 

NEW YORK—On the final day of the industry arbitration conference 

Friday (25), the delegates agreed on the following importont provisions in 

the proposed plan: 

1. An agreement by the distributors to arbitrate any claim brought 

against them for discrimination in the award of any picture under competitive 

bidding. 

2. Agreement by the distributors to arbitrate any claim that an exhibitor 

overpaid or overbid in order to deprive another theatre owner of pictures 

under competitive bidding. The conference recommended that the successful 

bidder should be brought in by the complainant in such cases. 

3. Agreement by the conference that arbitrators have the power to 

award damages. The scope of this power and the rules relating to the granting 

of damages were referred to the rules committee, with the recommendation 

that the dominant exhibitor be brought in by the complainant in 

such cases. 

4. Agreement by the conference that unless the exhibitor has counsel 

at an arbitration proceeding, that the distributors will not be represented by 

counsel. It was further agreed that if the exhibitor has counsel at the proceeding, 

then all distributors will designate a single common counsel. 

Keough, Robert W. Perkins and Adolph 

Schimel, distributors. 

Two important topics remain for discussion. 

One is how to finance the plan and the other 

is whether or not film rentals shall be in- 

Plan Is 

'Not Ripe Yet' 

For O.K., Says Meyers 

WASHINGTON—Last week's all-industry 

arbitration meeting which, according 

to Allied Board Chairman Abram F. 

Myers, settled nothing except that "the 

distributors would not agree to the allinclusive" 

Allied proposal, will be the 

main topic of discussion at the Allied 

board meeting opening today (3) in Colorado 

Springs. 

Announcing the agenda Thursday (1), 

Myers said that since nothing concrete 

was concluded, "the plan is not ripe for 

any approving action by the board and, 

in view of the fact that the negotiations 

are scheduled to be resumed on May 26, 

it is not expected that Allied will withdraw 

at this time." 

Myers pointed out that, although some 

"informal agreements" regarding runs, 

clearances, contract violations and other 

controversies as regards their inclusion 

as subjects for arbitration had been 

reached at the meeting, "no attention was 

given to the conditions and limitations 

governing such arbitrations or the scope 

of the awards to be entered." 

eluded among arbitrable subjects. 

Estimates on how much the plan will cost 

are vague. Some run as high as $200,000. The 

old consent decree system cost up to $300,000 

per year, and as it approached its end in 

1947 it was operated on a month-to-month 

basis with appropriations running at the rate 

of $25,000 per month, with only Paramount, 

MGM. Warner Bros, and 20th Century-Fox 

contributing. Columbia, United Artists and 

Universal withdrew when the Goddard consent 

decree lapsed in 1942. 

There was a steady decline in cases under 

that system. In 1941 there were 148; in 1942 

—116; 1943—83; 1944—45; 1945—32; 1946—49. 

One of the reasons for this was the expense 

of carrying on cases with counsel for both 

sides and with appeals. The salaries of the 

appeals board members totaled $40,000 per 

year, and maintenance of regional offices was 

expensive. 

For the fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 1943, 

four offices had no complaints — Charlotte, 

Denver, Kansas City and Seattle. 

A greater variety of arbitrable subjects will 

make the new system different from the old. 

It has already been agreed that claims of 

discrimination can be arbitrated and damages 

awarded; that over-payments and overbidding 

to deprive another exhibitor of pictures 

can come up. Details on these plans 

will be worked out in committee. 

There is some sentiment among distributors 

for sharing expenses between distributors 

and exhibitors. Income from filing fees 

and other expenses will be only a minor item 

for the regional boards. 

8 BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952

JOHNSTON SEES INDUSTRY DUE 

FOR NEW SUCCESSES IN 1952 

Need Is for Better Films, 

Streamlined Distribution 

And More Showmanship 

NEW YORK—The motion picture industry 

can move forward to new successes 

from its accomplishments of, 1951. Eric 

Johnston, president of the Motion Picture 

Ass'n of America, told the annual meeting 

P:-iday »2). He said progress will be fashioned 

from experience, a realistic appraisal 

of problems and a clear definition of needs. 

Johnston outlined a program around 

which progress should revolve. 

FILM QUALITY IMPROVED 

efforts 

'Continued improvement in the quality, diversity 

and appeal of motion picture entertainment 

is of prime importance," he said. 

"All reports from the studios herald another 

great year of outstanding motion pictures tc 

follow the successes of 1951. Showmanship 

methods and more intensified promotional 

to support the pictures should be further 

improved, both at the national and local 

levels. Techniques powerful enough to penetrate 

the growing ranks of selective moviegoers 

must be devised to build boxoffice response 

to films which now offer such a variety 

in treatment and theme. 

"The traditional machinery of the industry 

for distribution of film in this country should 

be streamlined. Changing patterns of demand, 

traiisportation and population have 

dislocated the accustomed patterns. For the 

sake of economy and of better service, there 

are many possibilities which an industry that 

is determined to be modern and up-to-date 

must explore for itself. The goal of this effort 

is to get films to the theatres in the best 

and cheapest way possible. 

"The international market is of great importance 

to the industry and to the nation. 

There are few American industries whose 

portion of income from exports is so great. 

No other industry makes a greater contribution 

to the promotion of the democratic way 

of life throughout the world. For these reasons, 

maximum efforts must continually be 

made to keep foreign markets open to American 

films on a fair and equitable basis. 

AHEAD ON TECHNICAL LINE 

"The invention and development of new 

technical methods can open new doors of opportunity 

for the industry. Further efforts 

in the field of technical reseaixh, in the 

utilization of new media such as frequency 

space for theatre TV, and in developments 

in the use of sight and sound are urgent. Perhaps 

greater progress can be made by promoting 

many technical developments on an industry-wide 

basis. 

"The removal of barriers to the industry's 

welfare is essential. There have been increasing 

impediments to the industry's progress 

from taxes, antitrust litigation and censorship. 

The industry is carrying a burden of 

direct taxes on theatre admissions which Is 

unfair and discriminatory. We are prepared 

to carry our share of the tax burden and 

more, but admissions taxes which strike heavily 

at the boxoffice as the present ones are 

Johnston 

Eric 

Johnston 

Re-Elected 

To MPAA Post 

NEW yoRK— Eric Johnston wa.s reelected 

president of the Motion Picture 

Ass'n of America 

at its annual meeting 

Friday (2i. 

Other incumbent 

officers were reelected. 

Slate for 1952: 

Eric 

President, 

Johnston ; v i c e - 

president and director 

of the Production 

Code Administration, 

Joseph 

I. Breen; 

vice-president in 

charge of international affairs, John G. 

McCarthy; vice-president, Joyce O'Hara: 

secretary, Sidney Schreiber; assistant 

secretary, William H. Roberts; treasurer, 

F. W. DuVall: assistant treasurer, Stanley 

R. Weber; assistant treasurer-assistant 

secretary, James H. Howie. 

All directors were re-elected, as follows: 

Johnston, Bai'ney Balaban, Theodore R. 

Black, Nate J. Blumberg, Steve Broidy, 

Jack Cohn, Cecil B. DeMille, Ned E. Depinet, 

Earle W. Hammons, Joseph H. 

Hazen, Norton V. Ritchey, Hal E. Roach, 

Nicholas M. Schenck, Spyros P. Skouras, 

Albert Warner, Austin Keough, W. C. 

Michel, John J. O'Connor, Herman Robbins, 

Abe Schneider, Sam Schneider, C. B. 

Stratton, Paul H. Terry, Joseph R. Vogel, 

William H. Clark, Herbert J. Yates. 

without justification. Relief must be sought 

by bringing the economic facts to the attention 

of the lawmakers. 

"One of the projects the entire industry is 

looking forward to is the completion of a 

workable arbitration system. Among other 

things, such a system may materially reduce 

the financial drain on the industry of antitrust 

litigation. 

"I am hopeful the months ahead will bring 

a clear-cut test in the Supreme Court of the 

United States of the constitutionality of motion 

picture censorship. A free screen should 

be as much a sacred right as free .speech and 

a free press." 

Johnston called 1952 "a year of growing 

confidence." He said U.S. films have reached 

out to 72 per cent of the world's screen time 

in 95,000 theatres and have been seen and 

loved by a world audience averaging more 

than 230,000,000 people, with 150 different 

languages and dialects. The American people 

alone paid more than $1,300,000,000 to see 

films in 1951, and "thus the industry received 

at the boxoffice several times more income 

than all other paid admission industries put 

together." 

"It is impossible," he said, "to think about 

the Industry and Its achievements without 

great pride— pride in the people of the Industry 

and pride In the nation whose way of 

life made such things possible." 

NATIONAL INCOME IS UP 

Di.scussing the topic of films In an expanding 

economy, Johnston said that gros.s national 

product in 1951 ro.se to the record peak 

of $328,000,000,000, an increase of 55 per cent 

over 1946, that national income rose to a 

new record of $276,000,000,000, or 53 per cent 

higher than the 1946 level, and that personal 

consumption expenditures of $206,000,000,000 

were 40 per cent higher than in 1946. 

"While the economy was expanding," he 

said, "the nation's population was increasing 

and changing in pattern. We now have more 

people, more families, more young married 

persons, a record number of children and, 

significantly, fewer young single adults and 

more older per.sons. All this added up, obviously, 

to better boxoffice prospects for motion 

pictures. There was more money and 

there were more people to spend it. But what 

occurred? In the post-war years the industry 

failed to keep pace with its potential markets." 

Johnston said the boxoffice began in 1947 

a relatively steady downward trend because 

of economic conditions, population shifts, a 

lack of new theatre construction, the expansion 

of other recreational facilities and problems 

within the industry, including a marked 

change in marketing procedures brought 

about by antitrust decisions, foreign restrictions 

and the rapid increase in production 

costs. He saw the long and gradual recession 

halted in April 1951, followed by a perceptible 

upward trend in June that continued through 

the early weeks of November. 

LONG LIST OF TOP FILMS 

"The greatest single reason for this boxoffice 

boost," he said, "was the .successful effort 

of the studios to Improve their product. 

Hollywood showed once again that it had a 

positive answer to difficulties—high quality 

entertainment. Not in recent years has there 

been so long a list of great pictures, outstanding 

in their entertainment and dramatic 

values." 

Other reasons for the upswing were given 

by Johnston. He named increasing cooperation 

among all branches of the industry, the 

success of Movietime U.S.A. and more revenue 

from abroad, resulting in substantial Increases 

over the previous year. Revenue gains In 

local currencies offset the 30 per cent devaluation 

in a number of overseas countries and 

dollar remittances were topped only in 1946. 

he -said. He mentioned the new Anglo- 

American pact establishment of unrestricted 

Importation into Germany, new Italian and 

Spanish agreements, implementation of the 

1950 agreement with Argentina and increased 

remittances from Australia, South Africa, 

Finland and Holland, among many others. 

He said the upward trend continued during 

the year but that now there are "warning 

signs" in many markets abroad. 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952

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RELEASE 

WITH A SONG IN MY HEART 

The year's musical triumph. The fabulous story of Janl 

Froman is playing the same sweet boxoffice song frod 

Coast to Coast. Starring Susan Hayward, Rory Calhoun] 5 

In Color by TechnicoloJ 

David Wayne, Thelma Ritter. 

with 26 great songs as only Jane Froman can sing them 

APRIL RELEASE 

THE PRIDE OF ST. LOUIS 

(The Story of Dizzy Dean) 

Solid hit everywhere! 

The behind-the-headlines story dl 

one of the most colorful sports personalities of all time i 

big league entertainment, perfectly timed for the basebal 

season. With Dan Dailey as the Great Diz, and Joanne Dn 

as the girl who caught his Sunday pitch. 

MAY RELEASE 

BELLES ON THEIR TOES 

The "Cheaper By The Dozen" Family is back in a gran, 

new, brand new Technicolor picture that's perfect enteij 

tainment for the entire family. Starring Jeanne Craiti 

Myrna Loy, Debra Paget, Jeffrey Hunter, Edward Arnol 

—and all those adorable kids. 

MAY RELEASE 

THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT 

Bret Harte's most celebrated story on the screen at last il 

all its lusty, brawling glory. With an impressive ca!| 

headed by Anne Baxter and Dale Robertson, with Miria-" 

Hopkins, Cameron Mitchell and a fine supporting ca 

!Sit^(D^G3Q 

xi^^'

j 

ste&aca^ 

MAY REtEASE 

DEADLINE-U.S.A. 

Academy Award winners Humphrey Bogart and Kim 

liunter together in the year's timeliest story about a fightng 

editor who defied Mob Rule and Racket Kings—and 

low men who 'tell' are marked! Also starring Ethel 

Jarrymore. 

JUNE RELEASE 

KANGAROO! (The Australian Slory) 

,)ate this one for Decoration Day! Actually filmed on the 

.abulous continent that time forgot. Roaring adventure 

,nd savage romance, starring Peter Lawford and Maureen 

)'Hara. Outstanding supporting cast headed by Finlay 

Airrie and Richard Boone. In color by Technicolor. 

JUNE RELEASE 

Kenneth Roberts' lYDIA BAILEY 

The powerful, best-selling novel of love and adventure 

';Omes to flaming, action-filled life in Color by Technicolor, 

i'ilmed in Haiti with a cast of thousands. Dale Robertson 

nd Anne Francis head the cast. 

JUNE RELEASE 

LADY IN THE IRON MASK 

ill new, rousing adventures of the Three Musketeers, an 

daptation from Alexandre Dumas' exciting masterpiece, 

tarring Louis Hayward and Patricia Medina. Color in 

Natural Color. A Wanger-Frenke Production, released 

hrough 20th Century-Fox. 

JULY RELEASE 

WAIT 'TIL THE SUN SHINES, NELLIE 

)ate it now for your happiest 4th of July celebration. 

)irected by Henry King, who gave you such toppers as 

David and Bathsheba," "I'd Climb the Highest Mounlin" 

and "12 O'Clock High." The romance, the music, 

le heartbeat of a nation growing up, in Color by Techni- 

>lor. Starring David Wayne, Jean Peters and Hugh 

larlowe. 

JULY RELEASE 

DIPLOMATIC COURIER 

Rendezvous in Paris . . . Adventure in Salzburg . . . Danger 

in Trieste! With Tyrone Power as the man who carried 

a secret that could blow up half the earth. Co-starring 

Patricia Neal and Stephen McNally, with Hildegarde Neff 

and a fine supporting cast. 

JUiy RELEASE 

WE'RE NOT MARRIED 

The comedy sensation of 1952 about a group of couples 

who wake up to discover they aren't really married after 

all. Hilariously unusual, with a terrific cast headed by 

Ginger Rogers, Fred Allen, Victor Moore, Marilyn 

Monroe, David Wayne, Eve Arden, Paul Douglas, Eddie 

Bracken, Mitzi Gaynor, Walter Brennan, Zsa Zsa Gabor 

and Louis Calhern. 

AUGUST RELEASE 

DREAM BOAT 

Starring Clifton Webb as a dignified college professor 

whose past as a silent movie idol comes to light via television 

. . . and Ginger Rogers as his former leading lady 

who still calls him Dream Boat. The laugh-leader of the 

year, co-starring Anne Francis and Jeffrey Hunter. 


LES MISERABLES 

Victor Hugo's immortal story of the most relentless manhunt 

in history. Starring Michael Rennie, Debra Paget, 

Robert Newton, with Sylvia Sidney, Cameron Mitchell, 

Edmund Gwenn, Elsa Lanchester and an outstanding cast. 


WHAT PRICE GLORY 

The classic play by Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings, 

now set to music. Starring James Cagney as Captain 

Flagg, Dan Dailey as Sergeant Quirt and Corinne Calvet 

as Charmaine, the mademoiselle they wooed and warred 

over. In Color by Technicolor, Directed by John Ford. 

msi^

Court Upholds Principle 

Of Clearance Systems 

SAN FRANCISCO—The principle of 

clearance in the distribution of motion 

pictures was upheld by the United States 

circuit court of appeals here this week. 

In an opinion of vast importance to the 

motion picture business, the court declared: 

"An exhibitor does not have the right to 

compel a motion picture producer to give him 

a preferred run—this because as a very practical 

matter the motion picture industry could 

not operate under a system of simultaneous 

releases. The obvious fact underlies the doctrine 

that cleai'ances and runs are not illegal 

per se." 

UPHOLDS LOWtR COURT 

The circuit court thus upheld a decision 

of Judge Ben Harrison of federal district 

court in Los Angeles denying the claims of 

Steve Shorak. Puente. Calif., against ten 

distributors and two exhibitors for $436,187.43 

in damages and $40,000 in attorney's fees. 

Chorak filed suit because he was forced to 

play 14 days behind showcases in El Monte, 

Calif., and other theatres in the San Gabriel 

valley. 

The suit most likely will go to the Supreme 

Court as, at the moment, there are conflicting 

opinions by both federal district courts and 

circuit courts of appeals on the right of 

exhibitors to demand certain runs. The circuit 

court of appeals in Philadelphia, for 

example, has ruled that drive-ins can demand 

first runs and that opinion stands because 

the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review 

the case. 

Judge Harrison had ruled that there was no 

conspiracy among distributors and that the 

clearance and availabilities were reasonable 

as far as the Puente Theatre was concerned. 

The circuit court pointed out that businessmen 

are bound to face certain hazards 

in any competitive system. 

CLE.\RANCE WAS REASONABLE 

If the evidence shows, the opinion held, 

that the clearances are reasonable and are 

not the result of or consequence of any illegal 

concerted action of the distributors, "then 

whatever harm may have been visited upon 

appellants is not actionable under the antitrust 

statues. Such harm is merely one of 

the hazards implicit in our competitive system." 

As to the question of clearances, the opinion 

went on: 

"On this important issue the trial judge 

found that in light of all conditions and circumstances 

bearing on the status of appellants. 

Puente Theatre, none of the availabilities 

established or the clearances granted to 

competitive theatres in the area involved 

were or are unreasonable. 

"The evidence as a whole convinces us that 

the reasonableness of all clearances within 

the area here involved was evaluated by the 

trial judge only after full consideration of 

every pertinent fact and circumstance and 

with a scrupulous regard for and adherence 

to the rules." 

Your help opprecioted—run the Cerebrol Palsy 

fia:ier. Avoiloble from May IS to July 1. 

Chicago Drive-In Starts 

An Outdoor Church 

CHICAGO—The 41 Outdoor Theatre, on 

the .south side of Chicago, will become 

the Peoples Outdoor Church on Sunday 

(4) when the first of a series of nonsectarian 

services will be held at the 

drive-in. Dr. Preston Bradley, one of the 

country's outstanding pastors, will .speak 

at the inaugural service. 

The management of the drive-in theatre 

has donated use of the theatre for the 

services, which will be held at 4 p. m. 

Sundays. Following Dr. Bradley will be 

other outstanding pastors. The Peoples 

Outdoor Church was established so that 

shut-ins and members of all faiths could 

gather in the informal atmosphere of an 

outdoor theatre and hear the finest theological 

speakers in the area. 

Dr. Bradley, who was one of the first 

ministers to pioneer in the use of radio 

for churches and who established a theatre 

workshop as part of his church two 

decades ago, is enthusiastic about the 

possibilities of the outdoor series. There 

will be no collection or admission charge. 

The project is another step in the effort 

to elevate the drive-in theatre as a 

public service 

institution. 

Republic Plans Big 

Summer Promotions 

NEW YORK—Republic Pictures Corp. has 

decided to appropriate $500,000 for national 

exploitation and regional premieres of its 

summer releases, according to Herbert J. 

Yates, president. 

The first of the premieres will be "I Dream 

of Jeanie" at Pittsburgh in the Fulton theatre 

during '"Welcome 'Week," with a program 

of civic activities honoring Ray Middleton, 

Bill Shirley. Muriel Lawrence and Eileen 

Christy. 

James R. Grainger, executive vice-president 

in charge of sales and distribution, has dated 

the same picture for similar openings in the 

Circle Theatre, Indianapolis, June 5. and the 

Rialto. Louisville, June 6. Forty other openings 

will follow. The picture is in Trucolor 

process. 

The United States Air Force will cooperate 

and the stars will attend the opening of the 

Greater Pittsburgh Airport May 31. The governor 

has declared June 4 "Republic day." 

Prizes will be awarded to the best "Showboat 

Days" costumes. 

To handle the Pittsburgh and other premieres 

a showmanship committee consisting 

of 'William M. Saal. executive assistant to 

Yates; Steve Edwards, director of advertising 

and publicity; Mickey Gross, recently named 

studio publicity director; Beatrice Ross, expolitation 

manager, and Dennis Carlin, advertising 

manager, has been appointed. 

COMPO Getting O.K. 

Of Management Plan 

NEW YORK—Nine of the ten chapter 

members of the Council of Motion Picture 

Organizations have approved the appointment 

of a three-man committee to direct 

COMPO until a president can be chosen, according 

to Arthur L. Mayer, retiring executive 

vice-president, who was scheduled to leave 

for Europe over the weekend. Word was being 

awaited the middle of the week from the 

Motion Picture Industry Council. The Motion 

Picture Ass'n of America was expected 

to approve at its annual meeting Friday (2). 

Mayer obtained the approval April 25 of 

Mitchell Wolfson. president of Theatre Owners 

of America; Wilbur Snaper, president, 

and Abram F. Myers, board chairman and 

general counsel. National Allied; Marvin 

Paris, executive director of the Society of 

Independent Motion Picture Producers; H. 

v. "Rotus" Harvey, president of Western 

Owners, and Jack Alicoate, representing the 

tradepress. 

Since then approval has been obtained 

from R. J. O'Donnell, representing 'Variety 

Clubs International; Harry Brandt, Independent 

Theatre Owners Ass'n; Leo Brecher, Metropolitan 

Motion Picture Theatres Ass'n, and 

Art Arthur, Motion Picture Industry Council. 

A wire sent by Mayer to member organizations 

suggested that representatives of National 

Allied. TOA and MPAA serve, and 

urged that they be drafted if necessary. 

New RCA Theatre TV Tube 

Has An 80-Foot Throw 

NEW YORK—The tube department of 

the 

RCA Victor division has developed a new 

seven-inch projection-type kinescope capable 

of providing a 20xl5-foot picture with a projection 

throw of 80 feet. The older type 

tubes have been able to throw only 60 feet. 

The new tube is similar in design and appearance 

to the earlier RCA projectors now 

in theatres. It is designed to provide a clear, 

bright picture on a white fluorescent screen 

especially developed for theatre projection 

service. 

It is called RCA-7W14. It is equipped with 

electri-static focus and magnetic deflection. 

The magnetic deflection is supposed to provide 

uniform focus over the entire picture 

area. 

DeMille Now Negotiating 

New Deal With Para. 

NEW YORK—Although Cecil B. DeMille 

Productions is being dissolved, he is currently 

preparing a new picture for Paramount release 

and is negotiating a new deal with the 

company. 

DeMille made a statement as a result of 

some published reports. His statement follows: 

"The board of directors of Cecil B. De- 

Mille Productions, Inc., found that taking into 

consideration increased production costs, the 

tremendous burden of increased taxation, including 

corporate income taxes, excess profits 

tax, franchise taxes and various other forms 

of taxation, left no opportunity for the retention 

of sufficient capital to bring about the 

accomplishment for which the company was 

originally organized. 

14 BOXOFHCE :: May 3, 1952

wing ii'me! 

HE'S GOING PLACES IN COLOR BY 

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THE PROPHET SOUNDS THE WAR CRY 

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THE SHAWNEE NATION RISES IN REV 

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NCA HOLDS UNIQUE FORUM 

150 Press Executives 

At Exhibitor Session 

MINNEAPOLIS—Approximately 150 newspaper 

publishers and editors arrived here at 

midweek to attend the opening day forum of 

the annual convention of North Central Allied 

Thursday and Pi-iday (1, 2i. Ted Mann, 

pre. ident of NCA. emphasized to the editors 

the advantages of keeping exhibition 

"healthy" in face of television competition 

and other developments making it rougher 

on theati-es. 

Out of the forum it was hoped there would 

develop a closer relationship between the exhibitor 

and newspaper publishers with more 

space devoted to theatres and the latter's 

attractions. On theii- part, the exhibitors 

were prepared to offer to the newspapers the 

use of their screens to help push community 

and other projects and to draw attention to 

special newspaper features. 

In addition to 

the advertising revenue derived 

from theatres and motion pictiu-es. 

certain to exceed that which TV may provide, 

Mann pointed out how much of an asset theatres 

can be to a community in bringing people 

into the towns from the surrounding area 

and to luring homefolk downtown. On the 

other hand, TV, for example, tends to keep 

people at home and hurts rather than helps 

most merchants, it was to be pointed out. 

A "reinvigoration" campaign, of which the 

forum is a part, also is to Include "bigger and 

better and more showmanship," making theatres 

more attractive, bringing more Hollywood 

personalities to the territory in person, 

institutional advertising to stress that motion 

pictures in theatres still are the finest and 

lowest cost entertainment available for the 

public, and the advantages of film in theatres 

over those on TV. Exhibitors were to 

be asked to pledge themselves to the utmost 

civic-mindedness and participation in their 

community affairs. 

Attendance at 

Fine Films 

A Tonic Jack Warner 

CHICAGO—Attendance at fine pictures 

during the past 12 months has "breathed new 

life into the film industry," declared Jack L. 

Warner, executive producer for Warner Bros., 

in a message read to the sales conference 

which opened at the Blackstone hotel May 1. 

It was the third and last of a series of regional 

conferences. 

"Recent boxoffice records have proved conclusively 

that no competitive form of entertainment 

can match the motion picture." 

Warner asserted. "And we intend to apply 

oiu-selves vigorously to a continuing production 

program that will set the pace for the 

entertainment world. 

"We have learned that nothing can be so 

fatal as sitting and waiting for the future. 

We have learned not to go on the defensive, 

but rather we have stretched forward to meet 

the future with dynamic new production efforts 

and aggressive new showmanship." 

HAVE 47 

OTHER PROPERTIES 

In addition to the films now shooting on 

studio stages, the studio has a group of 47 

other properties from which the 1952 program 

will be completed, Warner informed the sales 

forces. This schedule will be modified to 

take fullest advantage of the entertainment 

situation as it may develop. A flexible pool of 

production po.ssibiUties has always been a 

studio pohcy, he added, on the theory that 

it is the duty of the modern picture-maker 

to keep careful guard not only on the literary 

market, but on the public's changing tastes. 

Warner made indirect reference to television 

competition by saying: "Recently the 

motion picture industry has done a commendable 

job of taking people out of their houses 

and into the theatres. We are determined to 

go on showing every moviegoer that he can 

always get his money's worth at the motion 

picture theatre." 

The forthcoming .schedule, he said, covers 

a variety of entertainment from musical comedy 

to adventure drama, and a "considerable 

portion win be filmed either in the new 

WarnerColor or Technicolor." 

"We are driving ahead with a no-emptyseat 

policy. " he emphasized. "And we are calling 

on the energetic cooperation of the exhibitor 

to continue .selling the product to his 

patrons with the kind of enthusiasm that has 

characterized the marketing of recent hits." 

Warner listed films now In production as 

follows: "The Iron Mistress," Technicolor 

drama starring Alan Ladd and Virginia Mayo, 

directed by Gordon Douglas and produced by 

Henry Blanke; "April in Paris." a Technicolor 

musical comedy starring Doris Day and 

Ray Bolger, directed by David Butler and 

produced by William Jacobs; "Top Secret," 

with a cast headed by Cornel Wilde, Steve 

Cochran, Phyllis Thaxter and Karl Maiden, 

directed by Lewis Seller and produced by 

Henry Blanke, and "Springfield Rifle," in 

WarnerColor, starring Gary Cooper, directed 

by Andre De Toth and produced by Louis 

Edelman. 

Decca Head to London 

NEW YORK—Milton R. Rackmil. president 

of Decca Records, controlling .stockholder in 

Universal, left by plane over the May 3 weekend 

for London for talks with J. Arthur Bank 

and John Davis regarding the po.ssible Decca- 

Universal merger. It will be the first meeting 

between Rackmil and Rank, who holds 11 

per cent of Universal outstanding stock and 

option warrants. Rackmil's previous dealings 

with the Rank interests have been with Robert 

S. Benjamin, president of the Rank organization 

in the U.S. 

Realart 5th Anniversary 

$3,525 Prize Contest 

NEW YORK—Realart Pictures will hold a 

prize money and booking bonus drive contest, 

starting the week ending May 3 and continuing 

through September 6, in celebration 

of its fifth anniversary. 

The prize money, which will total $3,525. 

will be paid as follows: First prize, $1,000; 

second prize, $750: third prize, $500; fourth 

prize. $250: fifth prize, $150, and five consolation 

prizes at $100 each and five consolation 

prizes at $75 each. The five SlOO prizes 

will be paid to exchanges that rank sixth, seventh, 

eighth, ninth and tenth and the five 

$75 prizes will be paid to exchanges that rank 

from nth to 15th. In addition to the prize 

money award, there will be a booking bonus 

award payable to each franchise holder, based 

upon each exchange territory exceeding the 

particular quota that has been established for 

each office. 

The two big horror reissues, "Frankenstein," 

starring Boris Karloff. and "Dracula," starring 

Bela Lugosi, and two Technicolor pictures, 

"Canyon Passage" and "Frontier Gal," 

will be released during the Realart drive 

psriod. 

WASHINGTON LEADERS AT PREMIERE 

When Paramount held a premiere of "My Son John" at the Motion Picture 

Ass'n theatre in Washington last week, many government leaders were present. 

Here, Mrs. Alben Barkley, wife of the vice-president, is greeting Barney Balaban. 

president of Paramount, as she and the vice-president arrived. Next to Balaban Is 

Mrs. Eric Johnston, wife of the MPAA president who is shown at the right. 

BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952 17

Loews Reorganization 

Gets Stockholder Okay 

NEW YORK—Stockholders of 

Loews, Inc.. 

this week approved the reorganization plan 

to divoi-ce the theatre operation from production 

and distribution as required by the antitrust 

decree. They also re-elected all directors 

who. In a subsequent business session, 

renamed Nicholas Schenck as president. 

The following directors were elected: 

George A. Brownell. Leopold Friedman. F. 

Joseph HoUeran. Eugene W. Leake. Charles 

C. Moskowitz. William A. Parker, William F. 

Rodgers. J. Robert Rubin. Nicholas M. 

Schenck. Joseph R. Vogel and Henry Rogers 

Wlnthrop. 

Officers, in addition to Schenck, elected 

by the board at a subsequent meeting were: 

Moskowitz, vice-president and treasurer; 

Rubin, Rodgers. Edgar J. Mannix, Dore 

Schary, Louis K. Sidney, Howard Dletz, Vogel. 

Benjamin Thau, Marvin H. Schenck and J. J. 

Cohn, vice-presidents; Friedman, vice-president 

and secretary; Jesse T. Mills, controller 

and assistant treasurer; Dolf Schadler and 

Charles H. Phelan, assistant treasurers, and 

Nicholas Nayfack, Irving H. Greenfield and 

Harold J. Cleary. assistant secretaries. 

A resolution of regret over the death of 

David Warfleld, a director for 28 years, 

was read. Cleary and Morris Sher were 

elected Inspectors for the new year. 

The meeting proceeded smoothly up to the 

point when questions were solicited from the 

stockholders. Mia Copping, who appears at 

a number of annual meetings in the industry, 

asked a long series of questions. She said she 

repre.-sented the Women's Shareholders in 

American Business, Incorporated Investors, 

which owns 57,000 shares of common stock, 

She was the one who had unsuc- 

and others. 

cessfully proposed Norma Shearer as a director 

at the session. 

Miss Sopping questioned the payment of 

$2,750,000 to Louis B. Mayer upon his termination 

of his interest in the company, and was 

told the matter was in litigation for the court 

to decide. She was critical of retirement provisions, 

employment of "hordes" of relatives 

of Mayer and other executives of the com- 

Loew's Considering TV, 

Stockholders Hear 

NEW YORK—Loew's is considering 

seriously an entry into the television field, 

but hasn't reached any final decision. J. 

Roljert Rubin, vice-president and counsel, 

told stockholders at the annual meeting 

Tuesday (29). He said applications may 

be made to the Federal Communications 

Commission for stations for the picture 

company and for the theatre company to 

be formed, or for either company. 

As for plans to enter television production, 

Rubin .said none is being considered 

at present time but that Loew's "may 

change its mind as some other companies 

may do." He emphasized that the company 

considers films "finer quality entertainment." 

NICHOLAS SCHENCK 

Re-elected Loew's. Inc., President 

pany and alleged expenditures for luxuries 

through expense accounts, and asked if President 

Schenck or any other executives "had 

anything to do with the popcorn concessions." 

Rubin said the company planned to set a 

ceiling of $25,000 on pensions for future employes. 

In answer to a charge of excessive 

spending in plans to take 100 exhibitors to 

the coast studio by plane, Rubin said it would 

be done to show them the latest product and 

would constitute valuable public relations. 

It was also said that Schary and other studio 

executives have monthly expense accounts of 

$15,000 and that they are carefully audited. 

Neal Grootegood, another stockholder, questioned 

the amounts of salaries paid top 

management, asked for voluntary reductions 

and inquired about the business outlook. 

Rubin said dividends had to be decided from 

time to time by the board, and reminded that 

in the past sums had been set aside for the 

payment of dividends as a protection against 

decreased earnings, and that the company 

wanted always to pay dividends. He also 

referred to salary cuts taken by management 

in 1932 when it seemed advisable. 

In response to other questions, Rubin said 

it was his belief that Louis B. Mayer did not 

plan to reenter production in a big way, but 

only to make one or two pictures a year, 

that the company had no plans for the sale 

of its backlog of old pictures and that the 

Cinerama process had been investigated and 

found unfeasible economically. He also said 

two theatres had been sold during the past 

fiscal year and that two more would be sold 

within a week. 

Before adjournment another, stockholder 

commented on the subject of relatives in business 

by saying: "Sometimes we have them 

because we have them and sometimes because 

we have to." There was general laughter. 

After a showing of "Singin' in the Rain," 

luncheon was served in the headquarters 

cafeteria. About 150 attended. 

RKO Summer Release 

Lineup Includes 10 

HOLLYWOOD—Despite the studio's current 

production lull, RKO Radio will release 

ten top-quality features during the summer 

and fall, Ned E. Depinet, company president, 

disclosed on the eve of his departure for New 

York after several weeks of local huddles with 

Howard Hughes, managing director of production, 

and C. J. Tevlin, studio head. 

Hailing them as representing the "greatest 

cash investment of any group of films 

ever to be consecutively released in company 

history." Depinet informed exchange managers 

that the Uneup will include 

"Jot Pilot" with John Woyne. 

"Androcles and the Lion," starring Jean Simmons. 

"The Big Sky," starring Kirk Douglas. 

"The Adventures of Robin Hood," o Disney Production. 

"Clash by Night," with Barboro Stanwyck ond 

Paul Douglas. 

"The Wild Heart," produced by David O. Selznick 

in association with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 

starring Jennifer Jones. 

"Montano Belle," starring Jane Russell. 

"The Lusty Men" with Suson Hayword and Robert 

Mitchum, 

"Sudden Fear" starring Joan Crowford. 

Depinet urged his distribution personnel to 

exploit and merchandise each release with 

"intelligence, excitement and enthusiasm" 

and promised additional releases when these 

have been "properly liquidated." 

United Artists to Handle 

3 Major Lopert Releases 

NEW YORK—United Artists has concluded 

an agreement with Lopert Films Distributing 

Corp. to handle three major Lopert films for 

general distribution in the U.S. The pictures 

are: "Outcast of the Islands," "Tales of Hoffmann" 

and "African Fury," formerly titled 

"Cry, the Beloved Country." 

I. E. Lopert, president of Lopert Films, explained 

that he is turning over the pictures 

to UA because they warrant a major commercial 

release. He will act as producer's representative 

and supervise the sales of the 

three films. He will also retain his sales 

organization to continue to handle films of 

a more specialized nature, as in the past. 

"Outcasts of the Islands," which was directed 

by Carol Reed, will open at the Astor 

Theatre on Broadway and the Fine Arts on 

the east side May 15. "African Fury" played 

its only U.S. engagement at the Bijou Theatre, 

New York, where it played for nine 

weeks. "Tales of Hoffmann," a Michael 

Powell-Emeric Pressburger production in 

Technicolor, played a 35-week two-a-day run 

at the Bijou, New York, and has since played 

350 roadshow engagements in other cities. 

United Artists will also release "Encounter," 

now being completed in Rome, starring Paul 

Muni in his first film in six years, according to 

Arthur B. Krim, president. Joan Lorring is 

featured with Vittorio Manunta, Italian child 

star of the current "Never Take No for an 

Answer." 

Settled Out of Court 

CHICAGO—The Piccadilly Theatre Eintitrust 

suit against eight major film companies 

and Balaban & Katz Corp. was settled out 

of court April 25. One of the largest actions 

here, amounting to $5,400,000 damages, suit 

filed by Schoenstadt & Sons ace house, was 

filed here September 1950 by Thomas McConnell, 

attorney for the independent circuit. 

18 

BOXOFnCE May 3, 1952

B 

FECIAL 

, 

e;/ice for 

xibitors.. 

THE BOOKING OF THE WEEK 

^.DESIGNED 

TO HIGHLIGHT 

CURRENT AND 

CHOICE PRODUCT 

Judy's "Just Married"— 

and just wonderful in the 

heartwarming story 

of a young couple 

in love up to here! 

IL"'" 

.ulrmy Awiinl ^tiniirr 

il iill ov«T iiîiiii w illi 

"IJiirii YesU-nlay" 

liir, (>forpc* Ciikor, 

that "Horn Yester- 

' 

>vrit«T, Ciarhoii 

in, .) 

JUDY 

HOlllDAY 

introducing 

moo m 

Judy's light of love 

Bilh Madge Kennedy wmien by RUTH GORDON and GARSON KANIN 

Produced b, • 

BERT GRANET Directed by GEORGE CUKOR 

ISTRIBUTOR:

Build Them Big in Mexico; 

8,000-Seater Opens 

MEXICO CITY—The Florida Theatre, said 

to be one of the largest and most sumptuous 

film houses in the world, was inaugurated 

here Friday ll8i. The n»w theatre has a 

seating capacity for 8,000 spectators and, if an 

eventuality arises, can accommodate 3,000 

more standees. The theatre probably will 

also serve as a convention hall to house forthcoming 

meetings of the Lions and Rotarians 

in the Mexican capital. 

The Granat brothers, Oscar and Samuel, 

financed the new film house, which is added 

to their chain, including tlie Colonial, Opera, 

Coloso, Ermita. Granat and others. Outstanding 

feature of the theatre is that it is 

not located in the heart of tlie capital, or in 

one of the swanky residential sections, but 

in one of the city's most highly populated 

middle and lower class residential zones. The 

latest in projection equipment and theatre 

comforts is thus brought to the poorer classes. 

This policy has marked the entire growth 

of the Granat chain of neighborhood houses, 

of which the Florida is the most impressive. 

The film house wa.s opened with a double 

bill (twin bills and even three, four and fivefeature 

programs are highly popular in neighborhood 

theatres) including a Mexican film, 

"Aquellos Ojos Rojos" (Those Green Eyes), 

a musical featuring singer Ramon Armengod 

and Issa Morante. and Columbia's "Convicted," 

with Broderick Crawford and Glenn 

Ford. Admission fee is higher than usual 

neighborhood houses, which charge from 80 

centavos (about 9 cents) to 1.50 pesos (about 

17 cents), and has been set at 2.50 pesos 

(about 29 cents). However, in justification 

of the higher admission, the management 

plans to provide better film fare. 

Marble, bronze, mirrors, silks and brocades 

have been combined to achieve harmonious 

effects and spaciousness never hitherto attempted 

in a neighborhood house. Theatre 

site occupies 4,000 square meters (about 

12,000 square feet) and an idea of size can 

be gained from the fact that the lobby alone 

could accommodate two of the film hou.ses 

located in the center of the city. Furnishings 

of the new screen house required an investment 

of 172,000 pesos ($19,885) and this solely 

for the soft-cushioned sofas, tables and corner 

seating nooks, all in subdued dark shades. 

Two generating plants for light and power, 

installed by Camiones & Maquinaria, assure 

continuous service in the event of power failure. 

The screen is said to be the largest in 

the world, 120 square meters (about 360 square 

feet) and was especially constructed for the 

theatre. Three Simplex projectors assure 

clear, perfect projection on the giant screen, 

while the theatre is so constructed that good 

visibility is had from any seat in the house. 

The new film house far outstrips the 6,000- 

seat capacity of Radio City Music Hall. A 

spokesman for the Granat brothers repeated 

over and over again that the Florida was a 

"neighborhood" house. The brothers and their 

representatives refused to reveal the extent 

of the investment in the theatre, but the 

scale of construction and lavish decorations 

and furnishings indicate that quite a few 

million pesos were required, aside from the 

investment in the land. 

The new house far outstrips capacities of 

existing first run houses in Mexico, almost 

tripling them in some instances. 

Tlie Colonial and Coloso, controlled by the 

Granats, also neighborhood houses, have a 

respective seating capacity of 4,450 and 4,703. 

Nearest rival in first run houses is the Roble, 

completed last year, which has a 4,000-seat 

capacity. Other first run houses include the 

Chapultepec, with 3,260 seats; Mariscala, 

3,000; Metropolitan, 3,000; Mexico, 3.574, and 

the 2,774-seat Olimpia. Other houses in the 

center of town seat under 2,000 each. 

lOCt FOR CEREBRAL PALSY DRIVE—The first 100 per cent contribution from 

all the employes of one company is presented to the United Cerebral Palsy drive by 

four employes from United Paramount Theatres—Constance Fraser, Gloria Giordano, 

Dorothy Hill and Ruth Cento. Receiving; the bushel of money are little Vivian Principe, 

of Bloomfield, N. J., five-year-old national poster girl, and Leonard H. Goldenson 

(R), who has reason to smile with pride since he is president of both orgranizations. 

Edward H. Hyman and Robert M. Weitman, vice-presidents of United Paramount 

Theatres, stand behind Vivian, The presentation took place in the Paramount building 

on the eve of the campaign which opened Thursday, May 1, 

Advertises the Fact Its 

Critic Likes Movies 

PHILADELPHIA — Holiday magazine 

has taken space in several media magazines 

to point out that it has a movie 

critic who likes movies, in an apparent 

pitch to space buyers for film companies 

for business. The single column ads are 

headed "He Likes Movies," and the copy 

contains this message: 

"We've often wondered why people who 

apparently don't like movies become movie 

critics. 

"We go to a movie and enjoy it 

thoroughly. Then, a few days later, we 

read the movie column of some movie 

magazine only to di.scover how dull or 

dim-witted we were for ever having gone 

near the theatre, much less enjoying the 

picture. 

"Our Holiday magazine critic, Al Hine, 

actually likes movies. He's a movie fan 

first, a critic second. 

"A['s monthly movie column reflects the 

views of an intelligent moviegoer who 

expects to be entertained. He waves no 

banner for any special type of movie. He's 

not on the search for the much revered 

mature message" or "great art form." Al 

looks only to be pleased and entertained 

— 75 cents' worth, a dollar's worth, whatever 

the price of a ticket. 

"Be it comedy or crusade, if a film pleases 

Al Hine, he says so—and explains why. 

If it doesn't, he explains that, too. We 

think he does both extremely well. We 

suggest that you read him in Holiday, 

now on the stands." 

Edward G. Robinson Gets 

A Congressman's Pat 

WASHINGTON—Edward G. Robinson and 

the film industry were both defended before 

the House Un-American Activities Committee 

by Rep. Samuel W. Yorty (D., Calif.) on 

Wednesday (30), as the film star once again 

appeared befor the committee at his own request 

in an attempt to clear his name. 

Robinson referred to widely circulated 

innuendos against him, and defied anybody 

to make any open and public charges against 

him. He said nobody could prove he had ever 

been either a Communist or a sympathizer 

with any Communist aims, because he never 

had been. 

Yorty appealed to the film star's "millions 

of fans" in asking understanding for Robinson 

whom he characterized as "a kindhearted 

man and a great artist . politically 

. . 

inexperienced," and who had been victimized 

by false friends. 

The California Democrat praised the industry 

for "doing a fine job in cleaning its 

own house" of Communist influence. He said 

that Communists are a small minority in 

Hollywood and asked that they "not be used 

by publicity seekers to unfairly discredit a 

great industry and its artists" whom he described 

as "among the finest of our citizens." 

Robinson described himself as a liberal 

Democrat who had permitted his name to be 

used and then had been "shocked" to discover 

the hidden purposes of some of the organizations 

and the Communist membership of people 

he had thought to be sincere liberals. 

He 

said he, himself, had never been either disloyal 

or dishonest. 


Bfetiifeen the Sea and the Sierras 

Stood the Sin-Strewn Gateway to Gold 

.>>yi

'7Kc«t

In the Newsreels 

Movietone News, No. 35: Newsreels film atom 

bomb drop in Nevada desert; New Jersey and Michigan 

jail nots ended, hostages freed; oquo champs 

show skills ond spills in Florida tourney. 

News of the Doy, No. 269: Spectacular test of 

newest atom bomb, Hornman in Presidential race; 

fire razes Japanese city; Snorkel trucks for army; 

surprise from Holland; championship oquo thriller. 

Paromount News, No. 72: Woter ski wizardry; 

peace on prison front; historic maneuvers— biggest 

U.S. otomic explosion. 

Universol News, No. 555: Atom bomb; underwater 

truck; prison riots in New Jersey; aquatic acrobats, 

Warner Pothe News, No. 74: Biggest U.S. atom 

blast; Michigan and New Jersey prison riots end; 

Japan— fire rozes 5,000 homes; Cypress Gardens, Flo. 

— Dixie water ski tourney. 

Movietone News, No. 36: War with Jopan ended, 

peace treaty in effect; Ridgway succeeds Ike m 

Europe, C'ark to Japan; 5,000 Reds invade West 

Berlin; $5,000,000 fire in Vancouver; Bre'r rabbit gets 

glorified in new California furs; Penn relays; water 

skis set 135-mile ski mark. 

News of the Day, No 270: Officiol end of war with 

Japan; Vancouver's worst fire; Reds riot in Berlin; 

birthday parade for Elizabeth; Forget-Me-Not-Cerebral 

Palsy poster children; Penn relays. 

Paromount News, No. 73: Olympic gymnastics; Penn 

relays; Queen Eltrobeth's birthday; cerebral palsy 

drive opens; Japan begins new era of freedom; Ridgway, 

Clark get new assignments. 

Universal News, No. 556: Japan free; cerebral 

palsy; labor strike in Japon; loyalty parade in New 

York; Miss India; Vancouver fire; bear facts. 

Worner Pothe News, No. 75: Japan regains independence; 

Atlanta—rally booms Russell for president; 

Aberdeen proving grounds— air force tests its own 

planes under fire; French Morocco— France trains jet 

pilots in Morocco; Washington— Mrs. Truman meets 

cerebral palsy poster kids; New York— new wrinkle 

no wrinkle magic fabric; 135 miles on water skis; 

Luxembourg exclusive— Ike in Luxembourg on final 

tour. 

Telenews Digest, No. 17B: Nevada atom blast; riots 

rip prisons; Japan— 1,000,000 strike; Italy—how to 

walk o wall. 

Telenews Digest, No. 18A: Ridgway succeeds Ike; 

Washington — newest U.S. sub; Japan— fire levels 

community; Germany—congressional committee probes 

the Katyn mossacre; Greece—CARE distributes the 

100,000th package for this war-torn country; England— 

81 notions honor Shakespeare; tennis—Sedgmon 

beats Drobny. 

Odeon Courtesy Awards 

Greeted Warmly by Press 

TORONTO—Public reaction to the Odeon 

Theatres, Ltd.. announcement of plans to 

distribute courtesy awards to employes has 

been widespread both in newspapers and from 

individuals. 

The announcement was released individually 

by managers across the Dominion and 

newspapers gave it considerable space. David 

Griesdorf, Odeon general manager, says a 

remarkable number of clippings has been received. 

"The plan is being accepted with enthusiasm 

by the press and by our staffs," he 

states. 

The award plan enables theatre staffs to 

earn silver and gold stars for consistent display 

of courtesy to the public. The receipients 

are chosen on recommendation of theatre 

managers and supervisory personnel. 

The silver star is worn on the employe's 

uniform. In addition, each winner receives an 

engraved certificate. 

Griesdorf predicts greatly improved service 

to the public and he also expresses the 

opinion that the awards will impress on 

employes the value of the service they render. 

TV to Get 28 Traveltalks 

NEW YORK—James A. FitzPatrick has 

released a series of 26 of his older travel 

films to Sterling Television Co. for use on 

the air, according to Saul J. Turrell, president 

of Sterling. 

CAREFUL ALLOCATION OF PLAYING TIME PAYS 

Planned, Off-Beat Booking 

Dps the Take in Detroit 

DETROIT—Careful allocation of playing 

time to secure maximum returns from a picture 

is paying off currently in a way that 

proves intelligent planning, plus a rea.sonable 

dose of standard showmanship, can still 

draw busine.ss, according to the experience 

of RKO with "Kon-Tiki" in the Detroit metropolitan 

area. Saturation booking is being 

achieved in effect, but it is being done the 

hard way. and over a period of time. 

The result is that "Kon-Tiki" is outgro.ssing 

anything the exchange has had here in 

about two years. The idea was conceived 

and is being clcsely nourished through the 

sequence of runs by Murray Devaney, branch 

manager, who is seeing his brain-child really 

bring in what is a series of surprising grosses 

to date for a picture of this special caliber. 

Breaking away entirely from the traditional 

pattern of runs as Detroit has known them 

on practically every successful picture for 

many years, Devaney is breaking "Kon-Tiki" 

in a series of waves of bookings. Typical 

Detroit booking pattern is a first run, followed 

by half a dozen second runs a month 

or more later, and then around 20 each of 

key, subkey, and fifth runs, each group playing 

day and date, and one group right after 

the other. This is largely defended on the 

ground that it enables the subsequent runs 

to get faster bookings and take advantage 

of national or other exploitation of the picture 

while it is still fresh. 

Instead of this fairly rigid pattern of bookings, 

"Kon-Tiki" started out with a first run 

'Movie Dog' in 

a Bow; 

Films Plus Hamburgers 

PHOENIX. ARIZ.—A roofless motion 

picture theatre was opened here April 18 

by Bill Sale and Bill Coscarelli, partners 

in the unique venture. The grand opening 

of the Movie Dog. as it will be known, 

was held in the location at 5644 S. Central. 

The entertainment project is a 

combination drive-in and drive-inn. 

The drive-inn, which is the fi'ont part 

of the establishment, features hot dogs, 

hamburgers and other light foods, with a 

patio for those who wish to get out of 

their cars to eat. The drive-in, at the 

rear, is a departure in theatres—an outdoor 

affair with no roof, where patrons 

sit on wooden benches to watch motion 

pictures. 

Sale, who is a former manager of the 

Palms Theatre here, said the roofless 

theatre will seat about 600. It is equipped 

with a standard 24-foot screen with builtin 

speaker. Representing an investment 

of about $20,000, the Movie Dog was built 

on what was until recently a vacant lot, 

Coscarelli, the other partner, who handles 

the restaurant end, is the former 

operator of Bill's Drive-Inn. 

at the ."jOO-.seat Cinema, the normal downtown 

art film house for special pictures, and 

precedent wa.s broken from the start, since 

it is unusual for a Cinema booking to move 

Into other hou.ses in the Detroit area, except 

perhaps the few houses that have experimented 

with an art film policy in the past 

three years, or a very occasional spot booking. 

"Kon Tiki" next moved into the new cooperative 

group of neighborhood art film 

houses, then in its first tentative week—the 

Studio. Coronet, and Center, each located In 

a widely spaced part of the city. Followin? 

this, the film played third run at the Tower, 

Tuxedo, and Mack-Uptown—again in scattered 

parts of the city; while the fourth run 

is set for the Lincoln, 'Warren, Linwood-La- 

Salle, and Del-The—four more widely .scattered 

houses. It is noteworthy that this last 

group is usually in a third rather than first 

run cla.ss. 

Timing is an essential element of the Devaney 

plan—these bookings are not only selected 

geographically, so that each house is 

many miles away from any other playing the 

film, but each wave of booking.s—and there 

are only three or four houses allowed to play 

the film day and date—is spaced about a 

month apart. Instead of crowding bookings 

in subsequent runs close together in both 

space and time. Devaney is reversing this 

usual objective in both dimensions. 

The result is successful business, compared 

to general current theatre conditions locally, 

in some of the best houses in the city, and 

a chance to continue the gros.ses of the picture 

over an unusual period. Both distributor 

and exhibitors appear well satisfied. The 

film, having unusual audience appeal, is able 

to build up a third and fourth group of patrons 

by the very effective cumulative effect 

of word-of-mouth publicity. The method 

would presumably be less effective with runof-the-mine 

product. 

RKO is seeking specific playing time on each 

run. to make this plan feasible, and is also 

interested in a careful planning of the area. 

and selection of house for the picture. Realizing 

that it is a special-appeal film, smaller 

houses—about 1,000 seats—are preferred— 

and a standard of operation that includes 

no such features as giveaways. 

Dacca Buys More U-I 

Common and Warrants 

NEW YORK—Decca Records. Inc.. owner 

of more than 10 per cent of the common stock 

of Universal Pictures Co.. bought 1.800 shares 

of common stock in March, bringing Its direct 

holdings to 271.800 shares, according to 

the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Decca also bought 5.000 warrants to purchase 

common stock, bringing Its direct holdings of 

warrants to 37.500. 

The Universal annual report for the year 

ended Nov. 3. 1951. showed 960.498 shares of 

common stock outstanding, and warrants for 

the purchase of 218,809 shares of common at 

$10 a share on or before April 1, 1956. 


NEW YORK 

V WORCESTER • BOSTON 

PORTLAND . BALTIMORE j 

MANCHESTER . SAGINAW . PROVIDENCE 

Exhibitor- Excitemei 

Mountain 

UTH BEND . ELKHART • JACKSONVIL' 

I 

.M BEACH • MIAMI • MIAMI BEACH 

GREENSBORO • TULSA 

• MEMPHIS • JACKSON 

INDIANAPOLIS • SPRINGFIELD • FALL RIVER 

BUFFALO • CHARLOTTE • WINSTON-SALEM° 

9 

CHARLESTON • DURHAM • SPARTANBURG 

NEW HAVEN . HARTFORD . NORWICH — 

" LLICOTHE . PITTSFIELD . KALAMAZOO 

BATTLE CREEK • PORT HURON • LEBANON, PA, 

SET YO urI 

THOSE TOi 

HIT WI1NI 

âJlUf II 

^#^WW II 

PITTSBURGH . CLARKSBURG, . FORT WAYNE \ 

DALLAS • HOUSTON . SAN ANTONIO I 

FORT WORTH . QUINCY, ILL. . GALVESTON ^ 

SAN FRANCISCO • PADUCAH, KY. 

COLUMBIA, MO. • ALBUQUERQUE • EL P 

AND MORE-MORE-MORE-MORE! 

I 

Y 

NATIONALLY ADVERTISED in LOOK, 

heading a schedule of 21 other magazines. 

Leo McCare/s MY SON JO 

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, Perlberg-Seaton's AARON SLIC 

I 

on 

icSv

n^RSi 11! Peak As A 

1 

T T i 

1 

D YOU'LL BE ALL SET FO 

EIIING 

BOXOFFICE HIGHS YOU 

BRANDED" AND 

IPERING SMITH 

If 

Color by 

Technicolor 

mwAM 

PRODUCTION 

ALAN 

LADD 

LIZABETH 

SCOTT 

ARTHUR 

KENNEDY 

JOHN 

IRELAND 

LADD and SCOTT 

are a new 

explosive team . . . 

Directed by WILLIAM DIETERLE 

Scf^SKplay by John Meredyth Lucas, George F.Slavin and George W 

• 

George From a Story by George F. Slavin and George W. George 

(ôrge Stevens' SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR, Perlberg-Seaton's 

QA PUNKIN CRICK, and W. Somerset 

Maugham's ENCORE.

LETTERS 

Advocates Film Advertising Via TV 

To BOXOFFICE: 

I 

have just read Albert E. Slndllngers survey 

published in April 12 BOXOFFICE. 

Over a year ago I questioned several film 

salespeople as to why TV was not iised to sell 

pictures. I was told it was too expensive a 

medium for advertising pictures. 

Now comes Mr. Sindlinger's survey. It is 

the most intelligent thing I have read yet. 

Why producers have not tried such a program 

for bringing back our lost audience has been 

the $64 question—yet features have had a 

$500,000 advertising budget (non-TV>. 

TRY OUT TV AS AD MEDIUM 

Why not spend that much on advertising 

via TV and see what happens— ?? And not 

spend it via the newspapers and other routine 

media. 

Here is the conclusion I draw from Mr. 

Sindlinger's survey: 

1. The major portion m percentages of theatre 

attendance loss can be attributed to TV. 

2. The theatres are losing contact with their 

audiences. 

3. This audience, once lost, will stay lost, 

unless we can reach them again. 

4. The only way this can be achieved is 

through the diverting cause, or TV. 

5. Whether or not the TV "looker" was, in 

the past, a regular attendant at theatres or 

whether he was one of the great mass of people 

who rarely or never attended a movie, he 

can be reached through TV and, if the movie 

trailer is good, it will create a desire to see 

the new picture, as well as acquaint not only 

one, but every member of the family with the 

advertised film—including the small fry and 

teenagers. Anyone who has raised a family 

will not underestimate the power of the 

children and teenagers to bring out the family 

if they want to see the picture. 

6. Every TV viewer is a potential theatre 

customer, because he bought an expensive TV 

set to enjoy the same type of entertainment, 

previously available only in the theatre. With 

probably 20 million TV .sets in operation, there 

is a possible audience of 100 million persons 

every one of w'hom are potential movie theatre 

customers, if they know about current 

pictures. 

A three-minute trailer would do the 

trick even if it were run only once a day at 

the right time. The producers know the value 

of a trailer in theatres but have completely 

mi.s.sed the boat with TV 

GO AFTER TV VIEWERS 

7. Only a limited number of any family read 

newspapers and the percentage who actually 

scan the theatre page is very small, unless 

they have already made up their minds to see 

a movie. We can never recapture the "lost" 

audience this way and will continue to lose 

more and more as the number of TV stations 

increases. 

With producers controlling in their vaults 

several hundred old pictures which could be 

used on TV without much more damage to 

theatre audiences than has already been done, 

with a potentially high amount of revenue 

available from the use of these films, and with 

producing units and equipment which could 

be used for 15 and 30-minute short TV films, 

why have not big movie producing companies 

built or bought into controlling interest of a 

good number of TV stations so that they can 

exploit and advertl.se their new product which 

will be shown in theatres and thus bring back 

a high percentage of our lost audience who 

can be made to want to see the.se fine new 

films in theatres? Truly, the producers have 

been .shortsighted and thus has been the greatest 

cause for loss of revenue and audiences. 

If the movie industry can't live comfortably 

with TV—marry the girl! 

MASON SHAW 

Saratoga Theatre, 

Saratoga, Calif. 

An Exhibitor Thinking Out Loud 

To BOXOFFICE: 

The more I read your good magazine of 

late, the more I wonder if a small-town exhibitor 

who isn't making plans to turn his 

auditorium into a skating ring or a television 

sales room or some other business with a "supposedly 

future" isn't a chump. 

There are an awful lot of solutions floating 

around for remedying the plight of this business. 

Personally, I think the worst trouble 

is the "bawl babies" in production and exhibition 

who are constantly selling the masses 

on the idea that, "There's NO business in 

show business." Who wants to be different 

and spend his dough with a loser? 

Doesn't anyone in the production field ever 

take the time to think about the guy who is 

going to see more than one show a year? 

SIMILARITY IN SHORTS 

Let's take short subjects. In the past few 

months I'v« run three cartoons all based on 

the old story of the poor old shoemaker who 

takes in a homeless waif and, as a reward, 

a bunch of elves take over his shop and 

turn him out a wonderous bunch of shoes. 

The first time we played one of these it went 

over great. But two more on the same subject, 

even though they were well made and 

cute, fell flat. Even the kids wanted to know 

what we were trying to pull on them. 

A few weeks ago I was running a Tom and 

Jerry cartoon that was simply wonderful. 

During its run I happened to be visiting with 

a brother exhibitor in the county who was 

having trouble getting enough light on his 

screen and wanted me to see if I could help 

him remedy the situation. We put his cartoon 

on the machines and, as I adjusted the 

lamps, I was dumfounded to find that at 

least half of the .scenes were exact duplicates 

of the Tom and Jerry cartoon I was playing, 

yet titles were different. Now I don't think 

there is anything wrong with MGM saving 

money by using cartoon sections over, but 

they should wait a while to do it. Suppose 

I play that cartoon in the next month or two. 

Do you think people forget soon enough that 

they won't recognize the fact that they have 

already seen most of that cartoon? 

I used to think trailers completed my sales 

campaign as nothing else could. I wonder if 

many times it doesn't kill it? Think for 

yourself how many times you've witnessed 

the trailer on an average B picture (a picture 

that the producer knew and the exhibitor 

knew were just run-of-the-mill film fare, yet 

would provide reasonable entertainment for 

a lot of people who enjoy spending a few 

hours away from it all) that rivals the picture-selling 

potential of some of the top product. 

So the trailer drags in a lot of people 

who think they're going to see a big production 

and find just program fare. Had we been 

honest and presented it as just a nice little 

feature that would give them a fair degree 

of entertainment and not tried to make every 

feature appear to be a super, the public 

wouldn't be .so wary. Now I find my public 

even dubious at time about the really big 

ones, because they've been duped -so many 

times in the past from misleading trailers. 

PUBLIC NOT GULLIBLE 

From remarks you quote in your magazine 

of some of the producers and distributors, 

they still think the public is as gullible as it 

was in the days when Barnum could brag 

about taking the suckers and make them 

like 

it. 

As a promotion man and showman I think 

Kroger Babb is probably one of the best and 

I enjoy reading his rantings as usually he 

gives forth with some sound ideas. 

But do you think the public this day and 

age likes ;to think they've been played for 

chumps? I don't. And when Mr. Babb keeps 

bragging how he has taken two "corny films" 

and grossed over 25 million. I think he's waving 

a red flag in front of a bunch of wonderful 

guys and gals who like to think they're 

the smartest entertainment purchasers in the 

country when they fill our seats. 

When he sells the "Prince of Peace" I'm 

for him 100 per (sent for he's selling entertainment 

that is laying a sound foundation 

for all of us . . . And no one is a sucker who 

buys a ticket to such entertainment. But 

cashing in on sex and dope, etc., like a lot 

of his product does and bragging about how 

it's corny stuff isn't helping anybody and I 

for one think it's a shame a guy as capable 

as he is can't devote more of his time to the 

kind of product that will do this business 

some good "tomorrow," instead of the kind 

that will make him a lotta bucks today. 

THE ACADEMY AWARDS 

I've blatted overtime now, but there's one 

other thing I'd like to know and that is when 

are they going to kick this Academy award 

thing in the pants? By and large I think 

it is helping retard business. I've checked in 

towns much larger than mine and find that 

every year a great many, usually a majority, 

of the nominees are not really popular—great 

boxoffice attractions. They're the type that 

attract the small segment of people in every 

town who are the industy's severest critics. 

The type who will only see the stuff that some 

of the big-shot critics say is tops. If they 

panned the greatest show on earth none of 

these would come. If they lauded a Johnny 

Mack Brown western, these dopes would flock 

out. Sure, there's fine acting, photography, 

etc., in the ones they pick—but that isn't 

everything. Why not give the public as a 

whole a chance to pick who they think is the 

best of the year. You'll find few that have 

won lately ever get a nod. After this year 

I'm going to ask that my contracts release 

me from playing anything that gets the 

award. For that label seems to be poison. 

Uintah Theatre, 

Fruita, 

Colo. 

BOB WALKER 


YOOR P/CWRBS/ 

fg^ûT^^^ ^^tk ^ WITH 

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The new patron-pulling 

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Handsomely mounted in 

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frames to tell and sell the 

colorful, eye-appealing advertising 

for placement in 

• MERCHANTS' WINDOWS 

• STORE COUNTERS 

• HOTELS • TERMINALS 

hig story about your attractions 

! 

See your NSS Salesman 

or write your nearest NSS 

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nflTionni, V'^^S^ service 

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. . Meantime 

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ôUÔAMd ^cfront 

By 

IVAN SPEAR 

DeMille Takes to Road, 

As Do New USO Units 

C. B. DeMille 

Touring 

Producer 

In the executive category among barnstorming 

filmites Is Cecil B. DeMille. the 

Paramount producer-director, who heads east 

Tuesday i6i, making four 

stopovers en route to address 

civic functions. In Chicago 

Friday (9i he will be guest 

speaker at a luncheon meeting 

of the Executives' club, 

organization of businessmen; 

in Des Moines Tuesday (13) 

he will meet exhibitors and 

the press and will .speak at a 

conclave at Iowa State college, 

and two days later is to 

address the Des Moines Dinner 

club; and. in New York, 

will appear at Carnegie hall 

Friday (23 1 to address the 

Presbyterian church assembly's 

sesquicentennial celebration. 

Additionally, two new Hollywood-assembled 

units, recruited 

under the auspices of 

USO-Camp Shows, will take 

off Monday (12 1 on tours of 

military bases to entertain 

Gi's at home and abroad. Since the 

USO-Camp Shows organization was reactivated 

early in 1951. 30 entertainment units 

have been dispatched to Korea and the Pacific 

area—an average of two units every three 

weeks. During World 'War II, troupers assembled 

by the outfit gave approximately 

370.000 performances to a total GI audience 

of more than 190,000,000. 

MGM Tie With the Bard; 

To Do 'Julius Caesar' 

Costume spectacle, bedecked in color photography, 

looms large on MGM's planning 

schedule for the coming months on the basis 

of two properties just added to the agenda at 

the Culver City studio. 

Slated to begin filming this summer is 

"Julius Caesar." from the William Shakespeare 

play, on which John Houseman has 

been assigned the production reins. Dore 

Schary, Leo's head man, declared in announcing 

the project that of all the bard's 

works it is the "most excitingly filmable." 

Houseman, currently producing the Lana 

Turner starrer. "Tribute to a Bad Man," will 

immediately begin assembling a cast and director 

for the Shakespearean opus. 

Also up for film treatment under the MGM 

banner is "Prince Valiant." screen rights to 

which Sunday cartoon feature have been obtained 

from King Features. Keyed to the 

theme of romantic adventure, it is backgrounded 

in the days of King Arthur and his 

Knights of the Round Table. 

Leo's interest in costume drama is emphasized 

by a glance at the studio's backlog, 

which contains "Ivanhoe," a new screen 

version of Walter Scott's historical novel, 

which was produced in England by Pandro 

S. Berman, with Robert Taylor in the starring 

role, and "Scaramouche," a Stewart Granger 

topliner adapted from the Rafael Sabatini 

novel, produced by Carey Wilson. Both are 

in Technicolor. Still in its advanced-price 

engagements is "Quo Vadis." while currently 

before the cameras are "Prisoner of Zenda" 

and "Plymouth Adventure." 

Tyrone Po'wer Moves Over 

To U-I Lot for Picture 

. . . 

. 

As his first picture away from his home 

studio, 20th Century-Fox, during a teniu-e of 

more than 16 years with that company, Tyrone 

Power is moving his makeup kit over to 

Universal-International as the title-roler in 

"Mississippi Gambler," upcoming Technicolor 

entry which is slated for a June camera start 

Previously inked to co-star with Betty 

Hutton in "Topsy and Eva." biography of the 

Duncan Sisters, Ginger Rogers has been 

signed to headline two more pictures at Paramount 

Nancy Olson is John Wayne's 

. 

vis-a-vis 

. 

in "Jim McClain." now on location 

in Honolulu as an independent project being 

co-produced by Wayne and Robert Fellows 

for Warner release . . . MGM signed Vittorio 

Gassman. the young Italian actor, to a term 

ticket and cast him in "Sombrero," which will 

be produced in Mexico in Technicolor . . . 

Republic set Gene Evans and Mona Freeman 

for top spots in "Thunderbirds," film story 

of the national guard. 

Sol Lesser Prepares to Make 

Another Sea Adventure Film 

Having hit paydirt with the popular and 

profitable "Kon-Tiki." which was released by 

RKO Radio, Producer Sol 

Lesser has served notice of 

^^•^k. m his continued and increasing 

interest in semidocumentary 

action adventures as subjects 

fWfJtf'Wf 

for theatrical distribution. 

His initialer in this category 

for 1952 will be "Red 

Sea Adventure," on which 

editing, narration, dubbing 

and scoring are now being 

rushed to completion under 

the supervision of Bill Park, 

Sol Lesser 

recently inked by the Lesser 

organization. 

The film is a documentary account of underwater 

explorations in the Red Sea Ijy Dr. 

Hans Hass. director of the Undersea Research 

Institute of Vaduz, Lichtenstein, and his wife 

Lotte. 

Distribution plans will be finalized within 

the next few weeks. 

Literary Sales Total Fair; 

Two Yarns Go to MGM 

Moderately brisk trading characterized the 

literary market, with a total of four sales recorded, 

two of the purchases being accounted 

for by MGM. Added to Leo's story stockpile 

were "Branded Woman," a short story of the 

early west by Hal G. Evarts, and "My Pal 

GETS MODERN SCREEN KEY 

Eileen Christy, whom Republic is 

grooming for stardom, receives the 

Modern Screen "Golden Key" as a start 

along the road to cinema fame. Eileen 

is flanked by one of her sponsors, 

John Russell (1), also a Republic contract 

player, and Dennis Day. The 

young actress is starring in Republic's 

" 

"I Dream of Jeannie the Light 

Brown Hair) 

Geechy," an original comedy by James Poe. 

The former, published in the Saturday Evening 

Post, will be produced by Sol Fielding; 

the latter, to be scripted by Jerry Davis, was 

added to Producer Henry Berman's docket . 

The remaining purchases fell within the independent 

category. A newly organized unit. 

Volcano Productions—in which Robert Angus 

and William Lewis are partners—picked 

up "Angels on Horseback," an original by 

Kitty Buhler dealing with the backwoods 

nursing setup of the U.S. public health service. 

And Fred Finklehoffe cleared the rights 

to Maxwell Anderson's stage play, "Anne of 

a Thousand Days," which he plans to produce 

in England, in Technicolor, this fall, 

with Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer in the 

starring spots. 

Herman Cohen Promoted 

In Jack Broder Firm 

Promotion from within the ranks found 

Herman Cohen boosted to a vice-presidency 

in the Jack Broder Production organization. 

Also given executive producer status, Cohen 

will begin functioning in that capacity with 

"White Woman of the Lost Jungle," next on 

Broder's docket for Realart release. 

New megging assignments found Sidney 

Salkow inked by Pi-oducer Sam Katzman to 

pilot "Jack McCall, Desperado." for Columbia, 

and Joseph H. Lewis set by MGM to direct 

"Desperate Search" . Leo added 

"Ghost of a Chance." a musical comedy, to 

the productional slate of William Grady jr., 

while Stanley Rubin was handed the producing 

reins on "The Problem Is Love" at 20th 

Centm-y-Fox . . . Activity among the scriveners 

included the assignment of Houston 

Branch to prepare an original musical for 

Producer-Director Allan Dwan at Republic, 

while RKO Radio inked Richard Flournoy to 

polish the script of "A Likely Story." 

RKO Radio has sent Janis Carter on a 

30-day swing of U.S. key cities in conjunction 

with openings of "The Halt Breed," Technicolor 

western in which she co-stars with 

Robert Young and Jack Buetel. 

_ 

II 

28 BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 

I

The audience 

walked out! 

In the last few years, many people 

witnessed 

a miracle. 

Once doomed to lives as invalids, they 

walked out into lives of usefulness and 

activity— by the miracle of the "wonder 

drugs !" 

Wonderful as science's new drugs 

may be, one factor is still vital to their 

success. They must be used /'/; lime to 

be effective! 

That's why, when shipping drugs, 

serums, and vaccines to all parts of the 

country, the orders call for the worlds 

fastest shipping service— Air Express 

Air Express speed saves lives — and 

dollars, too. Whatever your business, 

you can profit from regular use of Air 

Express. Here's why: 

it's fastest — Air Express gets top 

priority of all commercial shipping 

services — gives the fastest, most complete 

door-to-door pickup and delivery 

service in all cities and principal towns 

at no extra cost. 

it's dependable — Air Express provides 

one-carrier responsibility all the 

way and gets a receipt upon delivery. 

it's profitable— Air Express service 

costs less than you think, gives you 

many profit-making opportunities. 

New parcel post regulations affect you? 

Call your local agent of Air Express 

Division, Railway Express Agency. 

GETS THERE FIRST 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 29

"f 

BOXOFFICE 

BAROMETER 

This chort records the performance o( current attractions in the opening week of their first runs in 

the 20 key cities checked. Pictures with fewer than five engogements arc not listed. As new runs 

are reported, ratings are added and overages revised. Computation is in terms of percentage in 

relation to normal grosses as determined by the theatre managers. With 100 per cent as 

"normal," the figures show the gross rating above or below that mark. 

a, = 

en >*- 

.X.iriiii .-MiiK h rum runkiii trick (P;ll;ll

CHESTER FRIEDMAN 

EDITOR 

HUGH E. FRAZE 

Associate Editor 

OXOfFIW 

SECTION 

PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR SELLING SEATS BY PRACTICAL SHOWMEN 

Klaltt in oLiine 

We caught part of the four-city 

Florida premiere of "Red Mountain" 

in Daiytona Beach. It was as pretty 

an example of distributor-exhibitor 

cooperation we have ever seen. 

Paramount had Lizabeth Scott in 

the towns for personal appearances. 

VVorlung' on a clocli-Ulie schedule to 

get the most mileage from the star, 

exploiteer Leonard Allen had no opportunity 

to get into the towns 

ahead of Miss Scott to set up advance 

publicity. 

The theatre manager at Daytona, 

Mark Dupree, a BOXOFFICE 

Honor Roll citation man, filled in 

the breach. He got the local Chamber 

of Commerce hopped up, and on 

short notice Mies Scott was booked 

to enlist donors for the Armed 

Forces blood bank. The city lined 

up by building a stand in the downtown 

section for the festivities, and 

the newspaper and all three radio 

stations spread the word that volunteers 

would meet and receive a personally 

autographed photo from 

Miss Scott. To make sure there 

were no welshers in the crowd, every 

one who showed up at the blood 

bank on appointment received a theatre 

pass. 

Considering the fact that her other 

commitments allowed Miss Scott 

only a few hours in Daytona, Dupree 

and District Manager J. L. Cartwright, 

who arranged the press interviews, 

did an excellent job in behalf 

of the boxoffice and in line with 

the industry's campaign for public 

relations. 

* * * 

Adam Goelz, manager of the Hippodrome, 

Baltimore, is candid 

enough to admit a tieup that failed 

to pay off. He got a local radio 

station to put a popular program 

broadcast on the theatre stage. In 

his opinion people will not pay to 

see attractions which they can take 

in for free. 

$1000 Checks in Lost Billfolds Grab 

Fronf-Page Space in Allentown, Pa. 

A pepped-up version of the old gag of putting 

wallets around town containing a pair Enclosed find check for one thousand dol- 

will be the happiest couple In Allentown. 

of tickets to the theatre, brought front page lars as a wedding gift." 

publicity for the showing of "The Marrying The billfold gag was made even more credible 

by the fact that Arnold was careful to 

Kind" at the Rialto in Allentown, Pa. 

Manager Earl Arnold of the Pabian-owned put each item in a different handwriting. The 

Rialto, in searching through the lost and note from "Mother" and the check were written 

in decidedly feminine hand using green 

found articles at the theatre, came upon 120 

unclaimed billfolds. He stuffed each of them ink. The receipt was in small script with a 

with a letter, written by hand and addressed fine point pen and the marriage license was 

to "my dear son Aide," and signed "Mother"; filled out in two different hands, with the 

a check for $1,000 made out to Aldo Ray, star signatures of Ray and Miss HoUiday obviously 

of the picture, and signed by Alice Ray; a different. 

marriage license made out to Ray and Judy Arnold also had a desk set up in front of 

HoUiday, and a receipt for a $200 diamond the theatre with a 22x28 sign reading: "Applications 

for Marriage Licenses Issued Here." 

set. 

Arnold wrote "Not Negotiable" on the He obtained 500 license applications from 

checks, but despite this, local police and the registrars office and Arnold saw to it that 

bankers held a conference and police issued the applications were given out only to people 

who personally assured him that they were 

a public warning that the checks were phony 

and advised the finders to destroy them. contemplating marriage. 

City detectives rounded up an "undisclosed He put up a 40x60 blowup of an article in 

number" of the checks and held them in the the Philadelphia Inquirer which attracted 

detective bureau. The resultant publicity much attention. The headline was "Information 

Office Rushed by Marriage-Minded 

made the front page of both local papers and 

was broadcast over area radio stations. 

Girls." The story contained excerpts of letters 

The letter from "mother" was written on from girls in Europe, mostly German, who 

note paper stationery and read: 

were interested in marrying American men. 

"I am looking forward to your wedding They were highly interesting and proved of 

Thursday, April 17. I know you and Judy vast amusement to the theatre patrons. 

Reward Posters Sent 

Kansas Showman Gets 

Around for 'Wanted' 

A quantity of cardboard posters headed, 

"Wanted for Murder," prepared by a local Newspaper Breaks 

printer, were adroitly used by J. D. Wilbanks, Henry Sommers, general manager of Durwood 

Theatres in Leavenworth, Kas., recently 

manager of the Wagon Wheel Drive-In. 

Spearman, Tex., to advertise "Waco." The received two news breaks in the Leavenworth 

posters were distributed to local stores, banks, Times which helped to promote coming attractions. 

the postoffice and the court house. 

A cut of the "wanted" man and an offer of With "Viva Zapata!" booked at the Hollywood. 

Sommers located a local resident, the 

$500 for his apprehension were included _ 

in 

the copy. 

owner of a letter addressed to her husband 

offering him a commission as major in a 

counter-revolutionary movement against Zapata. 

Sommers took the letter to the editor 

Projectionist Animates 

of the Times and got a writeup with a paragraph 

describing the theme of the film and 

Display for 'Stood Still' 

A hand-made display sign, with all art work the Hollywood playdates. 

done by Manager John Plttman, created When Humphrey Bogart was announced as 

strong word-of-mouth publicity for "The Day an Academy award winner. Sommers showed 

the Earth Stood Still" at the Central in up at the editor's office early next morning, 

Fairbury. 111. The completed display was assisted him in selecting the art to run in the 

animated by Tom Bradley, projectionist at afternoon paper, and promoted a paragraph 

the theatre, who rigged up a fla.shing eye with informing the readers that "The African 

— Queen" was scheduled to open locally the following 

Chester Friedman with sales copy. 

week. 

It's a lot more probable that the 

attraction does not have what it 

takes or what the public wants. 

Goelz comes up with so many promotions 

that do pay off, he can console 

himself; like the nonexistent 

manager who never makes mistakes, 

there never was a showman, who was 

fortunate enough to realize a bonanza 

from every gem of an idea. 

BOXOFFICE Shovnnandiser : 

: May 

3, 1952 — 103 — 31

Factory Tieup Proves a Natural 

For Promotion of 

According to 

Dwight Kirk, manager of the 

Paramount. Middletown, Ohio, 6,000 of the 

community's total population of 36,000 are employed 

at the ARMCO Steel Corp. When he 

received his booking of "'Steel Town," 

ARMCO seemed the logical point to use 

as a springboard for his campaign. 

Accordingly. Kirk arranged an advance 

screening of the film for department heads 

and top executives of ARMCO, to which he 

also invited the city manager, police and fire 

chiefs, the local Kaiser-Frazer dealer and 

radio and newspaper representatives. Following 

the screening, coffee and rolls were 

served to the guests who responded by making 

personal endorsements of the picture for use 

in theatre adverti.'^ng. 

A week prior to opening, the Listen, Ladies 

radio program devoted a 15-minute broadcast 

to "Steel Town," interviewing ARMCO executives, 

with plugs for the picture and playdates. 

ARMCO distributed letters to all its employes, 

endorsing the picture and urging them 

to see it at the Paramount. It extended an 

Circus Front Flash 

Is 'Show' Ballyhoo 

A special flash front attracted the attention 

of passersby to "The Greatest Show on 

Earth" during its current booking at the 

Paramount Theatre in Toledo. The front was 

prepared under the direction of Manager 

Giles Robb. 

The regular poster frames were covered 

with beaverboard banners 16 feet long and 

stretching to the marquee soffit. In front 

of each display was a colorful cutout poster, 

handpainted balloons and still montages. At 

either end of the marquee attraction sign, an 

8x8-foot board was placed flat against the 

building with a picture of a clown. 

Circus pennants were strung beneath the 

edge of the marquee, and additional pennants 

were run from the flagpole to the marquee. 

The boxoffice was converted into a 

circus ticket wagon. 

Robb took advantage of national tieups to 

obtain numerous window displays. 

Steel Town' 

invitation to the public, inviting them to inspect 

the plant in tribute to "Steel Town." 

It further cooperated by purchasing theatre 

tickets, at regular admission price, for groups 

of employes with exceptional safety records 

and for all retired personnel of the company. 

The Kaiser-Frazer tieup proved fruitful, 

with a new car going on exhibit in front of 

the theatre, bannered with tie-in copy. The 

dealer used a 40x60 display in his show window 

and purchased a cooperative ad. 

One hundred window cards were posted 

within a 100-mile radius, a cross trailer and 

lobby display were used In the affiliated 

Strand Theatre and six-sheets were pasted 

to the lobby floor. A working scale model of a 

ten-ton crane was loaned by ARMCO for 

lobby display, with an attendant to keep it in 

operation and answer questions of patrons. 

During the playdates, a 24-sheet cutout of 

Ann Sheridan, star of the picture, enhanced 

the theatre marquee. Kirk had excellent cooperation 

from the local press in promoting 

the engagement. 

Star of 'Bend of River' 

Sells Tickets One Night 

Julia Adams, featured player in "Bend of 

the River," gave patrons of the Paramount 

Theatre in New York a tlirUl when she appeared 

in the boxoffice on the opening night 

to sell tickets. Her appearance was publicized 

by newspaper stories planted by Henry Siegel, 

publicist for Paramount. 

Oregon pears, a gift from the citizens of 

Oregon, were distributed to passersby in front 

of the theatre on opening day. 

Newspaper photographers capitalized when 

Miss Adams presented fruit trees from Oregon 

to the mayor of New York. 

Sets Recruiting Deal 

For "The Wild Blue Yonder," Helen 

Colocousis, manager of the St. James Theatre 

in Asbury Park, N. J., had the army and air 

force recruiting services install recruiting 

booths in the theatre lobby and supply exhibits 

of army equipment for the lobby and 

window displays. 

Sid Kleper Makes Bid 

For 'Invitation 

Cash 

With Strong Buildup 

Sid Kleper. manager of the College Theatre 

in New Haven, left no stone unturned to 

exploit "Invitation." MGM's $1,000 exploitation 

contest for this attraction was an added incentive. 

An usher dressed as a clown distributed 

helium-inflated balloons, imprinted with picture 

and theatre copy, to kids in the downtown 

shopping section. A photo of the print 

of "Invitation" being delivered by Eastern 

Airlines was planted in the local paper. 

Bus terminals provided space for displays, 

and windows were promoted with music stores, 

cosmetic shops, furriers, photographers, beauty 

salons, men's clothing stores and sporting 

goods firms. One hundred window cards were 

distributed to suburban locations. Tent cards 

were supplied to leading restaurants, and 1,000 

imprinted paper doilies placed with restaurants 

and soda fountains. 

A telephone campaign was launched in cooperation 

with the West Hills Parent-Teacher 

Ass'n. The first 100 women who attended on 

opening day received an American Beauty 

rose. Curbs and sidewalks were stenciled, and 

directory advertising was set up in leading 

downtown hotels. 

A girl dressed as a bride distributed invitational 

form of heralds in the downtown section, 

and bumper strips were displayed on 

Yellow cabs. A tie-in was made with the 

police department to exhibit placards on signal 

poles with copy, "Here is your 'invitation' to 

live . . . Wait for the light, etc." 

Newsstand cards and a special theatre 

front drew attention to the picture, and publicity 

was obtained in the local papers when 

Kleper offered free guest tickets to all 

couples who applied for marriage licenses a 

week in advance and during the "Invitation" 

playdates. 

Museum 

Empty Store Is 

For 'The African Queen' 

Karl Pasick, publicity manager for Loew's 

Theatres in Boston, promoted an empty store 

and converted it into a small museum as part 

of his ballyhoo for "The African Queen." The 

picture played a day-and-date engagement at 

the State and Orpheum theatres. 

The store windows and walls were plastered 

with posters, 24-sheets and six-sheets. The 

exhibit included showcases filled with African 

curios, live and stuffed animals and birds, 

foliage, flora and fauna. 

Admission to the public was free and Bostonians 

flocked to the location. 

Stage Singing Contest 

Supports 'Snow White' 

A talent contest tied in with the engagement 

of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" 

at the Michigan Theatre in Detroit gave the 

picture strong advance publicity. Gil Green, 

manager, advertised for talented girl singers 

under 18 to comjxete in the contest, doing 

numbers exclusively from the original music 

score of the picture. Green auditioned all 

entrants, and those who passed were presented 

on the theatre stage. Selection of the 

winner was made by audience applause and 

the theatre presented her a $100 savings bond. 

32 

— 104 — BOXOFFICE Showmandiser May 3, 1952

EYE APPEAL IN LOBBY DISPLAYS DOWN IN PANAMA

Florida Theatre Puts Up a Flash 

That Stops Miami Traffic 

Facets of the campaign for "The Greatest 

Show on Earth" at the Florida Theatre in 

Miami were of a spectacular nature, in keeping 

with the scope of production. The theatre 

front designed by Manager James Barnett, the 

mechanics of which were worked out by Jack 

Clem of the Florida State Theatre art department, 

was an eye-catching flash that 

stretched across the entire facade of the 

building. 

The title of the picture appeared above the 

marquee in letters six and one-half feet tall. 

Lifesize cutout figures of the stars in full 

color, animal cutouts and dozens of bright 

hued balloons produced a circus atmosphere. 

The marquee attraction sign was covered 

with panels and painted with Dayglo paint. 

Large cutouts of clown heads were placed on 

either side of the marquee. Across the front 

entrance to the theatre, a typical circus banner 

on canvas was suspended. 

The glass doors across the main entrance 

were treated as one continuous space, with a 

a 24-sheet pasted on the doors to create the 

Cartoon Projectionist 

Okays 'Heart' as Best 

Herb Rubinstein, manager of the Center 

Theatre, Miami, Fla., distributed heralds 

which featured a comic illustration to promote 

"With a Song in My Heart." The cartoon 

illustration depicted a projectionist with a reel 

of film wound about his body and the copy, 

"Polks, in the past 23 years as a movie operator 

I've seen thousands of pictures . . . The 

best one yet is 'With a Song in My Heart." 

etc., etc." The heralds were distributed house 

to house. 

Scout Council Aids 

Carl Dickerson, manager of the Colonia in 

Norwich, N. Y., had the cooperation of the 

county Boy Scout council in promoting "Room 

for One More." Every Scout leader received 

a printed notice for posting on bulletin boards 

where troop meetings are conducted. The 

Cold 

illusion that people were actually walking 

directly into the "big top." Carrying the circus 

idea a bit further, a man in flamboyant 

costume performed as a professional barker. 

Two weeks in advance, the lobby was decorated 

in real circus tradition. A miniature 

model of Ringling's circus, 15x4 feet, was 

placed on exhibition where it attracted large 

crowds and resulted in extra newspaper publicity. 

The "circus" was borrowed from a 

hobbyist in the city who 

of modeling all figures, 

made a life-work 

wagons, animals, 

cages, etc., to exact scale. 

Strong radio publicity sold the picture 

locally, and disk jockeys throughout the area 

gave the booking an abundance of gratis 

plugs. Five cab companies in the city used 

bumper cards. Newsstands were blanketed 

with placards tieing in the feature layout 

which appeared in Screen Stories magazine. 

Barnett took advantage of the national 

tieup with the Libbey glass firm to promote 

colorful window displays with 26 dealers, including 

prominent theatre credits. 

Scouts staged a presentation at the theatre 

entitled "The Clock," depicting a day in the 

life of a Boy Scout. The Norwich daily newspaper 

ran several stories, with generous theatre 

credits. 

Peanut Guessing Event 

Ties in Four Markets 

Four supermarkets in Berkeley, Calif., and 

the adjoining town of Richmond tied up with 

A. Erickson, manager of the Berkeley Theatre, 

in a ticket-selling tieup for "The Greatest 

Show on Earth." Each of the stores set up 

extensive displays consisting of circus peanuts. 

A large glass jar fUled with peanuts 

was placed in the center, and customers were 

invited to guess the number in the jar. Free 

theatre tickets went to those submitting the 

most accurate estimates. Centered in the 

display was a poster advertising the theatre 

playdates. 

Kentucky Theatremen 

Set Merchant Deals 

And Giveaways 

City Manager Bob Cox and Manager Tom 

lean of the Kentucky, Lexington, Ky., developed 

a number of tie-ins for "The Greatest 

Show on Earth." 

Cox located a member of Merle Evans' circus 

band and got the Lexington Dally Leader 

to interview the musician and do a special 

story. 

A clown costume made by members of the 

staff was donned by an usher, artfully made 

up, who strolled through the streets, rode 

transit lines and sauntered through stores. 

He wore a card lettered with picture title and 

theatre dates. 

The local Ford dealer contributed a flatbed 

truck which Cox had transformed into a 

circus bandwagon, decorated with pennants 

and balloons. On opening day, a seven-piece 

band, promoted for a few theatre tickets, got 

aboard the truck for a two-hour tour of the 

city, playing circus music as they rode along. 

The clown was on hand to distribute balloons 

and heralds to people on the streets. 

Window tieups and free radio time completed 

the campaign. 

When "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" 

played the Kentucky, Cox sold the back page 

of a special herald to the local Kresge store. 

A coloring contest mat was imprinted on the 

herald, with instructions for contestants to 

take their entries to the crayon counter at 

the store. Winners received free theatre 

passes. 

The local Bendix dealer donated a "Snow 

White" washer as a door prize during the picture's 

engagement, and used two co-op ads off 

the theatre page to promote the giveaway. 

The dealer, in addition, paid the cost of imprinting 

and distributing several thousand 

special heralds and used an animated window 

display on the tieup. 

School teachers were circularized with letters 

inviting them to bring their classes to special 

morning shows. Music stores tied in 

with elaborate displays on the music score. 

Directional Map Used 

On Drive-In Program 

Burton Clark, manager of the Boulevard 

Drive-In, North Miami Beach, Fla., is using 

a variation of a layout he recently saw in 

BOXOFFICE as the front cover of his weekly 

house program. Clark saw the layout, liked it, 

and made a few changes—and intends using it 

throughout the outdoor theatre season. The 

back page of his program illustrates a directional 

map of how to reach the Boulevard 

from all locations in the Miami area. 

Table Place Mats Boost 

Theatre's Anniversary 

The first anniversary of the Roxy Theatre 

in Port Stanley, Ont., was observed with a 

month's booking of outstanding attractions 

published on place mats, which were supplied 

to all local restaurants and luncheonettes by 

Manager Nan Robinson. Congratulatory messages 

from friendly neighborhood merchants 

were placed around the theatre program 

which listed the bookings for the entire month 

of April. 

34 — 106 BOXOFFICE Showmandiser : : May 3, 1952

) 

Merchants Gel Proof 

That Theatres Pull 

Extra Store Sales 

Lou Halt, district manager for Schine theatres 

in Watertown, N. Y., decided to do 

something constructive about the lethargic 

attitude of local merchants regarding theatre 

promotions. He undertook a survey to 

produce evidence of what the theatre means 

to their business. 

Hart contacted the dii'ector of the Chamber 

of Commerce and invited him to assist 

Duke Elliott, manager of the Olympic, in 

making the unique survey during the engagement 

of "Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair." 

The team asked 513 patrons a set of seven 

questions—Where did you come from? How 

did you come? Did you buy gas on the way? 

Did you shop before visiting the theatre? 

Where did you shop? Where did you park? 

What was the reason for your trip to the 

city? 

The survey revealed that 85 per cent of 

the people who came to the Olympic from 

out of town had done so for the express 

purpose of seeing the show. Hart made copies 

of the survey which he mailed to every merchant 

in Watertown, along with a list of some 

of the outstanding attractions booked for the 

local 

Schine theatres. 

The new'spaper published a complete account 

of the survey and, according to the 

Schine executive, many of the merchants 

have already signified their intention of cooperating 

closely on theatre tieups. 

In Hart's opinion, the survey is something 

which should be conducted from time to 

time, especially in small situations, to 

strengthen ties with the merchants and the 

Chamber of Commerce for long-range potentials. 

Signs on Coaches Urge 

Safety and 'Murder. Inc.' 

G. Leopold, manager of the Regal Cinema 

in Purley, England, tied up with the road 

safety committee In his campaign for "Murder, 

Inc.," with very favorable results. The 

officials of this organization prevailed upon 

a local coach proprietor to lend them his 

fleet of vehicles at no cost. These toured the 

town, posted with road safety publicity and 

large signs devoted to film and theatre copy— 

a generous 50-50 billing. The police called 

the attention of the public to the coaches 

when they stopped periodically at busy Intersections. 

Stars at Premiere Aid 

Promotion of 'Flesh' 

When Tony Curtis and Jan Sterling appeared 

at the opening of "Flesh and Fury," 

at the RKO Orpheum in New Orleans, Manager 

John Dostal arranged a series of promotional 

events for the visitors. The stars 

participated in a parade through downtown 

New Orleans, were guests at a luncheon of 

the Optimists club, were interviewed on seven 

radio and television programs and attended 

an autograph party at the Holmes department 

store. The store ran newspaper ads. 

Novelty Circulars 

Suggest Good Rule 

p. M. Crook, assistant manager of the 

Broadway Cinema In Eccles, Lanes., England, 

handled the exploitation campaign for "Lightning 

Strikes Twice" and turned In a fine Job. 

One thousand cardboard rulers were Imprinted 

with copy on one side; "There will be 

a full measure of entertainment at the 

Broadway, etc." The other side read, "Malce 

it a rule to .•ee 'Lightning Strikes Twice,' etc." 

One thousand circulars In the form of a 

contest entry blank were dLstrlbuted, giving 

the public an opportunity to forecast the 

weather on opening day of the picture. Contestants 

making the most accurate forecasts 

received 

theatre passes. 

Promotes Co-Op Herald 

Gordon Spradley, manager of the Lincoln 

Theatre, Miami Beach, tied up with a neighborhood 

diaper service on a co-op herald advertising 

"The First Time." Half the space on 

the circular was devoted to an ad for the 

sponsor headed, " 'The First Time' the stork 

starts hovering, etc.," and "For the hairraising 

adventures of a newly married couple 

who wanted a baby, etc.," 

PROm-mHING iXMBtTORS SAVi 

Nothing Can Top 

"Rap."in Aberdeen! 

Onve-»n, »o 

J 

oi 

V 

Comic Mats Are Planted 

With 'Honeychile' Ads 

James Wiggs jr., manager of the Tar Theatre, 

Tarboro, N. C, received two comic feature 

ad mats from the distributor of "Honeychile" 

and used them for effective newspaper 

display ads. He paid for a dateline and 

theatre signature, his only cost for the promotion. 

Regular radio spots advertised the playdates, 

and the station tied in with a quiz offering 

passes to the first ten persons who identified 

vocal groups on various recordings. The 

theatre front was dressed up with three-sheet 

displays and a 12-foot banner. 

Wiggs reports the extra promotion created 

favorable word-of-mouth publicity and gave 

the theatre excellent receipts during the current 

playdates. 

Three days, opening Dec. 22nd, last 

year, your "Prince of Peace" did 

MORE than twice the business of 

anything we had ever played. It 

still is our top-record grosser! 

We wish to 

commend your fine 

organization on its service to Exhibitors. 

. . . The educational angle 

of your films gives them a 'message' 

that pleases. 

We want to buy all Hallmark films 

and will play them in the near future. 

Please have your agent. Lew 

Andrews, stop in again. 

C. E. TREAS 

Now in 

Release: 

• "Power of Prayer" 

• "Secrets of Beauty" 

• "Prince of Peace" 

• "Why Men Leave 

Home" 

• "She Shoulda 

Said No" 

• "Sideroad" 

• "Mom and Dad" 

Redmen Recruiters Turn 

Attention to 'Defiance' 

The local 

tribe of Redmen helped Manager 

A. J. Benya exploit "Fort Defiance" at the 

Savoy Theatre, Asbury Park, N. J. Instead 

of the conventional stunt of having the theatre 

staff don Indian costumes, Benya persuaded 

the Redmen to furnish a fully costumed 

membership recruiting team for a 

week prior to the opening. The team of six 

Redmen took stations in the lobby and in 

front of the house. 

HALLMARKU 

KROGER 

BABB 

Vrea.lent 

• HALLMARK BUILDING • WILMINGTON, OHIO 

BOXOFFICE Showmandiser : : May 

3. 1952 — 107 — 35

. . and 

. . But 

Slide Projector Puis 

'African' Playdales 

On Theatre Front 

A slide projected on a screen hung across 

the front of the Regent Cinema in Chatham, 

Kent, England, from a projector set up In 

the home of a tenant across the street, was 

an effective ballyhoo stunt for "The African 

Queen." G. Williams, manager of the Regent, 

was enabled to carry out the stunt by giving 

the owner of the flat a few theatre tickets. 

A cutout of a boat was constructed, with 

a row of lights placed around the outer edge 

of the display, extending up to the mast and 

funnel. Star names and film title were lettered 

across the bow of the boat and placed 

on the marquee for current ballyhoo. 

Posters were sniped in 25 select locations 

and three window displays were promoted 

from neighborhood merchants. 

An attractive lobby board was built to 

herald "A Streetcar Named Desire." A display 

board measuring 8x8 feet and painted 

to resemble a large traffic signal with red, 

amber and green lights, had copy reading, 

"Stop! Go . . . .see 'A Streetcar Named Desire.' 

" 

Animation was achieved by means of 

a flasher light aiTangement concealed behind 

the board. 

Williams took advantage of an unfavorable 

report published by the local reviewer to conduct 

a contest, inviting patrons to write 

a letter on whether or not they were in 

agreement with the criticism. Guest tickets 

went to senders of the three best letters. 

Lobby Fashion Show 

Boosts 'Phone Call' 

Would You Toss $5,000 

Out the Window? 

As one showman put it: "I was amazed when I found that I 

had tossed $5,000 out the window! . 

when I finally figured 

out how much profit I had overlooked by not screening Alexander 

movie-ads during the past several years, I found that I had turned 

down a pure profit of $5,000." 

This showman went on to say that he was very surprised, 

too, to discover later that his audiences actually seemed as attentive 

to the Alexander movie-ads as they were to the rest of the 

show! 

Yes, movie-goers are vitally interested in better things that contribute 

to better living . 

Alexander quality movie-ads serve 

this interest in a very attention-compelling way. 

Don't throw your potential profits out the window. Simply 

screen Alexander movie-ads a few minutes each day . 

watch those added profits roll in! 

— Write Today for Full Information — 

COLORADO SPRINGS 

. . and 

NEW YORK DETROIT CHICAGO DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO HOLLYWOOD 

36 — 108 — 

Capitalizing on the fact that "Phone Call 

From a Stranger" is particularly appealing to 

women, Fred Trebilcock, manager of the University 

in Toronto, booked the Technicolor 

short, "Paris, City of Fashion," with the feature 

and promoted a spring fashion show 

during the playdate. 

A prominent department store supplied 

spring fashions and manikins to model them 

on theatre lobby runways. Exhibition of the 

modes was visible from the street. 

As a public service, Trebilcock used the 

theatre lobby to exhibit naval equipment under 

the sponsorship of the navy reserve. The 

stunt was exclusively a recruiting device, but 

many of the items in the exhibit had never 

been seen by the public. These included a 

submarine torpedo, a depth charge thrower, 

antiaircraft weapons and a variety of projectiles 

used on navy ships. The exhibit was 

publicized by Toronto newspapers and attracted 

large crowds of interested spectators. 

Wedding Parade Arranged 

A "wedding" automobile caravan paraded 

the streets of Springfield, 111., to the Senate 

Theatre for "The Marrying Kind." Arranged 

by J. David Jones, publicity manager, the 

procession created quite a stir. Banners on 

the cars declared those inside to be "the 

marrying kind." 

Orchids for First Women 

Ray McNamara, manager of the Allyn Theatre, 

Hartford, promoted a neighborhood 

florist for distribution of free orchids to the 

first 100 women attending the opening of "My 

Son John." Window cards, bus cards and 

window displays were used to publicize the 

playdates in advance. 

Longest-Marriage Contest 

Bill Brereton, publicist for the Lafayette in 

Buffalo, had a radio station and a department 

store sponsor a contest on "The Marrying 

Kind." The contest involved a search for 

Buffalo's longest-married couples, who were 

rewarded with a "second honeymoon" at 

Niagara Falls, courtesy of the store. Runnerup 

prizes included a clock-radio and a basket of 

foodstuffs, promoted by Brereton from local 

merchants, and a $50 savings bond donated 

by the theatre. 

BOXOFFICE Showmandiser : : May 3, 1962

Brandt, Weisman Keep 

Trans-Lux Control 

NEW YORK—Harry Brandt and Milton C. 

Weisman retained control of the management 

of Trans-Lux Corp. Friday (25) when the 

board of directors received 325.064 votes as 

against 215,575 for a board nominated by a 

stockholders committee trying to oust them. 

The winning slate is composed of Chester 

Bland, Brandt, Robert Daine, Jay Emanuel, 

Percival E. Furber, Percy N. Furber, Aquila 

Giles, Herbert E. Herrman, Edison Rice, Lee 

Shubert, Jacob Starr, Joseph Viertel, Ralph 

Wiener and Weisman. 

SEEKS TO VOID ELECTION 

H. Gardner Ingi-aham. attorney, who led 

the attack for the stockholders committee, has 

appealed to the Securities and Exchange 

Commission to void the entire April 25 election 

of the Trans-Lux board. Ingraham, who 

represents George G. Mason, a member of 

the stockholders committee, said that the 

SEC had been furnished exhibits and affidavits 

which seek to show that the Trans-Lux 

management used soliciting material for proxies 

alleged to be false and misleading, in violation 

of the commission's proxy rule. Ingraham 

requested a re-solicitation of proxies 

and a new election. 

In addition to Mason, others on the stockholders 

committee are: Mrs. Elizabeth King 

Black, Norman W. Elson, Peter H. Mortenson, 

Walter Siemers, Jerome B. Ross and 

Eugene R. West. Ingraham claimed that a 

four-to-one ratio of individual stockholders 

sending proxies to the committee showed dissatisfaction 

with the management "amounting 

to a grassroots revolt." He said the incumbent 

directors and their families and known 

friends or relatives and employes owned more 

than 30 per cent of the outstanding shares. 

READING DEFERRED A YEAR 

The committee also lost out on a proposal 

for an investigation by the board of specific 

charges of mismanagement, but another proposal 

calling for the reading of the minutes 

of preceding annual meetings was carried by 

a vote of 217,781 to 211,805. Ingraham then 

asked Percival E. Furber, chairman of the 

board and president, to have the minutes of 

the last meeting read so that "any grave 

omissions or inaccuracies" could be corrected. 

PXirber said the vote meant they would be 

read next year, not then. Weisman said the 

idea was not to prolong the meeting, which 

had opened the previous day, and that minutes 

were not read at most corporation meetings. 

He said they would be supplied stockholders 

individually. It was then voted to 

defer the reading. 

Weisman said the company had weathered 

an economic storm and that he hoped dividends 

would be resumed soon. He spoke of 

a "grave recession" in the industry, with "all 

companies steadily going downhill in the past 

four years," and attributed it to television, a 

lack of pictures and installment buying. Ingraham 

asked for a reduction in administrative 

expenses, which he said had risen, and 

said that Guild Enterprises theatres operated 

by Elson, whom the committee had wanted 

to manage Trans-Lux, had been doing an 

Increasing business. 

Your help appreciated—run the Cerebral Palsy 

trailer. Avoiloble from May IS to July 1. 

TV Patents Declared 

Safe in UPT Merger 

WASHINGTON — Paramount Television 

Vice-Piesidcnt Paul Raibourn concluded his 

third appearance during the course of the 

long-drawn-out FCC hearings on the proposed 

ABC-UPT merger with a denial that 

Paramount would have any reason for attempting 

to suppress theatre television patents. 

FCC Counsel Arthur Gladstone, on top of 

earlier accusations by FCC lawyers to the 

effect that Paramount had sought to suppress 

Scophony's theatre TV and subscriber 

TV patents, indicated his belief that Paramount 

had used the same suppression 

methods on the DuMont Laboratories, operators 

of the DuMont Television Network. 

Raibourn said that Paramount was very 

much interested in the development of theatre 

television and that he, himself, had always 

felt large-screen TV would prove to be 

"of immense advantage" to theatres. 

ABC and DuMont followed the lead of CBS, 

which on the day before had submitted its 

film rental figures covering 1951 for the hearing 

record. 

DUMONT FILM EXPENDITURES 

DuMont during 1951 said it had spent 

$533,098 for all types of films, of which $240,- 

500 went for rental of motion picture features: 

$286,147 for films made especially for 

TV, and the balance for other types of film. 

During 1951, ABC spent a total of $1,310,195 

for films, of which $884,259 went for rentals of 

feature motion pictures and the balance for 

other types of film. ABC was the only one 

of the three TV networks which did not devote 

more of its investment for films to those 

especially made for television than to the 

Hollywood product. ABC reported it had 

shown no specially made films during the 

year, although it had produced two such films 

on a "pilot" basis. 

Balaban anci Blank 

Excused at Hearing 

WASHINGTON—The FCC hearings on the 

proposed ABC-UPT merger limped along last 

week through mountains of ancient letters 

which FCC counsel had secured from Para- 

mount and United Paramount Theatres files 

and which were offered as Indlcatloas that 

during the late 208 the Balaban & Katz chain 

had tried to suppress competition illegally in 

the Chicago area. 

Tlie witne.s-s, until Friday afternoon, was 

Paramount Pictures President Barney Balaban, 

and many of the letters had been written 

by or to him, or to third parties with 

copies to Balaban. He .said he failed to remember 

almost all of the 25-year-old correspondence. 

JOHN BALABAN ILL 

On Friday, the witness was advised that his 

brother John Balaban was seriously ill In 

Chicago and he was excu.sed for a time. No 

date ha.s been set for his return. UPT Director 

A. H. Blank's appearance was postponed 

on somewhat similar grounds. His wife Ls 

.seriously ill. 

Paramount television Vice-President Paul 

Raibourn took the stand on Friday. Hearings 

were recessed over Monday and Tuesday 

and resumed on Wednesday with Raibourn 

still the witness, as he will likely be until the 

end of this week. Raibourn was again quizzed 

about the Scophony theatre television and 

subscriber television patents, with the FCC 

attorneys still trying to establish an attempt 

on the part of Paramount to suppress TV 

patents. Arthur Levey, Scophony president, 

is tentatively scheduled to appear Monday to 

tell the Scophony side of the Paramount- 

Scophony relationship. 

Columbia Broadcasting System on Wednesday 

(30) put into the hearing record the 

figures on film rentals it had paid during 

1951. 

UPT Executive Tours 

NEW YORK—Edward L. Hyman, vicepresident 

of United Paramount Theatres, and 

Bernard Levy, his assistant, left Tuesday (29) 

for visits to Chicago, Salt Lake City, Los 

Angeles and San Francisco. Hyman will attend 

the MGM "Seeing Is Believing" conference 

in Los Angeles May 8-10 and discuss 

plan.s for the Memorial day reopening of the 

Paramount Theatre after improvements. He 

is expected to return May 27. 

AT OPENING OF LUXURY THEATRE—Among those who attended the invitation 

opening of the Beekman Theatre, new Rugoff & Beciier house at 66th street on Second 

avenue Monday were, left to right: Irving Lesser, produoor's representative, with Mrs. 

Lesser, and S. Barret McCormick, director of advertising for RKO, with Mrs. McCormick; 

Edward N. Rugoff, co-owner of the Beekman; Greer Garson, MGM star, and 

Leo McCarey, Paramount producer-director of "My Son John." 

BOXOFHCE May 3, 1952 N 37

B R O A D \N AY 

T izabetb Scott, star of "Red Mountain," now 

at the Globe Tlieatre, arrived for week of 

press, radio and magazine Interviews publicizing 

the picture . . . Vittorlo Gassman, Italian 

star who just married Shelley Winters, is 

here to begin location shooting for his first 

American film. "The Glass Wall." which Maxwell 

Shane and Ivan Tors are producing 

independently for United Artists release . . . 

Edward Arnold is also here to attend the 

opening of his 20th Century-Fox picture, 

Mack 

"Belles on Their Toes" Johnny . . . 

Brown, Monogram western star, will make 

several TV appearances on the Ken Murray 

show. Mrs. Brown has Joined him. 

Regrina Wallace has returned from Hollywood 

and is playing her original stage role in 

the revival of "The Male Animal" at the City 

Center. Elliott Nugent, the original star, has 

three other screen names in the revival. Robert 

Preston, Martha Scott and Halliwell 

Hobbes . . . Jack Carson, another Hollywood 

name who was in the screen version of "The 

Male Animal" in 1942, is starring in the 

Broadway musical revival, "Of Thee I Sing," 

which opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre May 5 

. . . Mary Sinclair, TV actress recently signed 

by Paramount, is in for a visit before starting 

her first picture. 

Kennina, Carol Reed's acting discovery who 

appears in "Outcast of the Islands," planed 

in from Paris for a series of interviews in 

connection with the two-theatre opening here 

May 15 . . . Harold Hendee, head of RKO's 

research department, addressed the Kiwanis 

club in Lowell, Mass., April 29 on "Authenticating 

the Movies" . . . Eight hundred members 

of the Philadelphia Motion Picture Reviewers 

heard W. C. Gehring, executive assistant 

sales manager for 20th-Fox, discuss 

outstanding product from the industry at a 

luncheon meeting at the Warwick hotel 

May 1. 

Samuel Fuller, writer-producer-director of 

"Park Row," which United Artists wUl release, 

returned to Hollywood May 1 after a 

two-week stay to discuss promotion plans . . . 

Carl Peppercorn, RKO Canadian district 

manager, was in from Toronto for discussions 

with Charles Boasberg, north-south division 

sales manager. 

William Wyler, Paramount producer, left 

on the Queen Mary en route to Rome, where 

he will film "Roman Holiday," starring Audrey 

Hepburn, starting June 1. Noel Coward, 

British actor-author; Fannie Hurst, novelist, 

and Tom Arnold, London theatre producer, 

were on the same boat . . . Anita Loos, author 

of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"; John Williams, 

British actor, and Ludwig Charell, film 

producer, left for Europe on the He de France 

. . . William Holden, Paramount star, and his 

actress-wife, Brenda Marshall, flew to France 

to attend the Cannes Film festival, in which 

Holden's "Detective Story" is entered, and 

then to tour the continent. 

George Weltner, president of Paramount 

International, left for Hollywood en route to 

Harold J. Salemson, national advertising 

Tokyo . . . 

and publicity director for Riviera 

Films, which produced "Encounter" for 

United Artists release, planed to Rome to 

map out the preliminary promotion . . . Allyn 

McLerie, who played bpposite Ray Bolger in 

the stage and screen versions of "Where's 

33 

Mort Nathaoson .^1 Tamarin 

Mort Nathanson this week assumed his 

new duties as eastern publicity director 

for United Artists, succeeding Al Tamarin 

who has been promoted to assistant to 

Francis Winikus, national director of advertising, 

publicity and exploitation. 

Nathanson had been with Horizon Films, 

as eastern advertising-publicity director, 

since last fall. Previously he had been 

with Paramount, Liberty Films and the 

Goldwyn organization. 

Charley?" has returned from London, where 

she played in "To Dorothy, a Son," and will 

shortly go to the coast to start her Warner 

contract . . . George Raft, who completed 

"Loan Shark" for Lippert, planed to England 

via BOAC. 

Ben Cohn, Universal home office foreign 

executive, left April 27 for the Latin American 

branches . . . Phil Reisman, RKO vicepresident 

in charge of foreign distribution, 

planed to Paris via TWA to conduct a conference 

of European sales managers . . . Ned 

E. Depinet, president of RKO, returned from 

Hollywood . . . Adolph Zukor, chairman of the 

board of Pai'amount Pictures, returned by air 

following his annual two-month visit to the 

studio . . . David A. Lipton, Universal vicepresident 

in charge of advertising and publicity, 

got in from Hollywood for meetings 

with home office executives . . . Norton V. 

Ritchey, vice-president of Monogram International, 

returned from the coast following a 

meeting of the board. 

R. D. Hetzel Jr. Is Elected 

Vice-President of MPAA 

NEW YORK—Ralph D. Hetzel jr., assistant 

to President Eric Johnston in charge of the 

New York office, was unanimously elected a 

vice-president of the Motion Picture Ass'n of 

America at the annual meeting Friday (2). 

The MPAA board also adopted a resolution 

of appreciation of the contributions to the 

industry arbitration conference by William 

F. Rodgers, who headed the distributor group, 

Al Lichtman, A. Montague and Robert 

Mochrie, sales executives, and Austin Keough, 

Robert Perkins and Adolph Schimel, general 

counsel, and additionally thanked the representatives 

of the exhibitor associations at the 

conference for "their constructive approach 

toward the problems of creating and adopting 

a method of arbitration for use in the industry." 

Run the Cerebral Palsy campaign trailer. Available 

May 15 to July 1. 

Paramount, Capitol 

Each Book 4 Pictures 

NEW YORK—Both the Paramount and 

Capitol theatres have set their first run product 

for the next few months, at least until 

the end of June depending on the length of 

the engagements. 

Starting with "Macao," staiTing Jane Russell, 

Robert Mitchum and William Bendix, 

which opened April 30, four RKO pictures 

are booked for the Paramount, according to 

Robert M. Weitman, vice-president of United 

Paramount Theatres. The othei-s are: 

"Rancho Notorious," in Technicolor, starring 

Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy and Mel 

Ferrer; "The Wild Heart," David O. Selznick 

production in Technicolor, starring Jennifer 

Jones and David Farrar, and "Clash By 

Night," Wald-Kra.sna production, starring 

Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas, Robert 

Ryan and Marilyn Monroe. 

Pearl Bailey, Larry Storch and Buddy Baer 

head the current stage show at the Paramount 

and Nat "King" Cole, Johnnie Ray, 

and Les Paul and Mary Ford will head the 

sub.sequent stage bills. 

At the Capitol, "Carbine Wilhams," MGM 

film starring James Stewart, will open May 7 

following four weeks of Paramount's "My Son 

John." The next film, late in May, will be 

MGM's musical, "Skirts Ahoy," starring 

Esther Williams, Joan Evans and Vivian 

Blaine; then "Carrie," Paramount feature 

stan-ing Jennifer Jones and Laurence Olivier, 

and "The Quiet Man," John Ford's Technicolor 

production for Republic release, starring 

John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and Barry 

Fitzgerald. 

At the Radio City Music Hall, the cuiTent 

"Singin' in the Rain," will be followed by another 

MGM Technicolor picture, "Scaramouche," 

.starring Stewart Granger, Eleanor 

Parker and Mel Ferrer. "Where's Charley?" 

Warner Bros. Technicolor musical starring 

Ray Bolger, has also been booked. 

"The San Francisco Story," distributed by 

Warner Bros., will be next picture at the 

Warner Theatre, following the current "Mara 

Maru." "Kangaroo," Technicolor picture from 

20th Century-Fox, will follow the current 

"Belles on Theii- Toes," which opened at the 

Roxy May 2. 

ITO Protests Antitrust 

Suit Filed Against NSS 

NEW YORK — The Independent Theatre 

Owners Ass'n of New York Thursday (1) 

adopted a resolution pointing to "many years 

of amicable relations with National Screen 

Service Corp.," which it said performs "unique 

and necessary services of benefit to exhibitors." 

The resolution declared that the antitrust 

suit filed against the company by the Department 

of Justice "will definitely damage the 

very interests it is designed to protect by creating 

a greater degree of industry confusion 

and higher costs for trailers and accessories." 

The ITO empowered its counsel to explore all 

legal means for the protection of its members 

and "to take all the necessary steps to carry 

out the purposes" of the resolution. 

TV Toons to WNBT 

NEW YORK—The Screen Gems, Inc., TV 

department has granted exclusive rights in 

the New York area for its TV Disk Jockey 

Toons series to the National Broadcasting 

Co. for showing on WNBT. 

BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952 

Pl

WB) 

B. B. Kreisler Heads 

Foreign Film Group 

NEW YORK—B. Bernard Kreisler, executive 

director of tiie Advisory Unit of Foreign 

Films of the Motion Picture Ass'n of America, 

lias resigned effective 

^May1 to become president 

of the International 

Film Associates- 

Television Corp., 

known as IFA-TV. 

This is a new foreign 

film and television 

syndicate with Wall 

street financing and 

offices at 444 Madison 

Ave. 

The corporation will 

B. Bernard Kreisler 

act as a clearing house 

in this country for foreign 

films and will channel both features and 

featurettes to television stations and specialized 

"art" theatres. 

The organization also will represent foreign 

film and television producers as consultants 

on production as well as marketing and programming 

of product. The company has a 

technical studio designed for lip-synchronized 

dubbing of selected foreign films into English 

for television presentation. 

Kreisler will leave for Europe next month 

to meet production executives in England, 

France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany and 

Scandinavian countries on films to be made 

available in this country. 

In addition to Kreisler, members of the 

board of IFA-TV include: James Frank, Robert 

M. Davidson, Charles S. Goodman and 

A. A. Strelsin. 

Kreisler has had extensive experience 

abroad and in this country. Before joining 

the MPAA he conducted a European film survey 

in 18 countries for the Harvard Graduate 

School of Business Administration. He was 

general manager and vice-president of United 

Artists-Cowan productions of Ernie Pyle's 

"Story of GJ. Joe" and "Tomorrow the 

World," and was at one time connected with 

Universal in several executive posts. 

B'way, East Side Booking 

Set for British Picture 

NEW YORK — "Outcast of the Islands," 

London Films production distributed in this 

country by Lopert Films, will open simultaneously 

May 15 at the Astor Theatre on Broadway 

and the Fine Ai-ts Theatre on the east 

side. This will be the fii-st time a new film 

will play simultaneously at a Broadway first 

run and a first run class house. 

Lopert Films' reasoning for the booking is 

that a great many film patrons who patronize 

the east side class houses rarely venture 

over to the Broadway sector for their picture 

entertainment. "The Lavender Hill Mob," 

which opened the Fine Arts Theatre in October, 

will have completed 31 weeks by May 

14. 

"Outcast of the Island," from the Joseph 

Conrad story, was directed by Carol Reed 

and stars four British players, Ralph Richardson, 

Trevor Howard, Wendy Hiller and 

Robert Morley with Reed's discovery, Kerima, 

featured. 


trailer. Available from Moy 15 to July 1. 

Rainy Days Hurt B'way First Runs; 

Singin, 

Song' Remain Strong 

NEW YORK— Rain, which started on the 

weekend and continued into the week, hurt 

grosses at the majority of the Broadway first 

runs although it actually drove many patrons 

who had planned outdoors events in to the 

outstanding films. 

The Easter week holdovers still led the 

field, particularly "Singin' in the Rain," still 

strong in its fifth week at the Radio City 

Music Hall, and "With a Song in My Heart," 

which held for a fourth good week at the 

Roxy. "Tlie Man in the White Suit" had a 

smash fourth week at the Sutton after shattering 

previous gro.sses for its first, .second 

and third weeks. 

"Mara Maru" was the best of the new films, 

mainly because of the draw of the Ballet 

Theatre playing its first stage engagement 

in support of a Broadway film at the Warner. 

"Red Mountain" had a good first week 

at the Globe but "The Green Glove" at the 

Criterion and "Maytime in Mayfair" at the 

Trans-Lux were ju.st fair and the latter was 

replaced Saturday (3) by "The Narrow Margin." 

"Encore," in its fourth weelc at the 

Normandie, and "Tomorrow Is Too Late," 

Italian-language film in its third week at 

Loew's State, al.so held up well but many of 

the art house films dropped off. 

Eleven new pictures opened during the 

week, only five of them from Hollywood: 

"Atomic City," "Macao," "Belles on Their 

Toes," "The Pi-ide of St. Louis" and "The 

Narrow Margin." Three of the others were 

French films, the most in that language to 

play in Manhattan art spots in several years. 

(Average Is 100) 

Astor My 3ix Convicts (Col), 5fh wk 1 00 

Baronet Passion for Life (Brandon), 19th d. t. wk. 90 

Capitol My Son John (Paro), 3rd wk 100 

Criterion The Green Glove (UA) 110 

Fine Arts—The Lavender Hill Mob (U-1), 28th wk..105 

55th Street Jour de Fete (Mayer-Kingsley), lOfh 

wk 90 

Globe Red Mountain (Para) 115 

Holiday Loyola—Soldier Soint (Simplex) 100 

Little Carnegie Picture (Picture), 3rd wk 95 

Loew's State Tomorrow Is Too Lote (Burstyn), 3rd 

wk 110 

Mayfair Anything Can Happen (Para), 4th wk. . . 90 

Normandie Encore (Para), 4th wk 115 

Paramount Bend of the River (U-l), plus stage 

show, 3rd wk 1 05 

Paris The River (UA), 33rd wk 100 

Park Avenue Faithful City (RKO), 3rd wk 95 

Radio City Music Hall Singin' in the Rain (MGM), 

plus stoge show, 5th wk 1 20 

Rialto Okinawa (Col) 100 

Rivoli Valley of the Eogles (LP), 3rd wk 95 

Roxy With a Song in My Heart (20th-Fox), plus 

stage show, 4th wk 110 

Sutton The Man in the White Suit (U-l), 4th 

wk 150 

Trans-Lux 52nd The Young and the Damned 

(Moyer-Kingsley), 5th wk 95 

Trans-Lux 60th Maytime in Mayfair (Realort).. 98 

Victoria The Morrying Kind (Col), 7th wk 105 

Warner Mora Maru (WB), plus Ballet Theatre on 

stage 1 25 

World Miss Julie (Trans-Global), 3rd wk 95 

'Ma cmd Pa Kettle' Grosses 

110 in Buffalo Bow 

BUFFALO—Old Sol hit town last weekend 

and cars were lined up bumper to bumper 

on most of the highways leaving the city. 

Boxoffices withered. The Buffalo did fairly 

well with a four-day stage show headed by 

Nat "King" Cole and his band, with "Just 

This Once" on the screen. 

Buffalo Just This Once (MGM), plus stage 

show 115 

Center My Son John (Para) 95 

Century Mutiny (UA), 6 days 85 

Cinema The Song of Bcrnadette (20fh-Fox), 

reissue 85 

Lafayette Mo and Po Kettle ot the Fair (U-l) 110 

Paramount With o Song in My Heart 

2nd wk 95 

Teck Singin' in the Rain (MGM), 3rd wk.. 105 

DISCUSS MUSIC HALL FILM—George 

Sidney, right, director of 

MG.M's "Scaramouche," 

which has been booked as the 

next picture at the Radio City Music Hall 

following the current "Singin' In the 

Kain," discusses the film with Russell V. 

Downing, president and managing director 

of 

"Show/ 'Heart,' 

the theatre. 

'Zapatai' 

Good at Pittsburgh 

PITTSBURGH—Grosses rolled over the top 

in one of the best weeks of the year to date. 

Bigger in its thu-d week than its second was 

"The Greatest Show on Earth," while "With 

a Song in My Heart" was a winner. "Viva 

Zapata!" was over average and likewise 

"Macao." Only "Jack and the Beanstalk" 

(with Abbott and Costello in person opening 

day) lagged behind. Neighborhood grosses 

remained about the same—very depressed, 

and outdoor theatres which had been reopened 

early found the weather wouldn't cooperate. 

Fulton Vivo Zapata! (20th-Fox) 110 

J. P. Horris With o Song in Heort My 

(20th-Fox) 120 

Penn The Greatest Show on Earth (Poro), 

3rd wk 130 

Stonley Jock and the Beonstalk (WB) 80 

Warner—Macao (RKO) 1 05 

'African Queen' Holdover 

Philadelphia Bright Spot 

PHILADELPHIA—A heavy weekend downpour 

cast gloom over the first run boxoffices. 

"The African Queen" in its second week was 

the only attraction to score over average. The 

third -week holdovers did pretty well, considering. 

Aldine Caesar and Cleopatra (UA), reissue 85 

Boyd The Greatest Show on Earth (Poro), 10th 

wk 60 

Eorle Rodeo (Mono), plus stage show • 50 

Fox—With o Song in My Heort (20th-Fox), 3rd 

wk 70 

Goldman The Marrying Kind (Col), 3rd wk 90 

Mostboum The African Queen (UA), 2nd wk...l25 

Midtown Aaron Slick From Punkin Crick (Poro).. 55 

Randolph Singin' in the Roin (MGM), 3rd wk. . . 90 

Stanley Moro Maru ( 60 

Stanton— Loon Shork (LP) 1 00 

Acquires Exploitation Films 

NEW YORK—William Mishkin, 1564 Broadway, 

has acquired worldwide theatrical rights 

to "Clip Joint," featuring Paul Lukas and Jill 

Dennett, and "Blondes for Sale." featuring 

Edward Arnold and Barbara Barondess. Distributor 

expects to put them into immediate 

release as an exploitation combination. 


Dual-Language Film 

Invented in Canada 

MONTREAL— National Film Board technicians 

ha^•e unveiled a new and far-reaching 

development in motion picture production 

a process for recording two languages on a 

single sound track and the "push button" 

cutting in or out of one or the other. Up to 

now each language version of a film required 

a separate sound track and separate film. 

Film Board spokesmen said the new process 

would cut costs for those needing bilingual 

films, such as the army, which teaches French 

and English-speaking troops. 

The new process was de\'eloped by NFB 

technicians after months of research and experiments. 

By it, one language or the other 

can be cut in or out during the showing of a 

film by use of a small "push button" adapter, 

developed along with the single sound track 

process. Similarly, sound effects and musical 

background can be cut in or out. 

Gerald Graham, NFB's director of technical 

operations, who helped develop the process, is 

now in Chicago explaining it to the Society 

of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. 

Collaborating with him on the work was 

Chester E. Beachell, chief maintenance engineer 

for the board's sound division. 

The twin-language process is based on a 

split sound track. The standard sound track 

is replaced by two separate tracks each 50- 

thousandths of an inch in width and joined 

together. Tlie adaptor, which will fit an 

ordinary 16mm projector, probably will become 

available on a commercial basis at low 

cost, National Film Board officials said. 

Knotholers' Mothers Get 

Invites to Loew's Show 

NEW YORK—All members of the recently 

organized Loew-MGM-Happy Felton Knothole 

Gangs have been told they can bring 

their mothers as guests at shows to be presented 

May 11, which is Mothers' day, in 35 

Loew theatres. 

It is figured that there will be 35,000 members 

registered by May 11. Presentation of 

the membership cards will be the only identification 

required, according to Joseph R. 

Vogel, vice-president of Loew's theatres. 

The idea is to make the Knothole gangs a 

wholesome influence among New York youngsters. 

Cerebral Palsy Troiler available from Moy 15 to 

July 1. 

SPECIAL 

NOTICE FOR ALL DRIVE-IN 

THEATRES-IN W. VA.-KY. 

Write fodoy for list of —60— Special Exploitotion 

ond Adult Only Top-Notch Feotures and 

Burlesque. New Titles. We now hove ready 

for booking in W. Va. and Ky.—35nim ond 

16mm. 

Also write for informotion on how to build a 

16mm Drive-ln Theatre or Community 16mm 

theatre for theotre-less towns—ALSO MAJOR 

PRODUCT 16mm FILM CATALOGUE. 

Also write for information on our 16mm CAMERA 

ond PROJECTOR for Special Around Town News 

to show on your screen. 

Write to-EXPLOITATION MOVIES 

Box 5 Phone 5579 Sprague, W. Va. 

ITOA Nominates Officers, 

Directors, for New Year 

NEW YORK—The Independent Tlieatre 

Owners Ass'n Thur.sday il) nominated officers 

for its 19lh year. Harry Brandt was 

chosen to continue as president. The other 

nominations were: 

David Weinstock. Max A. Cohen, William 

Namenson and Juliu.s Sanders, vice-presidents; 

Leon Rosenblatt, treasurer; J. Joshua 

Goldberg, secretary, and John C. Bolte jr., 

sergeant at arms. 

Nominated for directors: Richard Brandt, 

Maurice Brown, Sam Einhorn, Norman Elson, 

Sam Freedman, Robert Goldblatt, I. Goldmark, 

I. Gottlieb, Emanuel Hertzig, Joseph 

Kasdin, Ben Knobel, Harry Kridel, Larry Kurtls, 

Murray LeBoss, Abe Leff, Martin Levine, 

Albert Margulies, Edith Marshall, Maurice 

Parks, Irving Renner, Ray Rhone, Gertrude 

Rhonheimer, Edison Rice. Jack Rochelle, 

Benjamin Rossasy, Murray Schoen, Abe 

Shenk, Irving Steiner and Ben Weinstock. 

Seventeen will be elected. 

Press Representatives 

Attend Haiti Opening 

NEW YORK—Fifty-two newspaper, tradepaper, 

magazine, syndicate editors, feature 

writers and reporters, along with Anne 

Fi'ancis and William Marshall, stars of "Lydia 

Bailey." left Satiu-day (3) for Port-Au-Prince. 

Haiti, aboard a chartered Pan-American 

plane. The film and press party was invited 

by the Haitian government to attend the fourday 

opening festival for the 20th Century- 

Fox picture. Jean Louis Destine, Haitian 

dancer, was also aboard the plane. The 20th- 

Fox staff members on the junket are; Stirling 

Silliphant, publicity manager, who went ahead 

to set up the Haiti celebration, and Meyer 

Hutner, Robert Fleisher, Leo Pillot and Ira 

Tulipan. 

Paramount to Holci General 

Studio Sales Conference 

NEW YORK—Paramount sales forces are 

set for a series of conferences at the Hollywood 

studio starting May 5. according to 

A. W. Schwalberg, president of Paramount 

Film Distributing Corp. Production plans 

will be analyzed. 

Six domestic and Canadian division managers 

will attend, and 13 films set for release 

between July and September will be screened 

and discussed. 

109 TV Stations Now Serve 

About 17 Million Sets 

NEW YORK—A phenomenal increase of 

more than 22 TV stations in recent weeks 

"is only a beginning now that the freeze on 

television licenses is lifted," J. L. Van Valkenburg, 

CBS-TV president, told 250 station 

executives at a clinic here. He said the 109 

TV stations in the U.S. now serve nearly 17 

million sets. 

House to Investigate 

Radio and TV Programs 

WASHINGTON—The House Rules Committee 

on Wednesday (30) approved a bill providing 

for an investigation of radio and television 

programs by the Interstate Commerce 

Committee aimed at eliminating immoral and 

offensive content. 

'D&RG' Debut Guests 

Travel to Salt Lake 

DENVER—More than 100 representatives of 

the press, radio, magazines, trade press, wire 

service and newsreels with a number of Hollywood 

players and Paramount distribution executives 

converged on this city by plane and 

train Thur.sday (1) for the start of a 745-mile 

trip over the Denver & Rio Grande railroad. 

Gov. Dan Thornton of Colorado proclaimed 

May 2-9 as "Denver & Rio Grande Week." 

The history of the railroad figures in the 

Paramount picture. 

The picture opened May 2 in the Denham 

Theatre, followed by a Rotary luncheon at the 

Cosmopolitan hotel. Nat Holt, producer; Dean 

Jagger, Edmond O'Brien, Sterling Hayden, 

Lyie Bettger, Laura Elliott, J. Carrol Naish 

and Zasu Pitts were among the guests. 

Late Thursday afternoon Governor Thornton 

held a reception for the press at the 

hotel, followed by the governor's second annual 

Hospitality banquet at the Shirley Savoy 

hotel. Mayor Quigg Newton of Denver shared 

in the welcome and the stars were introduced. 

On Friday two 70-year-old locomotives used 

in the film were "honored" at ceremonies in 

the railroad yards. 

Later the guests left by special train for 

Colorado Springs. Another civic ceremony 

was held there Saturday, followed by a premiere 

at the Ute Theatre. 

A. W. Schwalberg, president of Paramount 

Film Distributing Corp.; E. K. "Ted" O'Shea, 

vice-president, and JeiTy Pickman, vice-president 

in charge of advertising publicity and 

exploitation, joined the party after attending 

a sales convention at the coast studios. Robert 

L. Montgomery and Maurice Segal came on 

from the home office publicity department. 

Five hundred bookings have been set in the 

western area in connection with the 12-city 

premiere and tour of stars. Of these. 125 

are in the Denver area. 

As the special train headed westward for 

Salt Lake City, openings were held in the 

Ute Theatre, Colorado Springs, May 3; Main 

Theatre, Pueblo, May 3; Skyline Theatre, 

Canon City, May 3; Glen Theatre, Glenwood 

Springs, May 4; Cooper Theatre, Grand Junction, 

May 5, and Utah Theatre, Salt Lake 

City, May 6. 

Maplewood, N. T„ Theatre 

Will Play Stage Shows 

MAPLEWOOD, N. J.—The Columbia 

Amusement Corp., which runs a chain of film 

houses in New Jersey, has leased the Maplewood 

Theatre to Albert H. Rosen, who will 

offer a series of stage plays in the refurbished 

and air conditioned house starting 

May 3. The theatre has been playing films 

since 1943. In association with Albert Lewis, 

Rosen will open the stage season with Judy 

HoUiday in "Dream Girl." Rosen and Lewis 

plan 20 weeks of plays with name stars. 

RCA Using Film in Clinic 

NEW YORK—Highlight of 

the third RCA 

Victor Television Sales Clinic now being held 

in all television areas is a film titled "The 

Most Natural Thing in the World." Films 

and slides in the first two clinics presented 

factual information on salesmanship. The 

purpose of the third and last of the series is 

to give dealers a general look at the over-all 

activities of the company. 

40 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 

i

. . Morris 

. . Tent 

PHILADELPHIA Beaver Falls, Pa., Theatre, Doormats 

Durglars stole $1,100 from a .sale at the 

Lawiidale Theatre Sunday (27) after they 

set off a tear gas valve in smashing the combination. 

The burglars opened a skylight for 

ventilation when the tear gas went off . . . 

The brother of John Colder, Jam Handy repre.sentative, 

died . . . William G. Mansell, WB 

manager: Charles Beilan. his a.ssistant: Ben 

Bache, T. N. Noble, D. M. Cooper and G. D. 

Hutcheon returned from the regional conference 

in Pittsburgh. 

Si Perlsweig has resigned at Republic . . . 

Lawrence Goldmeier, president of Popper's 

Popcorn Supply Co.. presided over the regional 

meeting of the National Ass'n of Popcorn 

Manufacturers . Conner, manager 

at the Orpheimi, has moved over to the 

Lane while Jack Allen has taken over the 

managerial post at the Fern Rock . . . Ted 

Schlanger, S-W zone manager, was to leave 

on a trip to the south and west . The 

. . 

Tannenbaum family, which operate the Surf 

Theatre in Atlantic City, has taken over the 

Lyric. 

U.S. Judge Austin L. Staley has held that 

while taking a jury in a criminal case to see 

a film about criminals is not exactly a wise 

practice, it is not necessarily prejudicial to 

the interests of the defendant. The circuit 

court got a complete transcript of the dialog 

of "The Damned Don't Cry" to find out if 

there was anything in it that might have 

prejudiced the jurors in a case dealing with 

alleged income tax evasion. The jurist said 

that the film was "indeed a lurid tale about 

the underworld." "A few isolated sentences 

in the dialog," the Pittsburgh jurist wrote, 

"allude to mistakes in income tax returns and 

to lawful ways of reducing taxes." "However," 

he added, "we fail to find anything in the 

film that could fairly be said to incite prejudice 

against the defendant." 

Marvin Bazin, a projectionist at the City 

Line Center Theatre, beat the slate by receiving 

the Democratic nomination for the 

state legislature from the 18th district at the 

primary elections on Tuesday i22) . . . Donald 

Thomas McNeill brought his Breakfast 

club into the Mastbaum on Friday (25) for 

his daily network broadcast. The doors to 

the theatre opened at 8 a. m. to allow firstcome-first 

served seating for some 4.400 Philadelphians 

who made successful bids for the 

free tickets. 

Ed McMahon has been 

conducting a contest 

on his daily Strictly for the Girls T'V 

show, inviting his audience to try to guess 

the number of freckles on the face of Katharine 

Hepburn, star of "The African Queen" 

. . . Iz Borowsky's New Jewel ha-s shuttered 

. . . Ditto for Harry Perleman's 'West Allegheny 

The Avon Theatre Corp. is now 

operating the Bromley and also the Arcadia 

and Queen in Wilmington. 

A. M. Ellis Theatres is equipping the projection 

room on top of the Warner building 

so that it will be available for screenings 

. . . Nat Levy, RKO eastern division sales 

manager; R. J. Folliard, district manager, 

and Sid Kramer, short .subject sales executive, 

were in at the RKO exchange for a Ned 

Depinet drive sales meeting . . . The Philadelphia 

Motion Picture Preview group held 

its annual spring luncheon at the Warwick 

Thursday (1). Guest speakers from the in- 

To Celebrate Joint Golden Jubilee 

BEAVER FALLS, PA.—The entire Beaver 

Valley soon will celebrate the Golden Jubilee 

of the Rialto Theatre and the 50th anniversary 

of one of its employes. Fifty years 

ago this coming fall the Lyceum Theatre, 

biggest and best theatre in a wide area, drew 

crowds of people from all the little towns 

up and down the valley to its inaugural. 

James H. Carson, 19-year-old journeyman 

printer on his father's weekly newspaper, applied 

for a part-time temporary position at 

the Lyceum. He had .êen the posters for 

Rice's show, which had been booked for the 

opening and he figured that spending his evenings 

at the theatre would be fascinating 

an exciting hobby. 

Sam S. Hanauer, manager of the then-new 

theatre, hired Carson and a.ssigned him to a 

job as doorman. He remained at his printer's 

job by day and continued enjoying his hobby 

—ths theatre—at night. 

A half-century later, Jim Carson still is at 

the door of the theatre, which has been renamed 

the Rialto. To two generations of 

theatregoers, Carson has become one of the 

landmarks of the Beaver Valley. 

Carson has lived through the greatest days 

of the theatre. Many of the outstanding stars 

were pre.sented at the Lyceum, .some in the 

earlie.st days of their careers. Prom his post 

at the door, Carson has known the famous 

personalities of the drama, musical comedy, 

opera and minstrel shows. 

He now has a 50-year service button given 

to him by the Beaver Valley Typographical 

union two years ago, marking his 50th year 

as a union printer, all of them spent on the 

Review. He served as editor for 18 years after 

his father, John W. Carson, died. Seven years 

ago he sold the paper, but he has continued 

with his hobby and his job at the theatre. 

Carson now recalls vividly the opening 

night of the Lyceum. From miles around patrons 

came in carriages, surreys, victorias and 

barouches. They even came by train from distant 

points. Boxes at $50 were sold out long 

before opening night. Sam Hanauer remained 

as manager of the theatre until his 

death .some years ago. 

dustry and "fashions of the stai-s" will be featured 

at the occasion . 13 of the 

Vai'iety Club held a "goodby" dance for conventioneers 

leaving for the Las Vegas meeting 

of Variety International. 

Martin Levine to Install 

NEW YORK—Martin Levine. president of 

Cinema lodge, the entertainment industry 

unit of B'nai B'rith, in New York, will be 

guest of honor and the installing officer when 

Sentry lodge, the newly reconstituted industry 

unit of B'nai B'rith in Boston, installs 

Samuel Pinanski. president of American Theatres 

Corp., as president May 4. Levine, an 

executive of Brandt Theatres, was recently 

elected to head New York's Cinema lodge for 

a second year. 

Gail Davis in 'Wagon Team' 

Gail Davis will be Gene Autry's feminine 

lead in Columbia's "Wagon Team." 

JAMES H. 

CARSON 

For ten years. Robert Higgins has been an 

active showman in this community and for 

the last seven years has managed the Rialto, 

one of four local Cook-Anderson houses. Now 

he is planning to restore some of the glamor 

of the forgotten years to the Rialto. The 

anniversary celebration will be a doublebarrelled 

jubilee in honor of both Carson 

and the theatre. In mid-June a new policy 

of film presentation will be announced and 

there will be stage events to add to the anniversary 

celebration. 

The Rialto is one of a very few theatres 

in the nation w'hich has maintained continuous 

operation for one-half century. Carson, 

in his 70th year, hesitates to even estimate 

how many tickets have been handed to him 

by patrons entering the theatre. But he definitely 

proclaims that motion pictures, which 

he has followed since their inception, are 

better all the time. He still claims that 

"movies are his hobby," but adds he still 

"has no idea that the job will be permanent." 

Cinema Lodge to Revive 

Golf Tournament May 22 

NEW YORK—Cinema lodge of B'nai B'rith 

will revive industry golf tournaments at the 

Vernon Hills Country club at Tuckahoo, N.Y.. 

May 22. Annual industry tournaments were 

held for many years up to World War II, 

and Martin Levine, president of the lodge, 

has decided now would be a good time to revive 

them. 

Alfred W. Schwalberg. president of Paramount 

Film Distributing Corp.. has been 

named chairman of the tournament committee, 

with Harold Rinzler. e.xecutive of Randforce 

Theatres, as co-chairman. Tournament 

headquarters have been set up at 214 

West 44th St. 

Prizes will be awarded to the best foursome, 

runnersup, plus awards for the best 

net and gross scores, driving, putting, birdies, 

etc. A $15 entry fee will include green fees, 

lunch and dinner. 


. . . Abe 

PITTSBURGH 

^len Easter has curtailed operations at the 

Almcda in Mount Morris, now offering 

Tuesday-Wednesday and Friday-Saturday attractions 

. . . When the Sunset Beach Drivein 

on Route 40 at Claysville reopened adult 

admission price had been upped to 60 cents. 

The increase was made necessary by increased 

township taxes . . . Ben White, Warren outdoor 

exhibitor, inaugurated a new season at 

the Dicky-Ben Speedway nearby, with stockcar 

racing . . . Lieut. John Betters of the air 

force, who manages the Roof Garden Drivein 

near Somerset on weekends, was recalled 

to his base unexpectedly when some officers 

wêre killed in a plane crash. He had expected 

to take his accumulated leave at this 

time to devote to the drive-in. 

F. Elmer Hasley's Main on Bessemer Terrace 

in East Pittsburgh, which had been open for 

a weekend change of program, now is closed 

Rothenstein, West Aliquippa and uptown 

Fifth avenue exhibitor, plans to move 

his residence from Aliquippa to Squirrel Hill 

, . . A John Mayer. MGM cashier, says his 

son Ronnie will enroll at Duke university, 

Durham, N. C. . . George Kreamer, Warner 

. 

auditor, who used to come to Filmrow as a 

UA auditor, was here. Mel Harwood. Warner 

auditor who was well known here, died recently. 

Maurice Grad, Columbia short .subjects 

sales manager, was a visitor . . Wallace 

. 

Nordby, former Indiana, Pa., exhibitor who is 

manager of the First Federal Savings & Loan 

Ass'n there, ha.s been appointed to the Chamber 

of Commerce committee of the United 

States Savings & Loan league. 

Bernard H. Buchheil, Manos circuit executive, 

is back at the Green-sburg headquarters 

after a trip to Missouri. He accompanied 

Mrs. George Purcell and son John, with the 

body of husband and father who died April 

21 following a heait attack. Purcell was buyer 

and booker for the Manos circuit . . . Rudy 

and Sam Navari presented "Kon-Tiki" for 

two days at their Eastwood in Penn township 

as a benefit for the Penn High Varsity 

club . . . W. L. Dunn, Cochranton exhibitor 

and contractor, has been awarded the contract 

for construction of a quarter-mile ti'ack 

for auto racing at the Crawford county fairgrounds. 

Bill Saal, Republic executive, was here ar- 

When YOU Need 

5pecial 

TRAILERS 

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SEND IT TO 

CHICAGO, 1327 S. WABASH 

NEW YORK, 630 NINTH AVE. 

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84 Von Braom Street 

PITTSBURGH 19, PA ' 

Phone Express 1-0777 ^ 

;^ Monies Are Better Than Ever - How's Your Equipment?^ 

ranging for the premiere of "I Dream of 

Jeannie." at the Fulton June 4. The life 

story of songwriter Stephen Foster will be a 

feature of Greater Pittsburgh Welcome week 

festivities and Republic stars will i)arlicipate 

in the dedication of the swank greater Pittsburgh 

airport, $30,000,000 terminal which will 

open May 31. 

. . For the first time 

Shea's at Bradford is dark and the McKean 

there is operating on a part-time .schedule . . . 

Bernard Davis and Larry Knee have resigned 

from the Warner circuit. Davis was replaced 

at the Victor in McKeesport by John Petros 

jr., formerly with the circuit at Washington, 

Pa. Knee's post at the Warner here had not 

been filled this week . 

since the film building at 1623 Blvd. of the 

Allies was constructed, half of the street floor 

is not in service as a film exchange. The new 

tenant is Clary Multiplier Corp., sales room 

for adding machines. 

Thomas Zaimes, West Tarentum exhibitor 

and Homestead restaurant owner, will fly to 

Greece on May 29 to visit his aged parents 

in Thessalonike. Twenty years has lapsed 

since he last saw them and his father is now 

aged 89 and his mother is 76. Zaimes will be 

away for four or five weeks. 

Professor James A. Notopoulos, one of the 

sons of Mr. and Mrs. A. N. Notopoulos of the 

Altoona-Publix theatres, has been awarded a 

Guggenheim fellowship for a year's study in 

Greece. Author of "The Platonism of Shelley" 

and professor of classical languages at 

Trinity college, Hartford, Conn., James will 

sail for Greece this summer where he will 

continue his study of Homer as an oral poet 

and will record modern Greek heroic oral 

poety of World War II . . . Maurice "Doc" 

Rubin of the downtown Art Cinema states 

that reports that the theatre is being sold or 

leased are inaccurate. His brother Babe enjoyed 

a recent vacation in Miami ... A second 

son named Daniel Vincent was born 

April 20 to Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Corso of 

Star Distributing Agency. 

. . 

The newly remodeled Brighton at New 

Brighton adopted this new policy: Tuesday- 

Wednesday evenings, one paid adult admission 

also admits free one child under 12 years 

of age . . . F. P. McCoy, lATSE Tri-State 

Ass'n secretary-treasurer, has been at the 

Cleveland clinic for a checkup . Mrs. Harry 

Manos has joined her husband in Greece. 

The Vandergrift theatreman has been there 

several months for treatment of an illness 

which has been greatly relieved. They plan 

to remain abroad until next fall. 

Miss Beaver Valley will be named at a 

beauty show June 24 in the Rialto at Beaver 

Falls. Honor guest of the day will be Clare 

Lippert. 19. of Natrona Heights, who was Miss 

Pennsylvania last year . . . RKO visitors included 

Terry Turner and Don Pi'ince, exploitation 

directors, who arranged ai'ea events 

for mid-June when "King Kong" goes into 

Asked how he 'put 

another reissue release . . . 

over' "Viva Zapata!" Fulton manager John 

Walsh replied: "Didn't you notice? We painted 

out Brando's mustache in all advei-tising" . . . 

Mrs. Bessie E. Kihchel of the Kihchel at 

Jeannette has been ill and confined to her 

home . . D. J. Sheppard of Fabian Theatres, 

. 

Altoona, former manager of the Embassy 

in Johnstown, will' conduct a contest 

to select Miss Blair County, and Charles R. 

Blatt of the Governor in Somerset will sponsor 

the selection of Miss Somer.set County. 

Miss America district eliminations are 

John H. Harris, Pittsburgh's 

planned May 23 . . . 

best known showman, and Mrs. Har- 

ris, parents of 2-year-old twin sons, expect 

another visit from Old Doc Stork in September. 

Mrs. Harris is the former Donna 

Atwood, star of Harris' "Ice-Capades" for a 

number of years. 

Indoor Operators Fail 

To Shutter Drive-ins 

BEAVER, PA.—Indoor theatre owners this 

week rebuffed in an attempt to enlist the district 

attorney's aid in a campaign against 

drive-in theatres. Basis for the request for 

the commonwealth's aid in bottling up the 

outdoor theatres is the 1935 law calling for 

local option on Sunday operation of theatres. 

Beaver valley managers of indoor theatres 

asked District Attorney Richard P. Steward 

to close drive-ins which operate on Sundays 

in communities which have not voted in referendum 

to repeal the old blue law regarding 

entertainment on Sunday. 

In all the county's larger communities except 

Beaver this has been done. Only one 

outdoor theatre in Beaver county, the Tusca, 

is situated in a political subdivision which 

has approved Sunday shows. Steward informed 

complainants that he will act only if 

information is made against the drive-in by 

some interested party outside his office. 

Indoor theatre managers balked at making 

information against the outdoor theatres. 

J. C. Lund, who manages the Aliquippa theatres, 

publicly charged the attorney with failing 

to assume the responsibilities of his office. 

Several indoor theatres in Beaver county 

are preparing to close because of the influence 

of outdoor theatres and television. In 

one large community, three grocei-y chain operators 

seek to take up the lease on one large 

theatre. In some cases, indoor theatre operators 

are dickering with employes for pay 

cuts because of rising costs and falling receipts. 

Explosion Causes Panic 

PITTSBURGH—A terrific gas explosion 

wrecked a row of connecting houses in the 

Hill district late last Thursday night (24), 

injuring ten persons and causing a panic in 

the nearby Rhumba Theatre. More than 100 

patrons of the theatre fled when the blast 

virtually demolished one residence in the rear 

of the Rhumba, operated by Jake Soltz and 

son Sidney Soltz. Two suffered injuries when 

they fell during the stampede for exits and 

were removed to a nearby hospital. 

Wayne McPeak to Tarentum 

TARENTUM, PA. — New manager of the 

Manos here is Wayne McPeak, formerly with 

the Harris Amusement Co. at Pittsburgh. 

Cerebral Palsy Trailer available from May 15 to 

July 1. 

Complete Sound and Projection Service 

ATLAS THEATRE SUPPLY 

Gordon Gibson, Mgr. 

402 Miltenbcrocr St.. GRant 1-4281, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

MOTIOGRAPH — MIRROPHONIC 


. . Grand 

. . The 

WEST VIRGINIA At Warner's Pittsburgh Meeting 

hifountain state cities operating on daylinht 

saving time include Huntington, Wheeling. 

Chester, FoUansbee, Moundsville, Wierton 

and Wellsburg . . . The Bird's Creek 

Drive-In on Route 92 between Arthurdale and 

Nevvburg was opened April 26 . . . Don George 

has rejoined the working organization at 

Warner's Skyline near Clarksburg after completing 

duties as a marine instructor at 

Washington . opening of the new 

Ohio 'Valley Drive-In at FoUansbee was a 

recent event. The new ozoner, located on 

Route 2 next to FoUansbee stadium, was 

equipped by Atlas Theatre Supply of Pittsburgh 

Construction is progressing on the 

. . . new outdoor theatre at Grantsville for Mr. 

and Mrs. John Cook. Opening is expected 

within two weeks. 

Gladys Swarthout was guest artist with the 

Wheeling symphony at the Virginia in Wheeling, 

April 23-24, this being the final pair of 

concerts for the season . Bunker Hill 

Drive-In, seven miles from Fairmont has 

been sold by Orville Pauley, brother of Guy 

Pauley who operates the Blacksville Drive-In 

at Blacksville. to Robert L. Bartlett. brotherin-law 

of Guy Pauley, and renamed the 

Route 19 Drive-In. 

Mr. and Mrs. Garland West, Buckhannon 

indoor and outdoor exhibitors, are grandparents 

for the fourth time, with the birth of a 

son Rusty to the Russell Wises at Aberdeen 

Proving Ground. 

Fred C. Bogart, 76, Dies 

WARREN. PA.—Fred Carter Bogart, 76, an 

early manager of the Woodard Theatre here 

40 years ago, died April 22. Erected by the 

late J. D. Woodard, the theatre has been 

known as the Columbia and has been operated 

by the Wai-ner circuit for many years. 

Bogart entered vaudeville as a contortionist 

and balancer and was billed under the name 

of Fred Elzor, later owning "Fred Elzor 

Show," a leading wagon circus which played 

from one end of the country to the other. 

Censor Head Renamed 

HARRISBURG—For the fifth consecutive 

year. Mrs. Edna R. Carroll, chairman of the 

state board of motion picture censors, has 

been appointed chairman of the motion picture 

committee for Pennsylvania week, October 

13-19. 

Host Key Club Boys 

FAIRMONT, W. 'VA.—Seventy-five members 

of the state's Kiwanis Key clubs were 

treated to free entertainment Friday (25i at 

the Eastland Theatre by John Urse. manager. 

The boys, from 20 Key clubs, were here 

for an all-day convention Saturday. 

Tax Appeal Is Postponed 

MERCER, PA.—Hearing on the appeal of 

the Greenville amusement tax again was 

postponed when the primary election laws 

made it nece.ssary for Judge Walter Braham, 

New Castle, to be in his own county. The 

litigation stems from the protest of 25 taxpayers 

against Greenville's 10 per cent amusement 

tax. 

A meeting' of regional salesmen for Warner 

Bros, was held recently in the William 

Penn hotel in Pittsburgh. Attending the 

conference were: Top panel, left to right: 

R. A. McGuire. auditor of exchanges; Larry 

Golob, eastern publicity director; Norman 

H. Moray, short subjects sales manager; 

Jules Lapidus. eastern sales manager; I. F. 

Dolid, home office executive; Mort 

Blumenstock, vice-president in charge of 

advertising and publicity, and Roy Haines, 

western division sales manager. 

Second panel: J. P. Eilfert, R. J. Burns, 

Sentenced for Robberies 

PITTSBURGH—John P. Burgoyne jr., 27. 

was sentenced to 11'^ to 23 months in jail 

when he pleaded guilty to holding up four 

downtown theatre cashiers. Police testified 

they captured him March 29 after a short 

chase from the Wajner Theatre. 

James Abrose, Charles Schroeder, Ralph 

Salycr, Leavitt J. Bugie. Standing are 

Charles Bailey, Oscar Kantor and Jerry 

Wechsler. 

Third panel: C. G. Eastman, Herb 

Gaines, Ernest Sands, Ray Pashley. R. M. 

Lynch, E. .\. Catlin. Standing: R. E. Blitz, 

S. I. Perilman and Bernard Goodman. 

Bottom panel: F. S. Retler, Jules F. 

Goldman, Gayle Black, Claude .'McKean, R. 

S. Shrader, Peter DeFazio. Standing are 

Paul Krumenacker, C. R. Jarrett. Elmer 

McKinley. 

'Miss Italy' Set for NY 

NEW YORK— "MLss Italy," Italian language 

feature with Gina Lollobrigida and two 

American players, Richai-d Ney and Constance 

Dowling, will open at the Cinema Verdi May 

9. Lux Films is releasing the film in the U.S. 


BUFFALO 

, . . 

pave Miller, cliit'f barker of Variety Tent 7. 

and Mrs Miller led a large delegation of 

Buffalo industryites to the Variety International 

powwow in Las Vegas last weekend. 

Murray Whiteman, past chief barker, and 

Mrs. Whitemaii planned to continue on to 

the west coast for a visit with relatives 

There was a big turnout Sunday night at the 

Tent 7 headquarters in Delaware avenue for 

the special previcw-diiiner. An elaborate repast 

was served at 6:30 followed by the 

Nat "King" Cole topped 

"sneak" at 8:30 . . . 

the stage-screen show at Shea's Buffalo and 

attracted excellent business despite the fine 

outdoor weather when thousands started for 

a weekend in the woods. 

Francis Anderson, city manager for United 

Paramount Theatres in Rochester, got a 

beauty of a half-page ad in the Times-Union 

on the booking of "Deadline—U.S.A." at his 

Paramoimt Theatre. It was in return for 

throwing a big party for the paper's newsboys. 

The ad featured a telegram from Humphrey 

Bogart addressed to Fred Glover, business 

manager of the paper, in which he said 

"I am naturally interested in all boys and 

there are no finer boys than newspaper boys. 

Their early training to accept responsibility, 

be prompt and work hard prepares them for 

entry into the business world in later years. 

I salute the 22 Rochester Times-Union newspaper 

champions who were victorious in the 

recent new.spaper sales competition and extend 

to them and the 1.200 other Times- 

Union boys an invitation to be my guests to 

see my latest picture at its premiere showing 

in the Paramount Theatre." 

James A. Whitmore, father of the MGM 

star of the same name, who retii-ed the past 

week as executive secretary of the Buffalo 

City Planning commission, is slated to be appointed 

director of the new division of parking. 

Inasmuch as "Jim" is over the 70-year 

age limit for regulai- city employment, the 

scuttlebutt is that he will be named to the 

Gertrude Y. LaCroix was 

parking post . . . 

the winner of the Jane Froman contest held 

by the Paramount on "With a Song in My 

Heart" in cooperation with three WEBR personalities. 

Bob Wells, Tap Taplin and Jack 

Eno. It ran three weeks, attracted more than 

150 entrants and was a huge success. Auditions 

were held mornings on the Paramount 

stage by Kenneth Gill, Courier-Express music 

critic: Eddie Miller, Paramount manager, and 

his assistant Loren Warshaw. Berger's specialty 

shop contributed $300 in merchandise. 

United Paramount Theatres in Buffalo 

opened its participation in the nationwide 

UPT May-June Movie Jubilee with a sock 

page ad announcing the attractions for the 

two months. The page can-ied copy on the 

Jubilee, the hit films to be shown and cuts 

of the stars from them ... All local UPT 

houses are festively decorated with streamers 

flying from the tops of the buildings to corners 

of the marquees, special valances and 

30x40 banners flying at different points. 

Cashiers and ushers are wearing colored banners 

lettered with Jubilee messages . . . Many 

special events will be staged in the theatres, 

the Paramount, Center, Seneca and Niagara 

during the drive. One of the first was the 

stage drawing the other evening at the Paramount 

put on by tJie Kellogg-Tydol dealers. 

The event was emceed by Roger Baker 

through WKBW and thousands of tickets 

WINS 'SONG' CONTEST — Edward 

Miller, left, manager of the Paramount 

Theatre in Buffalo, recently staged a Jane 

Froman contest on the theatre stage in 

connection with "With a Song in My 

Heart." Gertrude Y. LaCroix, right, was 

selected the winner by audience applause 

in the finals on the theatre stage. 

Bowman & 

were distributed by gas stations. 

Block, ad agency for the Kellogg company, 

used some page ads in which the theatre and 

its attractions got plenty of publicity. 

Bordonaro Bros'. Lawsuit 

Testimony Started 

BUFFALO—A federal court suit charging 

two motion picture companies and a theatre 

operating corporation with monopolistic practices 

was adjourned until midweek by Federal 

Judge John Knight in Buffalo. 

Tlie suit is being brought by the Bordonaro 

Bros. Theatres, operator of the Palace in 

Olean, N. Y., against Paramount, RKO and 

the Warner Bros. Cuxuit Management Corp. 

The plaintiff, charging first run films were 

withheld from him, seeks $161,592 triple damages. 

The alleged acts took place, the plaintiff 

maintains, between Sept. 15, 1946, and Mar. 

15, 1948, when it was in the process of a successful 

damage suit against the present and 

other defendants on similar accusations. The 

opening day of the suit was marked by frequent 

brushes between Fi-ancis A. Anderson 

of Philadelphia, representing the plaintiff; 

Frank G. Raichle, appearing for Paramount 

and Warners and Sidney B. Pfeifer, for RKO. 

Under cross examination, Bordonaro said 

he feels the Palace should get 60 per cent 

of the product of each of the major film producing 

companies. He admitted, however, that 

he did not get 60 per cent of the product of 

major companies not named in the suit. Answering 

Pfeifer, Bordonaro said that in the 

damage period he exhibited three feature 

films and a fight film either made or distributed 

by RKO and that he was asked to 

bid on three others. 

In his cross examination of Bordonaro, 

Raichle tried to show that the Palace did 

a net gross business as good or better by 

showing Republic and Monogram pictures as 

it did with the .so-called "A" productions of 

the 

major studios. 


troller. Available from May 15 to July I. 

Buffalo Plays Host 

To Movietime Stars 

BUFFALO — With George H. Mackenna, 

manager of Basil's Lafayette, and William 

Dip.son, executive vice-president of Dipson 

Theatres, Batavia, acting as co-chairmen, a 

full schedule was arranged for the visit of 

two groups of Hollywood personalities to 

Buffalo and cities of the exchange area the 

past week. The Hollywood Movietime Caravan 

arrived in Buffalo Sunday night and 

was welcomed at the Hotel Statler by 

Mackenna, Dipson and a group of local distributors 

and exhibitors. The people in Group 

I were Pat O'Brien, Sally Forrest and Producer 

Robert Welch. In Group II were 

Sterling Hayden, Vera-EUen and Anne 

Gwynne. 

On Monday the caravan visited Niagara 

Falls. Batavia, Lockport and nearby communities, 

with a full program staged in the 

Cataract city. It was the fii-st view several of 

the stars had of the Palls. 

Tuesday the groups were in Buffalo for the 

entire day. The highlight of the Buffalo program 

was the visit to the weekly luncheonmeeting 

of the Greater Buffalo Adverti-sing 

club in Hotel Statler. This was an exciting 

event with more than 1,000 attending the 

unique gathering and all six stars addressing 

the local businessmen and assuring them that 

"movies really are better than ever." 

On the dais with the Hollywood group at 

the Ad club were these members of the local 

arrangements committee, many of whom 

also were members of the club: Mackenna, 

Dipson, Dave Miller, chief barker of Tent 7; 

Jack Chinell, RKO; Charlie Kosco, 20th- 

Fox; Jack Mundstuk, MGM; Charles B. Taylor, 

Paramount Theatres; William P. Rosenow, 

Skyway Drive-In Theatres; Vincent R. 

McPauI, Shea Theatres; Arthur Krolick, 

Paramount Theatres; William Brereton, Basil 

Theatres; Elmer F. Lux, Darnell Theatres and 

city council president; Constantine J. Basil, 

Basil Theatres head; Harry Berkson, Monogram; 

David Leff, UA, and Robert T. Murphy, 

Century Theatre. 

Following the luncheon the stars were extensively 

interviewed on local radio and TV. 

In the evening, Mackenna arranged to have 

the entire star personnel attend the "Nanny- 

Daughter" banquet in Williamsville Central 

high school. The stars put over a lot of good 

will for the industry at this event. 

On Wednesday both groups began their 

treks through the area, with Dipson taking 

over. Group I left Buffalo at 9 a. m., stopped 

briefly in Dunkirk and then went on to 

Jamestown, where the stars were guests at 

a big Service clubs luncheon and later visited 

some of the city's famous factories. At 4 p. m., 

Group I arrived in Mayville to participate in 

ceremonies marking the transfer of operation 

of the May Theatre as a student-operated 

educational venture under adult guidance. 

There was a parade here, followed by 

an elaborate civic dinner. The group remained 

in Mayville overnight. 

Thursday the caravan visited Olean, Hornell, 

Wellsville, Salamanca and arrived in 

Elmira late in the day. Friday, the stars attended 

a big Service club luncheon in Elmira, 

were interviewed by radio and newspapers 

and attended the art teachers convention. 

The group visited the city of Endicott late 

Friday afternoon. Saturday was spent in 

Binghamton, where the stars attended a big 


. . . Lewis 

outdoor rally arranged by the high schools 

and visited several of the city's big factories. 

Group II left Buffalo Wednesday and arrived 

in Rochester at noontime. Several of 

the big Kodak town plants were visited and 

the stars inspected the George Eastman 

House and its unique Dryden Theatre. There 

was a big dinner in the evening in the 

Rochester club and the group remained in 

the city overnight. 

On Thursday, these stars visited Geneva, 

Auburn and Corning and arrived in Syracuse 

late that day. The group attended the Rotary 

luncheon in Syracuse Friday, was interviewed 

by local newspapers and radio personalities 

and were guests at a big Stadium Nite celebration 

in the evening. Saturday the group 

visited Syracuse university and some of the 

surrounding communities. 

Motion Picture Bookers 

Attend Annual Dinner 

NEW YORK—Approximately 1,000 persons 

attend the aiinual dinner dance of the Motion 

Picture Bookers club in the Astor hotel April 

2. The affaij- was dedicated to the Movietime 

U.S.A. drive and the industry theme 

was highlighted in decorative slogans and 

in the program with phrases such as "Movies 

Are Better Than Ever." Paul Gray was master 

of ceremonies and the entertainers included: 

the DeCastro Sisters, Beatrice Kraft 

and her dancers. Rex Raemer and Elissa Jane. 

Johnston Goes to France 

To Negotiate New Pact 

NEW YORK—Eric Johnston, president of 

the Motion Picture Ass'n of America, left by 

airplane this weekend for Cannes, France, 

where he will confer with James Dunn, U.S 

ambassador to France, who will represent the 

U.S. motion picture industry in negotiations 

for a new pact with the FYench government. 

Final details will be worked out at Paris. 

Johnston plans to return to U.S. the middle 

of this month. 

Barney Balaban West 

NEW YORK—Barney Balaban, president 

of Paramount, left for Chicago Friday (2) 

to visit his brother John who is ill. Following 

his visit with John and other members 

of his family, Balaban will continue on to 

Hollywood to participate in the week-long 

meeting of Paramount division sales managers 

at the studio, starting May 5. Later, he 

will go to Oakland, Calif., where the Chromatic 

Television Laboratory has its pilot plant 

to discuss current and future plans for the 

development of the color tube. 

Mayer Leaves COMPO; 

Coyne Is Acting Head 

NEW YORK—Arthur Mayer, retiring 

COMPO executive officer this week 

turned over control to Robert Coyne, special 

counsel, and prepared to leave on a 

tour of Europe. He expressed hope that 

COMPO will continue to be a force in the 

industry. 

A three-man governing committee will 

be named soon. 

MOVIETIME TROUPE IN ALBANY—When the Movictime I'.S.A. troupe arrived 

in Albany on its recent trip through cities in that exchange area, stars attended a 

reception at the Albany city liall. Shown above, left to right: Jarli Goldberg, MGM 

manager and co-chairman of Movietime in this area; Sam Mary, Greer Garson, Don 

Taylor, Saul J. Ullman. Fabian Upstate general manager; Mayor Erastus Corning 

(seated at desk), Audrey Totter, Victor Jory, Archie Mayo and Charles A. Smakwitz, 

Warner zone manager and Albany chairman. 

ALBANY 

Tôn Halienbeck postponed the reopening of 

the Indian Ladder Drive-In at New 

Salem in the Helderbergs from April 25 to 

May because of screen trouble . . Bill Do- 

. 

nate reopened the Rustic Drive-In, West 

Sand Lake . . . The Auto-Vision, East Greenbush, 

is advertising on Elaine's Drooz's noontime 

program for women over station WROW. 

Copy emphasizes the "family" natui-e of the 

bills and the operation by Allan Iselin. 

The Times-Union, in conjunction with 

Frigidaii-e and A&P, conducted a Prudence 

Penny cooking school in the Palace Tuesday 

morning. Station WPTR made a pickup on 

the time it usually resei-ves for "Fashion. 

Foods and Frills" from the newspaper office 

A. Sumberg, Albany TOA counsel, 

who spent five days on the road with the 

Movietime U.S.A. unit, lost his voice. He explained, 

"I repeated so many times the request, 

'Please stand aside for the stars,' that I 

finally 

lost my voice." 

Additional television stations in the Albany 

area will not affect motion picture business, 

"because they will increase the quantity, not 

the quality, of video entertainment," Warner 

Zone Manager Charles A. Smakw'itz declared. 

Television does not substantially hurt motion 

pictures. Nothing can compare with a good 

picture. Television is already having difficulty 

in producing enough programs that 

pack entertainment punch. What will happen 

when more stations come into operation? 

I can tell you. Quantity will be spread, 

but quality will be thinned." 

Schine's Avon, Watertown, played the Pee 

Wee King western vai-iety show Sunday and 

Monday in addition to the screen bill . . . T. J. 

Ti-ombley has assumed operation of the 

Nortliside Drive-In, five miles from Watertown. 

He opened the ozoner, which Dr. 

Philip Liebig, Granville veterinarian built and 

operated last year, on April 25 . . . John 

Yianuoko. who operates conventional theatres 

in Norfolk and Norwood and a drive-in near 

Potsdam, is taking treatment at Raybrook 

near Saranac Lake. 

W. H. Aust is again advertising free admission 

for servicemen and women in uniform 

at Aust's Open Air Theatre, South 

Glens Falls . . Jules Perlmutter's Fort 

. 

George Drive-In played "Singin' in the Rain" 

Friday and Saturday. This meant that the 

Metro musical was seen in an area automobiler 

before it had been exhibited in the 

3,650-seat Palace, Albany ... A "Hollywood 

Premiere" was presented by the students of 

St. Mary's academy. Glens Falls, at Schine's 

Rialto April 30-May 1. Admission was 60 

cents. 

The Reade circuit extended its single-night 

art policy to the Kingston, Kingston, with 

"Symphonie Pastorale" April 29. Admission 

Filmrowers disclosed that Neil 

was $1 . . . 

Hellman had talked about closing the Paramount 

and Royal, Albany, on May 11, because 

of poor business. He shuttered the Palace, 

Troy, last summer, but reopened it in September. 

. . . 

Harry Lamont and wife were among those 

attending performances of "The Happy Medimn" 

during its tryout at Malcolm and Ellen 

Atterbury's Playhouse The premiere of 

"The Pride of St. Louis," which opened a 

two-week run at Warners' Ritz April 24. was 

featui-ed by stage ceremonies in which officers 

of Albany's new baseball Little league 

participated. Joseph Leone, who heads the 

league promotion for the Junior Chamber 

of Commerce; Dick Walsh. sport.s editor of 

the Times-Union, and Bob Powell of the 

Knickerbocker took pai't. Gerry Atkin, Warner 

Theatres zone exploiteer, emceed. He and 

Manager Oscar J. Perrin arranged the affair. 

A lobby display of uniforms and equipment 

was featured nightly during the run. Members 

of the Junior chamber and wives manned 

the table and sold booster tickets to patrons. 

Small boys wearing new baseball uniforms assisted. 

L. J. Allison Leaving Theatre Post 

EBENSBURG, PA.—Leonard J. Allison, 

veteran theatre manager, is reported resigning 

from Rivoli Theatre duties. 

Chill Wills in "Ride Man Down' 

Chill Wills has been cast for a role in Republic's 

"Ride the Man Down." 

BOXOFFICE May 3. 1952 45

Albany Movietime Tour Is Called 

'Greatest Promotion' by Industry 

ALBANY—Big turnouts and warm receptions 

patterned the visits of the Movietime 

U.S.A. unit to most of the 33 cities and 

towns covered in a week's 1,700-mile tour of 

the Albany exchange di.sti-ict. Exhibitor chairman 

Harry Lamont, Lewis A. Sumberg. executive 

director of the Albany TOA, and Abe 

Bern-stein, area Metro exploiteer, agreed they 

had never experienced or seen "anything like 

it." Exhausted but jubilant, the trio said 

tlie Hollywood group—Greer Garson. Audrey 

Totter, Victor Jory, Don Taylor. Archie Mayo 

and Sam Marx—were equally tired but happy 

at the windup last Saturday (26). 

"This was the greatest promotion and the 

strongest public relations campaign ever 

staged for the motion picture industry in this 

territory," commented Lamont. "Words fail 

me in describing the tremendous reception 

given the stars and the terrific trouping they 

did. COMPO could not possibly have sent a 

better umt. There was not a single dispute 

or clash of temperament. Miss Garson was 

perfect for the assignment. She can go anywhere, 

any time, under any circumstance as 

representative of our industry, and talk eloquently 

on any subject. In my 25 years as an 

exhibitor. I have never come across a star 

like her. I was as much impressed by her 

stamina as I was by her intelligence, personality 

and charm. We were on the move from 

early morning to 11 or 12 at night, but Miss 

Gar.son never pleaded fatigue. She worked 

in, cleverly though subtly, the message of theatre 

attendance—even, in small situations, the 

name of the theatre, no matter what the subject 

assigned her." 

Lamont also praised Jory, the emcee in most 

places, as "a tower of strength." Miss Totter 

also acquitted herself admirably, while Taylor 

proved a big favorite with the teenagers. 

Lamont added Mayo and Marx were particularly 

effective in talks on "The creative side 

of Hollywood" before service clubs. Everywhere, 

the exhibitor chairman said, the staxs 

freely gave autographs. 

Jory defended Hollywood at Watertown 

and Glens Falls, from attacks made in the 

nation's press and radio involving the congressional 

probe of communism. 

Lamont predicted that "in any city or town 

visited by the stars, their pictures wiU draw 

added business for the next six months." 

He booked "Cave of Outlaws," a Jory film, 

with "A Streetcar Named Desii-e" at the Riverview 

Drive-In Saturday, and the bill was 

a sellout. Lamont arranged to revive "The 

Law and the Lady," a Garson release, in several 

outdoor situations, and is scheduling 

"Tension" and "The Sellout," which feature 

MLss Totter. 

"This group surely will help to bring back 

patronage in the exchange district," he prophesied. 

Attendance at the Movietime rallies in the 

communities of the Mohawk valley and the 

North country was heavy, starting with 2,500 

ELMER H. BRIENT & SONS 

925 New Jersey N. W. 

Washington, D. C. 

EVERYTHING 

for 

the 

MODERN THEATRE 

at a pwklng lot stand in Amsterdam. Lamont 

said that as many as 600 were present 

in towns with 1,000 population. People w'aited 

for two or three hours in some places despite 

rain. At Watertown, a high school meeting, 

scheduled for 8:30 did not get under way until 

10 p. m. The public began arriving at 7 p. m. 

None of the 1.500 to 2,000 present left. 

Five hundred cars were counted near the 

site of a twin-village swimming pool dedicated, 

with the stars assisting, in Carthage. 

Mayors greeted the celebrities all along 

the route. In Boonville. Judge Fred A. Young 

of the state court of claims joined the party 

and motored with it to Lowville. There Ernest 

J. Wolfe of the Town Theatre had charge 

of aiTangements with his son Ernest jr. Louis 

W. Schine headed the industry group present 

in GloversvUle. 

Before leaving Oneonta and proceeding to 

New York in cars, the Movietlmers dined with 

Lamont, Sumberg and Bernstein. Miss Garson 

described aiTangements as "perfect," although 

Lamont said, "they certainly were 

not that." 

WASHINGTON 

prank Boucher, K-B Amusement Co. general 

manager, invited members of the American 

Legion post, which had objected to a film at 

the Ontario Theatre, to a special preview of 

"My Son John" there, and everything's okay 

again. The Legion furnished a guard of 

honor. F>resent at the preview were Fred 

Kogod, head of the K-B chain; Leo McCarey, 

producer of the picture, and Charles G. Emmett 

and Robert Bunch, Legion post vicecommanders 

. . . Orville Crouch, division manager 

for Loew's Theatres, served as a cochairman 

of the Scout affair held in the 

Armory Friday and Saturday of this week . . 

Mr. and Mrs. Morris Mechanic, Baltimore, 

returned from a Florida vacation. 

Fred Klein, Churchill and Chestertown, 

Md., exhibitor, underwent an operation in 

Garfield hospital last week . . . 20th-Fox 

Manager Joe Rosen and wife entertained the 

sales and booking staff in their new apartment 

in Hunting Towers last Saturday night. 

Division Manager and Mrs. Glenn Norris also 

were present. 

Mrs. Oscar L. Chapman, wife of the secretary 

of the interior, will be the guest mother 

at the Variety Club of Washington's annual 

Mother's day luncheon in the Shoreham 

hotel May 12. The luncheon will be given 

by the associate members of Tent 11 under 

the direction of Dr. Sylvan Danzansky and 

Harry Coonin. 

RKO Manager Joe Brecheen spent Wednesday 

in Baltimore . . . Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald 

spent the weekend in Charlottesville visiting 

relatives . . . Durkee will close the Linwood 

Theatre in Baltimore after business on May 

4 . . . Exhibitors seen on FUmrow included 

Gus Lynch, Fi-ank Boucher, Harry Valentine, 

K. A. Parish, Cresaptown, Md., Aaron Seidler, 

Wilbert Brizendine, E. Connellee, Eddie 

Kimpel, Mrs. Ike Weiner and Morris Mechanic. 

Fabian Theatres Planning 

Summer Managers Drive 

NEW YORK—Fabian Theatres plans a 

managers drive for increased grosses during 

June, July and August. Si Fabian and Sam 

Rosen, circuit heads, .said the drive will have 

a sharing plan whereby every manager will 

participate in any increase in gross over the 

.same period last year. 

Details of the contest, plus promotion plans 

and ideas, will be pre.sented to the Fabian 

managers at a meeting at the Astor May 6. 

Fabian and Rosen will award cash prizes to 

those managers who lead the circuit with the 

highest percentage of increase in gross over 

1951. 

Fabian, Rosen, Lqu Golding and Edgar 

Goth will speak at the morning session and, 

because feature picture merchandising will 

be the most important activity of the drive, 

the luncheon session will be addressed by advertising 

and publicity heads. Among these 

will be: S. Charles Einfeld, 20th Century- 

Fox; S. Barret McCormick, RKO, and Max 

E. Youngstein, United Artists. 

The last managers' incentive drive conducted 

by Fabian Theatres was the 35th anniversary 

during August 1949. 

Asks Investigation of 

'Commie' Suit Judge 

WASHINGTON—Rep. Richard Vail (R., 

111.) on Wednesday (30) introduced a bill 

authorizing the House Judiciary Committee 

to investigate the "official conduct" of Los 

Angeles Federal District Court Judge Leon 

Yankwitch. 

Vail had previously attacked Yankwitch for 

alleged bias during the suit of screenwriter 

Lester Cole against Loew's in 1948. Cole, one 

of the "Hollywood ten" convicted of contempt 

of Congress for refusing to teU the House Un- 

American Activities Committee whether he 

had ever been a Communist, was fired by 

MGM. 

The jury found for Cole, and Yankwitch 

awarded him $150,000 in damages—later cut 

down on appeal. 

Vail charged that the jury was "obviously 

feeling the impact of the attitude of the 

judge" because of his remarks and rulings in 

favor of the writer. 

Decca Records Purchases 

8,100 U-I Common Shares 

WASHINGTON—Decca Records has bought 

8,100 shares of Universal Pictures common 

stock, bringing its total to 271,800 shares. It 

also acquired 5,000 warrants for the company's 

common stock to make a total holding 

of warrants of 37,500, the Securities and Exchange 

commission reported on Thursday (1) 

in its report on March stock transactions. 

Edward Muhl sold 200 shares of Universal 

common, his entire holdings, but retained 

30 shares of Universal preferred. Jack L. 

Warner made a gift of 6,200 shares of Warner 

Bros. Pictures common, retaining 403,748 

shares, plus 21,500 shares in his trust. 

Harry Brandt bought 200 shares of Trans- 

Lux Corp. common in his own account and 

had a total of 101,315 shares plus 17,700 shares 

in the account of Harday, Inc. Brandt Foundation 

sold 400 shares of Trans-Lux common 

and retained 1,400 shares. Mrs. Brandt also 

owns 1,400 shares of Trans-Lux common. 


. . The 

B ALT I MORE Maryland MPTO Expresses Esteem 

. . . Orville 

T auritz Carman's retirement as pre.sident of 

Allied Motion Picture Theatre Owners of 

Maryland was marked by local exhibitors and 

industry leaders with a testimonial dinner in 

tribute at the Variety Club 

Crouch, Loew's eastern division manager, was 

in town visiting local situations . . . Rodney 

Collier, Stanley manager, attended a meeting 

in the Washington Warner office . . . Joe 

Grant of the Northwood Theatre is in Florida. 

Sam Isaacson, Carroll Bayne, Louis Seibert 

and Charles Grauling have been nominated 

delegates to the Maryland state and District 

of Columbia convention of the AFL . . . Lauritz 

Garman and Leon Back, following the 

Vai'iety International convention in Las 

Vegas, will continue on to the Allied meeting 

in Colorado Springs . ladies auxiliary 

of the Variety Club is sponsoring a fashion 

show in May at the clubrooms under the 

leadership of Mrs. Lou Becker and Mrs. Sam 

Tabor. 

. . . 

I. N. Rappaport's Hippodrome has been 

closed temporarily due to a sudden fire on 

stage as the crew was preparing the theatre 

for a special morning showing of the Don 

McNeil Breakfast club. Damage was confined 

to the stage, scenery and screen 

Fred Schanberger jr., Keith's Theatre, is 

slightly better after becoming ill while in 

Florida. 

For Lauritz Garman, Retiring Head 

Jack Fnichtman, operator of six theatres in 

southern Maryland, held a Movietime in St. 

Mary's county luncheon in Lexington Park. 

Among the film industry leaders who attended 

were Phil Isaacs, Paramount; Hal 

Marshall, 20th-Fox: Ira Sichelman, 20th-Fox; 

Ben Coplan, Columbia; Joe Gins, U-I; Jerry 

Adams, MGM; Joe Brecheen, RKO; Fred 

Sandy, Sandy; Art Levy, UA; Pete DeFazio, 

Warners; Mike Lipsner, Monogram; Maz 

Cowen, Lippert, and Jake Flax, Republic. Local 

guests included states attorney J. A. Mattingly, 

personnel of the Patuxent river naval 

air base, PTA members, American Legion officials. 

Following the luncheon the entii-e 

group went to the Plaza Theatre where they 

were shown trailers of forthcoming product 

of all companies and a preview of "Belles on 

Their Toes." 

Discina Will Distribute 

'Danger Is a Woman' 

NEW YORK—Discina International Films 

has acquired a French film, "Danger Is a 

Woman," produced by Metzger and Woog, for 

distribution in the U.S. Henri Vidal and 

Maria Mauban head the cast. 

Another Discina French-language feature, 

"Under the Paris Sky," will open at the Paris 

Theatre the end of April, following the eightmonth 

run of "The River." 

Your help appreciated— run the Cerebral Palsy 

trailer. Avoilable from May IS to July 1. 

EVERYTHING FOR YOUR CONCESSION 

CANDY—POPCORN—SEASONINGS—ETC. 

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921 E. Fort Avenue 

Baltimore 30, Maryland 

In the top photo are pictured six of the exhibitors that attended the testimonial 

dinner. Left to right: Leon Back, the new president of Allied MPTO of Maryland; 

Garman; Frank Durkee, bead of Durkee Enterprises and toastmaster of the dinner; 

Abram F. Myers of Allied, and Jack Whittle, chairman of the dinner committee. In 

the lower photo are Howard Wagonheim, Schwaber circuit; Milton Schwaber, 

Schwaber circuit head; Wilbur Brizendine, general manager of Schwaber circuit, 

and Aaron Seidler, New Albert, with Garman. 

BALTIMORE — Marks of affection and 

esteem were bestowed in generous measure 

upon Lauritz Garman on the recent occasion 

of his retirement as president of the Allied 

Motion Picture Theatre Owners of Maryland. 

His successor Leon Back, joined in the tributes. 

Garman was guest of honor at a dinner attended 

by 125 members of the group and 

friends from far and wide which was held 

at the Variety Club atop of the Stanley Theatre. 

Frank H. Durkee who was president in 

1915 was toastmaster. 

The chief speaker of the evening was Abram 

F. Myers, attorney for the National Allied 

Motion Picture Owners and a former member 

of the FTC. He gave a biography of Garman 

starting with his birth in Denmark. He 

closed by presenting him w-ith a large volume 

of letters; each letter came from an associate 

of Garman's in the theatrical field. 

In accepting the gifts, Garman said: "We 

hear lots of talk about 'public relations' these 

days but I feel that human relations are much 

more important to our welfare and happiness. 

We would do better to place more emphasis 

on the brotherhood we talk about and extoll 

in our pictures. It is the first rung in the 

ladder of real success," he concluded. 

Jack Whittle, chairman of the dinner committee, 

on behalf of the group, presented Garman 

a wrist watch, and a traveling bag also 

was presented. 

Back announced that Garman will continue 

to be active in the organization as vice-president. 

Sam'l A. Tannenbaum Buys 

750-Seat Lyric Theatre 

ATLANTIC CITY—The Lyric Theatre, 42- 

year-old house in the heart of the downtown 

district, has been purchased by Samuel A. 

Tannenbaum, owner of the Surf Theatre. 

Purchase was made from William Ford, who 

operated the Lyric for 32 of its 42 years as 

a film house. 

One of the oldest houses in the city, the 

Lyric had been remodeled by Ford a number 

of times, and in 1945 it was virtually rebuilt 

following a fire. It has a seating capacity of 

750. Midnight shows of Italian opera films 

proved to be one of the popular stunts tried 

in recent years. The house is now closed. 

Chos. Simonelli Elected 

NEW YORK— Charles F. Simonelli. eastern 

advertising and publicity manager of Universal, 

has been elected a delegate to the Democratic 

national convention, which will be held 

in Chicago in July. 

BOXOFFICE :: May 3. 1952 47

or 

'' 

New Law to Govern 

20th-Fox Splilup 

NEW YORK— Instead of organizing two 

new companies, one for distribution and the 

other for exhibition. 20th Century-Fox will 

probably continue the present company and 

organize a new theatre company to be called 

National Theatres, Inc. 

When the stockholders approved a plan of 

reorganization on Oct. 4, 1951. to comply with 

the antitrust decree, two new companies were 

contemplated, but there was a provision in 

the resolution authorizing the officers and 

directors to amend the reorganization plan 

to provide for one new company in case the 

amendments became desirable. Under the 

Revenue Act of 1951, which became law Oct. 

20, 1951, there is a "spin-off" section which, 

the company officers hope, will make the 

liquidation of the present corporation unnecessary 

and permit the tax free transfer to 

the stockholders on a share for share basis 

of the stock of the new theatre company. 

Tlie plan is detailed in the company's annual 

report just issued in printed form. The 

financial highlights of the annual statement 

were published in BOXOPFICE March 29. 

About 20 theatres have been divested. Two 

were owned in fee and the others leased. Of the 

remaining theatres to be divested. National 

has a choice in most situations, so that "it is 

impossible to say how many will consist of fee 

properties and how many will be leaseholds." 

The report points out that antitrust suits 

pending at the end of 1951 were approximately 

one-third greater than at the end 

of 1950. 

"In December 1951. the corporation made 

an analysis of its shareholders list," the report 

states. "Among the 24,592 stockholders 

of record owning 2,768,800 shares, there were 

11.356 men, 9,097 women and 3,089 joint accounts. 

The remaining shareholders consisted 

of fiduciaries, institutions, security 

dealers, nominees and others. 

"There were 16,870 shareholders who owned 

fewer than 100 shares each for a total of 444,- 

692 shares. Owners of 100 to 999 shares 

totaled 7,537 and accounted for 1,127,745 

shares. A total of 1,195,363 shares were owned 

by 185 shareholders having 1,000 or more 

shares." 

The report says a brochure is being prepared 

for distribution to shareholders on the 

Eidophor theatre television system. 

The report comments: "Your management 

feels that once the Eidophor system is seen 

in actual operation, its challenge will be clear 

to the members of the amusement industry, 

particularly the exhibitors." 

20th-Fox Stockholders Get 

Proxies for May 20 Meet 

NEW YORK—Proxy statements have been 

sent out for the annual meeting of 20th Century-Fox 

stockholders scheduled for May 20 

at the home office. Nominees for the board 

of directors are all members of the board at 

present. One, Daniel O. Hastings, lawyer, has 

been a member since 1933. The nominees are: 

L. Sherman Adams, Flobert L. Clarkson, Wilfred 

J. Eadie, Daniel O. Hastings, Donald A. 

Henderson, Robert Lehman, William C. 

Michel, Seton Porter, Murray Silverstone and 

Spyros P. Skouras. 

Eastman First Quarter 

Sales Reported Good 

NEW YORK— Eiuit man Kodak Co. held 

its 

own very well in total sales in the first quarter 

of 1952 compared with a good first quarter 

in 1951, Thomas J. Hargrave, president, told 

stockholders at the annual meeting Tuesday 

(291 at Flemington, N. J. Preliminary con- 

.solidated sales for the 1952 quarter ended 

March 23 were about $119,000,000, compared 

with about $120,000,000 for the corresponding 

1951 period. 

"With most of our major photographic lines 

showing sales increases this first quarter," 

Hargrave said, "our total photographic sales 

in this country were up moderately compared 

with the first quarter last year. This increase 

applies to both civilian and government .sales. 

Over-all sales of professional motion picture 

film have continued to increase. 

William G. Stuber, Perley S. Wilcox, Raymond 

N. Ball, Albert K. Chapman and Marion 

B. Folsom were re-elected directors for three 

years. Stuber is honorary chairman of the 

board, Wilcox, chairman of the board: Ball, 

president of Rochester Ti'ust Co.; Chapman, 

Kodak vice-president and general manager, 

and Folsom, Kodak treasurer. 

Vistascope Device Going 

To Be Available Soon 

NEW YORK—Vistascope Corp. of America, 

in which Paramount Pictures recently acquired 

a half interest, soon will make available 

to television stations and motion picture 

studios a new photographic apparatus 

which will permit the telecasting of filming 

of live action against background settings of 

still pictures. 

The Vistascope, a French invention, links 

with the motion picture . TV camera, and 

makes available as a "set" any structure, 

group of structures or natural formation 

which can be photographed in stills. It can 

be used for color as well as black and white. 

Facilities for mai'keting and servicing of 

the equipment are to be set up. These will 

be made available on a royalty basis to all 

comers, both for motion picture and TV studios. 

It is expected to be a big money-saver. 

RCA Booklet Explains UHF 

To the General Public 

NEW YORK—The Radio Corp. of America 

information department has published a 24- 

page booklet titled "UHF—what it means to 

television and to you" which explains for the 

layman the meaning of ultra high frequencies 

and the important role these microwaves are 

destined to play in the future of television. 

The UHF spectrum now authorized 

provides 

70 new TV channels between 470-890 megacycles, 

opening the way for 1,445 new UHF 

television stations and, with the very high 

frequency stations, giving the U.S., its territories 

and possessions room for a total of 

more than 2,053 TV stations in 1,291 communities. 

Zimmer Retires From Kodak 

ROCHESTER, N. Y.—William H. Zimmer, 

an authority on industrial suggestion systems, 

has retired from Eastman Kodak Co. after 

almost 41 years of service. He had been connected 

with the suggestion system at Kodak 

since 1915. and his record of 37 years in that 

work is probably the longest in the U.S. 

British Film Finance 

Unit Shows a Profit 

LONDON—For the first time since its organization 

in 1949, the National Film Finance 

Corp. has showed a profit. Its report for the 

year ended March 1952 listed $10,890 on the 

black side of the ledger and forecast a much 

larger profit for the current year. It has 

repaid 1.018,565 of the 6,243,050 pounds borrowed 

from the government. Its largest advance 

was 3,000,000 pounds to British Lion 

Films, made in 1949. A total of 3,422,189 has 

been loaned to other companies. 

The report showed 177 films given financial 

aid in three years, with 78 loans, the largest 

number in one year, in 1951. Of the total of 

177, 25 loans have been repaid and five others 

are showing a profit in which NFFC shares. 

James Lawrie, its head, said the Eady plan 

was providing good revenue and will aid in 

repayments when its full effect is felt. 

William Morris Jr. Quits 

As Morris Agency Head 

NEW YORK—William Morris jr. has resigned 

as president of the William Morris 

Agency, leading theatrical, radio and TV firm, 

effective July 1. He has headed the agency 

since 1932, when he succeeded his father, William 

Morris, who founded it in 1898. 

The Morris Agency is owned by Morris jr. 

and Abe Lastfogel, treasurer and director, 

who will continue in the posts. Morris will 

also continue as director, but will turn over 

his other duties to Lastfogel, who will probably 

be elected president by the agency's officers, 

Mrs. William White (Ruth Morris), 

first vice-president; Bert Allenberg, second 

vice-president, and Nat Lefkowitz, secretary. 

Leaders in 16mm Field 

Hold Two-Day NY Meet 

NEW YORK—Leaders in the 16mm film 

field from all parts of the United States attended 

sessions of the National Audio-Visual 

Ass'n April 25-26 at the New Yorker hotel. 

Religious, educational and entertairunent film 

problems were discussed. More than 250 men 

and women attended and the program included 

35 speakers. The religious and educational 

film dicussions were under the supervision 

of Ted Morehouse, vice-president of 

Young America, Inc., and W. L. Rogers, president 

of the Religious Film Ass'n. 

I. F. E. to Have Publicity 

Bureau for U. S. in Rome 

NEW YORK—Dr. Renato Gualino, managing 

director of Italian Films Export, has 

established an I.F.E. publicity office in Rome 

to develop material appropriate for the 

United States. William Murray has been 

named as head of the office, with Angelo 

Parmigiani as manager of the bureau of information. 

Murray was formerly with the 

Rome Bureau of Time Magazine. 

To Skiatron Board 

NEW YORK—Jack Poppele, vice-president 1 

and chief engineer of station WOR-TV, was 

added to the board of directors of Skiatron 

Electronics & Television Corp. at its armual 

meeting Wednesday (30). Arthur Levey, 

: 

I 

j 

president, said his election has a long-term 

significance to pay-as-you-see telecasting. 

48 

BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952

t Hollywood 

NEWS AND VIEWS THE PRODUCTION CENTER 

Office— Suite 219 at 6404 Hollywood Blvd.: Ivan Spear, Wci:tcrii Manaycr) 

Unveiling of 'Groom' W. R. Frank Series fo Be Released 

In Milwaukee Soon Simultaneously to Theatres, TV 

HOT.T.Vwnnr)— with Tnnv niirtis Pinpr ' ' 

HOLLYWOOD—With Tony Curtis, Piper 

Laurie and Chill Wills on hand for personal 

appearances, U-I's "No Room for the Groom" 

will have its world premiere Tuesday (6) at 

the Warner Theatre in Milwaukee, with proceeds 

from the opening earmarked for the 

American Cancer society. Following the premiere 

the players will trek to St. Louis for 

similar participation in connection with the 

picture's debut there. 

* * 

Republic is completing plans for a double 

world premiere of "Minnesota," starring Rod 

Cameron and Ruth Hussey, with the historical 

action opus to bow July 16 at the North Shore 

Theatre in Duluth, Minn., and at the State 

in Minneapolis on the following day. 

Film Labor Front Fights 

Anti-Hollywood Politics 

HOLLYWOOD — Representative 

segments 

of filmdom's labor front plunged allout into 

the political arena when, at an organizational 

meeting, nearly 100 industryites formed a 

coalition group to campaign for the defeat 

of candidates for public office who have 

records of anti-Hollywood sentiments. 

Keynote speakers at the session were Roy 

M. Brewer, chairman of the Hollywood AFL 

Film Council and lATSE studio representative, 

and Allen Rivkin of the Screen Writers 

Guild. The group will support Rep. Clyde 

Doyle for re-election to Congress but opposes 

Rep. Donald Jackson, who recently charged 

the film unions with failing to weed out Communists, 

and Jack Tenny, California state 

senator, both of whom seek to be re-elected. 

Reps. Doyle and Jackson are both members 

of the House Un-American Activities Committee. 

The latter was recently sent a strong 

letter of protest by the AFL film council, 

charging that the congressman is "not helping 

our natien when you falsely accuse the 

very organizations which have been the speai'- 

head of the battle against Communist conspirators 

in Hollywood." 

Lester W. Roth Resigns 

From Columbia Pictures 

HOLLYWOOD—Effective Thursday (li, 

Lester W. Roth resigned as a vice-president 

of Columbia Pictures, a post he had held since 

1947, in order to re-enter the private practice 

of law. He will continue to function on a 

pai't-time basis until July 1. 

Roth served as a legal advisor on contract 

commitments and other matters. He was at 

one time a superior court judge here. 

HOLLYWOOD— Another manifestation of 

a production trend which undertakes to turn 

out celluloid for simulta:ieous theatrical and 

TV release is demonstrated in the expanded 

plans being blueprinted by exhibitor-producer 

W. R. Frank. 

Returning to active filmmaking after a 

hiatus of three years, the Minnesota showman 

will launch his new schedule within 30 days 

with the production of 13 half-hour subjects 

titled "Congressional Medal of Honor," which 

will be made available for theatrical and 

video distribution at the same time. 

While the shorts are in work, Frank also 

will gun his next full-length theatrical feature, 

"Sitting Bull," within the next 60 days. 

The historical western, to be photographed in 

color, will be directed by Sidney Salkow from 

a script by William Bowers, who also is penning 

the "Medal of Honor" series. Distribution 

arrangements for the feature will be announced 

shortly. 

Scripts for six of the "Medal of Honor" 

subjects have been completed. The initial 

three to be lensed, in chronological order, are 

the stories of Julius Langbein, a Civil war 

drummer boy; Mary E. Walker, woman doctor 

who also was active in that conflict, and 

Richard Pierson Hobson, Spanish-American 

war hero. Theatrical distribution is planned 

Warners Ask Transfer 

Of Suit by Donaldsons 

SALT LAKE CITY—A petition 

was introduced 

this week asking that a suit in connection 

with "I'll See You in My Dreams" be 

transfei-red from the Utah third district 

court to federal district court. Warner Pictures 

and Intermountain Theatres, defendants 

in the $450,000 suit brought by heirs of 

the late composer, Walter Donaldson, filed 

the petition. 

In asking for the transfer, they noted that 

the amount in controversy is in excess of 

$3,000, that the plaintiffs are Californians, 

and that there is a wide diversity of citizenship 

among the defendants and other parties 

named in the suit. 

The heirs of Donaldson claimed that the 

picture, "I'll See You in My Dreams," portrayed 

the composer in "an unfavorable light." 

Point Theatre Reopened 

WOLF POINT, MONT.—The Point Theatre 

had its spring reopening last Friday. 

W. R. Frank, center, vtlL-riii .Minnesota 

showman and film producer, huddles 

with his two associates, William 

Dean, left, and scenarist William Bowers, 

on Frank's return to filmmaking activity. 

In addition to "Sitting Bull," a 

historical western for major release, he 

has 13 half-hour subjects, titled "Congressional 

Medal of Honor," on the docket 

for simultaneous video and theatrical 

distribution. 

on a state-right basis, in addition to TV 

bookings and 16mm prints for schools, 

churches, etc. Frank has the allout cooperation 

of the Defense department in the venture. 

'Clash by Night' Troupe 

To Make Ten-City Tour 

HOLLYWOOD—Contending that in today's 

market each picture must be sold individually. 

Producer Jerry Wald of Wald-Krasna 

Productions at RKO has formulated plans for 

a ten-city personal appearance tour by the 

principals involved in the making of "Clash 

by Night," which is soon to go into national 

release. 

Members of the barnstorming troupe will 

include Barbara Stanwyck, Paul Douglas. 

Marilyn Monroe and J. Carrol Naish of the 

picture's cast, as well as Producer Harriet 

Parsons and Director Fritz Lang. Their first 

date will be Wednesday i28> in New York, 

followed by appearances in other eastern and 

midwestern cities. They will be on the road 

approximately three weeks. 

Thespian members of the group will make 

theatre, radio and TV appearances; Lang 

will address student groups and cultural organizations; 

and Mi.ss Par.sons will appear before 

women's groups, women's page editors 

and on radio and video shows aimed principally 

toward femme audiences. 

BOXOFnCE :: May 3, 1952 49

, 

STUDIO PERSONNEUTIES 

Briefies 

Columbia 

"A Train Called Schmow," starring the Three 

Stooges, was placed before the comeros by Producer- 

Director Jules White 

Warners 

Owen Crump was inked to meg three sports shorts, 

the initialer to be a Technicolor one-reeler. "White 

Horse Ronch." 

Cleiiers 

Metro 

DAVID RAKSIN is writing the score for "Tribute to 

a Bod Man," 

HUGO FRIEDHOFER is scoring "Above and Beyond." 

Meggers 

Metro 

JOSEPH LEWIS wos signed to direct "Desperote 

Search," a suspense drama to be produced by Matthew 

Ropf, 

Independent 

Jock Broder Productions booked WILLIAM BEAU- 

DINE to pilot "White Woman of the Lost Jungle" for 

Realort. 

20th Century-Fox 

Held for another term was Producer STANLEY 

RUBIN. 

Options 

Columbia 

REX REASON, leading man recently under contract 

to Metro, signed a term ticket, his first assignment 

to be set shortly. 

ANGELA STEVENS was set as femme lead opposite 

George Montgomery in the Technicolor western, "Jack 

McColl, Desperado," which Sidney Sclkow is directing 

for Producer Sam Kotzman. 

Independent 

Edward Small Productions tagged YVONNE DE 

CARLO to star in "Savage Frontier," Technicolor 

adventure drama to be directed by Sidney Salkow. 

Metro 

ROBERT HORTON was handed a topline in "Apache 

Trail." Booked for the Gilbert Roland topliner was 

GLENDA FARRELL. Hayes Goetz will produce and 

Harold F. Kress will meg the western. 

PIER ANGELI draws a top spot in "Sombrero." 

Inked to a term ticket was VITTORIO GASSMAN, 

young Italian actor, who will make his U.S. debut 

in Producer Jack Cummings' "Sombrero." " 

Monogram 

Cost in the Wild Bill Elliott starring western, "The 

Maverick," were MYRON HEALEY, RAND BROOKS 

and FLORENCE LANE. Thomas Carr is megging the 

Vincent M. Fennelly production. 

Featured spots in "Army Bound" went to STEVE 

WAYNE, CAREY LOFTIN, LOUIS TOMEt, JOEY RAY, 

LARRY STEWART and LISA WILSON. GIL STRATTON 

JR., MURRAY ALPER, DANNY WELTON and JOHN 

FONTAINE also were cast. 

A cast addition for "Sea Tiger' was MARVIN 

PRESS. 

Paramount 

Cast in the Hope-Crosby-Lamour starrer, "Road to 

Bali," was PAT DANE. The Technicolor comedy, o 

Harry Tugend production, is being directed by Hal 

Walker. 

Character actor LEO GENN was inked for "Pleasure 

Island," Technicolor romantic comedy starring Don 

Taylor and to be megged by F. Hugh Herbert. Paul 

Jones will produce. 

RKO Radio 

Contractee ARTHUR HUNNICUTT draws a key 

comedy role in the Jean Simmons starrer, "A Likely 

Story,' which Ltoyd Bacon will direct for Producer 

Robert Sparks. 

Republic 

Set OS the femme leads in "Thunderbirds" were 

MONA FREEMAN end EILEEN CHRISTY. Joining the 

cast wos WALLY CASSELL. John H. Auer is producing 

ond directing the national guard drama. 


Given a contract extension wos octor JEFFREY 

HUNTER. 

DONALD RANDOLPH, Broadway actor-director, was 

handed o featured role in "Night Without Sleep," o 

Robert Gassier production starring Gory Merrill and 

Linda Darnell. The director is Roy Baker. 

Thor Productions, independent unit headed by Bert 

Friedlob, inkad WALTER SANDE, HUGH SANDERS, 

CARLETON YOUNG, EDDIE MARR, MICHAEL ROSS 

and NORMAN BUDD for "Pome Stricken," the Joseph 

Cotten-Tereso Wright vehicle, which Andrew Stone is 

megging. 

Actress MITZI GAYNOR wos held for another term. 

Her next role will be in Producer George Jessel's 

"Bloodhounds of Broadway." 

United Artists 

Aspen Pictures inked MOIRA, 19-year-old native of 

Somoo, for one of the leads opposite Gary Cooper in 

"Return to Paradise." With Mark Robson megging, 

the picture is to be filmed on location in the South 

Seas. 

Universal-International 

TYRONE POWER has been signed to star in "Mississippi 

Gambler," upcoming Technicolor subject to be 

produced by Ted Richmond and directed by Randolph 

Mate. 

KLYE MAC DONNELL, New York stage and TV 

oc tress, makes her film bow in "The Great Companions," 

to be produced in Technicolor by Albert 

J. Cohen. With Dan Dailey ond Ann BIyth in the 

leads, the feature will be megged by Douglas Sirk. 

Warners 

DORIS DAY will be teamed with Danny Thomas in 

the upcoming new version of "The Jazz Singer," which 

will be produced by Louis F. Edelman and megged 

by Michael Curtiz. 

Cost in "The Iron Mistress" was DICK PAXTON. 

Tagged for "The Desert Song," starring Kothryn 

Grayson and Gordon MacRae, was comedian DICK 

WESSON. Bruce Humberstone is directing the Technicolor 

musical for Producer Rudi Fehr. 

ALAN HALE JR. and PHILIP CAREY drew top supporting 

roles in the Gory Cooper starrer, "Springfield 

Rifle," which is being produced in WornerColor by 

Louis F. Edelmon. Andre De Toth is the megaphonist. 

Cost in the western were DAVID BRIAN 

ond LON CHANEY JR. 

NANCY OLSON garnered the femme lead and 

ALAN NAPIER a top character role in "Jim McLain," 

John Wayne starrer being produced by Wayne and 

Robert Fellows. Hal Baylor was booked. With Edward 

Ludwig directing, the oction drama is being shot 

on location in Hawaii. 

Scripters 

Metro 

RUTH BROOKS FLIPPEN is developing "Ghost of a 

Chonce" as a musical to be produced by William 

Grady jr. 

Story Buys 

Independent 

Film rights to Maxwell Anderson's stage ploy, 

"Anne of a Thousand Days," were purchased by Fred 

Fmklehoffe, who plans to produce tt in Technicolor 

next fall in London, with Rex Horrison and Lilli 

Palmer as the stars. 

Volcono Productions, newly organized independent 

outfit headed by Robert Angus and William Lewis, 

purchased "Angels on Horseback," by Kitty Buhler, 

as Its first filmmaking venture. The yarn deals with 

the U.S. public heolth service's backwoods nursing 

system, carried on by women on horseback. 

Metro 

"My Pal Geechy," a comedy original by James 

Poe, was purchased and assigned to Henry Bermon 

to produce. The screenplay will be developed by Jerry 

Davis. 

Paramount 

"Morro Treasure," an adventure novel by David 

Duncan, was acquired by Pine-Thomas Productions 

for Technicolor filming. Duncan has been inked to 

write the screenplay. The yarn deals with the headhunting 

Jivaro tribe in the jungles of Colombio, 

Universal-International 

Acquired and assigned to Ted Richmond to produce 

was "The Curse of the Scarlet Sphinx," an original 

screenplay by Don Martin. It deals with on archaeologist's 

expedition to Egypt to locate a treasure in 

on ancient tomb. 

Technically 

Monogram 

MEL SHYER is functioning as ossistant director on 

"The Movenck," with ERNEST MILLER 

rapher and SAM FIELDS os film editor. 

as photog- 

RKO Radio 

HARRY WILD will photograph "A Likely Story." 

ED KILLY will be the unit production manager. 

Republic 

Crew assembled for "Thunderbirds" includes KEN- 

NETH HOLMES, unit manager; REGGIE LANNING, 

cameraman; RICHARD VAN ENGER, film editor; 

FRANK HOTALING, ort director; HERB MENDELSON, 

assistant director, and ROLAND 5KEETE, special 

effects. 

Title 

Changes 

Columbia 

"Counterspy in Hong Kong" to TARGET HONG 

KONG. 

Metro 

"Eagle on His Cop" to ABOVE AND BEYOND. 

"Mash 66" to BATTLE CIRCUS. 

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" to I'M FROM 

MISSOURI. 

Monogram 

' 

"Plow Jockeys to FEUDIN' FOOLS. 

RKO Radio 

"A Likely Story" to BEAUTIFUL BUT DANGEROUS. 


"Something for the Birds" to OLD SAILORS NEVER 

DIE. 

Principal Partners 

Into Drive-In Circuit 

LOS ANGELES—Bringing additional topechelon 

management and capital into southern 

California's outdoor theatre operations, 

Sol Lesser, Mike Rosenberg and Col. Fred 

Levy have acquired a substantial interest in 

Pacific Drive-In Theatres, the southland's 

largest ozoner circuit, with 16 units in and 

around the Los Angeles metropolitan area. 

Lesser, Rosenberg and Levy also are partners 

in Principal Theatres, circuit of conventional 

indoor houses here, in addition to 

which Lesser is a pioneer of the production 

field. 

Operational control of Pacific Drive-Ins 

was only recently acquired by William R. 

Porman on lease from C. A. Caballero, founder 

of the circuit. 

Ethel Barrymore Cast 

For TV Film on Mother 

HOLLYWOOD—Marking her TV debut, 

Ethel Barrymore has been cast with Ruth 

Hussey in "The Greatest Mother," special 

half-hour television film being lensed by 

Jerry Fairbanks Productions for Mother's day 

telecasting. Other topliners are Loretta 

f 

Young and Gene Lockhart. The picture is 

being produced by Father Patrick Peyton of 

. 

the Family Theatre. The program will be I 

offered to all TV stations without charge for 

sustaining showings on Mother's day. 

Miss Barrymore appears destined for an 

active career in television, since she was re- 1 

cently set by Monogram's video subsidiary. 

Interstate Television, to headline a proposed 

"Ethel Barrymore Theatre" dramatic series. 

* * * 

Pending wage stabilization board approval, 

the Alliance of Television Film Pi-oducers, 

Hal Roach Productions, Rowland Reed Productions 

and Cascade Productions have entered 

into a new bargaining agreement with 

the Screen Actors Guild. The ticket, effective 

Thursday (8), embraces the new SAG 

daily and weekly freelance minimum wages 

as recently negotiated with major theatrical 

film producers. 

In the interim, negotiations continue on 

other SAG requests, including rates for 

weekly freelancers in multiple-picture deals 

and additional payments for reuse of TV 

films. 

Sho Low Theatre Is Opened 

i 

SHOW LOW, ARIZ.—The new $50,000 Sho 

i 

Low Theatre opened here recently as a Rawl- j| 

ings-Nace enterprise. Jerry RawUngs is manager 

of the 420-seater. 

i 

50 BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952: 

j

. . . because 

. 

Appeal Jarrico Case; 

Reverse Scott Ruling 

HOLLYWOOD—Plans for an immediate 

appeal and the announced determination to 

take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, if 

necessary, were disclosed by the Screen Writers 

Guild after a superior court ruling denied 

an SWG request for a petition to force 

RKO Radio to arbitrate the widely publicized 

screen credits dispute involving scenarist 

Paul Jarrico and the Howard Hughes film 

company. 

Superior Judge Roy L. Herndon turned 

down the SWG request on the grounds that 

the controversy between jarrico and Hughes 

does not "primarily involve" the rights of the 

guild. 

Still awaiting determination are two other 

court actions: one brought by RKO Radio 

against Jarrico, seeking a ruling that the studio 

not be held liable because the writer's 

name was eliminated from the screen credits 

on "The Las Vegas Story." and one brought 

by Jarrico against the studio, charging breach 

of contract. 

Almost simultaneously. Federal Judge Ben 

Harrison reversed the ruling of a jury which 

awarded Adrian Scott. RKO writer-producer 

and member of the so-called "unfriendly 10," 

more than S70.000 in damages for asserted 

breach of contract. Acting on a motion by 

RKO Radio attorneys, the jurist ordered a 

new trial, holding that Scott's refusal to testify 

at a House Un-American Activities Committee 

probe constituted a violation of the 

morals clause in his studio contract. 

At the same time, however, Judge Harrison 

upheld the verdict of the same jury in a companion 

suit filed by scenarist Ring Lardner 

jr. against 20th Century-Pox, in which Lardner 

w-as awarded $20,000 in damages. In this 

instance, the jurist pointed out, the studio 

inked Lardner to a new contract after he 

made his Red probe appearance, and consequently 

the company had waived its right to 

invoke the morals clause in Lardner's pact. 

New Meggers Scale Goes 

To $550 Weekly and Up 

HOLLYWOOD—Given the nod of approval 

by the membership, the Screen Directors 

Guild is upgrading modifications in the 

craft's basic agreement with the major producers, 

agreed upon after a series of meetings 

between SDG negotiators and producer representatives. 

The revision bring the minimum salary for 

meggers of westerns up to $550 weekly, with 

a four-week guarantee, on pictures budgeted 

at $100,000 or less. On all other features the 

upped to a $550 weekly minimum with 

scale is 

a five-and-one-half week guarantee. 

To Present Polio Respirator 

HOLLYWOOD—Songwriter Jimmy Mc- 

Hugh's Polio foundation will present its fifth 

polio respirator for children to Dr. Albert 

Bowers of the Los Angeles county hospital in 

ceremonies to be staged Tuesday (1). 

Disney Signs Nature Expert 

HOLLYWOOD—Walt Disney has signed 

Rutherford Piatt, nature authority, to assist 

in preparing an upcoming True-Life Adventure 

on the life of the honeybee. The halfhour 

semidocumentary is for RKO release. 

TO 

the Hollywood AFL Film Council a 

double bow. One for its forthright stand 

in challenging the blanket condemnation 

of Hollywood guilds and unions issued 

by Rep. Donald Jackson in a recent speech 

before the Los Angeles Kiwanis club. The 

second because its precedential, courageous 

action could and should be used as a pattern 

for similar procedure by other industry organizations, 

not only in Hollywood but 

throughout the remainder of the nation. 

Over the signature of Roy M. Brewer, its 

chairman, the AFL Film Council addressed a 

letter to Congressman Jackson in which, with 

refreshing absence of equivocation, it was 

pointed out that "long before the public had 

its eyes opened to the Communist menace," 

the present AFL unions and guilds in the 

film capital "were battling the Communists 

in every way within their legal rights and, 

at times, in ways extrajudicial, to say the 

least." 

The congressman's charge that the film 

crafts are keeping on their membership lists 

studio workers identified with communism 

was met. in the council's reply, by the explanation 

that if any Red is "presently a 

member of an AFL union or guild in Hollywood, 

and his union or guild should oust him 

of his party membership, that 

Communist could keep right on working" because 

the Taft-Hartley law "prevents a union 

from denying work opportunities to a person 

because he is a Communist." 

Reminding Representative Jackson, who is 

a member of the House Un-American Activities 

Committee, that he voted for the Taft- 

Hartley law. the film council's communique 

urged the solon to work for the amendment 

of that legislation, and concluded; 

"You. Mr. Jackson, are not helping our 

nation when you falsely accuse the very organizations 

which have been the spearhead 

of the battle against Communist conspirators 

in Hollywood." 

No one would dare to question Roy Brewer's 

position as a patriotic citizen of both his 

country and his industry. A staunch and 

militant anti-Communist, he is, in addition 

to his chairmanship of the council, an active 

member of the Motion Picture Industry Council 

and is the top brass in Hollywood of the 

powerful lATSE. He has served untiringly 

and effectively on scores of committees dedicated 

to charity drives and other undertakings 

of all-industry proportions and benefits. 

In taking sharp issue with Jackson, the 

council hit him in a spot that hurts any 

politician the most—his source of votes. Representative 

Jackson W'as elected from a district 

in which reside many of the 20.000 

members of the film council. Tlieir protest 

against his arbitrary, thoughtless blanket accusations 

should give him pau.se for thought 

before he again, willy-nilly, singles out the 

motion picture industry or any department 

thereof as an always-handy whipping boy. 

There are other members of Congress, and 

they come from all parts of the country, 

who have always been too eager to take 

picks on Hollywood. Regardless of their geographical 

origin, they have in their respective 

constituencies many voters whose livelihoods 

come from some branch of the motion picture 

industry—executives and employes of the exhibition 

and distribution fronts. 

If every organization of such persoas, be 

it union or commercial, would make It a matter 

of regular busine.ss to write Its congressmen, 

in similar vein to that pursued by the 

Hollywood Council whenever its chosen lawmakers 

cast unfounded accu.satloas at the 

film capital and its people, the result would 

be a sharp decline in the .solonic propensity 

toward seeking headlines at Cinemania's expense. 

Furthermore, it would be a salubrious manifestation 

of the solid-front position that the 

industry's top brass has decided, through 

COMPO, TOA and other comparable groups, 

is so highly necessary for the future best 

interests of the trade. 

In a letter to its membership, the Motion 

Picture Alliance for the Preservation of .•\merican 

Ideals announced that one /big^niev 

Stypulkowski is to be substituted for Whittaker 

Chambers as principal speaker at the 

anti-Red group's May 14 meeting. In billing 

Zbigniev Stypulkowski, the alliance describes 

him as "a brilliant speaker—no accent." 

The MPAer who introduces him without an 

accent rates an Oscar. 

Bad news travels fast—and far; the good 

is "often interred . 

." 

For the past several months, the press 

both trade and general—has been devoting 

much space to the heckling of the motion 

picture business and some of its output on 

the part of certain segments of the American 

Legion and that organization's weekly magazine; 

with widespread intra-industry publicity 

anent what was being planned, by Eric Johnston 

and others from the trade's high echelons. 

to offset the growing menace. 

On the other side of the ledger, consider 

the recent visit to the film capital of Frank 

C. Hilton, commander of the Veterans of 

Foreign Wars of the United States, who was 

here to bestow upon William Goetz, in charge 

of production at Universal-International, a 

VFW citation for the studio's "Bright Victory," 

which was hailed as a contribution to 

veterans' rehabilitation. 

Commander Hilton on that occasion declared, 

"The film industry, both management 

and artists, should be accorded the 

grateful thanks of all service organizations 

for their patriotic contributions . . . which 

cannot be adequately measured. But it merits 

our deepest appreciation." 

As far as can be ascertained, broadcasting 

of Hilton's paeans of praise and gratitude 

was limited to a routine news release from 

U-I's publicity department, and very little 

space in the public prints. 

Here was something—most especially the 

reference to "all service organizations"—into 

which the Motion Picture Council and the 

Studio Publicity Directors committee, two outfits 

ostensibly dedicated to the improvement 

of Hollywood's public relations, might have 

sunk their teeth— if any. 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 SI

Allied States 

Directors 

To Aid Colorado Confab 

Abram F. Myers N\ ilbcr Miainr 

COLORADO SPRINGS—Hundreds of independent 

iheatremen will converge on this 

mountain city this week for the national 

board meeting of the Allied States Ass'n at 

the Broadmoor hotel. May 3, 4 and for the 

Allied Rocky Mountain annual spring convention 

May 6. 7 at the Antlers hotel. 

The praspect of a few days vacation in the 

mountains is expected to be the lever that will 

bring many theatremen and national board 

members here to discuss industry problems 

and for the entertainment provided at the 

meetings. 

The national board of directors will be 

hosted at a dinner sponsored by the Allied 

Rocky Mountain Independent Theatres, and 

Monday i5> is set aside as a day of recreation. 

A mountain trip is being planned for 

that day. 

All members of ARMIT are invited to attend 

the board meeting as observers. National 

officials expected to attend the board 

meeting and remain over for the ARMIT sessions 

include Abram F. Myers, general counsel 

of Allied States: Wilbur Snaper, Allied 

States president: Ben Marcus, treasurer; H. A. 

Cole, Texas director; Jack Kirsch. Illinois director, 

and Bennie Berger, North Central Allied 

director. H. M. Richey, MGM director 

of exhibitor and public relations, will attend 

the ARMIT sessions and directors are expected 

to attend the Tuesday business session 

and take part in the program. 

Al.so on the slate for the ARMIT convention 

is an appearance by actor George Murphy 

at the business session Wednesday morning. 

The ARMIT convention will 

get under way 

with registration Tuesday morning, with two 

business sessions, one Tuesday afternoon and 

the other Wednesday morning. Wednesday 

afternoon will be devoted to a tour of the 

Alexander Film Co. 

The meeting wHl end with a dinner-dance 

New Manager for Studio House 

PRESCOTT, ARIZ.—The new manager of 

the Studio Theatre here is Claude Cline, succeeding 

Ralph Crocker who has managed the 

house since 1943. 

52 

THEATRE /ALE/ 

.ARAKELIANO^-Al 

iAH TMHCieCO 

PHONE PROSPECT 5-7146 

'M.^hk 

Beniiie Berger H. M. Richey 

Wednesday night. Alexander Film Co., which 

headquarters here, will play host at a Tuesday 

evening cocktail party. Manley, Inc., will 

H. A. Cole Jack Kirsch 

give corsages to the women for the Wednesday 

night banquet and dance and United 

Film Service will give door prizes at the banquet. 

The tentative program: 

Tuesday, May 6 

9 a. m.-12 p. m.—Registration, lobby floor. 

Antlers hotel. 

12 p. m.-l:30 p. m.—Luncheon for exhibitors 

and wives, private dining room. Antlers 

hotel. 

1:30-4:30—Business session. 

2:00-4:30—Ladies tour, departure from Antlers 

hotel lobby. 

5:30—Oasis of good cheer, Alexander Film 

Co., 

host. 

Wednesday, May 7 

9:30 a. m. -12:30 p. m.—Business session, 

election of officers, open forum, remarks by 

equipment men, talk by George Murphy, 

MGM studios. 

12 :30-2 :00—Luncheon. 

2:30-5:00—Tour of Alexander Film studio. 

6:00-7:00—Cocktail hour. Kibitzer lounge. 

7:00-12:00 a. m.—Banquet and dancing. 

LA Downtown Paramount 

To Reopen on May 30 

LOS ANGELES—A Decoration day reopening 

is planned for the Downtown Paramount 

Theatre, 3,500-seat showcase, which darkened 

April 28 to undergo a $225,000 remodeling and 

refurbishing job. The house was recently 

taken over by United Paramount Theatres 

after having been operated for many years on 

lease by Fanchon & Marco. 

Supervising the extensive facelifting job is 

Jerry Zigmond, UPT's west coast division 

manager. 

'Son John Starts Big 

At Upped LA Prices 

LOS ANGELES—Playing at advanced admi.ssions 

and benefiting from a klieg-lighted, 

star-studded premiere, "My Son John" proved 

the week's strongest boxoffice lure by finishing 

its — first week with 160 per cent. Two 

holdovers "Quo Vadis" at 150 and "Singin' in 

the Rain" at 120—were the only other bills 

doing better than par business. 

(Averoge Is 100) 

Beverly Canon Rasho-Mon (RKO), 7th wk 75 

Chinese, Los Angeles, Loyola, Uptown Dcodline— 

U.S.A. (20th-Fox) 90 

Egyptian, State Singin' in the Roln (MGM), 3rd 

wk 120 

Fine Arts My Son John 'Poro), advanced prices. 160 

Four Star Volley of the Eogles (LP), 2nd wk 65 

Fox Wllshire The Africon Queen (UA), advanced 

prices, 1 8th wk 85 

Hollywood Paromount Women Without Names 

(Lopert), 2nd wk 50 

Orpheum, Werners Beverly The Greotest Show on 

Eorth (Para), 10th wk 90 

Pontages, Hillstreet The Marrying Kind (Col); 

Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard (RKO), 3rd 

wk )00 

United Artists, Hawaii, Ritz Roncho Notorious 

(RKO) 100 

Vogue Quo Vodis (MGM), 2nd wk 150 

. 

Warners Downtown, Hollywood, Wiltern The Lion 

and the Horse (WB); Gobs and Gals (Rep). . .100 

Denver Grosses Climb 

With Top Newcomers 

DENVER— "The Marrying Kind" and "The 

Battle at Apache Pass" were neck-and-neck 

leaders for first place at 175 per cent in a 

generally good week at the first runs. "With 

a Song in My Heart" was top holdover at 150 

while "Flesh and Fury" was another strong 

newcomer at 135. "The Wild North" did a 

fine 115 second week after taking 130 in its 

first. 

Aladdin, Tabor, Webber Flesh ond Fury (U-l); 

Strait Jacket (Realart) 1 35 

Broodwoy—The Wild North (MGM), 2nd wk 115 

Denham Flaming Feather (Para) 65 

Denver, Esquire The Battle ot Apache Poss 

(U-l); Guilty of Treason (UA) 1 75 

Orpheum Singin' in the Rain (MGM); Whispering 

Smith vs. Scotland Yard (RKO), 2nd wk 100 

Paramount The Marrying Kind (Col); The Clouded 

Yellow (Col) 175 

Rialto With o Song in My Heart (20th-Fox); Jet 

Job (Mono), 2nd d. t. wk 150 

Vogue Eroico (Academy) 1 50 

"Six Convicts' Captures 

San Francisco at 175 

SAN FRANCISCO—"My Six Convicts" 

broke loose at the Orpheum and captured 

first place with 175 per cent. Second place 

went to the seventh week of "African Queen" 

with 150. The two holdover musicals, "Song" 

and "Rain," paced each other at 120 in 

their second stanzas. 

Fox—With a Song in My Heart (20th-Fox); Fort 

Osage (Mono), 2nd wk 120 

Golden Gate Love Is Better Than Ever (MGM); 

The Pace That Thrills (RKO) 75 

Loew's Worfield Singin' in the Rain (MGM), 2nd 

wk 120 

Orpheum My Six Convicts (Col); A Yonk in Indo- 

China (Col) 175 

Paramount Aaron Slick From Punkin Crick (Para). 85 

St. Francis My Son John (Para), 2nd wk 90 

United Artists The African Queen (UA), 7th wk.lSO 

'Singin' Second Sizzles 

Seattle; 'Queen' Great 

SEATTLE — "Singin" in the Rain" did a 

sunshiny 225 per cent in its second week, the 

same figure it made for its opening stanza, 

"African Queen" opened to a hangup 200 per 

cent on a bill with "Royal Journey." 

Blue Mouse The Battle ot Apache Poss (U-l), 

3rd d.t. wk 60 

Liberty Mo ond Pa Kettle ot the Fair (U-l); 

Here Come the Nelsons (U-l) 135 

Music Box Ballerina (M-K); Paris 1900 (Mayer), . 50 

Music Holl Singin' in the Rain (MGM); Shadow 

in the Sky (MGM), 2nd wk 225 

Orpheum The African Queen (UA); Royal 

Journey (UA) 200 


. . . Dorothy 

. . Gibraltar 

. . M. 

. . 

. , Joseph 

. . 

DENVER 

T\uke Dunbar, formerly secretary ef the old 

Film Board of Trade, has alinounccd he 

will be a candidate for re-election as Colorado 

Fox Intermountain 

attorney general this fall . . . 

Theatres is closing it? division 

offices 

on Saturdays, at least until Labor day. 

and it will probably be a permanent arrangement 

. 

Theatres has opened its 

new 200-car Sierra Drive-In, Socorro. N. M. 

Alex Cooperman, Lux Film representative, 

conferred with Don Hammer. Realart exchange 

owner, who will distribute Lux's "Les 

Miserables" and an English version of "'Bitter 

Rice" in the Denver and Salt Lake City areas 

Peele is the new biller at Monogram 

. H. Philpson has opened his new- 

250-car Corrall Drive-In at Hudson, Colo., 

which opens this town to films. 

. . . 

Charles Brent has sold the Yucca Drive-In 

at Santa Fe. N. M.. to Wiles and Noah, who 

owns an ozoner at Excelsior Springs. Mo. . 

Ru.ss Dauterman and Bus Campbell. Salt Lake 

City, were in conferring with William Hughart, 

manager of the Associated Film exchange 

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Bailey, owners of the 

Lippert Pictures franchise here in Salt Lake 

City, attended the Las Vegas Variety Club 

convention. 

•The Denver & Rio Grande," being world 

premiered in Denver and along the Denver 

& Rio Grande Western to Salt Lake City, reports 

a saturation booking of more than 120 

Filmrow visitors included Herbert 

dates . . . 

Gumper. Center: C. E. McLaughlin. Las Animas: 

Marlin Smith. Glenrock. Wyo.. and 

Elden Menagh. Fort Lupton. 

MGM Exchange Staffs 

To Meet in Los Angeles 

SAN FRANCISCO—MGM will hold a threeday 

western division sales meeting beginning 

Monday (5i at the St. Francis hotel. Charles 

Reagan, vice-president and general sales 

manager, will conduct the sessions. Also in 

attendance will be Edward Saunders, assistant 

sales manager: George Hickey, western 

division sales manager: Dan Terrell, exploitation 

chief: J. Eisenberg. legal department; 

Irv Helfront. New York assistant to George 

Hickey. and H. M. Richey. public relations. 

Branch managers to attend are L. C. Wingham. 

San Francisco; Carl Nedley. Salt Lake 

City; Sam Davis. Seattle: Lou Amacker. 

Portland, and Tom Aspell. Los Angeles. 

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CONFIDENTIAL CORRESPONDENCE INVITED 

TV Threat No Block 

To Woliberg Airer 

DENVER—Wolfberg Theatres will construct 

A drive-in on East Evans avenue at South 

Monaco boulevard. Vice-President John Wolfberg 

said. It will be called the Valley Drlvo- 

In and will be the fifth airer owned by the 

circuit 

here. 

"We are building this theatre in spite of 

the neai-ne.ss of television in Denver." Wolfberg 

said, "because drive-ins have proved 

most satisfactory in cities that already have 

faced the television threat. Drive-ins offer 

a chance for a family outing that will always 

b? popular, we believe," 

All equipment, including a screen, has been 

pmchased. Wolfberg said. The soil and topographical 

airalysis of the property were completed 

and grading was to begin late in April, 

Wolfberg said construction would be done by 

mid- June, It will be a 1.000-car situation. 

Atoz Amusements Building 

1,000-Car Denver Ozoner 

DENVER — Plans for a second l.OOO-car 

drive-in in mushrooming residential areas of 

southeast Denver were announced by Atoz 

Amusements. Inc. It would be in competition 

with the simultaneously announced Wolfberg 

drive-in. A. P, "Tony" Archer, vice-president 

of Atoz. said more than $300,000 will be spent 

on the theatre, tentatively named the Welshire, 

on a 14-acre site on East Evans avenue 

and Dahlia street, just off the new Valley 

highw-ay. 

Atoz Amusements, of which C, U, Yeager 

is president, operates the Jewell and Santa Fe 

theatres in Denver, the Gothic and Pioneer 

in Englewood, the Rex in Brighton and 

Golden in Golden. 

SMI LAKE 

The worst floods in Salt Lake City's history 

kept most people from traveling and hurt 

business last week . . . Theatre business especially 

was hard hit, and the Park-Vu Drive-In 

was temporarily closed. The Salt Lake waters 

drove about 100 families from their homes 

and did several thousands dollars damage. 

Don V. Tibbs, canvasman for Variety Tent 

38. led the Utah group's delegation to the 

convention at Las Vegas. Eugene Jelesnik. 

Sid R. Ross and Sidney Fox were among 

William F. Gordon. Warners 

delegates . . . 

manager, was in the east last week to attend 

a regional convention. When he returns he 

will dive into 30 days of double work, his 

film duties and keeping the Heart of Variety 

campaign for cerebral palsy going. 

Seen along Filmrow: Elmer Jackson of 

Plentywood. Mont.; Jack Moran of Billings 

and Laurel, and Alson Shiner of Vernal . 

Matt Knighton, manager of the Lyric, arranged 

a .screening of "Deadline—U.S.A." for 

Salt Lake new.spaper workers. Incidentally, 

this film and "The African Queen." which 

w-as .scheduled to open at the Centre, made it 

look like Humphrey Bogart week in Salt 

Lake . Santi, owner of the Price 

and Carbon Theatres at Price, a.ssisted the 

city's .safety campaign by admitting every 

grade school child free to a .special safety 

film. The event was a part of a city-wide 

celebration. 

AT 12 O'CLOCK.. 

A LADY WITH A FUTURE! 

AT 12:05... 

A 

WOMAN 

WITH A PAST! 

AT THESE ASTOR EXCHANGES: 

ASTOR-1912 S. Vermont Ave.- los 

Angeles 

ASTOR-250 Golden Gate Ave.—San 

Francisco 

ASSOCIATED-252 E. Ist S. St.-Salt Lake 

City 

(also serving Dcnvcri 

ALLENOER-1812 N.W. Kearney St.- 

Portland 


. . . The 

. . Dock 

. . 

. . 

SAN FRANCISCO 

LOS ANGELES: 1Jt4 Soylk Virmint • ROckislir 1145 • PORTLAND: 1347 N W Knrniy . ATwiltr 7543 

SAN FRANCISCO: 243 Collen tail «>i. • UNdarhil! 1116 • SEATTLE: 2311 1 Siconil «vi ELiiolt 8247 FRED B. LUDWIG. Realtor 

El Rancho Is Opened 

n trip north . . . Irving Levin, district manager 

Near Nogales, Ariz. 

of San Francisco Theatres, writes he is enjoying 

his trip in Africa. 

NOGALES, ARIZ.—A 100-car motorcade 

from the city hall to the El 

The 

Rancho 

reopening 

Drive-In 

of the Berkeley Theatre May 

five miles from town highlighted the 

14, a FWC house 

opening 

will be given the Hollywood 

of the border city's first outdoorer. 

treatment. A gala premiere with Hollywood 

Constructed by the Lyric Amu.sement Co., 

stars, kleig lights and a block roped off for 

which operates the Nogales 

a street pageant will be the menu 

and Roxy theatres 

in Nogales, the El 

for the day. 

The 

Rancho 

proceeds will go to the Olympic 

can accommodate 

500 cars and is 

fund . 

The Coliseum Theatre will reopen on May 

managed by Prank M. 

Campillo. 

7 with "Quo 'Vadis." After that its future is 

The drive-in is the newest link in 

undecided. 

the chain 

of theatres operated in southern Arizona by 

Jo Ann Corrolo, formerly at General Theatrical 

the Tri-Delta Corp. Officials of the new the- 

Co., will be married June 14 in San atre are George D. Diamos, president, and 

Mateo to Bob Brown. Taking over Jo Ann's George N. Diamos, secretary and general 

post as bookkeeper is Kay Tsuda . . . The manager. 

Hecker Pass Drive-In in Gilroy, has reopened 

. . . Also reopened was the Citrus Heights Tucson Residents Oppose 

Drive-In near Roseville . . . The west coast 

Building of Drive-In 

premiere of "The San Francisco Story" with 

Joel McCrea will be held at the Fox 

TUCSON—East Broadway residents 

Theatre. 

have 

served notice that they will go all out to block 

Esias Lopez, a transient, ran out of the construction of Tucson's sixth drive-in theatre, 

which is scheduled to be built just west 

Azteca Theatre in FYesno into the arms of 

the police after trying to steal a small wall of the intersection of 

A screening of Walt Disney's "The 

East Broadway 

Story of 

and 

safe. The officers were alerted by a telephone 

call from the janitor. The theatre is 

" 

Robin Hood will be held at the Marina Theatre 

on Monday evening (5i ... Ted Galan- 

Wilmot road. 

The executive committee of the Broadway 

operated by Rebecca Oliver . . . Sheriff's deputies 

are searching for two teenage youths and property owners in the area have conter, 

MOM publicist, returned from a business 

Neighborhood Ass'n has consulted attorneys, 

who robbed the Bell Drive-In Theatre in Sacramentotributed 

funds to carry the fight to the highest 

court in the state, if necessary, to block 

hare'lho 

fjffi^^/i^^ YOUR The remodeled Liberty Theatre in Stockton the venture. 

which underwent a $9,000 remodeling, will At a special meeting of the association last 

Count on us lot Quick AcKonl | f\ fc/V I Kll feature an orchestra for the first time in week, a local realtor told the group that the 

Our wide coQlacti •rith lh« •xhibitora 

I If 

many years. New managers Harry Seber and theatre would create a barren a.rea that 

Qoutc you of •olUfclCIory r«*ultfc 

Jim Redder announced the theatre will import 

headliners from the burlesque world. that FHA would not guarantee home loans 

should be built up with homes. He added 

L THEATRE EXCHANGE CO. 

^^ 201 Fint Arts Bldp. Portland 5, Oregon 

J 

within five blocks of a drive-in theatre. 

Meyer Agron, who is the key man behind 

To Build Montana Airer 

the new drive-in, is standing pat. 

TAILORED MUSICAL PROGRAMS COLUMBIA FALLS, MONT.—A ten-acre 

site for a drive-in has been purchased on Nine Theatre Sales Made 

FOR DRIVE-INS! 

Highway 40 between Columbia Falls, Whitefish 

and Kalispell. E. A. Massman and Walter By Fred Ludwig Office 

See the Empire Recording Company advertisement 

on page 53 of The MODERN THEATRE Thompson, owners of the Park Theatre in PORTLAND—Irv Bowron, sales manager 

Section in this issue of BOXOFFICE. 

Columbia Falls and the Orpheum and Lake for Fred B. Ludwig, northwest theatre broker 

in Whitefish, will start construction soon. this week announced a number of theatre 

sales in the four-month period just ended. 

Mr. and Mrs. C. Bishop's three theatres at 

Metaline Falls, lone and Cusick have been 

sold to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hagman. Ernie 

Landry's Pix at Cheney, Wash., was sold to 

WE'RE CARPET SPECIAilST S! Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Shaw. 

Walt Seales' Rialto in Spokane was purchased 

by Mr. and Mrs. C. Maggard. The 

» ...because we deal in nothing but fine floor coverings. 

Ritz in Spokane, owned by Keith Beckwith 

^ We're specialisis in helping you select jusf the right & Associates was purchased by M. Toland and 

carpet for your establishment. .and, very important, we're 

I 

G. Nelson and Beckwith's North Bend and 

^ 

specialists in seeing that your carpet is properly laid. Isaquah theatres went to Mr. and Mrs. R. A. 

Rarey. Jack Neville's 45th St. Theatre in 

Come in and see our selection of carpet styles 

Seattle was sold to Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Tatem. 

,, naturally we feature 

GMJMjMmVA 

'ze^ 

QUICK THBATRE SALES! 

^^^^^^^ssss^^ms^^^:^^^ 

shown at /ef». FLORAL by GUIISTAN, a swirling rhythmical tone 

Selling theatres is our business. Live 

on tone design in the new decorating trend. In five shades of 

• organization, quick results. When others 

Red and Green. 

tail, give us a try, past record of soles 

• 

B. F. SHEARER COMPANY 

is our proof. 

• UNITED STATES COVERAGE • 

• Inquiries Answered Immediately • 

9 Write Irv Bowron, Sales Mgr. « 

six-acre tract on the Never-DyuiK Redwood 

Road in Del Norte county will become 

the spot for a drive-in, according to 

Floyd Huffman, who sold the tract to Jacob 

A. Leech of Medford. Huffman said Leech 

plans to start construction within a few weeks 

local paper in Colusa reports that 

"... pleased to note that Ned Steele has 

been showing some of the better pictures 

lately at his Colusa Theatre and consequently 

profiting thereby" . Campton of 

Fresno was cited to appear in municipal 

court on a charge of smoking in the Lyceum 

Theatre. 

. . John 

. 

. . 

Joan Fontaine flew in for a day . 

Payne, the actor, participated in the Guardsmen 

Camper.ship and Youth campaign 

Hoot Gibson, film cowboy, attended the 

Springville rodeo at Fresno, an event which 

helped raise funds for the Tulare-Kings 

counties Tuberculosis hospital's rehabilitation 

program . George Murphy was emcee 

at the SlOO-a-plate Republican Preparedness 

dinner at the Palace hotel. 

5711 E Burnside * Portland 15, Oregon 


. . . Nate 

. . . Mr. 

. . . Among 

. . Sonny 

. . Doug 

. . 

Phil Blakey to Manage 

Santa Fe Drive-In 

KANSAS CITY— Phil Blakey, former manager 

of the Riverside Drive-In here for Commonwealth 

Theatres, has joined the Winoko 

Coi'p., owned by Richard 

Wiles jr. and 

Brooks Noah, and has 

gone to Santa Pe, 

N. M., to manage the 

Yucca Drive-In, newly 

acquired by the Winoko 

firm. 

Blakey left here Friday 

(25) for Santa Fe 

to prepare the Yucca 

for opening May 1. 

Blakey said he had 

riiil Blakey tendered his resignation 

to Commonwealth 

early in March before making the connection 

with the Winoko Corp. 

Well known among area drive-in men, 

Blakey had a long record of top-notch showmanship 

in his affiliation with Commonwealth. 

In the four years of operation of 

the circuit's "King of the Moon" showmanship 

contest, Blakey was the only manager 

to win the award twice. 

He had been with Commonwealth for about 

seven years. He opened the local Crest Drive- 

In in 1948, then took over management of the 

Riverside. Previously he had been with the 

Commonwealth indoor division and before 

that was with the Dickinson Operating Co. 

here. 

Blakey's many exploitation ideas brought 

him considerable attention. He was the first 

local drive-in man to successfully negotiate a 

new car giveaway. Last summer at the Riverside, 

Blakey gave away a new Ford, which 

he promoted from a local dealer. At the same 

time, he attracted teenage crowds with the 

giveaway of a flivver. 

Blakey and Bob Walter, manager of the 

Ci-est, often vied for honors in outdoing one 

another in exploitation gags, ranging from 

the giveaway of a fur-lined flivver to annual 

turkey shoots, games and a diversity of contests 

for theatre patrons. 

Run the Cerebral Palsy campaign trailer. Available 

May IS to July 1. 

Monogram Chiefs Map 

Production Plans 

Hollywood—Plans for the 1952-53 production 

season were to be drawn up Friday 

and Saturday (2, 3) at a conference 

of Monogram-Allied Artists' top studio 

and distribution executives. Also on the 

agenda was the discussion of sales plans 

for upcoming releases and finalizing of 

details in connection with Drive-In week, 

scheduled to begin Saturday (24). 

Studio participants were to include 

President Steve Broidy; Harold Mirisch, 

vice-president; Walter Mirisch, executive 

producer, and John C. Flinn, director 

of advertising and publicity. Also 

to attend were James A. Prichard, Harold 

Wirthwein and L. E. Goldhammer, 

southwestern, western and eastern sales 

managers, and Edward Morey, vice-president. 

LOS ANGELES 

Judging by the dearth of activity along the 

Row, the Variety Clubs International conclave 

in Las Vegas must have drawn record 

attendance from among southland showmen 

Schultz, who holds the Monogram 

franchise in Cleveland, returned to his home 

base after several days of huddles here with 

company executives . . . Mike Levinson, independent 

exchajige operator, hopped up to San 

Francisco on business. 

Honesty may be the best policy, but at this 

writing Cai'l Young, who manages the Midway 

Theatre for Ray Robbins, isn't so sure. 

Checking the hou.se after an evening performance, 

he found a pocketbook containing 

$1,500 in cash and $1,500 in signed money 

orders, located the woman who had incurred 

the loss, returned the money to her (she lives 

over in Glendalei and got a "thank you" for 

Irwin Sklaar, operator of the 

his efforts . . . 

Crest in Oceanside. and Mrs. Sklaar returned 

from a Honolulu vacation. 

Among booking and buying visitors 

glimpsed making the Filmrow rounds were 

John Malone, manager of Bill McClintock's 

Park in Huntington Park; Bob Reardon, who 

manages Gerald Lipsky's Sherman in Sherman 

Oaks; Bill Peck, La Moda, Atascadero; 

Lloyd Miller, 99 Drive-In, Bakersfield. and 

Larry Moses, Park Theatre, Monterey Park 

and Mrs. Fred Siegel and their son 

Bob of the Palomar in Oceanside are vacationing 

in northern California before Bob's 

impending induction into Uncle Sam's navy. 

. . . Managerial 

Among the Fox West Coasters: Distributing 

stogies was Pete Latsis of the home office 

publicity staff, who welcomed his third baby 

girl into the Latsis clan 

changes found Myron Talman succeeding Joe 

Jarno at the Westlake, the latter having resigned 

to go to Alaska, while Tom Devine and 

Johnny Poulous have swapped jobs—Devine 

taking over Poulous' post at the Belmont. 

Long Beach, and Poulous shifting to Devine's 

Redondo in Redondo Beach. 

Local Warnerites attending the regional 

sales conclave in Chicago Thursday and Friday 

(1, 2) included District Manager Henry 

Herbel, local Manager Fred Greenberg and 

salesmen Joe Sarfaty, Bill Watnaugh and 

Frank Reimer . Netter jr., Altec executive, 

checked in for huddles with Stan 

Pariseau and other local representatives of 

the company . Thompson. Fox West 

Coast's head receptionist, was back on the job 

after a vacation in Fort Worth. 

Ramona Blanco has been added to the RKO 

staff as a clerk. She hails from Texas . 

Niki Neiderhauser resigned as secretary at 

Warners to devote full time to housekeeping 

booking-buying visitors were 

Chuck Piercy, who operates the Preferred 

booking service in San Diego; Bai-nes Perdue, 

American Theatre, Newhall, and Harold Martin, 

exhibitor in the Hemet-San Jacinto area. 

Tom Tobin has darkened his Cinema Theatre, 

neighborhood showcase in Hollywood . . . 

Columbia's exchange personnel to.s.sed a farewell 

pai'ty for salesman Jules Needleman, who 

is going into the army ... On holiday is 

Lucille O'Brien, secretary to booker Everett 

Sharpe at Fox West Coast. 

The number of films banned or passed with 

deletions in Burma sharply increased in 1951. 

COULD 

NOT 

TA»AE 

1/ 

her! 

HEDY 

LAMARR 

. 

The StTuutqt^ 

4 GEORGE COStorring LOUIS 1/ 

i 

SANDERSHAYWARD ^ 

Hillaiy Brooke • Gtne lockhatt "^T 

June Stoiey • Rkyi Willlami A 

PioduMd by JACK CHERTOK / 

Dirccttd by Edsai Ulmti 

\J 

gx Screenplay by Herb Meadow "^^^ 

V| Bated on tSe novel "The Strange Woman'" §§ 

jk by Ben Amei Wrlliami I' 

y^jn . A Hunt SIrombtrg Prodwefjon /^ 


ASTOR— 1912 S. Vermont Ave— Los Angeles 

ASTOR—250 Golden Gate Ave.—Son Froncisco 

ASSOCIATED—252 E. 1st S. St.—Salt Lake City 

(also serving Denver) 

ALLENDER— 1812 N.W. Kearney St.— Portland 


. . Back 

. . Sam 

. . Maury 

. . 

Pull WEC Pickets 

As Hughes Tribute 

LOS ANGELES— 111 tiibiilf to Howard 

Hughes for his "firm stand against communism 

in Hollywood." the Wage Eanicis Committee 

has withdrawn the pickets which it 

established around the RKO Hillstreet Theatre 

when that showcase began its first run 

of Columbia's "The Marrying Kind " The 

supporting feature on the bill is "Whispering 

Smith vs. Scotland Yaid." a British-made 

film being released by Hughes' RKO Radio 

organization. 

The WEC. target of multimillion-dollar 

damage suits filed by Stanley Kramer and 

Dore Schary. has undertaken theatre picketing 

at spasmodic intervals, blasting at pictures 

on which it claims Communists or sympathizers 

have been employed. Kramer and 

Schary. in sepai-ate actions, seek heavy damages 

and injunctions against further picketing, 

alleging the WEC has wrongfully and 

maliciously linked their names with Communist 

movements. 

The Marrying Kind" is now in its third 

local week at the RKO Hillstreet and has 

been carding substantial grosses, bearing out 

the theatre management's contention that 

the WEC picketing did not measurably affect 

trade at the boxoffice. 

Ralph Batschelet Slated 

To Pilot New Denver Fox 

DENVER—Ralph Batschelet's recent appointment 

as manager of the Tabor Theatre 

is considered temporary 

until completion 

of the new' Fox Theatre 

at 16th and Cleveland 

place. When that 

house is finished, 

Batschelet will manage 

it, it is now 

learned. Announcement 

of his temporary 

assignment was made 

by Hall Baetz at a 

meeting of Fox theatre 

Ralph Batschelet 

Pox Denver Theatres. 

managers. Baetz Is 

district manager of 

Gene Manzanares, who 

has been managing the Tabor, takes over the 

Webber, another Fox first run. 

Before he took over the 16th and Curtis 

streets situation. Batschelet managed the 

Paramount for nine years when It was in the 

Fox Intermountaln chain and before it recently 

went to Wolfberg Theatres. He entered 

theatre business in Denver in 1932 and 

in succeeding years managed the Bluebird. 

Hiawatha, Mayan and Paramount. He is nationally 

recognized for his showmanship, 

established a world record in his country store 

promotion at the Bluebird. Inaugurated the 

first theatre beauty clinic in the nation at 

the Paramount and will take this idea with 

him to the Tabor. He successfully revived 

the cooking school idea at the Paramount and 

will also present it at the Tabor. His kiddy 

show, called Deputy Dan, will also be held 

at the Tabor on Saturdays at 9:30 a. m. 

Batschelet has been a leader in many civic 

organizations and promotions as well as the 

theatre business. He is chief barker of Variety 

Tent 37. 

SEATTLE 

"Two theatres, the North Bend in North Bend 

and the Issaquah in Is.saquah, formerly 

owned by W. K. Beckwith, have been sold to 

D. R. Rarey. Beckwith will continue to do 

the buying and booking for the houses . . . 

Marjorie Smith has joined the National Theatre 

Supply office here as a stcno-biller, replacing 

Dorothy Cohen. She formerly was 

with MGM . from trips to eastern 

Wasliington are Bud Hamilton, Republic 

salesman, who al.so was in northern Idaho: 

Republic Manag:er Paul D. McElhinney, who 

was in Yakima, and Ed Cruea. Monogram 

manager, also in Yakima. 

Visitors on the Row included Guy Spencer, 

Proctor Street: John Kane, Capitol; Sid 

Dean, Rex and Lakewood, and Jim Hofner, 

Shell, all of Tacoma. Others were Eddie 

Snow, Mount Vernon; Frank L. Wlllard, 

Parkland: Mr. and Mrs. George Barden. 

Blaine; C. J. Barney. Arlington; A. G. Peechla, 

Eatonville and Morton; Max and Melva 

Hadfleld, Colville and Chewelali; Harry Wall, 

Lewlston; Frank Pi'att, Bellingham; Ed Johnton, 

Spokane; Arnold Larson. Bellingham, 

and Lowell Spiess, Dayton. 

L. O. Seley, manager of the Manley Popcorn 

Co., recently returned from a trip to 

Spokane where he checked installations at 

Al Baker's Motor-In and Erma Lindsay's 

Band Box in Spokane and Mi-s. Mary Bergstrom's 

Selma at Republic. Seley reports that 

a new super stadium model soon will go into 

the Orchard Auto-In, which will be opened 

May 20 by Ed Metzgar. Seley will soon leave 

for Oregon to inspect installations in that 

state. 

Peter Barnes was in town from Toronto. 

He operates the Ruby Theatre In Chtlan . 

Two major French productions. "L'Affalre" 

and "Lady Paname," opened at the Music 

Box . . . "The African Queen." now playing 

at John Hamrlck's Orpheum and Blue Mouse, 

marks one of the few times that a first run 

film has played simultaneously at two downtown 

theatres. Wllllard Coghlan. advertising 

manager for the Hamrick chain, predicted 

the picture may set a new record. 

. . 

Vic Gauntlett, advertising manager for 

Evergreen Theatres, is reported seriously 

ill at his home . . . Carl Mahne, merchandising 

manager, and Frank Christie, buyer for 

Evergreen, were in Portland . Siegel, 

Columbia field representative, is back on the 

Row after a nine-week jaunt in the Rocky 

mountain states in connection with "Death of 

a Salesman" . Buck Seale. Columbia salesman, 

has returned from Spokane, and George 

Clarke, shipper, is back at work after a threeweek 

illness. 

. . 

Russ Riches, former manager of the Tower 

in Bremerton, has been named new manager 

of the Varsity in Seattle, replacing William 

Kostenbader, who resigned . Saffle. 

Saffle's Theatre Service, returned from a 

three-day trip to Prosser, Grandview and Yakima 

. Drive-in theatre operators of Washington 

and northern Idaho met recently at the 

New Washington hotel to organize a drive-in 

theatre association. Among those present 

were Arnold Larsen, Motor-View, Bellingham: 

Henry Wall, Lewlston, Ida., and Bud 

Anderson, Park-In, Kennewlck. 

Cerebrol Palsy Trailer available from May 15 to 

July 1. U.S. defense needs your copper drippings. 

NEW CONCESSIONS CHIEF — Al C. 

Schuyler, transferring from the midwest, 

has been named western district concessions 

manager for National Theatre Supply. 

Headquartering in Los Angeles, he 

has 11 western states, as well as the Kansas 

City, Omaha and Des Moines territories, 

under his supervision. 

Salt Lake's Roundup 

To Be Held June 18-20 

SALT LAKE CITY—The seventh annual 

E.xhlbitors Round-up of the area will be held 

June 18-20 in Salt Lake. As in the past, 

the event will feature the golf match, a 

Calcutta, special teas and luncheons for 

women visitors and the victory dinner dance. 

It is expected that women golfers will participate 

in the tournament this year for the 

first time or stage an auxiliary tournament 

of their own. 

Since the roundup is staged under the direction 

of Variety Tent 38 of Salt Lake, several 

events will be at the clubhouse, although 

the major attracJ;lons are expected to be 

either at the Utah or Newhouse hotels. 

Members of the general committee for the 

roundup are K. O. Lloyd, Harry Swonson, 

Clyde Blaslus, Harold Green, Ralph Trathen, 

Shirl Thayne, Keith Pack, Bob Brady and 

Earl Stein. 

Too Many First Run Houses 

Cause Orpheum to Close 

OAKLAND—Robert Rothafel, district manager 

for Fox West Coast, reported the Orpheum 

will be closed for an indefinite period 

because of insufficient film product. "We 

have in Oakland what the trade calls a critical 

multiple first run situation," Rothafel explained. 

"This simply means that there are 

too many downtown theatres requiring first 

run product for weekly change policies." 

"The policy of special roadshow pictures 

was effectively used by the theatre with such 

pictures as "David and Bathsheba," "Streetcar 

Named Desire," "An American in Paris" 

and "Quo Vadis," which policy proved profitable 

and popular, but the supply of such pictures 

is now exhausted and the only other 

alternative would be for the house to go into 

reissues," said Rothafel. 

56 BOXOFFICE :: May 8, 1952

H 

1 hamis, 

: the 

i 

' 

I for 

\ 

monthly 

Phil Blakey io Pilot 

Santa Fe Drive-In 

KANSAS CITY— Phil Blakey, former man- 

Commonwealth 

Theatres, 

has joined the Winoko 

Corp., owned by Richard 

Wiles jr. and 

Brooks Noah, and has 

gone to Santa Fe, N. M., 

to manage the Yucca 

Drive-In. newly acquired 

by the Winoko 

ager of the Riverside Drive-In here for 

firm. 

Blakey left here Friday 

(25) for Santa Fe 

to prepare the Yucca 

for opening May 1. 

Phil Blakey Blakey said he had 

tendered his resignation to Commonwealth 

early in March before making the comiection 

with the Winoko Corp. 

Well known among area drive-in men. 

Blakey had a long record of top-notch showmanship 

in his affiliation with Commonwealth. 

In the four years of operation of the 

circuit's "King of the Moon" showmanship 

contest, Blakey was the only manager to win 

the award twice. 

He had been w'itli Commonwealth for about 

seven years. He opened the local Crest Drive- 

In in 1948. then took over management of 

the Riverside. F>i-eviously he had been with 

the Commonwealth indoor division and before 

that was with the Dickinson Operating Co. 

here. 

Blakey's many exploitation ideas brought 

him considerable attention. He was the first 

local drive-in man to successfully negotiate 

a new car giveaway. Last summer at the 

Riverside. Blakey gave away a new Ford, 

which he promoted from a local dealer. At 

the same time, he attracted teenage crowds 

with the giveaway of a flivver. 

Blakey and Bob Walter, manager of the 

Crest, often vied for honors in outdoing one 

another in exploitation gags, ranging from 

the giveaway of a fur-lined flivver to annual 

turkey shoots, games and a diversity 

of contests for theatre patrons. 

With Blakey's departure from the Riverside, 

both the Crest and Riverside will be 

i under the supervision of Walter. Ted Pul- 

I 

concessions manager and assistant at 

Riverside, will act as house manager. 

Court Drops Complaint 

By Midway Ozone Owners 

BENTON. ILL.—Judge Caswell J. Crebs relently 

sustained a motion on behalf of the 

city of Benton to dismiss the complaint that 

had been filed by Virgil H. Center, Robert J. 

Strau.ss and Darrel J. Sullivan, operators of 

the Midway Drive-In against the leasing of 

city land at the Lake Benton waterworks park 

a drive-in theatre to be operated by Sam 

Stuart Marshall of Tamaroa. 111. Under arrangements 

with the city, Marshall is to construct 

the drive-in and pay 10 per cent of his 

receipts, minus certain taxes, to the 

city as a rental for the land. Marshall is to 

be reimbursed from the rental for some of 

[ 

the construction costs. Judge Crebs gave the 

Midway owners leave to file an amended 

complaint. 

) Run the Cerebral Palsy campaign frailer. Available 

May IS lo July 1. 

Arthur Baebler. 56. 

Killed 

In Highway Auto Wreck 

ST. LOUI& -Arthur H Baebler, 56, district 

manager for the Alexander Film Co, was 

killed recently when his automobile swerved 

out of its westbound lane and ran under the 

bed of a coal truck. The collision occurred 

on a railroad overpa.ss. The coal truck driver 

and a passenger were not injured. Baebler is 

survived by his wife Elsie, and two .sons, 

Arthur H. jr. and Robert W. 

Armenlroul Starts 

Pittsiield Project 

PITTSFIELD. ILL.—Construction has been 

started on the Clark Drive-In by the Armentrout 

circuit of Louisiana. Mo., on U.S. 54 

between here and Louisiana. The 350-car 

project, with provisions for expansion to 500 

cars, is to be equipped with RCA projection, 

sound and in-a-car speaker, and a Boyer 

screen tower, all being furnished by the St. 

Louis Theatre Supply Co. 

300-Car Thayer, Mo., Project 

THAYER. MO.—Mr. and Mrs. John A. Beck 

jr., who operates the Beck Theatre here, have 

started construction of a 300-car drive-in 

adjacent to the baseball park on the outskirts 

of the city. The drive-in is to have RCA 

equipment furnished by the St. Louis Theatre 

Supply Co. 

To Build New Harrisburg 

HAJIRISBURG. ILL.—The Turner-Farrar 

Theatres has let contract for equipment to be 

used by the drive-in the circuit is building 

between here and Eldorado. O. W. Stiegemeyer, 

theatre architect of St. Louis county, 

is preparing the plans and specifications for 

the drive-in. National Theatre Supply is to 

furnish the Simplex X-L projection and 

sound and in-car speakers and St. Louis 

Theatre Supply has the contract for the 

Mighty 90 lamps and condensers. 

The decision of the Turner-Farrar circuit 

to enter the drive-in field for the first time 

has been followed by an announcement that 

S. R. Stanley of Crossville, 111., and Vertis P. 

Williams of Carmi. 111., have abandoned any 

plans they may have had for a drive-in between 

Eldorado and Harrisburg. 

Builds at Ellington, Mo. 

ELLINGTON, MO.—Larkin & Davis, owner 

of the Strand Theatre, has started construction 

on a drive-in on Route 21 near here. 

Harold Larkin, one of the partners, has been 

supervising the construction details. 

Drive-In at Niangua, Mo. 

MARSHFIELD, MO. — Lloyd Schmidt of 

Niangua, Mo., has opened his new Skyline 

Drive-In on Route No. 66 about three miles 

east of here. 

It accommodates about 300 cars. 

Linton Outdoorer Opens 

BLOOMPIELD. IND. — Several improvements 

were made prior to opening of the 

Linton Drive-in's fourth season. A new lighting 

system for the entire parking area was 

installed, car capacity was increased by 45 

to a total of 341. and new Magnarc projection 

lamps were installed. 

MPA of Kansas Ciiy 

Names Outing Aides 

KANSAS CITY- Committees for the second 

annual coed spriiiK party of the Motion 

Picture A.ss'n of greater Kansas City have 

been named by Jim Lewis, BKO manager, 

general chairman for the event. 

Joe Neger, 20th -Fox manager, Is handling 

ticket distribution for the affair, which will 

include a prime rib dinner. The party will 

be held May 19 at Milburn Country club, with 

dinner at 8 p. m. and dancing from 9 to 12. 

Joe Redmond, Fox Midwest, is In charge of 

entertainment for the event and the golf committee 

is composed of Jack Langan. U-I manager, 

and Ralph Adams. 20th-Fox. Members 

will make up their own golf foursomes and 

complete arrangements with Langan and 

Adams. Golfers will pay regular green lees. 

The reception committee is made up of L. 

O. Honig, Fox Midwest; Pinton Jones, theatre 

insurance man; Bob Withers, Republic, 

and Ed Haas, Fox Midwest. 

Lewis said that tables can be arranged for 

foiu-, six, eight, ten or more through Honig, 

chairman of the reception committee. Tables 

will be reserved and plainly marked. Re.servations 

can be made by calling Bea Woodruff at 

Lo. 3650. 

Each member can entertain one nonmember 

couple. Lewis said. Cost of the dinner and 

dancing is $5 per person. 

Only 4 Indiana Towns 

Stay on Standard Time 

FORT WAYNE—Only lour Indiana cities 

over 6,000 population have decided to oppose 

the trend to daylight saving time. Evansville, 

which had daylight savings time last summer 

for the first time since World War II. is remaining 

on standard time this year, following 

a vote by city council. The outdoor theatre 

owners at E\'ansville said they took a postcard 

poll which showed 16.000 for standard 

time and 10.000 for daylight time. 

City councils at Princeton. Washington and 

Mount Vernon have decided against daylight 

time. 

Stuart Strauss Dies 

MANHATTAN. KAS.—Stuart Strau.ss. 48 

years old. died of a heart attack at his home 

here last week. At one time he was assistant 

to Dave Dallas, city manager, when local theatres 

were operated by TEI. In 1944, he 

worked on the BOXOFFICE copy desk. He 

had been in ill health for more than ten 

years, following an infantile paralysis attack. 

During his early days in Indianapolis he 

operated a motor car msurance business. He 

is survived by his mother. Mrs. Sue Strauss, 

of the home. 

Bob Hagen Reopens Lakes 

LAKE GENEVA, WIS—One of Wi.--consui'.s 

most beautiful drive-ins. the Lakes Outdoor 

Theatre on Route 50 between Lake Geneva 

and Delavan, has reopened for the season 

under the management of Bob Hagen. He 

said the situation would get most product 

first run this year and to prove it opened with 

"The First Time" and a late show preview 

of "The African Queen." The first 500 kiddies 

opening night received free balloons. 


. . The 

INDIANAPOLIS 

/ârl Niesse is.sued merchant tickets good on 

Sunday night-s to celebrate the 15th anniversary 

of his Vogue Theati-e . . . Jack Flex 

of the Alliance circuit is now stationed in 

Port Wayne, handling the Alliance situations 

. . . 

in northern Indiana with headquarters in 

Marion Mildred Abbott, formerly with 

National Screen, resigned to join the bookers 

desk at Warner Bros. . . . Louis Baker, exhibitor 

at West Point, Ky., has been hospitalized 

with a hear-l ailment . Sanders Tlieatre, 

one ot the Fountain Square group of 

houses, will cease operations this week t27). 

Forrest Sonser and wife Dorothy became 

parents of a baby daughter. The father operates 

the Family Drive-In, Rockville. and the 

West Side Dnve-In, in Indianapolis . . Ernest 

. 

and Mrs. Long of the Fountain, Terre 

Haute, were on a motor car trip . . . Exhibitors 

on Filmrow: M. Scheidler, Hartford, 

Hartford City: Kenneth Law, Cozy, Argos; H. 

Griff is. Boswell; Jerry Heinlein, Arcade, Gas 

City; Clyde Nihiser, State, Geneva, 

A drive-in is being built on U.S. 40 east of 

Cumberland. Ind., by Jacob M. Smiler. It 

will be the National. It will accommodate 

1,000 cars. 

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I 

Third Warner Meeting 

Convenes in Chicago 

CHICAGO—The third and last of a series 

of regional sales conferences of Warner Bros, 

sales personnel was opened here Tliursday 

(May 1> at the Blackstone. with Ben Kalmenson, 

vice-president in charge of distribution, 

presiding. 

Albert Warner and Samuel Schneider, vicepresidents, 

addressed the gathering, and Mort 

Blumenstocit, vice-president in charge of advertising 

and publicity, outlined merchandising 

plans. 

The conference closed Friday night. Tliose 

present included; 

Harry A. Seed, midwest district manager, 

Chicago: George Lefko, Chicago branch manner, 

and T. D. Levy, J. B. Sokley, C. W. 

spicer, George Weinberg and H. P. Decker, 

salesmen. 

Detroit—Joe Baringhaus, branch manager, 

,md W. B. Collins, S. L. Gilbert and E. C. 

Murphy, salesmen. 

Milwaukee—Nat Marcus, and N. Bieringer 

and L. Dixon. 

Des Moines—Leon Mendelson, manager, and 

N. C. Holt, R. H. Thomas and S. Soderberg. 

Kansas City—R. C. Borg, manager, and 

J. T. Manfre, T. R. Thompson, J. Harris and 

H. Cass. 

Minneapolis—Art Anderson, acting district 

manager: M. B. Adcock, branch manager, and 

C. J. Chouinard. C. A. Jackson, H. T. Blass, 

E. H. Hill, R. W. Branton and E. R. Anderson. 

Omaha—F. J. Hannon, manager, and W. 

D. Wink, R. N. Hirz and A. E. Gardner. 

St. Louis—Lester Bona, manager, and W. 

Gleason, J. Hill. A. Leonard and H. Hisey. 

Denver—E. A. Bell, manager, and W. E. 

Haefliger, J. R. Levee and E. Lebby. 

Los Angeles—H. M. Herbet, district manager; 

Fi-ed Greenberg, branch manager, and 

F. Reimer, W. Chai'nas, G. Tripp, J. Sarfaty 

and W. Watmough. 

Salt Lake City—Al Oxtoby, branch manager, 

and K. K. Pack, P. B. Brown and R. M. 

Stafford. 

San Francisco—A. Shmitken, manager, 

and W. C. Wheeler, A. W. Baron and E. S. 

Hampton. 

Seattle—Vete Stewart, manager, and J. W. 

Spear and E. G. Straley, salesmen. 

Home office executives present were: Norman 

H. Moray, short subjects sales manager; 

I F. Dolid; Howard Levinson; Bernard R. 

Goodman, supervisor of exchanges; R. A. 

McGuire, auditor of exchanges: Gil Golden, 

advertising director: Larry Golob, eastern 

publicity director; W. W. Brumberg, head of 

itie 

field exploitation staff, and Charles Baily. 

'Bawlroom for Babies 

Is Built in Theatre 

Shflh.vvillf, M(i.—KoMOf .\. Cook. 

manaRcr of the Slielby Theatri" lierr, hius 

roiistructcd wliat he calls a "bawlroom" 

for babies in the local theatre. 

The room at the north end of the balcony 

will have eight seats, baby beds, a 

bottle warmer, a .separate ventilation 

system and a sound system which can lie 

rcffulated to suit those scatwl in the 

"bawlroom." Work was cxpwted to be 

completed on the room this week and 

equipment will be installed soon. 

Majors of Paris to Give 

County Its First Airer 

PARIS, MO.—Mrs. Edith Major and Bob 

Major, owners and operators of the Mainstreet 

Theatre, have lea.sed seven acres on 

Highway 24, two miles west of town, on which 

they plan to erect a drive-in. No date for 

construction or completion was named. 

Mrs. Major and Bob said they expect to 

accommodate a total capacity of 200 cars. It 

will be the first outdoor theatre for Mom-oe 

county and operated in connection with the 

tow-n hou.se. The location is just east of the 

Mark Twain tourist court and has an allweather 

side road running along the property 

in addition to Highway 24. 

Rodgers Buys Clyde Hogg's 

Poplar Bluff Interests 

POPLAR BLUFF, MO —Clyde HoBg, owner 

of the Poplar Bluff Drive-In, Inc., has sold 

Ills theatre interests to Rodgers Theatres, Inc. 

The deal was effective in April with the 

opening of the ozoner. The deal gives the 

Rodgers company three theatres here and the 

drlve-ln, although the Jewell is not being 

operated at present. 

Frank Gloried will be city manager of the 

Rodgers theatres, with an a.sslstant handling 

each hou.se and the airer. Howard Lambert 

will be one of his assistants and the others 

will be named later. 

Hogg, who opened the drive-in June 20. 

1950, will remain with Rodgers for a time, 

"until we get our feet on the ground," Gloried 

said. They will maintain the present policy 

of the ah-er. with several first run bookings. 

Hogg has no other plans for the immediate 

future. "I don't know just what I will do," 

he .said, "but for a time I'll remain with the 

Rodgers organization doing what I can to 

help those in charge get the business in operation." 

Union Signs Up Drive-In 

CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — The Champaign-Urbana 

Motion Picture Operators Local 482 has 

reached an agreement with Frank Stewart of 

the Family Drive-In, north of Urbana, for the 

employment of union operators at the theatre 

this season. 

TJjjgygg PIqCTUG ^ânager 

'"'* °" '°'"'" •''•PPinS* ' metol drWe. 

GREAT BEND, KAS.—The Strand Theatre 

was robbed of $104 in cash by some strong 

safelifters recently. George Dunn, manager 

of the Commonwealth house, estimated the 

total loss at about $500. In addition to the 

money, a 250-pound safe and a film dolly, 

presumably used in transporting the safe out 

of the building, were also missing. This was 

the second time in less than two weeks that 

the theatre was robbed. 

Elks House Has Free Show 

OLNEY, ILL.—A free show the morning of 

May 3 at the Elks Theatre is to be Frisina 

Amusement Co.'s contribution to the program 

of the Olney Lodge of Elks to "Make May 

Day American." Frenchie Gallagher, resident 

manager for Frisina circuit, said the 

theatre program is to include treats and other 

features. 

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Good Business at Drive-In 

FLORA, ILL.—The Rendezous Drive-In on 

Highway 45 north of here has been playing 

to nice business since it reopened for the seaon. 

Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Johnson, managers 

of the theatre, returned from a Florida vacation 

about a week prior to the opening. 

The Cluster Drive-In Reopens 

SALEM. ILL.—The Cluster Drive-In Theatre 

opened for the season on April 18 and, in 

accordance with the arrangement that prevailed 

last year, the Globe Theatre has been 

I 

closed for the drive-in sea.son. 


. . Helen 

. . Woody 

. . Ben 

KANSAS CITY 

Dayard .M. Grant, vice-president of Duiwood 

Theatres. Inc.. is going into business on 

his own. He will continue to base his operations 

from the Durwood 

Theatres home 

affice at 1806 Baltimore 

hue. Grant is a sonin-law 

of Ed D. Durwood. 

president of the 

theatre circuit . . . 

Brooks Noah and Richard 

Wiles jr.. owners 

of the Winoko Corp.. 

returned to Santa Pe, 

N. M.. this week for 

the opening of their 

Bayard M. Grant newly acquired Yucca 

Drive-In Tliursday 

(li. The Winoko Corp. also owns the Spa 

Drive-In at Excelsior Springs. 


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. 

Charles Cook, salesman for U-I, and his 

wife Carol, .secretary to U-I office Manager 

Larr.v Klein, purchased a new home and 

moved into it this week. The purchase included 

the ranch house and an acre of land. 

The house is located next door to the home of 

Mildred Harris, Commonwealth drive-in 

booker . . Tlie Universal staff will have its 

annual picnic Monday (5i. 

Julian King. Lippert franchise holder in Des 

Moines, was in tow'n recently, accompanied 

by his wife . Latimer of L&L Popcorn 

has installed three drink machines at 

Ft. Riley, Kas. On a recent trip to Kansas 

he also checked and adjusted new Cretors 

popcorn machines at the Ayr-Vue Drive-In, 

Hutchinson, and at the Great Bend drive-in. 

AI Webster of Altec. Oklahoma City, is expected 

here the weekend of May 10. Webster 

wrote to friends on Filmrow recently saying 

that in the few weeks he had been in Oklahoma 

City he had seen every type of weather 

earthquake, tornado, rain, sleet and even sunshine. 

. 

Finton Jones jr., son of the theatre insurance 

man. is going on a tour of duty with the 

coast guard to Alaska, Guam, Honolulu and 

on to Japan. Young Jones was home recently 

Mrs. Abbott Sher, wife of the 

on leave . . . 

Film Delivery executive, is recuperating after 

surgery Wolf, stenographer at 

Paramount, is on vacation. 

Visitors on Filmrow this week included 

Bernie Shaner, Odessa, and Paul McCarthy, 

formerly of Algona, Iowa, and at one time 

with Shreve Theatre Equipment Co. here . . 

E. E. Hopkins will open his Camdenton Drive- 

In, Camdenton, Friday (2). Hopkins was a 

viiitor in Ed Hartman's Motion Picture Booking 

Agency Friday (25). 

Ben Adams of El Dorado was in town as 

was Chet Borg of the Mo-Kan Drive-In, Fort 

Scott ... A three-year-old boy who wandered 

about six blocks from his home hunting the 

Uptown Theatre brought publicity to that 

house this week. The youngster, who frequently 

accompanies his parents to the show 

at the Uptown, apparently remembered the 

route and took out on his own to find the 

theatre. 

Actor Mickey Rooney was in town this week 

for the opening of "Sound Off" Thursday at 

the Missouri. Columbia salesman Herb Stulz 

and Pat Pinnell came in off the road to help 

with publicity on the opening and Rooney's 

appearance . Marcus, Columbia district 

manager, will return to the office Monday 

(5) after a vacation on the west coast 

and attending the Variety Clubs International 

convention in Las Vegas. 

. . Sylvia Bogmol 

Also attending the Las Vegas Variety convention 

was Ben Shlyen, publisher and editor 

in chief of BOXOFFICE . 

returned to work at Columbia after recovering 

from an attack of flu . . . The local Universal 

office last week went from ninth to foiu-th 

place in the Nate Blumberg drive. The drive 

ended May 3. 

Roscoe R. Thompson, former branch manager 

for Lippert here, has joined the Warner 

Bro;. sales staff as representative in the 

Wichita territory. Thompson succeeds salesman 

Dwight Borin, who resigned. The change 

was effective this week. 

Cleanup Crews Repair 

Riverside Drive-In 

KANSAS CITY—Cleanup crews this week 

turned to the task of repairing and rebuilding 

the Riverside Drive-In here, damaged .severely 

by the recent flooding of the Mis.souri river. 

Conservative estimates of damage, still not 

completely apprai.sed, ranged from $15,000 to 

$20,000. This would make a total of .some 

$50,000 damage suffered by the Riverside 

drive-in in the two floods which have inundated 

it within the last year. About $30,000 

damage was suffered by the drive-in last 

July. 

Jack Braunagel, head of the Commonwealth 

drive-in division, said that current 

flowing into the Riverside had wrecked the 

dike which normally protects it from the 

river. Crews will first rebuild the dike, 

Braunagel .said. 

Water has been going out of the drive-in 

rapidly, he said, but it has left a large amount 

of mud and debris. The rapid current also 

took the roof off the concessions building and 

knocked out the front of that building. It 

ruined shrubs and landscaping and, Braunagel 

said, there may be some damage to the 

plumbing. At midweek it was hoped that 

major resurfacing would not be necessary. 

Durwood Reopens Skylark 

* 

Alter Flood Rolls By 

JEFFERSON CITY, MO.—Durwood Theatre 

circuit reopened its Skylark Drive-In here 

Friday (2) after the ozoner escaped flooding 

by the Missouri river. The drive-in had been 

evacuated and closed and, while flood waters 

did close a bridge leading to the airer, the 

drive-in itself escaped damage. Howard Griffin 

is manager of the Skylark for the circuit. 

Harry Horrocks, 62, Dies; 

Former Theatre Owner 

KANSAS CITY, KAS.—Harry Horrocks, 62, 

former local theatre owner, died in a hospital 

at Cottonwood, Ariz., this week after a heart 

attack. 

Horrocks was a native of Brookfield, Mo., 

and lived here for 30 years. He lived at 

Sedona, Ariz., after moving from here about 

a year ago. He formerly operated the Midway 

Theatre. He is survived by his wife 

Nellie and a brother Marion. 

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Convention on Train 

Plans Under Way 

KANSAS CITY—Plans for the Kansas- 

Missouri Theatre Assii spring "convention 

on a train" took shape this week after the 

Santa Fe railroad agreed to arrange for an 

eight-car special train and lounge to carry 

film industry representatives to Hutchinson, 

Kas., May 14 for the world premiere of "Wait 

'Til the Sun Shines. Nellie." 

Senn Lawler. Fox Midwest, chairman of the 

committee on arrangements for the trip, said 

this week that in order to make the trip 

possible. 125 reservations must be obtained. 

Plans call for the train going to Hutchinson 

May 14 for the premiere, then on to Larned. 

Kas., May 15 for the John A. Schnack 50th 

anniversary celebration. 

The lounge car of the train will be equipped 

with a public address system for use by the 

KMTA in its business session May 14 en 

route to Hutchinson. The business meeting, 

held in lieu of regional meetings once staged 

by KMTA. will be under the direction of 

KMTA President C. E. "Doc" Cook of Maryville. 

However. Lawler emphasized that the trip 

to Hutchinson and Larned will not be limited 

to members of the KMTA. Personnel from all 

distribution, equipment, exhibition and allied 

industries are invited to make the trip. Fares 

for the round trip to Hutchinson, including 

Pullman, will be $30 per person and round 

trip fare, including Pullman, to Larned is 

$40 per person. 

Lawler said that there would have to be 

125 reservations to take the train to Hutchinson 

and the same number of reservations to 

go on to Larned. If there is not a sufficient 

number wanting to go on to Larned the train 

will return to Kansas City from Hutchinson 

and those wanting to attend the Schnack 

celebration can go on to Larned on their 

ow'n. Lawler said. 

Lawler urged all industryites to make reservations 

for the trip immediately with 

Gladyce Penrod. executive secretary of the 

KMTA at 114 W. 18th St.. Kansas City, Mo. 

All reservations, he said, must be firm reservations 

and must be accompanied by a check 

for the full amount of the trip. 

Drive-In Loses Suits 

MACOMB. ILL.—Circuit Judge Roeth of 

Canton has ruled that the Fort Drive-In is 

to pay $5,020 plus 5 per cent interest retroactive 

to Sept. 1. 1950, to C. J. Tlernan of 

Macomb, who served as contractor when the 

theatre was built west of here. In addition, 

he was allowed $1,575 on a claim of $2,000 

he had made for extra work. The Hanan 

Lumber Co. was allowed $782 from the American 

Fence Co. for materials used on the 

theatre grounds. Still pending is a suit of the 

fence company against the theatre. 

Mary Sloan Wins Beauty Contest 

EAST ST. LOUTS—Mary Sloan, 20, daughter 

of Mr. and Mrs. Ross Sloan, was crowned 

Miss East St. Louis the night of April 23 at 

a beauty pageant sponsored by the East St. 

Louis Chamber of Commerce and conducted 

at the Majestic Theatre, a unit of IûblLx 

Great States circuit. Miss Sloan is to represent 

East St. Louis in the Miss Illinois beauty 

contest to be staged on May 17. 

BOWLING 

KANSAS CITY •'ilinriiw iHiwlliiu league 

teams this week iiimril pii/c money for 

the yeai''s efforts on the bowling alleys. Rltz 

Theatre in the men's league took home a $100 

cash prize for its 64 games won record. MGM, 

.second place team, won $90. Final standings 

and team winnings: 

Tcom Won Lost Priic 

Riti Thcotre 64 32 $100 

'. 

MGM SS 41 90 

Michael's 54 S2 80 

Fox Trotters 48 48 70 

Film Delivery 1 46 50 60 

Fox Terriers 43 S3 50 

Film Delivery 2 42 54 40 

Screenlond 32 64 30 

Team prizes in the men's league went to 

Ritz Theatre for high 30 scratch and 

Michael's Clothing for high ten scratch. High 

30 handicap went to Film Delivery 1 and 

high ten handicap to Film Delivery 2. 

Individual prizes went to Lou Kimbriel with 

high 30 scratch and Ab Sher with high ten 

scratch. Mark Lesslie won high 30 handicap 

and Al Adler won high ten handicap. 

In the women's league Hartman Allstars, 

first place winner, took home prize money of 

$74.15. Foxy Five, second place team, which 

also won team high ten and individual high 

ten, won top prize money, $84.68. Finton 

Jones, third place in league standings, added 

to its winnings with team high 30 and individual 

high 30 for a total of $84.28 in winnings. 

C. S. Bureaucrats won $72.64 for 

fourth place: Columbia Gems got $70.50 in 

fifth place, and U-I won $66.75 for last place. 

Prize money in the women's league was distributed 

at the annual season's end dinner 

and election of officers Wednesday night i30) 

at Blue Hills. In the individual high 30 

bracket Jerry Summers of the C. S. Bureaucrats 

team and Mary Heueisen. Finton Jones 

team, tied for top honors. Dorothy Stampfel 

of the Foxy Five team took individual 

high ten. 

Homewood, Sam Meyer 

Group in Illinois Allied 

CHICAGO—Latest additions to the membership 

roster of Allied Theatres of Illinois, 

and the Allied buying and booking department, 

according to Jack Kirsch, president, 

are the Homewood Theatre in Homewood. 

managed by Ray Harrington, and the Sam 

C. Meyers theatre group, which includes the 

Glencoe in Glencoe; Stadium in Evanston, 

and the Teatro del Lago, WUmette. 

Alamo Theatre Is 

Closed 

LEBANON, ILL.—The Alamo Theatre. 350- 

seater, has been closed for an indefinite period. 

The house had been operated under a 

lease by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Schroeder from 

B. Temborius of Breese, 111. 

R. L. Honeyman Reopens Alvin 

AVA. MO.—R. L. Honeyman. owner, has reopened 

the Alvin Drive-In. During April. 

show-s were held only on weekends but starting 

May 1 they were to be shown seven nights 

a week. 

Effingham Ozoner Reopens 

EFFINGHAM. ILL.—The Rustic Starlight 

Drive-In of the F^'isina Amu.sement Co. 

opened April 15. 

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ST. 

LOUIS 

prank Plumlee of the Edwards & Plumlce 

Theatres, Farmington. and Charles Weeks 

jr. of Dexter were here to take their Scottish 

Rite degrees at the U4th consistory reunion 

at the Scottish Rite cathedral . . . A. B. "Buzz" 

Maparian had a prominent part in the Ainad 

Temple of the Shrine program in East St. 

Louis 

A. B. Jefferis of Piedmont. Mo., president 

of the Midcentral Allied Independent Theatre 

Owners, presided at a forum of film rentals 

at the convention of Iowa-Nebraska Allied 

held recently in Omaha . . . George Jessel. 

actor and motion picture producer, got the 

Jewish welfare fund drive for $2,500,000 away 

to a fine start at Hotel Chase the night of 

April 20 when a special gift dinner obtained 

contributions of more than $920,000. 

Exhibitors seen along Filmrow: Rani Pedrucci. 

feature booker, and Johnny Giachetto, 

short subjects t)ooker for Fîsina Amusement 

Co.. Springfield; Frank X. Reller, Wentzville; 

Bill Williams. Union; Ed Fellis, Hillsboro; 

Leon Jarodsky and Mrs. Jarodsky, Paris; Herman 

Fergu.son. Maiden; Bernie Palmer. Columbia 

Amu-sement Co., Paducah; Izzy Weinsheink. 

Alton. District Manager Publix Great 

States; Joe Goldfarb. Upper Alton; Gus Boemler. 

Altwood Drive-In Theatre, Woodriver; 

Bill Collins, DeSoto; Martin Operle. Ste. Genevieve; 

Bud Mercier, Predericktown, and 

Charley Beninati, Carlyle. 

. . 

The Lyn Theatre was the scene of the 

Washington U. Quadrangle club's annual 

comedy. "Not Transferable." the night of 

April 25 and 26 and the afternoon of 

The Congi-egation Hahavath 

April 27 . . . 

Achim of America soon will unveil a memorial 

bronze plaque to the memory of Harry Kahan. 

film delivery pioneer, who died some weeks 

ago. Funds for the plaque have been donated 

by friends of Kahan . Sarah Blocher of National 

Screen Service has announced her engagement 

to Norman W. Rudman of Abilene, 

Tex. 

Ruby S'Renco, owner of the Art Theatre, 

used for many of the tradescreenings here, is 

convalescing at his home after undergoing an 

operation at the Jewish hospital . . . Margaret 

Herrick, executive dii'ector of the Academy 

of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has 

been in Columbia for a series of six lectures 

at Stephens college and the annual conference 

of the college's audio-visual advisory 

Ben J. Kalmenson. general sales 

board . . . 

manager for Warner Bros., and Bernard R. 

Goodman, supervisor of exchanges, visited the 

local exchange. 

. . Carson Rodgers, 

Joe Benedick, booker, and Gladys Katz, 

secretary to Hall Walsh, prairie district manager 

for Warners, were on vacation. Walsh 

and his wife returned AprU 20 from a trip to 

Texas and old Mexico . 

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3310 OUt* Sticet, St. Louis 3, Mo. 

Telephone lEflerion 7974 

MANAGKK MKETS STAR—Howard 

Young, manager of the Rialto Theatre, 

Peoria, 111., played "The Battle at Apache 

Pass" recently day and date with the 

Chicago premiere at the State-Lake in 

Chicago. Young and his wife drove to 

Chicago for the premiere and posed with 

actor Jeff Chandler backstage at the theatre. 

The picture ran in the Peoria Star 

for a timely publicity break. In the 

photo Chandler is at left. 

president of Rodgers Theatres, Cairo, returned 

from Florida where he visited his 

parents, Mr. and Mrs. I. W. Rodgers. 

. . . 

National Theatre Supply recently sold a 

Moviecone freezer to Bill Waring for his Ritz 

Theatre. Cobden Jack Schlaifer. sales 

manager for Realart Pictures, called on Eddie 

Arthur, president of Fanchon & Marco. The 

combination of the original "Frankenstein" 

and the original "Dracula." currently in their 

fifth week at the Victory Theatre, New York 

City, opened at the Shubert Theatre (2) for 

a weelc's run. 

175 Persons Attend Dance 

Of Indianapolis Loge 

INDIANAPOLIS—The local Colosseum of 

Motion Picture Salesmen celebrated its fourth 

annual dinner dance recently at the Indianapolis 

Athletic club. Bob Hall was the emcee. 

Approximately 175 persons were there, including 

exhibitors and friends from all parts 

of Indiana. There was an elaborate floor 

show, dancing and other entertainment. The 

women were presented corsages, and ten 

valuable door prizes were given away. 

Art Perry in Burlington 

BURLINGTON, KAS.—Art Perry, district 

supervisor for Dickinson Theatres and part 

owner of several houses in the circuit, has 

been here redecorating the Plaza Theatre 

marquee. "Let's Go to a Movie" signs were 

put up some time ago and new neon lighting 

will be installed along with a coat of 

paint. Perry is also making minor repairs in 

the house while here. 

Princess to Kerasotes 

PEORIA, ILL. — Kerasotes Theatres of 

Springfield, 111., has taken over operation of 

the Princess Theatre, downtown subsequent 

run house as of May 1. The theatre was acquired 

from the Harris estate, which had been 

running the house since tlie death of Edward 

Harris, longtime local independent exhibitor. 

Meeks Close Maysville 

House After 18 Years 

MAYSVILLE. MO.— R. 

H. Meek has closed 

the Tlieatre Anne after 18 years of continuous 

operation. He gave as his reasons the lack 

of customers, increased operating costs and 

heavy taxes. The newspaper called the closing 

of the popular showplace a real loss to 

tlie community. The Meeks and their son 

Pete also operate the Star at Union Star 

and will continue it. 

The Theatre Anne was opened in the Swike 

building March 4, 1934, and celebrated its 

18th anniver-sary this year. In 1943, Meek 

entered the army and the late P. J. Gordon 

operated the theatre in his absence. Mr. and 

Mrs. Meek remodeled the building in 1949 

and built an entire new front, installed new 

seats, lobby and restrooms. In spite of their 

efforts to maintain the best possible theatre, 

attendance had been very light in recent 

years, they said. 

Al Tourtillot Opens New 

Holiday in Seneca, Mo. 

SENECA. MO. — Manager Al Tourtillot 

opened the new Holiday Theatre last Friday 

(25). Finishing touches the week before included 

placing of 322 seats, approximately 

the same number as the burned-out Grand 

Theatre but there is no balcony in the Holiday. 

The modernistic house has a cryroom, carpeting 

in the aisles and lobby blending with 

the pastel color of the walls and the red 

plush and plastic seats. The stage is draped 

with gold curtains. Ticket booth is located 

outside the main door, with the concession in 

the lobby. The front is of brick and glass 

brick, with neon lighting and a large neon 

upright over the entrance. 

Artie Kempf Transferred; 

F. Edwards in Fredonia 

two cities. 

FREDONIA. KAS.—Artie Kempf, who has 

managed the Kansas Theatre since he came 

here from Brady, Tex., in August 1950, has 

been transferred by Midcentral Theatres to 

Osawatomie, where he will manage the 

Osawa and also the circuit's house in Paola 

along with supervision of the new drive-in 

which Midcentral is completing midway between 

the 

Francis Edwards comes here from Paola to 

succeed Kempf as manager of the circuit's 

local 

situation. 

Yhe Shutters Lyric 

NEWBURG. MO.—Fu-e damage to projection 

equipment caused the Lyric Theatre to 

close for several weeks recently. The blaze 

occurred when the film was being tested 

for a performance. Chfford Hough, owner, 

out of town at the time of the accident, said 

he expected to reopen by the end of April. 

Chase Candy Co. Expands 

ST. LOUIS—The Chase Candy Co. of St. 

Louis has purchased the Shotwell Manufacturing 

Co. of Chicago, a candy-making concern, 

for more than $500,000. The local force 

is to be increased by about 200 within six 

months. 

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Film Industry Blood Bank 

Established in St. Louis 

ST. LOUIS—A blood bank for the men and 

women associated with the motion picture 

film business in St. Louis and their families 

has been established by the Rod Cross In 

cooperation with Betty Wendt, business agent 

for Local Bl of the Film exchange employes 

union, assisted by the local managers of the 

exchanges. 

This arrangement is an extension of the 

blood donations made to the Red Cross by 

the members of the film exchange back office 

personnel during the past year. In that period, 

the members of the union donated 41 

pints of blood. The advantages of this arrangement 

became apparent during the year 

when one of the members of the union became 

ill and his condition called for a total 

of 33 pints of blood. 

The blood bank plan is being furthered by 

the MPTO information furnished to Myra 

Sti'oud, secretary manager. Out-of-town motion 

pictiu'e theatremen and women who may 

want to donate blood through the film industry 

blood bank may do so thi'ough the Red 

Cross Blood Center. They can make the necessary 

arrangements through Myra Stroud, 

or, through Betty Wendt. Under the plan 

anyone connected with the film industry or 

members of their families can obtain needed 

blood through the bank, that has a minimum 

requii-ement of 50 pints per year. Blood obtained 

through the bank also shall be available 

for members of our armed forces in 

Korea. 

MPTO Regional Session 

On Taylorville Radio 

TAYLORVILLE, ILL.—Myra Stroud, 

managing 

secretary of the Motion Picture Theatre 

Owners of St. Louis, Eastern Missouri and 

Southern Illinois; A. L. Matreci of St. Louis, 

and A. B. Magarian of East St. Louis were 

here on April 23 to confer with Dominic 

Frisina. head of the Frisina Amusement Co., 

and Bill Grant, resident manager for that 

circuit, regarding plans for the regional meeting 

of the MPTO to be held here on May 6. 

It was announced that arrangements have 

been made with Russell Armentrout of Louisiana, 

Mo., owner of the local radio station, to 

broadcast a portion of the meeting's program. 

Armentrout is a member of the MPTO, since 

he heads a circuit of theatres in Missouri and 

Illinois. 

Three Madison Drive-Ins 

Reopened for Season 

MADISON. IND.—The Skyline Drive-In on 

state road 107 reopened for the season after 

complete redecorating and a remodeling program 

which included painting and resurfacing 

of its driveways. It is the fourth season 

for the situation, owned by B. A. Kannaple 

and Elmer Schow-e of New Albany. Ray Turner 

will again manage the theatre and Grant 

Stewart is projectionist. 

The Alps Drive-In on state road 56, west 

of Vevay, opened earlier for the season. The 

Riverview on U.S. 42, east of Carrollton, Ky., 

was scheduled to reopen May 2. It will be 

closed every Monday night this year for the 

convenience of the employes. First runs will 

be booked on the Sunday and Tuesday 

changes. 

Copper is vital—save machine drippings. 

E. J. St. John in Brookfield 

BROOKKIELD. MO. K. ,J .SI. John ol 

Chillicothe has taken over management of 

the Dixie Theatre, succeeding Manager Cole. 

Mrs. St. John is a.ssisting in the operation 

and recently made a tieup with merchants 

in Liiuieus. 

Ben Batchfield Returns 

ANDERSON, IND.— After a leave of absence, 

Ben Batchfield has returned as manager 

of the Times Theatre. Paul Sigler, 

Batchfield's replacement, is now managing 

the Kokomo Drive-In. 

Bob Leach Joins Theatres 

PORTLAND. IND.—Bob Leach, foimer announcer 

and sportscaster at WPGW, ha-s become 

assistant manager of the Key and 

Beacon theatres. He will also be in charge 

of advertising and exploitation. 

Harold Schaer Buys Warner House 

SALEM, KY. — Harold Schaer recently 

closed a deal to purchase the Warner Theatre 

from J. C. Davenport. The former owner is 

to continue to help in the operation of the 

theatre. 

69 Drive-In Is Reopened 

PITTSBURG, KAS.—Ray Lawrence, manager, 

has reopened the 69 Drive-In for the 

season. The opening performance was free 

to the public. 

Free Haircuts Go 

With Ushering Jobs 

TAFTVILLE, CONN.—Al Lambert, operator 

of the Hillcrest Theatre, has a 

new angle on procuring loyalty and cooperation 

from his service staff. Onetime 

professional barber, before becoming 

manager of the Hillcrest, Lambert started 

giving free haircuts to cleanup boys during 

the hard times of 1928. He found that 

both parents and boys considered this a 

valuable pay hike. 

He now estimates he has given about 

4,784 free haircuts to his service staff and 

extra boys. Al also is proud that two of 

his boys became projectionists, one a 

Jesuit priest, one a prominent -sports 

coach and one a postmaster. Now the 

sons of his original boys are appearing 

at the theatre for work and free haircuts. 

Babcock to Head New 

NTS Drink Service 

KANSAS CITY 

Vern K. Babcock, formerly 

manager of the Missouri U-Select-Il Co., ha.s 

become affiliated with the National Theatre 

VERN K. BABCOCK 

Supply Co. branch here in charge of installation 

and service of the new Cole Spa 

automatic beverage dispenser. 

Babcock, who has been affiliated with the 

beverage and candy dispensing machine business 

for many years, is a native of Kansas 

City. His new connection with National here 

will be his first with the theatre industry, 

although he has handled theatre installations 

in his previous connections. For National, 

he now will handle Cole Spa installations 

solely for the theatre industry. 

Arthur de Stefano, head of the National 

branch here, said that establishment of this 

special division, with Babcock as manager, 

will mark the first such division for any NTS 

branch. 

De Stefano last wêk announced that NTS 

had taken over theatre distribution of the 

Cole Spa machine. 

Charity Drive at Airer 

FLORA. ILL.—The Flora Kiwanis club has 

extended its thanks and appreciation to 

Floyd Johnson, manager of the Rendezvous 

Drive-In, for donating use of the drive-in 

and all of the receipts for two nights to the 

club for its charity fund. 

Circus Day Planned for 'Show' 

PEORIA. ILL.—A special circus day sponsored 

by the Pere-Marquette hotel, including 

a Circus banquet, will headline an intensive 

campaign by Len Worley, Great States city 

manager, for the Madison Theatre showing 

of "The Greatest Show on Earth." 

'Yearling' Shown to Kids 

PAOLA. KAS. — Francis Edwards recently 

staged a special children's morning show at 

the Paola. He secured a print of MGM's 

"The Yeai-ling" from the Children's Film 

library in Kansas City for the occasion. 

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1,400-Seat Plaza Theatre 

Opens in Memphis Suburb 

First night's profits from the Plaza opening went to the East Memphis Kiwanis 

club for its work with retarded children. Pictured here on opening night, left to right, 

are J. G. Lowenthal, representing the Kiwanis; Augustine Cianciolo, who operates the 

Plaza under lease, Mrs. Cianciolo, who helps her husband with the theatre business, 

and VV. B. Walton, representing Kiwanis. 

Flowers from neighboring merchants added beauty to the Plaza's large refreshment 

bar on the opening night of the new Memphis Plaza. 

KULL ADAMS 

By 

MEMPHIS—Memphis' largest and most elegant 

suburban theatre, the Plaza, was 

launched with a two-day ceremony. The 

opening night attendance was by invitation. 

Around 1.000 guests from newspapers, radio 

stations, tradepapers and the motion picture 

industry attended. The delighted exclamations 

from visitors roaming about the greencarpeted, 

modernistic and curving lobby were 

inspired by the handsome showhouse. 

The second night was given to a show 

sponsored by the Kast Memphis Kiwanis 

club which raised several thousand dollars for 

its program of helping retarded children. 

Opening night ceremonies were brief. Tony 

Tedesco, representing Filmrow, introduced 

Robert W. Lessley, manager, who briefly welcomed 

first-nighters. He then introduced Mr. 

and Mrs. Augustine Cianciolo, who operate 

the new 1,400-seat Plaza under a long-term 

lease. The Cianciolos also own and operate 

the Rosemary and Luciann. The Plaza opened 

with a first run film, "The Lady Says No." 

Shows start at 7 p. m. Monday through Friday 

and at 2 p. m. Saturday and Sunday. 

Admission is 60 cents. 

The drive-under marquee is topped by a 

45-foot tower with the theatre's name in 

neon on both sides. Behind the tower are 

large translucent glass panels through which 

ever-changing patterns of color are visible. 

The long main lobby i.s indirectly lighted and 

features a large, modernistic refreshment 

counter. De luxe seats in the auditorium are 

fully upholstered. 

There are 35 seats and a number of baby 

beds in the glass-enclosed cryroom. A party 

room, with its own reception room, which 

will seat 35, has its own refreshment serving 

The exterior of the Plaza looked like this 

on opening night. Note the ample on-street 

parking space in front of the house, which 

is in addition to a 330-car parking lot, now 

being enlarged to accommodate 1,500 cars. 

facilities and it's completely glass-enclosed. 

This room is to be chartered for private 

parties. Both the ladies' and men's restrooms 

are upholstered in leather and feature 

floor-to-ceiling mirrors. 

All walls are curved to break up sound 

waves. The color scheme is green, in three 

different shades. The projection room is 

.spacious, with Century equipment. Projectors 

are water cooled like drive-in theatre 

projectors. In addition to standard 35mm 

equipment, the Plaza also has 16mm projectors 

which may be used in showing commercial 

and industrial films. The theatre will b€ 

chartered during the day to firms which 

want to show such films. The screen is a 

no-distortion Cycloramic, 25x22 feet. 

The exterior is equally attractive with its 

buff-and-cream marble sidewalk, fluted 

stainless steel columns and 45-foot name 

tower. Best of all, says Cianciolo, and on 

this patrons agree, the Plaza has its own private 

parking lot which now accommodates 

350 cars and is being enlarged to take care 

of 1,500 when it is finished. 

More Newsreels Shown in Dublin 

Since the beginning of 1952 the major motion 

picture theatres in Dublin and a number 

of the suburban theatres are requesting more 

newsreels in their program. 

NOTSHOWNON 

TELEVISION! 

8 -EAST SIDE KIDS 

16 - ELLIOTT WESTER NS 

Now Ready VVif/i 

HEDY LAMARR 

"STRANGE WOMAN" and 

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Astor Pictures Co. of Georgia, Inc. 

163 Walton St ATLANTA 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 SE 65

I. W. Boden Reopens Sundown 

PARIS. TENN.— I. W. Boden has opened the 

Sundown Drive-In lor the season. He booked 

"Once More My Darling" for Its first showing 

in Paris as the opening attraction. 

florida's FIRST Supply House 

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LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU 

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Phone 2-3045 Phone 3-S038 

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Pockoged 2,500 ft. on Returnoble Reels or 500 ft. 

Coils. Price FOB Houston, Texos: On 500 ft. Coils 

$60.00 per M ft. 2500 ft. Reels $40.60 per M ft. 

Reel Deposits $5.00 each. Shipping Wt. Net 50 lbs. 

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SOUTHWESTERN THEATRE EQUIPMENT CO. 

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DISTRIBUTORS FOR ELECTRIC WIRE AND CABLE 

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ATLANTA 

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Phone ALPine 7887 Phone 5-9227 

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BUYING 

BOOKING 

AGENTS 

R. J. (Hap) Barnes 

C. B. (Cliff) Wilson 

Karl (Bud) Chalman 

R. A. (Rex) Norris 

Ocik Ridge Atomic Area 

Gets Its First Theatre 

OAK RIDGE, TENN.- Gamble Valley's first 

motion picture theatre was opened recently 

with a capacity crowd. Tlie theatre had been 

.sought for a long time by residents, who have 

complained about the lack of recreational facilities 

in the atomic area. The fir.st night's 

.showing was held up for .some time because 

of heating difficulties but the operators hoped 

to run on schedule in the future. 

Operators of the new theatre are C. R. Lay 

jr., Charles H. Bowman and John Burgess. 

The house now has seats for about 300 persons 

but they .said they hope to have more available 

before long. The theatre, which is located 

in the new shopping center, will be 

operated seven days, with weekend matinees. 

It is one of seven establishments in the center, 

which include a .supermarket, cafe, beauty 

shop, barber shop and poolroom. One shop is 

still vacant; it had been planned for a liquor 

store. 

Lonnie Royal Appoints 

H. E. Jackson Manager 

LAUREL, MISS.—H. E. Jackson has been 

appointed general manager of the Royal circuit 

by Lonnie Royal, owner of the theatres 

in Meridian, Hattiesburg, Waynesboro and on 

the Gulf Coast. A native son but recently 

of Hattiesburg, Jackson was connected with 

the Royal circuit when it owned two theatres 

here. He has been manager of the Royal at 

Hattiesburg for the past 18 months and associated 

with Royal for the past eight years. 

Jackson was educated here and associated 

himself with the film industry upon leaving 

school. He will make his headquarters in 

Hattiesburg. 

Ralph Peckham Is Named 

Classic Southern Head 

NEW YORK—Ralph E. Peckham, formerly 

associated with Snader Productions in the 

southern territory, has been named southern 

division manager for Classic Pictures by Max 

J. Rosenberg, president. Peckham will headquarter 

in Atlanta. Before being associated 

with Snader, Peckham was branch manager 

for Film Classics in Atlanta. He has been in 

the industry for 31 years. 

Lavnrence Barmiza to Leesburg 

LEESBURG, PTÂ.—Lawrence Banniza, formerly 

of Tampa, has been appointed manager 

of the Palace here by Bill Cumbaa, general 

manager for MCM theatres. He formerly was 

assistant at the Palace in Tampa. 

CHILDREN'S PREMIUMS 1 

WESTERN 1

Premiere Carbine' 

Twice for Crowds 

PAYETTEVILLE, N. C. — With WencicII 

Corey, a star of the film, and David Marshall 

Williams, whose life story it is, on hand for 

personal appearances, much ceremony attended 

the opening here last week (24) of 

MGM's "Carbine Williams" at the Colony 

Theatre. To accommodate the crowds, two 

premiere performances were presented. 

Corey arrived by plane from Hollywood and 

took part in a day of festivities which included 

interviews with North and South 

Carolina and Virginia newspapermen. He 

returned to the coast the next day. 

Premiere day opened with a series of civic 

meetings attended by David Marshall Williams. 

This is his home town. With his 

wife, the man whose life furnished the story 

received members of the press of the Carolinas 

and representatives of national film 

publications. A parade honoring him followed 

the interviews and later the presentation of 

a portrait of former Sheriff N. H. McGeachy 

was made at Cumberland county courthouse. 

A reception for the Williamses followed under 

auspices of the Exchange club and the Chamber 

of Commerce, then a banquet at the 

Prince Charles hotel. 

Guests at the premiere festivities included 

Dan S. Terrell, MGM, New York; Emery 

Austin, MGM, Atlanta; Tom Baldridge, MGM, 

Washington; Rudolph Berger, MGM, Washington; 

Jack ReViUe, MGM, Charlotte; Roy L. 

Smart, general manager of North Carolina 

Theatres, Charlotte; George Peters, Virginia 

representative of Loew's Theatres, Richmond; 

Milton Kaufman, Loew's State Theatre, Norfolk; 

Emery Wister, Charlotte News; W. G. 

Enloe, North Carolina Theatres, Raleigh; C. 

M. Snebbens, Florence Theatres, Florence, S. 

C; Mr. and Mrs. John M. Buyers, Bailey Theatres, 

Bailey, N. C.; W. G. Fussell, Wonet 

Theatre, Bladenboro, N. C; Mrs. Adele Carson, 

MGM, New York; C. H. Candell, Dance 

Theatre, Burgaw, N. C; Mrs. W. F. Candell, 

Hyway Theatre, Wallace, N. C., and H. C. 

Cook, Center Theatre, Mount Olive, N. C. 

Fleming Moates Resigns; 

Jack Rudd Takes House 

DE FUNIAK SPRINGS, FLA.—Fleming J. 

Moates, who for several years has managed 

the Ritz Theatre, resigned in order to take 

care of a theatre in Headland, Ala., in which 

he has purchased one-half interest. 

His successor will be Jack Rudd, who has 

been in training for the job several months, 

partly in De Funiak and for five weeks with 

another Martin unit in Valdosta, Ga. 

NEW ORLEANS 

Qharles Waterall, owner of the Waterall circuit 

in northern Mississippi and Alabama, 

is making his initial step into the drive-in 

business aided by his sons, Johnny and 

Charles jr., Waterall broke ground in Silas. 

Ala., for an outdoor theatre ... On May 15, 

William Butterfield will donate the use of 

his Royal Theatre, Bernice, La., to the local 

4-H club for a matinee of "Crazy House" . . . 

Robert H. Oswald is replacing B. E. McGinty 

at the Lake Drive-In. Pascagoula. MLss. 

. . . Curtis B. Williard is 

Considerable difficulty was encountered by 

Transway in delivering film in the Lake 

Charles area following heavy rainstorms. Numerous 

bridges and roads were wa.shed out in 

Vinton, DeQuincy, DeRidder, Merryville and 

Leesville . . . Paramount salesman Edgar 

Shinn was recently visited by his 74-year-old 

mother, Mrs. Bertia Shinn, who flew from 

Charleston, S. C. . . . Billy Lynn, manager of 

the Silver City, Alexandria, has been devoting 

leisure time almost exclusively to her 

hobby of painting 

reopening his Beach Theatre in Fairhope, Ala. 

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ATLANTA 

Come 75 members and guests of the Variety 

Tent 21 heard A. B. Padgett, John Ford 

and several others discuss Old Newsboy day 

which will be staged May 23 to raise funds 

for the Cerebral Palsy Home for Children. 

Paul E. Daughtery. Fi-ed H. Massey and James 

C. Shumate were the new members taken in 

at the meeting . Hassler, office manager 

and booker, is the new correspondent 

for BOXOFFICE and will appreciate exhibitors 

sending news items directly to him. 

"Les Miserables" will open at the State 

Theatre, Tallahassee, Fla., May 18-20. This 

new version in English is being distributed 

by Astor Pictures . S. Simpson of 

Wedowee (Ala.) Theatre, who was in booking, 

reported farmers have gotten a late start 

MOSQUITOES, GNATS, FLIES, are not allowed at this theatre 

DRIVE-IN 

T im E IRI T IR ' 

due to bad weather and are now working long 

hours on their crops . Woman" 

and "Sins of Madeleine," both starring Hedy 

Lamarr. concluded a week's run at the Roxy 

Theatre. This is an Astor release. 

. . . Lux 

Exhibitors wishing to contribute 

[ 

money to i 

the Variety Club'.s Cerebral Palsy drive can 

mail contributions to John Fulton, Variety 

Club, Atlanta hotel, Atlanta, Ga. 

Films will bring out "Bitter Rice" the first 

of next month. Astor Pictures will handle 

The Lane Theatre for 

the distribution . . . 

Negroes, has been reopened in Cordele, Ga., 

by George Lawrence. 

j 

Hardy Butler will operate and manage the 

new Forrest Park Drive-In at Lakewood . . . 

Capitol Theatre Supply handled the furnish- 

Nat Williams of ThomasviUe, will 

ings . . . 

close four of his "B" theatres . . . Al Rook 

has opened his own booking office . . . Eu- 

gene Skinner of the Dixie Drive-In Theatres 

| 

in Atlanta, is on a vacation in Florida. 

\ 

CHARLOTTE 

tJarvey Smith of Harvey Smith Enterprises 

| 

in Atlanta came here to install a minia- . 

ture train in Revolution park . . . The 

Art 

; 

Theatre has begun a strictly art policy. The i 

Sofe, sure, eleon FOG from your own big Fogger. Cleons 'em out up to '/j mile from your theotre for less 

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Phone BEL. 3-3421 P. 0. Box 4143, Sto. "A" 517 N. W. 19fh St. Son Antonio, Texas. 

' 

theatre is being operated by B&B Theatres, 

which also operated the Tryon. The opening 

of the new house brings to two the number 

of art theatres here. The Visulite, the first, 

• 

opened several weeks ago after it was purchased 

by Jay Schrader. 

The North 17 Drive-In in Wilmington 

opened May 1. C. D. Holder is manager ... 

The Luckie Drive-In near Reidsville is being 

readied for a May 15 opening. Hugh 

Sykes & Associates are owners and Howard- 

Ford is manager. The ozoner is located one 

jj 

mile south of Reidsville. 

. . Dublin Drive-In in Dublin 

Dick Eason of Queen City Booking Services 

spent several days in Wilmington preparing! 

for opening of Skyline Drive-In there. H. M. 

j 

Sykes sr., father of Queen City's Hugh Sykes, 

will manage . 

opened May 1. Exhibitors Service is buying 

and booking. 

| 

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A good sound system should be capable 

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11 

IH^^s

HARRY HART 

By 

pRED McLENDON and Al Morgan and all of 

the office force were in the office of Mc- 

Lendon Theatre at Union Springs, Ala., when 

I called. The firm'.s drive-ins at Hazelhurst, 

Miss., Monroeville and Foley, Ala., are now 

open after being clo.sed for the winter. The 

theatre at Bay Minette. Ala., is getting a new 

lobby and restroonis and general renovation. 

Jimmy Gaylaid of the Starlite Drive-In at 

Troy is a real promoter. He gave away 700 

colored baby chickens for Easter. Ramps at 

the drive-in were in wonderful shape and 

Gaylard maintains the ozoner in points of 

neatness and attractiveness. In his promotions, 

Gaylard makes a big play for community 

attendance and goodwill. 

* * « 

Eddie Tomberlin of the 864-seat Pike Theatre 

in Troy had a lovely display of flowers 

in the lobby and boxoffice. He said that he 

runs a trailer for a local florist and in return 

the florist supplies fresh flowers for the 

theatre lobby and boxoffice. Eddie, who 

never misses a bet when it comes to showmanship, 

keeps the public well informed on 

what is playing at the Pike at all times. The 

Pike has a 50-ton air conditioning unit. 

Dozier Roberts of Elba, who has been manager 

of the theatre there for 16 years, believes 

in down to earth showmanship. He says that 

a manager has to meet and mingle with his 

patrons and, with his charming personality, 

this policy has meant success for his theatre. 

Roberts promised lots of good fishing the 

next time we're down his way. 

* * * 

Owners of the new Dixieland Drive-In, Opp, 

were taking a personal interest in the completion 

of the ozoner, which is open and playing 

to a very nice house. They were anxious 

to get the airer completed, as they lacked 

driveway lighting and a few other minor details. 

At the Opp Drive-In, which also is under 

construction, George Owens was supervising 

construction and said he hoped to have the 

350-car situation open by June 15. He has a 

concrete patio in front of the concessions 

stand. The ozoner will be equipped with 

Wenzel projectors. Strong lamps and DIT- 

MCO speakers. The drive-in is located at the 

Opp city limits. 

No one was around at the Midway Drivein, 

but the drive-in looked clean and well 

kept. 

* • 

Jules Stidstill, assistant manager of the 

Martin Theatre, greeted me at Andalusia. 

Manager Owen Lawson was in Atlanta on a 

business trip. Eai-1 Hallford, manager of the 

Ritz, came over, and they told me of some 

of the goodwill they built recently when 

they hosted local Four-H clubs to programs, 

which included speakers on stage and "Green 

Promise" on the screen. They said R. E. Martin, 

county agent, was pleased with the program. 

The theatres also recently screened 

HART BEATS 

In Alabama 

Six-year-old Shirley Ann Coburn, 

daughter of George R. Coburn, manager 

of the Prattmont Drive-In, Prattville, 

Ala., spends many of her free hours at 

the drive-in helping her dad with his 

chores. Here she poses on her father's 

knee for a photograph for BOXOFFICE 

representative Harry Hart. 

the cancer film, "Self Examination," with 

three performances for women and three performances 

for men. 

Attendance is being upped at Luverne, 

Manager J. A. Richardson said, by Jackpot 

Quiz night, which is held every Tuesday night. 

The beautifully landscaped Crenshaw Drive- 

In has been doing fair business since its opening 

Christmas eve. Manager Mack Clark 

had his maintenance man sprinkling and 

trimming flowers at the airer, which was neat 

and clean. 

* * » 

The Prattmont Drive-In, which we approached 

just before sunset, was surrounded 

by fields of Autauga crimson reseeding clover 

in full bloom. The field made a lovely setting 

for the drive-in. Manager George R. 

Coburn said that a clover tour was started 

from the drive-in April 17 and that many 

notables were there as well as editors of farm 

papers. The fields do not belong to the 

drive-in, but the theatre is very proud of 

them, since they add such beauty to the setting. 

Coburn was getting ready for the first stage 

show this year. It is the policy of the theatre 

to have stage shows or local talent shows 

at least once a month during the summer. 

The first one was billed for April 30 and 

starred Uncle Bob Hilton and his radio cowboys. 

The theatre has an unusual midnight show 

policy. Patrons who have paid to see the 

earlier shows may stay without extra charge 

for the Saturday midnight feature. Coburn 

plays a double feature every Wednesday. 

Coburn, who has had a great deal of experience 

in chemical research, has developed 

a chemical coating which will prevent the 

cone of the speaker from being shorttd out 

by water. The coating completely waterproofs, 

the speakers and also restore.s life to 

hardened fabrics. He says It is much better 

to waterproof the speakers when they are 

new, because once the cones become warped, 

it Is difficult to get them In line again. His 

experiments have proved successful, he .says. 

His speaker cones have been treated for more 

than a year, but none of them have given 

him any trouble from dampne.ss. 

0. W. Wade was in the midst of remodeling 

the old Wadsonian Theatre at Clanton 

in central Alabama. The theatre will be a 

Spanish-type front, new seats, 

beauty with its 

new .screen, draperies, fireproof booth of concrete 

and brick and a balcony enlarged from 

50 to 210 seats. Ten feet ha.s been added all 

the way around- the downstairs of the theatre 

and restrooms have been redesigned. A new 

concession stand is being installed and new 

offices are placed downstairs. The theatre 

is expected to reopen for full-time business 

about June 10. 

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BOXOFTICE May 3, 1952 71

MIAMI 

•Television viewing probably reached a high 

here, when an on-the-spot telecast was 

made of a man teetering on the edge of a 

downtown hotel roof and threatening to jump. 

After two hours the would-be suicide was 

grabbed by firemen who pulled him to safety 

In full view of local TV watchers . . . That 

televlson is making no inroads on drive-in 

theatres, seems to be evidenced by the many 

new such theatres which are being planned 

all over Florida. Towns soon to liave new 

open-air houses are Sarasota, Tarpon Springs. 

Eau Gallie, Palmetto. Avon Park. Merritt 

Island. Jack-sonville. Starke and Auburndale. 

Lizabeth Scott made personal appearances 

at Florida State's Olympia and Beach theatres 

where "Red Mountain" had its world 

premiere. The result, according to Al Wilkie. 

was very nice business . . . Tlie Florida Theatre 

is making every effort to locate the camera 

which was lost or stolen there on Easter 

Sunday. The owner would not ask for the 

^--— g.

U 

Hoblitzelle to 

Get 

Good Citizen Honor 

HOUSTON—Karl Hoblitzelle, Dallas philanthropist 

and founder and president of the 

Interstate Theatre circuit, will receive the 

National Good Citizenship award of the Sons 

citizens, 

of the American Revolution when the organization's 

62nd annual congress meets here 

this month (18-22). 

Hoblitzelle. one of the state's best known 

has been associated with show business 

for almost a half century. He is recognized 

as one of the nation's top motion 

picture exhibitors and leaders in the industry. 

With the Interstate Amusement Co., Hoblitzelle 

achieved success as a leading vaudeville 

exhibitor when the overnight development 

of feature motion pictures necessitated 

Interstate to combine movies and vaudeville. 

From 1906 to 1930, he kept pace with changing 

factors in show business. Then he decided 

to retire and he sold his business to 

RKO Corp. As a result of the depression in 

the early 1930s, Hoblitzelle was asked to take 

over the bankrupt properties of RKO and 

Paramount in Texas and restore them to a 

sound financial condition. The Interstate circuit 

was formed and began operation of RKO 

and Publix Theatres, including the Majestic 

Theatre, which Hoblitzelle built and established 

throughout Texas. 

His business and civic affiliations are 

numerous. He is chairman of the board of 

the Republic National bank of Dallas and is 

director of the Cosmopolitan Hotel Co., the 

Republic Natural Gas Corp. and the Southwestern 

Life Insurance Co. 

Hoblitzelle is chairman of the Texas Centennial 

of Statehood Commission and president 

of the Texas Research Foundation. He 

is vice-president and chairman of the executive 

committee of the Southwestern Medical 

Foundation, and a trustee and member of 

the executive committee of Southern Methodist 

university. 

He is a member of the Sons of the American 

Revolution and a honorary member of 

the Sons of the Republic of Texas. 

Open Sunset at Decatur 

In Dedication Ceremony 

DECATUR, TEX.—The new Sunset Drivein 

was formally opened with a short dedicatory 

ceremony and a full "house." Mayor 

W. B. Woodruff spoke over the loudspeaker 

system and congratulated the company for 

building the theatre and its place in the 

entertainment program of Wise county. Manager 

Jim Miller added a few words of thanks 

for the splendid reception of the ozoner by 

people of the county. 

For the present, the drive-in is on a Friday 

through Monday policy. The snack bar is 

housed in the projection building. 

20th's 'Pride of St. Louis' 

Safe on First at Dallas 

DALLAS—Only three grosses were available 

this week and, of them, "The Pride of 

St. Louis" showed the most strength at the 

boxoffice. 

Mojestic The Pride of St. Louis (20th-Fox) 90 

Paloce The River ( A) 75 

Tower Just This Once (MGM) 75 

The need for copper is drostic—sove drippings. 

Two Speakers Are Added 

For COMPO Conference 

SANTONE VISITOKS—Aldo Ray, star 

of "The Marrying Kind," left, and Harry 

McVVilliams, Columbia exploitation manager, 

right, visited San Antonio recently 

and met with Frank Starz, Interstate 

Theatres advertising manager, and Jack 

Chalman, the circuit's local ad chief. 

Week of Celebration Set 

For Snyder, Tex., Airer 

SNYDER, TEX. — "Mom" Kearley has arranged 

a big second anniversary week-long 

celebration for local citizens at her Canyon 

Drive-In here. One of the biggest theatre 

promotions ever to be staged here, the program 

will begin on Mother's day May U and 

end Saturday (17). 

On Sunday a free flower will be given to 

each woman attending the drive-in. Monday, 

women will be admitted free when accompanied 

by a man. Tuesday night, men 

will be admitted free if accompanied by a 

woman. Wednesday night is driver's night 

when the car driver will be admitted free. 

Thursday night free anniversary money will 

be given away, good for 10 cents at the snack 

bar on either Thursday, Friday or Saturday. 

Friday night free popcorn will be given to 

each person making a purchase at the snack 

bar. 

Many gifts will be distributed Saturday 

night. Ticket stubs during the week will be 

saved and brought to the snack bar Saturday 

night for the free gifts. 

Cecelia McMahan Named 

Manager of Whitney 

WHITNEY, TEX.—Cecelia McMahan is the 

new manager of the Whitney Theatre, succeeding 

Bob Busby. She has been employed 

there the past eight years, starting at the 

concession stand and working up to assistant 

cashier, cashier and now- her present stint. 

L. B. Crow of Dallas, owner of the theatre, 

made several promotions of other Whitney 

young people at the same time. Danny Shaw 

was named chief projectionist and assistant 

manager. He has been employed at the house 

four years, three of them as projectionist. 

Frankie Murphy will be in charge of concessions 

and assistant cashier, assistant at the 

conce.ssion by Orlis Penny. Jimmy Cornelius 

will be relief projectionist. 

DALLAS—Executives of Texas COMPO 

Showmen this week completad additional 

plans for the forthcoming conference of Texas 

COMPO Showmen to be held here June 10, 11. 

Paul Short, division manager for National 

Screen, and Alfred Delcambre, special repre- 

.sentalive, returned from the state capital In 

Austin where they made arrangements for 

two conference speakers. 

They arranged for Dr. Billy Graham, 32- 

year-old evangelist, to speak at the Adolphus 

hotel here June 10 at U a. m. Graham will 

remain for the special luncheon following his 

addre-ss. 

Gov. Allan Shivers also will speak at one 

of the special luncheons, and Attorney General 

Price Daniel also has accepted an invitation 

to speak at the conference. 

Short and Delcambre attended the meeting 

in Austin at which Dr. Graham spoke before 

some estimated 35,000 pensons on the capitol 

grounds. They also attended the press conference 

in the Presidential suite of the Commodore 

Perry hotel, which followed Graham's 

address. 

Short spent Saturday morning with the 

governor and assisted Wick Fowler, executive 

assistant to the governor, in arranging for 

the chief executive's talk at the conference. 

He later conferred with Jerry Bevans, executive 

aid to Dr. Graham. 

"It was a most thrilling experience," Short 

said, "to hear Dr. Graham on the capitol 

grounds with the governor, attorney general, 

secretary of state, chancellor of the university, 

supreme court judges of Texas and more than 

100 state dignitaries listening with inspired 

attention." 

Short and Delcambre flew back to Dallas 

Sunday afternoon with Graham, who then 

went on to Los Angeles. 

Spindletop at Beaumont 

Becomes All-Negro Airer 

BEAUMONT, TEX.—The Individuals who 

were negotiating a long-term lease on the 

Spindletop Drive-In as a Negro theatre, as 

reported in BOXOFFICE last week, have successfully 

completed their deal and the situation 

was reopened. The ozoner on the Port 

Arthur road will be operated henceforth as 

an all-Negro theatre. A new company was 

set up, the Quid Corp. of Beaumont, operators, 

with the following as officers: Jack Dahmer, 

president, and Robert H. Park, secretary-treasurer. 

Max Wertheim is a director. 

The 450-car theatre, built in 1950 by Dr. 

Garland Swartz of Wichita Falls, was closed 

about three weeks while extensive repairs 

were made. The Spindletop now compares 

favorably with any in the area in size, equipment 

and quality of product. The Quid Corp. 

acquired a lea.se on the theatre from Dr. 

Swartz and a sublease on the property on 

which it is built. This was leased by Dr. 

Swartz from P. F. Hammons sr. of Beaumont, 

owner. 

J. D. McCain Opens Hi-Ho 

SPUR. TEX.— J. D. McCain, manager of 

the Palace and Spur theatres, has formally 

opened the new Hi-Ho Drive-In. 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 sw 73

Majestic's 31st 

Birthday 

Karl Hoblitzelle (K). Interstate's president 

and Bob O'Donnell engage in some fond 

reminiscences of early show business for tlie 

Majestic patrons. 

Observed in 

DALLAS—A spontaneous feeling of goodwill 

and a festive atmosphere that literally 

crackled through the capacity audience 

marked the gala thirty-first anniversary celebration 

Thursday evening (24) of the Majestic 

Theatre in Dallas, flagship of the 

Interstate circuit. 

Unequalled in Southwestern theatrical history, 

the one-performance, three-hour stageand-screen 

program was attended by longtime 

loyal Majestic pati'ons, including leading 

merchants, bankers, oil men and the 

young and the old. Introduced from the audience 

was a couple, Mr. and Mrs. D. D. 

Dunning of nearby Arlington, Tex., who have 

attended either the Majestic in Dallas or Fort 

Worth on every wedding anniversary since 

the theatres were opened. 

The traditional red carpet was rolled out 

on the Majestic lobby floor and a two-block 

long line of patrons began forming as early 

Veterans help greet patrons in the 

lobby. L to R: Jake Elder, construction 

chief; P. K. Johnson, head 

booker; E. J. Solon, secretary-treasurer; 

Charles J. Freeman, veteran 

stage show booker. 

Great Style 

as 6 p. m. for the 8:15 show. 

While revolving searchlights pierced the sky 

and newsreel cameramen photographed the 

event. Interstate officials formed a welcoming 

line in the lobby and foyer to welcome the 

patroas. With Circuit President Karl Hoblitzelle 

and R. J. O'Donnell. vice-president and 

general manager, were Raymond Willie, assistant 

general manager who was in charge 

of the celebration and responsible for its 

planning; E. J. Solon, the circuit's secretary 

and treasurer; Charles J. Freeman, veteran 

Interstate stage sliow booker; Frank O. Starz, 

publicity and advertising chief; James O. 

Cherry, theatre city manager; Ted DeBoer, 

treasurer-controller; P. K. Johnston, head 

booker, and Jake Elder, in charge of the 

construction department. 

Dozens of baskets of flowers were banked 

along the theatre's walls, sent by friends of 

Mr. Hoblitzelle, a pioneer Texas showman who 

opened the first Majestic in Dallas in 1905. 

And on a huge display board in the lobby 

were telegrams from scores of well-wishers. 

The celebration gave the patrons something 

of the past, present and future. It brought 

the sentimental trimmings of yesteryear in 

duplicating the features of the original opening. 

The modern touch was supplied with the 

presence of some of today's Hollywood stars 

Rory Calhoun, co-star with Susan Hayward 

in "With a Song in My Heart," which was the 

evening's screen attraction; Robert Mitchum, 

William and Lucille Demarest, Lita Baron 

(Mrs. Calhoun) and Billy Daniel, who staged 

the dances in the film of Jane Froman's life. 

With Hyman Charninsky conducting a 20- 

piece pit orchestra, the program was opened 

with the national anthem, followed by an 

overture of a medley of tunes from "With 

a Song in My Heart." While the orchestra 

played "Moonlight and Roses," the audience 

was showered with rose petals dropped from 

the auditorium ceiling. This was a reenactment 

of an episode in the theatre's original 

opening festivities, and was given an 

added touch by rose perfume which permeated 

the air thi-ough the cooling system. 

Entertainers for tlie evtning included 

Lita Baron, who is wife of Rory Calhoun, 

and Billy Daniel, dance director, who 

created the dances in "With a. Song in 

My Heart," the picture of the evening. 

Rory Calhoun stars in the film and he 

was on hand, too. 

74 

The line of patrons formed at the Majestic three hours before showtime. 


Tent 17 Distributes 

Tickets for Derby 

DALLAS—The Variety Club passed out 

tickets April 28 for the 13th annual Variety 

Club turtle derby, which will be held at the 

Fair Park ice arena September 6. C. A. 

Dolsen, chief barker, emphasized: "As you 

for without them we 

know, this is the club's only means of raising 

funds to support our famous Variety Club 

Boys Ranch. 

"The building program at the ranch is complete. 

We now have 78 homeless and abandoned 

boys there who are on the right road 

to useful citizenship. In the future we must 

exert every effort—regular and associate 

membership— to make it a greater Boys 

Ranch. 

"The associate membership of Tent 17 can 

justly be proud of the part they have contributed 

over the years, 

could not have a Boys Ranch. You are to be 

commended for having a part in this fine 

work. 

"This is your club and we are doing a great 

service for humanity, so please sell those 

turtles and make it an even greater Boys 

Ranch." 

The title, 

"How High Is Up?" a Monogram 

film, has been changed to "The Problem Is 

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Mr. 

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. . Two 

ADDRESSES BUSINESSMEN—Wallace B. Blankenship, president of Wallace 

Theatres. Inc., is shown here addressing a group of businessmen at Levelland, Tex. 

The occasion was a visit by Leroy Bicltel, IHGM manager in Dallas. Bickel acted as 

representative for the Texas COIVIPO Showmen at the event. Shown at the head 

table, left to right: Fred Gillam, Jeff Hardin, Blankenship, Fred Bacher, Leroy 

Bickel and Jim 

DALLAS 

Peeler. 

T M. "Jinimie" Leftwich, Dallas, and Gilbert which was served to about 80 persons. The 

M. May, Miami, of Tag night were on affair was so successful that plans are afoot 

Filmrow talking to exhibitors of drive-in theatres 

about the copyrighted boxoffice stimu- 

to make this a monthly gathering. 

Mrs. T. J. Guinan, Tower Pictures, visited 

lant . . . Phil Isley and his wife left Monday 

(28) on a motor trip to California. He 

Oklahoma City recently . . . Jack Arthur and 

his son of the Majestic Theatre, Stephenville, 

was given a big send-off by Kyle Rorex, ex- 

spent several days on Filmrow . . . Jerry 

ecutive chairman of Texas COMPO Showmen, 

and assigned to serve as "special ambassador" 

on the west coast for the forthcoming Texas 

COMPO conference June 9-11. Isley has been 

invited to be the guest of MGM at .special 

screenings and tour of the MGM studio May 

8-10 with .some 100 other exhibitors. 

United Theatres: H. J. 

Other Texas exhibitors who will be the 

guests of MGM May 8-10 are Robert J. O'Donnell. 

Interstate Theatres: Julius Gordon, Jefferson 

Amusement Co.; Ed Rowley, Rowley 

Griffith, Theatre Enterprises, 

and Claude Ezell, Ezell & Associates 

. . . Esther Williams will be in Dallas May 

27, Fort Worth the 28th and Houston the 

29th on the exploitation of MGM's "Skirts 

Ahoy." Fashion shows will also be held featuring 

bathing suits made by the Cole Co., 

in which Esther is a stockholder. 

Gladys Hughes and Leona Adams, operators 

of the Filmrow cafe, played hosts at a 

Filmrow get-together Monday evening (28). 

Several bookers and exchange personnel 

spread the word around the Row and sold 

SI 

tickets for refreshments and a fish dinner, 

Dykstra, son-in-law of Roy Brockman, was 

killed in an automobile accident in a driving 

rain Just one block from his home in Mc- 

Kinney. Dykstra had been manager of the 

McKinney Drive-In for several years. 

The international convention of Circus 

Fans will meet in Gainesville, Tex., next week 

in connection with the Gainesville Community 

Circus. Cecil B. DeMille has been invited 

and the convention hosts will give him a special 

scroll in appreciation of his "The Greatest 

Show on Earth" . Schwarz, 

Tower Pictures, conducted the bingo games 

at the Variety Club last week. 

MGM staffers will go to Chicago May 19-21 

for the Seeing Is Believing, midwest and 

southwest division sales meetings. John Allen, 

Leroy Bickel, Louis Weber. V. L. Smith, Bob 

Davis, Roland Taylor, Ed Brinn, Bob Jones, 

E. B. Coleman and Raymond Willie jr. will 

make up the local delegation. 

Mrs. C. W. Matson, Dixie, Rockdale, who 

was in a serious automobile accident several 

weeks ago, has returned home from the hospital 

and will rest several more weeks. 

Hugo Plath, Claude Eaell & Associates, 

spent several days in Port Arthur, supervising 

arrangements for adding another ramp 

at the Surf Drive-In . 

Walthall, 

home office representative for National 

Screen Service, was visited here by his 

nephew Jachs Walthall, whom he had not 

seen since the end of World War II. Jachs 

was in Texas to visit his brother, the Rev. 

William Shelby Walthall, Episcopal minister 

in Denton. 

Seen along Filmrow were Mrs. Ralph Donnell. 

Texas, St. Jo; Walker Royal, Carthage; 

Foy Arrington, Kay, Rockdale; Hulda Silvernail, 

Coronet, Dallas; Mrs. Raymond Cornes, 

Cornes, Farmersville ; and Mrs. H. C. 

Rainey. Rainey Drive-In, Blackwell: H. J. 

Robin.son, Texas, Sanger; Will M. Wade and 

his son Augus, San Augustine, and E. Abraham, 

Bronco Drive-In, Ysleta. 

Bill Williams, office manager, and Bessie 

Buchanan, both of 20th-Fox, were married 

Friday (25) at St. Matthews Episcopal 

cathedral in Dallas, They left for their 

honeymoon in New Orleans . . . Paul Wilson, 

assistant division manager, 20th-Fox, Atlanta, 

spent several days at the Dallas exchange. 

Mark Sheridan, branch manager, announced 

that .several new employes had joined 20th- 

Fox. They are Jane Umphress, accounting 

department; Loui.se Hall, general clerk; Louise 

Bufford, stenographer, and Pauline Kalligas, 

telephone operator . new girls have 

joined the staff of National Theatre Supplay. 

They are Willie Burnett, clerk, and 

Margaret Martin bookkeeper. 

Two COMPO Speakers 

Address Civic Clubs 

DALLAS — Two speakers from the Texas 

COMPO Showmen speakers bureau this week 

made appearances before civic clubs in Texas. 

L. E. "Eddie" Forester, director of advertising 

and publicity for Theatre Enterprises, spoke 

before the Kiwanis club at Uvalde under 

sponsorship of Gene Haubner, manager of 

Jack Pickens Theatres, Inc. 

Club members were urged in advance publicity 

to invite as many guests as they cared 

to, since the Pickens Theatres would pay the 

luncheon checks for all guests. The large 

gathering heard Forester describe the three 

major phases of the film industry, production, 

distribution and exhibition, stressing the 

importance of each branch to the over-all 

successful operation of show business. 

Meantime, Leroy Bickel, MGM, addressed a 

meeting of Athens Rotarians, emphasizing 

the fact that the theatre has had a strong 

influence on the moral and economic life of 

America in the last 50 years. 

"Movies have been used to stir up the 

American spirit since the first 'Battle Cry of 

Peace' warned the nation against the threat 

of Kaiserism. Today, many motion pictures 

warn of the dangers of Communism and keep 

Americans alert to the other pitfalls of 

troublesome times." 

Bickel said the thousands of theatres in 

the nation are an asset to the economic life 

of their various communities. He pointed out, 

as an example, that one theatre was closed 

for six weeks following a fire and that merchants 

experienced a noticeable decline in 

business. 

Westerns-Features-Serials 

Tower Pictures Co. 

HAROLD SCHWARZ 

302 S. Harwood St. Dallas I. Texas 

Phone RA-773S 


Larocst coverage in U.S. No "Net" listinos 

Highest reputation for know-hoi* 

and fair dealing. 30 years experience incliidiiig 

exhibition. Ask Better Business Bureau, 

or our customers. Know your broker 

ARTHUR LEAK Theatre Specialists 

3305 Carutli. Dallas. Texas 

Telephones: EM 0238 - EM TJSg 


7G BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 

|

. . . Corpus 

M. J. Mullin Receives 

Variety Great Heart 

From New England Edition 

BOSTON—Martin J. Mullin, president of 

New England Theatres, was the recipient 

of the Great Heart award, pre.sentcd each 

year by the Variety Club of New England to 

the individual doing (he greatest amount of 

good for the greatest number of people. Chief 

Barker Walter A. Brown made the presentation 

at the directors meeting of the Variety 

Club of New England April 7. 

Mullin, who is president of the Children's 

Cancer Research Foundation and in the forefront 

of all industry activities here, entered 

the industry in 1916 when a boy as an employe 

of the Triangle Distributing Co. in New York. 

In 1918 he moved to Atlanta, Ga.. to join 

Southern Enterprises, which operated 100 theatres 

throughout the soutli, and remained 

there until 1925 when he was called to New 

York to a position as director of maintenance 

of 1,500 Paramount theatres in the United 

States. In 1929 he was elevated to tlie presidency 

of Northwestern Theatres Corp. in 

Minneapolis, where he stayed until 1933. With 

Samuel Plnanski he organized the Mullin & 

Ftoanski Theatres Corp. Tliree years ago he 

assumed the presidency of New England Theatres, 

Inc. 

FOUNDED IN 1948 

In 1948, the Variety Club of New England 

founded the Children's Cancer Research 

Foundation and later joined with the Boston 

Braves Baseball club and the motion picture 

industry and private philanthropists to support 

the foundation. With Mullin as president, 

the foundation has grown rapidly in the 

past four years. The new Jimmy fund building, 

which was dedicated in January of this 

year, houses the clinic for children suffering 

from advanced cancer and the research department 

which seeks new methods for treating 

this disease in children. 

Three years ago Mullin. with Louis Perini, 

president of the Boston Braves, assumed the 

co-chairmanship of the annual Jimmy fund 

drive to obtain funds for the support of the 

foundation and to pay for the construction 

and maintenance of the Jimmy building. He 

traveled extensively throughout New EIngland 

during the three drives to supervise the collections. 

The foundation has raised more than 

$1,100,000 in the three campaigns, much of it 

in small change donated by children, 

JOY IN HIS SERVICE 

Mullin, who resides with his wife and two 

sons in Waban, Mass., has achieved a great 

personal satisfaction in the realization that 

he has been able to be of service in the tremendous 

project to stamp out cancer in children. 

"Cancer in children is everybody's business," 

he said, "so there is nothing mysterious as to 

why we are vitally Interested. We are looking 

forward to alleviating the suffering of innocent 

children without thought of geographical 

boundaries, race, 

color or creed." 

CORPUS CHRISTI Houslon Theatres Win 

T D. Wolf, manager of Ezell & Associates' 

Gulf Drivc-In, was the first to use the 

Caitoon Festival idea. Local ozoners are really 

pai'king in the customers now on the nights 

when they book the five to eight cartoons In 

place of a .second feature. John Blocker's 

Twin Palms, just recently opened here, always 

shows four color cartoons on every program 

Christi Theatres, Inc., which has 

been closed for complete renovation, now ha.s 

this new information on their marquee— It 

Won't Be Long Now. 

The Boulevard Drive-In has been handing 

patrons a copy of Hollywood Digest, which 

advertises the film, "Street Corner," scheduled 

to show here April 29, 30 and May 1. 

Curtis Hayes, social hygiene commentator, 

was on hand to answer questions ... A 

would-be safecracker failed in an attempt to 

open a safe at the Melba Theatre. He settled 

for an undetermined amount of money 

from the candy machine. 

"Sky Full of Moon," an original screenplay 

by Norman Foster, was acquired and assigned 

to Sidney Franklin jr. to produce for MGM 

release. 

Ad Rate Reductions 

HOUSTO.N The coinmillee repii-Miitii; 

. 

the Theatre Managers Ass'n of Houston, following 

a series of conferences with three local 

dally newspapers, have been granted advertising 

rate reductions. 

The Houston Post and Hou.ston Press reduced 

suburban theatre rates \2''j per cent to 

17 per cent, depending upon the linage u.sed 

Houston Chronicle has killed the upped 

amu.sement rate for downtown and suburban 

theatres and substituted the regular local contract 

retail rate. This repre.sents a decrease of 

approximately 40 per cent. 

Conrad Brady, publicity director Houston 

Interstate Theatres, announced the reductions. 

Altec Reopens Atlanta 

NEW YORK—Altec Service Corp.. has reopened 

its southern division office in Atlanta 

with M. G. Thomas as division manager, according 

to H. M. Bessey, executive vice-president, 

because of constantly increasing business 

from this area. Bruce Newborn, Atlanta 

branch manager, and E. C. Lyman, Nashville 

branch manager, will assist Thomas. 

We Ain't Just Brogg/n' 

We actually do have the 

MOST COMPLETE LINE 

of 

CONCESSION SUPPLIES 

and 

EQUIPMENT 

Write for 

EQUIPMENT DISPLAY SALES 

DARDEN WAREHOUSE, n09 Commertt, Houilon 

OKLA. THEATRE SUPPLY CO., 6J9 W. Grond, Oklo. City 

SOUTHEASTERN EQUIPMENT CO., JU S. Libtrly, Nt» OtlMiii 

In the Southwest. 

information today. 

CHAS. E. DARDEN & CO. 

• 308 S. HARWOOD 

,^ • DALLAS, TEXAS ^ 

* p. O. BOX 2207 

PHONE RI-6134 

WAREHOUSES 

HOUSTON— I 20« C.mm..c«. 

lEAUMONI— S50 Mom Simt. 

LUIIOCK— I40S Aiiniia A. 

312S. Harwood Phone: STerling 3511 Dallas, Texas 

It clicks and satisfies . . . That's what counts. You can with confidence play this reissue 

with 

JAMES CAGNEY - THE GREAT GUY" 

A John L. Fronconi Enterprise . . . C. B. (Connie) Drehcr, Branch Manager 


. . . D. 

. . Garland 

^^ 

OKLAHOMA CITY 

T\T. Forrest Baker of the Ritz Theatre at 

Tahhina is the grandfather of twins, born 

to his daughter Martha, the wife of Dr. Paul 

Lingenfelter of Clinton. Baker, who heads 

the TB sanitarium at Talihina. received a 

citation recently for his work on a paper 

dealing with TB from the American Medical 

Ass'n. He is giving a talk in Chicago at 

the medical board meeting and at a Tulsa 

medical meeting in the near future . . . 

Henry L. Brunk. brother of Sam. who sells 

for Paramount, opened his tent show at Boise 

City April 30. Sam reported Monday (28) 

that Henry called the preceding day to announce 

the birth at Boise City of a baby son. 

Henry will take his tent show- from Boise 

City to Colorado, where it will stay until 

Labor day. 

John Rowley and Vic Jones of Rowley 

United in Dallas were among the trade people 

at the industry fishing party April 22. 23 

at Lake Murray. Glen Thompson of the city 

was chairman of the outing. Also in the 

gang on hand were H. S. McMurry. Dumas, 

Tex.: Delbert Cummings. Stratford. Tex.: Volney 

Hamm. Lawton: Richard Thompson, 

Oklahoma City. Cy Thompson and Dr. Forrest 

Baker, both of Talihina: Wesley Hodges. 

Weatherford: Waite Kerr. Surphur: C. L. 

Lance. Ringling: Eb Walker. Lawton: H. B. 

Lord, Moore: Ed and Ernest Crew, Waurika: 

Lamont King, Marietta; Harry Lawrence, 

Madill: Bill Jensen, Wewoka; Howard and 

Fred Collier, Hartshorne: O. K. Kemp, 

Poteau; Clint Applewhite, Carnegie; H. D. 

Cox of Binger and Houston Burns, Apache. 

Earl Snyder of Tulsa W'as a Row visitor 

. . . Mr. 

' 

and Mrs. Glen Thompson have 

ASTOR 

PICIURES COMPHHY 

0»H«S 

I 

Ii««S 

,,!,.m1.1.11 

Expose*. 

ATLARGir 

• Olllt lOWKT kH/Ltll SHtW 

. . . L. D. Burns is 

moved into a new home in Nichols hills, an 

exclusive residential area 

building a new drive-in at Grandfield and 

Mr. and 

expects to be operating by June 1 . . . 

Mrs. L. B. Zimmerman of the Rex at Leedey 

are back from a two-month stay in Arizona 

V. Terry of Woodward and Clint 

Applewhite of Carnegie are back from Hot 

Springs, Ark., and the horse races . . Funeral 

. 

services for Ray Ru.'ss of Stillwater were held 

recently. A longtime theatreman, he owned 

the Camera at Stillwater until about a year 

ago when he sold to Johnny and Ruby Jones, 

Shawnee. 

The Joneses recently remodeled the 

hou.se and renamed the situation the Crest. 

It is now operaing first run. 

. . . Mrs. 

Buddy Anthony bought the Aline Theatre 

in Aline from James Henigman 

Opal Gray of Chickasha has opened the 

Squaw Drive-In at El Reno after purchasing 

same and remodeling and renaming the 

ozoner . Wilson of Shattuck will 

open a new drive-in May 5 at Shattuck . . . 

Ben Adams of the Palace in Sunray, Tex., 

also is opening a new outdoor theatre about 

Amos Page of the Rogue in Matador. 

May 15 . . . 

Tex., will open his new drive-in on June 

1 . . . C. H. "Buck" Weaver, chief barker of 

Variety Tent 22, and wife went on the Texas 

Special to the Variety International parley 

in Las Vegas April 28. The Weavers drove 

Friday (251 to Amarillo to catch the train. 

En route they took Mrs. Weavers' father. Van 

Keuren, to Lubbock, Tex., to visit kin while 

they were away. 

. . . Policemen 

Jack Hull's black cocker won a gold trophy 

in the Tulsa Kennel club's All-Breed dog 

show Sunday (27>. Hull has a booking on 

the Oklahoma City Filmrow 

here want theatre love-making kept on the 

screen, according to a news item in the Daily 

Oklahoman, which stated that teenage patrons 

in the Plaza Theatre were reprimanded 

by police juvenile officers because they attempted 

to outdo cinema stars in ardent love 

scenes. Three couples were lectured for their 

conduct in the show during the past weekend, 

the article said. The teenagers were turned 

over to their parents. George Grube, manager 

of the situation, complained to police 

about some couples who attended special matinees. 

An officer went to observe, sat through 

a performance, then ordered the teenagers to 

report to the juvenile department. 


BOXOFFICE 

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Please enter my subscnotion to BOXOFFICE. 52 issues per year (13 ol which conlain 

The MODERN THEATRE Section). 

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THEATRE 

STREET ADDRESS 

TOWN 

NAME 

STATE 

POSITION 

Henry Griffing, his wife and children, 

Linda and Philip, returned from a trip to 

Mexico City and Acapulco ... Ed Laird of 

United Artists, Dallas, was here to find a 

location for the UA booking and sales office 

slated to open here soon. He said UA is taking 

over the northern Oklahoma area previously 

handled out of Kansas City, effective 

May 17. Jack Emenhiser, UA salesman, is to 

travel west Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, 

according to Laird, who added that 

another man, to be named, will cover the city 

and eastern Oklahoma area . . . Bill Jones, 

Sand Springs, and Eddie Jones, Tulsa, were 

recent Row visitors. 

C. J. "Jack" Zern, division manager for 

Altec, was here for a week to open a branch 

office at 706 West Grand. George LeBlanc 

will be the manager with Oklahoma, Texas 

and New Mexico comprising his territory. J. 

A. Webster, who was with Altec in Kansas 

City, is to travel LeBlanc's former territory, 

central Oklahoma; Pat Transue will travel 

western Oklahoma and P. J. Aubry eastern 

Oklahoma. 

Public Relations Is Based 

On Art of Making Friends 

ATLANTA — "The good old homespun philosophy 

of making friends and keeping 

friends" is the fundamental of good public 

relations, A. E. Chadick, vice-president of the 

Motion Picture Advertising Co. of New Orleans, 

recently told exhibitors attending the 

Motion Picture Theatre Owners and Operators 

of Georgia convention at the Biltmore 

hotel here. 

"In a program for winning and holding 

public goodwill, one should never mistake 

publicity for good public or human relations, 

or be deceived into a false sense of 

security by repeated successes in the exploitation 

field. To exploit is one thing. But to 

have set up a good public relations campaign 

is quite another." 

"It is my opinion," Chadick said, "that the 

theatre branch of the industry is the cornerstone 

on which our industry public relations 

must rest." 

Good public relations, he said, is nothing 

more nor less than good human relations. 

When a man has a tendency to good human 

relations, it just naturally follows that he 

will establish good public relations in his 

business. 

"If the term 'public relations' is given the 

right meaning, it seems simply a matter of 

keeping your patrons contented with inviting 

comfort, warmly received and appreciated, 

pleasant atmosphere, and courteous treatment—where 

he will want to come back 

again and again. 

"An understanding of basic human psychology 

by a full knowledge of the fact that the 

normal person is motivated by the same natural 

impulses, feelings, desires, emotions, that 

have always been reacted to; we should use 

those same basic fundamentals in our modern 

public relations job," Chadick said. 

When YOU Need 

5pecia( 

TRAILERS 

SPECIALLY 

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^CHICAGO, 1327 S. WABASH 



'Convertible' Theatre 

Started at University 

CHATTANOOGA—A "convertible" theatre 

went under construction during April at the 

University of Tennessee. Patrons of the Carousel 

Theatre have financed the project. 

Architect Frederick Roth of Knoxville drew 

up the plans. 

Believed to be the first of its kind in the 

nation, the building can be transformed from 

an open-air theatre in the summer to a 

weather-tight auditorium in winter. It will 

be octagonal in shape with the roof extending 

out over the sides. Its convertibility is 

achieved by vertical panels, four feet wide, 

easily bolted on in the fall and removed in 

the spring. A concrete floor, depressed toward 

the center, will serve as foundation for 

tiers of seats surrounding the stage. Seats and 

stage will be dismountable, making the auditorium 

adaptable for stage performances, motion 

picture exhibition, concert presentations, 

conventions and exhibits. 

No Hunger Among Thieves 

FORT MYERS. FLA. — Tile Fort Myers 

Drive-In was broken into and robbed of $238 

in cash and some foodstuff and cigarets. 

Thieves got into the office between midnight 

and 6:45 a. m., when a bread delivery salesman 

discovered the open door. More than 75 

packs of cigarets were taken, as well as a few 

candy bars, gum and ice cream packs. 

Cerebral Palsy Trailer available from May 15 to 

July 1. 

MACK ENTERPRISES 

Present 

the Daring Drug Expose 

of Shame, Horror and Despair 

AWARDED FIRST 

'Academy of 

PLACE 

Profits" 

And Soon! Brand New!! 

"STRIPTEASE -GIRL" 

MACK ENTERPRISES 

408 South Harwood 

DALLAS, TEXAS 

Tributes Paid at Majestic Fete 

To Hoblitzelle and O'Donnell 

DALLAS—The 31st anniversary of the 

opening of the Majestic Theatre here waa 

celebrated on April 24 before a packed house. 

Film stars Rory Calhoun and Robert 

Mitchum added to the gay evening's entertainment, 

which climaxed with the showing 

of "With a Song in My Heart." 

Robert J. O'Donnell was master of ceremonies 

and opened the stage ceremony after 

preliminary music by Hyman Charninsky and 

his orchestra and a shower of rose petals 

from the theatre roof. 

"It is my privilege," O'Donnell said, "to 

bid you welcome 31 years after the original 

opening of the Majestic, although I have 

been here only 28 of those 31 years." 

O'Donnell introduced four members of the 

Majestic staff who have been with the theatre 

since its opening. They are Arch Mosely 

and William Coz, stagehands: Leon Dickson, 

stage manager, and Sarah Burton, who sold 

the first ticket still is on duty at the Majestic 

boxoffice, 

Mr. and Mrs. Dunning of Arlington were 

introduced from the floor as having come to 

the theatre every wedding anniversary for 31 

of their 33 years of married life. 

"We have tried," O'Donnell said, "to make 

this and other theatres your amusement home 

and available for civic purposes through leaders 

in your community. It has been my privilege 

and good fortune to have traveled for the 

last six years for Variety International and 

I want to say that as a citizen of Dallas I 

am always accorded a warm welcome." 

O'Donnell introduced William McCraw. 

"My business is a pleasant one," McCraw 

said. "It is to say a few of the many nice 

things I know are in the hearts of you people. 

Karl Hoblitzelle represents one of the great 

citizens of Dallas. I doubt if any one man 

has given more unselfishly in almost every 

activity where human needs make themselves 

felt. He has a great heart. This is an 

occasion in which we can take a great deal 

of pride. 

"Those of you who know' O'Donnell know 

that his field of activity is not limited. Bob 

O'Donnell knows personalities all over the 

U.S. in show business—stars, artisans and 

technicians. This is a great industry that has 

grown from a mere beginning 50 years ago 

to become today the fifth largest industry in 

the country. It has grown under the guiding 

hand of great hearts and great minds not 

unlike Bob O'Donnell and Karl Hoblitzelle. 

"In these great theatres you and I see 

week in and week out the finest and greatest 

entertainment for a mere pittance. This 

is a product, not of accident, but of painstaking 

labors. Citizens of Dallas and Texas 

are deeply proud of Karl Hoblitzelle and Bob 

O'Donnell. I hope you will give some careful 

thought to what the industry has done. In 

time of war it was the greatest contributor 

to the war effort. This industry has brought 

the finest of entertainment to the crossroads 

as well as the big city." 

O'Donnell. before introducing Karl Hoblitzelle, 

said that in another three years Hoblitzelle 

will pass his 50th anniversaxy in the 

amusement business. 

Hoblitzelle said: "I can't thank you enough 

for coming here tonight to help us celebrate 

the 31st anniversary of the opening of this 

great theatre. It meant a great deal to us, 

to Dallas and Texas. It has not been all 

sunshine and honey. We have had .some trying 

times. This building and the Industry 

repre.sents a lot of thought, imagination and 

hard work. I am proud to be the symbol of 

the organization that made this building and 

many others possible in Texas. During that 

time we have tried to build up an institution, 

not merely an organization for profit only. 

We have tried to develop an Institution with 

a heart. 

"The human side of this enterprise Is much 

dearer and means more to me than what we 

have been able to accumulate in a material 

way. This represents the efforts of a loyal 

organization. 

"We have not only tried to build theatres 

over Texas but have tried at the same time 

to build another temple much more expansive 

and lasting, namely, a temple in the hearts 

of the people of Texas, that our good deeds, 

whatever they may be, may bring their just 

rewards. An organization does not last long 

that does not fill a need. 

"Bob joins with me in receiving more satisfaction 

and more real pleasure out of the 

younger generation coming to take over the 

reins and control of this business. It Is 

the younger men and women who have the 

imagination and enthusiasm and are dedicated 

to community service. 

"On behalf of thLs organization again, 

thank you for coming here tonight. It will 

be our aim to try to make this institution 

worthy of your continued support." 

The guests of the evening were then introduced, 

William and Mrs. Demarest, Bob 

Mitchum and Rory Calhoun and his wife. Mrs. 

Calhoun and Billy Daniel from Fort Worth 

gave a series of dance routines which preceded 

the showing of the picture "With a 

Song in My Heart," in which Rory Calhoun 

stars with Susan Hayward. 

Alvin Hancock Succeeds 

Ed Story at Pulaski 

PULASKI. TENN.— Alvin L. Hancock of 

Springfield, Tenn., has arrived here to become 

manager of the Sam Davis and Best 

theatres. He has been employed by Crescent 

Amu.sement Co. for about 15 years and has 

been a relief manager for the past seven. 

Ed Story, who managed the situations the 

past four years, left for induction Into the 

army at Ft. Jackson, S. C. 

Your help apprecioted—run the Cerebral Paljy 

trailer. Available from May IS to July 1. 

m L«1 OSfTor MB 

J COUNTRY 

'" PARSON 

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JOHN BCAl 

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ASTOR PICTURES 

COMPANY 

Will * 

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HAIWOOO 4 JACIIOM %n 

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An ASTOR Office in Every Film Center 


. . Eight 

. . Louis 

. . Ross 

SAN ANTONIO 

tirith a Song In My Heart" followed •The 

African Queen" into the Majestic Theatre 

.. . First runs here during Fiesta week 

Included "The Marrying Kind." The Alameda 

had the U.S. premiere of "Ella and I." starring 

Pedro Armendaj-iz. who was here to appear 

in Noche de la Fiesta and the river 

pageant . 

MGM cartoons augmented 

the regular bill at the Varsity Drive-In. It 

was termed Cartoon Carnival in keeping with 

the fiesta spirit . . . A. G. Benavides of the 

FUm Arts exchange says he has acquired 40 

new pictures for release. 

. . . 

Sam Dembow, New York, was in San Antonio 

and also made a tour of drive-ins in 

south Texas in behalf of COMPO. He was 

accompanied by Eph Charninsky, Southern 

Theatres Co.. San Antonio, and Claude Ezell 

Jorge 

and Albert Reynolds. Dallas 

Negrete, the Mexican film star, headlined a 

stage presentation at the Municipal auditorium 

Sunday night . . . "The Greatest Show 

on Earth" went into its third week at the 

Texas Theatre . A. Stewart, the private 

eye, is back from a business trip to south 

Texas Santikos, owner of the 

. 

Olmos, is on his annual visit to Greece and 

Italy. Santikos has an interest in a film exchange 

at Athens. 

. . 

Mateo Vela, who is opening his new Iris 

at Alice in the near future, was in town booking 

Mexican pictures for the new season . 

Others here for the same purpose were W. V. 

Adwell, owner of the Ozena Theatre at 

Ozona: John H. Flache, Alameda, Lamesa; 

Mayor T. L. Harville of Orange Grove, operator 

of the Star there and the Rio in Alice; 

Humberto Gonzalez, Rex, San Ygnacio, and 

Rex, Zapata; Eddie Reyna, general manager, 

For Your Cortvenience 

Frels cn-cuit, Victoria, who was accompanied 

by Adolfo Garza, his manager, also of Victoria, 

and Matias Reyna. who is reopening 

his Reyna Theatre at Three Rivers. 

Manager Oliver B. Thomas of the State 

Theatre has a "horror film festival" the week 

of May 2. Tliese chiller-dillers have been 

shown in recent years in many cities to satisfactory 

results. Manager Thomas is Karl 

Owner-Manager 

Hoblitzelle's brother-in-law Tommy Sumners of the Josephine 

. . . 

brought back the Japanese film "Rasho-Mon" 

for a revival showing Sunday (27> . . . It 

was estimated that 600,000 people lined the 

downtown streets to witne.'-s the Battle of 

Flowers parade here Friday (25) . . . 

The 

Alameda had the only stage show in town. 

The Mambo revue featured Maria Antonieta 

Pons, Ramon Pereda and ten other acts. 

On the screen was "La Reina del Mambo" 

(Queen of the Mambo). 

Cecil Scott Will Manage 

Improved Caprock Airer 

SLATON, TEX.—Joe Dennis, manager of 

Slatcn Theatres, presented the patrons of 

the Caprock Drive-In with an improved theatre 

this season when it was reopened recently. 

The ozoner will be under the management of 

Cecil Scott. 

This season the Caprock is featuring its 

new concessions, new playground area, ramp 

lighting, improved projection and sound and 

first run films. Caliche topping on the ramps 

and driveways will make all-weather showing 

possible. The policy this year will be 

four program changes weekly. 

WAGNER PLASTIC LETTERS NOW 

Available for Immediate Shipment 

Dallas 

from our 

and Houston Stock 

Sizes: 4, 8, 10 and 17-inch 

Colors; Blue, Green and Red 

McLendon Purchases 

KLEE at Houston 

HOUSTON—B. R. McLendon, owner and 

operator of the Tri-State Theatre circuit in 

the .southwest, and his Trinity Broadcasting 

Corp. have purchased radio station KLEE 

here and changed its call letters to KLBS. 

McLendon is president of Trinity Broadcasting 

Corp., which also owns and operates 

KLIP, Dallas, and KELP, El Paso. McLendon 

and Trinity purchased the Houston station 

from the estate of the late W. Albert Lee for 

a price in excess of $300,000. 

The station is affiliated with the Liberty 

Broadcasting System, which is expected to 

move its complete working operation here 

early in 1953. McLendon also is father of 

Gordon McLendon, president of Liberty 

Broadcasting System and one of the top 

executives of the Trinity Broadcasting Corp. 

The new owners of the radio station are 

pictured above being greeted by KLBS receptionist 

Helen Jones. Shown, left to right, 

are Tom Cavanagh, KLBS station manager; 

B. R. McLendon and Ray A. Lewis, general 

manager of Trinity Broadcasting. 

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July 1. 

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80 

BOXOFFICE 

:: May 3, 1952

NORTH CENTRAL ASS'N INVITES 

COOPERATION OF NEWSPAPERS 

Smart Business to Ally 

With Theatres. Avers 

President Mann 

MINNEAPOLIS — It's economically smart 

for newspapers to line up with the theatres: 

together they make for a lively Main street 

in any town, and a lively Main street creates 

good business for both. This message was 

delivered by Ted Mann, president, to approximately 

150 newspaper editors and publishers 

who attended an exhibitor-publisher forum 

on the opening day of the annual North Central 

Allied convention here Thursday. The 

newspaper representatives were guests of the 

exhibitors at what probably was the first gettogether 

of its kind in the history of the 

motion picture business. 

Mann stressed the community of interests 

existing between newspaper and showhouses, 

tossed some bouquets at Hollywood for the 

quality of its product, defended the film industry's 

loyalty and morality, and pleaded for 

balanced judgment in the handling of items 

concerning the film industry. 

VERY MUCH ALIVE YET 

Mann made it clear that motion pictm-e 

theatres are still a very much alive corpse, 

despite reports to the contrary that might 

have been reaching the newspapers, and 

exhibitors are determined to keep it that way. 

He said exhibitors realize that TV affords 

the theatre its stiffest opposition since the 

inception of talkies, but they feel confident 

that they can emerge victorious. 

He told the newspapermen that the exhibitors 

want the newspapers on their side in the 

fight. 

Mann explained in detail how the well 

being of the local theatre is to the home town 

newspaper's advantage. 

"Actually, there are not two businesses in 

any town, regardless of size, which have so 

much community of interests as the theatre 

and new'spaper," said Mann. "Like the newspaper, 

the theatre is a medium of information, 

education and entertainment. Take 

away the theatre and the newspaper from 

the average town and its life would be quite 

different and much less 

interesting. 

KEEP MAIN STREET BUSY 

"The theatre and the newspaper both make 

for a lively Main street in any town and, 

likewise, they both depend on a lively Main 

street for their economic success. With the 

newspaper's help the theatre draws people 

to Main street and when people are on Main 

street they buy the products of the local 

merchants who are advertising in the local 

press. 

"Stay-at-homes never have been good 

spenders. And when trade falls off advertising 

dwindles, and you newspaper publishers and 

editors know what that means. 

"you newspapermen, along with the general 

public, might have been led to believe, 

erroneously, that the motion picture theatres 

are dead or dying. I am. most happy to repeat 

to you that the corpse is a very lively one. 

Like automobiles, indoor plumbing, and, yes. 

lltti 

'Bronco' Star Troupe Joins 

Flood Relief Drive 

OKUWCC 

TECHNICOIO 

WPEFBOH 

The scheduled premiere ot U-I's "Bronco Buster" at the Paramount Theatre in Des 

Moines recently was turned into a fund-raising; effort of the Red Cross and the Des 

Moines Register for victims of the April floods. The Hollywood players who had come 

on to participate in the premiere rolled up their sleeves and "pitched" for relief. 

Chill Wills is at the microphone under the marquee making his appeal for donations, 

while awaiting their turn are Palmer Lee, Joyce Holden, Mrs. John Lund, Lund, star 

of the film, and Hal Belfer. Lower photo shows the visiting actors with a group ot 

Tri-States circuit officials. Left to right are Lund, .\. H. Blank, Tri-Sta4es president; 

Miss Holden, Lee, Belfer, and Dale MacFarland, Tri-States general manager. Squatting 

are Wills and Lou Levy, U-I Des Moines manager. 

television, the movies-in-the-theatre are here 

to stay. I am sure this will be good news to 

you alert newspapermen who have your 

towns' w-elfare at heart. You know what it 

means to your paper and you know what it 

means to your town. 

"If the crepe hangers who predict that this 

Johnny-come-lately in the entertainment and 

advertising field, television, is going to kill 

off the theatre are right, the newspapers, too, 

are in for serious trouble. 

"Let us speculate for a moment on what 

might happen to you and the other businessmen 

in your town on the day when the theatre 

is killeel off and television takes over— 

day we are determined shall never come. 

Many people would do most of their buying 

by telephone because they wouldn't want to 

tear themselves away from their sets, and 

present experience is that they buy less than 

when they come to the stores and the merchants 

suffer. Main street might be more 

or less deserted and movies, which now are 

pure entertainment, would be used as an 

adjunct to an advertising medium. The newspaper 

would lose its theatre advertising, but 

(Continued on next page) 

BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952 NC 81

Allied Parley Asks 

Editors' Support 

tConiimictl nom preceding page) 

it would be expected to carry television timetables 

free as a public service. 

"Its indicated that as TV expands local 

newspapers receive less and less of national 

advertiang, the bulk of it being allotted to 

the new entertainment medium. They will 

keep the accounts of their local merchants, 

no doubt, but if business generally suffers 

these merchants will have to slash their advertising 

appropriations and. also, the local 

merchanU will tend more and more to handle 

products advertised on television and cut 

down on their local advertising. 

"The theatre, which serves your community 

so well, would be a total loss. It cannot be 

easily converted to other u.ses and there will 

be no particular point to making a parking 

lot out of the property because more people 

will be staying at home and there will be no 

need for additional parking facilities. 

"This is a gloomy and dismal picture for 

you, your town and your theatre owner. I 

paint it solely to shake you up a bit and 

see if I cannot persuade you to become our 

ally in this fight. 

"I am firmly convinced, and I want to 

convince you, that it is to your best interest, 

and your town's best interest, to help your 

theatre to survive. You need not apologize 

for lining up with movies-in-the-theatre. On 

the tcore of quality, HoDywood during the 

past year has produced more outstanding pictures 

than during any similar period in history. 

Tlie fact is that movies actually are 

better than ever, as the industry has proclaimed." 

Mann pointed out there has been much 

hullabaloo about Hollywood and communism, 

but, actually, communism made little headway 

in the movie capital. He called attention 

to the fact that movie star George Murphy, 

a convention speaker, is a member of tlie 

decorating committee for the coming Republican 

national convention. He also made clear 

that the morais of Hollywood compare favorably 

with those of other communities. An 

injustice is done when newspapers play up 

the minor delinquency of some minor membir 

of the industry, inasmuch as little or no 

notice is taken when an obscure individual 

in some other line of endeavor gets a divorce 

or commits a minor offense. 

"I am firmly convinced that the interests 

of the newspaper and the theatre are in many 

respects identical. I trust that out of our 

forum's discussions will come ways and means 

by which, together, we can protect and promote 

our common interests to our mutual 

advantage." 

Joe Carrier Buys Drayton 

House for Son's Future 

DRAYTON, N. D.—Paul Ayotte has sold 

the Drayton Theatre to Joseph Carrier of 

Hallock, who took over active management 

in April. Ayotte's plans for the future are 

indefinite. 

Carrier, who owns the Grand in Hallock, 

said he had purchased the local situation for 

his son Danny, who graduates from high 

school in June, who will manage it while retaining 

his residence at the parental home in 

Hallock. Films will be booked through the 

Grand. 

CROWNED QUEEN — Dode Kosiut, 

MGM cashier, was unanimously elected 

Queen of the Union Pacific Sports club, 

one of the leading sports organizations 

of Omaha. Miss Kosiut, sparkling-eyed 

brunet, was crowned at an elaborate 

ceremony at the Livestock Exchange 

ballroom. Settings were lavish, part of 

those used at the famous Ak-Sar-Ben 

ball. The queen, versatile and a star in 

golf, tennis, Softball and table tennis, received 

a matched rhinestone set of necklace, 

earrings and bracelet. The king 

was Joe Sanduski. 

Mapleton, Iowa, Gave Aid 

For Victims of Flood 

MAPLETON, IOWA—This 

community, although 

situated some distance from the recently 

rampaging Missouri river, played a large 

role in the matter of flood relief for victims 

of the disaster. Evacuees were housed and 

fed here in great numbers, and their entertainment 

was provided by Doc Naulteus, 

Mapleton theatre owner. Doc held free shows 

each afternoon during the flood crisis. The 

special showings were given with the cooperation 

of Paramount, 20th-Pox, 'Warners, MGM 

and Columbia. 

Revisits Home Town 

SIOUX CITY, IOWA—A native Sioux 

Citian, who has become a star in Hollywood, 

paid a five-day visit to her home town last 

week. She is Delores Gay, a dancer and a 

singer, who was here in connection with the 

Sports and Builders show. Miss Gay will be 

starred with Gregory Peck in a picture 

.soon to be released. She was the first woman 

entertainer to reach the front lines in Korea, 

having gone there with the Jack Benny troupe. 

Miss Gay recounted the following experience 

from her Korean tour: "One time when I was 

entertaining, a big soldier rose from the audience, 

strode down to the stage, swept me into 

his arms and gave me a big kiss. 'Remember 

me?' he asked. Did I, he was Jack Fitzgerald 

of Sioux City who was my childhood sweetheart!" 

The River' Back to Minneapolis 

MINNEAPOLIS— "The River," which won 

much critical acclaim but failed to attract a 

heavy gross when it had its initial local run 

at the independent 400-seat World at advanced 

admissions last year, will get another 

downtown whirl. It will go into the Minnesota 

Amusement Co.'s 2,300-seat State May 9 

at regular 76 cents admission. 

Theatre in Dubuque 

Is Damaged by Fire 

DUBUQUE, IOWA—Fire broke out in the 

Varsity Theatre about two hours after it had 

been closed Tuesday night. Damage was estimated 

at several thousand dollars. One tireman 

was overcome by smoke while fighting 

the blaze. The flames damaged not only the 

stage but the walls and ceiling of the theatre. 

The .screen, draperies and curtain were destroyed. 

Water damage was considerable and 

many seats were ruined. It was thought the 

blaze might have been caused by defective 

wiring. C. J. O'Rourke, manager, said the 

theatre may be closed for as long as three 

weeks for repairs. 

Breezy Hill Ranch Airer 

Opens in Street Parade 

FALLS CITY, NEB.—A parade marked the 

opening of the Breezy Hill Ranch Drive-In 

by Jack Cook, owner. The downtown street 

affair was held on a recent Saturday afternoon 

while the suburban theatre opened its 

gates the next day. 

Members of the Falls City Saddle club and 

children with ponies took part in the parade, 

with $15 first prize money. 

mi 

Mamie Nelson Opens New 

Marcus in Tamarack 

TAMARACK, MINN.—Mamie B. Nelson has 

opened the new Marcus Theatre. It was 

named in memory of her late husband, Marcus 

Nelson, pioneer Tamarack merchant, lumberman 

and legislator. 

Short dedication ceremonies were held at 

the afternoon opening, after which a free 

showing of "Fort Worth" was given for the 

first 300 guests. 

Peter Stathis Builds Airer; 

New Drive-In Started 

SPARTA, 'WIS.-A 400-car drive-in is being 

constructed by Peter Stathis on Highway 16 

near here. Stathis operates the Sparta and 

Classic theatres in this city. The drive-in 

will occupy a good part of 39 acres purchased 

by Stathis last year. 

Christiansons Sell Out 

HALSTED, MINN.—After six years of operating 

the Woodman Theatre, Mr. and Mrs. 

Vernon Christiansen have tm-ned over the 

business to Mr. and Mrs. C. J. "Chore" Gilbert 

of Valley City, N. D. It will be a move back 

home for the Gilberts after seven years in 

the Dakota town. The Christiansons have not 

yet made definite plans for the future. 

Sponsor Free Show Series 

RADCLIFFE, IOWA—Twenty-eight Radcliffe 

business firms are sponsoring a series 

of eight free films to be shown at the Radcliffe 

Theatre each Wednesday night. 

Things Changed in Los Angeles 

Researchers working on Warners' "Man 

With a Gun" discovered that in 1850 there 

were only three women to every 100 men in 

Los Angeles. 


. . Arden 

MILWAUKEE 

TTnivcrsal and Warner staffs are planning a 

program for the visits of screen stars 

Piper Laurie, Tony Curtis and Don DeFore. 

The event will be the premiere of the film, 

"No Room for the Groom," starring Curtis 

and Miss Laurie. All proceeds will go to the 

American Cancer society drive. Already lined 

up is a welcome committee at the railroad 

station, reception at the Schroeder hotel, a 

parade and plenty of fanfare in front of the 

Warner Theatre. 

Ben Marcus, S&M Theatres, for the opening 

of the drive-ins at Appleton and Oshkosh, 

gave every patron a certificate good for two 

gallons of gasoline at the Clark stations 

Former theatieman from New York, 

. . . 

Lou 

Breyer, is the new salesman at Universal . . . 

Booker Bill McFadzen returned from a fishing 

trip up the Wolf river, with the largest haul 

he ever made. 

Bob Guiterman, Manitowoc Capitol and 

Mikado theatres, remarked that during Holy 

w'eek he played "Calvary" and wound up with 

the astonishing boxoffice take of $4,000. He 

just returned from Florida and is again adding 

stage shows to his regular programs. 

Admissions 

are 85 cents for adults, 65 cents for 

students and 35 cents for the kiddies . . . Also 

. . . Al 

recently returned from Florida is Irv W. 

Heinke, Film Service accountant 

Sickles, Film Service traffic manager, returned 

from California. 

. . . 

National Theatre Supply Co. completed a 

redecorating job, which included the showroom 

and all offices, says Manager Larson 

Republic salesman Bill Griffiths says he 

hopes to set a record this year . . . Paramount 

salesmen Ed Gavin and Harold Wise cover 

about 5.000 miles each month in their territory. 

Ed has northern Wisconsin and upper 

Michigan, while Harold swings southern Wisconsin. 

Ed's son Ned will be married May 

10. He will join the Philip Morris chemical 

research department. Ned is a Marquette 

graduate in chemical engineering. 

The court case of Film Arts vs. Max G. 

Nohl and Perrien Pictures Corp. is over. The 

suit hinged over the charge of Film Arts that 

Nohl had illegally taken possession of its 

equipment and premises. Nohl charged that 

the business had been transferred to his control 

under an agreement by which he advanced 

money to it. Judge Gehrz ordered 

Nohl to abandon the premises and equipment, 

but directed that he be paid $5,081 for money 

advanced by him and $1,800 in back salary. 

A recent offer by Thomas J. Dalhasen would 

present the winner with a check for $30,000 

for the business. Dalhasen was sales manager 

for Perrien Pictures. More recently, however, 

he has been appointed sales executive 

for the Frederic W. Ziv Co., covering northern 

Wisconsin and upper Michigan. 

Colorado Springs bound are Ben Marcus 

and Harold Pear.son for the Allied convention. 

Both have received invitations from 

several Hollywood studios to visit them and 

it appears that they will proceed from Colorado 

Spring to filmdom after the convention. 

Regal Theatre Manager Sidney Margoles 

rented out the hou.se recently to radio station 

disk jockey Manny Maldin for a two-hour 

midnight stage show. The Regal is located 

within the Negro section of the Milwaukee 

Thur, Allied a.ssociation ad- 

area . 

vertising man. recently attended the religious 

annual convention of the nondenominational 

Bahai at Evanston, 111. 

Paul Newaski, Vista, Mukwonago, is recovering 

his seats . . . Lauren Huston, Troy 

. . Bill Brolicki, Myra. Palmyra, 

of East Troy, is doing some remodeling in 

his basement. He plans to move his theatre 

office into his home after he adds a recreation 

room . 

is working on a .series of school tieups . . . 

National Screen Service's Sidney Ross, recently 

in from a swing around the territory, 

says the majority of the upstate theatre owners 

report that business is good 

Mednikow is becoming quite a letter writer. 

His family is in Honolulu owing to the sudden 

death of a nephew 

is experimenting with a new approach in 

theatre ads, telling the public in one word 

the type of picture appearing at each house. 

Paramount in Omaha 

To Close Two Months 

OMAHA—The Paramount Theatre will be 

closed for motion pictures for approximately 

two months but it will be open for stage shows 

and other activities, including "South Pacific" 

which will open June 16. 

William Miskell, Tristate manager, said the 

lack of major films available during those 

two months is a prime reason. School graduations, 

horse racing and other summer activity 

are other reasons. The 2,900-seat 

house, on the western edge of the dow'ntown 

main business district, will be able to show 

some of the top stage productions on weekends, 

Miskell said. He also has offered the 

theatre to te Chamber of Commerce for 

rental for major attractions. 

Manager Don Shane will take over managership 

of Tristate's Omaha and the 

Omaha's present manager, Ted Emerson, will 

go back to public relations work. The bulk 

of the Paramount staff will be assigned to 

Tri-States' Omaha and Orpheum. 

AT 12 O'CLOCK.. 

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MAIL IN DATES 

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Local 586 Is 25 

GRAND ISLAND, NEB. — Members of 

lATSE 586 celebrated their 25th anniversary 

with a dinner party at the Woodland Country 

club here. The group includes operators from 

Grand Island, Hastings, Norfolk. Columbus 

and York. lATSE President Dick Walsh of 

New York City and Vice-President Felix 

Snow of Kansas City were present. Another 

guest was Roy Brewer, formerly of Grand 

Island and former president of the Nebraska 

Federation of Labor, now assistant to Walsh. 


INDEPENDENT-] 109 Currie Ave.-Minneapolis 

REALART-706 A.W. State St.-Milwaukee 


. . Lou 

. . 

. . 

Wisconsin Allied Holds 

Meeting at Madison 

MADISON. WIS- Some 75 

members of the 

AUipd Independent Theatre Owners of Wisconsin 

met at the Loraine hotel here recently 

for discussions of theatre industiy 

problems. 

Pi-e.sident S. J. Goldberg, Wau.sau. gave the 

welcoming address. R. C. Salisbury, director 

of safety of the local motor vehicle department, 

was guest speaker and talked about 

safety shows. 

Ei-ic Brown. Plymouth, discussed "Small 

Town Exploitation." Angelo Provinzano. Milwaukee, 

talked on "Screening Reports," and 

association Secretary Harold Pearson discu.ssed 

"Performance Reports." A. M. LaPorte, 

Milwaukee, discussed the "Importance of Employe 

Goodwill," and Allied States Tieasurer 

Ben Marcus, Oshkosh and Milwaukee, discussed 

"Films." 

Kenneth Sargent Builds 

Broken Bow, Neb., Airer 

BROKEN BOW. NEB.—Work will get under 

way on the drive-in theatre east of town 

soon, and it is planned to have the layout in 

operation by June 1. Charles Sargent has announced 

his brother Kenneth, who is starting 

the theatre, is closing his operations in 

Minnesota immediately to start the work. A 

favorable slope of land will simplify grading 

work and the principal work will be construction 

of a road to the site. 

Remodel FuUerton Royal 

FULLERTON. NEB.—The Royal Theatre 

has reopened after a short shutdown for remodeling. 

A new floor was laid, more modern 

seats installed, changes made in the inside 

lobby and the seating system and the interior 

completely redecorated. Mrs. Harlan Sirmett 

was featured on the Hammond organ with 

the reopening. 

Cerebral Polsy Troi'er available from May 15 to 

Ju:y 1. 

DES MOINES Two More Theatres 

Tim Ricketts, Columbia booker, is a grandfather, 

A baby named Jeffrey Mark was 

born to Jim and Jean Ricketts of Denver, 

both formerly of Des Moines' Filmrow . 

Jo Elliott. NSS, was married April 21 to Jack 

Buchanan . Levy made a field trip to 

Dubuque. Davenport. Muscatine, and other 

Mi.ssi.ssippi river towns. He reported that all 

the theatres in Muscatine were closed a few 

days to keep people out of the downtown area 

during the high water stage. 

. 

The third annual golf stag, sponsored by 

Variety Club, will be held June 2 at Hyperion 

club. Fee for the entire day, including the 

evening dinner, is $5 ... M. E. Lee, Central 

States, is vacationing in Hot Springs . 

O'Connell is the new salesman at 

. . Art 

replacing 

RKO, 

Jack Peters has who resigned 

Universal expects a visit soon by Ray Moon, 

newly appointed assistant domestic sales 

manager. 

Des Moines children had a chance to be in 

the parade promoting "Bronco Buster" here 

recently. All youngsters in western attire who 

rode bicycles in the parade received free 

tickets to the premiere at the Paramount 

Theatre. Also in the parade lineup were 

three bands, members of the Flying Arrow, 

Ridin' Hi, Four-Mile and Town and Country 

Saddle clubs. 

Merchants to Resume Shows 

KIMBALLTON, IOWA—Kimballton merchants 

are planning to resume film showings 

twice weekly at the town hall. Shows will be 

Grade 

each Wednesday and Saturday night. 

school students will be admitted free to the 

Saturday night shows. 

Reopen Clarence, Iowa, State 

CLARENCE, IOWA—The State Theatre 

here, which has been closed for a month during 

redecoration and cleaning, was to reopen 

May 2. 

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MINNEAPOLIS 

. . Four drive-ins not 

fJtost drive-ins in this area opened somewliat 

earlier tlian usual this season and 

were favored by warm weather and clear 

skys, ideal for their operation . . . Tlie MEE 

drive-ins, owned by a group of Minneapolis- 

St. Paul independent exhibitors, again are 

playing late runs and double-featuring several 

changes each week. Veteran Bill Sears 

again is at theii- helm . 

scheduled to open till May were the Gull at 

Brainerd, the Sunset at Alexandria, the Sky- 

Line in Duluth and the Elson-Nathanson 

ozoner at Detroit Lakes. 

The Robinson-Graziano fight pictures went 

into the Gopher as an added attraction although 

the scrap had been televised here. 

They're being distributed in the territory by 

The Minnesota Amusement Co. Arion and 

Granada neighborhood houses ran large 

newspaper ads announcing "first showing together" 

of "TV's most popular stars," Lucille 

Ball and Desi Arnez, in "Lucy Goes Wild" and 

"Cuban Pete." Only normal business was 

registered although Miss Ball and Mr. Arnez's 

TV show, "I Love Lucy," now has the largest 

audience of any television program. It has 

been proved here lately that TV popularity is 

no assurance of theatre boxoffice draw. 

Groucho Marx has a very large TV following, 

but the last two pictures in which he appeared 

here drew poorly. Singer James Melton 

is popular on television, but when he appeared 

as a soloist with the Minneapolis 

Symphony orchestra at a pension fund benefit 

concert a few weeks ago the audience was 

pitifully small. 

mumm 

COOLO 

NOT 

TAIAE 

her! 

li 

Artistic Attractions, 435 Loeb Arcade here . . 

Absent to attend the Variety International 

convention at Las Vegas, Bennie Berger 

missed his first NCA convention here. From 

Las Vegas, Berger, who until last year was 

North Central Allied president, was to go to 

Colorado Springs to attend the meeting of 

the Allied States board of which he's a member 

. . . W. R. Frank, circuit owner and film 

and TV picture producer, was in from Hollywood 

. . . MGM film salesman George Turner 

and circuit owner Clem Jaunich left for the 

west by auto. 

"Big Jim" Morton, who calls himself former 

Public Enemy No. 1, was here to talk on 

"crime doesn't pay" in behalf of "My SLx 

Convicts," now playing at the Minneapolis 

and St. Paul Orpheums . . . Ralph Green, 

theatreman, now- is devoting himself mainly 

to the manufacturing business . Wilk, 

general manager of the Triangle Outdoors 

Theatres, inspected his Minot, N. D., ozoner 

. . . 'With the boost in newspaper advertising 

rates and declining boxoffice, most local 

neighborhood and suburban houses, along 

with several Loop theatres, have cut down 

considerably on their lineage. 

Radio City Theatre featured a Johnnie Ray 

short last week. In July it will have the 

singing sensation in person headlining a stage 

show . . . Pete Smith's first Technicolor 

short, "Mealtime Magic," had its world premiere 

at the State in Eau Claire, 'Wis. The 

reason; a pressure cooker which it concerns 

is manufactured there. There were klieg 

lights and elaborate ceremonies for the premiere. 

Joe Wolf, veteran film man, returned from 

San Antonio where he acquired an additional 

interest in the drive-in theatre there of w'hich 

he has been a part owner since its opening 

... Ed Lurie, UA exploiteer out of New 

York who did such a hangup job in helping 

to pubhcize "The African Queen," is back 

again, this time for "The River" and "The 

Captive City." The former will open at the 

State here May 9. "The Captive City" will 

have its midwest premiere in Minneapolis 

May 7 . . . Aldo Ray, sfar with Judy Holliday 

in "The Marrying Kind," is due here next 

week for the opening at the Minneapolis and 

St. Paul Orpheums . . . LeRoy J. Miller, U-I 

manager, visited northern Minnesota accounts. 

The local KKO exchange was sixth nationally 

in the Ned Depinet sales drive . . . 

With two members of the Council of Living 

Theatres of New York staff on hand, Sam 

McDowell and John Star, a campaign is being 

conducted to stimulate greater interest 

here in the legitimate stage, make Minneapolis 

a "better show town" for traveling 

legitimate attractions and line up more subscribers 

for the ATS-New York Theatre Guild 

annual sub.scription season of offerings at the 

Lyceum Theatre. Minneapolis is the fifth 

city to have such drives. 

Al Myrick Stages Flood 

Benefit at Lake Park 

LAKE PARK, IOWA—Al Myrick, president 

of Iowa and Nebraska Allied, staged a benefit 

here for flood victims recently. Myrick 

attended the Allied convention in Omaha in 

April and saw the flood havoc first hand. 

Upon his return home, he called a meeting 

of the Chamber of Commerce, Lions club and 

leaders of the various churches to promote 

a benefit. 

The show consisted of four newsreels having 

flood footage — 'Warners' Pathe, MGM's 

News of the Day, Fox Movietone and Paramount 

News, a film feature and a bake sale 

auction. Although the population of Lake 

Park is only 1,000, a total of $600 was raised 

and given to the Red Cross and Salvation 

Army to carry on their flood relief. 

Odebolt, Iowa, Princess 

Sets Two-for-One Plan 

ODEBOLT, lO'WA—All merchants in Odebolt 

are cooperating in a two-for-one theatre 

ticket arrangement at the Princess Theatre. 

The step is a mutual business stimulator for 

local merchants and the Princess. Under the 

two-for-one plan, adult admis.sion will admit 

two persons to the theatre. Each ticket is 

valid for a period of 30 days from date of 

purchase. The two-for-one tickets will be 

sold over a period of ten weeks. W. G. Horts- 

the owner-manager of the Princess. 

man is 

Won't Rebuild Theatre 

MARCUS. IOWA—Ed Delaney has announced 

that he does not intend to rebuild 

his Lyric Theatre, which was destroyed by 

fire three months ago. Delaney told a meeting 

of the Marcus Commercial club that the 

heavy expense involved prompted his decision 

against rebuilding. 

1/ 

i 

I 

HEDY 

LAMARR 

GEORGE co-starring LOUIS {/ 

SANDERSHAYWARD 

irith 

4 

Hillary BrooLc • Gene Loekh«rt 

June Storey * Rhys Willismi 

Pfoductd by JACK CHERTOK 

Directed by Edgar U'mer 

Screenplay by Herb Meadow "^S^ 

Bajed on the novel "The Strang* Woman" /| 

by Ben Ames Wtliiami 

I' 

A Hvnr Srrofnb*r9 frodwctio* 

A^ 


INDEPENDENT-] 109 Currie Ave.-Minneapolis 

REALART-706 A.W. State St.-Milwaukee 


Sol Malisow Succeeds 

Pielow at Minneapolis 

MINNEAPOLIS— Raliili Pielow has resigned 

as 20lh-Fox branch manager and Sol 

Mahsow has been promoted from assistant 

district manager to succeed him. Pielow formerly 

was Des Moines manager and was 

named for the local post when Levy was elevated 

to district manager. 

After disposing of his independent poster 

exchange, some ten years ago. Malisow joined 

the local 20th-Fox branch as a salesman and 

has been with it ever since. He was upped to 

the position of assistant to Levy shortly after 

the latter's promotion. 

Savereide Brokers Wins 

Commission on Norwood 

NORWOOD. MINN.—A directed verdict of 

$3,500 and interest was entered in the county 

district court records in the action by Savereide 

Theatre Brokers against Martin Svendsen. 

former owner of the Norwood Theatre, 

in a dispute over a commission on the sale 

of the house. 

The action was brought into court by Harry 

Savereide and H. W. Buck, co-partners doing 

business as Savereide Theatre Brokers. The 

directed verdict for the brokerage firm was 

in the total amount of $3,818.50 with interest. 

Award Twin City Contract 

DEADWOOD, S. D.—The Stoneberger Construction 

Co. of Lead, S. D.. was awarded the 

contract to build the Twin City Drive-In between 

Deadwood and Spearfish on Highway 

14A. The Black Hills Amusement Co., which 

is constructing the theatre, awarded the electrical 

contract to the Haney Electric Co. of 

Deadwood. 

A. A. "Jack" Rcnfro (left), Omaha 

Variety Club chief barker, presents $500 

in donations from the film industry for 

flood relief to Mrs. Baldwin, wife of Col. 

Albert E. Baldwin of the Salvation Army. 

At right is Joe Jacobs, Tent 16 official 

who worked with Renfro on the fund collection. 

Percentage Suits Started 

In North Dakota Court 

WILLISTON, N. D.—John C. Snyder and 

Jack W. Snyder were named defendants in 

percentage actions filed in federal court here 

recently by Paramount. Loew's, 20th Century- 

Fox and RKO. Two theatres are involved, 

the Grand and Snyder, Williston. 

Grand 

Buys Sheffield 

SHEFFIELD, IOWA—James Robinson of 

Elk Point, S. D., has purchased the Grand 

Theatre here from L. P. Gilligan. Robinson 

and his wife have owned and managed theatres 

for many years. Gilligan, who has owned 

the Grand for the last ten years, plans to 

remain in Sheffield. 

FOR SALE AT ONCE 

Drayton Theatre Equipment. 

G70 International full-spring, padded back, tip up seats. Simplex Projectors—Simplex 

Sound, Automatic 3-bank ticket register, Hertner 40-80 

Generator, Screen, Drapes, Traveler Rewind, Safety Vaults. 

Write Wire Phone 

L J. MITCHELL 

3410 Grand River — Temple 1-2509 DETROIT, MICHIGAN 

HANDY SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM

. . . Frank 

. . Roy 

. . Sam 

OMAHA 

•The Brandeis has two personal appearances 

booked for May: namely, Aldo Ray at the 

opening of "The Marrying Kind" May 7. and 

Jim Norton, ex-convict, to exploit "My Six 

Convicts" later in the month . Deutch, 

U-I booker, was home ill . Al Gardner, 

. . 

Warner salesman, was back from a vacation 

in Texas with the stamp of the Texas sun 

on his brow . Casey, 20th-Fox cashier, 

has proved that it's possible to get a fine 

coat of tan this early in the season in Iowa. 

He spent his two-week vacation at Cherokee. 

Jack Kelley of 

the MGM news department 

at New York was a visitor in the Omaha office 

last week and reported surprise at finding 

so little flood damage in the Omaha area 

Hannon, Warner manager, and 

salesmen William Wink, Bob Hirz and Al 

Gardner attended a district sales meeting in 

Chicago . . . Sgt. Fi-ank Wolbach, brother of 

MGM's Ceil Wolbach, returned after 17 

months in the Far East with the air force, 

including more than a year in Korea . . Mel 

. 

Ki'use, Pierce, Neb., exhibitor, reports his new 

six-room home is about ready for occupancy. 

. . 

Abe Sadoff, Sioux City, exhibitor, became 

father of a new baby daughter . The fishing 

fever has got Heinie Saggau of the Ritz, 

Denison. and he has opened his summer 

Mr. and Mrs. 

home at Park Rapids, Minn. . . . 

S. R. Nothem, Remsen, are grandparents 

again. Their daughter has a baby girl . . . 

Larry Howorth, Manilla, Iowa, exhibitor, says 

his tackle is all ready and he is planning a 

trip to the north woods. 

A feature of the North Platte senior high 

school commencement program will be a film 

preview the morning of graduation exercises 

at the Paramount Theatre, under arrangements 

of the Kiwanis club . . . The American 

Legion presented a benefit talent .show at 

the Page Theatre in Shenandoaii. 

Ted Emerson, veteran of the Tri-States 

staff, will go to Fairbury the first two weeks 

in June to fill in for Manager Loren Lankammer, 

who is planning to marry. 

Exhibitors were out in full force along 

Filmrow. Visitors included Nate Sandler, 

Missouri Valley, whose theatre escaped a serious 

flood threat: Oky Goodman, Villisca: 

George March, Vermillion, S. D.; Jim Ti-avis, 

Milford: Alt Sunde, Papillion, Neb.: Ray 

Brown, Harlan: Ira Wattenye, Tecumseh: 

Bob Friedley, Ida Grove: Phil March, Wayne: 

Arnold Johnson, Onawa, also in the floor 

area: Herman Field, Clarinda: Mons Thompson, 

St. Paul. Neb.: Earl Cowden, Sidney: 

Howard Kennedy. Broken Bow: Mel Kruse. 

Pierce: E. W. Kugel, Holstein: Reggie Gannon. 

Schuyler: Frank Cook, David City: Ollie 

Schneider, Osceola: Irvin Beck, Wilber, and 

Ted Krogh, Denison. 

When YOU Need 

dpeciat 

TRAILERS 

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îmn IT TO 

'CHICAGO, 1327 S.WABASH 


VVYNN IN OMAH.A—Keenan Wynn po.sed with Omaha ti-rrilory cxliiltitorx on 

his recent visit to that city. Left to right: Jack Kenfro, Theatre BookinK .Service; 

DeWitt St. Clair, Cozy a.nd Grand Theatres, Wymore; Vincent Flynn, resident manager, 

Loew's, Inc.; Wynn; Irma DeLand, booker, Theatre Booking Service, and Mrs. 

Jack Renfro, booker, Theatre Booking Service. 

Woodrow Simek Continues 

New Theatre at Ashland 

ASHLAND, NEB.—Work progres.sed during 

April on the theatre which is being completed 

here under the personal direction of Woodrow 

Simek. In addition to the auditorium, the installation 

of blower-type gas heating has been 

finished and deflectors for the air conditioning, 

which clears the way for completing the 

Nu-Wood sidewalls to the stage. 

Stage partitions are being built along with 

the baffle for the speakers. On the second 

floor, over the lobby, the steel work and concrete 

floor for the booth are done. Many details 

remain to be finished and a few critical 

items may cause some delay even though to 

date they have not held up work, Simek said. 

To Start Free Saturday Show 

SCRANTON, IOWA—Free films will be 

shown at the Rex Theatre here each Saturday 

afternoon for a period of 15 weeks. 

One of a series of Think 

Pieces obout improving 

your theatre and its 

equipment. 

RCA products ore 

among the best to 

be had—buy wisely 

EMERGENCIES! 

When repairs 

rteeded 

are 

AT ONCE—call 

us. We act fast! 

Phil March Will Erect 

Drive-In at Wayne, Neb. 

WAYNE, NEB.—Plans for immediate construction 

of a drive-in on the outskirts of 

Wayne were revealed by Phil March, local 

theatre owner. Work on the Dude Ranch, as 

it will be named, located on seven acres at the 

one-mile intersection north of town, has already 

begun. Tentative scheduling in April 

called for completion by June. 

With a capacity of 300 cars, the theatre will 

be constructed of knotty pine log siding with 

rustic fences. It will follow a western theme 

throughout. 

Cryroom in Lake Theatre 

CLEAR LAKE, IOWA — A feature of the 

Lake Theatre here is a children's "cryroom" 

built into a section of the women's lounge on 

the second floor. C. E. Mosher is manager 

of the Lake. 

For Each $1.00 at Gate 

They Spend 45c for Eats! 

Better Hurry — The Big Outdoor 

Season Is Now With Us 

Surveys by BOXOFFICE disclose that for every $1 

spent for drive-in odmissions, another 45 cents is 

spent for refreshments. To get your shore of this 

high-profit business, let us help you stock, display and 

easily sell. We have both experience and materials. 

WESTERN 

THEATRE SUPPLY CO. 

214 N Fidtmlli. Om.ih.l. Nfb. .. Plioiu Allmlic 9046 

i 


\î 

Runnymede 

2225 BLOOR ST. W. • • JU. 2709- 

FAMOUS 

PLAYERS 

Theatres 

Office of the Manager 

MAURICE i. 

DOYLE 

TORONTO 

February 20, 1952 

BOXOFFICE, 

825 Van Brunt Blvd., 

Kansas City, 

Mo. 

Dear Sirs: 

Please forward another copy of your issue for February 

16, as I am particularly interested in the valuable article 

on "Junior Admissions Gaining Favor as Tax Law Changes." 

You have a great film weekly and I surely do enjoy 

reading it 

each week. 

Very truly 

yours, 

(Signed) M. J. DOYLE 

Letters Like These Keep Editors on Their Toes 

Every good editor is constantly seeking material that is both interesting 

and helpful to his readers. BOXOFFICE policy is the best 

service to the most readers. Thanks, Mr. Doyle—and all the many 

other appreciative readers who write to 

us. 

Most Popular Tradepaper in the Industry 


'HOW TO IMPROVE BUSINESS/ 

THEME OF OHIO ITO GATHERING 

Wilbur Snoper Will Speak; 

Maurice Bergman Also 

On the Program 

CLEVELAND— Plans for the 17th annual 

convention of the Independent Theatre Owners 

of Ohio to be held at the Hollenden hotel 

hotel here May 19-21 have been completed 

by Robert Wile, ITOO secretary. 

"This will be an all-exhibitor convention," 

Wile said during a recent visit in Cleveland. 

Two general meetings, one on Tuesday i20i 

and another on Wednesday (21) will be devoted 

solely to exhibition problems and to 

election of officers. No distributor representatives 

will be present. 

With a definite theme—How to Boost 

Business and How to Reduce Overhead— the 

meetings will be broken down into specialized 

clinics. Special entertainment has been provided 

for the women. The highlight will be 

a luncheon at Halle Bros, department store, 

with a style show and a back-stage tour of 

the store. Every woman present will receive 

a Halle Bros, charge-a-plate. 

MONDAY. May 19: 

2:30 p. m. Drive-In Ass'n meeting. 

7—Caravan meeting, with National Caravan, 

Chairman William C, Carroll, presiding, 

7—Board of directors meeting and dinner, 

TUESDAY: 

10 a, m.—Registration. 

10:30—Drive-in theatre owners meeting. 

10:30—Small town clinic. 

10:30—Subsequent run big town clinic. 

10:30—First run big town clinic. 

1 p. m.—Luncheon, Hollenden hotel. 

2—Open forum. 

7—Dinner at the Alpine Village. 

WEDNESDAY: 

1 p. m.—Luncheon, Hollenden hotel. 

2—General meeting and election of officers. 

7—Convention banquet. 

For the women, there will be a luncheon, 

style show and back stage tour, Halle Bros. 

Co., starting at 12:30 Tuesday noon. 

On Wednesday at 2 p. m., a new picture 

will be screened in the 20th-Fox exchange. 

Banquet guests will hear Maurice Bergman, 

Universal director of public relations, report 

on his tour of 16 Ohio cities. They also will 

meet actress Janis Carter, only representative 

of Hollywood to be present. Other banquet 

speakers are Abram F. Myers, Allied 

States counsel: Wilbur Snaper, Allied States 

president, and W. Ward Marsh, motion picture 

editor of the Plain Dealer. 

The clinics will be closed sessions, with attendance 

limited to exhibitors. The registration 

fee includes two luncheons, two dinners 

and the women's luncheon at Halle Bros. 

Install TV in Eastown 

DETROIT—Installation of RCA television 

equipment in the Eastown Theatre, operated 

by Wisper and Wetsman Circuit, may be 

given its first public workout in June. An 

experimental "dry run" has already been 

given. The circuit is negotiating with Theatre 

Network Television for reception of two 

major fights scheduled for June 5 and June 18. 

Janis Carter, the actress. Martin Smith, ITO president. 

ITO Resolution Stresses Identity 

Of Indoor and Outdoor Interests 

COLUMBUS—Closer cooperation between 

Ohio indoor theatres and drive-ins is expected 

following adoption of a resolution favoring 

such cooperation by the board of directors 

of the Independent Theatre Owners 

of Ohio at a meeting here. 

The board said that there is "less difference 

between problems of drive-ins and any 

conventional theatre than there is between a 

first run downtown theatre in a large city 

and a small subsequent run neighborhood theatre, 

both of which types are represented 

among ITOO members." 

The board stressed the "identical" interests 

of drive-ins and indoor houses with respect 

to distributors, supply houses, tax problems 

and non-taxable competition. The 

board passed this six-point resolution: 

1. Film distributors and National Screen 

Service should not discriminate against outdoor 

theatres simply because of the nature 

of their operation. 

2. The distributors and National Screen 

Service should be made cognizant of the fact 

that drive-ins as a rule are not operated for 

the entire year but nevertheless have investments 

which must be amortized over a period 

of 12 months. A different yardstick 

must be applied to determine drive-ins' film 

rentals in such situations. 

3. Film rentals to drive-ins should be determined 

on the basis of the age of the product 

(number of days after the last preceding 

rum in accordance with the same basic principles 

by which rentals are determined for 

indoor theatres. 

4. That the same cooperation that exists 

between various indoor theatres to eliminate 

competitive bidding and excessive multiple 

day-and-date runs be extended to include 

drive-in theatres. 

5. That the basic aims of ITOO to prevent 

legislation inimical to the interests of conventional 

theatres be extended to include 

those same basic interests for drive-ins. 

6. That the services of the officers, board 

of directors and the executive secretary of 

ITOO be made available to drive-ins on the 

same basis as they are to indoor theatres. 

Those attending the board meeting included 

Martin Smith, Toledo, president: Robert 

Wile, secretary: Leo T. Jones, Upper Sandusky; 

Blair Russell, Millersburg: Horace 

Adams, Cleveland; Louis F. Eick, Martins 

Ferry: F. W. Huss jr., Cincinnati; C. F. Pfister, 

Tioy and Marshall Fine. Cleveland. 

Detroit Suburb Books 

Uncut 'La Ronde' Print 

DETROIT—Announcement that the Krim 

Theatre will play an uncensored version of 

"La Ronde" was made through Helen Bower, 

film critic of the Detroit Free Press, who last 

week advocated that adult-type films should 

not be subjected to censorship, with especial 

reference to this particular picture. 

The Krim. operated by Manager Sol Krim. 

is actually within the city limits of Detroit 

but not subject to local censorship since it is 

in the suburb of Highland Park, which is entirely 

surrounded by Detroit. 

As Topliners in 'Stratosphere' 

Judd Holdren and Aline Towne have been 

signed as topliners in Republic's "Zombies of 

the Stratosphere," a science-fiction serial. 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 ME 89

. . Bob 

. . Dorothy 

. . Gene 

. . Mrs. 

CINCINNATI 

All cx-fonvli'l wius cauKlit by police attcmptliiB 

to enter the 20th-Fox offices here. 

The porter heiud a window break nnd .summoned 

police, who found the .suspect hiding 

In n loft behind a motor of the air eondltlonlng 

.system. He has a burglary record dating 

back to 1930. 

James Abroso, WB manager, and his sales 

staff attend a meeting In Pittsburgh conduced 

by Benjamin Kiilmeiison. general .sales 

manager . Harrell, Cleves, has returned 

from Florida and was on FUmrow 

here. 

Utiicr vislturs Included Roy Wells. Dayton; 

Bennett Goldstein, Cleveland: Dick Miller, 

Jur circuit; Salem; Charles Behlen, Lexington, 

Ky.; Clarence Brown, Jackson Center; 

John Powell and Max Matz, Blueficld; 

Guy Greathou.se, Aurora, Ind.; Christian 

Pflster, Tioy; Hurry McHaffie, Marmet; 

Frank Yas.senoff. Columbus; Mr. and Mrs. 

Louis Martin, Clrclevllle; J, E. Denton, Owenton; 

Sylvester Moorman, Coldwater; Poster 

Lane. Williamsburg; W. B. Wright, Whitesburg. 

Maurice Cirad, .short subject sales manager, 

Columbia, was expected here for a visit 

at the branch . Long, former assistant 

contract clerk. MGM, has been promoted 

to assistant cashier, replacing June 

Kenning, who resigned . Tunick, 

manager of Souvalne Selective Pictures in 

Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis and St. 

Louis, has his office at 1716 Logan St. 

The Starlight Drive-In, Sheridan, across 

the river from Ashland. Ky., held its formal 

opening Saturday i3). Dr. W. E. Day 

Is owner of the new drive-in. Midwest Theatre 

Supply equipped it with RCA .sound and 

Kenneth Ray, former head 

projection . . . 

of the Ohio censor board and exhibitor at 

the Variety, ZanesviUe, is taking time off to 

campaign for the Taft brothers—Charles P., 

who aspires to the gubernatorial office, and 

Robert A., who seeks the Republican nomination 

for President. 

, . . Jay 

Mrs. Krma Boedeeker, who operates the 

Maple Drive-In at ZanesviUe, had a stage 

built on the .screen tower and plans to use 

It for per.sonal appearance shows 

Goldberg, local manager for Realart, advises 

the censor board has now approved the originals 

of both "Frankenstein" and "Dracula," 

a sjx'cial Realart combination to be released 

soon. Goldberg and Bernle Rubiti of Cleveland 

accompanied Budd Rogers, president of 

Realart, to Columbus, to discu.ss the pa-ssing 

of the pictures by the cen.sor board. 

Robert Doppes, former student booker, U-I, 

who Is a seaman reserve in the navy, is laid 

up In a navy hospital in BainbridKe, Md., with 

Ro.scmary Meyer, contract 

scarlet fever . . . 

Mildred Miller, 

clerk, has a new niece . . . 

roving reporter for the local Cincinnati Enijuirer, 

visited Filmrow offices to interview 

employes for opinions on current problems. 

She was accompanied by a photographer. 

Variety Chief Barker Vance Schwartz made 

a hurried trip to the west coast becau.se of 

the death of his mother. Schwartz's father 

died seven month ago . Ruth Bryant 

is the new telephone operator at Paramount, 

replacing Mrs. Georgia Regan, who re.signed. 

John Quincy Havfklns, former porter at 

20lh-Fox who had been pensioned by the 

company last November, died at age 72 . . 

. 

Ethel Stenger, bookkeeping machine operator. 

20th-Fox, has for the third time donated a 

pint of blood to the Red Cress, 

Officers and directors of the Variety 

Club have voted to spon.sor a new charity 

the Hamilton county Council for Retarded 

Children. Vance Schwartz, chief barker, said 

that most of the 300 local Variety members 

were enthusiastic about sponsoring the cau.se 

of the mentally handicapped children when 

they learned of the neglect now suffered by 

the.se children. According to statistics, 

Schwartz .said, 3 per cent of the nation's 

population is mentally retarded—or 4,500,000, 

with 238,000 in Ohio and 21,000 in Hamilton 

county. 

Irving Tombach, Warner Bros, exploitation 

representative, arranged a .special screening 

of "The Lion and the Horse," photographed 

in WarnerColor, here recently. Invited to the 

screening were Cincinnati photographic experts, 

the press and other interested people. 

After the ,screening a discussion led by E. B. 

Radcliffe, film critic of the Cincinnati Enquirer, 

showed agreement that the color was 

extremely good. 


BOXOFFICE 

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THEATRE 

STREET ADDRESS 

TOWN 

NAME 

STATE 

POSITION 

Kroger Store Sponsors 

Parties at 2 Theatres 

TOLKDO—Two neighborhood theatres have 

arranged with the Kroger Co., chain grocery 

film, to stage Kroger night film programs 

at half-price admission. The Colony, managed 

by Jack Lykes, near the largest Kroger 

supermarket in the area, was the first to 

u.se the idea. In return for the chain's announcing 

the plan to some 20,000 area residents 

and publicizing it in the store, the 

Colony .set aside a Monday evening as Kroger. 

night, at which free coupons distributed by the 

store were good for half-price admission. The 

film offering and date was publicized in 

neighborhood .siiopping papers by the store. 

An interval of three weeks .separates each 

such special event. 

Finding the program succe.ssfully received 

at the Colony, the idea was extended to the 

Westwood, a half block from a Kroger store. 

The theatres were receptive to the plan because 

Monday evening Is generally a slow 

night. They found they could do better with 

.some 600 or 700 patrons at half price than 

without the tie-in. Lobby displays and store 

displays both plugged the Kroger night event. 

Several baskets of groceries also were given 

from the stage on that evening. 

ii 

Teenage Girls Arrested 

On Theatre Fire Charge 

DAYTON—Two teenage girls have admitted 

to police that they started two local 

theatre fires. The girls, aged 14 and 16 

years, are in county detention home awaiting 

drapes were torn down and ignited. 

juvenile court action. 

The girls were picked up when they were 

caught setting fire to two upholstered chairs 

in the women's restroom at Keiths Theatre. 

The girls said they deliberately set the chairs 

afire with cigarets. They also admitted starting 

another fire a few days earlier in the 

women's lounge at the Victory. At the Victory, 

Similar fires have occurred in the same 

theatres and in the Colonial Theatre in recent 

weeks. 

Riots in Michigan Prison 

Windfall for 'Convicts' 

DETROIT—Quick thinking by the Columbia 

exploitation staff, represented here by 

Clarence Bell, drew .some nice newspaper 

space and art work when thousands of convicts 

rioted at Jackson Monday. Columbia 

had "Big Jim" Morton, ex-convict, in town 

in connection with "My Six Convicts," and 

promptly planted a special Interview by reporter 

Robert Perrin in the Detroit Free 

Press. Morton was quoted as an authority 

on the management of penitentiaries—from 

the inside—and was depicted exercising his 

craft at lock-picking. 

To Try All-Night Policy 

DETROIT—An all-night operation policy 

is to be tried out for the first time by a first 

run hou.se here. Starting April 30, the Palms- 

State, operated by United Detroit Theatres, 

will run till 6:00 a. m., then close until 10:45 

a. m. The policy is viewed skeptically locally, 

in view of the evidence from the Korman circuit's 

Broadway Capitol, normally a second 

run on major pictures, that there is an inadequate 

number of shift workers here at 

present to bring big crowds downtown for the 

all-night shows. 


. . Junior 

. . Bob 

. . 

. . Disney's 

'Rain' at Cincinnati 

Beats First Week 

CINCINNATI—Business remained fair, with 

no outstanding grossers at any of the theatres. 

"Singin' in the Rain" not only held 

up well in its .second week but beat its first 

week percentage by 10 per cent. "With a 

Song in My Heart" was excellent in its holdover. 

New films were booked at all houses 

for the coming week, however. 

(Averocje Is 100) 

Mbee— Singin' in the Rain (MGM), 2nd wk 110 

Copitol—With o Song in My Heart (20th-Fox), 

2nd wk 100 

Grond Hong Kong (Parol; Whispering Smith 

vj. Scotland Yard (RKO) 95 

Keith's—Mo and Po Kettle at the Foir (U-l) 110 

Lyric Sirocco iCol), Tokyo Joe (Col), 3 days. ... 80 

Poloce- The Big Trees (WB) 90 

Holdovers Uphold 

Average in Detroit 

DETROIT — Weekend temperatures of 85 

sent grosses downward but the strong holdovers 

maintained the average mark, while 

"Greatest Show" was the leader in its ninth 

week with 120 per cent. 

Adorns— Quo Vodis (MGM), 8th wk 90 

Cincmo—Blithc Spirit (UA), reissue 80 

Fox With a Song in My Heart (20th-Fox); The 

Bushwhackers (Rcolort), 2nd wk 100 

Madisori The Greotcst Show on Earth {Poro), 9th 

wk 120 

Michigon The Los Vegos Story (RKO); The 

Fabulous Senorlto (Rep) 90 

Polms-Stote Jock and the Beonstalk (WB); 

Oklahoma Annie (Rep) 85 

United Artists Singin' In tho Rain (MGM), 2nd 

wk 100 

Pride of St. Louis' Tops 

New Bills in Cleveland 

CLEVELAND—"The Pride of St. Louis" did 

the best in town as the first warm weekend 

of the season put the world and his wife on 

wheels. There was a resultant drop at indoor 

theatres and a boost for the drive-ins. "Singin" 

in the Rain" at 10,5 per cent was the best 

of the other three new film bills. "Sailor 

Beware" drew consistently in its fourth week 

and stayed another. "Greatest Show" was 

good in its fifth and stays a sixth. Interest 

in the Cleveland Indians is at fever heat and 

night games are keeping many would-be theatre 

patrons home by the TV. 

Allen The Pride ot St. Louis (20fh-Fox) 115 

Hippodrome With o Song in My Heart (20th-Fox), 

2nd wk 80 

Lower Moll Miracle in Milan (Burstyn), 2nd wk..l00 

Ohio Sailor Beware (Poro), 4th wk 110 

Palace Scandal Sheet (Col) 90 

Stote Sinqin' in the Rain (MGM) 105 

Stillmon The Greotcst Show on Earth (Poro), 

5th wk no 

lower The Thiet ot Bagdod (Classics); The 

Jungle Book (Classics), reissues 105 

Theatre Game Okayed 

By Cleveland Attorney 

CLEVELAND—Hy-Bid-N'-Take, a theatremerchant 

auction promotion, "does not constitute 

a lottery as defined by state law or 

city ordinance," according to Jo.seph H. Crowley 

of the city law department, after an analysis 

of the promotion as presented by Arthur 

I. Morrison & Associates, distributors. 

Using stage money distributed by participating 

merchants and the theatre, the patron 

bids for merchandise, which the merchant 

displays and which the theatre awards to 

the highest bidder. 

A public relations angle has al.so been 

worked out whereby a specified amount of 

the stage money is given to Red Cross blood 

donors. 

CLEVELAND 

. . . 

por the first Hum- on record, all three downtown 

Loew's theatres played holdovers. 

They were "The Greatest Show on Earth," 

sixth week at the Stillman; "Sailor Beware," 

fifth week at the Ohio, and "Singin" in the 

Rain,"" second week at the State. Another 

holdover was "With a Song in My Heart,"" 

playing a third moveover week at the Tower 

Max Lefkowich, president of Community 

circuit and le.ssee of the 1,800-seat Circle, has 

reduced its playing time to weekends for the 

time being. The Circle is one of five theatres 

in the congested Euclid-East 105th street area. 

The houses have a total of 10,232 .seats. To 

further saturate the area with entertainment, 

some half-dozen restaurants present floor 

shows. 

Ted Barker, Loew's publicity director, 

checked into St. Vincent's hospital for a 

checkup . Playland, a Balaban project 

on Warrensville road, opened Its second 

season . . . Hawaiian orchids for Mother's day 

will be pa.s.sed out to all the women customers 

at the Maple Drlve-In, Zanesville, and tlie 

Family Drive-In, Steubenville. Monogram 

salesman Sol Gordon handles the orchids . 

Screen star Ann Dvorak was in town with her 

husband, former Clevelander Mike Wade. 

ITOO Convention—Cleveland—May 19-21 

Herb Ochs had a one-day session with A. B. 

Cass, manager of Columbia's Toronto branch, 

to buy and book for the Ochs Canadian drivein 

chain . Bial of Luthi Sign is doing 

a repeat performance for the Red Cross. He 

now is covering the Film building in behalf 

Kroger Babb, president 

of flood relief . . . 

of Hallmark, was in Cleveland on business. 

He has announced that Hallmark offices are 

moving from Wilmington. Ohio, to Hollywood 

and that Hallmark territorial franchises are 

now available. 

Henry Grecnberger, Community circuit 

executive and chief barker of the Variety 

Club, is home from a .short .session in Lakeside 

hospital where he underwent an operation 

Jack Vogel of Vogel 

for varicose veins . . . 

Building Co., Wellsville, was in town. His 

brother Paul is due to don civilian clothes the 

end of the month. 

Sam Fritz, who left his job as manager of 

the Medina, Medina, to answer a recall to 

service in the navy, has completed an 18- 

month tour of duty and is back with Modern 

Theatres circuit as manager of the Lorain- 

Fulton here. He succeeds Charles Marcus, 

now with the Gusdanovic circuit . . Prank 

. 

and Louis Slavik who recently acquired the 

Shane Drive-In at Andover, have completed 

an extensive modernization program including 

a new conce.ssion stand and installation 

of playground equipment. 

Jack Silverthornc, manager of the Hippodrome, 

enticed hundreds of children to his 

downtown theatre last Saturday morning 

with an all-cartoon special 9 o'clock .show. 

Scale for the occasion was 30 cents for children 

under 12 years of age and 55 cents for 

older children and adults. Program consisted 

of 15 cartoons . . . Jack Sogg, MGM 

manager, has returned from a Florida vacation. 

ITOO Convention—Cleveland—May 19-21 

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DETROIT 

Tack Broder, now head of Realarl. stopped 

' here en route from Lo.s Angele-s. and flew 

east Tuesday with Sol Krim. circuit operator, 

to .spend about a week in New York on 

a business trip. Broder was to return this 

week to the west coast Koken, in 

charge of vending for 

. 

RKO, was a local 

visitor . Albert Dezel was Chicago on 

. . in 

Frank Kin.sora has been named 

business . . . 

to the labor committee of the state fair board. 

David M. Idzal of the Fox will act as a special 

consultant on entertainment for the fair. 

. 

Betty Fussner, Paramount booker, reports 

practically the whole staff got chest X-rays 

when the Red Cross mobile unit parked out in 

front of the exchange Mitchell is 

planning to close the Drayton Theatre at 

Drayton Plains and convert it to commercial 

Nate Bloch, operator at the Adams, 

use . . . 

left on an extended vacation in Arizona . 

Neil Tailing, Cinema manager, lost a couple 

of patrons who looked over his front, until the 

woman remarked, "Let's find where 'King 

Solomon's Mines' is playing. I just love those 

Biblical pictures." 

FOR SALE AT ONCE 

Drayton Theatre Equipment. 

Alice Gorham, UDT exploiteer, headed up 

to northern Michigan for a brief vacation . . 

Joe Lee was host at a screening of "Wait IMll 

the Sun Shines, Nellie" and "Diplomatic 

Courier" this week ... It was oldtimers week 

on Filmrow. Among those noted were Clive 

Waxman, Grand Rapids; Harry Ruben, Benton 

Harbor; Ed Johnson, Bay City; William 

Thick, Marshall; Bob Pennell, Bronson; Ray 

Branch, Hastings, and Richard Ingram of 

Flint and Mount Morris. 

Oliver Willett, associated with his father 

A. O. in the operation of the Strand at North 

Branch, is taking over the Strand at Imlay 

City and the Capac at Capac from Leonard 

Wnuk . . . Bill Hurlbut was in Los Angeles 

to attend the Monogram directors meet . 

The Wisper & Wetsman office says there's 

nothing to those rumors that the big circuit 

had taken over the Stanley, recently closed 

by the Oleszkowicz family . rumor, 

that the big second run Hollywood had been 

bought by a railroad, was apparently unfounded. 

Harry Lush, Plymouth exhibitor, returned 

from a trip to California . . . Sydney Bowman, 

UA manager, is opening "The African Queen" 

May 2 at the Fox to prospects of good business 

. . . Jack Krass has closed the Carlton, 

northwest section house . . . Terry Rurner, 

Morris Lefko, Nat Levy, Don Prince and Jules 

Levy, RKO executives, were in town for a 

screening of "The Story of Robin Hood." 

670 International full-spring, padded back, tip up seats. Simplex Projectors—Simplex 

Sound, Automatic 3-bank ticket register, Hertner 40-80 

Generator, Screen, Drapes, Traveler Rewind, Safety Vaults. 

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. . Jack 

Clarence Williamson and his National Theati-e 

Supply cohorts are busy preparing equipment 

for delivery to four new drive-ins now 

under construction upstate 

of the Dale was in a car collision at Findlay. 

Ohio, on his way back from Norfolk, Va., but 

his car e.scaped with minor damage . 

Wagner, manager of the Ford-Wyoming 

Drive-In, who can guess the number of cars 

in a house within about 1 per cent, commutes 

William B. 

daily the 60 miles to Flint . . . 

Zoellner, MGM short subjects chief, was in 

. . . Ralph Peckham, formerly here with the 

old Grand National, is the new southern division 

chief for Cla.ssic Pictures, with offices 

at Atlanta. 

Sam Ackerman of the East Side, back 

lunching on Filmrow, is getting reacclimated 

to Detroit after his extended Florida trip . . . 

Tom Allen of United Film Service was a 

bright and early morning visitor . . . Donald 

L. Turner, division manager for Altec, was in 

from Chicago . . . Norman Meyers, managing 

director of the Adams, is a veteran 16mm film 

fan, with professional type equipment and a 

nice output of travelogs to his credit. 

J. J. Devine of Monroe, assistant to the 

president of Alexander Films, met at Cliff 

Bell's Tuesday noon. Noted at another table 

were Sid Bielfield and Sol Jordon, two veteran 

exploiteers, with Harold Brown of UDT 

in another corner . Hunt, manager 

of the Harper, is celebrating a victory over a 

dead spot in the sound system that proved 

Fred C. Dickely, Altec 

baffling for a while . . . 

manager, is an oldtime radio commercial 

operator, including transoceanic experience 

from 1917 to 1928 . . Dave Newman, counsel 

. 

of Cooperative Theatres, is an avid student of 

technology of theatre operation. 

New Tax Proposal Made 

By Ann Arbor Mayor 

ANN ARBOR, MICH.—Apparently 

undiscouraged 

by the defeat of his amusement tax 

proposal at a recent election. Mayor William 

E. Brown jr., has recommended that a 10 per 

cent amusement tax on all admissions of 25 

cents or more be enacted. He suggested to 

city council that the proposal be placed on 

the August 5 primai-y ballot. At the April 7 

election, voters defeated a proposal to place 

an amusement tax on all entertainment admissions. 

In presenting his new idea to the council, 

the mayor expressed belief that the earlier 

tax proposal was defeated because of its "indefinite 

and nonspecific" nature. That proposal 

asked simply for the right to levy an 

admissions tax and grant authority to collect 

other types of excise taxes. 

« 

Warn on Hiring Minors 

COLUMBUS—Albert A. 

Woldman, head of 

the Ohio industrial relations department, has 

warned employers to refrain from using 

minors in prohibited occupations. He pointed 

out that minors under 16 are barred from 

working in all amusement places, except the 

stage, and listed numerous industrial occupations 

forbidden to minors. 

Producer Edmund Grainger has set Alan 

Le May to pen "Blackbeard the Pirate," a 

Technicolor costumer, for RKO. 


I 

light 

. . 

Waller Norris Named 

Bulterfield Ad Chief 

GRAND RAPIDS—Walter J. Norris, theatre 

manager and civic leader, has resigned as 

chairmarv of the Civic auditorium committee, 

effective Monday i5). Norris will ro to Detroit, 

the home office for W. S. Butterfield. 

Inc.. to take over the publicity and advertising 

departments for the 116-theatre circuit. 

Norris came here in 1924 to manage the 

Keith's vaudeville house. From 1930 to 1933 

he lived in Detroit, but has resided here ever 

since, managing the local Butterfield theatres. 

Norris was named to the board chairmanship 

post last November. 

Drive-In Owner Loses 

Fight on Fast Time 

LOUISVILLLE—A drive-in theatre owner 

has lost a court battle to stop daylight saving 

time from going into effect here. Circuit 

Judge Macauley L. Smith ruled that the allegations 

filed by Floyd D. Morrow, drive-in 

owner, did not constitute a cause of action. 

Morrow's attorney later said he would ask 

the court of appeals to direct Jefferson circuit 

court to issue a temporary injunction 

banning fast time here. 

Morrow asked that the fast time be declared 

void because the city ordinance on 

which it is based was not published in a recent 

compilation of ordinances. 

A recently adopted state law rules out day- 

time after June 19, so daylight time will 

be effective here only from last Sunday i27i 

until June 19. Morrow is managing director 

of Louisville Drive-In Theatres, which operates 

the East and Dixie drive-ins here. 

'River' Is 2nd Run in UDT 

DETROIT—"The River" has been booked 

for a first run at regular 95-cent admission 

in United Detroit Theatres' Palms-State, to 

open in June, by Sidney Bowman, UA branch 

manager. Booking is probably unprecedented 

here, as it originally played a suburban house, 

the Krim, operating on a special attraction 

policy late last year for six weeks. The Krim 

booking was at roadshow prices of $2.40. 

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Detroit Showman Puts His Theatre 

On TV With "Captain Video" Dea 

A history-making tieup between a small 

slum neighborhood house and a television 

station was made by the ingenuity of Irving 

Katcher, owner of the 400-seat Willis in 

Detroit. 

Katcher boldly approached WJBK-TV, 

and offered to run a trailer plugging the 

station's film show, "Captain Video," in 

return for a free commercial spot on the 

air announcing that the .screen version 

could be seen at the Willis Theatre. It 

was arranged as simply as that. At going 

commercial rates, a commercial spot is 

worth about $100 on television; the trailer 

cost the Willis about $1.50. 

Katcher runs a 40-year-old house in a 

near-downtown Negro neighborhood, on 

fifth or sixth runs—one of the lea-st promising 

situations of any surviving small theatre 

in Detroit, but went right ahead 

with individual exploitation ingenuity. 

Actual boxoffice sales value might be 

very low, Katcher agreed, but the prestige 

COLUMBUS 

pxream plans for a proposed $2,500,000 convention 

hall and sports arena were published 

in the Dispatch. Harry T. Roderick, 

architect, said the 7,000-capacity hall could be 

used for touring shows like "South Pacific," 

basketball, hockey, ice shows, conventions and 

concerts. The building would have sub-basements 

for parking, plus office and stores' 

space. An adjoining multiple-deck parking 

garage also has been suggested. The building 

would be located near the downtown theatre 

Lou Holleb, former manager of 

the Majestic 

here and recently manager of the Forest, 

Cincinnati, has been named manager of the 

. . 

Uptown. Holleb was one of the most active 

members of the Columbus Variety Club, Tent 

No. 2 during his former residence here 

Local papers had extraordinary coverage 

. 

of 

the Circleville visit of Ted Lewis, who was 

born in the Pickaway county seat. Lewis 

staged a benefit performance in Circleville 

to aid Berger hospital and Ted Lewis park. 

Chet Allen, 12-year-old Columbus singer 

who starred in NBC-TV's opera, "Amahl and 

the Night Visitors," left by plane for Hollywood 

to appear in "Great Companions" with 

Ann Blythe and either Dan Duryea or Dan 

Dailey. The young singer and actor also will 

appear in "Joshua" with Gary Cooper . 

Mrs. Elnora Wiggins, secretary of Robert Wile, 

has taken a leave of absence. Her position in 

the Independent Theatre Owners of Ohio office 

here is being filled by Patricia Whitacre. 

former secretary of Congressman John Vorys 

of Columbus. 

. . . Deni.se Darcel, guest 

Fred Oestreicher, Loew's publicist, is vacationing 

in Florida 

star at the Page One ball here, was to award 

the Kim Hunter-"Deadline—U.S.A." trophy 

to the queen of the ball. The trophy award 

was arranged by Walter Ke.ssler. 

value of having his little house plugged 

on television was incomparable. 

The same reciprocal courtesy is being 

made available to six other theatres also 

running "Captain Video," as Katcher 

made this a part of the original plan. 

The others are the Granada. Rogers and 

Belle, operated by the Robin-son circuit; 

the Shores by Hyman Gordon; Amo by 

William A. Rennle; Strand by the Kilbride 

circuit, and Melody by the Affiliated 

Theatres. Fred Schader, veteran .show 

busine.ss exploiteer, was .scheduled to be 

in town to handle additional promotion In 

connection with the serial. 

Further point-of-purcha.se type contact 

was arranged by Katcher, when he went 

to the Post cereal company, which sponsors 

"Captain Video" on the air, and arranged 

for a lobby display of packages 

of the new Post Krinkles in his lobby, 

plus a thou.sand packages to be given away 

to customers at the theatre as .samples. 

WWJ Packages 14 Recent 

Alexander Korda Films 

DETROIT—A deal for the bigge.st package 

of recent films available for television in this 

area has been concluded by WWJ-TV with 

Snader Productions of Chicago for its Sunday 

night Movietime. The deal includes 14 Alexander 

Korda productions, according to Frank 

Picard. WWJ-TV film editor, with ten of 

them released within the past year and still 

playing in theatres. 

Highlights of the deal are a 1951 Academy 

Award film, "Seven Days Till Noon," rated 

the best foreign screenplay of the year, and 

the current selection of the Motion Picture 

Council, "Bonnie Prince Charlie." Other pictures 

in the series include "The Wooden 

Horse." "Wonder Boy," "Angel with a Trumpet," 

"Small Back Room." "Hideout," and 

"The Man in the Dinghy." 

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BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 

93

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for 


ENROLLMENT FORM FOR THE INFORMATION 

The MODERN THEATRE 

PLANNING INSTFTUTE 

825 Van BrunI Blvd. 

Kansas City 1, Mo 

Gentlemen: 

5-3-52 

Please enroll us in your RESEARCH BUREAU 

to receive information regularly, as released, on 

the following subjects for Theatre Planning: 

n Acoustics 

n Air Conditioning 

n Architectural Service 

n "Black" Lighting 

Lighting Fixtures 

n Plumbing Fixtures 

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Projection Lamps 

Seating 

n Carpels 

n Signs and Marquees 

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D Decorating 

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D Other Subjects 

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Postage-paid reply cards for your further convenience 

in obtaining information are provided in The MODERN 

THEATRE SECTION of this issue. 

94 

Norman Meyers Puts Strong Opening 

Campaign Behind Long-Run Stands 

DETROIT—Indications that the specialized 

audience for particular films may be the 

economic .salvation of a .sicnificant segment 

of the theatre busine.s.s 

were increa.sed in this 

area by the succes.s of 

the Adams Theatre in 

this type of exhibition 

In this case particularly 

strong attractions, 

often approaching 

roadsliow caliber. 

are used rather than 

foreign or art films or 

documentaries. 

The Adams is a 

1,545-seat first run Harry Balaban 

house, now the second 

oldest motion picture theatre in downtown 

Detroit. It has gone through a somewhat 

checkered history, and was considered an oldtimer 

during the depression years when it 

was closed for a while. There was a general 

feeling on the local rialto that the house had 

seen its best days and would never be a first 

class theatre again, being almost a decade 

older than the de luxe first runs built in the 

late '20s which then enjoyed the spotlight. 

IN BALABAN HANDS 20 YEARS 

The Balaban interests—Harry and Elmer 

took over the house almost 20 years ago and 

have built it into a theatre known for extended 

first runs, frequently playing the top 

pictures of the year, such as "The Jolson 

Story," which played a record 13 weeks although 

booked in almost casually to fill a 

New Year's eve booking. Under the longtime 

management of the late Charles C. Perry, the 

Adams steadily gained in stature, coming to 

concentrate in this specialized field. 

Much attention has been given to 

physical 

appearance in this period. The house has 

been re.seated twice, was the first to install 

the original pushback chairs here shortly 

before the war and has completely reseated 

with a newer type since then, probably an 

unparalleled record of high-grade housekeeping. 

Other departments have received 

equal attention. Despite its age, the Adams 

is kept up as a thoroughly up-to-date theatre. 

It is perhaps less imposing architecturally 

than any other major first run house in the 

city, having an entrance in a somewhat outdated 

style of office building, leading through 

an arcade that runs under and above an 

alley, using separated levels for first floor 

and balcony to the auditorium, which is really 

on the next street. 

STRESS FRONT DISPLAYS 

The front has been made as impressive 

and attractive as possible in a showmanlike 

way, with marked emphasis upon front exploitation. 

Located right on the 4-' i; -acre 

Grand Circus park, it can draw plenty of attention 

from shopping, automotive, bus and 

streetcar and general pedestrian traffic, even 

though it is in the middle of the block and 

often hidden by trees from parts of the ten 

heavily traveled streets which radiate from 

this point. 

The location has evidently been a determining 

factor, since the Balabans al.so operated 

the Downtown, a 3,000-seater built in 

the '20s as the Oriental, until a year ago. 

The Downtown seemed to be an ill-starred 

hou.se under various matiagements for 25 

years, and failed to do satisfactory business 

under a variety of policies. In the past several 

weeks it has been demolished, with the space 

to be converted into a parking lot. The general 

belief of laymen and showmen here 

alike is that the Downtown, about a hundred 

yards west of the Adams on the same street, 

was less advantageous for display purposes 

and apparently people would not walk that 

slight extra distance. The sumptuous new 

Downtown is gone, while the old Adams 

prospers today. 

BOOKING CARE IS VITAL 

Selective care in booking is probably the 

prime ingredient in the recipe for success 

at the Adams. The house is admittedly small 

for a first run in a major city. The maximum 

that can be taken in at the boxoffice in a 

week is limited for the most successful film 

and attention is centered on buying pictures 

that will last a while. 

Currently, "Quo Vadis" is playing, going 

into a ninth week, with probability of 12 or 

more. This film was given the unprecedented 

commitment for Detroit of eight weeks and 

showed a nice pickup in business as Easter 

succeeded Lent. All this has happened, incidentally, 

while local show business appears 

to be the worst of any in the country. 

Relatively little product is needed for a 

policy of this sort. Last year two films, "The 

Great Caruso" and "An American in Paris," 

each ran nine weeks, accounting for over onethird 

of the year's playing time. After "An 

American in Paris," two shorter runs came in, 

"I Want You" for two weeks and "Death 

of a Salesman" for three. Runs of only one 

week are very rare. 

The difference in size of the house obviously 

is an important factor. The Adams commitment 

on "Quo Vadis" for eight weeks could 

have been absorbed by the 5,500-seat Fox 

in just over two weeks. 

CONDUCT STRONG CA3IPAIGNS 

A strong opening promotional campaign is 

an important element in the success of every 

film here at the Adams. Under the personal 

charge of Managing Director Norman Meyers, 

a heavy newspaper campaign, plus other incidental 

exploitation, is set up. In succeeding 

weeks, exploitation is naturally tapered off 

but may run close to $1,000 in later weeks of a 

run. 

Incidentally, Meyers is a firm believer in 

the value of theatre directory advertising in 

newspapers. Even though the house uses 

daily sizable display space, he keeps that 

small space running ever day in the alphabetical 

listings along with about 175 other 

houses which range down to ultimate runs. 

He experimented with eliminating this once 

—only to find that he had would-be patrons 

who didn't bother to look for the display ads 

calling up to see if the house was closed. 

Meyers has headed the Balaban operations 

in Detroit since the death of Charles C. 

Perry. 

A former RKO man from Cleveland, 

BOXOFFICE :: May 3, 1952 

il 

^

. . With 

he came here seven years ago as exploitation 

manager for the two houses and has remained 

with the firm since with growing 

responsibilities—with one exception. Tliat exception 

is characteristic— in the early days 

he resigned for a month when he felt there 

was not enough opportunity to keep an exploitation 

man busy full time, until a shift 

in staff brought him added duties as house 

manager. 

Patron Survey Conducted 

By Detroit Film Council 

DETROIT—A striking summary of the 

public reaction to motion pictures has resulted 

from a study of replies received in 

the recent contest sponsored by the Detroit 

Free Press on "What Motion Picture Entertainment 

Means to Me." The replies were 

summarized in a statement by the Greater 

Detroit Motion Picture Council, which participated 

in the judging, and were presented 

to BOXOPFICE by Mrs. John R. Miller for 

the council. Thi-ee outstanding themes of 

public attitude toward the industry, all favorable 

and offering sound guidance in planning 

at the production level, were outlined: 

1. Motion pictures provide a form of family 

entertainment within the family budget. 

2. Motion pictures provide a pleasant way 

of knowing people and places. 

3. The screen provides temporary respite 

from the sorrows and discouragements which 

are part of every human life. 

The Greater Detroit council held its annual 

luncheon meeting for Friday 1.2), with Richard 

E. Osgood, veteran radio commentator 

upon show business topics as well as radiotelevision 

columnist of the Free Press, as the 

speaker. 

Mrs. Daniel Hembel, incoming president, 

was to be installed in office at the session, 

succeeding Mi's. C. P. Lundy. Mrs. Hembel, 

incidentally, is closely familiar with the industry, 

having worked in the field relations 

between exhibitors and the public in the 

east side Grosse Pointe area for some time. 

She also has been in contact with the problems 

of downtown theatremen through previous 

service as a delegate and vice-president 

on the council. 

Michigan Allied Board 

Will Convene May 14 

DETROIT—A meeting of directors of Allied 

Theatres of Michigan has been called for 

May 14 by President John Vlachos in the 

Allied offices in the Fox Theatre building. 

Allied is bringing out a new edition of its 

booking book, designed to assist exhibitors in 

buying and booking films. Copy has been sent 

to the printer, according to Executive Secretary 

Ernest E. Conlon. 

A complete tariff schedule showing the 

rates for transportation of films to all points 

served in Michigan by Film Tiaick Service 

were distributed this week to members of 

Allied Theatres of Michigan through Executive 

Secretary Conlon. The distribution of 

schedules is intended to "provide exhibitors 

with information to accurately determine 

film delivery costs." Film carrier costs have 

been a subject of live interest since the newrates 

went into effect January 1 in this 

state. The new schedules show rates ranging 

from 40 cents to $1.78 a case, with trailers at 

12 cents each. 

Drive-In Starts Suit 

Against Fast Time 

COLUMBUS—Bitter controversies, Including 

one court battle, have stemmed from the 

shift to daylight savings time in about onefifth 

of the cities in this state. Charles and 

William Mosser, operators of the Fremont 

Drivo-In Theatres, filed an injunction to prevent 

the city of Mansfield from going on fast 

time last Sunday (27). 

The Mo.ssers, who also operate a drlve-in 

at Mansfield as well as another near Fremont, 

declared that fast time violated state 

laws and that the emergency clause tacked 

onto the ordinance passed April 22 by the 

city council was not in order. They said that 

under fast time it would not get dark early 

enough to attract outdoor theatre customers. 

City officials said that the Mo.sser theatre 

is outside the city limits and filed a demurrer 

to that effect. 

Meantime, several small towns in 

the state 

will vote on daylight time at the May 6 primary. 

Cleveland and Cuyahoga county are 

on daylight time as are Youngstown and 

Akron. Canton, near Youngstown, retained 

eastern standard time, while nearby Massillon 

went on fast time. 

Cities like Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo 

and Dayton retained standard time. 

Cleveland Mayland Starts 

Travel Picture Series 

CLEVELAND—The de luxe Mayland Theatre, 

operated by Modern Theatres, is making 

a direct response to an article in BOXOF- 

FICE April 12, which pointed out that a 

series of travel pictures drew heavy attendance 

in the Masonic auditorium at $1.75 top, 

obviously attracting at least part of the socalled 

lost theatre audience. 

Starting Sunday (27) and continuing intermittently 

throughout the summer, the Mayland 

is giving a 35-minute program of travel 

pictures as a special feature in addition to 

the regular feature program. Initial travel 

program included "Romantic Riviera," "Coast 

of Devon," "Visiting Italy" and "Glimpses of 

Algiers," all from MGM. 

Cleveland First Runs Report 

3V2 % Drop in First Quarter 

CLEVELAND—Available figures covering 

first run theatres show a drop of only 3'lper 

cent in 1952 under the same period in 

1951. The total downtown first run gross 

during January. February and March of last 

year was $887,900, while the first three 

months of 1952 showed a gross of $884,800— 

drop of $3,100. 

It is generally admitted that downtown 

business has benefited from the Movies Are 

Better Than Ever drive. These situations get 

the cream of the audiences, playing 

— the bigger 

pictures for extended runs "Quo Vadis," 

18 weeks; "The African Queen." four weeks: 

"Sailor Beware," four weeks, and "The Greatest 

Show on Earth," five weeks. The selective 

patron, who picks and discriminates in 

his film fare, sees the big pictures downtown. 

This leaves them the bottom of the barrel, 

the subsequent run operators complain. 

"With people staying away altogether from 

the average film, and seeing the big pictures 

first run. we have a constantly shi-inking possible 

audience," theatre owners in the outlying 

areas sum it 

up. 

LOUISVILLE 

prctldir .rcllricN \i:i. Ijion added to the per- 

. 

Exhibitors 

.sonnel of the Falls City Theatre Equipment 

Co. here warm weather, virtually 

every drlve-ln In the area has opened 

or announced opening dates 

on the Row Included O.scar 

. . . 

Hopper, Arista, 

Lebanon; Price Coomer, New Harlan, Harlan: 

Mrs. O. J. Mlnnix, London: Donald Young. 

Gypsy Drive-In, Bardstown; James Totten, 

Lakoview Drive-In, Pendleton: A. H. Robertson, 

Majestic, Springfield; J. E. Elliott Jr., 

Cardinal, Hodgenville: R. L. Gaines, Riverview 

Drive-In, CarroUton. 

The Oak Theatre, controlled by Amusement 

Enterprises and managed by Bill Reiss, will 

get a general remodeling, with new equipment 

including chairs and speaker .system . . . 

Work is progre.ssing nicely on remodeling of 

the Ideal Theatre managed by Joe ReLss. New 

chairs were installed in the Ideal along with 

new speaker system, new drapes and wall 

paneling. 

Herman H. Gocke, 82, lawyer and theatre 

executive, died at his home here. Gocke was 

president and a director of the Ideal Amusement 

Co., owner of the Ideal, Park and Oak 

theatres here. He became ill last August. 

Since then he was reported to have been 

confined to his home, although he kept an 

office in the Southern Ti-ust building. 

A. W. Stanisch is the new resident manager 

of the Shelby and Burley theatres, 

Shelbyville. The Burley and Shelby are controlled 

by Chakeres Theatres, whose main office 

is in Springfield, Ohio . . . Mr. and Mrs. 

Gene Lutes have returned from an extended 

vacation in Miami. Gene is district manager 

for Chakeres Kentucky Theatres. 

Tom Goodman, owner and manager of the 

Dream Theatre, Corydon, Ind., was a visitor 

recently. In addition to running his theatre 

he is a traveling sales representative for 

Monogram in this ai'ea. 

Exploitation Contest Set 

For Horror Film Reissue 

CINCINNATI—A nationwide exploitation 

contest on the horror films, "Frankenstein" 

and "Dracula." started with the rerelease of 

these pictures May 1. This contest, sponsored 

by Realart and its franchise holders, 

offers $100 in prizes—a $50 first prize and 

$25 each second and third prizes—in each 

exchange territory for the theatre manager 

who submits the best campaigns on the films. 

Final campaigns in each section of the 

country will be judged by a special committee 

organized by each franchise holder for his 

respective territory. Jay Goldberg. Cincinnati 

manager, will announce the judging 

committee within the next few weeks. The 

contest will run for foui- months, ending August 

15. 

'Show' Sets New Record 

TOLEDO — The six-week stay ol "The 

Greatest Show on Earth" at the Princess 

here ended April 22. with a record attendance 

for the theatre. Previous record-holder 

there had been "Going My Way," but the 

circus film surpassed it both in length of 

run and in attendance, reported Giles Robb, 

manager. 


m 

Ohio Drive-In to Appeal 

Newspaper Ban on Ads 

URBANA. OHIO- Right Of a newspaper lo 

refuse to run advertisements was upheld by 

common pleas Judge David S. Porter in an 

action brought against the Urbana Daily 

Citizen by an official of the Skyhigh Drive- 

In near here. 

The decision will be appealed to the Supreme 

Court "if necessary." said the Skyhigh 

official. Judge Porter held that a newspaper 

"i.s not a business affected with the public 

interest in the same way as a railroad or 

other utility." He said the Citizen did not 

reject the drive-in's ad copy because of its 

content, but because it would injure the business 

of Champaign county's theatres, which 

also advertise in the Citizen. He upheld the 

legality of that policy. 

The Skyhigh is located in adjoining Clark 

In 

county between Urbana and Springfield. 

its injunction suit, the theatre firm claimed 

the Citizen's refusal to accept advertisements 

was "an lawful restraint of trade." It 

charged that the newspaper's ban on Skyhigh's 

ads was made because the theatre operated 

in competition with two theatres in 

Urbana and another drive-in outside Urbana 

but in Champaign county. 

The Skyhigh claimed many of its patrons 

reside in the area served by the Citizen. 

George A. Bratton Dies 

TOLEDO—George A. Bratton. 48. former 

manager of 

the LaFrance Theatre, Swanton, 

died in St. Vincent's hospital here. His wife, 

three daughters and mother survive. 

Paul Bunyan Contest Set 

For Hubbard Lake Airer 

HUBBARD LAKE, MICH.—Mr and Mrs. 

Lou Kramer, owners and operators of the 

Paul Bunyan Drive-In Theatre, formerly 

known as the Ski-View Drive-In, are beginning 

their fourth year of operation. The 

drive-in, located on the Kramer corner at 

the north end of Hubbard lake, was northeastern 

Michigan's first airer. 

This year the owners are conducting a Paul 

Bunyan tall story-writing contest for both 

children and adults. The stories must deal 

with Bunyan and his "sister," who, up until 

now, has been kept in the background. Some 

$100 in cash prizes will be awarded, plus merchandise 

and free pa.sses to the theatre. 

Judges will be newspaper, radio, busine.ssmen 

and educational leaders. Plans are in the 

making for a Paul Bunyan day at Hubbard 

Lake for some time in August. Also planned 

are a number of benefit shows. 

J. A. Ball Reopens Ozoner; 

Don Young Starts Gypsy 

BARDSTOWN, KY.—Two area drive-ins 

have been opened for the season. J. A. Ball, 

owner and manager, opened the Bel-Vista 

Drive-In near Springfield with no increase in 

adult admissions this year and children's 

prices 15 cents. 

The Gypsy Drive-In, a short distance north 

of Bardstown on Highway 31E, was reopened 

by Manager Donald Young. The theatre has 

three program changes weekly and several 

improvements are contemplated for the ozoner 

during the season. Young said. 

Detroit Keglers Winners 

Of Intercity Match 

CLEVELAND—The 1951-52 

bowling season 

ended disastrously for the Cleveland operators 

One-Sixty Bowling league when the annual 

match between the Cleveland 160 league 

and the Detroit Nightingales was won by the 

Motor city league. 

Ti-ailing by 291 pins lost at the April match 

held in Detroit, the Cleveland team lost another 

110 pins in the second and final match 

on April 15 for a total loss of 401 pins. This 

loss was attributed to the steady pounding 

by the Nightingales with a 1.048 game as a 

starter. This pace continued with 911, 952, 

922, 922 for a total of 4,825 pins. The games 

were featured by a total of 922, with 209 and 

223 games for Douville of Detroit, 943 and 

242 for Roy Thompson, 934 for Lindenthal, 

916 for Fouchey and 905 for G. Light. 

For the Cleveland team, Hutchins 213-938 

and Gehringer's 904 led the losing battle. The 

William Kramer trophy has now been won 

twice by each team. Next year's winner will 

keep the trophy permanently. 

Before the final session started, luncheon 

was .served by the women's committee composed 

of Mrs. R. Favor, Mrs. Earl Gehringer 

and Mrs. John Noonan. And after the games, 

dinner was served to 70 members, wives and 

guests at which time prizes were given out. 

A leather brief case was given to Larry 

Shafer, secretary of Cleveland's 160 Bowling 

league and the gutter-cup to Floyd Akins, 

secretary of the Detroit Nightingales. 

National Theatre Supply Co. team finished 

the 1951-52 sea.son in first place, with Oliver 

Theatre Supply, Cloverleaf and Suprex Carbon 

teams trailing. 

If It's Good Promotion 

someone 

BOXOFFICE 

will 

report it in . . 

if^ 

"V. 

Fresh from the scenes of the activities each week come constani 

reports of merchandising of films Most of these are ideas "vou 

can use for your own promotion. All of them are interesting and 

most of them are profitable in other similar circumstances. 

Make 

full use of these practical ideas by practical showmen, many of 

whom you may know. 

Motion pictures lend themselves ideally to good advertising. The public interest is 

high. 

Capitalize on the interest that already exists and increase your attendance 

•with proved ideas. 


LYNN 

f*lem L. McCann, Lynn's younst'st theatre 

manager, isn't letting the seven-week-old 

bus strike hurt business at the Olympia. After 

giving the theatre a top to bottom house 

cleaning, he began exploiting all the pictures 

his theatre played. When "Snow White and 

the Seven Dwarfs" was shown, he prevailed 

upon merchants to contribute prizes for a 

coloring contest, along with giving theatre 

tickets to those who purchased albums at a 

music store as advertised on the front pages 

of the papers. The department of conservation 

gave him the use of a fire truck, manned 

by boy fire fighters, while "Red Skies of 

Montana" wâs showing the havoc wrought by 

forest fires during dry seasons. A comedy 

cop, leading a prisoner by a chain, ballyhooed 

"Strait Jacket." For "David and Bathsheba" 

he had a mystic, wearing a turban, 

looking into a crystal ball and predicting enjoyment 

to all who saw the picture. Other 

pictures were brought to the public's attention 

in a similar manner, and a loudspeaker at 

the entrance is to enliven the business district 

with selected musical hits. 

David Fields is new on the Capitol staff 

and Tex Cecil is the new chief usher. 

Harvard Lampoon Picks 

Annual Film 'Worsts' 

BOSTON—The Harvard Lampoon, undergraduate 

weekly comic, came out with its 

annual "worsts" or "Oscars in Reverse" in 

its appraisal of the 1951 motion picture 

scene. It singled out as the year's worst performers 

Robert Taylor for his work in "Quo 

Vadis" and Corrine Calvet for "On the 

Riviera." 

The winner of the worst title was "Tales 

of Hoffmann." Franchot Tone scored twice, 

once as the most miscast, in "Here Comes 

the Groom" in which he played a Boston 

blueblood; and as "one of the two most noteworthy 

examples of physical fitness" (kicking 

Miss Plorabel Muir). 

In this latter category, Humphrey Bogart 

was also cited for felling an unidentified girl 

In El Morocco. 

"Should have stayed home" was the terse 

comment on Ezio Pinza's work in "Mr. Imperium" 

and "Strictly Dishonorable." Peter 

Lawford in "Royal Wedding" and Ava Gardner 

in "Show Boat" were tops in the "worst 

supporting performances," while Martin and 

Lewis were described as the "worst comic 

duo." 

Noteworthy by her absence was Elizabeth 

Taylor who received a hatful of "worsts" 

last year. The Lampoon even lauded "A 

Place in the Sun," in which she had a starring 

role. 

Uses Industry Quotes 

HARTFORD—Allen M. Widem, motion picture 

editor, Hartford Times, who has been 

using one quote a week from a prominent 

industry executive in his column, has stepped 

up the number to two and three a week. He 

gets the comments from tradepaper reporting 

of key executives' talks, and puts the 

comments in his daily column under the 

subhead of "Movietime, U.S.A." People quoted 

recently include Eric Johnston, MPA: Gael 

Sullivan, TOA; Clarence Brown. MGM: 

Charles Brackett. 20th-Fox. 

Richmond and Stern 

Split Partnership 

BOSTON- Louis Stern has resigned as an 

executive for Richmond-Stern Enterprises 

LOUIS RICHMOND 

^^ 

and is devoting his time to the operation of 

Fernand's gift shop in Brookline. 

Louis Richmond now- is operating the theatres 

formerly under the Richmond-Stern Enterprises 

banner, including the Kenmore in 

Boston, the Orpheum in Somerville. the Uptown 

in West Lynn and Nutting's-on-the- 

Charles. Richmond maintains an interest in 

the Mount Vernon Drive-In. Washington; the 

Governor Ritcliie Drive-In. Baltimore; the 

Hartford Drive-In. Newington. Conn., and the 

Milford at Milford, Conn., all in partnership 

with E. M. Loew. 

Richmond has left the Colony. Dorchester, 

which is closed, and the Colony. Lynn. The 

concern has been renamed the Louis Richmond 

Enterprises with headquarters in the 

Bradford building. Cleo Jacove continues on 

as office manager and secretary. 

Hy Fine Mokes Appeal 

For Palsy Postcards 

BOSTON—Hy Fine, chairman of the 

United Cerebral Palsy Ass'n's drive for theatres 

in New England, is urging all exhibitors 

in this area to fill out and return the postcards 

sent to them regarding playdates for 

the John Wayne trailer. As soon as the cards 

are received by Fine, he will send along the 

trailer and kit containing the coin boxes, containers 

and posters from National Screen 

Service. 

Fine urges all exhibitors and managers to 

place the coin boxes in a prominent spot 

in the theatre lobbies and if possible to have 

them manned by members of the house staff 

or volunteer collectors from local women's 

organizations. All money collected should be 

.sent by check or money order (payable to 

UCPA^ to the office of Hy Fine, Paramount 

Theatre, Boston, Mass, 

United States film productions continue to 

dominate the market in the metropolitan 

areas in Venezuela. 

SPRINGFIELD 

Trouble features arc the greatest evil of thientire 

motion picture Industry," according 

to Max Weinberg. Eastern shorts representative 

for MGM, In an address before the Motion 

Picture Council thl.s week. "Prom the standpoint 

of economics," he said, "two feature 

films represent an investment of well over a 

million dollars and .sometimes several million, 

which Is rather lavish when you consider that 

neighborhood theatres that change their programs 

frequently book more than 300 pictures 

a year." Touching on audience reaction, 

Weinberg said that from a viewpoint of enjoyment, 

"most people would con.sider It exhausting 

and meaningless to .see two fulllength 

plays, two operas, or listen to two 

concerts at a time." He urged that the public 

be re-educated to a return to programs 

of one feature film and shorts. 

Holdovers are not too common in this area, 

and to have two in the same week is very 

unusual, but "With a Song in My Heart" 

held over for a second Week at the Loew's 

Poll, at the same time "The Marrying Kind" 

was repeated at the Bijou . . . George E. Freeman, 

Loew's Poll manager, .screened "Singin' 

in the Rain" for press repre.sentatives and 

local 

disk jockeys. 

The lifting of the federal freeze on TV stations, 

which will give this immediate area 

two broadcasting stations, will not have any 

marked effect on movie patrons, according to 

Samuel Goldstein, We.stern Massachusetts 

Circuit president. Stressing his point concerning 

the audience potential of good movies, 

Goldstein pointed to "The Greatest Show on 

Earth," which broke all attendance records at 

the Paramount here. 

Holdover Musicals 

Lead Boston Field 

BOSTON—The two musicals, "With a Song 

in My Heart" and "Singin' in the Rain," held 

up big in their second weeks. Of the newproduct, 

"The Man in the White Suit" easily 

led the field. "My Son John" was a disappointment 

and will not hold over. 


Astor With o Song in My Heart (20th-Fox). 

2nd wk 150 

Beacon Hill—The River (UA), 3rd wl< 100 

Boston Mo and Po Kettle ot the Foir (U-l); The 

-Time ot Their Lives iRealart), reissue 105 

Exeter Street —The Mon in the White Suit (U-l). .150 

Majestic Never Take No for an Answer 

(Souvoine), 2nd wk 85 

Memorial Roncho Notorious (RKO); The Pace 

Thot Thrills (RKO) 90 

Metropoliton My Son John (Poro), The Fabuloui 

Senorila (Rep) 85 

Paramount and Fenway Hoodlum Empire (Rep); 

Gobs and Gals (Rep), reissue . 95 

State and Orpheum Singin' in the Roin (MGM), 

2nd wk 1 35 

'Singin' in Rain' Big 

At Hartford Poli 

HARTFORD—The biggest news In the 

downtown area was "Singin' in the Rain." 

Allyn—Steel Town lU-l), Oklahoma Annie 

(Rep) 90 

Art—Mr. Peek-A-Boo (UA). Royal Journey (UA)..100 

E. M. Locw—Sound OH (Col); Thief of Oomoscus 

(Col) 120 

Poll— Singin' in the Rain (MGM) 160 

Palace Rose of Cimarron (20th-Fox); Corporal 

Dolan Goes AWOL Rep) 85 

Regal—The African Queen (UA), Shorts, 2nd wk..1l5 

Strand— At Swords Point (RKO); A Girl in 

Every Port (RKO) . . 100 

BOXOFFICE May 3, 1952 NE 97

. . When 

. . Joe 

. . Dan 

. , The 

BOSTON 

Qn the special car carrying members of 

the Variety Club of New England to Las 

Vegas. Nev., to attend the Variety International 

convention were Mr. and Mrs, Michael 

Redstone. Mr, and Mrs. Irving Shapiro, Mr. 

and Mrs. Louis Stern, Mr. and Mrs. Harry 

Zeitz and family, Mr. and Mrs, Meyer Stanzler, 

Mr, and Mrs. Lloyd Bridgham, Mr. and 

Mrs. Samuel Dane, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth 

Douglass, Mr. and Mrs. Ruebcn Landau, Mr. 

and Mrs. Abe Yarchin. Mr. and Mrs. Herman 

Mintz, Mr. and Mrs. Murray Weiss, John 

Dervin, Herman Rifkin, Bill Koster, Don 

Alexander and Mr. and Mrs. Steve 

. . . Brodie Sympathy to Matt Moriarty, 

Universal booker, in the death of his wife. 

The funeral was held at St. Joseph's church 

in Somcrville 

Managerial changes in the E. M. Loew' circuit: 

E. J. O'Connell, former manager at the 

Regal, Franklin, N. H.. and the Palace. Cranston. 

R. I., has been transferred to the Center, 

Pawtucket. Ed Daley will be moved to 

the Kingston Drive-In when it reopens. Jay 

Finn, son of General Manager Max Finn will 

manage the Riverdale, West Springfield. 

Henry Chapman is directing the newly 

erected Salem. Salem. A. Cologiovianni has 

been placed at the Olympia, Olneyville, R. I. 

Nathan Goldberg has been transferred from 

the Plymouth in Worcester to the West 

Boylston Drive-In. 

Walter Diehl. business agent: Joe Nuzzolo. 

president, and Meyer Rosen, projectionist at 

the Majestic Theatre, attended the Local 182 

testimonial dinner at the St. George hotel, 

Brooklyn, for William P. Raoul, general secretary 

and treasurer of lATSE . U-I 

When YOU Need 

5peciat 

TRAILERS 

SPECIALLY 

Good & Fast 

SEND IT TO 

'CHICAGO, 1327 S. WABASH 


IMAGE & SOUND SERVICE CORP. 

"The Best Value In Sound Service" 

Hancocic 6-7984 445 Statler Building 

Boston, Massachusetts 

publicist John McGrail brought Geronimo 

and his Indian troupe to Lowell for promotion 

of "The Battle at Apache Pass," Arthur 

Keenan, manager of the Strand, and Eddie 

Sokolowski, owner of the Capitol, attended 

the dinner at the Rex Penthouse grill. 

Larry Laskey has been named treasurer 

of the Massachu.setts Kefauver for President 

committee with headquarters 

in the Hotel 

Bradford here. Laskey 

is a partner with E. M. 

Loew and the Griffing- 

Laskey Construction 

Co. He .served recently 

as chairman of the 

Bonds for Israel campaign 

here . . . Cigars 

were passed out by 

Chris Joyce, district 

manager for Interstate 

Theatres, on the birth 

Larry Laskey of his first child, who 

has been named Chris jr. 

Mayor John Hynes presented a scroll to 

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello during their 

visit here. It read: "For contributing to the 

merriment of our beloved city with their 

wholesome family entertainment as portrayed 

on the screen in their first all-color film production, 

'Jack and the Beanstalk.' We are 

justly proud that the famous comedy team 

of Abbott and Costello met with immediate 

public acclaim as a result of their world premiere 

stage performance on a Boston stage 

in 'Streets of Paris' in May 1939." 

MGM publicist Floyd Fitzsimmons has 

found a house in Marblehead Neck and moved 

. . . Rosalie 

his family there, ending his weekend trips 

to Albany, his former home 

Parziale, biller for Warners, will marry Robert 

Gedick in September ... As customary, 

the Woodstock, Vt., Town Hall will repeat its 

summer policy of legitimate shows one night 

a week . Kennedy, who operates the 

Key Theatre in Meredith, N. H., will take 

over operation of the Corliss, North Woodstock, 

formerly handled by Jesse Kelley. 

While Ralph Snider was recuperating after 

surgery at the Beth Israel hospital, the Variety 

Club had a television set in his room 

. . . Al Kane, Paramount executive who was 

. . . Al 

transferred to the Dallas area, dropped in at 

the Variety Club to greet the boys on a weekend 

visit here . Murphy of the Loring 

Hall Theatre, Hingham, has changed to four 

days, Thursdays through Sundays 

Lourie of the Adams Theatre, Dorchester, was 

COMEDIANS VISIT—Ande Sette, 

center, 

manager of the Springfield, Mass., 

Capitol, posed with funnymen Bud .Abbott 

and Lou Costello at a recent New 

Haven press party in connection with 

the opening of WB's "Jack and the Beanstalk," 

at which Abbott and Costello 

made personal appearances. 

treated to a birthday dinner April 21 attended 

by 50 members of his family . . . Frank 

Wolf, assistant to E. M, Loew, has moved 

from his West Roxbury home to a new house 

in Hancock Village , Sumner Myersons 

(he is district manager for E. M. Loew) 

became parents of their first child, a son. 

Roy E. Heffner has returned from a western 

trip where he assigned his Goodwill 

Award in the Dallas area to John Franconi, 

veteran film distributor. Goodwill has been 

installed at the Garden Theatre, Laconia, 

N. H., and at the Guild Theatre, Norwood, 

Mass., two theatres of the Smith Management 

Co. The Broadway Theatre, South Boston, 

also a Smith house, recently signed up 

for its second Goodwill night for Tuesday 

evenings. This house has been running Goodwill 

for 15 consecutive years on Saturday 

nights. 

Television set sales in the Boston area during 

March brought set distribution close to 

900.000, according to figm-es released by WBZ- 

TV and WNAC-TV. The survey shows that 

886,349 sets are installed in homes and public 

places, an increase over the previous 

month of 12,588. The latest estimates place 

total video installations in the Providence 

area at 212,000 as of April 1. 

Norma Productions has signed Laurence 

Stallings to write the screenplay for "His 

Majesty O'Keefe," a Warner release. 

CHILDREN'S PREMIUMS 

WESTERN 

Rings and Pins of Famous „ ! BADGES

. . State 

. . The 

. . Rubin 

. . Mrs. 

. . Guy 

Herman Rifkin Is Wed 

To Sadye Felixson 

LOS ANGELES—Herman I. Rifkin. Monogram 

vice-president and francliise holder of 

Boston. Mass.. and Mrs. Sadye M. Felixson 

of Bel-Air, Calif., were married Thursday 

(241 at the home of Steve Broidy. Monogram 

president. 

HARTFORD 

n pre-Broadway tryout of a new Robert 

Nathan play, "Jezebel's Husband." starring 

Claude Rains and a feminine performer 

to be announced, will open the 1952-53 legitimate 

season September 4 at the 1.167-seat New 

Parsons, operated by Charles Bowden, Philip 

Langner and Mrs. Nancy Stern . . . Columbia's 

Dick Stephens has been busy on "Walk East 

on Beacon" in the territory . Simon, 

60. father of Phil Simon, partner in the Pike 

Drive-In, Newington, died. 

Harry Feinstein and Jim Totman of the 

Warner circuit were in town . Fred 

Greenway, wife of the Palace manager, has 

returned home following a long hospital stay 

. . . Joe Spivack. Connecticut Theatre Candy 

Co., was in the city . 

Treasurer Joseph 

A. Adorno, son of Sal Adorno sr., general 

manager of M&D Theatres, addressed 

the 53rd anniversary dinner of the Torrington 

Italian-American Republic club. 

. 

Mrs. Joe Borenstein, wife of the Strand 

manager at New Britain, served on the arrangements 

committee for the annual Jewish 

Federation dinner State, New 

Britain, has a new dinnerware deal . . Joe 

. 

Dolgin of the Pine Drive-In, Waterbury. reports 

his daughter-in-law. Mrs. Al Dolgin. 

gave birth to a baby girl named Marcy in Chicago. 

She's the former Zelda Levin, and at 

one time worked for the old PRC organization 

Sperie G. Perakos. district manager 

. . . for Perakos Theatres, will wed Nicki Pappas. 

Detroit, in September. Sperie's dad Peter will 

leave the latter part of May on a 28-day trip 

Europe. 

to 

PROVIDENCE 

Tack Mahoney, film cowboy who plays the 

Range Rider on television, stopped off in 

Providence on his recent 20-city tour and 

visited Children's Center, Mount Pleasant 

playgrounds. Dillon park and Hopkins park, 

much to the enjoyment of thousands of boys 

and girls . . . Al Clai-ke, Majestic Theatre 

manager, scored another top exploitation 

scoop when he secured the cooperation of 

Cladding's, exclusive downtown store, in window 

and newspaper tieups for "With a Song 

in My Heart." 

The Hope, neighborhood house on the east 

. . 

side, is offering some unusual double feature 

programs sans B pictures. Every program 

recently has consisted of two top attractions. 

A recent example was "Viva 

When 

Zapata!" 

and "Death of a Salesman" . 

the Rhode Island Reds, local hockey team, 

fought an uphill battle to gain a berth in 

the Calder American cup hockey league playoffs, 

against Pittsburgh, downtow'n first run 

houses had a couple of lean Sunday nights. 

WORCESTER 

\X7ith Nate (iuldberg lukum ovrr the manam'Hii'nt 

of the West Boyl.slon open-air 

theatre. Tom Kivlan is manaying the Plymouth 

. Palmerton plans to shorten his 

season at the Playhouse, running from May 

30 to September 1 ... It is reported an 

attempt is being made to return a stock company 

to Westboro Town Hall, the first since 

prewar days. 

Bob Portia, manager of the Loew's Poll Elm 

Street, recalled that the title song of "Singin' 

in the Rain" originally was sung in the 

"Music Box Revue" on Broadway by Doris 

Eaton, who later acted in stock at his theatre 

Marcel Dill left here for Hollywood 

. . . 

to tnukc another le.^l 

film, "The Library." 

lor Mary Pickford's 

John siiuKrue swung the deal to return to 

the Westboro Red Barn as producer. John 

. , . Guy 

Ci-ystoff of Holden bought the playhou.sc .since 

Shugi-ue handled it last summer 

Lombardo's orchestra and vaudeville show 

drew a slim hou.se at the Auditorium . . . Th:- 

annual ceremony of hanging a wreath on the 

historical tablet on the Elm Street Theatre 

was conducted on Patriot's day under Bob 

Portle's direction. 

îjecla 

T 

lis IS 

Your help appreciated— run the Cerebral Paliy 

trailer. Avoilable trom May 15 ta July 1. 

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NEWHAMPSHIRE 

'TluTe was a top admission charge of $1 for 

the showing of "Quo Vadis" at the State 

in Manchester. The picture rated special 

Lewis A. Nelson 

mention in the local press . . . 

presided as moderator at a recent town 

meeting in Hopkinton which was filmed by 

Paramount News to show the workings of 

New Hampshire town meetings. 

The Nashua Drive-In. which boasts that it 

is the only ozoner in the area which admits 

up to six persons in a car for a dollar admission, 

has opened its new season. Shows will 

be held on Friday. Saturday and Sunday 

nights until early May and every evening 

thereafter ... On the same night, the Concord 

Drive-In also opened for the summer, 

offering the first local showing of MGM's 

"The Wild North." This drive-in has a taxincluded 

admission charge of 60 cents for 

adults, with no chai-ge 

for children and cars. 

An estimated 5.000 youngsters, one of the 

largest crowds of children ever gathered in 

downtown Manchester, turned out for two 

free showings of Donald Duck films at the 

State Theatre. The program was staged as 

a commercial advertising stunt by Normand 

Bros. Bakery Co., which has introduced a new 

brand of bread called "Donald Duck." Six 

policemen were assigned to the theatre area 

to handle the throng, which was twice the 

anticipated size. 

The Crown in Manchester, which was dark 

for some time, had a one-day showing of the 

Greek film, Anna Rothiti," with English titles. 

It attracted much attention among the many 

Manchester residents of Greek ancestry . 

Rebuilding of the Latchis Theatre in Milford, 

which w-as badly damaged by a recent 

lire, has been started, according to the owner, 

Pet«r Latchis. The workmen are constructmg 

a completely new roof and the entire interior 

will have to be repaired. About ,575 

.seats will have to be installed ... A scramble 

for the establishment of New Hampshire's 

first television broadcasting station followed 

the allocation of channels in this area by the 

FCC. 

BRIDGEPORT 

Uelen Freudenheim, veteran cashier at the 

. . . 

Strand, is home after 12 days in the hospital 

with pneumonia Harry Gulliver, 

projectionist, has transferred from Loew's 

Globe to the Majestic . Rich is back 

for the third season with his Bozo the Clown 

act at the Milford Drive-In. 

Word comes from St. Louis that Don Ross, 

became father of a son named Michael. Don's 

late father Donald sr. was manager of the 

Globe here. The paternal grandmother, 

Mrs. Jane Ross, associated with Loew's theatres 

here for a number of years, also lives 

in St. Louis now . . . James Liburdi, projectionist 

at the Majestic, celebrated a birth 

anniversary. 

. . . "Bagels 

. . . 

First 85-degree weather of the year cut 

sharply into weekend business 

and Yox" drew a near-capacity house in a 

one-night stand at the Klein Memorial auditorium 

Methew Silichner has been 

granted a permit to operate a summer theatre 

in Ridgefield, 

FALL RIVER 

Jln eitstern Massachusetts bus strike was 

curtailing the attendance at downtown 

theatres considerably and prompted the announcement 

by Yamins Enterprises that the 

Capitol Theatre will remain closed for the 

duration of the strike, which started over a 

month ago . Yamins' Westport 

Auto Theatre reopened for the season with 

George Daab as manager and featuring, as 

last year, a $1 admission charge for six persons 

in one auto . Schwartz' Somerset 

Drive-In also has reopened. 

"Catskill Honeymoon," featuring Julius Adler, 

Jan Bart, Bas Sheva and Cookie Bowers, 

was presented at the Strand under the 

auspices of the Men's club of Temple Beth El. 

The Somerset Theatre, a conventional house 

presenting stock companies in the summer, 

has been subleased to a Rhode Island motion 

picture exhibitor by the co-owners, 

Nathan Yamins and William S. Canning . . ; 

Theatre personnel have sent felicitation cards 

to Mrs. John F. McGraw, the former Peggy 

Cullen of the Durfee boxoffice, on the recent 

birth of her daughter, christened Margaret 

Ann . . . The Bay State Drive-In in nearby 

Seekonk, widely patronized by residents of 

the greater Fall River area, reopened. 

. . . 

... All Fall River theatres closed all day 

Good Friday Home from the College of 

New Rochelle for the Easter recess was Moira 

O'Connor, daughter of John E. O'Connor, 

owner and operator of the Plaza Theatre. 

Save oil copper drippings for metal drive. 

GOODWILL AWARD AND BANKNIGHT 

will get the people out of their homes away from the 

radio and television 

And to Your Theatre 

.^ 

There are over 100 theatres in the New England territory 

proving it every week. 

irS THE LEGAL WAY AND THE PROVEN WAY 

Write or call us and we will see you 

GOODWILL ADVERTISING COMPANY 

22 Church Street Liberty 2-9305 Boston, Mass.

Seek Formula for Maritimes Drive-Ins 

Mitchell Franklin and Peter Herschorn Survey Outdoor Success in Florida 

By KITTY HARWOOD 

MIAMI—"We are delighted with, and deeply 

appreciative of, the cordiality of theatre 

people in Greater Miami, who have gone out 

of their way to show us their drive-in operations 

and give us the benefit of their experience 

in this field." This was the sentiment 

expressed by Mitchell Franklin and Peter 

Herschorn of the Franklin & Herschorn theatre 

company of Canada. Franklin, vicepresident 

and general manager, and his partner 

Hei-schorn. vice-president and secretary 

of the company, have been here studying 

drive-in theatres in this area before beginning 

construction of three airers across the 

border. 

"We are here to combine business with 

pleasure," said Franklin, as he and his partner 

were interviewed following a "refresher 

course" in diving which they were taking at 

the pool of an ocean-front hotel. They admitted 

that "all this sunshine" had something 

to do with their visit, too. 

SECOND GENERATION SHOWMEN 

The two young men are second-generation 

operators of the circuit of which J. M. Franklin 

is founder and president. The latter's 

associate was the late Myer Herschorn. The 

company represents one of the few remaining 

independent theatre companies in the Dominion 

of Canada. Franklin sr. has a winter 

home in Miami Beach and spends about six 

months of the year here. 

Besides their seven theatres ( soon to include 

three drive-ins) the company operates fountain 

restaurants. They were the first in Canada 

to establish these restaurants in theatre 

lobbies, access to the theatre being through 

the center. "They are somewhat comparable 

to the arrangement of the Miami Theatre, 

with the restaurant adjacent and opening 

into the theatre," explains Franklin. The Canadian 

plan is such that both theatre and 

street trade is accommodated. "And we have 

a very large amount of outside trade," 

Herschorn added. 

The circuit also has its own confections 

business and maintains candy stands in the 

lobbies of all its houses. Still another "arm" 

of the business is a real estate interest. 

AS ANSWER TO TV 

Theatres operated by this company are located 

in the maritime provinces, and the 

three drive-ins will be among the first such 

in that section of Canada. Although there is 

at present no television in eastern Canada, 

both Franklin and Herschorn are looking to 

the future w^hen this medium, in their opinion, 

inevitably will present motion picture 

competition. The drive-in, with its accompanying 

advantages for the family trade, is 

an answer, they believe. It will have the allaround 

entertainment value for families that 

may well be taken advantage of regardless 

of TV. 

The study by the two Canadians of drivein 

techniques here is to determine the most 

attractive factors which can be incorporated 

Into such operations in order to make them 

of most service to the family trade. 

The partners point out that, for the drivein 

operator, their particular section of the 

Maritimes Partners 

Mitchell Franklin 

Peter Herschorn 

country is handicapped by certain factors 

which are unique in Canada; 

1. The short season. Climate makes possible 

about a 20-week season. This has been given 

thorough study with the result that the 

owners believe they can do, in that period, 

an average business comparable with a yearly 

average done in the indoor houses. 

2. Daylight time. In New Brunswick and 

Nova Scotia the sunset comes late and opening 

time probably would have to be about 

9; 30 p. m. This would necessitate a single-bill 

policy. 

TO INSTALL CAFETERIAS 

3. Cool evenings. The owners believe their 

drive-ins will have a large walk-in or sit-in 

potential. Because of the cool nights people 

may not always care to remain in their cars, 

so in order to iron out this drawback, a large, 

enclosed seating area will be provided. "So 

far as we know," says Franklin, "this has 

never been done anywhere else." As an 

alternative, there was discussion of in-car 

heaters provided, but heating costs would be 

nearly prohibitive, the owners explain, and 

therefore the idea was abandoned. 

Ingenious ideas are at no premium with 

this pail- of owners. Their intention is to install 

a cafeteria layout in then- concession 

houses. Functional rather than elaborate is 

their policy, a procedure which is carried out 

in the candy stands in all their theatres. 

The penny caramel, the partners say, is the 

indispensable item in the confection department. 

No attempt is made to package these; 

they are sold by a "hold out your hand" 

method, though each has a tinfoil wrapping, 

of cour.se. The five-cent candy bar is passe 

in Canada. Sold there are only the ten-cent 

and 12-cent bars. "Nearly always," say the 

partners, "patrons take their change in 

penny caramels!" 

No popcorn is handled in any of the circuit 

indoor theatres, but probably w'ill be in the 

drive-ins. "We would hate to see the tail 

wag the dog," says the owners, speaking of 

the present theatres. Crackerjack and other 

packaged substitutes seem to fill the bill just 

as well, they say, and the expense of popcorn 

machinery, plus the trouble of dispensing 

the popped corn and keeping up with the 

housekeeping problem involved, is thus eliminated. 

Securing the quality pictures they want, at 

the time they want them, is not, under the 

present system, entirely satisfactory, say the 

partners. Following the enforcement of the 

antitrust law in the United States In the motion 

picture industry, the Department of 

Justice of Canada ha.s apjiointed the combines 

investigation committee to study conditions 

relating to monopoly, restraint of trade 

or other practices that are contrary to free 

enterprise. The findings of this committee 

are expected to produce improvement in distribution 

of films. 

Curtain at 8; 30, an idea which Is an Innovation 

in motion picture theatres, originated 

in Canada, Franklin says, and has caught 

on, especially in the larger cities. Both Franklin 

and Her.schorn are enthusiastic about the 

practice and believe that this has added to 

the stature of the motion picture theatre. It 

is a way in which the "lost" audience, the 

discriminating patron, may be served entertainment 

to his more sophisticated taste, and 

at the same time the exhibitor is able to 

come out all right at the boxoffice. 

SPECIAL SHOWINGS PAY 

At some designated theatre, for one night 

each week, a special picture is booked on a 

reserved-seat, advanced-price policy. The picture, 

selected for its appeal to select audiences, 

may be one which could not be successfully 

run for the usual length of time of the 

regular feature. There is sufficient patronage 

at advanced admissions, however, to make up 

the difference. These special presentations 

at an 8;30 curtain, heighten theatre atmosphere, 

provide opportunity for theatre parties 

and are appropriate occasions for those who 

wish to dress. 

The seven theatres now operated by Pranklin-Herschorn 

are located in Halifax, N. S., and 

in Dartmouth, Yarmouth and St. John. N. B. 

The owners speak highly of BOXOFFICE 

correspondent William McNulty, w'ho covers 

the maritime provinces. McNulty is an exnewspaperman 

and author whose w'orks have 

appeared in the pulps and slicks, including 

the Saturday Evening Post. He is an ex-boxer 

of championship caliber, an ex-swimming 

champion who was formerly a swimming instructor 

at Bar Harbor. A man of wide interests 

and talents, he is at present devoting 

his time largely to a Catholic orphanage near 

St. John, where he is director of recreation 

and a gi-eat favorite with the children. 

.«^FABLE IN PUBLIC 

"It's several miles out of town, but he walks 

there rain or shine," says Franklin. 

Pleasant public relations w'ith those whose 

duties bring them in contact with partners 

Franklin and Herschorn, seems to be part 

of the stock-in-trade of these owners. 

Ontario MPTO Conclave 

To Be Held in November 

TORONTO—Thi-ee officials of the Motion 

Picture Theatres Ass'n of Ontario, past president's 

Morris Stein and H. C. D. Main and 

Arch JoUey, executive secretary, are already 

working on plans for the annual convention 

of the largest exhibitor organization in Canada. 

The tentative date for the meeting is 

November 4. 


. . Bob 

. . Gordon 

\ 

' 

' 

VANCOUVER 

IJill Grant. RKO booker, was elected presldent 

of Front Office Film Employes Local 

. . . 

F-71. succeeding Ted Ross of JARO, who recently 

resigned from the film business 

Jeanne Bell, Odeon district office .secretary, 

will marry Johnny Armstrong soon . . . Dorothy 

Blaclc, Dominion Theatre cashier, resigned 

and was succeeded by Vera Lycan, 

formerly at the Gamble Tlieatre . . . Anne 

Coroliuc, JARO cashier, is proud of the bowling 

cup she won in the F^lm Exchange Bowling 

league . . . Marion Brown has Joined the 

staff of Sovereign Films. 

"Tiger Man." Universal picture, was classified 

"For Adults Only" by the British Columbia 

censors . Billings, former manager 

of the Monarch Theatre at Enderby, is 

now shipper at United Artists here, replacing 

Jack Senior who moved to Paramount, succeeding 

Kieth Watley, who resigned to go 

into the plywood business at Quesnel in the 

Cariboo district . . . Peter Barnes, who operates 

three theatres on the mainland; Frank 

Fisher, JARO Canadian manager, and Kervin 

Fitzgibbons of the Famous Players Drive-In 

department were Filmrow visitors. 

C. A. Pepper, former 16mm exhibitor of 

Alert Bay. a fishing center upcoast, purchased 

two Holmes projectors and a sound system 

from Theatre Equipment Supply Co. and will 

change over to 35mm . . . Tommy Heatherington, 

who is building a 300-car drive-in 

seven miles from Nelson in the Interior, purchased 

two Gaumont-Kalee projectors, a 

sound system and 300 in-car speakers from 

Perkins Electric Co., and will open the outdoor 

theatre in June. 

The Ruskin Drive-In, which has been under 

construction for the last two years, finally 

opened its gates April 23. The owners are 

Toffee and Bird, who operate other theatres 

in the Praser valley area . . . All British Columbia 

drive-in theatres report better busine.'-s 

than for the comparable period last year 

. . . Win Barron, the Canadian narrator for 

Paramount Newsreel, was a speaker at the 

Air Industries and Transport Ass'n meeting in 

Victoria. He visited Paramount Manager Bob 

Murphy here before returning to his Toronto 

headquarters. 

A move to allow smoking in theatres is 

meeting strong opposition from theatregoers 

and in many letters to local newspapers. Jack 

Boothe, noted Canadian cartoonist and son 

of Howard Boothe, Canadian Screen publicity 

manager, has joined the Thompson chain 

of Canadian newspapers and will draw a daily 

cartoon which will appear in the Vancouver 

News Herald. 

Raymond McDonald, a member of the British 

Columbia censor board, was promoted to 

chief censor to fill the post of the late Jack 

Hughes, who died recently after 15 years as 

head censor. McDonald, 38, was in the navy 

in the last war. He will be assisted by Joyce 

Reed: Miss Bell, secretary; Jim Gordon, advertising 

censor, and Ed Brooks, projectionist. 

The censor board is a profitable revenue 

producer for the provincial government, with 

offices in downtown Vancouver. 

The RKO bowling team won the 1951-52 

championship in the final roUoff from UA. 

Eight film exchange teams were in the league. 

On the RKO team were Bill Grant, captain; 

Delia Garland, Ray Watley, Anne Coroliuc 

and Tommy Kett. 

Tom Uealherlngton, operator of a 16mm 

circuit out of Kaslo in the Kootney area, has 

started construction of a 300-car drive-in 

seven miles from Nelson, which will give 

Famous Players outdoor opposition in seven 

towns in British Columbia . . . William Risk, 

former exhibitor in the prairie town of Paradise 

Valley, Alta., will build a 300-.seat theatre 

at Alert Bay, an Indian and fishing 

town upcoast from Vancouver. The town is 

serviced by a 16mm outfit at present, who 

will convert to 35mm, giving the town of 1,000 

two houses . West has opened his 

new 35mm theatre at Gibson Landing, 40 

miles from here. The town was formerly 

serviced by a 16mm circuit. 

More than 400 children, about 200 of them 

orphans and 110 from the Children's hospital 

outpatient department, were guest.s of Barney 

Regan, manager of the Victoria Road Theatre 

to see "Angels in the Outfield." Ample 

supplies of balloons and popcorn were on 

hand and toys were donated for the kids by 

local merchants. The showing was staff 

week at the Victoria. 

Both front office and backshop workers by 

the nine film exchanges are taking a wage 

Increase proposal to the conciliation board 

.set up by the British Columbia government. 

Doug Calladine and Bert Pollock will represent 

the workers. 

Garneau Theatre Tecrnis 

Wins Bowling Award 

EDMONTON, ALTA.—Edmonton Theatre 

Bowling league held its final banquet and 

dance in the Club Anton here recently. During 

the evening Pi-esident Ida Charlesworth 

of the Strand gave cups and prizes to winning 

teams and individual players. 

Winners were, Annual cup, Garneau Theatre 

team, Manager Bill Wilson, captain. 

Women's high average, Beryl Byers, Capitol. 

Women's high double, Ida Charlesworth, 

Strand. 

Men's high average, Clayton Rand, theatres' 

joint art department. 

Men's high double. Bill Ross, Rialto. 

Women's high single, Ruby Edwards, 

Dreamland. 

Men's high single, James Lynch, art department. 

George Findley, 55, Dies; 

Former Theatre Manager 

EDMONTON — Former theatre Manager 

George McMurray Findlay died here recently. 

Findlay, who was 55, was a former manager 

of the old Empire Theatre and later of the 

Empress, now a part of the FPC chain here. 

He was a veteran of both world wars, and 

had lived in Edmonton for 31 years. He was 

born in Glasgow and came to Canada In 

1904. 

His wife, two sons, a brother and a sister 

survive. 

Producer Peter Scully has signed William 

Kozlenko to screenplay Monogram's "Mardi 

Gras." 

Rank Films Manager 

Says Prejudice Gone 

VANCOUVER — British motion pictures 

have become good boxoffice in Canada and 

the United States. "The old prejudice against 

them has almost entirely died down," said 

Prank H. Pi.sher, of Toronto, Canadian general 

manager for J. Arthur Rank Films. 

the entertainment 

A veteran of 26 years in 

industry, the affable 6-foot, 3'--inch executive 

conferred here with Jack Reid, the company's 

Vancouver manager, and other film 

officials. 

" 'The Red Shoes' ran almost two years 

in New York and other British pictures have 

done just as well," Fisher said. "In Canada, 

the customers have really turned out in numbers 

to see such old country products as 

Tight Little Island,' 'The Chiltern Hundreds,' 

'The Blue Lagoon,' 'Quiet Weekend' and 'The 

Browning Version.' 

"Quiet young Alec Guinne.ss, an unknown 

a couple of years ago outside London, now 

is a powerful boxoffice attraction in North 

America for his work in such successful comedies 

as 'Kind Hearts and Coronets,' 'The 

Lavender Hill Mob' and 'The Man in the 

White Suit.' His name in electric lights 

means good busine.ss." 

Fisher said the way things were a few 

years ago, if the average Canadian happened 

to see a Briti-sh film he didn't enjoy he would 

"stay away from all British films for the 

next long while," whereas people never demanded 

that all pictures from Hollywood be 

good ones. 

"The sensible customers now realize that 

worthwhile films are being made on both 

sides of the Atlantic, and they 'shop ai'ound' 

intelligently to get full value for their entertainment 

dollars." 

TV Sales Up in Canada 

MONTREAL—A decline in radio set sales 

last year was matched by a boom in sales 

of television sets. The Dominion bureau of 

statistics reports that radio sales amounted 

to $51,452,000 in 1951, compared with $59,160,- 

000 the previous year. Television sales climbed 

to a value of $20,836,000 from $12,948,000 in the 

same period. The number of radio sets sold 

in 1951 was 754,000, as against 759,000, while 

39,200 television sets were sold as against 

29,600 in 1950. 

John P. Leger Dead 

BATHURST, N. B.—John P. Leger, who 

built the Opera House about 40 years ago, 

died recently. After using the theatre for 

roadshows, he converted it to films, and oper- 

] 

ated with Peter Leger, his oldest son, as his 

partner. The theatre was renamed the Capitol. 

The father had also operated two hotels 

and a horse racing track and a light and I 

power service here. Surviving are four sons 

and two daughters. 

Fire Hits Summerside Theatre 

SUMMERSIDE. P.E.I.—The Reo Theatre, 

which was remodeled from a church to a film 

theatre about a year ago, was heavily damaged 

by a fire recently. The building had been 

formerly the United church and seated about 

400 persons. The fire lasted about one hour 

and gutted the building. Wallace J. Palmer 

was the owner-manager. 

'^ 


. . The 

Only Two Pictures 

Rejected in Ontario 

TORONTO—The annual report of Chairman 

O. J. Silverthorne of the Ontario censorship 

and theatre inspection branch for the 

fiscal period ending March 31 showed that 

461 features produced in the United States 

had been examined, of which 404 had been 

passed in their entirety while two releases 

had been rejected. 

British features to the number of 61 were 

examined, of which 48 were approved without 

change. During the year, 34 foreignlanguage 

features were examined and 21 were 

approved in their entirety. 

The report said that the two rejected features 

were produced by U.S. companies not 

identified with the Motion Picture A.ss'n of 

America. Only 36 deletions had been made 

in the product from British studios. 

During the year 25,951 pieces of advertising 

were censored, compared with 38,009 in 

the previous fiscal period. The number of 

pieces rejected totaled 314. 30 of which later 

were passed after revision. 

Silverthorne said that only two new theatres 

were completed in the last 12-month 

period but a considerable number of older 

theatres were remodeled. 

Due to the work of inspectors and the cooperation 

of owners in safety measures, Ontario 

had been entirely free of theatre disasters. 

Firefighters Program 

Held at Edmonton 

EDMONTON—Roly Keil of the FPC Strand 

here has received many bouquets for a special 

Firefighters show he staged for kids 

during the Easter school recess. 

Firefighters is a weekly radio show sponsored 

by a real estate firm and aimed at 

children in the 6-14 bracket. It seeks to 

promote fire safety In the home and has 

the approval of the city fire department and 

provincial safety officials. A city fire marshal 

is chief of the group and speaks during the 

half-hour radio program to members of the 

Firefighters, all of whom are issued cards 

and who pass written tests for various promotions 

in rank. 

Manager Keil staged his show in the morning 

and about 80 Firefighters paid a dime 

and .showed membership cards as admission. 

The sponsor picked up the bill for the balance 

on admissions. The show was "Rookie 

Firemen," with cartoons and extras, and 

Fire Marshal Hugh MacKay spoke. 

A fire drill was staged and the house was 

emptied in one minute, 48 seconds. 

"It was the first time an audience ever 

took part in fire drill here," says Manager 

Keil. "The kids were wonderful. They were 

told how to get out, and there wasn't a hitch. 

Even the balcony was emptied without disorder. 

Stars at Toronto LaSalle 

TORONTO—The LaSalle in central Toronto 

blossomed forth with a three-day combination 

show consisting of "Catskill Honeymoon," 

the Yiddish musical film produced by 

Marty Cohen, and the personal appearance 

of two stars, Lillian Lux and Paul Burstein. 

"Catskill Honeymoon" recently had its Canadian 

premiere of one week at the swanky 

Royal Alexandria as a roadshow. 

FPC Views Ottawa Ban 

On TV Plans as Unfair 

O TTAWA 

A number of changes have been made in 

20th Century Theatres' personnel in the 

Ottawa district following the reopening of 

three drive-ins, one of which, the Aladdin, 

has been taken over by the Nat Taylor circuit. 

Jack Marion, who came here from Toronto 

several months ago, has been placed 

in charge of the Aladdin. Bill Curley has 

become manager of the Britannia, and ha.s 

been succeeded at the Nelson, a standard theatre, 

by Kenneth Down. William Stepanischen 

has gone from the Rideau, where he 

was assistant manager, to the Cornwall 

Drive-In, and Ray Nadeau has been appointed 

a.ssistant to Don Watts at the Rideau. 

Casey Swedlove has continued with the Foto- 

Nite stunt at the Ottawa Linden although 

the police decided to file a charge of conducting 

a lottery a couple of weeks ago. 

Foto-Nite is also being conducted at the 

Francais, where owner Bob Maynard presented 

a $120 award to Andre Levis of Hull 

as the winner last week. 

Manager Ernie Warren has already reaped 

three big weeks at the Elgin with "With a 

Song in My Heart," and the end is not in 

The Odeon had a night of music 

sight . . . 

April 24. The Ottawa Choral Union presented 

"The Songs of Hiawatha," the concert 

replacing the evening performances of "Room 

for One More," which was in its second week. 

The Famous Players Cartier in Hull was 

the scene of a labor-union meeting Sunday 

morning (27), when the many members of 

the International Brotherhood of Pulp and 

Paper Workers gathered to hear reports on 

contract negotiations. The union represents 

1.800 mill employes in Hull . spring 

series of weekly Curtain at 8:30 performances 

is now in full swing at the FPC Capitol in 

Peterboro, the attraction for the reservedseat 

presentation April 23 being "Bitter Rice." 

An estimated 2,100,000 Canadian theatregoers 

have already seen "Royal Journey," the 

feature produced by National Film Board. 

Production cost of the picture, up to the first 

print, was $88,000. There is no data yet on 

the revenue from Canadian theatre bookings. 

Drop Plans for Theatre 

When Site Deal Fails 

EDMONTON, ALTA.—Failure to 

secure his 

selected site has forced Walter Kostiuk of 

Edmonton to abondon plans to build a $150,- 

000 theatre in the west-central part of the 

city. 

Kostiuk had selected a site near 118 avenue 

and 124 street near a new suburban development 

in the heart of a new apartment district. 

He had engaged a prominent architect 

to prepare sketches. After several months 

of unsuccessful negotiation with city land officials, 

the project was called off. 

Winton Hoch will photograph "Salome—the 

Dance of the Seven Veils" for Columbia. 

I( )l(i INTO President J. J. FllZKibbons anluMiiiri 

(I ill the 32nd annual meeting of Famou.s 

Players Canadian Corp. here last week 

that the company's current business was 

ahead of that of a year ago. 

Famous Players has the best television facilities 

available at Its disposal but Is not 

permitted to make u.se of the equipment by 

the Canadian government, he pointed out. 

The policy taken by the government on television 

was de.scribed as unfair and unreasonable 

because it will set up a business in competition 

with FPC, he a.s.serted. 

The FPC president expressed confidence in 

the future of the motion picture busine.ss. telling 

the meeting of shareholders that good 

pictures continued to draw record crowds in 

Canadian areas which had television. 

In an interview later, Fitzgibbons declared. 

"We want to get into the TV business as a 

natural area of expansion for us but Ottawa 

does not want us to go in yet." 

He expressed resentment over payment of 

taxes to a government that took the theatres' 

money to go into competition with the theatres. 

The government does not plan to consider 

i.ssuing a permit for privately operated TV 

until three years after a national system is 

established. 

"In the meantime," Fitzgibbons said, "the 

government will use huge amounts of the taxpayers' 

money to prevent private enterpri.se 

going ahead with its know-how and finances." 

Fitzgibbons felt that the government should 

concentrate on cultural or informative programs 

but, a private TV service would provide 

a much greater choice of programs, and 

quicker. 

The Famous Players' chief referred to the 

company's relationship with Paramount Pictures 

Corp. which is interested in Allan B. 

DuMont Laboratories and International Telemeter 

Corp. which have developed theatre 

and home-subscribed television svstems. 

Toronto Theatres 

Mark CFL Anniversary 

TORONTO—To mark the second anniversary 

of the Canadian Children's Film 

Library operations, a special juvenile 

matinee day was conducted in Toronto 

last Saturday (26), with 41 theatres participating 

in the showing of library programs. 

This was the largest number of 

neighborhood houses in a cooperative 

move in support of the Canadian committee. 

Total of 130 films, mostly features, are 

now available for the library showings. 

Typical bookings included "Penrod and 

Sam" at the Donlands, "Stablemates" at 

the Birchcliff, "Black Beauty" at the 

Hollywood, "It Happened in Brooklyn" at 

the Kent, "Young Tom Edison" at the 

Alhambra, "Circus Boy" at the Parkdale, 

and "Bush Christmas," Danforth. 

A Swedish feature. "Master Detective 

Blonquist." with English narration, was 

given a library matinee at the Humber. 


. . . Jack 

. . Guy 

. . 

MONTREAL 

A new ijO-M-at Mel-O-Dee, owned by M. L. 

F>revost. will open around May 1 in St. 

Blaise-de-Barraute in northern Quebec . . . 

George S. Moss. Toronto, president of Arrow 

Films, stopped here on his way to Germany 

by plane to confer with John Filion. local 

manager . Cadieux, salesman for Arrow 

Films, motored to the martimes on business 

Roher. president of Peerless Films, 

to Toronto to visit the head office . . . 

went 

Mrs. P. Sourkes. president of Confidential Re- 

. . . International 

ports, and her grandson took a plane trip to 

New York City to visit her son 

Films added Mrs. Jeanine Guzik. 

French stenographer, who arrived in Canada 

last spring. 

Exhibitors on Filmrow recently: E. Gauthier 

of the Drummond, Drummondville: Romeo 

Grenier, the Meteor. Dolbeau, who was accompanied 

by his son, and T. E. Beaudin, 

Bijou. Napierville ... A Royal Victoria hospital 

patient had the unique experience of 

viewing a film in which a surgeon operated 

on his heart. He is C. A. Annand of Truro, 

N. S., and he commented, "It is the most 

fascinating film I ever saw" . . "Newfoundland 

. 

Scene," which shows a sealing expedi- 

tion, and "Jack Pine Journey." a documentary 

on timber, were shown in color at the Museum 

of Fine Arts . . . Ginette Letondal. young 

Montreal film actress, has gone to Paris with 

her husband and will stay several months, 

during which she will visit French studios. 

In Canada, she made three French-Canadian 

films. "Le Pere Chopin." "Le Gros Bill" and 

"Etienne Brule." 

Alfred Hitchcock halted here on his way to 

Quebec and rather startled the local film 

community and the critics by liinting that 

he might shoot a picture in the ancient capital. 

"It all depends on whether I find the 

right conditions and locations," he said. 

"Maybe I will." He has a story in mind about 

a priest, called "I Confess." for which Montgomery 

Clift has been signed to star. There 

will t>e .some famed Hitchcock suspense in 

the story. "I'll u.se some local actors and try 

to discover local talent if I proceed with it," 

he said. 

Paul Dupuis, French-Canadian film and 

radio star, was guest at a reception In CKAC 

studios of Rejane des Rameaux. He entertained 

his audience and radio listeners with 

a broadcast of "Ma Revue." including the 

principal roles he has played since his return 

to Canada from London. 

. . . 

"Long Is the Road," a multilingual Jew'ish 

film, is showing at His Majesty's. Yiddish. 

German. Pohsh and English are on its sound 

track. On the same program, for the first 

time in Canada, is the featurette. "Song of 

Tel Aviv" Four 16mm films were previewed 

by the Montreal Film Council. English 

section, at the National Film Board studio 

on Atwater avenue. They were "Playtown 

U.S.A.." "Payoff in Pain." "Welcome. Neighbor" 

and "The Man in the Peace Tower." 

'Manon' Ends 8th Week 

TORONTO—A local record has been set for 

a French-language feature by "Manon," 

which has completed eight weeks at the 700- 

seat Astor on Upper Yonge street. 

Two Holdovers Rate 

Lead at Vancouver 

VANCOUVER— Bu.sine.ss at first runs generally 

was dull last week. Holdovers of "With 

a Song in My Heart" at the Orpheum. and 

"The Belle of New York" at the Capitol were 

the leaders. 

Capitol The Belle of New York (MGM) Good 

Cinema Toast ot New Orleans (MGM); Midnight 

Kiss (MGM), revivals . . Foir 

Dominion— Phono Call From o Stronger (20th- 

Fox); Death ot a Salcsmon (Col) Average 

Orpheum With o Song in My Heart (20fh-Fox), 

2nd wk Good 

Plaza Flome ot Araby (U-l), 2nd wk Fair 

State Buccaneer Girl (U-l), plus stoge 

show 

Fair 

Strand Double Dynamite (RKO); On Dangerous 

Ground (RKO) Fair 

Studio Galloping Major (JARO) Fair 

Vogue The Mon in the White Suit (JARO), 

2nd wk Fair 

Top Grosser in Toronto 

Is 'African Queen' 

TORONTO—Business was good enough for 

holdovers at five theatres. "Five Fingers" 

rounded out a fifth week at the Eglinton. 

Good for a third week were "With a Song 

in My Heai-t," "Encore" and "Sailor Beware," 

the latter at two theatres. Top grosser was 

"The African Queen." 


Eglinton Five Fingers (20th-Fox), 5th wk 85 

Hyland Encore (Poro), 3rd wk 105 

Imperial, Nortown The Big Trees (WB) 110 

Loew's The African Queen (UA) 125 

Odeon Return of the Texan (20th-Fox) 95 

Shea's With o Song in My Heart (20th-Fox), 

3rd wk 100 

University, Tivoli Sailor Beware (Para), 3rd wk.. . 95 

Uptown The Battle ot Apache Pass (U-l) 100 

Victorio, Capitol Hong Kong (Para); A Girl in 

Every Port (RKO) 95 

TORONTO 

. . 

fôrdon Lightstone, Canadian Paramount 

general manager, and wife went to Montreal 

for the wedding of their niece Maxine, 

daughter ot Robert Lightstone, to Roy Fleishman 

. Jack Arthur of Famous Players and 

producer of the Canadian National exhibition 

grandstand show, will crown the Queen of 

the Byline ball at the Toronto Press club 

annual dance May 3. Preliminary judging of 

aspirants took place at the FPC Palace, Capitol, 

Runnymede and Alhatnbra theatres during 

the past week. 

In Toronto for a round of film exchanges, 

Floyd Rumford, proprietor of the Kineto at 

Forest, announced he had resigned as president 

of the Blue Water Highway Ass'n, his 

job done. He is a veteran director of the 

Motion Picture Theatres Ass'n of Ontario . 

Jack Musclow, manager of the Capitol at 

Kitchener, was a visitor here, his schedule 

including a conference at the Allen's Premier 

Theatres head office. 

Eileen Pratt, secretary-assistant to Win 

Barron of Paramount here, is on an exten- 

.sive tour of Europe, including a month's stay 

. . . John Goldie Cochrane, 

in London, from which she is expected to return 

in September. Kathleen O'Neill, who 

came from England a year ago, is pinch-hitting 

for Eileen 

former manager of the E.xeter. Ont.. theatre 

and a former famous hockey player, died Saturday 

at Exeter after a year's illness. W. G. 

Cochrane, a son, is mayor of that town. 

For several years an employe of Canadian 

Odeon Theatres, Samuel Rainbow, 67, died 

at Toronto General hospital a short time 

after he had arrived for a medical checkup. 

M ARITIMES 

, , 

finder an amendment to tlie New Brunswick 

theatres act, provision has been made for 

a fine ranging from $200 to $500 and one 

year in jail upon conviction of possessing any 

vile-smelling liquid at or near any indoor or 

outdoor theatre. If a fine is unpaid, the imprisonment 

can be extended six months . 

The first ozoner in the maritimes to get going 

this year is expected to be that of Ashley 

Burnett at Springhill, N. B. It has been under 

way for several weeks. The Burnett home adjoins 

the drive-in, which is about five miles 

above Fredericton on the St. John river road. 

Burnett is a dairyman and farmer there. 

, . After 

During the recent hockey .season what was 

described as a "transportation charge" of ten 

cents was added to the price of all tickets to 

hockey games. Without the "transportation 

charge" the ticket prices were 90 cents to 

$1.40, a record high for Glace Bay . 

returning from a trip to Montreal and 

Toronto, Malcolm Walker of Halifax made a 

tour of the Walker chain. 

'Wallie Humby, projectionist at the Mayfair, 

St. John, does electrical work on the side . . . 

A new regulation of the New Brunswick censor 

board prohibits all cities, towns and villages 

from charging a license fee for a theatre 

higher than set by the province. Another 

new regulatioii calls for licensing of all amusement 

devices before they can be used. 

The Capitol, St. John, was on a Little Theatre 

diet April 28-May 3 for the dominion 

drama festival. Ticket booits for the week of 

the amateurs were priced at $13 and $16 each. 

The Capitol is New Brunswick's largest theatre 

and second largest in the maritimes . . . 

Installation of a screen tower is under way at 

a new drive-in now being prepared for opening 

at Grand Bay, N. B., ten miles up the 

St. John river road irom St. John. Present 

indications are that this new alrer will open 

about mid-May. Work on the combination 

projection booth and refreshment center is 

progressing. 

The Community, Yarmouth, N. S., has been 

used as a base for Sunday rallies under the 

auspices of the Alcoholics Anonymous ... In 

advance of their approaching marriage. Reta 

Sara Gold and Sidney Tobin, both of St. John, 

have been guests at a number of receptions. 

Tobin is booker at RKO ... A screening of 

"A Streetcar Named Desii-e" at the Halifax 

Capitol, was interrupted on Saturday afternoon 

for a showing of "Penrod and Sam" for 

the children. 

Ninety at E-U Conference 

TORONTO—Ninety persons attended the 

sales conference of Empire-Universal Filni:^ 

at the King Edward. Alfred Daff, vice-president 

and director of world sales for U-I, 

spoke, as did J. J. Fitzgibbons of Famous 

Players and L. W. Brockington of Canadian 

Odeon. The chairman was A. W. Perry, 

president of Empire-Universal. 

Murray Lynch to Moncton 

MONCTON, N. B.—Murray Lynch has been 

transferred to the Moncton Paramount, newest 

unit in the Famous Players circuit as manager. 

He had been manager at the Halifax 

Capitol, largest maritime theatre. He succeeds 

Bill Gates in Moncton, where Famous 

Players also has the Imperial. 


profit 

picture! 

X-.^J," 

i 

i 

Just as a small frame in a strip oi film throws a 

large picture on your screen, so the small space 

vou use for vending equipment to sell Coca-Cola 

projects a large profit on your ledger. People come 

back again and again to the house that offers them 

refreshment with entertainment. Their satisfaction 

becomes your extra profit when you make 

Coca-Cola available to them. You can choose from 

a variety of vending methods. For the moneymaking 

details, address: The Coca-Cola Company, 

P. O. Box 1754, Atlanta, Georgia.

' 

, re. 

offer "living-room" comfort 

Witit 

INTERNATIONAL Chairs 

I 

I 

;Ln today's competitive picture, home comfort has become 

a feature attraction. Do yon offer the "comforts of 

jiome" in your theatre? You can if you install International 

Chairs. 

International chairs are the "easy chairs" of the thea- 

Yes, when you buy International, you add "livingjOom" 

comfort to your theatre— and you get long-wearing 

jchairs, styled in the modern manner. 

MAKE THIS 80-MINUTE TEST 

Go ahead— sit in one of your present choirs. Stay there through 

an entire feature. Con you honestly soy you're comfortable? 

Or do you begin to wriggle before the last reel goes on? If you 

don't feel completely relaxed in your present seoting, remember, 

your patrons don't either. You owe it to your customers to 

consider INTERNATIONAL chairs. 

" 

See the INTERNATIONAL "2000 chair and the extra-luxury 

" 

INTERNATIONAL "2300 chair at your RCA Theatre Supply 

Dealer's. He'll be glad to talk over the economics of adding 

home comfort to your theatre. 

THCATtfE EOUIf>MEMT 

RADIO CORPORATION of AMERICA 

ENGINEERING PRODUCTS DERMRTMENT. CAMDEN. N.J.

Mq\% Any Other 

(Z^nlea/tUu 

Considera tion 

OF 

THE several factors that enter into the use 

of published media, the distribution of the advertisers' 

sales messages, as governed by the 

selection of media, can of itself decide the success or 

failure of the advertising investment. That is why integrity 

of circulation is the first consideration with experienced 

space buyers. 

The emblem shown above stands for the FACTS 

that make it possible for advertisers to select the right 

media and to know what they get for their money 

when they invest in publication advertising. It is the 

emblem of membership in the Audit Bureau of Circulations, 

a cooperative and nonprofit association of 

3300 advertisers, agencies and publishers. 

Working together, these buyers and sellers of advertising 

have established standards for circulation 

values and a definition for paid circulation, just as 

there are standards of weight and measure for purchasing 

agents to use in selecting merchandise and 

equipment. In other words, A. B.C. is a bureau of 

standards for the advertising and publishing industry. 

A. B.C. maintains a staff of specially trained auditors 

who make annual audits of the circulations of 

the publisher members. Information thus obtained is 

issued in A. B.C. reports for use in buying and selling 

space. All advertising in printed media should be bought 

on the basis of facts in these reports. 

This business paper is 

a member of the Audit Bureau 

of Circulations because we want our advertisers 

to know what they get for their money when they advertise 

in these pages. Our A. B.C. report gives the 

facts. Ask for a copy and then study it. 

SEND THE RIGHT MESSAGE 

TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE 

Paid subscriptions and renewals, 

as defined by A. B.C. standards, 

indicate a reader audience that 

has responded to a pubhcation's 

editorial appeal. With the interests 

of readers thus identified, it becomes 

possible to reach specialized 

groups effectively with specialized 

advertising appeals. 

SOME OF THE AUDITED INFORMATION 

IN A. B.C. BUSINESS PAPER REPORTS 

How much paid circulation. 

How much unpaid circulation. 

Prices paid by subscribers. 

How the circulation was obtained. 

Whether or not premiums were used as 

circulation inducements. 

Where the circulation goes. 

A breakdown of subscribers by occupation 

or business. 

How many subscribers renewed. 

How many are in arrears. 

A. B.C. REPORTS — FACTS AS THE BASIC MEASURE OF ADVERTISING VALUE 

The MODERN THEATRE SECTION

WHAT THS 

ANCf£NTS THOOSHt.. 

IpLATO C347 ^.C.) KLieVED THAT 

THE EYE PROJECTED ITS OVW 

LISHT^ WHICH MET AND BLENDED 

WITH the^'foraa'^ that was 

THCUSHT TO FLC>W CONTINUOUSLY 

FPOM EACH OBJECT OF SIGHT 

THAT/ IN SEEING/ THE EYE IS 

STIMULATED B>Y INNUMERABLE 

POINTS ^F LI6HT REFLECTED 

ByTHEdJBJECr.THATTHE 

&RAIN INTERPRETS THE6E 

POINTS AS A TOTAL )MA6^ 

OF THE OBJECT 

herb's progress/ 

SINCE NICKELODEON DAYS^ 

NATIONAL a\RBON COMR^N/ 

HAS IMPROVED THE 

BRIGHTNESS OF PROJECTOR 

CARBON ARCS BY "3000/^/ 

ONE OUT 

IJiATEST SURVEYS INDICATE THAT (N 

OF EVERy FOUR U.S. THEATERS/ SCREEN 

BRIGHTNESS IS BELOW 

THE MINIMUM 

RECCWMENDED BY 

THE AMERICAN 

STANDARDS 

ASSOCIATION/* 

*Reporl on Screen Brightness Committee Theatre Survey, Journol SMPTE, September, 1951. 

GU IN THE SCRAP 

FOR DEFENSE -SAVE 

VOUR COPPER DRIPPINGS! 

THE "NATIONAL" CARBON ARC ... NOTHING BRIGHTER UNDER THE SUN 

The term "National" is 

a registered trade-mark of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporotion 

NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY 

A Division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation 

ZO tost 42nd Street, New York 77, N. t. 

Oiffricf 5o/es Offices. Atlonlo, Chicago, Dallas, Kontat City, 

New York. Pittsburgh, San Froncitco 

IN CANADA: Nationol Carbon Limited, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg 

'Ff 


The Accent is 

on 

Comfort at the New- 

"A SHOWMAN'S DREAM" 

Mr. David Weinstock is justly proud of his new 

NormandieTheatrewhich was designed "to provide 

its patrons with the utmost in comfort and 

convenience— a showman's dream come true." 

The New NORMANDIE Theatre 

Wm. I. Hohauxer— Architect 

Heywood-Wakefield takes 

pride in its contribution to 

the superb accommodations of 

this deluxe, modern theatre. The 

J9o spring-back chairs, with coU 

spring seat cushions, were designed 

and built with the accent 

on comfort and elegance. Fine 

craftsmanship and all-steel construction 

assure years of troublefree 

service with a minimum of 

maintenance. 

*Write today for the fully illustrated 

catalogue of Heywood-Wakefield 

Theatre Chairs. 

%. 

HEYWOOD- 

WAKEFIELD 

W 

Theatre Seating Division 

MENOMINEE, MICHIGAN 


3'JiK 

MAY 3, 1952 

o n t n t 

ESECTION: 

Luxury House for Shopping Center i 8 

How to Use Your Screen to Increase Sales at Your 

Concession Hay'iland F. Reves 11 

Prominence of This Concession Boosts Refreshment 

Soles Kitty Harwood 14 

Research Program Produces Corn With More Pop to 

the Pound John C. Eldredge 16 

The Progress of Projection Arc Lighting for Motion Pictures 

The Strong 30th Anniversary Special Section Harry H. Strong 26 

Change Your Oil, Mr. Projectionist? Wesley Trout 40 

A Manual of Preventive Maintenance, Part XII L. E. Pope 46 

Exhibitors Should Strive to Win Goodwill of 

Their Communities E. Y. Stafford 50 

Treat Every Patron As If It Were His First Time 

At Your Drive- In 53 

A Manual of Drive-In Design and Operation, Part XX, 

(Conclusion) George M. Petersen 54 

Rx for Theatre Trouble Spots 63 

Are You Covered? D. K. McDonald 64 

Theatre Architect Says "Don't Be Afraid of That Old 

Bogey—Television" Eric Hounsom 65 

DEPARTMENTS 

Refreshment Service 11 Advertising Index 60 

Projection and Sound 40 New Equipment and Develop- 

Drive-ln Theatres 50 ments 66 

Readers' Service Bureau 59 Literature 70 

ON THE COVER 

About People and Product 71 

Happy smiles indicate the pleasure patrons receive from a visit 

to the theatre concession bar or building. Equally expressive is the 

concentrated attention the little girl is giving to the satisfying busi- 

7iess of munching her buttered popcorn. This busy concession is 

located at the four-screen, St. Ann Drive-ln Theatre. St. Louis, Mo. 

R,lEFRESHMENT merchandising in 

the theatre is more than an additional 

avenue of profit for the exhibitor, it aids 

the theatre business itself because it 

adds to the patron's pleasure and 

creates goodwill. 

Conversely, since the entertainment 

on the screen creates a relaxed, holiday 

mood, patrons desire and enjoy 

refreshments more. 

Thus, the properly 

operated concession prospers. 

An advantageous location for the 

refreshment bar is of paramount importance 

if the exhibitor is to obtain 

maximum .sales, for the patron purchases 

refreshment items entirely on 

impulse. To create that impulse the 

theatreman must be certain that the 

patron cannot miss seeing the concession. 

As told in this issue, strategic location 

of the Carib Theatre's refreshment 

bar is credited as the major factor 

in its excellent sales production. 

of 

Attractive displays of a wide variety 

candies, a selection of beverages, a 

popcorn machine or warmer that will 

keep the product in first class condition, 

and a generous assortment of other 

snac^ items will make it possible for 

every patron to find something to suit 

his fancy. Most exhibitors have found 

it best to stock name brands of goods 

which are familiar to their patrons. To 

the displays should be added point-ofsale 

placards and signs worded to 

stimulate the appetite and thirst. 

The most obvious advertising medium 

to promote the theatre concession 

is the screen, and regular use of concession 

trailers will keep the cash register 

at the concession ringing merrily. 

Incidentally, the concession offers the 

theatre manager one of the best opportunities 

to meet his patrons, cmd it is 

well for him to spend some of his time 

there. He may learn a lot about the 

type of films they like best. 

I. L. THATCHER, Managing Editor HERBERT ROUSH, Soles Monoger 

The MODERN THEATRE Section of BOXOFFICE is included in the first issue of each month. 

Editorial or general business corrcsponacnce should be addressed to Associated Publications, 

825 Van Brunt Blvd., Kansas City 1, Mo. Eastern Representative: A. J. Stocker, 9 Rockefeller 

Plaza, New York 20, N. Y.; Central Representatives: Evi'ing Hutchison ond E. E. Yeck, 35 

East Wocker Drive, Chicago 1, III.; Western Representative: Bob Wettstein. 672 South 

Lofayette Park Ploce, Los Angelas 5, Colif.

LUXURY HOUSE • For Shopping Center 

The Langley Has Surprising Spaciousness Behind Simple Exterior 

OWNER: K-B AmuMment Co. ARCHITECT: John J. Zink 

u.Fnexpecied spaciousness and extraordinary beauty await the patrons 

of the new Langley Theatre behind its simple, modern exterior. The 

luxurious, new house was opened March 12 in the recently developed 

residential and shopping area at Langley Park, Md. 

Above the facade of the theatre the pylon of extruded plastic thrusts 

an imposing finger into the air to attract attention and suggest a pause 

for a few pleasant hours of entertainment. The "theatre" sign on the 

tower is formed of 30-inch plastic letters. 

ROSE NEON BORDERS MARQUEE 

The marquee is bordered with two rows of rose neon tubing, 35 feet 

by 10 feet. 6 inches. Bevelite letters, n-inch black and 10-inch red, are 

used to form the copy. The marquee soffit is plaster, with 50 recessed, 

Hi-Hat lighting units providing excellent illumination of the area beneath 

and increasing the bright attraction of the theatre. 

Beneath the marquee, black granite columns trim walls of tan field 

stone. Four pairs of Hercullte doors are set in aluminum. A luxury note 

is found m the red, crushed-plush backing of the three Sealuxe 40x60-inch 

8

I 

attraction display frames. The boxoffice is 

located at one side of the angle-in entrance. 

Within the lobby the patron's eye is 

immediately caught by the gayly decorated 

refreshment stand just inside the entrance. 

It was custom-made for the theatre. The 

lower face of the stand is of green and 

gray Formica stripes, and the wall behind 

the backbar is green, decorated with red, 

blaclc and yellow wavy stripes. Free-formed 

display cards add to the unusual effect. 

The canopy over the stand is made of 

light, hand-rubbed oak, stained with green, 

as is all woodwork. Recessed, 75-watt spot 

lights are set in the soffit of the stand to 

highlight the concession merchandise. 

f 

W'^m" 

.' 

H' 

r 

A PLEASING COLOR SCHEME 

The large wall against which the refreshment 

bar is located is in hunter green, 

blending with the other shades of green 

utilized. The inner doors are green Formica, 

with a marble trim around them 

which is olive green and ribbed. Above the 

doors the marble frame is reddish maroon. 

Terrazzo in blocks of pink and green covers 

the floor. The railing is aluminum. Ceilings 

at various heights are a very light tan, 

and all coves are illuminated with slimline 

fixtures. 

A striking carpet with a black base setting 

off a 48-inch red rose and green vine 

was laid in the standee area. The rear wall 

is 

in two tones of gray, with a covering of 

copper Flex-Glass in the recessed section 

where the water fountain and beverage and 

cigaret machines are located. Green leatherette 

covers the face of the standee rail, 

which is topped with light oak. All woodwork 

is in this same, hand-rubbed oak. 

The ceiling in the standee area is green, 

with the cove insets in pink. The rear cove 

is illuminated with gold-colored fluorescent 

tubing. 

WIDE EXPANSE OF DRAPERIES 

The luxurious decor of the Langley 

reaches its height in the auditorium where 

121 feet of gold-colored hammered satin 

draperies add extraordinary beauty to the 

screen area. The center is a traveler, the 

sides are stationary. Legs and borders are 

green. An 18x24-foot Walker-American 

screen was installed. 

Immediately adjacent to the draperies on 

either side are three columns of dusty rose, 

illuminated with gold-colored cold cathode. 

A fourth column which blends with the 

tapestried rear walls is dark green. The 

dado throughout the auditorium is dark 

green leatherette. The gold-figured fabric 

wall covering has a green background. 

The auditorium ceiling is yellow with a 

step of dusty rose matching the columns. 

All lighting is recessed. 

Sixty footlights on four banks of Ward- 

Leonard dimmers were installed. 

The 972 Kroehler Push-Back chairs have 

red seats and green backs. Standards are 

red with a gray stripe. 

Special features of the new theatre are 

the Langley Room and the nursery at the 

The lounge in the Langley is distinguished by its bold carpeting in black and red; and light colored walls, 

one of which is decorated with a mural of unusual conception, another with a large mirrored expanse. 

upper level of the auditorium, on either 

side of the projection room. These private 

rooms have 27 chairs each, with Thermopane 

viewing windows. They are carpeted, 

and there are play pens and high chairs in 

the nursery. Separate temperature control 

zones for these rooms were provided in the 

York air conditioning installation. 

The lounge features an intriguing mural, 

a mirrored wall, and modern furniture. 

The bold-patterned black and red carpeting 

was laid here also. The Langley restrooms 

are attractive and easily kept clean. 

with tiled floors and walls tiled to the ceiling. 

All American-Standard Sanitary, offfloor 

fixtures were installed, and Sanymetal 

partitions used. 

LATEST EQUIPMENT IN BOOTH 

The well-planned projection room is 

equipped with two Super Simplex projectors, 

Peerless Magnarc lamps, two Hertner 

generators. Simplex X-L sound heads. 

Continued on followirtg page 

The custom-made concession bar is a local point in the lobby, its gay colors and design catching tfie eye 

and luring patrons to purchase refreshments. The ribbed marble trim around the green Formica doors is 

olive green, framed with maroon marble. Pink and green blocks of terrazzo cover the floor. 

.li' 

i 


LUXURY HOUSE • For Shopping Center 

Langley, is operated by Fi'ed Kogod and 

Max Burka. Fi'ank M. Boucher is general 

manager of the company. 

The company operates six theatres in 

Washington, D. C, and one in Silver Spring, 

Md. The latest to be opened, with the exception 

of the Langley, is the Ontario Theatre 

in Wa.shington. 

Air Conditioning: 

CREDITS 

York 

Architect: John J. Zink 

Arc Lamps: Peerless Magnarc 

Carpet: Philadelphia Carpet Co. 

Changeable Copy Letters: Bevelite 

Lenses: Kollmorgen 

Motor Generators: Hertner 

Plumbing: 

Projection: 

Rewinds: 

Screen: 

American-Standard Sanitary 

Simplex 

GoldE 

Walker-American 

Seating: Ki-oehler 

Sound: Simplex 

The rich, qold and green labric-covered walls oi the Langley auditorium surmount a dado of' dark green 

leatherette At the rear of the auditorium, the private party room and the cryroom are located on either 

side of the projection booth. The special rooms have Thermopane viewing windows. 

Kollmoigen high speed lenses, GoldE rewinds 

and Neumade table and cabinets. 

The Langley provides a free parking lot 

for its patrons with accommodations for 

750 cars. The new residential and shopping 

area in which it is located includes 16 

stores. 

The opening attraction of the Langley 

was "Retreat, Hell!" A marine drum and 

bugle corps, the marine prize-wirming drill 

team, a color guard and a platoon of marines 

in full dress uniform were on the 

stage in honor of the event. Brig. Gen. 

Homer L. Litzenberg of the marine coi'ps 

was a guest. 

The K-B Amusement Co., owner of the 

Copper Flex-Glass covers the wall section which is recessed for the water fountain and vending machines 

in the standee area. The rear wall is in two shades of gray. All woodwork throughout the theatre is 

hand-rubbed, light oak. 

Long-Range 

Planning 

For New Ritz Theatre 

Approximately ten years of behind the 

scenes planning and 11 months of actual 

construction work was completed recently 

when the 1,042-seat Ritz Theatre was 

opened in Blytheville, Ark. 

Owned by O. W. McCutchen and I. W. 

Rodgers, the new Ritz boasts several unique 

features not usually found in small-town 

theatres. One of the high-points of the 

house is a .10x18 foot television lounge 

which seats 30 persons. 

Located at the east end of the lobby, the 

lounge is decorated in a solid plum color, 

and has a ceiling of acustical material. A 

large mirror is set in the east wall of the 

lounge and is bordered by turquoise drapes. 

Drapes of the same color are hung at the 

two octagonal windows on the street side 

of the room. The TV screen measures 

36x27 inches and is set in the north wall. 

I 

BUILT ON FORMER SITE 

The new Ritz is built on the site of a 

700-seat theatre which was razed nearly a 

year ago making way for the new building. 

The front of the new Ritz is of Minnesota 

marble. The area above the marquee is 

of buff brick with a center facing of small 

red brick and a border of the same material. 

The striking feature of the auditorium 

is the beautiful tangerine waterfall curtain. 

The seats are red plush, and vari-colored 

indirect lighting hidden in either wall casts 

a shadowy glow over the whole auditorium. 

Two cry rooms, attractive and convenient 

lounges, and the latest in projection 

and sound equipment complete the picture 

of this quarter-million-dollar headquarters 

for the McCutchen circuit. 

10 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION

. . then 

. . 

by HAVILAND F. REVES 

VoNCESsiON SALES Can be given a substantial 

assist by the intelligent use of one 

of the world's greatest media of advertising—the 

American motion picture screen. 

Enough exhibitors have adopted it as a 

steady policy around the Motor city to 

show that it can be successful in many 

type of situations, including both indoor 

and outdoor theatres. 

ACHIEVES MAXIMUM IMPACT 

The situation is almost ideal from the 

advertising man's standpoint: 

1. Visual presentation, combined with 

audible, represents about the maximum 

impact upon the human senses—both are 

united in the effective use of the screen. 

2. A captive audience than cannot readily 

escape the message, except by closing 

both eyes and ears, is at hand. 

3. This audience is in an entertained, relaxed 

mood, and highly receptive to adequately 

phrased suggestion for a bit of the 

service a refreshment stand provides, 

whether food or drink, candy, gum, popcorn, 

or hot dogs, according to the house policy 

and the individual's taste and pocketbook. 

4. The cost is negligible. Since the screen 

and the mechanical facilities to produce the 

message are part of the basic investment 

and operating costs of the house, this advertising 

is virtually free. 

5. It is P.O.P.—Point of purchase advertising—the 

type that solid thinking in the 

field of promotion today considers one of 

the most desirable of all, as any current 

business paper of advertising will demonstrate. 

TRAILERS ARE 'NATURALS' 

The use of screen trailers is the obvious 

means to reach this audience and a variety 

of styles of presentation, appeals to various 

tastes, and choice of details-—are available 

Suggested 

That 

Sells 

If you're in the mood for food . 

Copy 

we 

invite you to visit our Snack Bar during the 

Intermission and look over the Goodies on sale! 

Everything from a Taste to o Feast! Condies . 

and Refreshments of every variety wait for you. 

Intermission! Time to get your Candy and 

Popcorn in our Lobby. It will add to your enjoyment 

of the show. 

Say, Folks . . . We 

have a wide selection of 

tempting, delicious Candy Bars . . . and 

toasted Popcorn in the lobby. 

fresh, 

Any attendant will make change for you. Get 

you Taste Treat Now.' 

Copy se!ectcd from National Screen Service 

trailers. 

REFRESHMENT SERVICE 

to the exhibitor. Those using It, as seen In 

one city, ranwe from the conservative. blKtlme, 

af f illiitod United Detroit circuit, to the 

rather new and highly enterprising Saul 

Korman circuit, from the smaller indepondciil 

hou.ses of thi' metropolis to the farflung 

upstate operation of the Butterficld 

circuit. Each does it in a little different 

way, usually one worked out by trial and 

error in his own operation. 

Perhaps the Community Theatres operation 

may serve as a pattern, because this 

circuit has long been known for its emphasis 

on operating a high standard type of 

refreshment service. Trailers are purchased 

from Filmack, and used in both indoor and 

drive-in theatres. 

VARIETY IS 

IMPORTANT 

Refreshment trailers are literally taken 

for granted as an essential part of sound 

show operation in this circuit, and it was 

almost surprising to a Community executive 

to learn that some exhibitors do not 

use them. Variety and lack of monotony 

are key points here. The circuit has a set 

of four different trailers, which are rotated 

between its various drive-ins. Each 

is run for about 30 days in succession 

then it is felt to be time for a change. 

Thus, each trailer should have a maximum 

of two runs a season in each theatre. 

Each trailer is individually designed 

from the ground up by Community, according 

to Adolph Goldberg, a partner in 

the circuit. Copy is worked up on such 

things as butter corn, the nationally advertised 

brands of candy sold, soft drinks, 

and other items handled in these theatres. 

The entire stand is covered in each trailer, 

but one or two items may be featured. The 

length is about two minutes. 

The trailers are spotted in different 

positions in the show, according to the current 

program. Having them come at different 

times also means greater audience 

impact, since the regular customers will not 

become used to expecting them at a given 

point and cease to pay attention to the 

screen almost on schedule. 

SELLING CHATTER FOR DRIVE-INS 

The trailers used in the drive-ins are 

usually silent, with a musical background. 

Occasionally a special record is cut for this 

purpose by some locally popular, radio disk 

.iockey, using his name on the platter. His 

copy consists of selling chatter, which can 

be put on the amplifier system while the 

trailer is running, or even run independently, 

as during the intermission. 

Indoors, the use of trailers is more restrained 

in Community. The feeling appears 

to be that drive-ins offer a natural 

opportunity to interest people in the purchase 

of refreshments, since they are in an 

outdoor, hunger-building environment with 

a bit of the park or carnival atmosphere, 

while the indoor theatre offers a more dignified 

variety of showgoing. Indoors, talking 

trailers are used, and are normally run 

about every 30 to 60 days only, to stimulate 

Continued on following page 


USE SCREEN TO PROMOTE SALES 

Continued from preceding page 

business. They are put on the screen for 

all changes of program for a week, and 

then rotated to another theatre for another 

month or more. 

Peter Simon, veteran independent trailer 

and motion picture producer, is making 

special trailers for various exhibitors—four 

last year for Community's drive-ins, one for 

Rosen and Fine's De Luxe, and others. 

These are u.sually upon special order for 

individual exhibitors, as Simon specializes 

in trailers tailored to the needs of the 

particular house, while the big national 

firms handle stock trailers in addition to 

their special custom work. 

TRAILERS SHOULD EMPHASIZE PRODUCTS 

It is Simon's belief that concession trailers 

could be promoted considerably more 

in this area by the exhibitors and concessionaires. 

From experience covering a considerable 

range of houses, Simon recommends 

: 

1. Placing the emphasis upon specific 

products sold in the concession 

stand. 

2. t'lanning an intermission in which 

patrons can get to the stand and relax, 

and announcing it in advance by a suitable 

trailer. 

National Screen Service is another source 

Some exhibitors make up their 

of trailers. 

own copy and have specials made, others 

use the stock trailers available. Outstanding 

in this connection is the emphasis on 

popcorn by the Korman circuit, which has 

been using such copy consistently for the 

past two years. Ben Wachnansy, general 

manager for the Nick George circuit, uses 

special trailers to promote refreshments 

at the circuit's drive-ins, and a new one 

is being made up by an ice cream company 

to plug its product at the Allen Park. 

CONCESSIONAIRES DESIGN TRAILERS 

Elsewhere, it is the concession operator, 

not the exhibitor, who designs the trailer. 

Typical of these is the long-established 

L&L Concession Co. operating in many theatres 

in this area. Stock trailers are generally 

used by this firm. 

With drive-ins, especially, it was found 

that the usual standard clock trailer showing 

a three-minute moving clock, began to 

get monotonous after a while—so in midseason, 

they switched to the use of a record 

over the amplifier. The record merely announces 

that the concession stand will be 

open, names the various services and products 

offered, including coffee, candy and 

specialties—and gives a much-appreciated 

notice that the restrooms adjoin the building. 

Typical plan is to use the trailer one 

day and the record the next, to give patrons 

a little change in program and appeal. 

In this operation, no advance announce- 

A 12-page driye-in 

trailer directory is 

OYoilable from National 

Screen Seryice, 

as well as a 

folder in color which 

concerns driye-in refreshment 

intermission 

trailers specifically. 

Also ayailable 

is 

literature on trailers 

for indoor houses. 

Filmack has a gaily 

illustrated, 

full-color 

folder describing its 

new Technicolor refreshment 

trailer, 

and a directory of its 

full line of trailers. 

ment trailer is used, only a brief message 

over the sound system. 

WILL ESPECIALLY AID 

INDOOR HOUSE 

Julian Lefkowltz, partner in L&L, pointed 

out that the public generally is aware of 

the purpose of the intermission, to give 

them a chance to patronize the concession 

stand. This is, of course, especially true of 

drive-in theatres; but, he believes, the 

more extensive use of an announcement 

or selling trailer in indoor theatres could 

prove a considerable stimulant to business. 

In smaller-town situations, the objective 

appears to be a long range institutional 

type of promotion, without too direct emphasis 

upon immediate sales, as exemplified 

by the Butterfleld circuit with around a 

hundred houses. Here stock trailers from 

Filmack are generally employed, and run 

in between the feature pictures. Several 

different trailers are used, and rotated between 

different houses, so that a change 

of promotional pitch is given frequently. 

Each trailer is run for a week or two at a 

time, and then dropped from the program 

until another replaces it, perhaps a month 

later. 

CARTOONS HAVE APPEAL 

General plugs for the concession department 

are the rule in this circuit, which 

operates only conventional Indoor theatres. 

Sometimes a cartoon style appeal, which 

has proved popular with other exhibitors, is 

used—such as a character singing: "Let's 

all go to the lobby, and get ourselves a 

treat." 

In United Detroit Theatres, there is a 

three-minute intermission where the house 

policy makes it possible, announced by a 

trailer that introduces it: "For your comfort 

and convenience." Here, the emphasis 

is upon the intermission, not upon the 

candy and other products. It is taken for 

granted that the public will to a considerable 

extent patronize the concession stand, 

during this period, but it is felt unwise 

by this circuit to blatantly promote it. The 

word "candy" or its equivalent is never 

used in such announcements. 

GAUGE INTERMISSION TIME 

An interesting house practice in this circuit 

is to gauge the length of the intermission 

to the amount of patronage at the 

candy stand. Patrons get a chance to get 

up and stretch, while music is played over 

the address system. For a normal crowd, 

three minutes is about right, but if the 

crowd is big, the time is lengthened a 

couple of minutes, while, for a very small 

concession patronage, it is cut short by 

about a minute, so that the greatest number 

of patrons may be satisfied. 

Trailers used just in advance of intermission 

are very effective in promoting concession 

sales, according to Max Gealer, 

supervisor of Associated Theatres. In addition 

to drive-ins of this circuit, the Trenton 

Theatre at Trenton uses this policy. 

Stock trailers available from Filmack and 

from Confection Cabinet Corp., concession 

operator, were especially noted by Gealer, 

some in cartoon style, and at least one in 

color. Wherever possible, he believes In 

12 Th« MODERN THEATRE SECTION t,

eaking up the evening show In an Indoor 

house, just as he Is able to do without difficulty 

in the drive-ins. A few pleasant social 

moments in the lobby provide a memorable 

Interlude and give the patrons a 

chance to go back in and enjoy the remaining 

program all the more—as legitimate 

theatre operators have long known. 

Find a Vending Machine Increases Beverage Sales 

INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH BEST 

Actual results of refreshment service 

business attributable to screen trailers probably 

can never be gauged. It will be seen 

that the thinking of the majority of exhibitors 

who have experimented with them 

is toward the institutional type of approach, 

building for the "long haul"—rather than 

aiming at a hypnotic selling message that 

will compel patrons to surge out the next 

instant to the candy stand. Patrons who 

don't care for such products, including 

those who would normally like them but 

have just eaten a big meal before coming 

to the show, may be offended by too intensive 

promotion. The institutional approach 

pays off over a longer period. 

I 

Every theatre owner or manager should 

devote as much attention to the cleanliness 

of his house as to the pictures he 

shows there. His patrons wiU! Time consumed 

in giving attention to house hygiene 

need not be a burden on overworked management. 

A routine, but thorough, inspection 

will keep the help on its toes. 

The mural behind the concession stand at the State Theatre, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, follows the decorative 

motH of the theatre. Illumination from beneath the canopy highlights both the popcorn warmer 

and the candy case. Good point-of-sale promotion is evident in the signs and popcorn boxes on top 

of the warmer. An automatic drink vending machine is placed on the adjacent aisle to attract attention. 

M. B. Horwitz, owner, and Ray Brown jr., manager, have found that self service increased sales of 

drinks. Their reasoning is also that there is little desire to buy popcorn on leaving the theatre, and the 

concession closes with the closing of the boxoffice, but that patrons usually desire something to drink 

after they hove eaten the popcorn. The automatic machine thus becomes a permanent, suggestive salesman. 

^hROCO FOODRINK TRAY 

Increases Carrying Convenience 

Increases Food Sales! 

Your patrons will appreciate the 

convenience of the Loroco Foodrink 

Tray. A simple, practical design holds 

cups and ice cream cones securely— allows 

plenty of room for sandwiches. 

Order the Loroco 

Foodrink Tray jrom your 

paper jobber or 

for more irijormation write 

The Loroco tray snaps open, quickly locks, 

makes it easy for customers to carry more 

without the dismay and delay of dropped 

food. 

EXAMINE THESE FEATURES OF THE LOROCO FOODRINK TRAY . . 

then compare with ordinary troys. 

ocTurtwl 

INDUSTRIES, 

INCORPORATED 

READING, CINCINNATI 1 S, OHIO 

lots More Room. 

Designed to m.ikc all available space useful 

to the "n'th" degree! 

9 Greater Strength. 

Inner drink slot wall gives strength right 

down the middle where it's needed the 

most. 

# New Practical Arrangement. 

Toiid and drinks easily balance; tray holds 

ice cream cones, and many sizes of paper 

cups. 

9 Snaps Open, Quickly locks. 

Iktomes .in cfftilivc carrying tray almost 

instantly. This exclusive Loroco design eliminates 

wobbling and twisting, too! 



Prominence of This Concession 

Boosts Refreshment Sales 

by 

Imported Candy Brings in Extra Business 

KITTY HARWOOD 

I MPORTANT TO SALES prodUCliOIl IS 

the advantageous location of the refreshment 

counter at Wometco's showplace, the 

Carib. Miami. Fla. "It's in a really prime 

location." said Van Myers, head of Wometco's 

concession department for all the circuit's 

theatres. "Directly in the center of 

the lobby, between the two main floor 

aisle heads, it is visible the full length of 

the lobby from the boxoffice to the auditorium. 

OCCUPIES ONE-THIRD OF WALL 

The 30-foot concession bar occupies 

about one-third of the wall space. It was 

custom-built of beautifully grained blond 

mahogany, the panels arranged in pleasing 

patterns. The bar features two open, helpyourself 

candy display units, and between 

them a Selmix Coca-Cola and root beer 

dispenser. P^'esh orange juice is also dispensed 

in this section from a plastic container 

through which the "barreled sunshine" 

may be seen. A full-length backbar 

is used for storage and for display of 

cigars and cigarets. Mirrors behind the 

backbar add to the beauty and spacious 

feeling and help achieve maximum light 

and reflective values. A large, air conditioned 

stockroom is located a few feet from 

the counter. 

The two most popular items at the Carib. 

according to Van Myers, are popcorn and 

fresh orange juice. Unbuttered corn is 

sold in 15-cent packages, and dairy buttered 

corn is ten cents additional, but the 

patrons seem to find it well worth the difference. 

All merchandise except drinks 

may be taken into the auditorium. 

An unusual feature of the Carib's concession 

is imported candy, some of which 

comes from Switzerland, Holland and Israel. 

These may be had in bars or in 

boxes and have been stocked to serve the 

Carib's cosmopolitan clientele. "Lots of people." 

said the Carib's concession manager, 

Tom Rayfield, "drop in to buy our imported 

candy, but not necessarily to see the show." 

GREAT VARIETY OF MERCHANDISE 

The concession is supplied witli such variety 

it is not easily stumped by patron 

requests. Every popular brand of cigarets 

as well as some less 

in demand are available, 

in addition to the great variety of 

candy and other items. 

Myers has employed four girls full time 

to serve the counter properly. He puts them 

through a special training course, being a 

strong believer in the relationship between 

sales and the seller. He is convinced that 

only through the enthusiasm and interest 

of the sales .staff are the best results attained. 

The girls wear aqua uniforms which 

carry out the sea-blue of the theatre'.s 

tropical decorations. 

In front of the counter is a terrazzo 

floor, easy to keep spotless. The atmosphere 

around the refreshment bar is inviting, the 

displays are kept neat and attractive and 

the surroundings are luxurious. If anything 

further is needed to draw eyes to the spot, 

a television set has been recessed in the 

wall above the counter .so the patron has 

entertainment even before he goes into the 

auditorium. 

Ways to Increase Your 

Concession Profits 

Correcting flaws in the theatre refreshment 

service has proved to be an excellent 

way to increase profits and improve the 

morale of concession personnel. 

Patron incentive to buy at the concession 

stand must be achieved by suggestion. 

Theatre managers have stressed pep talks 

to personnel in selling. However, the idea 

of pressure selling is out of the question. 

The first time a patron feels that he is 

getting a sales talk a "no" reaction sets in. 

A simple "Thank you" and "You're welcome" 

always meets with immediate approval. 

A clean looking stand also goes a 

long way in selling. Neatly dressed employes 

help step up sales. The concensus 

seems to be that a theatre without a set 

policy in the refreshment field is just seeing 

good profits go by the theatre door. 

The average theatre manager should review 

in his mind just what he's done recently 

in the way of keeping the concession 

stand areas clean and stressing refreshment 

service employe courtesy, and then 

arrive at a consistent policy. The regular 

use of screen trailer copy can also prove 

to be useful in boosting vending sales. 

Ballantyne Plant Escapes 

Missouri Flood Damage 

Bob Hoff, sales manager of the Ballantyne 

Co., Omaha, Neb., reports that the 

Ballantyne plant is on high ground and 

thus escaped damage in the Missouri river 

flood. 

The plant is at present working two complete 

eight-hour shifts filling an unprecedented 

demand for the new patented Dub'l 

Cone in-a-car speaker, as well as complete 

drive-in theatre sound and projection 

equipment. 

The custom-built refreshment bar at the Carib Theatre is 30 feet /ong, arid occupies a strategic location 

between the two main floor aisle heads. The two most popular items at the Florida concession are 

popcorn, and, logically enough, fresh orange juice. Dairy buttered corn is favored. 

Hoff further reports that over 50 of the 

company's new Boyer prefabricated screen 

towers have been sold in the past 60 days, 

with shipments being made this week to 

Slothower Theatre, Wichita, Kas.; Cowtown 

Drive-In, St. Joseph, Mo.; Arrow 

Drive-In, Northuiriberland, Pa.; Jur Drive- 

In, Whitesville, W. Va.; Transit Drive-In, 

Lockport, N. Y., and the Mattoon Drive-In, 

Mattoon, 111. 


"'"" 

-''^^^flijjw- 

•"• 

' 

Join these movie stars and 

Mason Mints to lielp 

figlit Cancer 

Walter Winchell says: 

Hello 

Mr. and Mrs. America: 

r::::Sw'âol,ar.Ha..ee...a..e 

essary for extensive research lo save hvcs and ca,c 

ihc pain of patients. 

Vou can help every day. 

The Damon Runyon Fund, by arrangement .th > 

Mason Au & Magenheinter. receives a por.um 

, he sale of ev ery Mason Mint. When you buy 

3M M nt v^n-re helping the hght on cancer 

""tpportthisresearch wherever and. hene«^^^ 

you can. America needs your help. Be a s«eet 

heart-eat a sweet 1 

Steve Cuiliran. slurring 

in Warner Bros.' "The 

Lion and ihe Horse." 

V 

Hulli Kiiniiin. co->tjr in 

"Mara Maru." a Warner 

Bros, firodurtion. 

I 

Gene NcUnn, who co« 

fttur^ in Warner Bros.* 

"SheV WorkiniE Her Way 

Through College." 

During 1952, Mason. Au & Magenheimer will donate a generous 

portion of its profits on Mason Mints to the Damon Runyon Memorial 

Fund forCanoer Kesearth. Famous Hollywood stars, sounding 

the keynote in national advertisements and publicity, will help 

speed Mason Mints off the shelves with this dramatic and worthy 

appeal. 

Gel aboard the bandwagon! Do your part lo lielp in the fight 

against tlie world's most dreaded disease. 

Here's How It Works . . . From counter 

display;:, nalional ads, publicity release*. 

lovely Yvonne de Carlo, ro-starring in 

"The San Francisco Story." a Fidelily- 

\'ogue picture presented by Earner Bro^,.. 

announces: "Every Mason Mint you buy 

Iielps fight cancer!" 

Good Anu-ricans b> the 

gel the idea, swing into artion , . . 

zoom goes the sale of .Maôn Mints. 

Il'» a real profit story, >«ilh an extra bappy 

ending. Here's Herbert E. Huug. Mason's 

pre-idenl. presenting the fir>I check for 

Runvon Fund to Sherman Billingkley on 

Stork Club T\' program. 

JOIN THE 

FIGHT AGAINST |%^ 

CANCER -..BUY :

REFRESHMENT 

SERVICE 

Research Program Produces Corn 

With More Pop to the Pound 

by JOHN C. 

Theatre patrons enjoy tender, flavorsome popcorn and exhibitors earn 

more concession profits because of greater popout of improved corn 

ELDREDGE* 

r OR HUNDREDS OF YEARS pcople have 

eaten popcorn. But that was not because 

it was good popcorn. It probably was used 

because most any popcorn was better than 

none at all. Even 20 years ago the popcorn 

consumer had to put up with a distinctly 

inferior product, measured by modern 

standards. The popped kernel was coarse 

and lacking in flavor. It had a thick, rough 

hull which discouraged many people from 

eating it. It was indeed a decidedly different 

product from the modern tender, fluffy 

flakes which the theatre patron now 

munches while he enjoys a good picture. 

Probably few popcorn consumers realize 

how much patient, painstaking research has 

gone into the development of the hybrid 

popcorn of today. This program of popcorn 

improvement was begun at Iowa State college 

about 22 years ago. 

The essential steps used in this 

method 

of popcorn improvement are as follows. 

First, seed of the best available open- 

'Dr, John C. Eldredge is associate professor of form 

crops, Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, 

Iowa State College, where a popcorn reseorch 

progrom hos been in effect for the last 22 years. 

pollinated varieties was planted in the 

breeding nursery. At tasseling time the ear 

shoots on the best plants were covered with 

small transparent bags to prevent their 

pollination by other plants in the field. 

When the silks emerged and could be seen 

under the bag, pollen was collected from the 

tassel of the same plant and carefully 

placed on the silks. These self-pollinated 

ears then have controlled parentage, the 

male and female both from the same plant. 

The next year, seed from these individual 

selfed ears were planted, each row from a 

single ear. The process of self pollination 

was repeated, always choosing the best 

plants in the best rows. Controlled pollination 

was continued for several years, usually 

five or six, untO "pure lines" of corn were 

developed. Lines become pure because by 

inbreeding, the male and female parentage 

of the seed always came from a single 

plant. 

CHARACTERS REMAIN UNCHANGED 

As long as inbreeding is continued these 

lines remain fixed or unchanged. Such 

characters as sOk or tassel color, plant 

Point of sole odrertising displays and wall signs like those shown below in the Rialto Theatre, Denver, 

Colo., help increase popcorn sales. Gene Manzanares, manager (right), features buttered corn at 20 cents 

a box, and at least half an ounce of melted butter is pumped into each patron's box. 

height, time of maturity, popping volume, 

and the hundreds of other characters reproduce 

the same way from year to year. 

But during the five or six years that the 

pure lines were being developed by inbreeding 

many undesirable as well as desirable 

traits showed up. The desirable 

lines, insofar as they could be recognized, 

were saved and the undesirable ones were 

discarded. Only a very few were good 

enough in all characters to be saved during 

the long period of intensive inbreeding. 

This means that a large number of hand 

pollinations were made every year. Many 

lines were grown but discarded because 

they had some fault such as low popping 

volume, poor quality of popped corn, weak 

stalks, or poor roots which caused the corn 

to blow over easily. 

A FORMIDABLE TASK 

It must be obvious that large plots of 

ground, much hand labor in planting, 

weeding, pollinating, harvesting and shelling 

was required each year. The task of 

making popping tests, on the large number 

of inbred lines developed, was a formidable 

one. 

But this was only the begiiming of hybrid 

corn. After the inbreeding program had 

been carried on for five or six years about 

200 inbred lines had survived the rigorous 

selection. But even the best inbred lines 

were weak and the ears were small. They 

could not be used for seed to produce a 

commercial crop of corn for popping. To 

restore the vigor and yield they lost during 

inbreeding and to capitalize on the 

good characters for which they were selected 

these lines had to be crossed together 

to produce hybrids. 

REDUCED TO 20 LINES 

However, 200 inbred lines are far too 

many to cross in all possible combinations. 

Nearly 20,000 could be made with 200 lines. 

The number was then reduced to 20 by putting 

the 200 through a special test by crossing 

each one to the same parent. This test 

shows which ones are likely to give the most 

hybrid vigor. These 20 inbred lines were 

then crossed in all possible combinations, 

making about 200 single cross hybrids. 

These 200 single crosses were tested in a 

yield test to learn which hybrids showed 

the most promise in making three-way or 

double-cross commercial hybrids. This part 

of the breeding work, to find inbred lines 

that have the best chances of transmitting 

their characters into hybrids that also 

yield well, required hundreds of cross pollinations 

made by hand, and thousands of 

popping tests to measure volume and quality 

of the popped corn. It is the intermediate 

stage of cross breeding to reduce many 

lines to only a few that met the exacting 

demands of the producer and consumer of 

commercial popcorn hybrids. 

THEN CAME THE HYBRIDS 

The third step in producing a good hybrid 

popcorn was to make several hundred 

experimental three-way and double-cross 

hybrids from the most promising single 

crosses. These hybrids also must be tried 

Continued on page 18 


ANADA 

DRY 

PROFIT 

mil^ 

from Vending Machines 

^ RIGHT 

|l Dispensers— Fountains 

Syrup Line 

Ginger Ale 

Lemon Lime 

Hi-Spot (lemon) 

For syrup information call 

yovr local Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Inc., office 


MORE POP TO THE 

POUND 

Continued horn page 16 

in a yield test. This involved planting each 

hybrid in a separate row and growing them 

to maturity. Notes were taken on their 

growth characteristics such as ability to 

withstand windstorms and the attacks of 

insects and diseases. Each row was harvested 

separately and the yield obtained. 

About 20 representative ears from each row 

were dried carefully to the right moisture 

and popped to obtain popping volume and 

notes on the characteristics of the popped 

flake. These notes consisted of a score or 

rating on color, hull, shape, size, tenderness 

and flavor. On the basis of the information 

obtained from these tests a 

hybrid was selected for commercial production. 

It should be obvious that this program 

has involved an enormous amount of 

careful, painstaking research carried on 

over a period of about 12 years. During the 

time that the hybrid popcorn breeding program 

has been carried on at Iowa State college 

three complete cycles as described 

above have been completed and a fourth is 

well on its way. 

TEN NEW HYBRIDS RELEASED 

The popcorn breeding program at Iowa 

State college has resulted in the release of 

ten different commercial popcorn hybrids, 

three of which were not given official re- 

lease numbers. Of the last three to be released, 

lopop 5 and 7 are white or Jap 

hull-le.ss type and lopop 6 is yellow. All three 

stand better, yield better and are more 

resistant to insects and diseases than the 

open-pollinated varieties of similar type. 

But in the characteristic of most interest 

to the commercial popper, popping expansion, 

they are decidedly better than their 

open-pollinated ancestors. The two white 

hybrids have a popping expansion of 31.7 

for lopop 5 and 33.0 for lopop 7 as an 

average for a three-year period. These 

volumes are much higher than the old Jap 

hull-less variety. In addition, both of these 

hybrids are high in eating quality, having 

a very tender flake, are free from coarse 

hull and of delicate flavor. 

«3!P» 

The 

Answer 

To Your 

Fountain 

Problems! 

Two Sure-Fire Money-Makers 

Sell Soft Drinks and Ice Cream at a Sweet Profit! 

The DRINCOLATOR 

Dispenses 2 carbonated drinks 

and one non-carbonated drink 

. . . has a 12-gaIlon syrup capacity, 

equal to 1500 6-ounce 

drinks . . . has a constant flowvalve, 

enabling the operator to 

sell any size drink. 

Both Units are compact, attractive, durable. 

story from 

The ICECREAMOLATOR 

Stops them—tells them—sells 

them, puts the ice cream and 

pops in the spotlight where 

they're seen, wanted, bought! 

Takes only 5'/2 square leet of 

floor space. 

Get the complete profit 

THE DRINCOLATOR-ICECREAMOLATOR CORPORATION 

A Diyiiion Of 

THE YOUNGSTOWN WELDING & ENGINEERING COMPANY 

3700 Oakwood Avenue Youngstown 9, Ohio 

HIGH VOLUME AND TENDER FLAKE 

The new yellow hybrid, lopop 6, has 

shown even greater superiority over the 

open-pollinated yellow varieties. lopop 6, 

as an average for the last four years, has 

popped 35.1 volumes or 15 volumes better 

than the average for five of the old varieties, 

lopop 6, in addition, has an extremely 

tender flake ( too tender for some commercial 

uses > , thin hulls, an attractive color 

and excellent flavor. 

Perhaps some do not realize how important 

popping volume is to the commercial 

popper. Some dollars and cents comparisons 

may help to visualize its importance. 

By taking an average of the standard size 

popcorn bags used by three large popcorn 

stands it was found that a 100-pound bag 

of 26 volume corn would give a return of 

$115, 100 pounds of 30 volume corn returned 

$133 and 34 volume corn, $154. In 

other words each volume increase meant 

an increase of about $4.50 from a 100- 

pound bag. These figures show the importance 

of the popcorn breeding program 

to the commercial popper. 

BETTER CORN — MORE SALES 

There is little doubt that the great increase 

in sales of popped corn can be partly 

credited to the better quality of the product. 

This, in turn, is largely the result of 

the better hybrid popcorn being used by 

the popcorn industry. But even good hybrid 

popcorn must be processed and delivered 

to the commercial popper with the 

proper moisture and quality to give its full 

potential for high volume. Good breeding 

and good processing together have made 

popcorn of today one of the best examples 

of the ways in which research has been of 

value to the producer, the industry and the 

public. 

The Manley Co. believes the best way to 

handle popcorn is to buy corn in tins or 

100 pound bags. For small users, the tins 

keep the corn just right: for large users, 

the bags go so fast that moisture is no 

problem. However, in case you have some 

loose corn that has dried out, try this 

stunt: Saturate strips of paper toweling 

with a strong salt solution. Place popcorn 

in jar, scatter salt-water strips through it, 

and seal for 10 days. 

18 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION;

^y Here's a sure-fire recipe for popcorn profits: Buy 

a Manley Aristocrat popcorn machine and then display 

it right out in front where everyone can see it . . . just 

the way it's done in Theater No. 2, Lowry Air Base, 

Denver, Colo, (photo above). When people can 

see the rich beauty of a Manley machine and can 

watch and smell that luscious popcorn being 

made before their very eyes, they dig down in 

a hurry for the price of a bag or box. Manley 

machines have eye-appeal. They draw people 

to them and then clinch the sale for you. 

All you have to do is put 'em where 

they can be seen. Write today for more 

information on how to make more 

money out ofpopcorn with a Manley. 

Davi; BoGi.R, ConCiSsioii Mtiiuigtr, 

Skyvicw Cruisc-ln Thtatcr 

Lancaster. O. 

Manley. Inc.. Dcpt. BO 5-3-52 

1920 Wyandotte St., Kansas City 8, Mo. 

I am very interested in the big-yield Manley Machine. 

Please have a Manley man call and bring your new booklet. 

" 

How To Make Big Profits from Popcorn. 

Namc- 

Address. 

City 

.State. 

SALES AND SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES IN 29 CITIES 

SEE YOUR TELEPHONE DIRECTORY 

Best Time to Call_ 


Like everybody else, he's kept an anxious eye on his 

boxoffice. No time lost on tears for him, though. 

He's found a way to make up for it— by getting 

more profit from his popcorn sales! 

He's learned Popsit-Plus gives him many more 

boxes per batch, fewer duds, less waste. 

He's found that Popsit-Plus' butterlike flavor 

and aroma stops 'em, sells 'em . . . easier 

and faster. 

More, better, and more profitable popcorn 

doesn't answer all his problems . . . but 

it sure does put a "silver lining" in those 

clouds! 

Made by C. F. Slmoniii's Sons, Inc. phua 

kA RESEARCH BUREAU 

for MODERN THEATRE PLANNERS 


New Theory to Explain 

The Pop in 

Popcorn 

The pop in popcorn long ha.s been a 

subject of curiosity among both laymen 

and scientists. For many years it was 

believed that steam generated within the 

sealed popcorn hull caused the hull to explode, 

creating popped corn. But this theory 

has been abandoned in favor of one which 

indicates that a rearrangement of the protein 

pattern within the corn itself is responsible 

for the finished product. 

There are more than 45 different brands 

of popcorn on the market, all vying for 

consumer allegiance. These brands market 

such varying kinds of popcorn as giantsize 

kernels and tiny ones, yellow corn and 

white, kernels with little hull and others 

with more. Corn that requires less popping 

time than some, and corn that's 

stored differently than others. And so on. 

Popcorn contains 1,825 heat energy 

units per pound, or about twice as 

many units as a pound of round steak, two 

and a half times as many as a pound of 

eggs, and six times as many units as a 

pound of milk. 

Indeed, in every nutrient category, including 

protein, popcorn is either at or 

near the top in content and value. Popcorn, 

says the agriculture department, contains 

more energy units than 96 per cent 

of all foods listed as edible by the department. 

Popcorn today concerns not only the 

motion picture patron, but the scientific 

fraternity as well. With the rise of the 

popcorn industry to its present eminence, 

research projects connected with popcorn 

are being conducted in 12 state universities. 

! 1 

1 

f 

ENROLLMENT FORM FOR FREE INFORMATION 

The MODERN THEATRE PLANNING INSTITUTE 5-3-52 

825 Van Brunt Blvd. 

Kansas City 1, Mo. 

Gentlemen: 

Please enroll us in your RESEARCH BUREAU to receive information regularly, as 

released, on the following subjects for Theatre Planning: 

D Acoustics 

D Air Conditioning 

D Architectural Service 

D "Black" Lighting 

O Building 

Material 

D Carpets 

O Coin Machines 

D Other 

Subjects 

D Complete Remodeling 

n Decorating 

Q Drink Dispensers 

n Drive-In Equipment 

D Lighting Fixtures 

D Plumbing Fixtures 

D Projectors 

O Projection Lamps 

D Seating 

D Signs and Marquees 

O Sound Equipment 

Q Television 

n Theatre Fronts 

O Vending Equipment 

The NEW Patented SPEED-SCOOP 

Three times more efficient. Scoop and pour a 

bogful of popcorn in one single easy motion. 

Made of light, stainless aluminum. Cool hardwood 

handle. Perfectly balanced for maximum 

efficiency and speed. Only $2.50 at your Theatre 

Supply or Popcorn Supply Dealer. 

SPEED-SCOOP 

2021 MORAGA ST., SAH FRANCISCO 22 

Theatre 

Address 

City 

Signed 

Seating Capacity.. 

State 

(Owner-Manager) 

Improvement 

PAYS... " 

Do It 

NOW! 

IMPROVE YOUR THEATRE 

AND YOU 

IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS 

^ 


James Nicholson, General Manager, 

Academies of Proven Hits, Los Angeles, Calif. 

says: ttj^^ well-stocked concessions 

in all our theaters include 

chewing gum. It keeps customers 

contented and nets nice profits,' 

Yes...Chewmg Gum Improves 

Your Profit Picture! 

It Pays To Display and Sell 

Your Patrons' Favorite Brands 

# It's a "good, old American custom" to 

chew gum at the movies. Millions of moviegoers 

like chewing gum because it helps them 

relax— and because it freshens the taste and 

sweetens the breath after they've had a 

snack or treat from the refreshment counter. 

Take advantage of the popularity of chewing 

gum. Get your share of this profitable 

business by displaying fast-selling Wrigley's 

Spearmint, Doublemint, "Juicy Fruit" and 

other well-known, top-selling brands. It's an 

easy way to increase your concession profits. 

r-^7>£. 

AC. 123 


REFRESHMENT 

SERVICE 

Check the Smoking Point 

ait 

thenewfMILtS 

CONTINUOUS CUSTARD MACHINE 

AND 

BATCH ICE CREAM FREEZER 

Mills All-ln-One 

With RefriKerated 

Sid* Cabintt 

Greatest capacity 

and convenience. 

Re> 

frigerated cabinet 

holds two 

10 gallon cans. 

M!x is oulomatically 

fed to 

freezer as finished 

product is 

drown off. 

ILLS 

BIG YEAR 'ROUND PROFITS 

Soft ice creams, frozen custarcJs, 

frosted molts, and regular batch ice 

cream in all size packages are big, 

sure profit items. 

Act now to get your Mills All- 

Purpose Counter Freezer and assure 

yourself of steady, startling yearround 

profits. 

Write for free literature describing 

and illustrating the three models 

available and showing how sensational 

YOUR income can be. 

MILLS INDUSTRIES, Inc. 

4T40 Fullerlon Ave. • Chicago 39, III. 

FREEZERS 

RAISE YOUR POPCORN INCOME! 

More Sales and Profits with Lower Help and Handling Costs 

Keeps corn fresh and just rigbi under dampest conditions. 

Whether used by itself or as an auxiliary to your present equipment, 

Hollywood Servemaster proves a big extro money-maker. Even if you're 

entirely satisfied with your present popcorn income and methods, you 

OWE IT TO YOURSELF to learn how others have boosted their take 

greatly with very small investment. Keeps corn PERFECT at all times. 

• OverCounter Selling • Space-Saving and Handy 

• Large Capacity for Peaks • Beautifully Attractive 

Here Is Truly the Fastest, Most Profitable Way to SELL 

MORE and BETTER HOT, CRISP POPCORN! Investigate! 

Speedy operation. Big elevator worming well. Ample capacity 

for rush periods. Only one operator. Animated 

disploy simulates sight and sound of popping. Thermostot 

control. Brilliant lighting. Single loading equivalent to 

3b0 boxes. Start moking more money and happier customers 

today! 

WRITE NOW for this big profit story. Use FREE post card at 

page 60 or write direct to 114 W. ISth St., Kansas City, Mo. 

Of Popping Oils 

In considering the relative merits of 

coconut oil and peanut oil for popping 

corn, exliibitors and concessionaires may 

well consider not only the burning point 

of both, but more important, the smoke 

point. 

"The burning point of coconut oil is 

600°P and its smoke point is 350°F," according 

to J. A. Ryan, vice-president and sales 

manager of C. F. Simonin's Sons, Inc. 

FUMES ARE VOLATILE 

"The popping temperature used in most 

modern machines is between 470°F and 

500 °F. At these temperatures the fumes 

rising above coconut oil are very volatile 

and if they come in contact with a spark 

from a motor, for example, are likely to 

flash." According to Ryan, "this has been 

the cause of many fires in popcorn machines 

throughout the country, thus the 

danger is not from burning but rather 

from the flash of the rising fumes. 

"The smoke point of the peanut oil used 

in Popsit is about 460''F and the flash 

point is 654 °F. There is no danger, therefore, 

from flash fires when using peanut oil 

because the popping temperature is far 

below the flash point. While the burning 

point of coconut oil is 60O°P, the burning 

point of peanut oil is 725 °P. 

DON'T LEAVE CORN IN 

BOXES 

"It is true that coconut oil does not turn 

rancid. However, there is no danger of 

rancidity when using peanut oil in lobby 

popping operations where the corn is consumed 

within a day or so after it is popped. 

It is important, however, that popcorn 

should not be held overnight in these boxes, 

because the heat forces the flavor of the 

cardboard into the corn, causing a disagreeable 

flavor which is often attributed 

to rancidity, but it is merely the sulphite 

in the cardboard." 

\ 

Hi 

O-s' 

f.1 5*^ 

=ii« 2l\ «•" ini*« 

ft 

^MET 

> THE 

'^ \CHAMP 

tA 00 e^ 

F) -^, ^ 

fMM^' 

^1^ MOD£ KH THEATRE^ 

BUYER'S DIRECTORY a^^ 

REFERENCE SECTION 


Better DrinksUj- 

Greater Profits, • • 

CREST THEATRE* 

Seattle, Washington 

iff. f ^ 

In Theatres All Over America 

with the 

SODA BAR 

There is an Everfrost Dealer Near You: 

ATIANTA. GEORGIA 

WilKirt Theofre Swpplr. I"*-

REFRESHMENT 

SERVICE 

Many Theatres Must File Their 

Concession Ceiling Prices 

With District 

OPS 

Theatres which sell certain types of food 

| 

in their concessions are covered by ceiling 

>, 

H 

SERVE MORE DRINKS 

BETTER, FASTER IN 

LESS SPACE AND MAKE 

MORE MONEY DOING IT! 

v^ 

y 

SELF-CONTAINED SYSTEMS 

FOR EVERY REQUIREMENT 

C«rb»n>c Diipcnter 

elftrt fou complctF 

« 

lint of ctrbenalon and 

b««*i«g« ditpcnsing 

tr>i*'ni d«iiqn«d for 

yowr profit. 

mix-moniTOR 

5.fn-l DISPE>4SER HEAD*'^^'^ 

THAT'S RIGHT, F-l-V-E COMBINATIONS 

FROM THE SAME SELF-CLEANING FAUCET 

I 

. . 

Serve 97% ol all the drinks you now serve from 

new one Mix-Monitor 

laucet that gives 

. 

you 

sensational 

5-in-l service 

master 

v/hile eliminating 

bottle problems, flat drinks and wasted 

counter space! 

There's a Mix-Monitor specially designed for 

your requirements, ready to produce higher carbonation 

than can be served from a bottle or any 

other dispenser. Available tor use as separate 

faucets, self-contained units or on remote systems 

employing ice or mechanical refrigeration. 

Use the handy coupon below to get full facts 

on how Mix-Monitor helps you make more profits 

faster through sale of better, less expensive soft 

drinks. 

Name 

Street 

City. . 

The NEW STREAMLINED DIXIE HOT DOG MACHINE 

America's Best Hot Dog Merchandiser at a price 

you can offord. 

MAIL THIS COUPON TODAY 

LA R B O N I 

steams both buns and hot dogs in 4 minutes. Bottom dog or 

bun con be served tirst. Easily turns out 500 sandwiches per 

hour. Lorge woter capacity eliminotes dry pan worry. Sliding 

doors assure speedy operation. Designed for 2 or 4 pon 

combination. Ideal also tor coneys and beefburgers. Made 

of stainless steel. 

I Gentlemen: Kindly send descriptive details covering your S 

: New Streamlined Dixie Hot Dog Machine. S 

Nome 

• 

: Address i 

C:B3 CANFIELD. 

-DISPENSER INC. 

OHIO 

I'd Mice to hear without obligation 

the complete MIX-MONITOR story 

State.. 

%ef\A coupon below for details ^- 

: Gorvis Mfg. Co., i ^ 

: 210 Court Ave., : 

£ Des Moines 9, Iowa S (Patent Pending) 

Price: 

$99.00 electric 

$94.00 gas 

price regulation No. 134 which was issued ' 

March 28 by the Office of Price Stabilization 

and became effective April 7. The 

regulation establishes ceiling prices for the 

sale of food items and beverages which 

were formerly controlled by CPR No. 11. 

Pi'ices are frozen at the highest level as of 

Feb. 3 through 9, 1952. 

The regulation does not apply to thea- : 

tres selling only candy bars, nuts, popcorn, 

i 

gum, potato chips, pretzels, packaged confections, 

cookies or crackers, ice cream 

cones, prepacked individual portions of ice 

cream, coffee, fruit juice or soft drinks 

'Other than drinks containing ice cream). 

It also does not apply where food items or 

beverages are sold only by coin-operated 

machines. 

DRIVE-INS AFFECTED MOST 

Outdoor theatres selling hot dogs, fountain 

drinks made with ice cream and a 

variety of other items will be affected most 

by this regulation, but some indoor theatres 

may also come under the regulation. 

Frozen prices are subject to adjustment 

up to June 1 if a theatre, during its most 

recent four-month compliance period under 

CPR No. 11 was charging prices lower than 

those permitted by that regulation. Exhibitors 

may make their own adjustment if they 

apply it to all items. If adjustments are to 

be made on only a liimted number of items, 

application must be made to the nearest 

OPS district office for a form to be filed 

for this purpose. After June 1 no further 

changes may be made in ceiling prices un- 

specifically authorized by the OPS. 

less 

Special posters have been mailed to exhibitors 

by the OPS, and are to be filled in 

with the food items and beverages and 

their ceiling prices. These posters must be 

posted where they will be plainly seen. 

RECORDS MUST BE KEPT 

Ceiling price lists must be filed with the 

district OPS office, and exhibitors or concessionaires 

must keep all invoices and 

other records covering the cost and sales of 

items used to compute the food cost per 

dollar of sales for the base period and any 

compliance period under CPR No. 11, and 

all future records relating to prices, food 

costs and sales. 

If a drive-in theatre was not open during 

the week of Feb. 3, 1952, its ceilings are 

the highest prices charged during the last 

month of the most recent corresponding 

seasonal period. 

New establishments not in operation during 

the base period are to use the same 

ceilings as their nearest comparable establishment. 

Circuits must treat each theatre concession 

separately for the purposes of this 

regulation. 


Remodeled Concession Bar Attracts More Patrons and Profits 

Patrons of the Olympia Theatre are lured 

to buy more refreshments by the beautiful 

concession bar recently completed. 

The entire remodelinR job was handled 

by the B. F. Shearer Co., including the new 

and modern stair railing which was built 

in its own cabinet shop. 

A boldly designed Gulistan carpet was laid 

in the foyer and on the stairway, and Heywood-Wakefield 

Airflo loges and Encore 

regular chairs were installed. 

K /

HI AVE 

a motor directly to the carbon feed mechanism. 

However, since the burning rates 

of the carbons were not always uniform, 

the speed of this motor would have to be 

automatically variable to maintain a uniform 

arc gap length. 

USED A VACUUM MOTOR 

My first experimental control system was 

built from a motor taken from an old 

vacuum cleaner, a few miscellaneous gears 

and a rheostat. Of course, the windings 

in this motor had to be changed to match 

the voltage across the arc. so that the 

motor would automatically speed up whenever 

the arc gap got too long, or slow down 

if the arc gap got too short, so as to maintain 

a uniform arc gap length throughout 

the entire burning of the carbons. 

Early experimental work on this arc control 

was done at the old Hart Theatre here 

the theatre where Ted Lewis, 

in Toledo. Ohio. Just as a point of interest, 

this is 

with his "Is Everybody Happy?" routine, 

got his start in show business. At that time 

he lived upstairs over the theatre. 

Memories are many and vivid as Harry Strong cor>templaies his first arc control. 

At his side is the Strong Mighty "90," the product of 30 years of improvements. 

The Progress of 

Projection Arc 

Lighting for Motion Pictures 

by HARRY H. STRONG* 

YOU EVER noticed that when 

theatre equipment manufacturers get together, 

the oldtimers invariably chque off 

in groups and it's not long before the conversation 

drifts around to "Say, Joe, how 

1id you ever come to get in the show 

ousiness?" That question is all it takes to 

get Joe started on his story, a story he 

loves to tell. When it gets around to 

"Harry," my story runs like this. 

Originally I had an electrical repair shop 

with most of my work that of maintaining 

the equipment in theatres. You must remember 

that 40 years ago the motor generators 

and other electrical equipment were 

pretty crude and required a lot of service. 

Working around the theatres in 1922. 

and especially in the booths—they didn't 

call them projection "rooms" in those 

days— I was impressed by the constant attention 

required by the projectionist to 

keep the carbon arc lamps burning properly. 

Prom observation and the knowledge 

•President, Strong Electric Corp. 

I had gained of arcs and arc power supplies, 

it occurred to me that there must be 

some better way of feeding the carbons in 

the lamphouse than for the operator to 

periodically twist a couple of knobs. 

Naturally, the first thought was to gear 

Thirty years ago Harry H. Strong 

founded the company which bears his 

name, and which has become the largest 

manufacturer of projection arc lamps in 

the world. While the Strong Electric 

Corp. now employs hundreds of persons 

in its engineering, manufacturing and 

sales departments, it stemmed originally 

from the inventiveness and perseverance 

of a man who was trying to improve motion 

picture projection. His review of 

the development of projection arc lighting 

for motion pictures will arouse many 

nostalgic memories for exhibitors and 

others in the industry. It's an interesting 

story that Harry Strong tells in his 

own words— and he tells it weU. 

OPERATORS WERE ENTHUSIASTIC 

This experimental model worked surprisingly 

well, which was encouraging to 

me. The operators around town were enthusiastic 

because they could see how this 

control would make their job so much 

easier and. at the same time, make it possible 

for them to keep a steadier, better 

light on the screen. You may recall that 

operators in those days had to care for 

their projectors, ready a complete show 

every day, thread up. hand crank, feed the 

arc. rewind, and run song and advertising 

slides—all with two hands. 

I built six pair of these controls which 

were installed in Toledo theatres and sold 

for $150 a pair. Then, with very few 

changes. I made a dozen more. I thought 

I was really in business. I went up to Detroit 

and sold a pair in the old Family 

Theatre and installed the others in towns 

within a 50-mile radius of Toledo. 

A ONE-MAN ORGANIZATION 

At that time Strong Electric was a oneman 

organization. I made the controls, 

sold them, installed them, and tried to 

collect for them. Then I had the idea of 

manufacturing and selling this control in 

a big way but soon found out that the cost 

of selling in territories more than 50 or 100 

miles from Toledo just about ate up all the 

profit. At that time I knew little about organized 

distribution. 

Then one day in 1923, when my visions of 

being a big businessman seemed to be fading, 

I heard of a new reflector-type arc 

which had been brought back from Germany 

by a Newark musician named Probansky. 

I learned that this was not a complete 

lamp but just a flimsy hand-fed 

burner mechanism, that had a five or sixinch 

nickel plated metal reflector. This 

burner could be installed in any old lamphouse 

by first removing the vertical arc 

4

mechanism. With this new reflector arc 

it was possible to project more light, burning 

15 amperes, than had heretofore been 

possible with the vertical condenser-type 

arc burning 50 amperes. 

Immediately, this development gave me 

the idea that here was a principle that 

could be employed to build a complete 

lamphouse wuth a reflector-type burner 

combined with my automatic arc control. 

BUILT His FIRST LAMPS 

So I designed and built my first two 

lamps which were tried out in the East 

Auditorium Theatre of Toledo in 1925. 

Only a very few changes were necessary 

before I started to build the lamp in a 

small way with the limited equipment I 

had available. But I soon I'ound out that 

it would take more of a factory to build 

these lamps on a production basis and certainly 

more than the very limited capital 

which I had at my command. All too often 

I had to collect for the lamps when installed 

and then get the check cashed before 

I could get out of the hotel. Furthermore, 

another similar lamp 'vas being built 

in New York and sold under the name of 

Helios and still another in Boston, called 

the American Reflector arc lamp. Before 

I knew it, there were 30 different makes 

of lamps on the market. 

THE "ANGEL" APPEARS 

Then one summer evenin'T, while sitting 

on my front porch wondeiing whether I 

should forget about manufacturing lamps 

and go back to my sadly neglected repair 

business, where I was assuied of at least 

a living, one of my neighbors came over 

and said that his well-to-do uncle had 

offered to set him up in business. He 

wanted my advice. Should he buy a gas 

station or a grocery store? Well, naturally, 

my advice was to invest in this gi-eat new 

venture of mine, that of building arc 

lamps. An arrangement was worked out 

and $20,000 was forthcoming. This was the 

real start of Strong Electric as manufacturers 

of projection arc lamps. 

The first 20 lamps which I built were 

assembled in a square box-type housing 

^mmmi^?^ 

The first Strong ore control mechanism in which 

the inventor used an old vacuum cleaner motor, a 

few miscellaneous gears and a rheostat. It worked! 

which followed the design of the then current 

vertical lamphouse. It was quickly 

apparent, however, that if I were to really 

sell a lot of lamps, we had to put some eye 

appeal in the product. Accordingly, the 

lamphouse was streamlined and this newlow 

intensity reflector arc lamp named the 

Strong Standard. 

With the new capital I was able to hire 

two mechanics, purchase some machinery. 

set up a small shop in a loft over a tin 

shop and arrange with Paul Hueter, who 

now heads the American Theatre Supply 

Co., to help handle the sales. I'd work all 

day building lamps and then at night Paul 

and I would put a pair of lamps in the 

back of the car, start out in the immediate 

territory surrounding Toledo, make a demonstration, 

sell the lamps, come back, get 

another pair and go out again, duplicating 

this procedure until we had about 25 

installations. 

START A DEALER SETUP 

Then we decided to put on some dealers. 

We went to Cleveland and interested the 

Oliver Theatre Supply, which was our first 

regular dealer and who, without much 

other product to sell, really went out and 

did a job. Wr now had the aaswer! ThLs 

was a cinch. Hueter made a trip East 

stopped in Buffalo where Walter Dion look 

on the lamp. In Albany, we put on Crown- 

Ingshleld. Fiom there Hueter went Into 

New York and made contacts with Izzy 

Per.se at the Capitol Theatre Supply Co., 

on to Philadelphia to establish Clem Rizzo 

as a Stronu dealer, and then to Baltimore 

and J. F. Dusman who also became a dealer. 

Then followed Art Morrone in Pittsburgh 

and Ed Hosmer of Independent Theatre 

Supply Co., Boston. 

MOVED TO NEW FACTORY 

By now we were .selling lamps faster than 

we could make them in our limited quarters 

and with only the half-dozen men in the 

shop. Within the next several years we 

continued to take on additional dealers 

and moved into our new rented factory 

building on Lagrange street where we soon 

had 25 people working in the factory and 

had a production of about six lamps a day. 

There was a very brisk sale of these low 

intensity automatic reflector projection arc 

lamps, which gave a brighter picture and 

the saving in current and carbon was generally 

sufficient to pay for the equipment 

in a couple of years. 

By 1927 only the smaller theatres were 

still using vertical-type arcs. Competition 

among lamp manufacturers became keener 

and as sales slackened, we brought out a 

smaller lamphouse w'hich could be used in 

even the shooting galleries where low cost 

was important. This Junior model was in 

all general appearances the same as the 

Standard except that it was about three 

From this small 

tin shop where 

the first Strong 

arc control was 

built, the firm 

has expanded to 

occupy the modern 

factory shown 

below. 


:^x^^^yfiy0îlyiwAoxwft

The 

iônara tu la tionS 

'9 

to HARRY STRONG and 

STRONG ELECTRIC CORPORATION 

for Development of the 

Strong "Trouper" 

MEMOIRS OF PROGRESS 


inches shorter and other dimensions reduced 

in proportion. 

Sales of the low intensity reflector arc 

lamp in 1928 indicated that a saturation 

point was approaching. The most promisinu 

marlcet then appeared to be the larger 

theatres where the hi^'h intensity condenser-type 

lamp was being used. This 

lamp was then the only type producing suf- 

and Thirty Years of Service to 

the Motion Picture Industry. 

MURCH ELECTRIC 

FRANKLIN, MAINE 

CO. 

Manufacturers of Precision Optical Products 

May the Next 

30 YEARS 

be as Successful . . and may 

we continue to have a part in it. 

BURLINGTON INSTRUMENT CO. 

This is the first projection arc lamp developed by 

Harry Strong. It was tried out and proved effective 

in 1925. 

ficient light for large screens but was very 

expensive to operate. 

We reasoned that since the reflector 

principle had so increased the efficiency 

of the low intensity lamp, the same principle 

should apply to high intensity. We 

immediately started work on the design of a 

Burlington, 

Iowa 

Manufacturers of 

Electrical Indicating Instruments 

Generator Voltage Regulators 

Automatic Synchronizers 

Proportionate Load Controls 

Best Wishes to Strong Electric 

You Keep Lighting the Screens 

and 

We'll Keep Bringing in the Patrons! 

WAGNER SIGN SERVICE. INC. 

Cfiangeable Copy Attraction Panels and Letters 

218 S. Hoyne Avenue • Chicago 12, Illinois 

The Strong Standard low intensity reflector arc 

lamp was attractively designed as well as efficient. 

high intensity lamp, employing this reflector 

principle, with the result that we 

projected as much light at 60 amperes as 

had been possible with the 120 ampere high 

intensity condenser-type lamp. It was 

called the Hy-Lo because it gave a high 



Congratulations to Harry H. Strong 

on the 

30th Anniversary of the 

Strong Electric Corporation 

NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY 

A Division of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation 

STANDARD TIME Congratulates 

THE STRONG ELECTRIC CORPORATION 

on its 30th Anniversary . . 

LARGEST MANUFACTURER OF PROJECTION ARC LAMPS, 

RECTIFIERS, AND STAGE SPOT LIGHTS . . . 

We are proud to have cooperated in the remarkable achievement 

of the Strong Electric Corporation by supplying them with the 

finest sets of Jacks and Plugs made anywhere in the world. 

'STANDARD ELECTRIC IS STANDARD WITH STRONG" 

Standard Electric Jack and 

Plug set, typical of the remarkably 

fast-action, precision-designed 

Jacks and Plugs 

supplied by us to 

Electric Corporation. 

the Strong 

r ^. 

This complete switchboard supplied by 

Stondard Electric Time Company for the 

National Bureau of Standards. 

Main Board, Laboratory Building, White 

Sands Proving Ground — a complete switchboard 

by Standard Electric Time Company. 

Strong Fllectric Corporation demonstrates 

its engineering integrity by continuous 

use of Standard Electric Jacks and Plugs 

as specified for the control switchboards 

which we have built for the Atom Momb 

plants at White Sands, and for the .switchboards 

used in the laboratory buildings ot 

the National Bureau of Standards in 

Washington, D. C. 

Since 1884 

sTRNDfiRD Lar(êst Designer coid BiiiUUr of I tihorittory Switcbbfuirds 

THE STANDARD ELECTRIC TIME COMPANY, INCORPORATED 

77 LOGAN STREET • SPRINGFIELD 2, MASSACHUSETTS 


IT'S A PLEASURE 

TO PLAY A PART 

IN 

PRODUCING THE PRODUCTS 

OF SUCH AN OUTSTANDING 

LEADER IN THE THEATRE 

EQUIPMENT 

INDUSTRY 

Toledo Metal Spinning 

& Manufacturing 

1819 Clinton Street, 

TOLEDO, OHIO 

••^^^ '"'^'^ ^="1 '~"'1 ^^^ f^^l P^=1 f'^^=1 f^=1 P''^*^ F= 

our 

(ÔmpOi*>in

name of "Suprex," spelled the doom of 

the AC lamp. 

The Strong Mogul, employing these new 

"Suprex" DC high intensity carbons, was 

developed the same year. It projected a 

The Strong Mogul Suprex 60-ampere projection 

lamp was developed in 1933. It delivers nearly 

fwice as much light as the old AC lamp, and the 

operating costs ore not much higher. 

tremendous volume of light at relatively low 

operating cost and required very little attention 

by the projectionist. 

This lamp, burning the "Suprex" positive 

carbon at 60 amperes, delivered nearly 

twice as much light as the AC and the 

operating costs were not a great deal 

higher. 

The engineering and development of projection 

arc lamps has not been limited only 

to improvement in the arc or the light 

source itself, but of equal importance have 

been improvements in the optical system, 

which in modern projection arcs comprises 

a curved glass reflector. 

It is 

BASED ON EARLY 

INVENTION 

interesting to note that the invention 

or the development of curved glass 

reflectors, like the arc itself, dates back 

many years, for it was in 1874 that Mangin 

developed a curved glass with a silvered 

surface to effectively utUize the principle 

of gathering the light from an incandescent 

source and redirecting this light most effectively. 

Since the optics are a major factor in 

attaining the high efficiency in modern 

projection arc lamps. Strong Electric in 1935 

established its own optical department 

where the correct curvatures and designs 

could be mathematically computed and the 

various steps in the actual manufacture of 

the reflector held under direct observation 

and control. For six months we wrestled 

with molds and furnace temperatures 

carrying out a barrel of Ria.ss a day before 

we had the necessary know-how of the 

intricate and involved processes attendant 

to the production of these precision items. 

For two years we were throwing away 90 

per cent of the reflectors we produced, for 

we were determined to sell nothins that 

we felt was short of perfection. The Strong 

operation includes everything from the actual 

forming of the glass blanks through 

the various steps of grinding, polishing, 

silvering and final inspection. 

A RECTIFIER FOR EACH LAMP 

Fi-om the very beginning 

of our development 

work on reflector 

arc lamps, it was apparent 

that stable and 

efficient operation of 

the arc was dependent 

directly on the characteristics 

of the electrical 

power supply which 

fed that arc. 

Through the years, 

as each new lamp was 

developed by Strong 

Electric, we designed 

a companion rectifier with load characteristics 

specially engineered to match that 

particular arc. 

Strong Rectifier 

The trend to fairly large screen projection 

of 16mm educational film was at that 

time indicating a need for a greater volume 

of light than it was possible to get from 

incandescent sources. One day the entertaiimient 

at the luncheon club was the 

showing of some travel pictures of one of 

the members. If we hadn't had the running 

commentary by the camera enthusiast, 

we'd not have known the locale of the 

shots, so poor was the lighting. I considered 

what an arc lamp could have done for 

such 16mm usage. The most logical solution 

seemed to be that of building a 

miniature high intensity reflector lamp, 

that is, a conventional high intensity lamp 

reduced to a size in proportion to the small 

16mm projectors. The amount of power 

available obviously was limited to that from 

a convenience outlet. An optical system 


30iA 

uerdaru 

Congratulations 

and Best Wishes 

to Strong Electric Corp. 

GENERAL ETCHING 

and MFG. CO. 

Manufacturers of Etched and 

Lithographed Metal Products 

NAME PLATES • DIALS and SCALES 

PANELS • SPECIALTIES 

3070-3082 W. GRAND AVENUE 

CHICAGO 22, ILLINOIS 

AT THE 

ATLAS 

ELECTROTYPE CORPORATION 

FOURTH FLOOR FACTORIES BUILDING 

MAin 7453 MAin 1600 

TOLEDO 2, OHIO 

LEAD, TENAPIATE AND WAX MOLDS 

NICKEL AND COPPER DEPOSITS 

WAXLINES • STEREOS • MATS 

Congratulations to Strong Electric! 

^teel 

SUPPLY COMPANY 

I v [cinuPacturer 6 

STEEL AND WIRE ROPE FOR FACTORY AND CONTRACTORS' USE 

General Office and Warehouse, 3950 Detroit Ave. • P. 0. Box 396 

TOLEDO 1, OHIO 

CONGRATULATIONS, HARRY STRONG, 

on Your 30th Anniversary! 

We are proud of our Association with 

STRONG ELECTRIC CORP. 

during the past 26 yeors 

CINEMA SUPPLY CORP. 

S.O.S. 

602 W. 52nd Street New York 19, N. Y. 


32 


BOXOFFICE :: May 3. 1952 33 

Wp

These views 0/ production processes in the Strong Electric Corp. factory are 

indicative of the precision engineering that is stressed At left, the workman 

is forming gloss reflectors. In the center is a scene in the engineering department 

where problems are worked out before production is begun. At 

right, an inspection is being made of a projection arc lamp reflector. 

The Strong Corp. is the largest producer of projection arc lamps. 


Continued from page 31 

which employed a reflector would result 

in the required high efficiency. Such a 

lamp furthermore would have to be built 

to Underwriters special requirements, as this 

lamp would usually be in the hands of a 

layman. If the lamp was to be small, the 

carbons would have to be short, which 

meant they would have to burn very slowly, 

for a trim would have to last almost an 

hour. 

FINALLY LICKED THE PROBLEM 

To get these short carbons to burn an 

hour, we tried burning them at less than 

their rated current capacity, but this only 

led to unstable burning of the arc and a 

continuous changing in color. It was only 

by a most intensive effort, with much 

sweat, tears, profanity and almost blood, 

that we licked the various problems of 

building such a lamp. However, by 1936 

Strong Electric had finally developed the 

16mm Junior High, a reflector-type high 

intensity lamp, which delivered about four 

to five times as much light as was possible 

to get from an incandescent light source 

and the light was snow-white in color, a 

particular advantage when color films 

were shown. 

AN INEXPENSIVE LAMP NEEDED 

In 1938 there were only about 4,000 

theatres 

equipped with the various types of 

high intensity lamps. The other theatres 

needed high intensity lamps very badly but 

couldn't afford even the "Suprex" lamps. 

The AC lamp had proved to be a flop and 

low intensity lamps were no longer adequate 

for even the smaller theatres, because 

of the trend to larger screens of porous 

structure. The more dense films which 

were being released as a means of improving 

picture quality, and the color films 

which could be pleasingly projected only 

by the white light of the high intensity. 

All the lamp manufacturers directed 

every effort to design and build a low cost, 

economical lamp that would capture this 

potential market. 

Our experiments on the 16mm projection 

lamp stood us in good stead but only by 

concentrated effort, working around the 

clock, subsisting on hot coffee and cold 

sandwiches, harrassing everyone in the engineering 

department, and driving all other 

members of the organization to a point 

where tempers let go and nervous indigestion 

set in, were we able to finally get the 

answer. By burning "Suprex" high intensity 

carbons at the relatively low current 

of 40 amperes, we attained a low power and 

carbon cost. This lamp, known as the 

Strong One Kilowatt, projects twice as 

much light as the low intensity lamp, a 

light very white in color, and gives the 

moderate size theatre, with a screen up 

to 18 feet in width, a type of projection 

comparable to that of the large theatres, 

but at an original and operating cost within 

their means. Since the day it was first 

introduced, it has continued to be sold in 

large numbers. 

THE VICTORY LAMP WAS BORN 

World War IX brought a demand from 

the armed forces for projection equipment 

which could be built almost entirely without 

the use of strategic materials such as 

aluminum and copper. In answer. Strong 

Electric developed the Victory lamp, a high 


HAKKY blKUNd! 

(ônqratuiationi, 

'9 from YOUR DEALERS 

CONGRATULATIONS 

On Your 30th Anniversary! 

The industry has benefitted much 

through you, Harry Strong. 

Arch Hosier 

St. 

Louis Theatre Supply Co. 

3310 Olive St. St. Louis 3, Mo. 

MANY, MANY MORE 

Milestones of Progress Like This 

SOUTHWESTERN 

Theatre Equipment Co. 

Dallas and Houston 

Best Wishes for 

CONTINUED SUCCESS! 

. . . H. R. Vogel 

Theatre Equipment & Supply Co. 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

W. S. SWIFT 

THEATRICAL SUPPLY CO. 

Virden, 

III. 

Best Wishes! 

Southwest Theatre Equipment, 

Independent 

WICHITA, KANSAS 

HARRY H. STRONG 

Backward: What an achievement! 

Forward: May the Strong spirit continue 

tor many years to come! 

VINCENT M. TATE 

THEATRE EQUIPMENT 

Wilkes-Borre, Pa. 

Philadelphia Film Territory 

STRONG from the Start 

and 30 Years of Getting Stronger 

H. I. HOWARD 

Theatre Equipment Supply Co. 

Vancouver, B. C, Canada 

Here's to Another 

30 SUCCESSFUL YEARS! 

F. A. Von Husan 

Western Theatre Supply Co. 

Omaha 2, Nebraska 

30 Years of Making Friends 

. . . Ken Benson 

ACE CAMERA SUPPLY 

462 North Evans St. 

Florence, South Carolina 

WE SALUTE YOU 

on Your 30th Anniversary! 

Bob and Lewis Saunders 

Theatre Equipment Co. 

220 South Poplar St. 

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina 

. . . 


and Best Wishes 

Theatre Service & Supply Co. 

1019 Tenth Street 

Huntington, West Virginia 

WELL DONE, HARRY! 

Your're a Great Guy and 

hove done a Great Job. 

WALTER SHREVE 

SHREVE THEATRE SUPPLY 

217 W. 18th St., Konsos City, Mo. 


Best Wishes for Your 

Continued 

Success 

Abbott Theatre Equipment Co. 

nil S. Wabash Ave. Chicago, III 

CONGRATULATIONS, 

HARRY! 

I've sold strong lamps for 25 years. 

Had less exhibitor complaints than 

any other item in the business. 

N. E. MEHRIE 

Charleston Theatre Supply 

Chorlcston, W. Vo 

CONGRATULATIONS! 

—J. STONER HADDEN 

Hodden Theatre Supply Co. 

209 South Third StcevI 

LOUISVILLE, KY 

ON BEHALF OF ALL EXHIBITORS 

In this fcrritory, our company extends 

hearty congrotulotions to the 

makers ot the tinest line ot lamps, 

rectifiers and accessories. 

Albany Theatre Supply Co. 

443 N. Pearl St. Albany, N. Y. 

AFTER 30 YEARS 

STILL GONG STRONG 

JOE CIFRE 

BOSTON 

Our Congratulations to 


on Your 

30th ANNIVERSARY 

Alexander Theatre Supply, Inc. 

84 Van Braam St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 

TROUPER SPOTLIGHTS 

TROUPERETTE SPOTLIGHTS 

Nothing but spotlight rentol ond 

sales 

CITY ELECTRIC CO. 

1601 Chestnut St. St. Louis, Mo. 

With well deserved BEST WISHES 

for our esteemed friend 

HARRY STRONG 

Auburn Theatre Equipment Co. 

5 Court Street 

AUBURN, N. Y. 

30TH BIRTHDAY 

of o Splendid Organization! 

A. E. THIELE 

Des Moines Theatre Supply Co. 

1121 High St., Des Moines, lowo 

Compliments 

of 

Harry and Ben Blumberg 

BLUMBERG BROS., 

1305 Vine Street 

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

INC. 

Best Wishes to 

HARRY STRONG 

DIXIE THEATRE SUPPLY CO. 

213 W. Third St. 

CHARLOTTE, N. C. 

STRONG PRODUCTS ARE THE 

FINEST! 

What more can we soy then 

"Thanks to you, Mr. Strong, 

for making them possible." 

Boardwalk Film Enterprises 

31 S. Stenton PI., Atlantic City, N. J 

BEST 

from 

DOMINION 

WISHES 

SOUND 

Montreal, Quebec, Canada 

STRONG Lamps and Rectifiers 

CENTURY Sound and Projection 

GRIGGS Seating 

ALON BOYD 

Jefferson Hofel Building 

SHREVEPORT, LA. 

Congratulations and Best Wishes 

for Your Continued Success 

Ernie Forbes Theatre Supply 

214 W. Montcalm Detroit, Mich. 


to Horry Strong ond Strong Electric 

Corporation 

CAPITAL CITY SUPPLY CO. 

Oscar J. Howell .. Lewis Waits 

161 Walton St. N. W., Atlanto, Go. 

STRONG and 

MOTIOGRAPH Products 

Gardner Theatre Supply 

1235 South Wabash 

CHICAGO 

KINDEST REGARDS to a real old 

friend 

Canada's 

Congratulations! 

Ben & Harry Perse 

Capital Motion Picture Supply 

630 Ninth Avenue 

NEW YORK 

General Theatre Supply Co. 

Limited 

Toronto, Ontorio, Canada 

Capitol 

MANY MORE YEARS 

OF THE SAME! 

Theatre Supply Co. 

28 Piedmont St. Boston, Mass. 

Going Strong with STRONG 

in 

Chicago 

Grand Stage Lighting Co. 

23 West Hubbard Street 

Chicago, III.

Anniversary 

of 

Harry Strong 

and the 

Strong 

Electric Corp. 

JOHNHASSALLJNC. ; 

426 Ookland St., Brooklyn 22, N. Y. 

J 

Manufacturers of 

Cold heoded products: 

Spacial naiii • rivets • screws 

HassGll 

The 

STRONG ELECTRIC 

Corporation 

on this, 

their 

30th Anniversary 

. . . and our best wishes for 

their continued success 

The SPITZER PAPER BOX CO. 

3031 Monroe St., Toledo, Ohio 

The name to 

remember jor 

all types oj paper boxes. 

MiATIOHAM

' 

BOXOFFICE 

Congratulations^ 

Best 

Wishes 

HARRY STRONG! 

Well Done . . . 

from 

YOUR DEALERS 

From One of Your 

Very First 

Dealers 

SINCERE 

CONGRATULATIONS, 

HARRY STRONG! 

J. F. DUSMAN CO. 

Baltimore, Md. H. C. Dusman 

30th BIRTHDAY 

BEST WISHES to 

STRONG ELECTRIC CORP. 

and to Harry Strong 

from Henry Sorenson 

MODERN THEATRE EOUIPMENT CO. 

214 S. St. Paul DALLAS, TEXAS 

BEST 

UJISHES 

to 

HRRRV H. 

STRORG 

STANDARD THEATRE SUPPLY 

COMPANY 

Greensboro, N. C. Charlotte, N. C. 

/ am proud of my association with 

HARRY STRONG 

during his entire 30 prosperous years in 

designing, deyeloping and supplying the 

latest in theatre lighting equipment. 

W. E. CARRELL 

FALLS CITY THEATRE EQUIPMENT CO. 

427-29 S. Third St. Louisville 2, Ky. 

"SALUDOS" 

from tfie 

Pacific Coast! 


Los Angeles 

Son Francisco 

Seattle 

Portland 

For unexcelled quality of products, 

and a service policy going 

far beyond anything we know 

of, we express our grateful 

thanks and offer our everlasting 

Best Wishes to 

HARRY STRONG! 

AMERICAN THEATRE 

SUPPLY 

Sioux Foils, 

South Dokoto 

ARTHUR E. TROTZIG 

ELWOOD ROBBINS 

May You Keep on 

Going Just as 

STRONG! 

Weldon Girard 

GIRARD THEATRE SUPPLY CO. 

320 W. Washington Phoenix, Ariz. 

to 


You on Your 30th Anniversary 

from 

us 

on Our 30th Anniversary. 

The excellent quality and 

performance of Strong Products 

has been the contributing 

factor of our being able 

to celebrate this 30th Anniversary 

with you. 

QUALITY THEATRE SUPPLY CO. 

Omaha, Nebraska 

A Token of Regard 

to a most wonderful person, 

the kindest tyrant ond boss I've 

ever known. 

A! Boudouris 

THEATRE EQUIPMENT 

COMPANY 

109 Michigon St. Toledo, Ohio 

:: May 3, 1952 37

j 



hold the crater as close as ten thousandths 

of an Inch of the exact focal point. 

Producins still more light meant developing 

still more heat. This called for a larger 

lamphouse. the redesigning for better dissipation, 

and the use of materials and parts 

which afforded greater resistance to heat. 

Forced air cooling was adopted for the 

working parts. 

A JET OF AIR WAS USED 

A jet of air, rather than the previously 

common magnetic system, was employed to 

stabilize the tail flame of the arc. This air 

blows the tail flame away from the reflector, 

keeps it cooler and prevents the soot 

from depositing on the surface. 

Here, in the Strong Mighty "90," developed 

in 1949. was a king size, reflectortype, 

high intensity projection arc lamp 

These old timers rep 

resent various stages 

of development in 

projectors and lamps 

At top left is the 

Powers Peerlesscope 

projector with acety 

lene 

projection 

lamp. At right is 

the Idison exhibition 

model of 1898 with 

a carbon arc lamp. 

The Phantascope 

projector and arc 

lamp produced by 

Jenkins is shown at 

the 

bottom. 

«« •• 

The Strong Mighty "90" was developed in 1949. 

It burns Irom 75 to 140 amperes, and produces 

all the light energy today's projectors and film 

can handle. 

that burned from 75 to 140 amperes and 

embodied all the advance engineering resulting 

from 25 years of building lamps. 

Here was a lamp that produced all the 

light energy that today's projectors and 

film could accept without damage to 

either or both. 

A SPOT FOR SMALL THEATRES 

Another follow spot, the Trouperette. employing 

the incandescent bulb instead of an 

arc, was designed in 1950 for the smaller 

theatres, night clubs and auditoriums where 

the tremendous volume of light from the 

arc was not necessary. This Trouperette 

employed the same ingenious optical system 

for changing the spot size that was 

used in the original Trouper arc follow spot. 

Celebrating the 30th anniversary of 

Strong Electric, this year is, more importantly, 

the 150th anniversary of Sir Humphry 

Davy's invention of the carbon arc. 

in w^hich he employed sticks of charcoal as 

electrodes and some wet batteries as a 

power supply. It was nearly 100 years later 

that Cecil Hepworth employed a hand-fed 

carbon arc on his Theatograph projector 

which was shortly followed by a vertical 

arc designed by Jenkins for use in his 

Phantascope projector. 

While arc lamps, because of their high 

intrinsic brilliancy, have always been used 

in motion picture projection, many other 

light sources have also been employed. 

Edison used an incandescent light in his 

Kinetoscope, but on his Exhibition Model 

of 

1898 adopted a carbon arc. 

FRENCHMEN USED ETHER LAMPS 

Auguste and Louis Lumiere of Lyon, 

F^-ance, used an ether lamp on their Cinematograph 

projector of 1895 and even today 

many of the old time projectionists will 

remember the first models of the celebrated 

Powers Peerlesscope projector which used 

an acetylene lamp. Thomas Drummond 

employed the lime light, which was simply 

a stick of lime heated to incandescence by 

a gas flame. Credit for the real improvement 

in projection lighting must go to 

Heinrich Beck of Meiningen, Germany, who 

40 years ago took out patents for an arc 

using a positive electrode, which was a 

carbon shell or tube filled with a paste, 

consisting of certain salts, fluorides of calcium, 

barium and strontium. 

When these electrodes were employed, 

this core material was changed into a gas 

which burned with a brilliancy that was 

many times that of the incandescent tip of 

a plain carbon electrode. Its snow-white 

color accounted for the name high intensity. 

An arc using plain carbons was known 

as a low intensity because it burned at a 

low color temperature, that is, a muddy 

yellow as compared with Beck's arc. 

It may be interesting to note that for the 

past 30 years Strong Electric has announced 

some major new development on the average 

of every two years. Our engineering 

department is constantly engaged in a program 

of experimentation, which will undoubtedly 

result in further developments 

to meet any needs of the future. 

As limelight and ether lamps were used 

in the early days of motion picture projection, 

likewise there have been recent 

experiments with higher-powered, incandescent, 

filament-type lamps; high pressure 

mercury lamps and zirconium electrode 

lamps, but none of these has ever approached 

the intrinsic brilliancy of the high 

intensity carbon arc. 

All the development and research work 

of the lamp manufacturers, collaborating 

with developments by the carbon companies, 

has resulted in improvements in 

lamp design, to a point where the light 

or energy at the film aperture is now so 

intense, that before any further increases 

in picture brilliancy can be attained there 

must necessarily be more effective methods 

of cooling the film at the aperture. 

MODELS TO MEET ANY NEED 

From a humble beginning. Strong Electric 

has grown to become the largest manufacturer 

of projection arc lamps in the 

world, with specific models to meet any 

field requirement. 

The Strong line includes the Mighty "90," 

for use in the largest theatres and driveins: 

the Mogul for screens 24 feet in width; 

the Utility for 20-foot screens; the One 

Kilowatt lamp for screens of 18 feet in 

width; the Portable lamp for use with 

portable projectors, projecting pictures up 

to 14 feet in width, and the Junior High 

for 16mm projection. 

Strong engineers continually incorporate 

latest developments and improvements into 

each of these lamps, so that as they come 

off the production line today they are 

truly 1952 models. 

That's my story and I'm stuck with it. 


The Crack of Dawn*.. 

At the crack of dawn the pulse of humanity begins to 

roll into action . . 

Whether it be on the battle front or the home front, it is 

dependent on the service of supply, embracing all 

the life-giving necessities . . 

And the keynote in the service of supply in 

the show world 

is 

your theatre supply distributor... 

Backed by years of experience, well-informed on all matters 

pertaining to modern innovations in theatre operation, he is an 

invaluable asset to the welfare and success of your theatre. . 

He studies your needs and carries a veritable warehouse 

of everything essential to the successful operation of 

your theatre ... 

Your theatre supply distributor is entitled to your business 

because of the great investment he has in carrying everything 

needed for your successful operation . . 

He makes no recommendations until he is definitely sure 

that the equipment suggested will be of value and 

service to you . . 

He is 

yours to command 

throughout the year, twenty four hours a day. . 

Your dollar buys more from 

your Theatre Equipment and Supply Distributor 


j 

j 

PROJECTION AND SOUND 

Change Your Oil Mr. 

Projectionist? 

The Best Advice Is to Change Every 200 Hours, 

And Stay Away From Off-Brand, Cheaper Grades 

by WESLEY TROUT Wesley Trout 

I ODAY S MODERN PROJECTOR IS a Very 

expensive piece of equipment. It is built 

with precision tools by skilled mechanics, 

and with proper care and maintenance will 

give years of fine service. You can secure 

long service if you use the right lubrication, 

install parts when needed, and follow the 

manufacturer's recommendations as he is 

vitally interested in seeing that his equipment 

operates satisfactorily. Most projector 

manufacturers sell oil which they recommend 

for use on their mechanisms; supply 

dealers distribute only the very finest projector 

oil. and I strongly recommend that 

you use it and not a cheap grade of lubricant. 

OIL MUST BE RENEWED 

The intermittent movement is subject to 

very heavy service and a "special" oil 

should be used for most satisfactory service. 

Here again I urge that you purchase 

only the lubricant recommended by the 

manufacturer, purchasing it from your 

local supply dealer. Oil becomes "poor" 

from continued use and should be renewed 

in the intermittent every 200 hours. Take 

the intermittent out of the mechanism and 

empty the old oil out and refill with new, 

clean oil. 

As you probably know, oil loses its 

lubricating powers after so long and 

then your parts start wearing out unnecessarily. 

Bear in mind that the intermittent 

sprocket starts and stops 24 times a second. 

This high speed of your intermittent 

sprocket requires fine, precision parts which 

your manufacturer gives you in today's fine 

projector. You can readily understand why 

it requires good care and the tmst in lubrication. 

This advice applies to your entire 

projector lubrication. 

USE 

RECOMMENDED OIL 

Only lubrication lecommended by the 

manufacturer or serviceman should be 

used to lubricate your soundheads. Never, 

never use graphite, or anything else except 

pure oil for your projector or soundheads. 

One or two drops of oil is plenty in any 

bearing, too much oil simply runs out of 

the bearing and gets on the film. 

Modern mechanisms that have all the 

gears running in oil in an oil-tight gear 

compartment: the oil should be completely 

drained out by opening the drain petcock, 

making sure that no foreign material remains 

to interfere with the gear operation. 

Always thoroughly clean inside with a soft, 

clean, lintless cloth before replacing gear 

compartment cover. My experience in oil 

changing has thoroughly convinced me that 

oil in these compartments should be 

changed every 600 to 700 operating hours 

for best results. I al.so am convinced that 

the oil in the intermittent should be completely 

changed every 200 hours to achieve 

the finest operation. 

NOTE: The mechanism of any projector 

should not be cleaned when, it is running. 

If this procedure is not adhered to damage 

may result by the projectionist getting the 

cleaning rag caught between the gears or 

tangled betioeen the shutters and the shutter 

housing. 

KEEP 

ALL THE SPROCKETS CLEAN 

It is of paramount importance that you 

keep the intermittent sprocket perfectly 

clean at all times, because any dirt that 

accumulates on the sprocket teeth will 

cause an unsteady picture on the 

screen. I suggest that you use a stiff bristle 

toothbrush and brush all the sprockets 

every day, moistening the toothbrush with 

a little chemically pure carbon tetrachloride. 

You should clean and thoroughly 

examine all your sprockets every day, and 

if you find any that have become "undercut," 

replace immediately. "Undercut" and 

dirty sprockets will cause picture jump and 

film damage. Check your sprockets and see 

that they are in perfect alignment so that 

the film travel is straight from the top 

magazine to the lower magazine. See that 

all idle rollers run freely and do not develop 

flat places. The correct distance of 

sprocket idlers from the face of the sprocket 

is the thickness of just little more than the 

film, any more than this is bad, and the 

idler should never "ride" the sprocket face. 

I always place two thicknesses of film on 

the sprocket, and adjust idler so it just sets 

on film. 

EMERGENCY EXCITER LAMP SUPPLY 

If your exciter lamp supply is AC and 

the transformer that supplies the correct 

voltage suddenly goes bad, you can use an 

ordinary 500-watt electric heater element 

which is wired in series with the exciter 

lamp and the regular 110-volt AC current. 

This can also be used for emergency setup 

with DC power units, and will work very 

well until you can make a permanent repair. 

Modern soundheads are well built and 

rugged in construction, but they are a 

delicate piece of machinery and require 

careful maintenance so that they will give 

\ 

satisfactory sound reproduction. The P.E, 

I 

cell should be kept clean and the correct 

voltage maintained as recommended by the 

manufacturer. Keep in mind that it should 

be properly lubricated, the stabilizer drum i 

free of dirt and revolving freely in order 

to avoid flutter. The guide rollers i 

must 

be accurately adjusted and turn freely so 

j 

as to avoid grooves in sides. 

TAKE TIME TO FOCUS EXCITER LAMP 

Sometimes too little attention is given 

\ 

to focusing the exciter lamp. Take time i 

and focus exciter lamp so that you secure 

i 

clear, white oval light on a card placed 

in front of the P.E. cell. If you want a 

perfect setting of exciter lamp, connect an i 

output meter to the terminals of the loud 

speaker circuit and thread in projector a 

7,000 c.p.s. loop, and adjust exciter lamps ! 

until you have secured maximum volume on 

the meter. As you probably know, an output 

\ 

; 

meter reads sound volume in decibels which 

is the unit for measuring sound increases. 

A small output meter is very handy and : 

• 

can be purchased at a very reasonable 

price. Be sure to clean sound lens with 

tissue when setting exciter lamp or focusing 

sound lens. 

Loss of frequencies is usually due to oil 

on sound lens, darkened exciter lamp, im- 

1 

properly focused exciter lamp on sound 

lens and defective P.E. cell. If oil has 

seeped into the lens tube it is best to 

secure a loan lens and return the defective 

one to the factory. 

SOUND TRACK MUST BE SMOOTH 

The sound track moving past the lightslit 

of the sound lens must be absolutely 

smooth in order to avoid "flutter." This 

means that the sound drum or stabilizer 

should be kept in perfect condition and 

free of any dirt accumulations. The sound 

head sprockets should not be "undercut," 

The film must be held in place perfectly by 

the lateral guides so that its downward 

travel will be straight and the light beam 

will not strike sprocket holes causing a 

loud hum known as "motor-boating." The 

entire drive mechanism should be chfecked 

regularly and screws checked for tightness. 

NOTE: Every day check drum, pad or 

gate and remove any particles of film wax, 

oil or lint. Any foreign matter that might 



No matter what you need 

Westrex has it! 

The complete Westrex theatre supply and service 

organization is the answer to every equipment 

supply problem for theatres in 62 countries outside 

the U. S. A. and Canada. Offices in over 1 00 cities 

are staffed with Westrex-trained engineers who 

have installed over 5000 Western Electric and 

Westrex Sound Systems, and who service our systems 

plus hundreds of installations of other makes. 

For studios throughout the world, Westrex 

offers a full line of Western Electric and Westrex 

studio recording equipment and accessories to meet 

every photographic and magnetic recording and rerecording 

need. These equipments— like the Westrex 

Theatre Sound Systems — are the outcome of 

many years of research by Bell Telephone Laboratories 

and the Westrex Hollywood Laboratories. 

No one else serves the industry 

so well OS Westrex 

SOUND AND PROJECTION SYSTEMS. 

Academy Award Winning Western 

Electric Hydro Flutter Suppressor is 

featured in Westrex Master, Advanced 

and Standard Systems. 

PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING SYSTEMS. 

For outstanding results with either 

area or density recording, the Westrex 

line ranges from newsreel systems to 

de luxe studio equipment. 

AMPLIFYING EQUIPMENT. Westrex 

Amplifiers, in power output ranges 

from 15 to 100 watts, are designed to 

give clear, undistorted reproduction 

even when operated at full capacity. 

MAGNETIC RECORDING SYSTEMS. Magnetic 

recording on film offers maximum 

quality, immediate playback, reusable 

film, higher signal-to-noise 

ratio, and eliminates film processing. 

LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEMS. Designed for 

theatres of every size and shape, these 

systems are built around Western 

Electric loudspeakers for single or 

multiple installations. 

RE-RECORDERS. The Westrex line provides 

facilities for 35mm and I6mm, 

100 mil standard. 100 and 200 mil 

push-pull photographic, and also for 

magnetic film recordings. 

Research, Distribution and Service for the Motion Picture Industry 

Westrex Corporation 

ni EIGHTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 11, N. Y. 

HOLLYWOOD DIVISION: 6601 ROMAINE STREET, HOLLYWOOD 38, CAL. 

Himn EUCTiic 

Eiron 

\ COirOMTM* / 


SNAPIJTB 

USERS 

CHECK YOUR OIL? 


accumulate on any of these parts might 

cause an unintended interruption o) the 

light reaching the P.E. cell and set up unnecessary 

noise in your sound reproduction, 

or completely cut sound of/ in some cases. 

Watch your gears for wear and worn 

sprocket teeth. Keep bearings well oiled 

and see that shafts turn freely, replacing 

immediately worn shafts, gears, etc. A de- 

1% 

1 

when you use 

t^^^' 

SUIMÎt SKAI*lilTI^ 

projection lenses 

Yes "MOVIES ARE BEHER" and they're "BETTER THAN EVER" if you 

use Super Snaplite f/1 .9 Projection Lenses. These superb lenses 

give you maximum light, maximum sharpness, and maximum contrast 

...maximum viewing satisfaction for your patrons. 

True speed of f/1 .9 in every focal length up to 7 inches. 

Ask for Bulletins 207 and 209. 

'(a) 

2 Franklin Avenue 

Brooklyn 11, New York 

"Vou Gef More Lighf 

wifh Super Snaplife" 

OIMMIKATIOK 

s/fS 

/NO/CAT/NO 

Here is an indicator for testing starwheel shafts to 

see if they are sprung. It should be set on the 

face of the sprocket and needle ride in "center" if 

shaft is "true." Can also be used to check end-play 

of 

sprocket. 

fective gear, shaft or coupling can cause 

plenty of trouble and may cause considerable 

damage to your projector drive. Check 

the Allen screws monthly, and tighten if 

necessary. 

Photo-electric cells are very delicate but 

will give long service with proper care. The 

efficiency of the cell decreases with age 

resulting in a gradual decrease in output 

volume and frequency response. Always replace 

cells before the quality of your sound 

is impaired. P.E. cells should always be 

firm in their sockets and contact should 

be firmly made when replacing with new 

cells. Correct voltage is of utmost importance 

at all times. 

55 Different 

Ramp and 

Directional 

Signs 

to Choose From. 

All DAV/0 Signs 

ILLUMINATE 

Walkways and 

Driveways. 

FULL 

5 

DAWO CORP. 

D-37 

4 

145 North Erie St. Toledo 2, Ohio 

SU)>ERIOR 

GRIGGS CHAIRS 

COMFORT—the 

they're occupied! 

Comfort in 

minute 

Their Beauty sparkles! 

Superior 

construction 

gives years of service. 

WRITE FOR CATALOG 

GRIGGS EQlilP/VIE^T CO. 

Belton, Texas 

METHODS OF OILING 

The Brenkert, Simplex X-L and Motiograph 

mechanisms use automatic lubrication 

which assures a continuous shower of 

Center Frame 

W^y Conlinuoui ihower of oil $1 

from Rotar\ Lubricator flowi^ 

through bearings and on gear 

teeth. 

Bearing it grooved 

over its 

full length 

To oil reservoir in base of 

projector mechmniim. 

Automatic Lubricaiion 

Film Sprocket 

'I Stinger: oil flowing 

through bearings cannot get 

into film compartment be: 

cause of action of stinger. 

over gears, and flows through bearings, 

oil 

thoroughly oiling every part but no oil 


42 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION 

'^1

1^ 

LARGE THEATRES 

SMALL THEATRES 

ALL THESE ADVANTAGES 

• A REALLY BRIGHT, QUIET, FLICKERLESS 

LIGHT. 

• A SHARP EDGE FROM HEAD SPOT TO 

FLOOD. 

• REQUIRES 

NO HEAVY ROTATING EQUIP- 

MENT. SIMPLY PLUG INTO 110-VOLT 

OUTLET. 

• TRUE PORTABILITY. MOUNTED ON CAST- 

ERS. EASILY DISASSEMBLED FOR SHIPPING. 

• TWO ELEMENT VARIABLE FOCAL LENGTH 

OBJECTIVE LENS SYSTEM. SILVERED GLASS 

REFLECTOR. HORIZONTAL MASKING CON- 

TROL CAN BE ANGLED 45 DEGREES IN EACH 

DIRECTION. FAST OPERATING 6-SLIDE 

COLOR BOOMERANG. 

ji^^milii^ 

ARENAS 

AUDITORIUMS 

ICE 

SHOWS 

HOTELS 

NIGHT CLUBS 

SCHOOLS 

TROUPER 

HIGH INTENSITY ARC SPOTLIGHT 

Adjustable, self-regulating transformer In 

base. Automatic arc control. 

SÎ^M 

A trim of carbons burns 80 minutes. 

Available with slide projector attachment 

for projecting a clean, sharp, clearly defined 

picture even on largest screens. 

11 

• 

TROUPERETTE 

INCANDESCENT SPOTLIGHT 

for small theatres, hotels, night clubs, 

schools and colleges. 

Projects 6V4t times brighter head spots. 

Utilizes all the light through most of the 

spot sizes as contrasted to spotlights which 

vary spot size solely by irising, thus losing 

substantial light. 

THE STRONG ELECTRIC 

CORPORATION 

"The M'orlJ'i Largeit Manufacturer o/ Projtction Arc Ljmpi" 

34 CITY PARK AVENUE TOLEDO 2, OHIO 

d ||j^^- 

CITY Ik tTATE- 

Please send free literature on the D Strong Trouper Arc Spotlight; 

Q Strong Trouperelte Incandescent Spotlight. 


CHECK YOUR OIL? 


gets into the film compartment or runs 

down into sound head film compartment. 

The Simplex E-7 uses a "one-shot" oil system 

which is excellent. The lubrication of 

the Century mechanism is largely taken 

care of by ball bearings of the self-lubricated 

type— lubrication is sealed in for the 

life of the bearing and does not require any 

attention. Mechanisms that are oiled with 

the conventional hand-oiled system should 

be oiled with a small-spout oil can using 

only two or three drops of oil. any more 

than this runs out and gets into the film 

compartment and makes a mess. 

HAS LIFETIME LUBRICATION 

The Motiograph mechanism model "AA" 

is lubricated by grease-packed ball bearings 

which require no further lubrication 

or attention for their long lifetime. Greasepacked 

ball bearings also are used on both 

star and cam shafts. 

* NOTE: The intermittents of all projectors 

are. of course, oiled separately. After 

200 flours of operation, dump old oil out 

and refill intermittent movement case with 

new oil. Don't keep addijig neio oil to old 

oil if you toaiit a quiet running movement. 

Copper is vitol—save machine drippings. 

Each month in the MODERN THEATRE Section, 

Wesley Trout will present procticol questions 

and answers pertoining to sound and projection. 

It you have a technical problem send it 

in and it will be answered here. 

Will you please tell us the best way to 

remove taper pins from gears and drive 

pins out of intermittent sprockets? 

Here is a drawing 

showing an anvil or 

"V" block which has 

been used very successfully. 

This can 

be made in most any 

machine shop or 

purchased from 

your local supply 

dealer. Pin ejectors 

do a first-rate job 

when removing taper pins in intermittent 

sprockets, but you will find that 

this handy little tool will do the job 

and can be used to drive pins out of 

shafts, etc. Place it in a small bench 

vice, which will leave your hands free 

for holding the part you are working on 

and holding hammer. When the worn 

sprocket has been removed, be sure to 

clean the starwheel shaft good before 

you replace with a new one, and make 

sure there are no burrs or sharp edges 

on the pin holes, as 

this will make it hard 

to get the new 

sprocket on the shaft. 

If sprocket fits a little 

tightly, place a little 

very fine oil on shaft 

and with a twisting 

movement, making sure 

your taper pin holes 

line up, you carefully 

push sprocket on shaft. 

You may only gel 

sprocket half-way on 

the first time, due to 

a tight fit. If this is 

the case, remove and 

clean shaft and lubricate 

it again, and you 

should not have any 

trouble getting the 

sprocket all the way 

on this time. 

Here are two things 

that are very important 

when renewing intermittent 

sprockets 

Be sure to get the large 

end of the hole in the 

sprocket with the big 

one in the starwheel 

shaft: make sure that 

r\/' 

olot 

1/8" 

l/Vide 

3A" 

Square 

A handy tool for 

driving out taper 

pins in intermittent 

sprockets 

and tapers in 

gears. 

taper pins fit snugly in holes, if not you 

will have picture jump If taper pins do 

not fit snugly enough so that sprocket 

•| 

ALREADY 2000 THEATRES HAVE INSTALLED THIS MIRACLE 

^ 

%mm.Jhere MUSTbe a teason! 

Satisfaction in every seat! 

Plain to see from any angle! 

Eliminates glare and distortion! 

Gives amazing new deptli! 

Perfect sound transmission! 

No perforations! 

IT'S 

EASY ON THE EYES! 

CYCieiiAMiC CUSTOM 

SCREEN 


LOS ANGELES PORTLAND 

1964 So. Vermont - RE. 3-1 145 1967 N. W. Kearney - AT. 7543 

SAN FRANCISCO SEATTLE 

243 Golden Gate Ave- UN. 1-1B16 2318 Second Ave.- EL. 8247 


does not move on shaft, use small taper 

reamer and ream holes out slightly 

(ream out the big end of hole, of course) 

Reamers may be purchased from factory 

or supply dealers. 

Never force a sprocket on a shaft as 

you may spring the shaft and then you 

will really have trouble. Re.iect any 

sprocket that you cannot carefully push 

on shaft. You want a good tight fit but 

should not have to force a part on and 

spring & shaft. 

What arc the frequejicies the human cardrum 

luill respond to? 

Due to the elasticity of the eardrum 

it will respond to frequencies from 16 

to around 15.000 c.p.s. One must have 

very good hearing if he can hear as 

low a frequency as 16 and as high as 

15,000—hearing decreases with age in 

most individuals. The human ear is 

most sensitive, according to authentic 

data, to 1,000 c.p.s. Modern amplifiers 

and sound heads will reproduce all the 

frequencies faithfully if kept properly 

adjusted and checked regularly. For 

brilliant, clear sound reproduction equipment 

should be checked with test equipment 

regularly every 60 days. 

/ have used your books on sound systems 

with good results. Noiu I need some 

information on servicing BB intermittent 

movements— how to repair, rebuild and adjust 

correctly. Appreciate your help in securing 

this service data or if you publish 

a book on repairing intermittent movements.— 

Gotfred Olson, Fessenden Theatre, 

Fessenden, N. D. 

I am very happy that my booklets 

have been of help to you in general 

maintenance of sound equipment. I do 

not publish a book on repairing and rebuilding 

intermittents at this time but 

I am compiling an article now which 

will be published in Modern Theatre 

soon. In the meantime, I am sending 

you some tips on repairing and suggest 

that you read my article in Boxoffice 

Modern Theatre Buyers' Directory and 

Reference Section, Page 71, issue Nov. 24, 

1951, which should prove helpful in repairing 

BB intermittents. 

I do appreciate the many nice letters 

about articles in the Modern Theatre 

Section each month, and many kind 

words regarding the service booklets. 

/ have followed your articles on sound 

and projection in Modern Theatre a long 

time and find them of great interest and 

help. I need some advice on building a 

small pre-amplifier and rvill appreciate 

your help in the matter. My soundheads 

use Cetron CE-2 P.E. cell which operates at 

90 volts: will use DC current for exciter 

supply. This setup will be used in a small 

parish hall and we will appreciate if you 

would send this data via air mail as we 

are in a hurry. Thank you.— Carl P. Anderka, 

135 Fern St., San Antonio, Tex. 

I 

a 

immediately sent the required schematics 

and data on building 

pre-ampUfier, 

P.E. cell circuits and other data. 

The reason I am not using the .schematics 

in this department is because this 

was a special setup to be u.scd with a 

Grunow radio and fed through the 

phonograph jack and would not be of 

help to our readers using theatre audio 

amplifiers. I am always ready to help 

our readers in any problem, but please 

am 

allow sufficient time for a reply as I 

"snowed under" with correspondence 

most of the time. 

HOW MANY OF THESE CAN YOU CORRECTLY 

ANSWER? 

What is a rotary converter ivhcn used in 

projection room? 

Wfiat causes condensers to leak wax? 

Become defective? 

What arc sojne of the causes of resistors 

becoming too hot or emitting smoke? 

What should be the length of the arc gap 

of a reflector-type, direct current, highintensity 

projection lamp? What sizes of 

carbons arc used for 40 to 43 amperes? 

(Answers next month) 

New Magnetic Sound System 

Is 

Announced by DeVry 

A new, profesisonal-quality, magnetic 

sound system for recording and reproducing 

magnetic sound on 16mm motion picture 

film has been developed by engineers of the 

DeVry Corp. 

According to W. C. DeVry, president, this 

magnetic sound system has been adapted 

to the standardized U.S. armed forces 

16mm sound motion picture equipment, as 

developed and manufactured by DeVry. 

In the premiere demonstration of the new 

equipment, held in Washington, D. C, before 

military officials and dignitaries of 

foreign governments, 16mm motion picture 

film with magnetic sound was reproduced 

in many languages, including Fi'ench, German, 

Chinese and Spanish, with perfect 

synchronization between the picture and 

sound. 

This recorder-projector records and 

plays back sound by means of a narrowstripe 

of magnetic iron oxide bonded on the 

edge of either 16mm sound or 16mm silent 

motion picture film. 

DeVry, in announcing the new equipment, 

said: "Magnetic sound-on-film is 

unquestionably a major development. It 

has a definite and fruitful use in education, 

religion, industry, business and for the 

home movie-maker. However, it is the consensus 

of opinion among film producers and 

equipment manufacturers that the high 

quality optical .sound as now recorded on 

16mm or 35mm motion picture film will 

continue to be the universally accepted 

sound-on-film medium." 

YOUR CAR 

using 

DROLL PROCESSED 

DOLLARS 

CARBONS 

A continuous trim that burns the 

entire carbon and cuts your carbon 

costs 10% to 25%. 

AVAILABLE FOR THESE HI TRIMS; 

NEGATIVES 

POSITIVES 

6 mm. X 9" 7 mm. x 12" and 14" 

7 mm. X 9" 8 mm. x 12" and 14" 

ond 136 mm. x 22" (machined for odaptcrs) 

to provide twenty minutes more burning 

time. 

Shipped prepaid at regular carbon list prices, 

plus $1.15 per hundred for milling, drilling 

and clips (on 13.6 mm. x 22", $1.50 per 

hundred), less 5' on carbons, 10 days. 

Liter.ilure on request. 

G. C. ANDERS COMPANY 

(Formerly Droll Theatre Supply Company) 

317 S. SANGAMON STREET 

CHICAGO 7, ILLINOIS 

Improvement 

" PAYS... 

Do It 

NOW! 

TO increase and hold 

patronage for your theatre 

TO strengthen moviegoing habits 

. . . make 

your theatre more 

attractive and comfortoble 

in every way possible. 

MOVIES ARE BETTER THAN EVER 

. . . How 

About Your Theatre? 

EVERYTHING FOR THE CONCESSIONAIRE 

Popcorn Equipment 

Candy Floss Equipment 

Popcorn, Oils, Boxes and Supplies 

Kiddie Rides 

Write for cotolog . . . 

3918 Sccor Rd 

Toledo 13, Ohio 

CONCESSION SUPPLY CO. 


A 

cleanup campaign must precede a good fire 

prevention program for the theotre, L. E. Pope 

points out in this installment of l)is manual of preventive 

maintenance for the theatre Pope, who is 

purchasing agent for the Fo« Midwest Amusement 

Co., also discusses wet and dry sprinkler systems, 

fire apparatus and escape outlets and offers a sug 

gested fire equipment record, he further discusses 

the special fire precautions necessary for the projection 

room. 

SgSESS*?s«

, unless 

A MANUAL OF PREVENTIVE 

MAINTENANa FOR THE THEATRE 12 

FIRES BY REGULAR INSPECTION 

and fabwcs. In case there is danger of freezing, use the antifreeze 

type extinguisher. 

There should be one 2 ',2 -gallon fire extinguisher for each 

2,500 square feet of floor area, including upper floors and balcony 

space. Therefore, each house should conform to this rule, 

but if local city, county or state rules or laws require more than 

the above quantity, the latter requirements should govern. These 

extinguishers must be hung on brackets securely fastened to the 

wall and distributed throughout the house so as to be readily 

available when and where needed. The location of each should 

be shown on the drill routine, and at each exit drill members 

of the staff should be queried on their knowledge of the location 

of each extinguisher. 

Extinguishers used in the projection booth should be carbon 

dioxide 1 C02 

1 

local laws or regulations specify other 

types. Each booth should have two extinguishers and they 

should be located so that one of them would be available to the 

operator from either end of the booth—preferably near each 

projection machine. 

The pump plunger of the pyrene type extinguishers should 

be tested frequently as they occasionally stick or freeze from 

lack of use. Carbon dioxide extinguishers should be weighed 

at intervals to be sure the contents have not evaporated. Several 

times a year the local fire department should be requested to 

detail a fireman to instruct the staff on the correct methods of 

using fire extinguishing equipment. It is suggested that when 

fire extinguishers are to be recharged, the old contents be used 

to demonstrate lin the presence of a fireman), the method of 

using them. 

Here is a suggested fire equipment record: 

FIRE 

EQUIPMENT REPORT 

Town State .Theotre Date

MANUAL OF PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE 

Continued horn 

preceding page 

8. Provide a waste can for carbon stubs and insist that 

nothing else be put in it. 

9. Use a waste container for scrap film. 

i 

necessary to leave the booth, one yank of the ring will immediately 

release all port shutters and close the door. 

Port shutters should be dropped each night at break of last 

show and be left closed until the next day's show. It accomplishes 

three things: di It daily tests the efficiency of the manual 

release (2) It keeps dust out of the booth during housecleaning 

< 3 1 It seals off the booth from the house in event of fire. 

Each booth should be equipped with two chemical type extinguishers—C02. 

Automatic C02 equipment is available to pipe C02 to each 

projector that is released by a fused valve in case of fire. The installation 

is expensive but sure to reduce the film fire hazard. 

Film 

Care 

Nitrate film has hazardous properties which are well known 

to the theatre industry. It is important to practice safe methods 

of storing and handliny nitrate film. Present day methods of 

handling have reduced the hazard and have reduced booth fires 

to a minimum. The few booth fires we do have are seldom serious 

due to the rapid action of C02 extinguishers. The National 

Board of F^re Underwriters and other organizations have greatly 

helped to improve methods of handling and specification of 

equipments for storing, rewinding and projecting nitrate film. 

Nitrate film can ignite in the storage can if stored where the 

temperature is slightly higher than room temperature and will 

give off enough oxygen to burn in a closed can. Gases given off 

in case of fire are toxic and unless there is ample air circulation 

to carry off the toxic gases, no one should attempt to stay near 

burning film. Do not attempt to handle nitrate film that is not 

in a fireproof container except in an approved space provided for 

this purpose. Do not project nitrate film in any building not 

equipped with a regulation booth unless you use equipment that 

is Underwriters-approved as portable equipment. Even with approved 

equipment the hazard is so great I would not take the responsibility 

outside a regulation booth. 

Safety film is not a film that will not burn, but it will discontinue 

to burn when the heat source is removed. It requires 

about twice the temperature to ignite safety film as compared to 

nitrate film. Safety film stock is made of several acetate mixtures 

each having different characteristics. Safety film is being used 

to a greater extent in some countries than others, and its use in 

the U.S. is increasing each year. Now that both nitrate and safety 

film are used, the same care should be given safety film as nitrate 

in case you fail to make proper identification. Many films, both 

nitrate and safety, have been sent with wrong markings and until 

we have all prints on safety stock, we can not relax as to film care. 

Rigid building codes, approved containers and projection 

equipment and methods will be required until all prints are on 

safety stock, and I doubt if there will be much change in requirements 

until a fireproof stock is developed if and when. 

10. Insist upon the use of hinged-top, pedal-opening type of 

container for waste oily rags and inflammable material. 

11. Do not thread up projector with lamp house burning. 

12. Remove film from projector as soon as its running has 

been completed and delay threading next reel as long as possible 

to permit projector to cool off. 

13. Adjust lower magazine take-up mechanism to prevent 

strain on film. 

14. Make daily inspections of film valve rollers to see that all 

of them turn freely. 

15. Turn or replace worn or undercut sprockets in projector 

mechanism and sound head. 

16. Replace all worn strippers, guide rollers, film guides, tension 

shoes. 

17. Be sure that projector mechanisms that require them are 

equipped with proper type of heat shields. 

18. Do not permit film to touch heat shields during threading. 

19. Make periodic frequent inspections of automatic fire shutter 

mechanism of projector and be sure it operates freely and 

promptly. 

20. Be sure that magazine doors are not bent and that they 

close tightly and lock firmly. They should be kept closed while 

film is on projector. 

21. Do not use electric or gas heaters with exposed heating 

elements or exposed flame. 

22. IMPORTANT: Insist that the projection room and room 

adjoining it are kept thoroughly clean and free of loose paper, 

rags, scrap film, 

and other inflammable or combustible material. 

23. See that exhaust system is operating properly. 

A Well-Planned Projection Room 

Suggestions Which, if Followed, Will Reduce the Number 

of Projection Room Fires. 

bent. 

1. Strictly prohibit SMOKING at all times. 

2. Carefully inspect all film before its first running. 

3. Inspect film during rewinding. 

4. Do no use exchange reels while film is being projected. 

5. Inspect house reels periodically to be sure that they are not 

6. Use only film cement of proved efficiency. 

This model projection room is in the Corib Theatre, Miami Beach, Fla., one of 

the finest new theatres on the eastern seaboard. All equipment was selected for 

excellent performance, including the Super High 100 projection lamp made by 

7. Keep film (features, shorts, trailers and leaders i in ap- C. S. Ashcraft Mfg. Co. Safety precautions suggested on this page for avoiding 

proved film cabinets when not in projector magazines or on re- projection room fires are of vital importance in protecting financial investwinder. 

ments of this kind. 


j 

\Ar AGNER has now made if 

possible for you 

i 

to order a minimum font of changeable letters on 

your original order and subsequently purchase additional 

letters for each change of copy until you hove 

an adequate stock on hand. 

By so purchasing, most of the letters ore 

legitimately chargeable as advertising material for 

the feature for which they are purchased. 

HRS noui 

mflDE II i 

I HIS convenient service, and the important 

savings which result from ordering only those 

letters you actually use, is made possible by the 

establishment and maintenance of ample stocks of 

letters in leading theatre supply stores in most film 

POSSIBliE 

i 

centers. 

Among the theatre supply companies 

maintaining such stocks are: 

Albciny, N. Y., Albany Theatre Supply Co. 

Boston, Mass., Capitol Theatre Supply Co. 

Buffalo, N. Y., Eastern Theatre Supply Co. 

Dallas, Texas, Modern Theatre Equipment Co. 

Los Angeles, Calif., B. F. Shearer Co. 

Dallas, Texas, Southwestern Theatre Equipment Co. 

Denver, Colo., Western Service & Supply 

Houston, Texas, Southwestern Theatre Equipment Co. 

Kansas City, Mo., Missouri Theatre Supply 

Memphis, Tenn., Monarch Theatre Supply Co., Inc. 

New York, N. Y., Joe Homstein, Inc. 

Oklahoma City, Okla., Oklahoma Theatre Supply 

Pittsburgh, Pa., Alexander Theatre Supply Co. 

Portland, Ore., B. F. Shearer Co. 

San Francisco, Calif., B. F. Shearer Co. 

Seattle, Wash., B. F. Shearer Co. 

Wagner Sign Service, Inc 

218 S. Hoyne Avenue Chicago 12, Illinois 

I' 

BOXOFFICE 

May 3, 1952 49

^ 

Exhibitors Should Strive to Win 

Goodwill of Their Communities 

A Veteran Theatreman Tells How It's 

Done 

f] 

by E. 

Y. STAFFORD* 

I HERE'S A DIFFERENCE—a disUnct difference 

— between "showmanship" and 

"foolemshlp"! Any theatre is a permanent 

property in its own city, and the conduct 

and operation of that property should, in 

my estimation, be on a standard that will 

demand permanent respect and approval 

from the people served and the people the 

theatre hopes to serve. 

In speaking from a personal viewpoint of 

24 years in the theatre business, I believe 

there is one outstandingly important 

thing: community goodtvill. This is a tangible 

commodity not shipped off three or 

four times a week like cans of films. It is 

not finished, like the program, but is perl>etual, 

its uses and applications are limitless. 

PATRON COMFORT ESSENTIAL 

Too many big theatre executives, and 

others just entering the business, fail to 

realize one all-important fact before it is 

too late. That is: the comfort of the patron, 

whether in the drive-in or the conventional 

type theatre. It is my observation 

that, to the patron himself, his comfort 

means more than theatre designers and 

builders have heretofore realized or appreciated. 

The first thing that far too many 

theatre builders ask their architects is, 

"How many seats can I get in this space?" 

"How many cars can I park in this area?" 

If your desire is to ram 'em and jam 'em 

into your theatres, you should make it 

mighty easy for people to get in, comfortable 

while they are in. and easy to get out 

again, or you'll never get them back the 

second time. 

If I were building a theatre today, I 

would run advertisements in the newspapers 

asking the public, "How do you 

want this theatre to be?" "What are the 

important things to you?" I'd offer prizes 

—say, three $100 bonds and ten annual 

passes—to get people thinking along these 

lines. It might be illuminating to discover 

that people want comfort and service above 

ornate staircases and spectacular wall 

murals. 

DEVELOP THEATRE PERSONALITY 

As with an Individual, the theatre must 

develop a pleasing personality in order to 

make friends and keep them. From boxoffice 

to concession counter the personality 

of the theatre must be projected by its employes. 

The theatre must be in business for 

its patrons and not i7i spite of them. 

Confidence in the theatre is not built 

up trying to deceive the patron about the 

product and the playtime. Most drive-in 

theatres are able to obtain their pictures 

anywhere from 42 to 120 days after local 

first runs. By that time the public knows 

from whence you speak when you try to sell 

an old product. 

The Miami Drive-In is the south's oldest 

drive-in theatre. Last October we celebrated 

our 13th anniversary. The basic 

admission price has been maintained since 

1940, in spite of rising film costs and everincreasing 

operational costs. There was 

purpose behind this. We have done this to 

signify our faith in, and to express our 

appreciation for, the loyal patronage that 

people have given us over these 13 years. 

We mean our slogan sincerely: "We're in 

business to make a living, not a killing." 

iP' 

•"I wish you would get Mr. E. Y. Stafford, manager 

of E. M. Loew's Miomi Drtve-ln Tfieotre, Miami, 

Flo., to write on orticle on drive-in operation. I think 

he knows more about drive-ms than ony one in the 

business," wrote E. B. Tipton, exhibitor in Gostonio, 

N. C, to Modern Theotre recently. Here it is, Mr. 

Tipton, ond thanks for the tip.— Ed. 

"This is my special 'Little Driyers Club,'" wrote Stafford. "It is a corner in my concession stand that I 

have devoted to the kids. The design, special character cutouts and decals are my own idea. This was 

built by my caretaker and myself, and has proved very popular with the kids and parents." 


Simply 

. . GIFTS 

We Include our admission prices in our daily 

advertising. 

The concession stand keeps prices as low 

as possible. We have 16-cent hotdogs, 10- 

cent popcorn, 25-ccnt hamburgers twe pay 

i 

top price for the best meat 10 

, -cent Pi-ench 

fries, 10 cents for a 10-ounce cold drink, 

and 12-cent, 6-cent and 1-cent candies. 

CATER TO THE CHILDREN 

The Miami Drive-In can claim a few 

"firsts," one being that we were the first 

In the area to admit children in cars free. 

We pay particular attention to our juvenile 

patronage, in fact we stress this service 

and consider it a pleasure. We are as proud 

of our children's business as we are of our 

adults'. We not only welcome the kids, wc 

cater to them, even to the extent of stocking 

those one-cent candies, which give so 

much fun to the small fry. 

A corner of the concession stand has 

been fitted up as a "Little Drivers Club." 

It is railed off and has miniature benches 

H E 

^^. 

^ jg 

WTniSS 

DORIS DAY 

iBvSTORM Mkmm 

S^nCHTINC REDHEAD 

ALSO CARTOON SNE\*S 

. 

«»».««»* 

This large attraction board at the entrance to the 

Miami Drive-ln Theatre includes the time each 

picture goes on the screen. This is particularly 

important in a tourist town where many patrons are 

not familiar with local theatres. 

and chairs, gaily painted and decorated 

with decals. Above on the walls are large 

decals of all the popular cartoon characters. 

The club sign across the corner personalizes 

the section as belonging to the kids and no 

one else. 

A story session is held for tots to keep 

them interested until the show starts. Special 

children's recordings are played. 

We don't forget the children in the 

ladies' powder room, either. One booth 

marked "Little Ladies" is equipped with a 

child's-size facility. 

HONOR STUDENT ADMISSIONS 

The Miami Drive-In is one of only two 

open air theatres in this area honoring student 

admissions. Tickets are 38 cents to 

students upon presentation of their identification 

cards. 

Another "fii-st" for us that bore fruit 

was our "free gifts for an idea." Publicity 

read: "Mom and Dad: You may win $100 

Maintenance at the Miami is perpetual. A speaker check is made doily, prior to opening the theatre. Adjustments 

are made for patrons during the program when necessary. Once a month the whole theatre 

is gone over carefully, and all connections and speaker quality ore checked 

in free movie passes just by offering one 

suggestion. Simply write your suggestion as 

to what you would like for us to do here at 

the Miami Drive-In Theatre to make your 

visits more enjoyable. Drop suggestions in 

box at concession stand. The five best ideas 

win free year's pass." One alteration that 

was made as a result of one of the winning 

suggestions was the blocking out of a line 

of light from neighborhood signs behind 

our screen—something we had not been 

aware of. 

TIME OF SHOW IS 

IMPORTANT 

On the marquee at the entrance is included, 

beside the title of each picture, the 

time it goes on the screen. This is important 

especially in a tourist town. Situated 

as we are on a main thoroughfare, with a 

stream of cars continually going by, we 

are seen by thousands of seasonal visitors. 

These are people who are not reading 

newspapers at the moment and are not 

familiar with local theatres. They see our 

show times and come back. 

On one wall of the concession stand a 

huge map is painted. The name of a movie 

star is placed beside the city which happens 

to be his, or her, home town. Out-oftowners 

invariably wind up studying this 

Typical of Stafford's 

advertising is this 

front and back cover 

of a program folder. 

Prizes are offered for 

suggestions to improve 

the theatre. 

map to find out what stars have come from 

their home states. By this means national 

good will is localized to this tourist community. 

AN ELECTION REMINDER 

As a community goodwill service around 

election times, we flash a sign on our screen 

saying: "If you don't vote, don't bellyache 

about the kind of government you get." We 

sponsor no candidate of course, we simply 

add our reminder to people to go to the 

polls. 

FREE FOR ADULTS 

$1,000.00 IN FREE 

Movie Tickets . . Look 

Mom ood Dod You Moy W.n $100 00 m 

FREE MOVIE PASSES just by offer. ng on« 

iuggestion . write your suggeslior^ 

OS to whot you would lik« for ut to do 

here ol the Miomi Onve-in Theotre to moke 

>our vmti fTwre enjoyoble . , ihot's o'l' 

Drop >uggc>liont in b«K at conectiion (tand 

S BEST IDEAS WIN FREE YEARS PASS, 

Winnen announced Sot Ntta. Hor. 3. I 95 I 

at 9:00 o'clock 

Free gifts for Children 

I^FREESCHWINN BIKE 

Courtviy LittU Ri*cr CfcU Shop 

ir FREE TOY AIRPLANES 

ir FREE CANDY! iFri.. Nov. 21 

SCE ANNOUNCEMENT ON &CKEIN 

FOR ALL INFORMATION 

Maintenance at this theatre is perpetual. 

There is a speaker check prior to opening 

the theatre each day. Once a month the 

whole theatre is carefully gone over, checking 

all connections and speaker quality. 

Adjustments are made for patrons during 

the program when necessary. There are 

spaces for 600 automobiles. 

The theatre has one of the largest 

screens in the south. It is surrounded with 

a 16-foot black masking for clearer visibility. 

New equipment brings us up-to-date 

in every respect. We are admittedly not as 

glamorous looking as many drive-ins, but 

in patron comfort, service, equipment and 


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operation we feel \v? piovide the essential 

requirements and our long-established patronage 

bears this out. 

A point is made of having a reliable paging 

service. A railroadmen's headquarters 

is situated in our vicinity, where the men 

must be on call. I made a personal call on 

the head man there, explained our system 

for informing patrons of messages, and now 

we spot these men in our audience every 

night. 

LIGHTS INCREASE ATTRACTION 

The lighting of the theatre is most important, 

but this is something that must 

be left to the individual locality. The more 

light, the more attractive the drive-in appears 

in its neighborhood. 

One of the most useful aids to parking 

we have is the large, This-Way-Please, illuminated 

shadow box sign which is portable 

and can be placed where needed. Its 

wording leaves no doubt in the patron's 

mind as to which way to go. Used to direct 

traffic into the grounds, it serves the 

s* 

-»(»- 

THIS 

lunv 

PLEnSE 

.'M^Jng^ 

This portable, illuminated, shadow box sign takes 

the place of two men on the highway to direct 

patrons into the theatre grounds. 

purpose of two highway men. It is large 

enough to be instantly seen and read, and 

it can be plugged into the ramp lights anywhere. 

With this sign to direct the motorist 

into the grounds and a man inside with 

a flashlight to further guide the car, there 

is no chance that the customer will become 

confused or not be able to park quickly 

without disturbing others. Ramp boys 

always have polish cloths to wipe windshields 

or give any other desired help. 

These means provide an easy, trouble-free 

approach to the parking spaces. 

ADDITIONAL EXIT 

HELPS 

After studying the traffic problem of our 

particular neighborhood, I recommended 

to the owner that an additional exit be 

made to expedite theatre traffic. This was 

done and has been so successful that we 

are now contemplating an additional entrance 

to speed the flow of cars on busy 

nights, and that of course means weekends. 

The theatre operates its own concession 

stand and I, myself, do the buying, merchandising, 

inventorying and even the repairs. 

Having come up all the way from 

relief doorman, bill poster, backstage property 

boy, usher, assistant manager, and on 

up to city manager and district manager, 

in every kind of theatre including de luxe 

Tourists are fascinated by this large map on a 

wall of the concession stand where names of motion 

picture stars are placed beside the city which 

is their home town. 

vaudeville, roadshow houses, inside theatres 

and open air types, there is little about 

a theatre that at some time or other I 

haven't learned by having done it. Therefore, 

practical experience has shown the 

importance of keeping the concession 

stand spotless. No grease must be left on 

any piece of equipment, the grill and the 

popcorn machine must be left as shining 

as the pans in any housewife's kitchen. 

SELL 

NATIONAL BRANDS ONLY 

We have a long oval counter with places 

for the deep-freeze and other storage. We 

stock only national brands, finding that the 

intermission selling period leaves no time 

to Introduce unfamiliar products. We are 

frequently approached with the idea of 

selling us on "big margin of profit" items, 

but this we consider as not appropriate for 

the type of operation we give. We think 

the public appreciates good standard products 

at a reasonable profit. 

We may not have the formula for getting 

but we have proved we can stay in 

rich, 

business over a long period of time, be 

friends with our neighborhood, and even 1 

perhaps an asset to the community life. 

We also survived an eight-month ordeal, 

keeping the theatre going in spite of the 

closing of the highway on which we are (J 

located. 

ALTERNATE ROUTES OFFERED 

In advertising and every way possible 

we gave the public alternate routes by jl 

which we might be reached. These took || 

patrons from one to three miles out of 

their way. That they came, regardless, is 

due to one thing only: goodwill! That, and 

nothing else, paid off. 

As a member of the committee to formulate 

plans for the parade that celebrated 

the opening of the boulevard, I used the 

highway sign and fence to publicize the 

event which rated a page of pictures in 

local newspapers. A beauty pageant was 

held in the theatre to choose Miss Central 

Boulevard. 

Eight months is a long time to keep going 

when a theatre is practically cut off 

from traffic. At a time like that a theatre 

has one resource only: the friends it has 

made. 

j| 

3111 

:* 

•a 

k 


. . . yet 

Treat Every Patron as if it Were 

His First Time at Your Drive-In 

Wisconsin Exhibitors Discuss Effective 

Managements Personnel Training, 

Concessions and Promotion 

Wrive-in theatre owners and operators 

delved into many problems of operation at 

a recent one-day conference in Milwaukee. 

Wis., sponsored by the Allied Independent 

Theatre Owners of Wisconsin. Conducted on 

an open forum basis, the meeting produced 

numerous suggestions and proved methods 

for effective drive-in maintenance, operation 

and promotion, some of which are 

related below. 

Henry Toilette of the Marcus Theatres 

led the discussion on "Preparations for Reopening 

of a Drive-In." Toilette pointed 

out some of the things to check on reopening 

are: While there is still water on the 

ground, peg your low spots where you will 

have to have fill later on. Change your 

canopy copy a couple of times before reopening. 

Check your lights, speakers and 

sound system at least ten days ahead of 

opening. Pi'eshen up your entire drive-in 

by painting, washing walls and, at opening 

time, have fresh flowers in the boxoffice 

and concession stand. Treat your reopening 

just like a grand opening. 

ASK POLICE COOPERATION 

Further, be sui'e to contact your highway 

police a week to ten days before opening 

and ask their cooperation in handling the 

traffic for reopening. Be sure to put on 

a "Welcome" trailer. While on the subject 

of trailers, he stated that you cannot 

emphasize too strongly, or advertise too 

much about asking the patrons to be sui'e 

to hang up their speakers, for the greatest 

number of speakers missing are those taken 

by people who do not deliberately steal the 

speakers but accidently drive off with them 

still attached to their cars and are afraid 

to return them for fear they will have to 

pay for them. 

Personnel—It was suggested that you try 

to get the same personnel that you had the 

year before. Work with the help for several 

days before reopening, training them on 

DRIVE-IN Theatres-Use Tape Recorded 

Pre-Show & Intermission Musical Programs 

These programs are produced especially for DRIVE-IN use, with 

announcements designed to boost concession sales and highlight 

theotre policy. Live organ music for intermissions. 

Programs available in any lengths at $2.75 per 1/2 hour, plus a 

smoll basic chorge. You may use your own tape recorder or Empire 

has tape ploy bock equipment for sale at dealer's cost. Get 

complete details FREE by using Readers' Bureau postcard or write 

direct to 

EMPIRE RECORDING COMPANY 

3221 So. Acomo St Denver, Colo. 

Programs availoble for FREE audition. Fronchise holders wanted. 

every detail of theatre operation. In a 

drive-in it is very important that ushers be 

courteous and helpful. Treat every customer 

as if it were his first time at a drivein. 

Also, train your ushers in checking 

speakers. Be sure to have them check that 

they are turned off after each performance 

when a patron puts them back on a stand. 

Toilette had some equipment with him 

that he has found to be very satisfactory 

in his drive-ins, among which was an inexpensive 

yellow slicker-type raincoat and 

rain hat, on which it would be very easy 

to print the name of the theatre on the 

back of the slickers, and they are very easy 

to distinguish. He also had a red plastic 

elongated tip for a flashlight that is very 

efficient and inexpensive to buy. 

ADVERTISING THE DRIVE-IN 

Elmer Brennan of Standard Theatres 

led the discussion on "Advertising for 

Drive-In Theatres." Brennan opened the 

discussion by telling the exhibitors that "if 

they whisper, only a few people will hear 

them: but if they shout, they will be heard 

by many." At that point, one of his 

colleagues shot off a pistol with a blank 

cartridge, which put the exhibitors on the 

edges of their seats. 

Brennan had a very complete set of visual 

explanation cards to show the drive-in 

operators a full year's advertising campaign 

for a drive-in. He started the discussion 

by showing a series of teaser advertisements 

in cartoon style that their artist 

made up and stated he would be very 

happy to share them with other drive-in 

operators in the state. He then showed a 

full-page co-op reopening advertisement, 

of which the merchants underwrote the entire 

cost. Brennan pointed out that on all 

the advertisements, they were very careful 

to be sure to insert a complete area map 

showing the exact location of the drive-in. 


Increase your 

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with 

BURKE-BUILT 

PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT and 

KINDERGARTEN PLAY DEVICES 

The poront\ won't hove 

to "WONDER WHERE THE 

CHILDREN ARE" — THEY 

WILL KNOW! 

Compore the mastivc, 

heavily ribbed, grcolcr 

length fittings of hot 

dipped galvanized iron 

with the Interlocking 

Knob Construction against 

ony other. The FITTINGS 

, 

corry the lood. 

Burke performance and 

reputation have proven 

trustworthy companions 

thru the years. 

Distributed Coost to Coast 

by NATIONAL THEATRE 

SUPPLY. 

Write Dept. S for Drive-in 

Thsatro Information, Catalog 

K, ond Price List. 

Buy 

., . 

Ond low 

COJTSI NCf 

Consider such popular 

Burkc-Built 

"Child Tustod" e«- 

clusives OS the 

Climb-A-Round ond 

tlobby - Horse swing 

sot. 

THE J. L BURKE CO. '^*!?cSS.s'Af 

Factory Iranck, ••> *» Naw •ruii>wlck, N. J. 

Time-Proven EPRAD 

IN-THE-CAR SPEAKERS 

Have the Lowest-Known 

MAINTENANCE COST! 

In 10 years, complete 

parts ond labor maintenance 

cost on EPRAD 

speakers average less 

thon lO^b per seoson 

per speaker. 

EPRAD'S excellent performance 

is the result of 

unexcelled workmanship 

and best materials. Every 

step has been taken to 

moke the Eprod speokcr 

the best on the market 

keep REASON- 

ABLY PRICED! 

• GLOW-TOP JUNCTION BOX. 

• QUICK DISCONNECTS permit connecting without 

tools. 

• VARNISHED VACUUM-IMPREGNATED TRANS- 

FORMERS. 

• SILICONE-TREATED CONE. 

• HANDSOME STAMPED-STEEL SPEAKERS, one 

screw assembly. 

Write for Free Literoture and Nome of 

Your Nearest Deoler. 

EPRAD 

in MICHIGAN ST. TOLEDO, OHIO 

For Better Service 

And Higher Profits 

EVERY DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

BUFFETERIA 

NEEDS THE 

A concession en wheels. 

Hot 3nd cold compirtfaenti. 

HOT BOX WARMER;=n,%oJ,7-l; 

PORTO-FOUNTAIN.. '»./-;i.T 

Ask for descriptive literalure, prices and deliyery 

THE WALKY-SERVICE CO. 

401 Schwtiler BIdg. Wichita. K>n>. 

BOXOFFICE :: May 3. 1952 53

A Manual of 

Drive-In 

Design and Operation 

MODERNIZING YOUR DRIVE-IN THEATRE 

This is the last installment of a series of 20 

articles which hove appeared in the 

MODERN THEATRE Section 

r RECEDING THE LAST WORLD WAR, and immediately thereafter, 

a comparatively large number of drive-in theatres were 

built as cheaply as possible in an effort to cash in on this type 

of entertainment before it became passe. Now, however, that 

the demand for this type of theatre is increasing, it becomes 

imperative that these sub-standard operations be modernized 

if they are to compete with the newer type of drive-ins. 

It is always more costly to remodel than it is to build properly 

in the first instance, but in view of the fact that the original 

investment in the majority of these sub-standard jobs has been 

entirely amortised, it stands to reason that the cost of any 

modernization will actually be paid out of earnings so that it 

is to the best interests of the exhibitor to bring his theatre up-todate 

at the earliest possible date. 

The problem of installing in-car speakers is perhaps the 

most costly item involved since this work requires that ramps 

be cut up in order to install the underground wiring circuits. 

Prior to placing these circuits it is advisable that the sight lines 

from all ramp locations be checked by an experienced engineer 

to be sure they are suitable for a larger screen area or for additional 

ramps. 

The next project for the modernizing program is the surfacing 

of the ramp area and the driveways. It is actually surprising to 

see the large number of 700 to 1,000-car drive-in theatres that 

do not have proper surfacing. 

Before surfacing the areas, sight lines should be checked to 

preclude the possibility of having to make alterations in them 

after the surfacing work is completed. The ramp area is actually 

the very foundation of a modern drive-in theatre and it should 

be surfaced in a manner that will prevent surface water from 

penetrating the subgrade; it should provide a smooth surface 

for pedestrian traffic; and it should have sufficient abrasive 

material to provide traction for automobiles on the sUppery 

nights which frequently occur. 

by GEORGE M. PETERSEN 

The screen structure on many of these sub-standard jobs 

also requires attention both as to the size of the screen proper 

and as to the architectural appearance from the highway. The 

successful indoor exhibitor is most particular regarding the appearance 

of his marquee and his lobby and the drive-in theatre 

exhibitor should be equally interested in the landscaping and 

in the attractiveness of the highway elevation of his theatre. 

Due to the fact that many of the early screen structures 

were erected by carpenters who had no experience in computing 

loads and stresses in the materials, it is not advisable to add to an 

existing structure until a thorough check has been completed 

of the structural members, the connections, the size and weights 

of the footings, the size of the anchor bolts, etc. This checking 

should be done by an experienced and capable engineer. The 

fact that a screen structure has stood for several years is no 

assurance that it will continue to stand after it has been enlarged. 

A structure 45 feet high may withstand the pressure exerted 

by the normal winds in a certain locality but such winds may tax 

the sti'ucture to the maximum limit so that an additional added 

height of only a few feet could cause a complete failure. Recent 

court decisions in cases of claims for damages caused by the 

failure of improperly designed screen structures proves all too 

clearly that it is not advisable for the exhibitor to take a chance 

on the design of such structures. -a 

There are three principle methods that may be used to properly 

enlarge the screen structure. I. If the enlarging is to be completed 

during the closed season the existing structure may be 

wrecked and the salvaged material may be reused in the new 

structure. 2. An entirely new structure may be erected on the 

highway side of the existing structure and the existing structure 

can then be removed. 3. A new structure may be erected around 

the existing structure. However, this method is not recommended 

unless all details of the existing structure have been 

checked as previously mentioned since the additional pressure 

will add to the load of the existing structure. 

As the highway elevation of the screen structure is the most 

valuable advertising space available to the exhibitor it should 

be developed to the utmost and this result may be obtained at 

i 


a very nominal cost. On the smaller operations this decoration 

overhead trough lighting that is concealed in the cornice. For the 

more costly theatres this decorative effect may be obtained by 

Installing neon tubing over painted designs and the exhibitor can 

control the amount of his investment in this work. 

Another detrimental feature of the majority of these substandard 

drive-in theatres is the so-called attraction board. 

Several of the larger sign companies are providing stock designs 

for such boards using the changeable silhouette letters. These 

stock jobs may be obtained in either one-side or two-side boards 

that are available at a nominal cost. 

Other features that frequently require modernizing are the 

restrooms and the concession facilities. Many of the sub-standard 

theatres have unattractive, inadequate restrooms. together with 

unattractive and inefficient concessions. In such cases it is advisable 

to provide an entire new unit. When, however, the restrooms 

and concession are attractive but inadequate as to size, 

it is frequently desirable to leave the existing unit as is and construct 

another unit on the last ramp of the theatre. 

A modern women's restroom should provide minimum toilet 

facilities on the basis of approximately one closet combination for 

each 200 cars: one or two lavatories: a powder tabl? with mirror: 

a sanitary napkin dispenser, and a disposal can for tho used napkins. 

Either paper towels or electric hand driers should also be 

provided. Stall partitions and doors may be of plywood or steel 

although the latter are greatly preferable and the additional 

cost of the metal stalls is very moderate. 

A modern men's restroom should provide minimum toilgt 

facilities on the basis of one closet combination to each 300 cars. 

Two or three urinals are usually adequate for a theatre of 700 

cars or less. One or two lavatories should be installed and paper 

towels or electric driers should be provided. 

The MINIMUM concession should contain the following equipment, 

properly arranged to provide maximum service in a minimum 

of time: 

Bottle warmer, refrigerated drink tank, electric refrigerator 

for ice cream bars, frozen candy bars, a popcorn machine, 

bun warmer, griddle for grilling wieners, coffee maker, case for 

candy bars and gum, cigars and cigarets, and cardboard trays 

and paper cups. 

The manner in which the concession is operated, the speed 

with which orders are filled, the high quality of the food served 

and the general cleanliness of the entire operation each has a 

direct bearing on the success and the consequent earning. 

While the modernizing mentioned does not have to be all 

completed at the same time it is a excellent idea to have the 

complete plans prepared and then select the different items for 

attention whenever finances and time permit the performance 

of that particular portion of the work. 

Maintenance of the Drive-In Theatre 

Continued from loti 

month 

UTILITIES 

The maintenance of utilities such as electric connections, gas, 

water and telephone are dealt with under the paragraph on 

General Maintenance. 

WEED AND PEST CONTROL 

To maintaining an attractive appearance for a drive-ln 

theatre it is important that all obnoxious plant life be eliminated 

from the landscaping or that it be reduced to a minimum. From 

the viewpoint of patron comfort all Insect life within the theatre 

area should be reduced to a minimum. There is practically 

nothing on the ramp area to breed insects, so they must fly or 

be blown in from the surrounding areas. 

Under ordinary conditions a good lawn of Washington bent, 

or other grass that develops an extremely compact root structure, 

will provide a root growth that will just about squeeze out the 

root growth of most types of lawn weeds. Heavier weed growths 

should be kept cut close to the ground and sprayed at frequent 

intervals with an effective weed killer. 

Ragweed is particularly annoying, late in the summer, to 

sufferers from hay-fever and should therefore be completely 

eliminated from the vicinity of the theatre. Pollen from ragweed 

can be carried for miles by the wind but that is no excu.se for 

permitting it to thrive near the theatre. Sumac, poi-son ivy, and 

similar weed growths should also be completely eliminated from 

the theatre site as these weeds effect many persons who only 

come near them without coming in contact with them. 

Weeds and tall grasses offer an ideal breeding place for mosquitoes, 

fleas, chiggers, and various other types of annoying 

insects so that weed control will also have a definite effect on 

pest control. 

There are many brands of weed and insect exterminators 

available in liquid or powder form that may be sprayed or dusted 

over the affected areas but if these simple methods do not perform 

a satisfactory job the exhibitor should consult an exterminating 

expert who has the proper equipment to do a satisfactory 

job. 

Regardless of HOW it is accomplished the control of weeds 

and pests is imperative to a successful Drive-In Theatre operation. 

Investment in fire-protection appliances should be protected 

by periodic inspection. The service life of portable extinguishers 

is lengthened and their dependability assured by regular attention. 

Geotge 

By 

This Authoritative Guide 

To Successful liHanagement 

Available Soon in Book Form 

Whether you already are in the drive-in 

field or contemplating entering it, you will 

find this volume a practical aid to outdoor 

theatre design and every phase of physical 

operation. 

Limited Edition Now Printing 

^ 

$3.00 postpaid 

Assure Your Copy-ORDER NOW I 

Pete- rsen 

BOXOFFICE, 

82S Von Brunt Blvd., 

Kansas City 1, Mo. 

Sirs: Reserve my copy ot "A Manuol of 

Drive-ln Thcotrc Design ond Operotion." 

Herewith my remittance ot $3.00. 

Street 

City 

Address 

State 


c e i t, 

BALLANTYNE'S 

Completely 

Prefabricated 

Screen Tower . . 

LOW COST ERECTION-Through complete assembly 

on ground . . . face up. Raised into position with 

tractor. No scaffolds needed. 

To meet oil the requirements of government limitation 

order M-4 Bollontyne offers o skillfully engineered, completely 

prefabricated screen tower for drive-in thcotres. All timber used in the Boycr prefabricated screen 

tower, distributed exclusively by Bollontyne, is Douglas Fir, select structural, as graded by the West 

Coost Bureau of Lumber, Grades and Inspection, or equal. The entire structure is anchored by 8 

concrete footings, cross braced for maximum strength, and designed to withstand o 3S-pound per 

square foot wind load. The entire screen areo and screen border is covered with shiplap for added 

strength and protection to the picture screen. A Transite screen facing over shlplop Insures flat 

picture surface. All members are pre-cut and drilled lor quick and easy assembly. Complete plans 

for erection are furnished. Shipped complete to your drive-in site on company truck. For low cost 

rigidity, durability, and easy erection you can't beat the Bollontyne Prefabricated screen tower. 

COMPLETE PACKAGED EQUIPMENT 

FOR DRIVE-IN THEATRES 

As the originotof of "packaged" equipment for 

drive-in thcotres, Bollantyne still offers the only complete 

package unit for ony size theatre. Included ore: 

In-o-car Speokers, Soundheads, Amplifiers (single or 

dual channel). Ramp control ponel. Projectors, Hi-Tilt 

Projector Bases, 16" Mogozines, Projector Changeovers, 

Arc Lamps, Rectifiers, Tungor Tubes, Lenses, 

Electric Rewind, Hand Rewind, Rewind Table, Film 

Cabinet, Aluminum Reels, Film Splicer, Reel End 

Alarms. And a completely prefabricated screen tower. 

Added to this is Bollontyne's offer of a loyout of the 

size drive-in you desire on your own piece of property, 

including entrances, exits, romp detail, projection and 

concession room plans, etc., free of charge. The job 

•f building your drive-in resolves itself to your securing 

o dirt man and a locol controctor to erect the 

projection and concession room building. Your problem 

is reduced to the simplest terms. Write for complete 

free detoils, cotologs, pictures, blue prints, and the 

name of your neorest Bollontyne dealer. 

uO\N YOU CAN BUllO A 

--' ^rt.re"'f ;or:se"f "-°o.uUrr:-. 

in builn9 yo"' including / ''f.!! etc ., so VO" 

"«• rs'^wetghts ond I"" Write 

^* f,Vct1ons. 

„ire s>ie5, we'9 yemmcnt restr 

con conform to 90^, 

todoy " ^ • • - 

SPEAKER STANDS 

and GUIDE LIGHT 

POSTS 

Fobricoted to Your Specifications 

from steel pipe or tubing. 

Material free from allocation. 

V/ire! Write! Phone! 

TELEPHONE THotcher 9243 

SONKEN-GALAMBA CORP. 

Riverview at Second Street 

Kansas City 18, Kansas 

THE 

BALLANTYNE'S 

Ballantyne's Dub'l Cone speaker is a revolutionary new 

development in drive-in theatre in-a-car speakers. It 

offers features never before found in any speaker, regardless 

of cost. In fact, Ballantyne brings you all 

of these features at a cost no greater than you pay 

for run-of-the-mill speakers on the market today. And 

the Dub'l-Cone speaker will outlast 3 to 1 any other 

speaker available. 

Again Ballantyne engineering brings to the drive-in 

theatre a product years ahead of the field in design, 

construction, and quality of reproduction. The Ballan* 

tyne Dub'l Cone offers all of the desirable features 

of a top quality speaker, plus advanced improvements 

which overcome practically all of the disadvantages of 

ordinary speakers. 

BALLANTYNE COMPANY 

1707-17 DAVENPORT ST., OMAHA, NEBRASKA, U.S.A. 

RE-CONE SPEAKERS 

and Have BETTER SOUND at BIG SAVINGS! 

WE SPECIALIZE in re-cone work. We rebuild any 

size, any make loudspeaker. Strictly quality parts 

and workmanship. 

WE GUARANTEE every job. We play-test every 

speaker before shipment and imprint our company 

name and test dote. 

WRITE NOW for our LOW PRICES on vorious sizes 

and all other detoils of our complete service. 

OR SEND TO US FOR FREE SERVICE one of your 

defective in-car speakers. The returned 

WEATHERPROOFED re-cone job will tell the 

rest itself. Act today! Hove better sound! 

WESTERN ELECTRONICS CO. 

6120 Wattiington Ave, Houston, Teâs 

Thh ii our ONLY address. .Contact us here. 

DRIVE-IN 

CONFERENCE 


pointing out on other ads that they had 

followed that theme throughout the enlire 

campaign. It wa.s al-so suggested that 

in reopening the drive-in for the first engagement, 

exhibitors should give something 

extra to the children, and not forget the 

adults. This year they are giving the children 

comic books and balloons, and the 

adults a very nice plastic whiskbroom, properly 

marked that it came from the drive-in. 

A VARIETY OF ADVERTISING MEDIUMS 

He also said that in opening the drivein, 

they are using fireworks in the form of 

aerial bombs. Other advertising mediums 

were discussed and it was found that a 

drive-in theatre, whether in a large or 

small town, got very satisfactory results 

from mailing programs directly to the 

homes. Also, sound trucks with two, threesheet 

boards—one board telling of the price 

and policy, the other telling the current 

attraction—radio jingles, and spot announcements 

on the radio have been very 

successful. Your radio station can acquire 

this platter through its regular service and 

all you will have to pay for is the spots. 

Other promotions that have been proven 

valuable throughout the year are: "Get 

acquainted" passes, fireworks for all holidays, 

and anniversary parties with special 

favors celebrating the occasion. 

Allied President S. J. Goldberg explained 

to the group about the national campaign 

for drive-ins, which is being headed by Jack 

Braunagle of Commonwealth Theatres in 

Kansas City. He showed the 24-sheet, window 

cards and bumper strips that are 

available on an actual cost basis, and urged 

the drive-in owners to cooperate in participating 

in this campaign. It was decided 

that the drive-in owners would go back to 

see how many locations for 24-sheets they 

could secure and will notify the Association 

office so the 24-sheets can be ordered 

at one time. 

A NEW BUILDING CODE 

The Wisconsin Industrial Commission 

Building Code for Drive-ins was explained 

by Ben Marcus of Marcus Theatres. He 

mentioned that a lot of time and effort has 

been spent in preparing this code followed 

by a series of hearings. As of this writing, 

the code is presently on the desk of the 

commissioners for their signatures to be 

affixed: and after being publicized for 30 

days in the state paper, it will become law. 

(The proposed code was published on pages 

28-29, Modern Theatre, Feb. 2. 1952.) 

Marcus stated the purpose of this code 

was not to make things tougher for the 

legitimate drive-in, but it would eliminate 

undesirable drive-in structures and "flyby-night" 

operators who are unfair competition 

and give the theatre business a 

bad reputation. No part of this code will 

greatly bother the present drive-in operator, 

or any future construction. After the 


eading of the code, every exhibitor in attendance 

was satisfied that it was a Rood, 

workable code. 

The discussion of "IVIaintenance and 

Possibilities of Outside Income for Drive- 

Ins" was led by Bob Karatz of the Badger 

Outdoor Theatres. Karatz started his discussion 

by informing the exhibitors that, 

after an extensive survey of many other 

drive-in owners throughout the United 

States, he has learned of a weed killer that 

really gets rid of the weeds. He said that 

just recently DuPont has come out with a 

product called CMU Weed Killer that really 

does the job. In his discussion with an 

engineer, he also learned of a non-toxic 

mosquito and insect killer, that is put out 

by the same company, that he will try this 

year, but the reports to date are very good. 

EARNING OUTSIDE INCOME 

In his discussioit regarding outside revenue, 

Karatz said that they have been successful 

in their drive-ins in building a car 

stand and displaying automobiles, either 

new or used. He puts the display in the 

front of the tower and gets very good 

revenue for this. Another drive-in owner 

said that he has rented his drive-in out for 

a used-car auction at $100 a day rental, 

besides opening his concession stand and 

doing a nice business there. Another drivein 

owner found the solution to the stock 

car races at night. He had some acreage 

beside the drive-in and converted it into a 

stock car race track and gave it to the 

stock car association, rent-free, for Sunday 

afternoon stock car races, with the understanding 

that he would get the concession 

business. 

The subject of "Concessions" was led 

by Spyro Papas of the Racine and Kenosha 

drive-ins. The discussion opened with 

"whether regular counter service or cafeteria 

service is the most efficient." After a 

discussion of this matter, it was decided 

that those who had cafeteria style were 

very satisfied with it. The others would 

rather remain the way they were. Pi-om an 

actual cost standpoint, It does not increase 

the concession sales any to have a cafeteria 

plan, but those having it feel that it is 

beneficial during intermission time. 

QUALITY GOODS UPS BUSINESS 

Other phases of concession business that 

were discussed were prices of merchandise, 

number of items handled, and making the 

concession area inviting. It was generally 

felt that quality merchandise, though costing 

a little more, will definitely increase 

business. It was further pointed out that 

a cost sheet should be accurately kept on a 

week-to-week basis, as well as an inventory, 

as in many instances, it has been found that 

there have been shortages; and at the present 

price of food, it is important that a 

good stock control be kept. Popcorn machines 

at the boxoffice have been a very 

good money maker wherever used. 

Another important matter that the exhibitors 

were cautioned on was to be sure 

to carry food products liability insurance. 

*A LIPITIMI 

SCRIIN 

new 

j 

PERMASCREEN 

•'• 

FOR DRIVE-INS 

gives you 

*40% MORE 

REPLECTED 

LI«HT 

"-s^^^^Hja^âr *Pa(cnts Applifd lor 

The perfect drive-in screen is now available for 

immediate installation. Manufactured of porcelain, 

bonded to reinforced steel, the Permascreen 

is designed to give far better service than any 

type now being used. It's lifetime surface requires 

ABSOLUTELY NO MAINTENANCE. 

* NO PAINT- 

IN* AT ANY 

TIMI 

* UNIFORM 

RIPLECTION 

AT ALL 

TIMIS 

Permascreen will pay for itself in under four years, in savings on painting 

alone. Substantial additional savings in projection equipment are made because 

of the high reflective values of the Permascreen . . . and these values remain 

constant throughout the year where painted screens lose their reflective values 

due to weather conditions. 

Permascreen can be erected on your present tower, as easily as on new drive-ins. 

Write today for complete information. 

2 POBLOCKI 

DRIVE-IN AIDS 

D-33 

with 

KOILED 

KORDS 

and 

Jeweled 

Down-Lites 

Quality 

Economy 

HANDY ANDY — The 

quick, efScient way to 

collect debris every 

4i!izii(J2l 

morning. All metal, lifetime construction, 

yet economical to buy. 

TRAFFIC CONTROL SIGN — 

Speed drive-in traffic with this 

all steel electric sign and save 

the cost of an additional 

man on your 

payroll. 

i' # 

fÔVUxelZC 4ftv so?rs \^ 

21S9 S. KINNICKINNIC AVE. MILWAUKEE 7. WISCONSIN 

Dependability 

DAWO CORP. 


NEW KIDDIE RIDES! 


DRAW CROWDS 

WITH FIREWORKS! 

DRIVE-INS 

Boost Your 

Attendance 

with 

LIBERTY 

FIREWORKS 

The Word's Finest Fireworks 

Greater brilliance, color, flosh and noise. 

Send (or our 60-page catalog in three colors 

containing Displays trom $25.00 to $1,000.00. 

At Direct From Factory to You Prices! 

For ptonipt rtspoiue. us« the postage-free lilue postcard 

n this issue, st.iting this ad's key number. 58-A, 

Our office is now on our 10-acre factory premises. 

LIBERTY DISPLAY FIREWORKS CO. 

Box 98. Franklin Park, III. (A Suburb West of Chicaflo) 

Telephone Gladstone 5-5050 

For All Drive-ins 

At lest the new low-cost, long-lasting 

RAIN VISOR 

Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. 

Increose your gote receipts on rainy nights! 

Your customers en|oy the clear vision you con 

now offer them. 

Rain Visor 

Is easily instoHed. Fits all cors. 

Requires little storage space. 

Used in many Drive-Ins throughout the Northwest. 

PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW 

F.O B. oM shipments 

ONLY 52.00 EACH ON ORDER BILL 

Minimum order 100 Visors 

Manufactured and Distributed by 

THE THACKERAY CO. 

4340 S. W Murray Rd. Beoverton, Oregon 

DRIVE-IN 

THEATRES 

Ten Maintenance Memos 

For Drive-In Managers 

Aie sudden changes in slope in ramps 

I. adequately lighted and distinguished 

by attention-attracting devices to prevent 

stumbling and possible tripping? 

Q 

^' 

Are there any doorways to stairs or 

dark rooms which patrons might enter 

by mistake to their own possible hazard? 

Either keep them locked, or equip 

them with conspicuous "Private" signs. 

3. 

Is outdoor illumination kept in perfect 

condition, with all burnt-out bulbs replaced 

promptly? How often do you have 

it inspected to make sure of this? 

Eto you ever under any circumstances 

4. allow any materials received, or ash 

barrels, or other obstruction, to be placed 

in exit alley or outside of exit doors? 

Do employes know where to find fire 

5. alarm box (if fire should cut your 

phone lines 1 and how to use it? If not, 

why not ask the fire department to send 

one of their men to advise? 

6. 

Do you keep popcorn oil, lubricating 

pounds under safe storage conditions at all 

times except for what is in actual use? 

H How do you store oil-soaked popcorn 

' boxes, loose paper, discarded oil rags 

and other rubbish while awaiting collectors 

of it? Is it a fire hazard in the meanwhile, 

or do you stow it safely? 

If you are away from the theatre and a 

8. small fire occurs and is extinguished 

by the staff, will the staff notify the fire 

department immediately? If not, arrange 

procedure to that effect. 

Are your cooling systems in your concompletely 

9. cession buildings now 

ready for that hot weather? 

Have you drawn up a complete schedule 

for changing hours and minutes 

10. 

for turning on outdoor theatre lighting according 

to the changes in length of day during 

summer months to come? 

Reprinted from the Martin Tipster, employe publication 

of Martin Ttieatres, Inc. 

Special Approval Given 

To Build 

Drive-ln 

Contract has been given to Evansville 

Theatre Supply, Evan.sville, Ind., for the 

erection of a 56x60-foot screen tower, concession 

stand and all ramping for the new i 

drive-in theatre at junction of U.S. 141 and 

j 

U.S. 60 north of Morganfield. Ky. 

Owners of the new drive-in theatre are I 

J. A. VanCleave of Morganfield and J. S. 

Corbett, formerly operator of a drive-in 

theatre at Bedford, Ind. 

DeVi-y 12.000 series 35mm projectors with 

special Koolite blowers. Strong Mighty 90 

arc lamps and DeVry sound are to be installed 

by Evansville Theatre Supply. 

The new drive-in theatre will accommodate 

500 cars and will cost approximately 

$70,000. I 

Special approval has been received for 

the construction of this drive-in theatre. 

Check List for Fire 

Extinguishers 

The Fire Protection Institute reminds 

exhibitors that fire extinguishing equipment, 

like all good machinery, requires 

attention and care from time to time. 

Suggestions which particularly apply to 

theatres are the following: 

1. Give employes a chance to handle 

fire extinguishing equipment in 

accordance with specified directions. 

2. Refurbish the painted areas on 

walls where extinguishers are hung. 

3. Discuss and demonstrate what 

should be done in the event of 

fire in various parts of the theatre. 

4. Take inventory of all possible hazards 

to determine if adequate fire 

protection equipment will be available 

in an emergency. 

5. Encourage employes to check their 

home fire protection equipment. 

D-30 

with 

Straight 

Cords 

. *»»^fl^,.w -.. 

MINIATURE TRAINS

1 

READERS' BUREAU For 

further information 

regarding products advertised or mentioned in this issue, use 

the postage-paid reply cards below. 

NEW EQUIPMENT and DEVELOPMENTS 

Briefed from the full description starting on page 66 

Key 

Number 

REMOVABLE FILM TRAP DOOR P-894 

The LiiVi'/zl Miu'liliic Winks lia:^ a new style, removable 

nim trap dix>r \^hk'li Incurpuiuies mniij' Impruvements tu aid the 

movement of film through the projector uiid to iicliU-ie better 

prujtctiun quality. The tissembly holds the fllra flat tis It 

Piisses over the aperture and yet is easy enough on the film 

(hat it causes a minimum of wear, passes patches with no 

difficulty and lessens uear on the Intermittent. 

CEMENT MAKES CARPET REPAIR EASY P-S95 

Qrlptex. a new rubber plastic compound manufactured by 

Adhesive Products Corp.. helps restore worn ur damaged carpets 

to original condition. BasUy applied, it adds to tbe 

carpet's strength and helps prevent sprouting ot tufts or 

fraying. It Is mothproof, too. 

NEW ORlVE-IN PROMOTION P-896 

To aid in building tiDotlwUl for drive-ins, Uanken Associates 

tune iinnounoed a new type promotion for outdoor theatres. 

It consists of a free gift pass for the family a few months 

after a baby is born. It Is good for one family admission 

plus one guest, wlUi children admitted free. 

ADJUSTABLE LIGHTS FOR DISPLAYS P-S97 

Adjustable light fixtures for spotiigliting lobby displays and 

signs, focusing light on decorative features or wall murals and 

for coneentrating attention upon tlic refreshment counter are 

offered by Swivelier Co.. Inc. All light units are available 

with the Shur-Mount w;Ul attjichment, a new method which 

assures a more positive and secure mount to aid in preventing 

cracked plaster. 

A NEW CANDY BAR P.S98 

Annabelle Candy Co. announces a new combination of popular 

ingredients fur iht-lr new bar, "Annabelle's Rocky Road." The 

all-weatlier confection features a center layer of milk chocolate 

and cashews. A bright silver foil keeps the bar fresh even on 

i-Nlri'mely hot days. 

CONCESSION SIGN DISPLAY KIT P-899 

The Glo-Ad Co. offers a new ADisplay kit to exhibitors for 

making merchandising signs for the concession or lobby. There 

are over 800 pieces of letters and numerals in the ten sheets 

of neoD red and saturne yellow stock. Ail letters and numerals 

may be removed, stored and reused. 

ELECTRIC VAPORIZER FOR INSECT CONTROL P-900 

For keeping flies and other Insects away from refreshment 

areas in theatres and out of concession buiidings at drive-ins. 

Key 

Number 

the lOrnco Products Co. has a vaporizer, holding tliree months 

supply of lindane, that Is repellent lu insects and kills those 

thai remain In its presence, 'llie "Kly-go" unit Is a cup and 

wall bracket, easily attached by means uf a hole In the lop 

of the bracket. 

RAINVISOR FOR DRIVE-IN THEATRES P.901 

An easily Installed shield to add (o the comfort of drtve-lii 

patrons on a rainy night Is now available for drbe-lna. Ttie 

visors are given to the patron upon entering and are easily 

detaciied when he leaves. With proper care the vlsurs can last 

for several seasons. Tlie Ralnvlsor Is made by the Thackeray Co. 

THREE-FLAVOR BEVERAGE DISPENSER P.902 

A three-Huvor soft drink dispenser for theatres has been 

placed on the niaiket by the I'erllck Itriiss Uo. under the trade 

name Cîrbo-Ml.v dispenser. Perllck claims a uniform carbonated 

drink at all times. Three syrups can be dispensed from the 

unit at one time from three two-gallon syrup tanks. It Is 

offered In either an all stainless steel model or high baked, 

black enamel finish CJiblnet with stainless steel top. 

AN EFFECTIVE CARBON SAVER P-903 

tlieatremen have discovered the riiiUlps carbon saver to be a 

valuable time saver. It doesn't decrease light in the arc lamps 

and it lias no moving parts to adjust or rust. It Is made of 

heat-resisting, high carbon steel and saves the carbon jaws 

from heat. 

REFRIGERATED DISPENSER UNIT P.904 

An all-sleel refrigerated dispenser unit for the storage of 

meat is .innounced by (he Bastian-BIesslng Co. Hamburgers 

can be removed without undue stooping or reaching. The case 

is equipped with five sliding wire shelves. 

TAPE-RECORDINGS FOR DRIVE-INS P-905 

Pre-show and intermission musical programs for drive-ins 

are now available through the Empire Recording Co. Along 

with selling spot announcements to business firms, tliere are 

two types of shows offered. One includes western music. 

Intermission programs of organ music include announcements 

for boosting concession sales. 

HOT NUT ACTION DISPLAY P.906 

Continental l^lachlne Corp. has something entirely new for 

theatre refreshment stands in the form of an attractive and 

colorful Big Top Circus Nut action display unit. An electric 

bulb will heat up, causing a revolving of the elephant and 

oilier anlmala, ulth liulJe IIIUDlnatluii. Hulnl \ni> »' nuu 

arc limlrd ul lliv kiime time to a delicious guodntni^. 

AN ALL-PURPOSE VACUUM CLEAt«£R P-907 

.Miilll'l'lvaii I'luduci'., Inc., Intfoducet a n«« Vu-Bluncr 

ultli ilftucliabli- iMjutTlR-iid and wide selection of cleaning 

iiitachmetii^ fui ii^r III theatre cleaning. 'Ilie unit U parttcu 

lurly de^lîii-il lur ekjiiikng Ijurd to gel to placet. 

STANDBY LIGHTS FOR THEATRES P-908 

A new Wau-timaj>ttr uulumntlc ilandby llghl ulth kI-us 

Jar rechargeable buttery and vUlbte bull flual hydrumeier 1> 

otfered cililbltorK by Carpenter Mfg. Co. Clwlce uf fluodll^'hit 

or Healed beam lamp heads, and either cundulet cuiuitcliuit 

ur curd and plug ultachment fur avmlportable IniUllatlun 

ure offered. 

LITERATURE 

Briefed from tfic description on page 70 Kry 

Number 

DESCRIBES TRAFFIC COUNTERS 

L-14n 

A >Ingle-sheel describing Its truffle cuunlvr for dxlte-li)« U 

made available by the K-IIUI Blgnul Cu filo^y operalluii. 

uccurac> and -.tmple Iriiitallatlun arc umottg lUv frjturra lllui 

(ruled and explained In Uie foldt-r 

DRINK DISPENSING BROCHURE .L-1478 

Mighty Mldgei Mfg. Co. has publb)ii:tl a brochure fur 

exhibUors and conce^sslon stand operators, giving fuctt and 

figures on the Mighty Midget system. Methotb of uperutlun 

and illustrations tire Included. 

BULB-CHANGING PAMPHLET L-1479 

belalls on .sjh'cH lea lions and construction of the Lumld'.r 

Mfg. Co.'s bulb changer arc listed, along with lllustratlufi 

un how to ri'move and replace bulbs. 

SIGNS AND OZONE LAMP DESCRIBED L-14S0 

Two colorful, illustrated folders arc made aiullable by the 

Volgt Co. Une on both edge-lit and back-lK Illuminated hlgjii, 

manufactured by (he company. The UK uzone lamp (ulder 

explains the action of the lamp which slops odors and preênla 

mustiness in theatre interiors. 

BOOKLET ON NEW FREEZER L-1481 

The Swirly Mfg. Co.'s easy-to-operale ice cream freettr. 

the Swirly Top, is introduced to the theatre refreshment fli-ld 

by way of an 8-page booklet. Simplicity of cleaning, which 

requires only five minutes, and ease of operation are expUIntd. 

Advertising for Swirly Top cones, e

READERS' BUREAU 

For literature on products advertised or mentioned in this issue, see other 

side of this sheet and road how to use the postcard coupons below. 

PRODUCTS ADVERTISED IN 

ADMISSION SIGNS 

Edgar S. Bowman 7I*A 

ATTENDANCE STIMULANTS 

Flowtrs of Miwaii 69-A 

ATTRACTION BOARDS AND LETTERS 

Adlir Silhoutltt Lclttr Co 70-B 

Wiontr Sign S«nic« 49-A 

CANDY 

Miion, Au and Magenliiimtr Confcctiontry 

Mfg. Co 15-A 

CANDY FLOSS MACHINES 

Concesiioo SupBJy Co 45-B 

Gold Mtdal Products Co 25-A 

CARBONS 

S

I 

'Over the Fence' Is a Drive-ln Picture Screen û€ificC ^

RCA'S 

Comprehensive 

As on adjunct to his series of articles on 

drive-in theatre design and construction Mr. 

Petersen will answer specific questions oddrcssed 

to Drive-ln Theatre Editor, the Modern 

Theatre, 825 Van Brunt Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 

Plan is the answer 

to 

today's Parts and 

Repair problems 

EVERY PART REPLACEMENT, repair 

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and accessory equipment, resultingjrom 

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You even get your entire requirements 

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power supplies (including arc supply 

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rectifiers), all exciter lamps, oil, film 

cement, lens cleaner and tissues. Arc 

lamp carbons and incandescent projection 

lamps are excluded. Booth spares 

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Even major overhauls of projector 

mechanisms, intermittent movements 

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and REPAIR PLAN. In such cases the 

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THANK YOU 

Mr. Drive-in Exhibitor 

North, South, East and West for your many orders 

/oor recognition of wonderful S.O.S. 

values has our shop working overtime 

keeping pace with demands. 

Complete Projection & Sound Equipment from .... $1,595 

Underground Cable, 2 conductor, per 1,000 ft $70 

Tempered Masonite Marquee Letters 

4-inch 35c; 8-inch 50c; 10-inch 60c 

S. 0. S. CINEMA SUPPLY CORP. 

Dept. C, 602 W. 52 ST., N. Y. 19. 

Coble: SOSOUND 

/ cnn looking for a practical method of 

dust control in our drive-in theatre. Our 

drives and ramps are covered with crushed 

limestone, with a base of the heavy No. 3 

stone, and what is called "repair stone" as 

the surface. I know there are a number of 

methods, but from experience what is generally 

considered the best? 

You are correct in stating that "there 

are several methods of dustproofing 

drive-in theatres," but you are wrong in 

saying that there is a practical method 

of obtaining a dust free ramp area, except 

by spraying the area with an 

asphalt-bearing oil, which is applied hot 

and under pressure. 

It is true that there are many socalled 

"dust preventives" on the market, 

but each one of these products that 

has come to my attention has been 

some form of calcium chloride. Calcium 

chloride is usually applied in two coats, 

the first coat generally is distributed on 

the basis of one and one-half pounds 

per square yard of area, and the second 

coat is usually distributed on the basis 

of three-quarters of a pound per square 

yard of area. This type of treatment is 

helpful in the control of dust, but cannot 

be considered as a real cure for this 

dusting condition. 

Special Events Build Goodwill 

And Attendance for the 

Dickinson 

Drive-Ins 

Although the Dickinson outdoor theatres 

attract patrons with special events they 

maintain a consistent regular admission 

price. Fourth of July fireworks displays 

have proved worthwhile, but Bill Gable, district 

manager for the Kansas and Missouri 

theatres owned by Dickinson Theatres, Inc., 

emphasized the fact that if a drive-in puts 

on a fireworks show it must really be good 

because people have learned to expect so 

much. Outdoor horse stunts and a Brahma 

bull act are typical of the special features 

offered by Dickinson on off nights, usually, 

Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. These 

are presented on a platform in front of 

the screen. Smaller acts have not been 

too successful. 

On the opening night each year, the 

theatres offer a prize of $10 to the oldest 

car or the car bringing the greatest number 

of people. Last year at Salina the winner 

brought 14 children. 

Special events build continued goodwill 

and attendance. Gable believes. 

62 The MODERN THEATHE SECTION

I 

PAYS... 

. to 

I^ for 

Theatre Trouble Spots 

Experts Solve Problems of Balcony Cooling, 

Bugs and Marquee Maintenance 

Recent letters from Modern Theatre 

readers have brought problems which 

the editorial board has forwarded to experts 

in each field for answer. Since each 

problem is one which may be bothering 

many other readers, both questions and 

answers are reprinted here. 

The first was a note from the manager 

of a Michigan theatre who wrote to William 

Stahl. author of several trade publication 

articles on installation and care of 

marquees, in care of the Modern Theatre. 

BUGS UNDER SOFFIT LIGHTS 

"My trouble," said this reader, "is that 

in the summer months the bugs and millers 

collect under and around the soffitt lights 

and make it annoying to our patrons entering 

and leaving the theatre. 

"The bugs also cling to the lights inside 

the marquee back of the attraction panel 

and die in great numbers, making quite a 

mess inside." 

In addition to the bug problem, the theatreman 

asked if it would add to the 

beauty and life of a marquee to Simonize 

it once a year: and if the background behind 

the attraction panel should be painted 

and how often. 

CLEANING OF 

MARQUEE 

In answer to these questions Mr. Stahl 

said. 

"In direct answer to your questions, the 

life and beauty of a marquee will definitely 

be increased if it has periodical cleanings. 

As far as Simonizing is concerned, I 

am not too sure, as I do not know exactly 

what kind of polish you have in mind nor 

what kind of paint is being used. However, 

a good paint polish would help. 

"The background behind the attraction 

panels should be painted at least once 

every year with a good flat white paint. 

"If the glass surface of the marquee was 

dusted off each time you changed your 

marquee copy, there would not be too 

much dirt to attract your summer bugs. 

YELLOW LIGHTS DISCOURAGE BUGS 

"The General Electric Co. has yellow 

bulbs called buglights that have been very 

effective in the states of Arizona and Nevada 

and have been used there for the 

past several years. They come in 60-watt 

bulbs at 21 cents each and 100-watt at 29 

cents each. I believe that they have also 

made this in a fluorescent tube which 

should be available in any good electrical 

appliance store. 

"Theatre Specialties also has a Bevelite 

marquee cleaner that will give a coat of 

wax not only good for plastic marquee letters 

but for your glass and plastic panels 

as well." 

ADJUSTING A COOLING DEVICE 

The second problem presented to the 

editors of the Modern Theatre is one which 

has probably been closely duplicated all 

over the country. It was sent in by a theatre 

owner in a small town in Kansas and 

concerned proper adjustment of a washedair 

cooling device. 

In the words of the Modern Theatre 

reader: "We have 80,000 cubic feet of 

space in a long, narrow building with a 

very high ceiling. The measurements are 

35x125x26 feet. Our present blower is 

36x36 inches and we have two USAIRCO 

spray mat evaporative units to cool the 

air. The blower room is over the stage and 

high up off the alley. We have two 36x36- 

inch sheet metal ducts divided at the 

mouth of the blower for distribution 

through directive grilles. 

A PROBLEM OF NOISE 

"Now then, could we install a larger 

blower and motor so that we could put 

more volume at slower speed and cut out 

the noise? Could we quiet the noise in the 

ductwork or would we be smart to make a 

new installation of some sort? 

"I don't think my town is large enough 

to stand the cost of refrigeration and I'm 

afraid the operating costs would keep us 

in the red all the time during the summertime 

when we have to compete with outdoor 

activities. 

"Over the balcony we have two 6x6-foot 

gravity flow vents for outlets, but don't 

have any power fans to move the air out 

from under the balcony, and the back part 

of the auditorium is always hot. How can 

we correct these problems?" 

This problem was an.swered by George 

Prantz, another Modern Theatre author, 

whose reply is reprinted below: 

"In answering the last part of your letter 

first, I would say that your complaint 

of conditions in and under the balcony 

is a common one and can always be expected 

unless adequate provision has been 

made for the removal of air from such 

pockets. This is especially true in using 

which has been humidified be- 

washed air 

cause air of high humidity becomes very 

objectionable when it becomes stagnant, 

which is no doubt the main cause of your 

trouble. 

EXHAUST FANS WILL HELP 

"To overcome this, and to aid your ventilation 

at all times, my main recommendation 

would be the installation of exhau.st 

fans on your roof or other convenient and 

.suitable location so that the air over the 

balcony and beneath the balcony can be 

forcibly removed and a positive flow of 

air 

be produced. If this l.s done. 11 will be of 

aid to you at all times whether the .sea.son 

is for cooling or heatinR, becau.se normally 

the elevation of the .seats In. and beneath 

the balcony are at a hiKhcr level and consequently 

In the warmest air. 

"As to adding a new blower, I believe 

this would not be entirely nece.s.sary nor 

beneficial for the simple rea.son It .still 

would not eliminate the air pockets. Furthermore, 

increasing the supply capacity 

would only aggravate the air nol.se of the 

present ducts as they apparently are nowcarrying 

their full capacity. If it is a question 

of the ducts now banging and rattling, 

they can be quieted by covering with Celotex 

or similar material. This material can 

be applied by fastening with sheet-metal 

screws, and should not be difficult if the 

ducts are accessible. 

HIGH CEILING COLLECTS HOT AIR 

"The shape and size of your auditorium 

in a way should be an advantage as high 

ceilings provide a reservoir in which hot 

air can accumulate before It reaches down 

into the occupied areas, especially when 

adequate equipment is not available. 

"Although the humidity in your area is 

probably somewhat higher than that in 

this area, neverthele.ss evaporative cooling 

should prove satisfactory if it is adequate 

and properly distributed, and I certainly 

do not feel that refrigeration is essential 

and necessary in your situation, especially 

when the original and operating costs are 

considered. In the south where the humidity 

really is high. I have seen evaporative 

cooling function fairly well but the cooling 

effect was caused mainly by the great 

amount of air motion they used rather 

than by the evaporative effect. Of course, 

the greater the amount of air movement 

used with an air washer, or even without 

a washer, the greater the cooling effect 

up to the point where the air motion is so 

great it becomes objectionable. 

FANS MUST HAVE NEEDED CAPACITY 

"If an exhaust fan. or fans are installed 

as suggested, be sure you obtain ones with 

adequate capacity. They should have a 

capacity of at least 12.000 to 15.000 cubic 

feet of air per minute. If you desire more 

flexible control, a fan could be installed in 

each vent or rather offset enough from 

each vent so that noise will not return into 

the auditorium. In this way. either one or 

two fans could be operated depending upon 

the attendance and weather conditions." 

Ilmprevemeirt " 

Do It 

MOVIES ARE BETTER 

THAN EVER . 

How About 

YOUR Theatre? 

Moke your theatre more ottroctivc and com 

increase 

fortoble in every way possible . 

and hold patronage and to strengthen movie 

going habits 


ARE YOU COVERED? 

An Insurance Executive Advises Exhibitors 

To Secure a Balanced Protection Program 

By Obtaining Free Survey Service 

0. K. MacDonold ii president of the insurance firm 

of D. K. MacDonold & Co., Inc. In this article he 

points out a number of risks which may be overlooked 

by the theotreman. 

by D. K. MacDONALD 

I HE INSURANCE POLICY has yct to be 

issued which will underwrite all the risks 

of theatre operation. The showman, however, 

can buy protection with his insurance 

premiums against nearly every conceivable 

risk of business ownership. 

The real limitation is in the amount of 

money which he can afford to spend for 

such coverage. Striving for complete protection, 

he could conceivably "insure himself 

out of business." Confronted by a bewildering 

assortment of policy coverages 

he might, on the other hand, decide to forget 

the whole business and assume his 

risks himself. 

BASIC KNOWLEDGE NEEDED 

Though understandable, neither of those 

reactions provides a solution to a problem 

which is closely related to the owner's continued 

business survival. The theatre owner's 

position can be compared with that of 

a shopper who walks into a modern food 

store—and finds all the labels printed in 

a foreign language! Without some basic 

special knowledge, he cannot make an intelligent 

choice, to select only those labels 

which will meet his individual needs. 

The amount of money spent for insurance 

by no means indicates the degree of 

protection which you enjoy. The possible 

occurence of some of the risks against 

which you are insured may be exceedingly 

remote. Or the risk itself may not be too 

consequential. At the same time you may 

be unknowingly exposed to another much 

more serious risk which could wipe out 

your entire business investment. Your insurance 

program would therefore be critically 

out of balance. 

TAKE UP PROBLEM AS A WHOLE 

A wise first step toward achieving a 

balanced insurance program is to turn 

the entire problem over to an established 

reliable insurance firm. The piecemeal 

method of buying your car insurance from 

one relative, friend or customer and your 

fire and liability policies from others, rare- 

ly gives balanced protection. When building 

a house you do not first build one 

complete room, then add other rooms 

singly until the house is completed. You 

have a master plan which you follow from 

beginning to end. The wise theatreman 

plans his insurance program the same way. 

Most of the large agents and brokers 

provide an insurance survey service in 

which they answer all the questions which 

pertain to your individual needs. This 

service is free and provides you with the 

peace of mind of knowing that the insurance 

program you carry Is the right one 

for your business needs. 

MANY RISKS 

OVERLOOKED 

After giving your insurance problems to 

an agent or broker your responsibilities to 

your own interests, however, by no means 

end. The test of any program is its ability 

to protect you against losses (1) which are 

viost likely to occur, and (2) which you 

can least afford to bear. It is up to you to 

see that this protection is provided. 

Virtually every operator is insured to 

some extent by the more common forms of 

fire, theft and liability coverage. But there 

are other risks as well, to which he Is 

equally vulnerable. In most cases, neglecting 

to insure is due simply to lack of 

knowledge of lesser-known exposures. Following 

are some of the items which are 

most commonly overlooked in many insurance 

programs: 

1. TENANT'S IMPROVEMENTS: The 

theatreman in a leased building often 

makes improvements such as a new loge 

section, special lighting and plumbing installations, 

restrooms, etc. While the landlord 

carries his own insurance on the 

building property he owns, he cannot be 

expected to insure such improvements. In 

case of fire, the loss is the tenant's. 

2. USE AND OCCUPANCY. This coverage 

protects the owner of a business 

whose quarters are destroyed, by reimbursing 

him to the extent of his regular monthly 

income plus stated fixed expenses until 

he is able to resume operations. With all 

other losses accounted for, there is still 

the question of what you are going to live 

on for the two, three or six-month period 

required to get back into business. Such a 

policy can also take care of Interim salaries 

for key employes. 

3. LOSSES FROM CRIME. It is not 

commonly known that burglary insurance 

does not cover theft without visible, forcible 

entry. Should you leave hurriedly 

some night and leave the back door unlocked 

or a window open, thus admitting 

a thief, the crime is not burglary, but 

theft. Most theatre owners carry only 

burglary protection. What do you carry? 

4. INFIDELITY OP EMPLOYES. The 

next time you read the newspaper look for 

losses of this type. They take place every 

day. In most of the losses, you will find 

that the offender was a trusted employe 

with many years' service with the firm. 

5. HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENTS. 

The owner of a theatre in a leased building 

will usually protect himself from damage 

suits resulting from his own fixtures and 

equipment. Few tenants, however, realize 

that they are also probably liable for damage 

traceable to defects or deterioration of 

the building. Most leases contain a "hold 

harmless" clause which absolves the owner 

of liability for such damage. If a cornice 

of the building should fall on a passerby, 

or if a water main installed by the building's 

owner should burst and damage adjoining 

property, the tenant under a "hold 

harmless" clause is liable for the damage. 

The cost to settle the claim can run to a 

sizable sum, plus legal fees. 

6. PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY. 

This is often overlooked as it is not understood. 

We think of property damage in 

terms of someone's clothes being torn on a 

counter or other piece of theatre equipment. 

Actually, the most common cases 

of this sort arise from a fire in the owner's 

premises which spreads to the adjoining 

premises. Though the owner of the 

restaurant or soda fountain next door may 

be fully covered by insurance, his losses 

will be promptly paid by his insurance 

company which will in turn sue you to 

recover their loss if you are liable for the 

fire. If neglect can be proved, damage 

suits resulting from fire losses to one or 

more adjoining buildings, could quickly 

wipe the theatre owner in whose building 

the fire started, out of business. 

7. OTHER LIABTLITY. Other types of 

liability to which the theatre owner is exposed 

include many which individually are 

not too likely to occur. Taken collectively, 

the risks are formidable. The best solution 

is to take a comprehensive liability 

policy, which will protect against almost 

all risks of third party liability. 

All these risks by no means confront 

every operator, nor to the same extent, 

but they should all be considered in laying 

out your insurance program. The extent 

and types of coverage you need can 

then be determined intelligently according 

to your special needs, within the limitations 

of your insurance budget. 


. threw 

i 

Theatre Architect Says Don't Be Afraid 

Of That Old Bogey - Television 

People Will Still Congregate for Entertainment 

RESEARCH BUREAU 

for 


by 

ERIC HOUNSOM" 

f^S ARCHITECTS 

are not in the trade, 

they cannot speak 

from fhsthand experience 

regarding 

the trend of the motion 

picture industry. 

Ail Canadian theatre 

^

Removable Film Trap Door P-894 

Aids Projection Quality 

A new style, removable, 

film trap door 

\v h i c h incorporates 

many improvements 

to aid the movement 

of film through the 

projector and to 

achieve better projection 

quality, is now 

available to theatres. 

To give equal and 

continuous pressure 

on the film, the pads have been lengthened 

to cover practically the entire length of the 

door, and equalized tension is gained 

through the centrally located conical compression 

springs. The intermittent film 

guide uses this same type of tension arrangement. 

The pads and outer film guide 

shoes are hardened for longer wear. Stop 

studs on the door assure that the door will 

remain at the proper distance from the film 

tracks at all times when it is closed. The 

new assembly, built by LaVezzi Machine 

Works, holds the film flat and parallel as 

it passes over the aperture and yet is easy 

enough on the film that it causes a minimum 

of wear, passes patches with no difficulty, 

and lessens wear on the intermittent. 

FOR MORE 

INFORMATION 

USE Readers' 

Bureau Coupons, page 59 

Adjustable Light 

Spotlight Displays 

J 

I 

w 

Units 

P-897 

Display Kit for Theatre 

Concession Signs 

P-899 

Cement Simplifies Repair P-895 

Of Theatre Carpets 

Worn or damaged carpets can now be 

restored to original condition when I'epaired 

with flexible Griptex, a new rubber 

plastic compound manufactured by Adhesive 

Products Corp. 

Easily coated over the back surface of 

carpet with brush, corn broom, spray gun 

or paint roller, the cement offers a simple, 

effective means of attaching new binding 

and inserting patches after worn parts have 

been cut aw-ay. Unsightly cigaret burns can 

be scraped away and the damaged areas 

retufted with the aid of Griptex. Griptex 

adds to the life of theatre carpeting by 

adding to the carpet's strength and preventing 

sprouting of tufts or fraying. It 

is mothproof, too. 

Drive-In Promotion P-896 

To Build Goodwill 

Danken Associates have announced a 

unique mail promotion for drive-in theatres. 

It consists of a free gift pass for the 

family a few months after a baby is born. 

The pass entitles the famUy to one admission 

plus one guest, with children admitted 

free. The mailing is printed in an attractive 

pink and blue baby design. 

Modern, adjustable light fixtures in six 

colors that blend with modern interiors 

have been introduced by Swivelier Co., Inc. 

These fixtures may be used for spotlighting 

lobby displays and signs, focusing light 

on decorative features or wall murals and 

for concentrating attention upon the refreshment 

counter. 

The new Vogue-Lites for direct and indirect 

lighting, feature two types of 

sockets: the Wallite Swivel and the Swivomatic 

Joint, variations of the patented 

Swivelier socket. All cord-and-plug Vogue- 

Lites are available with the Shur-Mount 

wall attachment, a new method which assures 

a more positive and secure mount 

to aid in preventing cracked plaster. 

A New Candy Bar P-898 

For Concessions 

Theatre owners have discovered a profitable 

new candy bar to add to their refreshment 

line in "Annabelle's Rocky Road." An 

entirely new combination of popular ingredients 

was used in the bar which features a 

center layer of milk chocolate and cashews. 

Bright red and silver foil wrap keeps the 

bar fresh and delicious. It has also proved 

to be an aU-weather bar, having been tested 

on extremely hot days. The bar is made by 

Annabelle Candy Co.

Here 's 

Your Biff 

DOUBLE 

FEATURE 

in Saiety 

Cor Visor for Rainy Nights P-901 

At Drive-ln Theotres 

The Rainvisor. an easily installed shield 

to add to the comfort of drive-in patrons on 

a rainy night, is now in use in many outdoor 

theatres. The visors are given to the 

patron when he enters the drive-ln, and 

are removed when he leaves. Properly cared 

for, the shields will last for several seasons. 

The durable shield is readily installed and 

is held in place by three suction cups. The 

space between the top of car and the visor 

is sealed so that water doesn't run down 

over the windshield. Only a small storage 

space is needed. One rack, 8x13 feet, will 

hold 300 visoi-s. The Rainvisor is made by 

the Thackeray Co. 

Soft Drink Dispenser 

For Three Flavors 

P-902 

Theatremen everywhere 

rely on Dayton Safety Ladder§ 

for maximum safety 

and convenience. Ideal for 

your marquees—perfect for 

those odd jobs. 

Daytons are constructed of 

tested airplane spruce and 

reinforced with rigid steel 

supports to give great 

strength and lightness of 

weight. Sizes 3 feet to 16 

feet in height (measured 

from ground to platform) 

with Standard Rubber Safety 

Shoes at no extra cost. 

Wr/le Today for Bulletin No. A 

Dayton 

Safety Ladder 

Company 

DAYTON SAFETY LADDERS 

QUEEN FIRE EXTINGUISHER 

SAFETY SUPPLIES 

2337 GILBERT AVE., CINCINNATI 6, OHIO 

In Canada—Safety Supply Company—Toronto 

A new packaged, pressurized, self-contained, 

carbonated soft drink dispenser for 

theatres has been introduced by the Perlick 

Brass Co. under the trade name Carbo-Mix 

dispenser. By incorporating a large, mechanically 

refrigerated water bath within 

its specifications, Perlick claims a uniform 

carbonated drink at all times. Three syrups 

can be dispensed from the unit at one time 

from three two-gallon syrup tanks. A 

gravity-type syrup dispenser and plain 

water attachments may be added when desired. 

The dispenser is designed to operate 

on conventional 110-volt, 60-cycle AC current. 

It is offered in either an all stainless 

steel model or high baked black enamel 

finish cabinet with stainless steel 

top. 

Carbon Saver Is Simple P-903 

And Effective 

Theatremen have found several distinct 

advantages in the Phillips carbon saver, 

among them the fact that it does not 

decrease light in arc lamps, and it has no 

moving parts to adjust or rust. It is made 

of heat-resisting, high carbon steel and 

saves the carbon jaws from heat. Projectionists 

have discovered it a time saver, 

particularly since it can be used without 

screwdriver or pliers. The Phillips is also 

equipped with a carbon stub knockout bar. 

WEIGHT, 165 

$ 

LBS. 

25 

DOWN 

Balance $10 Monthly 

400 DE LUXE 

PENNY FORTUNE SCALE 

NO SPRINGS 

WR/rf fOR PRICES 

LARGE CASH BOX HOLDS 

$85.00 IN PENNIES 

Invented and Made Only by 

WATLING 

Manufacturing Company 

4650 W. Fulton St. Chicogo 44, III. 

Ett. 1889—Telephone: Columbuj 1-2772 

Cable Address: WATLINGITE, Chicago 


KROEHIER 

Easy ^'"'"^ 

"^ office! 

"l^k-Pwjfe/ THEATRE SEATS 

•"Push-Back" is a trade-mark owned and registered by the Kroehler Mfg. Co., Naperville, III. 

Refrigerated Dispenser Unit P-904 

For Hamburgers 

The Bastian-Blessing 

Co. announces an 

all-steel refrigerated 

hamburger dispensing 

unit for the storage 

of meat. Just introduced 

in the theatre 

refreshment field, 

the unit has an open- 

^gU "— a ing in the top with a 

cover which an oper- 

^^* 

ator can flip open, 

and then reach in and pick up a hamburger 

without moving from his stand in front of 

the adjoining grill, and without undue 

reaching or stooping. The refrigerated 

case is equipped with five sliding wire 

shelves (trays may be substituted). The 

unit is fitted with a back splash, and there 

is room on the flat top behind the opening 

for a toaster or other appliance. 

Tope-Recorded 

For Drive-Ins 

Programs 

These Extra Savings Mean Added Profit 

• Is your air conditioning equipment ready 

for summer? The Super cleans 100 air filters 

in 15 minutes. No removal necessary. 

Eliminate messy cleaning. 

Super Model M—For all Super Model BP 

general cleaning and quiet 

blowing. Powerful, cleaner 

readily portable. and dry 

You fiet extra savings of time, labor and 

money when you use a specialized Super 

Heavy Duty Theatre Cleaner for all your 

cleaning tasks. Just one operator and a 

Super with its specially designed tools can 

do the work of several people with hometype 

"vacuum" cleaners or mops, brooms 

and brushes. 

The Super with its special tools gets the 

dirt the first time over from floors, walls, 

drapes, decorations, box fronts, even the 

screen. No stooping, squatting or straining. 

Ask your supplies dealer 

or write us. 

Sales and Service 

r 

NATtONAL SUPER SERVICE COMPANY, INC., 1941 N. 12th St., 

In 

in Principal Cities ^~ ^ 


Canada; Plant Maintenance Equipment Co., Toronto and Vancouver 

"Once Over Does If" 

SUPER SUCTION 

SINCE 1911 ® 

"THE DRAFT HORSE OF POWER SUCTION CLEANERS" 

SAVE MORE ON CARBONS 

Pdleals i'enaing 

CALI CARBON COUPLERS 

Let You Burn All the Carbon 

"They're Expendible" 

The mosf popular carbon saver. Used by more 

theatres than ALL other mokes COMBINED. 

At all progressive supply houses. 

Per Hundred, postpaid: Not Packed in Mixed Sizes. 

6 or 7mm $2.00 

8mm or 5/16-inch $2.25 

9mm $2.50 

68 

No worrying about injury to high 

priced ccrbon sovers. 

Burn 'em up, you still profit. 

Full Refund 

If not 100% 

Satisfied 

Improved production methods 

CREATE GREATLY 

REDUCED PRICES 

Same high quality. 

Most economical carbon saver you ever used! 

CALI Products Company 

3719 Marjorie Way Sacramento 20, Calif.

\|«c'>^> 

PAY Off-- „, 

•^ 

\t THEATRES! 

Theatre men from coast to coast who are using the 

Orchid Promotion to build attendance tell us that 

it really pays off! It's being used successfully by 

theatres— large and smalt. And, it's very economical 

since the Orchids cost but a few cents each! 

Here's a sure-fire way to increase attendance 

increase Box Office—build goodwill! Flowers of 

Hawaii will fly direct to your theatre orders from 

200 to 100,000—you name the amount Drop us a 

postcard telling us you are interested and we will 

s^nd you a price list and brochure on how to 

build Box Office with Orchids—no obligation to 

you, of course. 

Use the Promotion for: Openings, re-openings. 

Special Pictures. Ladles' Night, Special Days such 

OS Mothers or Fathers Day— any type of promotion 

you can think of. 

200 Var>da Orchids Foil Holder $20.00 

400 Vanda Orchids Foil Holder S40.00 

600 Vanda Orchids Foil Holder $60.00 

F.O.B. West Coast less 3% cash with order 

1% 10 days 

IVrite Today to DBPARTMENT MT-52 

Flonm ofHawaii Lw. 

670 So. Lafayette Park Place 

Los Angeles 5. Californid 

(Growing Ranges Hilo. Hawaii) 

American 

Bodiform 

AMERICAN SEATING COMPANY 

Crsnd SsDids 2, 

Michiian 

Branch Offices and Distiibutixs in Principal Citiis 

\î^ Light Diffusing 

Vinyl Surface 

SUPER-LITE 

SCREEN 

Uniform Light To All Seats 

CLEARER-BRIGHTER 

LARGE SCREEN TV PICTURES AND REGULAR 

PROJECTION 

SHIPPED FOLDED OR ROLLED 

All Dealers 

VOCALITE SCREEN CORP. 

Roosevelt. Y ., U.S.A. 

All-Purposc Vacuum 

Cleaner and Blower 

P-907 

Multi-Clean Products, 

Inc., introduces 

a new Vac - Blower 

with detachable 

powerhcad and a wide 

selection of cleaning 

uttachment.s for use 

in theatre cleaning. 

The all-purpose Industrial 

vacuum 

cleaner and blower is 

said to clean everything 

from basement 

to roof and to cut 

maintenance costs, because the one machine 

does the work of two. The unit Is 

particularly designed for cleaning such 

places as furnaces, air conditioning equipment, 

bare floors, carpets, upholstery and 

light fixtures. There are four attachments 

in the standard kit. With attachments and 

detachable motor head, the unit weighs 

only 15 pounds, and may be carried and 

operated as a vacuum or blower in areas 

too small or confining for the vacuum tank. 

Standby Light Unit 

For Theatres 

P-908 

A new Watchmaster automatic standby 

light with glass jar rechargeable battery 

and visible ball float hydrometer is offered 

exhibitors by Carpenter Mfg. Co. It supplies 

emergency light instantly when fuses 

blow or power failures occur in theatres. 

Electrical components—including relays, 

transformers and battery chargers—have 

been specially engineered for constantly 

energized standby duty. Choice of floodlights 

or sealed beam lamp heads, and 

either condulet connection for permanent 

wiring or cord and plug attachment for 

semi-portable installation are offered. 

Lamp heads are removable and extra heads 

are available for remote mounting. 

Almost every theatre presents certain 

cleaning problems which are peculiar to 

the house. Often a little study and experience 

will reveal that a specialized theatre 

cleaner will meet these requirements. 

THEATRE PRODUCTS OF 

dependability 

etonomy 

beauty 

GoldE 

REWIND 

THE 

OPERATOR'S 

FAVORITE 

Always dependable. Silent and safe! U.L. 

Approved. Eliminales fire haiords. Positive 

friction ... Can't clinch film. Tilt-bock case... 

Reel can't fly off. Micro-switch safety cut off . . 

when door opens or film breaks, motor stops. 

GoldE 

TICKET BOX... 

HANDSOME! 

Streamlined to fit ony 

lobby. Sturdy construction— 

20 gauge steel. 

Lifetime cast oluminum 

top. Piano hinged door. 

Cylinder locked. 

Baked enamel finish — 

Mandarin Red, Burnt 

Orange, Royal Blue. 

Special colors available 

at slight extra 

cost. 

GoldE 

ROTOCHROME 

FOR COLOR 

IN MOTION 

Six beautiful flowing colors 

add decorotive interest to 

your theatre. Compact, lighlv/eight, 

easy to use as on 

electric clock. Long-life lamp. 

500 Watts— brilliant, 

changing color. Pipe clomps, 

wall and ceiling brackets 

available. 

GoldE 

NON-TIPPING SAND URN 

Of unique design, handsome, con • 

venienl. Heavy gauge steel. Large 

storage capacity in leok- proof 

diamond etched polished chrome 

column. Chrome plated top. Baked 

trim. Colors: Ebony Black, Mondarin 

Red. 

At your Theatre Supply Dealer or write direct for 

complete literature, name of nearest derêr. 

GOLDE MFG. CO. 

Brightest Name 

in light Projection 

1330 W MADISON STREET 

CHICAGO 7, IlllNOIS 

BOXOFFICE ;; May 3. 1952 69

PICTURES 

UNSTEADY 

9 

No. E-78L 

Removable Film 

Gate 

If your intermittent is in good condition 

and you are experiencing 

trouble in picture steadiness — look 

to your film gate. The New LaVezzi 

Film Gate with its longer pads 

and centrally located conical 

compression springs exert just 

the right tension to eliminate 

unsteadiness— is gentler on the 

film— and the 

Intermittent. See 

this gate at your dealer or write 

for further information. 

LaVezzi Machine Works 

4635 W. LAKE ST., CHICAGO 44, ILL. 

ADLER 

CHANGEABLE LETTER DISPLAYS 

ADLER GLASS-IN-FRAME DIS- 

PLAYS — "REMOVA - PANEL" 

FRAMES — "THIRD DIMEN- 

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MINUM LETTERS. 

ADLER "SECTIONAD LOW COST 

CHANGEABLE LETTER DISPLAYS 

WRITE FOR FREE CATALOG 

Adler Silhouette Letter Co. 

302ia W. 36th ST., CHICAGO 32, ILL. 

D-32 

with 

Straight 

Cord 

and 

Jeweled 

Down-Light 

Quality 

Economy 

Dependability 

DAWO CORP. 


The following concerns have recently 

filed copies of interesting descriptive literature 

with the Modern Theatre Information 

Bureau. Readers tvho wish copies may 

obtain them promptly by using the Readers' 

Bureau postcard in this issue of The Modern 

Theatre. 

L-1477 The K-Hill Signal Co. has published 

a single-sheet describing its traffic 

counter for drive-ins. Easy operation, accuracy 

and simple installation are among 

the features illustrated and explained in 

the release. Counts are separated within 

1 20th of a second which practically eliminates 

cars overlapping, so one counter will 

count both driveways. 

L-1478—A BROCHURE describing drink dispensing 

equipment manufactured by the 

Mighty Midget Mfg. Co. is available for 

exhibitors and concession stand operators. 

The brochure gives facts and figures on 

the Mighty Midget system. Features of 

various dispensers are given, along with 

methods of operation. Illustrations of some 

of the units also are included. 

L-1480 The Voigt Co. has issued two 

colorful, illustrated folders. One features 

illuminated theatre signs, both edge-lit and 

back-lit, manufactured by the company. 

The GE ozone lamp folder explains the 

action of the lamp which banishes odors 

and prevents mustiness in theatre interiors. 

L-1481 The Swirly Mfg. Co.'s easy to 

operate ice cream freezer, the Swirly Top. 

recently introduced to the theatre refreshment 

field, is given complete coverage in 

an eight-page booklet issued by the company. 

The simplicity of cleaning which 

requires only five minutes, and ease of 

operation is explained. A new operator, 

under company training and supervision, 

can be taught to run the unit in only five 

minutes. Points of sale advertising and 

newspaper mats featuring the Swirly Top 

cones, equipment and supplies are also covered 

in the informative booklet. 

L-1482 — Gold 

Medal Products Co. 

has issued its 1952 

concession supplies 

and equipment catalog 

and price list in a 

69-page illustrated 

booklet. Two new 

items have been 

added to the Gold 

voltage 

Medal line: The "Lottavolts" 

booster and the new 

38-hole, drip-proof vending tray. Another 

added feature of this year's catalog is that 

all items are listed in separate sections for 

L-1479—As AN AID to theatre owners, the 

•each type of concession item. 

Lumidor Manufacturing Co. is distributing 

a pamphlet describing its bulb changer. 

Details on specifications and construction L-1483 "Orchids to the Ladies" is the 

are listed, along with illustrations on how theme of a one-page folder by Flowers of 

to remove and replace bulbs. The bulb Hawaii, Ltd. The giveaway promotion has 

changer can be used on all popular fixtures 

and fits all types of light bulbs. theatre patrons. Orders for orchids can 

proved a successful goodwill builder among 

be in quantities of from 100 to 100,000. A 

card is all that needs to be filled out by 

theatre operators to receive a price list and 

free brochure on how to stage an orchid 

promotion. 

Keeping your theatre clean is the best 

way to preserve it. 

Let us put NEW LIFE 

. /nfo your OLD CHAIRS 

We have serviced hundreds of theatres and 

welcome your inquiry. Our staff of trained repairmen 

will put new life and new beauty into 

your old theatre chairs without any interruption 

to your daily show. 

We rehabilitate or supply new cushions, replace 

parts and reupholster any style or make 

of theatre chairs. Make your seating problem 

our problem. 

MANUFACTURERS: Foam Rubber and Spring Cushions— Covers for Backs and Seats 

DISTRIBUTORS: Upholstery Fabrics and General Seating Supplies 

SERVICES OF: Periodic Inspection and Service— Installation— Rehabilitation 

Write today; outline your needs. 

'Better Your Theatie 

and You Better 

Your Boxotflce." 

THEATRE SEAT SERVICE CO 

160 HERMITAGE AVENUE NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 


about PEOPLE/and PRODUCT 

Baughman 

E. J. Bauohman. 

who has been in the 

electrical engineering 

and sales fields 

for over 30 years, 

has been named west 

coast representative 

of General Precision 

Laboratory for television 

equipment 

sales. His headquarters 

will be at 350 

South Central Ave.. Los Angeles, Calif. 

Baughman, who is an electrical engineering 

graduate of Stanford university, will 

handle sales of GPL image orthicon camera 

chains, video recorders, switching and control 

units, projectors and various specialized 

TV components. 

John Nickolaus. superintendent of photography 

for MGM studios of Loew's, Inc.. 

recently predicted that all professional motion 

pictures will be in full color in the 

near future and the natural look will return 

to Hollywood when movies are all in 

color. Male stars will look best when wearing 

no make-up, and actresses will photograph 

best when wearing normal street 

cosmetics, he said. 

James F. Dailey. president of Typhoon 

Air Conditioning Co., Inc., and Douglas 

Praser. head of Typhoon Export Corp., recently 

completed a month's air trip to various 

Central and South American countries 

where Typhoon representatives are operating. 

Dailey reports that the general sales 

picture in the countries he visited is better 

than ever, and that air conditioning 

possibilities are just beginning, due to the 

favorable reaction of the general public. 

An intensive membership campamn is 

being conducted by the Theatre Equipment 

and Supply Manufacturers' A.ss'n which is 

expected to attract, among others, the concession 

equipment manufacturers and concession 

supply distributors. The campaign 

is being conducted by mail with a colorful, 

attractively designed brochure, and by an 

"every member get a member" feature. 

A tie-in with the 1952 TESMA trade 

show that will be presented in connection 

with the joint conventions of TESMA, 

TEDA and Allied is stressed, particularly 

the fact that TESMA membership permits 

first choice at convention exhibit space. 

According to J. R. "Bob" Hoff, president 

of TESMA, while the association has 

maintained a relatively stable membership 

over the past six years, never varying over 

5 per cent, plus or minus in this period, 

there are many manufacturers that could 

and should derive benefits through joining. 

The Radio Corp. of America has been 

cited by the Academy of Motion Picture 

Arts and Sciences for pioneering work in 

the development of the "direct positive" 

photographic sound recording system now 

in wide use in Hollywood studios, as well 

as in most studios producing 16mm films. 

Arthur C. Blaney, manager of film recording 

engineering in RCA's Hollywood 

film recording studio, received the plaque 

when the Academy presented its annual 

awards in various fields recently. It 

marked the 13th time that RCA had been 

signally honored by the Academy. 

James Stack, formerly projectionist at 

the Strand Theatre, Thompsonville. Conn., 

has been named projectionist at the Art 

Theatre. Hartford. 

For YOUR 

BOXOFFKE 

Cogiav*d by 

our axctuBiv* 

procvas oa lucila 

to Toui 

«p«cllicalioat. 

lAMOLITE 

ILLUMINATED PRICE ADMISSION SIGNS 

Our en I a r g c d p'ont facilities Oisure 

OVERNIGHT service from coait to coo»» 

Plaatic Signi Engraved lor tb« Entirs Th«alr* 

S«nd lor Foldar 

Edgar S. 

Bowman 

*Pat 

pmoa 

^f)7 SiKtb Av»ou» N*w Ynrir 10. N. Y. 

SAVE 22% 

ON CARBONS! 

Uses positive carbon stubs of any length, 

without preparation, and without affecting 

regular operation of the lamp. When entirely 

consumed, the new carbon goes into 

use without losing the light. 

I 

The Poblocki Family Team Ready for Action 

The Poblocki family bowling team, composed of the father, Ben, and his six sons, ore pictured as they 

appeared in the American Bowling Congress tournament in Milwaukee, Wis., recently Brothers Bill 

and Jim each had 486 to tie for high honors. The team score, bowling as the Tuckoway No 3 team, 

was 2,305. The seven Poblockis, owners of Poblocki & Sons, bowl in both the Tuckoway and Knights of 

Columbus leagues. Brothers Eddie and Ray didn't compete in the ABC. From left, Ray, Jerry, Jim, Papa 

Ben, Barney. Bill and Eddie. 

Burning average lengths O'/i") down to ^" 

saves 2' j" or 22.2% of the carbon cost. 

SAVES THE AVERAGE THEATRE 

$400.00 A YEAR 

No more guessing whether a carbon will 

burn a full reel. 

Adaptable to Ashcroft "D" and "E". 

Brenkert 

- Enarc. Peerless Magnarc and 

Strong Mogul lomps. 

Only 

$52.50 

If your equipment dealer cannot supply 

you. order direct. 

PAYNE PRODUCTS CO., 

Cron-O-Motic Division 

245S W. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, Michigon 

( ) Please send literature on the Cron-O-Motic. 

( ) Please ship Cron-O-Matic Carbon Saver. 

( ) C.O.D.. including postage. ( ) Remittance 

heiewitli. 

NAME — 

THEATRE I 

STREET 

CITY 4 STATE - — 

EXPORT: Fraiar & Hansen. Ltd.. San Francisco. 

New York. Los Angeles 


J. Robert Hoff, president of the Theatre 

Equipment and Supply Manufacturers' 

8x10 Slide Frame St.OO! 

LIFETIME EXTRUDED ALUMINUM 

DISPLAY FRAMES 50% Less 

Compare* Our exclusive one-piece construciion cuts 

your costs in hall 

8 xlO Slide Frame $1 .00 

1 1 x\i Slide Frame $1.50 

14 x22 Slide Frame $2.15 

14 x36 Slide Frome $3.00 

22"x28" Slide Frame $3.00 

Ass'n, expressed optimism after a recent 

meeting with NPA officials in Washington, 

D. C. The many problems that confront 

equipment manufacturers because of current 

theatre building restrictions were discussed 

and considered by Peter Black, special 

assistant to Administrator Manley 

neischman as well as representatives from 

the general counsel's office and officials 

from the motion picture-photographic products 

division. Hoff reported that all matters 

were taken under advisement by NPA officials 

and any further announcements 

necessarily will 

emanate from Washington. 

•1 

UC 

POSTER CASES—We manufacture a complete line of Illuminated and 

non-illuminated wall fromes ond poster cases. Prices run to the 

same scole as the slide frames listed above. Our catalog also contains 

illustrations and prices on these exceptionally low cost units. 

* Lifetime extruded aluminum 

• Cniistic etched 

^^^y * Alumilite finished 

M * Strong, rigid 

I A • All standard sizes 

Cross secd'on of our 

solid, lifetime frame 

extrusion 

40"x60" POSTER CASE $64.50 

40"x60" Non-illuminated poster cnse. 

shadowbox door, recessed or surface 

mounted (please specify) heavy extruderi 

aluminum, lifetime alimiilite finish, full 

letioth door hinges, ^g" plywood back. 

Montebcllo. 

FOB. 

SAVE! ORDER DIRECT BY MAIL 

Frames and case listed may be ordered 

hy mail. Money-back Guarantee. 3hi|)ped 

F.O.B. Montebello, California. 

Peoples Display Frame Co. 

1513-1515 Olympic Blvd. Montebello, California 

A CLEVER 16-inch 

high Jumbo, swinging 

his massive head back 

and forth in characteristically 

slow elephant 

motion, is now 

available for use at 

theatre lobby candy 

stands, as a promotion 

tieup for Nestle's 

Jumbo Blocks chocolate 

and associated 

items. 

The lithographed 

attraction display is battery-operated, and 

is inexpensive to run, on around the clock 

schedule. 

is 

Its appeal, especially to children, 

said to stimulate concession sales. 

Drive-In Theatre Mfg. Co., Kansas City, 

Mo., is offering without charge a layout 

sheet indicating ideal arrangement of di- 

ai 

POWERSTAT 

PROVIDE 

BIG TIME 

LIGHTING CONTROL 

ON A SMALL TIME 

D1000R 

72 

I? 

Modern light dimming equipment need not be 

expensive. This was conclusively demonstrated 

by Lawrence Voss, a member or the foculty 

at Southern Illinois University, when he built 

a 25,0CX) watt, preset, proportional dimming, 

completely flexible, portable switchboard at a 

materials cost of approximately $1,200. Master 

dimming is achieved by four 5,000 watt 

POWERSTAT Dimmers. The flexibility, the consistent 

performance, the unusual economy of 

POWERSTAT Dimming Equipment put big time 

lighting control within the reach of very 

limited budgets. 

Write for the complete story, together with 

pictures and drawings, of the switchboard 

built by Mr. Voss. 

2052 DBMERS AVENUE, BRISrOL, CONN. 

m SUPERIOR ELECTRIC co. 

^g 

rectional lighted signs for the typical drivein 

theatre, which can be adapted by exhibitors 

to their own needs. The diagram 

is keyed to show suggested locations of: 

1. double-face, 40-inch entrance lights; 

2. single-face, 20-inch entrance lights with 

arrow pointing right: 3. "Lights Out 

Please," 20-inch: 4. "Lights On," 20-inch; 

5. ramp lights: 6. aisle lights; 7. roadway 

lights, opaque panels: 8. ramp end exit 

lights: 9. "Exit Only," 20-inch; 10. concession 

building lights; 11. standee speakers; 

12. "Men": 13. "Ladies"; 14. concession 

building 

speaker. 

The MODERN THEATRE SECTION 

i

I 

I 

I 

I 

acting 

I 

I 

boxoffice. 

, 

BOXOFFICE 

' 

enough. 

I Johnny 

! good 

, 

heart. 

' 

: ins 

I 

' 

Theatre, 

' 

; 

Played 

, 

Randolph 

' 

ing. 

. 

Business 

, Weather: 

j 

mer 

I 

I 

[ 

tomers. 

' 

' 

Theatre, 

' 

Boots 

' 

Johnny 

I 

0](0fflCE(iJDDiiJJ]i/UJD5 

The EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY ABOUT 

COLUMBIA 

' 

Al Jennings of Oklahoma (Col) — Dan 

Duryea. Gale Storm. Dick Foran. Another 

color western from Columbia that did very 

well at the boxoffice and pleased the cus- 

We advertised this as the true story 

of Al Jennings as told by himself. There is 

good comedy relief in this picture and an 

exceptional train robbery in the last reel. 

Play this one and make yourself some money. 

Played Tues., Wed. H. M. Swam. Maynard 

Maynard, Minn. Small town patronage. 

Malone (Col> — William Holden. 

Stewart. Stanley Clements, This is a 

perfect yarn for William Holden. The new 

boy. Johnny Stewart, was great in the part 

of the rookie jockey. It's a good story all 

around. Played with "This Woman Is Dangerous" 

to poor business Wed.. Thurs., Fri.. 

Sat. Weather: Cold.—Graham and Yarnell, 

Kramer Theatre, Detroit, Mich. 

trade. 

Neighborhood 

. . 

Boots Malone (Col) — William Holden. 

Stewart, Stanley Clements. EX'eryone 

who saw this racetrack story liked it. It has 

acting, good action and a tug at the 

Even educational for those who know 

nothing of horse and jockey training and the 

and outs of race manipulations. But . 

it didn't do any business! Played Sun., Mon.. 

Tues. Weather: Rain.—R. G. Risch, Reno 

Appleton, Minn. Small town and 

rural trade. 

Indian Territory iColi —Gene Autry, Pat 

Buttram. Gail Davis. Gene Autry still helps 

us and we would feel that single billing is not 

This picture should be double billed. 

Fri.. Sat.—Harland Rankin. Erie Theatre. 

Wheatley. Ont. General patronage. 

Man in the Saddle (Col) —Randolph Scott. 

Joan Leslie. Ellen Drew. This is a typical 

Scott topnotch western. Action perfeet, 

scoring excellent, background outstand- 

I 

Scott should stay with Harry Joe Brown. 

fair. Played Sun., Mon.. Tues. 

Cold.—Graham and Yarnell, Kra- 

Theatre. Detroit. Mich. Neighborhood 

I 

trade. 

Ten Tall Men (Col)—Burt Lancaster. Jody 

Lawrence, Gilbert Roland. This is an exceptionally 

fine picture. Don't pass this up. 

brother. This is the first life we have seen 

in our theatre for some time. We would like 

to have more like this. Played Wed., Thurs. 

—Harland Rankin, Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, 

Ont. General patronage. 

Texas Rangers, The (Col)—George Montgomery, 

Gale Storm, Jerome Courtland. We 

played this color western on Tues. and Wed. 

It is an average western but did extraordinary 

business. Some patrons complain that we are 

getting too many of these color westerns but 

they make money and that's what we're In 

business for. Play it—it has a good story and 

not too much shooting.—H. M. Swam, Maynard 

Theatre, Maynard, Minn. Small town 

patronage. 

LIPPERT PRODUCTIONS 

Highly Dangerous (LP)—Dane Clark. Mar- 

I garet Lockwood. Marius Goring. A rather 

common spy story which is very weak in 

spots. However, the story is bolstered by the 

of Dane Clark and Margaret Lockwood 

which should mean something at the 

Played Tues., Wed., Thurs. Weath- 

PICTURES 

er: Windy and cold.—Pearce Parkhurst. Lan.sing 

Drive-In Theatre, Lansing, Mich. Family 

patronage. 

Steel Helmet (LP) — Gene Evans, Robert 

Hutton, Steve Brodie. If war pictures are any 

good to you, this oldie can be bought at fair 

terms. It isn't a bad little feature for Its 

kind but in this town war is taboo, .so I 

would have been better off leaving it alone. 

Played Wed., Thurs. Weather: Chilly—Bob 

Walker, Uintah Theatre, Fruita, Colo. Small 

town and rural trade. 

METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER 

American in Paris, An (MGMi —Gene Kelly, 

Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant. Even the Academy 

didn't do a lot I'or thi.s—boxoffice-wise. 

Though I can't call this type my favorite entertainment. 

I had to admit it is a great 

show—and. for once, I can see how this might 

be considered for the award. My local business 

stayed away like we had smallpox but 

word got out in the big town east of us and 

they gave me a good Monday and a fair Tuesday 

so I managed to pull out by the skin of 

my teeth after thinking I would be lucky to 

get back film and advertising costs. Played 

Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Beautiful.—Bob 

Walker, Uintah Theatre, Fruita, Colo. Small 

town and rural patronage. 

American in Paris, An (MGM)—Gene Kelly. 

Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant. This is a beautiful 

production, well cast and well played, but 

—it lacks something. It just doesn't click. 

Several scenes were too long. Should be about 

four reels instead of six. Played Sun., Mon.. 

Tues. Weather: Cold.—Bill Leonard, Leonard 

Theatre, Cedar Vale, Kas. Small town and 

rural trade. 

Excuse My Dust (MGM) — Red Skelton, 

Sally Forrest, Macdonald Carey. This is the 

most satisfactory feature we have run for 

some time. Lots of comedy, color and just 

enough music. The time in 1895 and it stages 

an automobile race that is a scream. Played 

Sat., Sun.—C. E. Bennewitz. Royal Theatre, 

Royalton, Minn. Rural trade. 

Red Badge of Courage (MGM)—Audie Murphy, 

Bill Mauldin, John Dierkes. This is a 

fine piece of entertainment. A little on the 

drab, sad side but rates with the best. Played 

Fri., Sat. Weather: Stormy.—Bill Leonard. 

Leonard Theatre, Cedar Vale, Kas. Small town 

and rural trade. 

Rich, Young and Pretty (MGM) — Jane 

Powell, Danielle Dartieux, Wendell Corey. 

Here's a fairly entertaining little feature that 

I made the mistake of putting on preferred 

time without anything for it to lean on. Result: 

an April slump that hit me suddenly, 

got worse. It's just not a small town natural. 

Money Back Guarantee 

Used to Sell This One 

a NOELS IN THE OUTFIELD (MOM) — 

Paul Douglas, Janet Leigh, Keenan 

WjTin. I agree 100 per cent with Bob 

Walker of Fruita on this picture. It was 

the same story here. We advertised to 

please or money back and it helped. No 

one asked for a refund. It will be enjoyed 

by everyone. Business normal. Played 

Sun., Mon. Weather: Spring-like.—Ken 

Christianson, Roxv Theatre. Washburn, 

S. D. Small town trade. 

How About a Series 

With the Nelsons? 

ZTIMK lO.MK TIIK NKI.SONS (U-ll — 

Harriett and Ozzie Nelson. Barbara 

Lawrence. Played to Ihi- best gross In Ty'i. 

When a picture can lop Dean .Martin 

and Jerry Lewis it has boxofflre. C;ive 

it your best time. boys. Were looking forward 

to the next Nelson piiturr. Phivrci 

Sun.. Tues.—T. A. Spurgin. Modcrne TIk-- 

atre, Stanberry, .Mo. Small town trade. 

Played Sun.. Mon. Tues. Weather: Nice.—Bob 

Walker. Uintah Theatre. Fruita, Colo. Small 


Teresa (MOM)—Pier Angell. John Ericson, 

Patricia CoUinge. This was received quite 

well here. Comments were good. We u.sed the 

angle. "Story of a War Bride." in 

advertising, 

which seemed to bring them in. Business was 

okay, too, for a change. It is okay for small 

towns. Played Wed.. Thurs. Weather: Mild 

for February.—G. P. Jonckowski, Lyric Theatre, 

Waba.sso, Minn., Rural and small town 

trade. 

Texas Carnival iMGM) — Red Skelton. 

Esther Williams, Howard Keel. Great, grand, 

glorious, fascinating, captivating, entertaining. 

This is one of the best in months and 

months. You can't ballyhoo this one too 

much. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: 

Fair.- Bill Leonard, Leonard Theatre, Cedar 

Vale. Kas. Small town and rural trade. 

Three Guys Named Mike (MGM)—Jane 

Wyman. Van Johnson. Howard Keel. 

We were 

late in playing this one and many people had 

already seen it elsewhere. Therefore the box 

really suffered for two days. Played Fri.. Sat. 

Weather: Fair.-Marion F. Bodwell. Paramount 

Theatre, Wyoming, 111. Small town 

trade. 

MONOGRAM 

Father Takes the .Air iMono) —Raymond 

Walburn. Walter Catlett. Gary Gray. This is 

a nice little comedy. We doubled it with 

Columbia's "Hit the Hay" to average midweek 

business. Played Tues. Wed. Weather: Windy 

and cool.—Orin J. Sears, Apache Theatre, 

Loving. N. M. Small town patronage. 

Ghost Chasers (Mono) —Leo Gorcey, Huntz 

Hall, Bowery Boys. Some school competition 

made this a waste of time to run on Friday 

night, but Saturday did a little over average 

business so we didn't get hurt as badly as it 

looked like we would at first. Without the 

heavy competition this should have drawn 

well here. Doubled with "Casa Manana 

(Mono) which is a mighty entertaining little 

musical comedy.—Bob Walker. Uintah Theatre, 

Fruita, Colo. Small town and rural patronage. 

PARAMOUNT 

Crosswinds (Parai — John Payne. Rhonda 

Fleming. Forrest Tucker. The breakup of the 

mighty Missouri and a train wreck (local) 

kept this only fair action picture down to 

normal gross. One of the poorer Pine-Thomas 

productions. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: 

Fair.—Ken Christianson, Roxy Theatre, 

Washburn, N. D. Small town trade. 

Flaming Feather (Para)—Sterling Hayden. 

Forrest Tucker. Barbara Rush. This is O.K. 

for any day. Good color, good story and the 

price was right. Played Sun.. Mon. Weather: 

Good—Tom Watson. Lyric Theatre, Ellisville, 

Miss. Small town and college trade. 

(Continued on next page) 

BookinGuide : 

: May 

3, 1952 

1

advance 

was 

| 

I 

The EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY 

(Continued from preceding page) 

Here Comes the Groom iPara) — Bing 

Crosby. Jane Wynian, Alexis Smitli. I think 

this is the best Crosby picture I ever played. 

So much human interest, such nice, clean 

comedy, such simple effective music. You 

could hear a pin drop when Anna Maria 

Alberghetti. as the blind giil. sang her solo. 

Comments: the very best. Played Sun.. Mon. 

—Leo W. Smith, Elk Theatre. Elkton. S. D. 

Party Smarty iPara)—Noveltoon cartoon 

was enjoyed by all. Played Sun.. Mon. Weather: 

Rain.—Pearce Parkhurst. Lansing Drivein 

Theatre, Lansing. Mich. Family patronage. 

Peking Express iPara)—Joseph Cotten. 

Corinne Calvet. Edmund Gwenn. A total loss 

from start to finish. Too high rental, poor 

plot, and a preach-preach story that was a 

waste of time and money. Played Tiies.. Wed. 

Weather: Fair.—Ken Christian.son. Roxy Theatre. 

Washburn. N. D. Small town trade. 

Rhubarb (Para>—Ray Milland. Jan Sterling. 

Gene Lockhart. A dandy comedy and certainly 

out of the ordinary. It's got the talking 

mule picture beat a mile. Played Wed., Thurs. 

Weather: Fair.— Bill Leonard, Leonard Theatre. 

Cedar Vale. Kas. Small town and rural 

trade. 

RKO RADIO 

Dynamite Pass (RKO>—Tim Holt. Lynne 

Roberts. Regis Toomey. Tim Holt and Richard 

Martin do all right here. Tim plays it 

straight and his popularity has held here for 

a long time. Played Sat. Weather: Good. 

Audrey Thompson. Ozark Theatre. Hardy. 

Ark. Small town and rural trade. 

Tarzan and the Amazons —James 

Stewart. Marlene Dietrich. Glynis Johns. 

Wow. what a headache this gave us. We were 

forced to pull the picture after the first day. 

Cartoons Pull Saturday 

Night Crowds 

PVERY SATURDAY NIGHT is 

"Cartoon 

Circus" night—along with the 

regular feature. We advertise this special 

program on the monthly calendars 

and it has really helped to boost attendance. 

Rain or shine the crowd is always 

good on "Circus" night.—J. D. Wilbanks, 

Wagon Wheel Fly-In Drlve-In Theatre, 

Spearman, Tex. Small town patronage. 

and substitute a Gary Cooper, somewhat 

aged: "You're in the Navy Now." James 

Stewart, always popular with our patrons, 

did a nose-dive with us. although his acting 

ability was above par in this picture, and Miss 

Dietrich did justice to the minor part she 

played in it. The action was nil in the entire 

picture. If you operate an arty house, this 

might go over with your patrons, but our 

rough-and-ready customers would have nothing 

to do with it. We tried to play this on 

our best time—Sun.. Mon.. Tues. The weather 

was a typical rainy spell for this time of 

year.—Roy D. Tidwell. Roxy Theatre. Barnsdall. 

Okla. Small town and oil field trade. 

People Will Talk (20th-Fox)—Cary Grant. 

Jeanne Crain. Finlay Currie. We were afraid 

of this picture but it did good business here 

for these times. The picture was praised by 

parents, young adults and children. One does 

get surprised in this business. Played Sun., 

Mon.—Earl and Olive London, State Theatre, 

Olivet, Mich. Small town, rural, college trade. 

Rawhide (20th-Fox)—Tyrone Power. Susan 

Hayward, Hugh Marlowe. 

cooky this Marlowe can be! 

What a tough 

We had just finished 

playing "The Return of the Texan." 

where Marlowe played the part of the country 

doc to perfection. Then to see this fellow 

play the part as the leader of as tough a 

gang of cutthroats as ever graced the .screen, 

calls for some acting—and I don't mean maybe 

—but Hugh Marlowe did just this to the 

queen's taste. Tyrone Power played his usual 

smooth part to perfection, while Susan Hayward 

1 what a gal ! ) played the part of Power's 

make-believe wife to the hilt. We played this 

superwestern somewhat late but did a fine 

Fri. -Sat. business. If your crowd likes 'em 

rough (and ours does), play this fine picture, 

by all means. Fox sold this picture to us 

right.—Roy D. Tidwell. -Roxy Theatre. Barnsdall. 

Okla. Small town, oil field trade. 

Return of Frank James, The (20th-Fox)— 

Reissue. Gene Tierney, Henry Fonda, Jackie 

Cooper. Last week we had "Jesse James" and 

this week "The Return of Frank James," with 

two cartoons and a serial. Business was about 

average for Saturday, though. I didn't see 

anything extra in the picture, either, although 

I must admit it held suspense. Played Saturday. 

Weather: Fair.—Herman Perkins jr.. 

Alpha Theatre, Catonsville, Md. General patronage. 

Return of Frank James (20th-Fox)—Reissue. 

Gene Tierney, Henry Fonda, Jackie 

Cooper. Yep, this was another lulu! Once 

again business was above average, once again 

it w'as a wonderful show, and once again both 

the customers and the boxoffice were happy. 

Small-towners, grab tlwse reissues and make 

some dough. Even a blizzard Saturday night 

didn't keep 'em away. Played Fri.. Sat. 

Weather: Snow.—Carl F. Neitzel. Juno Theatre. 

Juneau. Wis. Small town, rural trade. 

UNITED ARTISTS 

\ 

Iroquois Trail (UA) —George Montgomery, 

Brenda Marshall. Glenn Langan. Tliis Indian 

thriller simply did not take here—maybe 

I ran it on the wrong day of the week. Maybe 

my patrons don't like so much blood spilling. 

Whether the picture, the title, or the actors 

kept them away, I'll never know. It wasn't 

the weather 'cause that was fine. The print 

was good! Played Wed., Thurs. Weather: 

Fine and mild.—I. Roche, Veil and Vernon 

theatres, Cottondale and Vernon, Fla. Small 

town and rural trade. 

Mickey (UAl—Lois Butler. Bill Goodwin, 

Irene Hervey. This is a darling picture, and 1 

although somewhat old, is still lovely enter- 

, 

tainment which you should be proud to play 

on your screen. Played Wed., Thurs.-Har- , 

land Rankin. Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont. 

General patronage. 

UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL 

Bend of the River lU-I) —James Stewart,, 

Arthur Kennedy. Julia Adams. This was 

o.k. but certainly did not live up to expectations. 

It was just another glorified western. 

The only draw was Jimmy Stewart. The 

advertisement i ) terrific but the ] 

average movie fan is not concerned about 

how cold the river was. etc.. they just want 

the finished product to be good. To sum it 

up. I would say that if film exchanges are 

j 

going to spend thousands of dollars on advertising, 

why not spend it on pictures that are 

j 

really going to merit this.—Roger Cloet, Bay 

Theatre, Port Rowan. Ontario, Canada. Small 


j 

i 

Raging Tide (U-H— Shelley Winters, Richard 

Conte, Stephen McNally. Good action ij 

feature. Charles Blckford stole the show. ' 

Winters and Conte O.K. Played with "I'll 

See You in My Dreams" Wed., Thurs., Fri., 

Sat. No business because of Lent. Weather: 

| 

Cold.—Graham and Yarnell, Kramer Theatre, 

Detroit, Mich. Neighborhood trade. 

WARNER BROS. 

I'll See You in My Dreams (WB)—Danny I 

Thomas, Doris Day, Frank Lovejoy. This is l 

an excellent show—two different types of 

features (doubled with "The Tanks Are Coming") 

rounded this into a great show. We have '\ 

a great many families with youngsters in 

J J 

service here, and could do with less war picjj 

tures. Played Tues. through Thurs. Weather: ij 

Cloudy.—Al Hatoff, Park Theatre, Brooklyn, 

jj 

N. Y. Neighborhood trade. 

Only the Valiant (WB)—Gregory Peck. Bar- I 

bara Payton, Ward Bond. This is a good pic- \ 

ture but didn't seem to click. We had veryjl 

bad weather the second night, and even I 

though we played Hollywood, we didn't get |l 

a lift out of it at all. It is an older war story >M 

which didn't seem to go over with our audi- -J 

ence. Played Mon., Tues.—Harland Rankin, jl 

Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ont. General pa-jj 

tronage. 

Starlift (WB)—Doris Day, Gordon Mac-1 

Rae, Virginia Mayo. This picture drew well 'I 

for us with just a little more than ordinaryi 

advertising. This is now gay, now serious.J 

It has a nice story and moves with a fast,j 

fascinating pace. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: 

Fair.—H. E. Porta, Civic Theatre, Osceola, Mo.j 

Farming trade. 

BOXOFFICE BookinGuide :: May 3, 1952"

iwnm 

j 

An Interpretive analysis of Icy and trodepress reviews. The plus and minus signs Indlcote degree of 

merit only; oudlence closslficotion Is not rated. Listings cover current reviews, brought up to date regularly. 

This department serves alsu as an ALPHABETICAL INDEX to feature releases. Numeral preceding title 

li Picture Guide Review page number. For listings by compony, in the order of release, see Feature Chort, 

DJfjsrr 

Very Good; Good; fan Poor Very Poor In the summary is rated as 2 pluses, as 2 minuses 

«l 

u 

"5

Good; 

REVIEW DIGEST Very Good; 

' 

' Foil Poor Very Poor, In the summary ts rated 2 pluses, ^ as 2 minuses.

t+ Very Good; + Good; — Fair; — Poor; — Very Poor. In the summary '• is rated at 2 pluses. ' as 1 minuiei. REVIEW DIGEST 

1 

O 

m

.C. 

! Unknown 

.CD. 

I 

Disc 

' 

' 

mymi cuDii-r 

Footuro productions by compony in order of release. Number in square is nafionol releosc dote. Running 

time is in parentheses. Typo of story is indicated by letters and combinations thereof as follows: (C) 

Comedy; (D) Drama; (CO) Comcdy-Dromo; (F) Fontosy; (M) Musical; (W) Western; (SW) Superwsstern. 

Rcleose number follows: %J denotes BOXOFFICE Blue Ribbon Award Winner. Q denotes color photography. 

For review dotes and Picture Guide page numbers, see Review Digest. 

COLUMBIA 

QLoino Doon* (84) C..336 

Uarbaru Hile. Itlrhlrd Gre«ne, lion Randt'll 

OTexos Rongors, The (74) W..325 

tjeorge .Morni;itmtTy. Gale Storm, N. Bfcry Jr. 

China Corsair (67) D. .316 

Jun ll.ill. I.lsa I'Vrridai, Ron Randtll 

Silver Canyon (70) W. .351 

Gene Aulry. CtumDloo. Qtll Darts 

322 

Sirocco (98) O. .348 

llumplir.'y liogart, Lee J. Cobb. Maria Toren 

OHurricane Island (72) D..349 

Two of a Kind (7S) D. .3S0 

tAlniiuid (iRrlin, Uzabctb Scoli. Terry .Moore 

Big Gushar (68) D . . 306 

W.iyju* .Morri';. I'ri'ston Foster, Dorothy Patrick 

Bonania Town (56) W..367 

OMask of tho Avenger (83). . . .0. .359 

John Itcrck. .\nt!iony Qumn. Jculy I..i«ranfe 

Whisfta of EofonTolTirTho (96rD . 

Lloyil Bridiifs. norolhy GIsh. C 

. 

Carimilcr 

Never Trusf o Gambler (79) D. .326 

11.V1P fl.irk. Calliy U'Domicll. Tom Urake 

Pickup (78) D. .357 

Bivorh Mlfhuels. Hugo Haas, .Mian Nlion 

Cyclone Fury (54) W. .368 

l'h.irlcs St.irrell. Smiloy Buniollc, K. Se.irs 

Chain of Circumstance (68). . . D. . 

Kli-hanl Grjyson, Howard Keel. Ava (iardner 

Law and tho Lady, The (104) . .C . . 136 

Ej 

Greer Garson. Michael Wilding, Marjorie Main 

aa Teresa (105) D..I37 

Pier Angell, John li^lcson, Patricia Collinge 

lORich, Young. ond Pntty (9S)..M..13S 

Jane Powell, Vic Damone, Danielle Darrleuz 

EJj Toll Target, Tho (78) D . . 1 39 

Dick Powell, l*auia Raymond, Adolpbe Menjou 

ai Strip, The (85) D..140 

Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest, Monica Leirli 

m People Against O'Hora (103) . . . D. .201 

Spencer Tracy, John Ilodlak, Diana Lynn 

gl ti Angels in the Outfield (102). .D. .202 

Paul Douglxs, Janet l.elgb. Keenan W>nn 

glOMr. Imperium (87) M..203 

Lana Turner, Ezlo i'lnza, Barry Sullivan 

Red Bodge of Courage (69) . . . . D. IS .204 

Audle .Murphy, BlU Mauldln, J. Dlerkes 

[|]©Texos Carnival (77) C. .205 

_ lied Skelton. Esther Williams, Howard Keel 

tl2i Bonnerline (88) D . . 206 

Sally Forrest, Lionel Barrymore, K. Brassell 

01 Man With a Clook (81 ) D . . 207 

Barbara Stanwyck, Joseph Cotlen. L. Caron 

S ©Across the Wide Missouri (81) SW. .208 

Clark Gable, John Hodiak. M. E. Marques 

m ^©American In Paris, An (113).M. .209 

Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant 

Man, The (88) D. .210 

Walter Pidgeon. Ann Harding. Barry SulUvan 

jToo Young to Kiss (91) C. .211 

Van Johnson. June Allyaon, Gig Young 

m Light Touch, The (107) D. .212 

Stewart Granger. Pier Angell, George Sanders 

E3 Calling Bulldog Orummond (81). D.. 213 

Walter Pidgeon. Margaret Lelghton. R. Beatty 

@ Calloway Went Thotoway (81)..C..214 

Dorothy McGuire. Fred MacMurray. H. Keel 

BJ It's a Big Country (89) Doc. 21 

EUiel Barrymore. Gary Cooper, Van Johnson 

63 Westward the Women (116) D..216 

Robert Taylor. Denlse Darcel, Julie Bishop 

M ©Pandora and the Flying 

Dutchman (123) 

D..217 

.\va Gardner. James Mason, Nigel Patrick 

a Sellout, The (83) D..219 

Walter Pidgeon, Audrey Totter, John Hodiak 

MONOGRAM 

A2 

mCaia Monona (73) M..SI> 

Robert Clarke, Virginia Welles. R. Camts 

Bj Father Takes the Air (61 ). . . .C . .51) 

liaymond Walburn. Waller CJitlett, F. Bate 

3 Montana Desperado (51) W. .511 

Joimny Muck Brown, Virginia Herrick T 

[£ Yukon Manhunt (63) D. .511 

Klrby Grant. Cliinook. Gail Davis, M. Fleh 

IS, Stagecoach Driver (52) W. .511 

Wlilp Wilson, Fuzzy Knight, J. Bannon ' 

gS Lot's Go Novy (68) C.Sll 

Leo Gorcey, Ilunti Hall, Tom Neal 

3S Oklahoma Justice (56) ^•Sll 

Johnny Mack Brown, James Ellison, B. Allen 

[S Wanted: Dead or Alive (58)..W..51 

Whip Wilson. Fuzzy Kniglit. J. Bannon 

m Joe Palooko In Triple Cross (60) D. .51 

Joe Klrkwood, Cathy Downs, James (Jleasotj 

Jockey (77) M. .AJ 

Ginny Simms. Michael O'Sbea. Jane Nigh 

[7] Whistling Hills (58) W. .51' 

Johnny Mack Brown, James Ellison, N. Nell) 

as Yellow Fin (74) D. .511 

Wayne Morris. Damian O'Flynn, Adrian Bo" 

SI ©Highwayman, The (82) D..AA 

Philip Friend, Wanda Uendrii. C. Coburn 

S Elephant Stampede (71) D..51 

Johnny Sheffield, Donna Martell, E. Evansj 

. 

iH Lawless Cowboys (58) W..51' 

Whip Wilson, Fu2zy Knight. Jim Bannon I 

EI ©Flight to Mors (71) D. .51 

Marguerite Cliapman, Cameron Mitchell ] 

[ig Crazy Over Horses (65) C.Sli 

Leo Gorcey. Huntz Hall, David Gorsey 

a Longhorn, The (70) W. .52 

Bill Elliott, Phyllis Coates, Myron llealey 

; 

a Texas Lawmen (54) W..51' 

Johnny Mack Brown, James Ellison. L. Hall 

m Northwest Territory (61 ) D . 51 

Kirby (Jrant. Chinook. Gall Davis 

j Stage to Blue River (56) W..51 

Whip Wilson, Fuzzy Knight, J. Bannon 

m steel Fist (73) D..52' 

Roddy McDowell, Krlstine Miller. U. Lauter" 

55 Texas City (54) W . . 52 

Johnni- .Mack Brown. James Ellison 

g| ©Aladdin and His Lamp (66)..D..52 

Patricia Medina, John Sands, Richard Grdni 

I 

Death of a Salesman (113) D..423 

Fredric March. Mildred Dunnock, C. Mitchell 

First Time, The (89) C. .424 

Roljert Cummings, Barbara Hale. Mona Barrie 

Horem Girl (70) C. .422 

Joan Havis. Arthur Blake. Pegnle Castle 

Howk of Wild River, The (59).. W.. 482 

Charles Starrett. Smiley Burnette, C. Moore 

51 Stronghold (73) D 

. . 51 07 

Zachary Scott, Veronica Lake. A. DeCordova 

B Invitation (85) D. .220 

Dorothy McOilre. Van Johnson, Ruth Roman 

a Lone Star (94) D..222 

(Jlark Gable. Ava Gardner. Broderlcif Crawford 

m Shadow In the Sky (78) D. .221 

Nancy Davis. Ralph Meeker, James Whttmore 

m ©Belle of New York, The (82). .M. .223 

Fred .\staire. Vera-Ellen. Marjorie Main 

[3 Night Raiders (52) W. .52 

Whip Wilson. Fuzzy Knight, J. Bannon 

S ©Fort Osage (72) W. .51' | 

Rod Cameron, Jane Nigh, Morris Ankrum 1 

H Waco (68) W. .12 

Bill Elliott, Pamela Blake. Rand Brooks 

>- 

< 

My Six Convicts (104) D. .430 

Gilbert Roland, John Real. M. Mitchell 

Okinawa (67) D . . 432 

Pat O'Brien, Cameron Mitchell, R. Denning 

^ Scandal Sheet (82) D. .415 

Broderick Crawford, Donna Reed, John Derek 

Night Stage to Galveston (62).. D.. 475 

Gene Autry, Pat Buttram. Vlrelnla Huston 

Jungle Jim in the Forbidden 

Lend (65) P.. 429 

©Thief of Damascus (78) D. .427 

Paul Henreid. Jeff Unnnell. John Sutton 

Morrying Kind, The (93) D..425 

Judy Holllday. Aldn Rav. Madge Kennedy 

Laramie Mountain (53) D. .485 

diaries Starrett. Smiley Burnette, P. Sears 

Walk East on Beacon (98) D. .426 

George Murphy. Virginia Qilmore, F. Currle 

Sniper, The (87) D . .434 

Arthur Franz. Adolpe Menjou, Marie Windsor 

©Sound Off (85) C. .428 

Mickey Rrionev, Ann James, John Archer 

Yank in Indo-China, A (67) . . . . D. .435 

Jclm Archer. Douglas Dick. Jean Wllles 

Apache Country (62) W. .471 

Gene Autry. Pat Buttram 

Navajo (70) 

Navaio Indian cast 

.Doc. .5104 

lU Wings of Danger (72) D . . 5106 

Zachary Scott. Robert Beatty, K. Kendall 

Valley of the Eagles (83) D. .5114 

Jack Warner, Nadla Gray. J. McCaUum 

ID ©Outlaw Women (75) D..510S 

Marie Windsor, Richard Rober. Carla Balenda 

SLoon Shark (79) 

George Raft. Dorothy Hart 

.D..5111 

a Just This Once (90) D. .224 

Peter Lawford. Janet Leigh. Lewis Stone 

El Love Is Better Than Ever (81)..C..22S 

Blijabcth Taylor, Larry Parks, Tom Tully 

! 

©Wild North, The (91) D. .226 

Stewart Granger. Wendell Corey, C. CJharlsse 

ISeSingin' in the Rain (103) . . . . M .227 

Gene Kelly. Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds 

^ Talk About a Stranger (65) . . . . D . .228 

George Murphy, Nancy Davis. Billy Gray 

giWhen in Rome (78) D. .229 

Van Johnson. Paul Douglas. J. Callela 

m Young Man With Ideas (84). . .230 

Glenn Ford. Ruth Roman. Nadine Ashdown 

. 

[S ©Rodeo (70) 

Jane Nigh, John Archer. 

W..$Hl| 

Wallace Ford 

B Hold That Line (64) C. .521 

| 

Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, John Bromfteld 

SMon From the Black Hills (51).W..52'| 

Johnny Mack Brown 

(S Jet Job (63) D..5III 

Stanley Oements. Elena Verdugo. J. Litel 

El Gunman, The (52) 

Whip Wilson. Fuzzy Knight 

W. .S2I|| 

SQWIld Stallion (70) W. .52 

Ben Johnson. Edgar Btichanan 

S) Kansas Territory (65) W. .52 

Bill Elliott. Peggy Stewart 

SI Desert Pursuit (71) D 

Wayne Morris, Virginia Grey 

52> 

m Carbine Williams (101) D. .231 

James Stewart. Wendell Corey. Jean Hagen 

S Girl in White, The (93) D . . 232 

June Allvson. Gary Merrill, Arthur Kennedy 

@§ ©Skirts Ahoy! (109) M..233 gS African Treasure ( . . ) D . . 

Either Williams. Joan Evans, Barry Suiliran Johnny Sheffield. Laurette Luez

I 

, 

Submarine 

'i 

Bob 

.C. 

il 

QDrums 

. .D. 

; 

Fort 

Eleanor 

. CD. 

PARAMOUNT 

Trio (92) D..5030 

Jmh amiraons. Michael Rt'iinlp, Annu Crawford 

OP0JS090 West (80) SW. .5022 

Johji IViytie. Arlecn Wtielan, DvnuLs O'Keefe 

Big Cornlvol, The (112) O. .5023 

{ItfT, a.s .\re in the Hole) 

Kirk liuuslx*. Jan Sicrllnt. Porter Hall 

. 5025 

Peking Express (85) D. .5024 

JiKfph foIIfTi. Corlnnr Calvel. Edmiinil Gwenn 

Thot's My Boy (98) C. .5026 

Dean .M.irlin. Jorry Lewis. Ruth Hiissey 

k QWorpoth (95) SW . 

Bdmimil (I'liritn. Dean Jagger. Forrest 'lîekrr 

Here Comes the Groom (114). .C. .5101 

Blng Crosby. J.ine Wyraan. Kranchot Tone 

Place in the Sun, A (122) D..5102 

Monnniiury Olfl. Elizabeth T.iylor 

Rhubarb (94) C. .5103 

Kay MIMand. Jan Sterling, Tipne Lockhart 

RKO 

RADIO 

JlOBest of the Badmen (84). , , , W. 

, 

Robert Ryan, Claire Trevor, Jack lluctot 

176 

j 

Hard, Fast and Boautltul (78),. D,. 119 

Clalra Trevor, Bally Forrest. Carlelon Young 

m OHappy Go Lovely (88) M , 

Havld Niien, Vera-Kllen, Cc.rar Romero 

, 262 

& UOAIice in Wonderlond (75). . D. .291 

(Walt i>l.sney carlouri) 

Lllll Morlene (73) D, ,203 

Llaa Uanlfly, Hugh Mcliermott, J. Blythe 

lUj Flying Leathernecks (102) D. .261 

John Wayne, Rolierl liyan, Jauls Carter 

Roadblock (73) D , . 204 

I'hailes .MetJrau, Joan Ulxon, Lowell Ollmore 

Pistol Harvest (60) W . . 205 

Tim Holt. Joan lllxon, Rlcharii Martin 

SS His Kind of Woman (120) D. .201 

Robert .Mitclnim. Jane Rusaell, Vincelil Price 

L6J On the Loose (74) D , , 202 

Joan Evans. Melvyn Douglas. Lynn Barl 

eS Behave Yourself! (81) CD. .206 

Farley Granger. Shelley Winters, W. Bemarest 

REPUBLIC ^ wo 

t- OCX 

]. Fighting Coast Guord (86) O, ,5010 

Brian Uoideiy, Forrest IVcker. Ella llalnea 

^4 Secrets of Monte Carlo (60), , , D, ,5030 

Wiirren Douiios, Lola Hall, June Vincent 

W Dakota Kid, The (60) W. .5067 

.Michael Cliapln. Mknc Jatuscn, James Bell 

,is, Rodeo King and Senorito (67) W . 5053 

Ilex Allen, .Mary Ellen Kay, Buddy Eh.nn 

hii Fugitive Lody (78) O . , 501 

JauLs Paige, Biiuiic Barnes, Tony Ccnla 

! This Is Korea (50) Doe, 5127 

Dodge Stampede (60). . . .W. .5062 

Allan "ttocky" Lane, .Mary Ellen Kay 

^ Arizona Manhunt (60) W , 

. 5068 

Michael CliaiMii, l-.'ilenu Janssen. Jamca Bell 

IS Hovana Rose (77) D. .5124 

Estellta Roilriguez. Hugh Herbert, B WilllamB 

FEATURE 

CHART 

20TH CENTURY-FOX B 1- 

' 

U^Halt Angel (80j ~, 

,D' !116. 

I>irrtla Voting. JoMiih Cutlen, Cecil KrllsM.ty 

House on Telegraph Hill (93) O. .117 

Rlrliiird BaielucI, Valrntlna Curteia 

Ai Young At You Feel (77) C.,120 

Monty Wuolley, Tbclmu Itltter, David Wa>n' 

Guy Who Come Bock, Tke (91) 118 

Paul Dougl.Lif, Joan Bennett, Llr>da Da/neU 

OToke Care of Little Girl (93) M..1I9 

Jeatinle ( r.iiN, Jian Peter*. Dale Ru6rrt»un 

V; Frogmen, The (96) D . . 1 22 

Dana Andrews, Gary .Merrill, tUcliard Wldnark 

Secret of Convict Lake, The (83) D. .123 

tilelin lord, Gtie' lieriii). K"li'-l llarr>more 

Mr, Belvedere Rings the Boll (88) C, ,124 

Clifton Webb, Jiiaiifie lini, Hugh .Marlowe 

©Meet Me AHer the Show (86) M. .125 

Betty Urable, .Macdunaid Cirey, Rory Calhoun 

People Will Talk (110) C,.126 

Cary Gr.-uil, Jeanne Craln, F. Currle 

Millionaire for Christy, A (90)..C .127 

I'red .Î3r.\^Jrâ> , Parker, R. Carlson 

Doy the Earth Stood Still (92).. 0. 129 

Michael Kennle. Patricia Neal. H. ilarlowe 

QCrosswInds (93) D. .5104 

John I'ayne. Rhonda Fleming, l'\irrest Tucker 

Darling, How Could Youl (96). .C. .5108 

Joan Fontaine, John Linul, Mona I'Vceman 

Detective Story (103) D. .5111 

Kirk rioiiglas, Eleanor Parker, W. Bendii 

Command (87) D. .5107 

William Iloklcn. Nancv OLîon. W. Bendix 

OWhen Worlds Collide (81 ) D . . 5106 

Itlcliard Derr, Barbara Rii'ih. J. Hoyt 

Hot Lead (61) W. .209 

Tim Holt. Richard Martin. Joan Di.'con 

Ei ©Slaughter Trail (78) W .. 207 

Brian licnleiy, Virginia Grey, A. Hevlne 

D . . 21 

in the Deep South (87) . . 

James Craig. Barbara Payton, G. ,Madison 

1] Blue Veil, The (114) D.,263 

Jane Wyman, Cli arle.^ LauglUon, J. Blomlell 

Racket, The (90) D. .210 

liobert Mitchum. Liiabelh Scott. R. Ryan 

Jungle of Chang (67) D . 208 

Documentary of Thailand 

OTwo Tickets to Broodway (106) M. .264 

Janet Leigh. Tony .Martin, Eddie Bracken 

Whip Hand, The (81) D. .212 

EUlott Reld, Carta Balenda, L. Tiittle 

lil Adventures of Cpt, Fablan(IOO) D, ,5101 

Errol I'bnii. Mieheline I'relle. V. Price 

H Sea Hornet, The (84) D..5102 

Rod Cameron. Allele .Mara. Adrian Booth 

gs] Utah Wagon Troin (67) W. . S054 

Re.\ Allen. Penny Edwards, Buddy Ebsen 

gsj South of Caliente (66) W. .5151 

Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Douglaa Fowliy 

Jl Street Bandits (54) D, ,5130 

i'enny Edwards, Robert Clarke, Ross Ford 

61; Desert of Men (54) Lost W, ,5063 

Allen Lane. Mary Ellen Kay, R. Elliott 

Stormbound (60) D, ,5032 

Constance Dowllng (Italian-language) 

Desert Fox, The (87) O. .130 

James Ma mi. Je,.iea Tandy. C. llardnlcke 

Journey Into Light (87) D..132 

Sterling Ilayden. Vlieca Llndfori. T. Mitchell 

No Highway in the Sky (98) D . . 1 21 

James Steviart, Marlene iiietrlch. G. Johns 

Love Nest (84) C..131 

June Haver. Wlliiam Lundlgan. Frank Fay 

Let's Make It Legal (77) C.,133 

Claiidette Colbert, Macdonald Carey 

OAnne of the Indies (81) D. .134 

Jean Peters, Louis Joiirdan. Ih>bra Paget 

©Golden Girl (111) M..136 

MItzt Qaynor, Dennis Day, D, Robertson 

O 

r-i 

O 

DO' 

»l 

O 

I 

I 

I 

Retreat, 

D. 

. 

FEATURE 

fe 

I 

I 

I 

"J 

'ui 

'O 

>- 

< 

X 

a: 

< 

UNITED 

ARTISTS 

CHART 

^.^ 

t Fobiolo (961 D. .631 

Mlch.li' Morgan, llfnn VIdal, Mlchd Simon 

Man With My Face, The (75). . .D. .659 

lt.irr> Ncl-oii Ljiin \lnl.->. C. Mattht'Ws 

IS Thr«« Slept North (8S) D. .657 

Llu>d Brlilii's. U> I'mloiiuit. Alilo Fabrlil 

\S Queen for a Day (107) D. .645 

I'hvllii; Averv. ji.irrfn MrCarln 

1) He Ran All the Way (77) D. 646 

Jnlin i:.irli.ld. Slifllfv WInlrrs. Ford 

\V. 

Si Cyrano de Bergerac (115) D. .660 

.1..M- I'lTriT. .M;il.i I'ovjers. Wtlllani Prlnee 

if Hoodlum, The (61) O. .653 

L.iurenrc Tieroey. Allcne Roberts. L. Golni 

. 

IS Pardon My French (81) C.1402 

I'.Nl ll.'iir,!,!. Male (Iberon. V. Bonlfas 

"^ Four in a Jeep (97) D. 1139 

VIv.ra l.liidfors. li.ilph .Meeker. M. Medvvln 

^4 ONew Mexico (74) D . . 649 

Ia-w .\\ri>. Marllvn MaTvvell. .\ndv DcYine 

?4 St. Benny, the Dip (SO) C 658 

niek H.iyme>. Nin.i Koch. Iloland Young 

^ Two Gall and o Guy (70) C . . 654 

Jahis IVilge. Robert Alda. J.Hmes Oleaiion 

a Obieised (77) D.1188 

n.ivi.l Farrnr. Oeraldlne FltJger.ald. R. Culver 

4 Gold Raiders (56) W . 1 1 72 

t;e..ri;e (rliri, Sheila Ryan. L. Talbot 

i- 

< 

gi] Cloudburst (83) D.1153 

Robert Preston. Elizabeth ScUars, C. Tapley 

T Buffalo Bill in Tomohowk 

Territory (64) W.1214 

rtavlnn Moore. Thundercloud. Y'owlachie 

511 ORiver, The (99) D . 1 140 

Arthur Shields. Nora Swinburne. Tommy Breen 

One Big Affair (80) D.1157 

Evelyn Keyes. Iiennis O'Keefe, M. Anderson 

3^ Green Glove, The (86) D.1156 

Glenn Ford. Geraldine Brootis. Gaby Andre 

Bnnar fnileano. 

(86). 

Anne Vernon. Lana Morris 

. i?: ORoyol Journey (50) Doe 1 164 

Queen Eilzatieth. Puke of Edinburgh 

OAfricon Queen, The (104) D.1155 

Hiimnhrev Bogart, K. nepburn, R. Morley 

Vi OMufiny (76) D.1 163 

Mirk Stevens. Angela Lansbury, P. Knowies 

1^ Strange World (80) D.1165 

Angelica Hauff. Alex.inder Carlos. C. Brovm 

91 Captive City, The (91) D.1166 

John Forsythe, Joan Camden, H. J. Kennedy 

2 Without Warning (75) D.1168 

Adam Williams, Meg Randall, Edward Binns 

51 Red Planet Mars (87) W.1169 

Peter Graves. Andrea King 

H Fighter, The (78) D.1167 

Richard C^ntc, Vanessa Brown, Lee J. Cobb 

UNIVERSAL-INT'L 

OApochc Drums (75) SW..123 

Sl.iili.ii MeN.iiiy, Coieen Or.ay. Willard Parker 

Hollywood Story (77) D . . 1 24 

Richard Conte. Hetiry Hull. Jidia Adams 

Froncit Goes to the Races (88). .C. .125 

IVvnald O'Connor. Pliwr Laurie 

OPrince Who Was a Thief (88). D. .126 

Touv I'urlis, Piper Iâurie. Cecil Keliawa.v 

Comin' Round the Mountain (77) C. .127 

Bud Abbott. Lou Costeilo. Dorothy Shay- 

Iron Man (82) D. .130 

.ietr Cliail.iler. Evelyn Kcyes. Steptien McNaliy 

OMark of the Renegade (81). SW. . 129 

liieariio MiiurUaili.-ui. Cyd Charisse. J. C. Naisll 

OCattle Drive (77) SW. .128 

.)oel McCrea. Pean Stockuell. Leon Ames 

©Little Egypt (82) CD. 131 

Ithonda Fleming. .Mark Stevene, Nancy Guild 

You Never Can Tell (78) D..132 

Pick Powell. I'eggy Dow, ChLirles Prake 

Thunder on the Hill (84) D . . 1 33 

Ci.audette Colbert. Ann Blylh, R. Douglas 

©Lady From Texas (78) D. .136 

llow.ird ituff. Mona Freeman. J. Hull 

Reunion in Reno (80) C. .135 

M.Hrk Stevens. Peggy Dow. G. Perreau 

©Golden Horde, The (76) D..134 

[(avid Farrar, .\nn Blyth, G. Macready 

Lady Pays Off, The (80) D. .202 

Linda Iiariieil. Stephen McNally, G. Perreau 

Raging Tide, The (94) D. .203 

Shellev Winters. Richard Conte, C. Bickford 

©Cave of Outlaws (76) SW. .201 

.\iexis Smith. Maedonald Carey. Victor Jory 

Strange Door, The (80) D. .204 

Charles Laiighton. Boris Karloff. S. Forrest 

Weekend With Father (83) C..206 

Van Heflin. Patricia Neal. Glgl Perreau 

Bright Victory (97) D. .208 

Arthur Kennedy. Peggy Dow. Nana Bryant 

©Flame of Aroby (77) D. .207 

Maureen O'Hara, Jeff Chandler, Lon CJhaney 

©Cimarron Kid, The (84) W. .213 

Auriie Murptiy. Beverly Tyler. Yvette Dugay 

Finders Keepers (75) C . . 21 

Tom Eweil. Julia Adams. Evelyn Varden 

©Bend of the River (91) SW. .212 

James Stewart. Arthur Kennedy. Julia Adams 

Meet Danny Wilson (88) C. .205 

Frank Sinatra. Shelley Winters. Alex Nicol 

Here Come the Nelsons (73) . . .C. .210 

il/.zie Nelson. Harriet Hilliard and family 

©Steel Town (84) D. .215 

.\iin Slieridan, .lohn Lund. Howard Puff 

©Treosure of Lost Conyon, The 

(81) D. .209 

Wiili.im Powell. Julia Adams. C. Drake 

Flesh and Fury (82) D. 214 

Tony Curtis, Jan Sterling, Mona Freeman 

Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair 

(78) C. .216 

Marjorie Main. Percy Kilbride. James Best 

©Battle at 

(85) 

Apache Pass, The 

SW..217 

John Lund. Jeff Chandler. Beverly Tyler 

Man in the White Suit (85) C. .282 

.\lex (julnness. Joan Greenwood 

Red Ball Express (84) D. .218 

Jeff (Tiandler. Alex Nicol. Susan Ball 

©Bronco Buster (81) D. .219 

John Lund. Scott Brady. Joyce Holden 

No Room for the Groom (..).. .C. .220 

Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, Spring Byington 

WARNER BROS. 

T— 

ill Along the Great Divide (88) . .SW. .025 

Kirk Douglas. Virginia .Mayo. Jolui .\gar 

Bl Inside the Walls of Folsom 

Prison (87) O. .026 

Steve Cuelirall. Pnvid Brian. Philip Carey 

9^ Stronger! on a Train (101). . . .0. .027 

Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker 

141 ©Fort Worth (80) SW . . 028 

ILaiidoipii Seuit. Pavid Briar. Phyllis Tliaxler 

p©On Moonlight Boy (95) M..029 

l>orls Pay. (iordon Maeltac. Jack Smith 

OOCaptoln 

(117) 

Horotio Hornblower 

D. .030 

Gregory Perk. Virginia Mayo, R. Realty 

m Jim Thorpe—All American (105) D. . 101 

Burt Lancaster. Charles Bickford, P. Thaxter 

gS Force of Arms (100) D. .102 

William Holden. Nancy Olson. Frank Lovejoy 

S Tomorrow Is Another Day (90).. D.. 103 

Ruth Roman. Steve Cochran, L. Tuttle 

[s] ©Painting the Clouds With 

Sunshine (87) M. .105 

Dennis Morgan. Virginia Mayo, S. Z. Sakall 

IS Come Fill the Cup (113) D..106 

James Cagiiey. James Gle.ason. R. Massey 

m Close to My Heart (90) D. .107 

Ray Mllland, Gene Tlerney. Fay Bainter 

10] Tanks Are Coming, The (90) . . . . D . 1 08 

Steve Cochran, Marl Aldon. Philip Carey 

E Starllft (103) D. .109 

Porls Day, Gordon MacRae. Ruth Roman 

gf ©Distant Drums (101) D..111 

Gary Cooper. Marl Aldon. Richard Webb 

^ ij\'\l See 

(110) 

You in My Dreams 

M..112 

Doris Day, Panny Tboma-s. Frank Lovejoy 

(jRoom for One More (95). . . .C. .113 

H 

Cary Grant. Betsy Prake. Iris Mann 

S This Woman Is Dangerous (97). D. .114 

Joan Crawford. Pennis Morgan. David Brian 

Hell! (95) D. .115 

Frank Lovejn.w Anita Louise. R. Oirlson 

1] ©Buqles in the Afternoon (85). D. .116 

Ray Milland. Helena Carter, Hugh Marlowe 

@ Streetcar Named Desire, A (122) D .104 

Vivien Leigh. Marion Brando, Kim Hunter 

a ©Big Trees, The (89) D. .117 

Kirk Pnue'as. Patrice Wymnrc. Eve Miller 

fill ©Jock and the Beanstalk (78) C. 118 

Bud Aliholl. Lnu Cnstello Buddv Baer 

|l©Lion and the Horse, The (83). D. .119 

Steve Cochran. Ray Teal. Sherry Jackson 

HI Mara Moru (98) D..120 

Errol Flynn. Ruth Roman. Raymond Burr 

SjI San Francisco Story, The (80), . .121 

Joel McCrea. Yvonne DeCarlo. S. Blackmer 

) ©About Face (94) M..122 

Gordon MacRea, Edijie Bracken. V. (Jlbson 

. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

ASTOR 

Border Fence (60) D. . 

Walt Wayne. Lee .Miirgau 

Men of the Sea (70) D . 

Roger Livesy, Margaret Lockwood 

REALART 

Basketball Fix, The (70) D. 

John Iri'iaiui. \'anessa Britwn 

Bride of the Gorillo (68). . . .D. 

Lull Ch.iney jr., Barbar.i Paylon 

Bushwhackers, The (70) 

John Ireland, Dorothy Maloiie 

W 

Two-Dollar Bettor (72) D. 

John Litci, Marie Windsor 

ASTOR 

REISSUES 

Dishonored Lady (85) D. 

Hedy Laraarr. Pennis O'Keefe 

Great John L., The (96). . D. 

Linda Parnell, Rory Caliioun 

Guest in the House (121). D. 

Anne B.-iNter, Ralph Bellamy 

Hillbilly Blitzkrelg (63) C. 

Bud PiHiean. Edgar Kennedy 

Lady of Burlesque (91)...D. 

Barbara Stanwyck, Michael O'Shea 

Lucky the Outcast (80). . .CD. 

Harry Pavenport, Jerry Hunter 

Mr. Aco (90) D. 

George Raft, Sylvia Sidney 

Private Snuffy Smith (67).. C. 

Bud L)uncan, Edgar Kennedy 

Stronge Woman, The (lOO).D, 

Hedy Laniarr, George Sanders 

COLUMBIA 

I: 

6- 11 

.S«pl.| 

Nov.} 

.Oet.| 

.Sept.! 

2-15i 

7.1J 

5-IS 

9- 1. 

4- 1 

8-15 

. 6-15 

.11-10' 

. 1- S 

Kongo, the Wild Stallion (. .).D. .Feb. 

Rochelle Hudson, Fred Stone 

RKO RADIO 

Cot People, The (73) 

D. .Feb. 

Kent Emith. Simone Simon 

Hunchback of Notre Dome 

(117) D..Feb. 

(Carles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara 

Snow White and the Seven 

Dwarfs (83) 

CO.. Feb. 

Cartoon feature 

Walked With a Zombie 

I 

(..) D..Apr. 

Tom Conway. Frances Dee 

Body Snotchers ( . . ) D . .Apr. 

Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosl 

REALART 

Daltons Ride Again (72). . . D. Sept.^ 

Alan (îrtis. Lon (Thaney 

Prison Break (72) D. .JunJ| 

Barton MacLane. Constance Moore 

Warden of the Big House 

(78) D. .Jum 

Victor McLaglen, Jackie Cooper 

REPUBLIC 

Lost Plonet Airmen (65). . D. 

Tristram Coffin, Mae (Harke 

CENTURY FOX 

7-25' 

20th 

©Block Swon, The (. .) D. Jum 

Tyrone Power. Maureen O'Hara 

©Jesse James (106) W. .Jum 

Tyrone Power. Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly 

©Kentucky (96) D. Juni 

Loretta Young. Richard Greene. Waiter Brei 

Laura (88) D. 

Dana Andrews. Gene Tlerney. (Tlifton Went 

©Leave Her to Heaven (110). D. .Jul 

Gene Tlerney. Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain 

©Mv Friend Fllcko (89) D.JuBi 

Roddy McDowall. Preston Foster. Rita Job, 

Rains Came, The (. .) D. .Mi 

Tyrone Power. Myrna Loy, George Brent 

©Return of Frank James (. .)W. .Jul 

Henry Fonda, Gene Ticmey. Henry Hull 

©Smoky (87) D.June 

Fred MacMurray. Anne Baxter. Bruce Cab^j 

This Above All (110) 

D. .Ma| 

Tyrone Power. Joan Fontaine 

©Thunderhflod—Son of 

Flicka (78) D. .Jum 

Roddy McDowall. Preston Foster. Rita Jol 

©To the Shores of Tripoli 

(86) D. .Juni 

John Paj-ne, Maureen O'Hara, Randolph ScoiJ 

WARNER BROS. 

Coptoln Blood (98) D. .12-11 

Errol Flynn, Olivia DeHavUland

1 1505 

I 

' 

. . . 4-10-52 

3-1752 

SlMrt lubltcti, llfttd by (ompony. In order of rtUose. Running time tollowi title. First dote li notional 

releoH, leeond the dote of review In BOXOFFICE. Symbol berween dotei li rating from BOXOFFICE 

review. ++ Very Good, -r Good. =: Folr. -Poor. = Very Poor 3 Indicoies color pnorogrophy. 

uJDilTi) CIJiJilT 

'rod. No. Rel. Dale Rating Rev'd 

ASSORTED COMEDIES 

411 PiMsurt Treasure (17).. 9-10-51 .... 

412 She Tooii a Powder (16).10-U-51 iz 11-24 

,J21 Trouble in Laws (16) . . 10-11-51 i: 12- 1 

,422 The Champ Steps Out 

(161/2) 11-15-51 + 12-8 

423'Fraidy Cat (16) 12-13-51 ±1-5 

413 A Fool and His Honey 

(16) 2-14-52 + 4-26 

414 Hacpy-Go-Wacky (16).. 2- 7-52 ±3-1 

424 Roolin' Tootin' Tenderfeet 

(16) 2-14-52 

Aim. Fire, 3-13-52 

,425 Scoot (16) . . 

415 Heebie Get-Gees (..). 4-10-52 

J16 Hooked and Rooked (.) 5-18-52 

CANDID MICROPHONE 

(One-Reel Specials) 

l551Sub|ect No. 1 (10).... 10- 4-51 ff U-17 

1552Subiect No. 2 (ID... 12- 6-51 ± 12-22 

1553 Subject No. 3 (10).... 2- 7-52 +3-1 

,1554 Subject No. 4 (9) 4- 3-52 

CAVALCADE OF BROADWAY 

;i651The Gay Nineties (10) . 

11-15-51 

1951-52 SEASON 

1651 Eddie Condon's (10) .. .11-15-51 =t 12- 8 

'^52 Bill Hardy's (91/2) 2-14-52 + 4-12 

653Casa Seville (..) 4-24-52 

COLOR FAVORITES 

(Teclinicolor Reissues) 

1I6OI The Hoise on the 

MerryGo-Rouiid (7).. 9-13-51 

.602 The Shoemaker and the 

Elm (8) 

,603 Lucky Pigs (7) 

10-18-51 12-15 

11-8-51 + 1215 

:i604 Holiday Land (7) 12-13-51 =t 1-26 

6055nowtime (7) 

606 Bluebirds' Baby (7) 

1-17-52+ 2-9 

2-14-52 +3-1 

607 Monkey Love (7) 3-13-52 rt 4-12 

,.608 Babes at Sea (7) 4-10-52 

609 Let's Go (7) 5- 8-52 

COMEDY FAVORITES 

(Reissues) 

11431 She's Oil Mine (I71/2.. 9-20-51 + 10-20 

1.432 Midnight Blunders 

(I71/2) 11-22-51 ± 

.433 0la( Laughs Last (17) . 

.12-27-51 + 

.434 High Blood Pleasure (19) 2-2S-S2 ± 

1435 So Yo Won't Squawk? 

i 

(16) 4-17-52 

JOLLY FROLICS 

(Technicolor) 

'ISOl Georgie and the Dragon 

(7) 9-27-51 H 

l502Woniler 

^503The 

Gloves 

Oompahs 

(7) 

(T/i) 

11-29-51 1-24-52 + 

1504 Rooty Toot Toot (8) 3-27-52 ff 

. . . 

MR. MAGOO 

' 

(Technicolor) 

11701 Fuddy Duddy Buddy (7). 10-18-51 + 

11702 The Grinly Golfer (7) . .12-20-51 H 

1703 Slonpy Jalopv (7) 2-21-52 ff 

;704 

1*851 

|I852 

1853 

H854 

1S55 

;I85« 

1857 

.858 

'uoi 

1402 

The Dog Snatcher (7) . . 5-29-52 

SCREEN SNAPSHOTS 

Hollywood at Play 

(I01/2) 9-13-51 + 

Hopalong in Hoppyland 

(91/2) 10-18-51 + 

Hollywood Goes Western 

(9) 11-15-51 ± 

Hollywood en a Sunday 

Afternoon (IOI/2) ...12-20-51 + 

Memories of Famous Hollywood 

Comedians (91/2) 1-24-52 + 

Meet Mr. Rhythm, Frankie 

Laine (10) 3-20-52 

Mr. Movies OVi) 4-17-52 

Hollywood Night Life (..) 5-15-52 

STOOGE COMEDIES 

Merry Mavericks (16) ... 9- 6-51 

The Toolh Will Out (16) 10- 4-51 + 

Hiila-LaLa (16) 11- 1-51 ± 

PesI Man Wins (16)... 12- 6-51 + 

11403 

1404 

,1405 A Missed Fortune (16).. 1- 3-52 i: 

U06 Listen. Judge (17) 3- 6-52 + 

1 

Corny Casanovas (..).. 5- 1-52 

VARIETY FAVORITES 

,1951 Noro Morales & Orch. 

(11) 9-20-51 

1952 Dick Slabile and Orch. 

(10) 10-25-51 

|l953 Raruly Brooks & Orch. 

(11) 12-27-51 

1954 Kehoe's Marimba Band 

(11) 2-28-52 

WORLD OF SPORTS 

MSOl The Willie Hoope Story 

(9) 

1802 Flying Skis (9) 

1603 Gymnastic Champions 

(IOI/2) 

1804 Bicycle Thrills (10). . 

Feminine Rhythm (10). 

:I806 Rasslin' Rogues (..). 

1-26 

2. 9 

3- 1 

10-20 

12- 8 

11-10 

4-12 

11-17 

1- 5 

3- 1 

10-20 

12-15 

1-26 

2- 9 

4-12 

11-24 

12-15 

12-22 

2- 9 

4-12 

+ 12-22 

2- 9 

3- 1 

9-22-51 + 10-20 

10-25-51 ± 12- 1 

11-29-51 4- 

12-27-51 + 

2-21-52 

3-20-52 

Jl807 Wanna Bet? (..).'.'..'.'.' 4-24-52 

12- 8 

2- 9 

SERIALS 

il80 Mysterious Island 9-13-51 + 10-13 

15 Chapters 

4120 Captain Video . . . ...12-27-51 +1-5 

IS Chanters 

4140 King of llie Congo 

+ 4-19 

15 Chapters 

Metro-Gol(dwYn-MaYer 

Prod. No. Title Rel. Date Rating Re«'d 

CARTOONS 

(Technicolor) 

A/-331 Slicktd-Up Pup (6) 9- 8-51 ff 10-13 

W-332 Car of Tomorrow (6).. 9-22-51 If 10-13 

W-333 Nilwilty Killy (7) ... 10- 8-51 + 10-13 

W-334 Inside Cackle Corners 

(9) 11-10-51 H 

W-335 11-17 

Oroopy's Double Trouble 

(7) 11-17-51 + 11-24 

W.338 Magical Maestro (7) . 2- 9-52 

W-343 One Cab's Family (8). 5-17-52 

FITZPATRICK TRAVELTALE3 

T-311 Glimpses of Argentina 

(8) 12- 1-51 +2-9 

T-312 Picturesque New Zealand 

(8) 1-26-52 2-25 

T-313 Beautiful Brazil (8)... 2-29-52 2-23 

T-314 Life in the Andes (8) 2-23-52 + 4-12 

T-315 Land of the T.ii Mahal 

(8) 3-22-52 

T-316Jascer National Park (9) 4-19-52 

GOLD MEDAL REPRINTS 

(Technicolor) 

W-361 Puttin' On the Dog 

(7) 10-20-51 + 1013 

W-362 Mouse Trouble (7) .. .12-18-51 ff 11-24 

W-363 The Mouse Comes to 

Dinner (8) 1-19-52 + 

W-364 Dumbhounded (9) 3- 8-52 

2-23 

PETE SMITH SPECIALTIES 

S-351 Football Thrills No. 14 

(10) 9- 1-51 ff 10-13 

5-352 Thai's What You Think 

(9) 10-13-51 ± 11-17 

S-353ln Case You're Curious 

(8) 11-17-51 + 11-24 

S-355 Fishing Feats (10) 1- 9-52 ±2-9 

S-356 Musiquiz (9) 2-16-52 + 4-19 

S-354 Reducing (8) 3-3-52+ 4-12 

S-357 Mealtime Magic (..).. 3-24-52 

TOM & JERRY CARTOONS 

(Technicolor) 

W-336 Cat-Napping (7) 12-8-51+ 2-9 

W-337 The Flying Cat (7) . . . 1- 2-52 + 2-23 

W-339Th8 Duck Doctor (7).. 2-16-52 

W-340 The Two Mouseketeers 

(7) 3-15-52 ff 4-12 

W-341 Smitten Kitten (8)... 4-12-52+ 4-26 

W- 342 Triplet Trouble (7)... 4-19-52 

Paramount 

Prod. No. Title Rel. Date Rating Rev'd 

CASPER CARTOONS 

Bll-l Casper Takes a Bow Wow 

(7) 12- 7-51 1-19 

Bll-2 Deep Boo Sea (7) 2-15-52 + 3-15 

Bll-4 Ghost of the Town (7) 4-11-52 

GRANTLAND RICE SPORTLIGHTS 

Rll-1 Allen's Animal Kingdom 

(10) 10- 5-51 + 10-20 

Rll-2 Ridin' the Rails (10).. 11- 2-51 ff 12- 1 

Rll-3 Fresh Water Champs 

(10) 11-16-51 

Rll-4 Water Jockey Hi-Jinks 

(10) 12- 7-51 

Rll-5 Ski-Lark in the Rockies 

(10) 12- 7-51 ± 12-22 

Rll-6 The Dog-Gonedest Dog 

(10) 1-18-52 ± 1-19 

Rll-7 Playmates of the Sea (9) 2-22-52 + 3-22 

Rll-S They All Like Boats 

(10) 3-21-52 

KARTUNE 

Xll-l Vegetable 

Vaudeville 

'J) 11- 9-51 + 11-24 

Xll 2 Snooze Reel (7) 12-28-51 

Xll-3 Off We Glow (7) 2-24-52 ± 3-15 

NOVELTOONS 

(Technicolor) 

Pll-1 CatChoo (7) 10-14-51+ 0-20 

Pll-2 Audrey the Rainmaker 

(8) 10-26-51 10-20 

Pll-3 Cat Tamale (7) 11- 9-51 + 11-24 

Pll-4 6v Leaps and Hounds 

(8) :2-14.51 

Pll-SScoul Fellow (8) 12-21-51 + 12-22 

Pll-6 Cat Carson Rides Again 

(7) 4- 4-52 

P-11-7 The Awful Tooth (7) . . 5- 2-52 

PACEMAKERS 

Kll-1 Way Out West in Florida 

(10) 10- S-51 10-20 

Kll-2 Mermaid Bay (9) 10- 5-51 ± 10-20 

Kll-3 A Ring for Roberta 

(9) 11- 2-51 + U-17 

Kll-4 I Cover the Everglades 

(10) 11- 9-51 + 11-24 

Kll-5The Littlest Expert on 

Football (10) 11- 2-51 ± 11-24 

Kll-6 Sadie Hawkins Day 

(10) U-30-51 

POPEYE CARTOONS 

(Technicolor) 

EU-l Let's Stalk Sumach 

(7) 10-19-51 ± 10-20 

£11-2 Punch and Judo (7) ...1116-51 ± 12- 1 

RKO Radio 

Prod. No. Title Rel. Date Rating Rev'd 

COMEDY SPECIALS 

23.401 Hollywood Honeymoon 

(16) 9-28-51 il-24 

23.402 Fast and Foolish (15) . 11-23-51 + 12-22 

23.403 Newlyweds' House Guest 

(17) 1-18-52 

23.404 Ghost Buster (18) 3- 7-52 

23.405 Newlyweds Take a Chance 

(..) 5- 2-52 

EDGAR KENNEDY 

(Reissues) 

23.501 Mad About Moonlight 

(19) 9- 7-51 

23.502 It Happened All Night 

(19) 9-28-51 

23.503 An Apple In His Lye 

1 14) 10-28-51 

23.504 Slightly at Sea (16) . .11-16-51 

DISNEY CARTOONS 

(TeclMiicolor) 

24.101 Get Rich Quick (6)... 8-31-51 ff 12- 1 

24.102 Cold Turkey (7) 9-21-51 

24.103 Fathers Are People (9) 10-12-51 ff 11-24 

24.104 Out of Scale (7) 11- 2-51 ff 12-15 

24.105 No Smoking (6) 11-23-51+ 1-5 

24.106 Bee on Guard (6) .. .12-14-51 ff 1-5 

24.107 Father's Lion (7) 1.4-52 

24.108 Donald ADplecore (7). . 1-18-52 

24,10^ Lambert, the Sheepish 

Lion (8) 12-24-51 

24.110 Hello Aloha (8) 2-24-52 +3-1 

24.111 Two Chips and a Miss 

(7) 3-21-52 + 3-15 

24.112 Man's Best Friend 

(7) 4- 4-52 ff 4-26 

24.113 Lei's Stick Together 

(7) 4-25-52 ff 4-26 

24.114 Two-Gun Goofy (..).. 5-16-52 

24.115 Susie, the Little Blue Coupe 

(7) 6- 6-52 

LEON ERROL COMEDIES 

23.701 Lord Epping Returns 

(19) 10-21-51 ff 11-24 

23,702100 Many Wives (16) .12-21-51 

MELODY TIME 

23.201 Tex Beiieke and the Glenn 

Miller Orch. (18) 10- 5-51 

23.202 Let's Make Rhythm 

(20) 11- 9-51 

PATHE SPORTSCOPES 

. 

24.501 Channel Swimmer (8)9-28-51 

24.302 Tcuchdown Town (8). 10.19-51 ± 12- 1 

24.303 Backyard Hockey (8) 11-10-51 + 12-15 

24.304 Feathered Bullets (8) 12-14-51 

24.305 Winter Holiday (8).. 1-11-51 

24.306 That Man Rickey (8).. 2- 8-52 

24.307 P?mpas Sky Targets 

(8) 3- 7-52 

24.308 Campfire Club (8) 4- 4-52 

24.309 Summer Is for Kids 

( ) 5- 2-52 

SCREENLINERS 

24 201 Recording Session (9) 9- 7-51 

24.202 Icebreaker (9i 10-5-51 .... 

24.203 America's Singing Boys 

(10) 11- 2-51 ± 12- 1 

24.204 Riders of the Andes 

(8) 11-30-51 ++ 1- 5 

24.205 Man With a Record 

(9) 12-14-51 

24.206 Laughs From the Past 

(9) 1-25-52 ++ 3- 1 

24 207 Smunolers Beware (9). 2-22-52 ++ 3-15 

24.208 At Home With Royalty 

(8) 3-21-52 +f 4-19 

. 

24.209 Swing Time in Mexico 

. ( ) 4-18-52 

SPECIAL 

23.101 Here Comes the Band 

(17) 9-14-51 +9-8 

10-12-51 .... 

I 

23.102 Last of the Wild West 

(17) 

23.103 Railroad Speciil Agent 

(15) U 9-51 + 11-17 

23,901 Football Headllneri of 1951 

(15) 12- 7-51 

23.104 Lady Marines (16). 12-7-51 

23.105 Songs of the Campus 

(15) 

2- 1-52 ff 

Ell-3 

23 106 Second Sight 

Popeve's Pappy 

(17) 

(7). . 1-25-52+ 2-29-52 

1-19 

23.801 B.iikelball 

Ell-4 

Headliners 

Lunch Wilh of 

a Punch (7) 3-14-52 

1952 ( ) 

4-11-52 

POPEYE CHAMPIONS 

23,107 Murder m "A" Flat 

(Reissues) 

(15) 

3-28 52 

Zll-1 Anvil Chorus Girl (7). 10- S-Sl * 9- 8 

TRUE LIFE 

Zll-2 

ADVENTURE 

Spinach Packin' Popeye 

23.302 The Olympic Elk 

(7) 10- 5-51 ± 9-15 

(27) 2-2252 ff 

Zll-3She Sick Sailors (6). 10- 5-Sl +9-8 

Zll-4 For Better or Nurse 

(7) 10- 5-51 + 9-15 20th Century Fox 

TOPPER 

Mill Barnyard Babiu (10). 11- 2-51 ± 11-17 

Mll-2 E)erything's Ducky 

(10) 12-28-51 + 1-19 

Mll-3 The Littlest Expert on My 

Favorite Presidents (10) 2- 8-52 ± 3-15 

Mll-4 The Littlest Exnert on the 

Greatest Inventions (10) 4- 5-52 .... 

Mll-5 The Littlest Evpert on 

Cowboys (10) 6- 6-52 

1-19 

PfOJ. No. Title Rel D.it» Riling Revil 

MARCH OF TIME 

Vol. 17. No. 6 Formosa— Islind 

ol Promiit (17) Ae|.-51 

f 9- 1 

SPORTS 

3104 Foolbill Winnini Ways 

' ' Mffuy 

6-16.52 

10-27-51 

. . 

. 

' 

j 

SHO RTS 

CHART 

CARTUNES 

WOODY WOOOPECKER CAHTUNES 

( 

6355 Railrtond S-ip 

laclniiculor 

(7) 10 1-51 ± 9-15 

63SA Woody WooilpKkar Polha 

(7) 10-29-51 

I 

9-15 

1951 52 SEASON 

7351 llrilliinllon Mrallinll 

(7) 12-24-51 

I 

11-10 

7352 Born lo Pack (7) 2-25-52 

7353 St.ioa Ho.i» (7) 4-21-52 + 4-19 

Warner Bros. 

r-ml No Tllla Rrl Dale fl.-itino Rav'd 

Itl.lir. nillHON HIT PARADE 

( Ircliiilcolor Rchsnas) 

Sliiiiiil C il (7) . 9-1-51 

7jn Ilia 

l')51-52 SEASON 

MtOI llolHlny lor SIlotilrinQS 

(7) 9-15-51 

3302litily hi Rtd (7) 10-13-51 

810) Snilllfi mill Bookworm 

(7) 1110-51 

8304 liiilillloctt Jlylii' Baari 

(7) 12- 1-51 

8305 01 liiM I Sinn (7) 1-12-52 

H30(, I lom ll.iMil lo Moiiie (7) 2- 9-52 

830/ Bi.iva Lillla B.it (7)... 3-15-52 

K30R Snow Tima (or Comedy 

(7) 4-12-52 

. . 

8309 Huih My Moiiie (7)., 5- 3-52 .... 

8310 B.itiy Bcilllfilfck (7) 5-14-52 

BUGS BUNNY SPECIALS 

(Technicolor) 

7726 Hii Hnra Raisiiio Tale 

(7) 8-11-51 ( 9- 

1951 52 SEASON 

8 

«723 B.illot Box Bunny (7). 10- 6-51 ^^ 11-24 

>-;7.>lRli] Ton Bunny (7) 12- 1-51 II 1-19 

iinct.ilion Rabliil (7),.. 1-19-52 If 4-19 

I 

.»y by Pro>y (7) 2-23-52 || 4-26 

s.. 14 Citiol RAbbils (7).. 3-15-52 

8.'28 W.iler. W.iler Every Hare 

Opinions on Current Productions; Exploitips 

fpfiTuiip 

M'mm 

(FOR STORY SYNOPStS ON EACH PICTURE, SEE REVERSE SIDE) 

Carson City F (w.ltclr) 

Wornar Bros. (123) 89 Minutes Rel. lune 14, '52 

Resplendent in the new WarnerColor, which in its second 

appearance is again effectively employed, here is an 

aclioner which on all counts earns evaluation as a superwestern. 

Although the plot concerns itself with railroad building 

against terrific odds—a subject much used in recent outsize 

gallopers—the yarn is carefully and logically developed 

and projects enough new twists to offset the stigma of 

stereotyping. Producer David Weisbart pinched no pennies 

in endowing the offering with impressive mountings, while 

Director Andre De Toth took full advantage of the solid script 

and a competent cast. Randolph Scott, characteristically 

rugged, gives the sagebrush devotees a brimming measure 

of fisticuffs, riding, shooting—and even a touch of romance. 

In the supporting cast, Raymond Massey, who doles out the 

villainy—and in wholesale lots—is the standout. Cast and 

color are, of course, best angles tor exploitation. 

Randolph Scott. Lucille Norman, Rayniond Massey, Richard 

Webb, James Millican, Larry Keating, George Cleveland. 

Kred 

I 

is this stirring saga of the heroic contribution made by ai. 

unsung branch of the U.S. army to winning the second global 

conflict. The picture has suspense, action, spectacle, com- 

^''y °"

. . He's 

. . Carrying 

. . When 

. . The 

. , 

FEATURE REVIEWS Story Synopsis; Adlines for Newspaper and Programs 

THE STORY: "The Red Ball Express" (U-I) 

During the allied push toward Paris in World War II, General 

Pattens tanks outrun their supply lines. Jelf Chandler, 

a lieutenant, is assigned to ihrow together a "Red Ball" unit 

of supply trucks and get them through to the stalled tanks at 

the Iront Chandler's associates include Alex Nicol, a 

sergeant, who hates him because he mistakenly believes 

Chandler was responsible for the death of Nicol's brother in 

a trucking accident before the war, and Charles Drake, a 

serious-minded young private. Chandler and Nicol remain at 

odds until the lieutenant saves the sergeant's life by pulling 

him from a burning truck after it overturns in a blazing 

French village. The feud ends, the mission is completed and 

the three men turn their trucks back toward home base. 

CATCHLINES: 

From Beachhead to Battlefront . . . They Drove the Most 

Dangerous Road in the World . . . Through Miles of Bombs, 

Bullets and Bedlam . 

the Ammo That Broke the 

Nazis' Back 

ni. 

the 

THE STORY: 'CarBon City" (WB) 

Randolph Scott, a railroad engineer, is hired to build a line 

from Carson City to 'Virginia City—a project conceived by a 

bank to protect its investments in the mines, since stagecoaches 

bearing gold and silver are being systematically 

looted. Some citizens of Carson City, respectable and otherwise, 

oppose the railroad; a leader of the crooked element is 

Raymond Massey, supposedly a respected mine owner who 

in reality is the secret leader of the outlaw gang robbing 

the stages. The rail workers are wrongfully blamed for 

terrorizing. Carson City, but despite this and other handicaps 

Scott completes the line to Virginia City. Massey plans 

to rob the train of one last haul, but Scott learns of the scheme 

and, as Massey tries for a get-away, Scott pursues and 

kills him. 

CATCHLINES: 

Carson City . . . Sprawling, Brawling Gateway to Gold . . . 

End of the Line for the Doomed and the Daring . . . Last Outpost 

of the Lawless . the Frontier Flamed With Action. 

THE STORY: 

"Loan Shark" (Lippert) 

Released from prison after a three-year stretch for assault, 

George Raft moves in with his sister, Helen Westcott, and 

her husband, William Phipps, who works for a tire company. 

Through Dorothy Hart, secretary to the plant manager. Raft 

is offered a job to get the lowdown on loan sharks who are 

preying on the firm's employes, charging usurious interest 

rates and terrorizing borrowers who miss payments. Raft 

refuses until Phipps, accusing Russell Johnson, plant foreman, 

of steering suckers to the crooks, is slain by Johnson. Then 

Raft accepts the sleuthing job and joins the gang, leading 

Dorothy to believe he has returned to the rackets. He learns 

Johnson killed Phipps, and forces another mobster to take him 

to the head of the syndicate. In a gun battle the ringleaders 

are killed and the racket wiped out. 

CATCHLINES: 

The Inside Story of Today's Most Despised Racket . . . 

Ablaze With Two-Fisted Action As Only George Raft Can 

Dish It Out . Up Against a Carload of Thrills. 

THE STORY: "Wall ol Death" (Realart) 

Two friends, Laurence Harvey, a boxer, and Maxwell Reed, 

a motorcycle racer, are the main attractions of an English 

traveling fair. Maxwell has his heart set on raising money 

enough to enter cm important competition on a motorcycle 

dirt track. Laurence, blindly loyal to his reckless, unscrupulous 

pal, takes money from his employer, Robert Adair, 

intending to pay it back after Maxwell wins the race. Robert, 

who dislikes the racer, finds out about it and makes Laurence 

put it back. Maxwell gets involved in a fight and faces 

a possible murder charge. Although Laurence's boss and 

Susan Shaw, his fiancee, both try to dissuade him from 

helping Maxwell, he peisists and even helps him steal 

a car. Detectives get on Maxwell's trail, but arrive at the 

raceway too lale to stop the race. Maxwell is killed in a 

track accident and Laurence is later cleared. 

CATCHLINES: 

Behind the Scenes of an English Fair . . . Exciting Spectacle 

of Motorcycle Daredevils Climbing the Wall of Death. 

-I 

THE STORY: 

"Walk East on Beacon" (Col) 

Korel Stepanek, master Soviet spy, is sent to the U.S. to 

replace another agent who has been unsuccessfully trying 

to learn about a secret American scientific project. Stepanek 

uses a mild-mannered florist and a photographer's assistant 

(Virginia Gilmore) to blackmail Finlay Currie, refugee scientist 

who is working on a project in a Boston laboratory. 

Currie reports the blackmail scheme to the FBI and George 

Murphy takes over the case. Currie is protected by FBI 

agents but, despite this, he is captured after he passes on 

false data to Stepanek. Meanwhile, in Washington, Louisa 

Horton, another spy, who has been working with her husband, 

who is employed by the government, is captured by 

the FBI with confidential data. The Soviets put Currie aboard 

a yy'i.-.arine bound for Russia, but the FBI rescues him. 

CATCri4.-r ^S: 

A Story bilaight Out of Today's Newspaper Headlines . 

Louis de Rochemont, Who Brought You "The House on 92nd 

Street," "13 Rue Madeleine" and "Lost Boundaries," Now 

Brings You a Thrilling Tale of the FBI Versus Soviet Spies. 

THE STORY: 

"Border Saddlemates" (Rep) 

Rex Allen government veterinarian, is dispatched to a 

Montana town near the Canadian border, the heart of the 

silver fox farming industry. He meets Mary Ellen Kay, her 

young brother Jimmie Moss and their uncle, Forrest Taylor, 

owner of a thriving fox farm. Unknown to anyone, Taylor 

is associated with Roy Barcroft—who has a trading post just 

over the border—in a counterfeit money ring, the spurious 

money being smuggled irito the U.S. in crates containing 

silver foxes. An unidentified sickness contracted by one of 

the foxes forces Rex to slap a quarantine on Taylor's farm. 

The fox, Jimmie's pet, is stolen by Borcroft's gang and Jimmie, 

out looking for it, is captured by the counterfeiters. Rex 

captures Barcroft after Taylor has been slain by the crooks, 

and the smuggling ring is broken up. 

CATCHLINES: 

There's Action Blazing Along the Border ... As Rex Allen 

Uses Six-Guns and Flying Fists ... To Break Up a Ruthless 

Ring of Counterfeiters . . . It's Exciting Western Adventure. 

THE STORY: 

"Wild Horse Ambush" (Rep) 

Mexican law enforcement agencies discover large amounts 

of counterfeit money are being circulated and, suspecting the 

source is somewhere on the American side of the border, 

Richard Avonde, Mexican police chief, poses as a bandit and 

contacts Sheriff James Bell. The latter's grandchildren. Red 

Chapin and Judy Janssen, try to convince them that suspicious 

things are happening oh the ranch owned by Roy 

Barcroft, who in reality heads the counterfeiting gang. Red 

discovers Barcroft is secreting the queer money in on 

ingenious fashion under the manes of wild horses, which 

are then driven over the border. He and Judy are captured 

by the crooks but rescued in time's nick, and Bell and Avonde 

clean up the counterfeiting gang, aided by the evidence 

that the two children have secured. 

CATCHLINES: 

Another Exciting Adventure of the Sagebrush . . . With 

Your Two Favorite Buckaroo Sheriffs . . . They're Rootin', 

Tootin' Rangers of the Golden Sage. 

-t- 

• -I- 

. -ff 

THE STORY: "Brief Rapture" (Jewel) 

Ermanno Randi goes to Rome in search of his sister, from 

whom he has not heard in a long time. At her last known 

address, he rummages through her effects and finds the 

address of Lois Maxwell, who tells him his sister is traveling 

in Europe with an old lady and that he should return home. 

However, Randi is attracted to Lois, even when he learns 

she is mixed up with unsavory underworld characters. The 

mob tries to get Lois to get rid of Randi, fearing he may 

learn the truth about his sister—that she became a drug 

addict and killed herself. Instead of luring Randi to the 

waterfront, where the mob plans to kill him, she informs the 

police. The mobsters are captured and Randi is able to 

go away with Lois. 

CATCHLINES: 

Tortured Souls Driven to Desperation for the "Brief Rapture" 

of Drugs ... A Film That Dares to Tell the Truth About the 

Traffic in Dope . Sensational Story of a Girl Who 

Was Caught in the Mesh of the Underworld.

I 

l/ES- 15c per word, minimuni $1.50, cash with copy. Four inaertions lor price oi Ituee. 

'I SING DATE: Monday noon preceding publication date. Send copy and anawers to 

Box Numbers to BOXOFFICE, 825 Van Brunt Blvd., Kansas City 1. Mo. • 

HELP WANTED 

.jinin- Popcorn machines and P-W scales: 

uli'part time, Kllnkel Popcorn Maclilne Co., 

11(1, Mich. 

"inled: llocno manager or experienced iu^slstant 

hJmows Ihealre operation, tor southeastern Vlr- 

.iiJterrltoo. Airmail special delivery quallficajo! 

references and salary expected. Boxofflce, 

I6t 

Industrious man to manage small tovui 

vnted- 

It,',. Mlthln 15 miles of Atlanta. Must be 

nilh all phases of operation. Small salary 

,il biinus for Improved business. Apply 

projectionist, $45 to $50 per week. 

iwieneeiJ 

Iiv'llni other djollrae work. Noll Theatre. 

BtTij. Mo 

1 

»^ 

POSITIONS WANTED 

ijKlionist. over 20 years experience, 

one Pavid Forbes, Crocker, Mo. 

Write 

(lation service engineer, maintenance serv- 

:,atrr equlliraent; twenty years experience; 

lined Ion large theatre chain. Boxofflce, 

utile manager, booker: neat, reliable; now 

»'.yed, desires change. Prefer North Carolina. 

Ay ibie June 15. Boxofflce. 4686. 

iiilable, experienced theatre manager, buyer, 

bor advertiser; references and recommendations, 

w' AE.B., Boxofflce, 516 Jeannette, Wilkinsbi^' 

Pa. 

lijectionist, sound and machine repair, mainleiee 

25 years experience, all phases except 

Mng. Wife manageress, cashier. Anywhere. 

fr|:lionlst. 5038 Vernon. St. Louis, Mo. 

ijectionist. 23 years experience, available now; 

ment; anywhere: $1.80 hour. Boxofflce, 4695. 

P 

EQUIPMENT WANTED 

kodel Holmes educator 35mm projector. 

Iliealre, Maynard, Minn. 

td to buy: Good clean used theatre seats, 

ity. State price. Jack Holt, Box 153, 

m. 111. 

STUDIO AND PRODUCTION 

EQUIPMENT 

e a producer, make T\' commercials and 

Auricon 16ram sound camera. $405: 

.. $60.50; Arlreeves 35mm recorder, 

.inimation stands. $1,495 up; Belhowell 

rinter, $1,495; sound re.iders. $139.50. 

i;: for studio, laboratory or cutting room, 

ken. Ask for Catalog Supplement. Dept. 

- Cinema Supply Corp.. 602 W. 52nd St., 

. :k 10 Cable Sosound, 

iiRIVE-IN THEATRE EQUIPMENT 

'ocorn machines, halt price. Wiener. Hamb, 

8no-Cot:e. Peanut Roasters. Bun Warmers. 

f-f- Supply. 146 Walton St.. Atlanta. Ga. 

-in theatre tickets. Send for samples of 

ul pr.n'ed stub rod tickets for drive-ins. 

Co.. Dept. 10. 109 W. 18th St., "Film 

Kansas City 8. Mo, 

ae is short! Order now to get opened this 

wr, I'ndeiground cable, $70 M. Complete dual 

ff|*'lnn, sound from $1,595: in-car speakers. 

[air w/junction box. Available on Easy 

Plan. Send for equipment list. Dept. C, 

I Inema Supply Corp., 602 W. 52nd St., 

.'I' V'lrk 19, 

'm Thumb, medium size train for sale. Piir- 

•rand new: operated only 100 hours: perfect 

1. cannot tell from new. Made by Clark 

less than a year ago. Has 1.200 feet 

, will accommodate 36 children or 18 

I'rlce on train and track delivered. $4,050, 

Sykes. Jr.. 300 W, TTiird St,, niarlotte. 

I 

J GENERAL EQUIPMENT—NEW 

ive 50% to 75%! Buy tempered Masonlte 

mee letters, available all colors: 4"—3oc; 

8]50e; 10"— 60c; 12"— 85c; 14"— $1.25: 

l^-$1.50. Fits Wagner, Adler, Bevelite Signs. 

V C, S.O.S. Cinema Supply Corp.. 602 W. 

Sj St.. New York 19. Cable Sosound. 

if-R-E-T-C-H your $$$ at SOS. Rectifier 

or;, $4.95; coated lenses, $100 pair: changeov 

w/lootswitches. $44.50 pair: flameproofed, 

niisproofed screens, 39M;C sq. ft.: beaded, 49%c. 

C, S,0,S. Cinema Supply Corp., 802 W. 

P,, 

»' St.. New York 19. 

UOFFICE May 3, 1952 

GENERAL EQUIPMENT—USED 

Take your time paying; fur nitnl>rn projection 

and .suu[ul eiiuipment, using your old equipment 

against down payment. Wrile for dctaiLi. Dept. 

C, S.O.S Cinema Supply Corp., 002 W. 62nd 8i., 

New York 19. Cable Sosound. 

Five Powers projectors, two Gardner lamps, two 

Forrest rectifiers, Weber soundheads, amplifier, 

Jensen speaker, screen, $600. Ilitz Tlleatre, 

Pawnee, Okla. 

Good condition. 650 upholstered seats. Simplex 

machines, generator, Strong lamphouses, carpots, 

frames, ticket machine, (iallon Theatre, 

Gallon, Ohio. 

Low prices and top quality at Star! First quality 

reeiiliiT bulbs, $4.75; pair 

KW himpliouses and reotifiers, 

Simplex High 

rehulll, $5liri; 

1 

KCA 

Ml-!i25S amplifier, slightly useil. $175; ;iO ampere 

reeliflers. with tubes, $105 pair; IICA P(:.201 

li;mm projector, excellent. $100,50. What do you 

need! Star Cinema Supply, 441 W. 501h St., 

New York 10. 

Clean sweep sale. Simplex Scml Pros with sound, 

Simp:ex mechanisms and 16" magazines. Peerless 

LI lamps and spots. Boxofflce. 41396. 

Pair eonipletely rebuilt Brenkerl Bnarc lamps 

with .'ill, 100 Kobin Imperial generator at a real 

bargain, Boxofflce. 4607. 

Pair of Simplex machines complete with late 

RCA equipment in first class running condition at 

a real gitiid price. Boxoffiee. 4608^ 

One pair Peerless hy-condesccnt lamphouses. 

$550. One pair Ashcraft cyclex lamps and current 

eiianger. $400. Associated Amusements Co., 351 

S. State St.. Salt Lake City. Utah. 

For sale: One model 01 Brandt boxoffiee changer, 

$115. in A-1 condition. Write to C. A. Doyle. 

31S Gibson St.. Eau Claire, Wis. 

SIGNS 

Easy Way to Paint Sions. Use letter patterns. 

Avoid sloppy work and wasted time. No experience 

needed for expert work. Write for free samples. 

John Rahn, B-1329, Central Ave.. Chicago 

51. 111. 

BUSINESS STIMULATORS 

Bingo with more action. $3.50 thousand cards. 

Also other games. Novelty Games Co.. 1434 

Bedford Ave., Broolllyn 16. N. Y. 

Comic books available as premiums, giveaways 

at your kiddy shows. Large variety, latest newsstand 

editions. Comics Premium Cli., 412B, Greenwich 

St., N. Y. C. Publications for premiums 

(exclusively) since 1939. 

Bingo die-cut cards. 75 or 100 numbers, $3.50 

per M. Premium Products, 330 W. 44th St., New 

York 18, N. Y. 

Build attendance with real Hawaiian orchids. 

Few cents each. Write Flowers of Hawaii, «70 

S Lafayette Park Place. Los Angeles 5. Calif. See 

page 60 of MODERN THI'i\TRB section. 

THEATRE TICKETS 

Prompt service. Special printed roll tickets. 

100.000, $26.70: 10,000, $7.80: 2.000, $4.95. 

Each change in admission price, including change 

in color, $3 extra. Double numbering extra. 

F.O-B. Kansas City, Mo. Cash with order. Kansas 

City Ticket Co., 109 W. 18th St., Kansas 

City. Mo. 

Drive-in theatre tickets. Send for samples of 

our special printed stub rod tickets for drive-ins. 

Sale, distinctive, easy to check. Kansas City 

Ticket Co., Dept. 10, 109 W. ISth St., "Film 

Rou." Kans.as City 8, Mo, 

POPCORN MACHINES 

PoDper kettles for all makes of machines. 

Cretors. Star, Manley poppers. Candy corn equipment. 

120 S. Halsted. Chicago 6. Ill, 

CONSULTING SERVICE 

Brand new drive-in theatre service, first time 

avail:ible! We check your operation, on the spot, 

advise you how it compares to the most successful, 

and help you make inexpensive corrections. Have 

answers to most concession, maintenance, booking, 

xploitation, etc., questions you will ask. Why 

wonder, when you can find out? Service available 

to all drive-ins, anytime, anywhere in United 

States. Drlve-ln Consultants. Boxofflce. 4658. 

THEATRICAL PRINTING 

Window cards, programs, heralds. Photo-Offset 

Printing, Cato Show Prtatlng Co. Cato, N. Y. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Signature cuts. Identify your theatre with distinct 

ive Sig Cuts by Art-Sig'. Write for sainple 

proofs, .\rt-8igs. 710 Wessex Place. Orlando. Ha. 

THEATRES FOR SALE 

Theatre For Sale: Bclecieil Itotlngt In Oregon 

and Washington now available. Write for Hat. 

Theatre Bxchangc Co., Fine Am Bidg.. Portland, 

Ore. 

Build double parking Drive-In theatres under 

franchise Patent 2,102.718. reiuue 22.7ISe. Up lo 

30% more seating capacity with little additional 

cost. Louis Josserand. 3710 .Ml Vernon, llouiton. 

Tex. 

Pacific Northwest theatres fur sale. Write Irv 

Bovvron, sales manager. Theatre Balei (DIv.), 

Fred B. Ludwlg, Brk., S711 E. Burnilde. Portland 

15. Ore 

When in Dallas see "Joe" Joseph. Texas' Theatre 

Brokers, 204 Gable BIdg., Dallas, Tex Phones 

LAkeside 0437 or LOgan 5707. 

One delightful New Mexico's leading cities. 

.Modern drlve-ln, latest Simplex booth. Well 

located. 800-seat modern suburban gro.sslng more 

than price annually, tickets alone. Show us money, 

business record, we'll show complete evidence high 

value. $70,000 down for both. Principals only. 

Boxofflce, 4675. 

Illustrated folder available, nicest small town 

San Arilniiin are;i. Fine modern building, equipment. 

Owner proves short p;iyout at $25,000. half 

down. Unusual. Similar near Austin. $15,000 

down. Near Houston, including refrigeration. 

$15,000 down. Near Fort Worth Including good 

building. $13,000 diiwn. Near Fayettcvillc, Ark., 

including huilding. $10,000 down. Near Muskogee. 

Okla.. $12,500 down (town 9.000). Exclusive 

Arthur Leak. Specialist, 3305 Carutb, Dallas, Tex. 

Corpus Chrisli area. Only theatre, growing 

county scat 4.600. Modern building, 3 subrentals. 

Badly neglected management, absentee 

owner shows high profit now. Big potential. Priced 

less one year's gross. $38,500; $18,500 down. 

From moneymaking standpoint, one best In years. 

Similar near Houston. Exclusive, Arthur Leak. 

3305 Cartith. Dallas. Tex. 

Southern Kansas, 500-seat only theatre, steady 

Ions established town. Finest equipment, $25,000 

down Arthur Uak, 3305 Caruth. Dallas, Tex. 

For sale: 300-seat Idaho Theatre, Sumner. III. 

By owner. 

West Texas, near Hohl)s: Only theatre growing 

oil center, large drawing population. Includes 

nearly ne i equipment, tile building. Owner represents 

high gross, profit. Complete records available. 

$0.00n down. Exclusive. Arthur Leak, Theatre 

Specialist. 3305 Caruth. Dallas, Tex. 

Two theatres in two Kansas towns. Newly remodeled 

five-room modern home included. Showing 

good profit, $12.500 takes .all. Boxoffiee. 4681. 

CLfflRinG HOUSt 

THEATRES FOR SALE (Confd) 

Seattle. Waihinglon. lUtlnc 469. 800 lula, netl 

riiulppeil tlicjlie In good ihoH-goIn* nei|!hl>orlii«d 

0.wiri ^.lyi tl.OOO Keek grnu. II.IKIO m'.nlli 

net I'Viulpment and good leaae. $12. »0') full 

price Hitter ptiiine or wire us on llil» one 

llieatre Kxelmnge, Fine Arts Uldg , 

Portland 5. 

(Ire. I'lujMi' llruadway 0531 or Biergreen i-lflOii 

For lale: Dniy the«tre to»n 2,400. (ioui louUiern 

climate, nice town. Owner dUlntermted. Priced 

to sell ipilck. $:i.000 handin, balance temu. No 

shopper> lluxoKlce. 4703. 

For sale: Ttu'alres. drlvelni Iônard J. 

Schrader, 50914 K. Green, Ctumpaign. Ill Plwne 

0094. 

Theatre. .Nt 

THEATRES WANTED 

sal. No broktf., u.-,; lu-- ,^, 

population or over. ConfideDtlal. 

J. Burkltl. Sparta. WIr 

luipcrleiie«(L L. 

Need theatre listings! Want good pairing theatres 

worth the money only. Have clients for large 

drlve-ln theatres. "Joe" Joseph, 3405 Milton, 

Dallas, Tex. 

Northern exhibitors seeking New Mexico, weal 

Texas easily operated theatre, good winter cllnale. 

Able pay sensible price, regardleaa slit. Boxoffiee. 

4678. 

Drive-In only. M.ijor de luxe No "mlstakea." 

obsolete plants, bad locations. Know busloeat. 

Ample capital for Imporlanl situation. SouUmat 

only, Boxofflce, 4677. 

J35.0Q0 cash down, southwest drife-ln. Must be 

modern, well located. Boxofflce, 4678. 

Nlotion picture theatrei open or closed, to purchase 

or lease. Brokers protected. Steinberg 

Management Corp., 250 W. 57th St., New York. 

THEATRE SEATING 

"Four sale or trade." Four-year-old theatre, Parts for all chairs. Send sample for quoutloo. 

four hundred seats, four rentals, tour per eei:t Fensin Sealing Co., Chicago 5 

interest. Fourteen hundred population. Philomath, 

Ore. $25,000 down, $80,000 full price. Buildins 

and all. Bo.xofflce, 4680. 

I'ensin Seating Co.. Chicago 

Chair supplies. Everything for theatre chain. 

5. 

500-seat theatre. Equipment and machines only 

4 years old. No other theatre wtthin 8 miles. 

Good lease on 4-year-old concrete building. Lirge 

apartment over theatre, Boxofflce. 4690. 

For rent, lease or manager. Theatre. 700-seat. 

Virginia city nier 10,000. Boxofflce. 4691, 

Two theatres controlled county seat, hosiery 

mills. S. W. Virginia; 400 and 375 seats grossing 

annually around $60,000. Purchase one building, 

equipment; lease or buy other house, $17,500 

down, balance easy terms. Write Towne Theatre, 

Hillsvillc. 

Va. 

Texas Panhandle county seat's only theatre. I 

can show $20,000 yearly profit, locally owned, 

$45,000. $24,000 down. Dry. sunny climate. 

Noted show going country. Exclusive. Arthur Leak, 

3305 Caruth, Dallas, Tex. 

Small town theatre, central Ohio, family operalion, 

Itoxofliee. 4692. 

Sale: Foothills of Ozarks in Arkansas. Good 

small town pro^perlûs commiMllly. Now using four 

changes weekly. 2511 seats, everything but the 

Imlidlng. Ixiw rent. First $4,500 takes It. Hurry! 

Boxofflce, 4699. 

Central Ohio town. 

lease, long established, 

down. Boxofflce, 4700. 

5,000 people, reaiionable 

fine opportunity. $5,000 

First time offered, only theatre county seal 

3,700 700 scats, excellent equipment. Moneymaker. 

Terms. Boxofflce. 4701. 

Eagle Theatre, Montgomery. Pa. 500 scats, only 

theatre, remodeled, everything. Going to Australia. 

Theatre county seat central Missouri. Large 

drawing area. No coropelltlon. Near new eipilpmenl, 

cushioiu'd scats, excellent concessions, air conditioned. 

Long lease. Money maker. 3-ycar iiayout, 

Boxofflce. 4702. 

Oregon listing, 475 Some lucky person will get 

a bargain in the Snake River Valley of eastern 

Oregon 1948 cinder block tlieaire with large 

parking lot reduced to $23,000 Write, phone or 

wire Theatre Exchange, Fine Arts Bldg , 

Portland. 

Ore. Phone Broadway 0531 or Evergreen 

1-1606. 

Used chairs, guaranteed good. Advise quantity 

wanted. Photographs mailed with quoiation. Kenstn 

Seating Co.. Chicago 5. 

Seat covers: Sewed combinations, all makes, all 

styles. Send your sample for quotation. Fensin 

Seating Co., Chicago 5. 

Patch-0-Seat cement. Patching cloth, solvent, 

etc. Fensin Seating Co., Chicago 5. 

Upholstery Fabrics: All kinds. All colors. Send 

your sample for matching. Fensin Seating Co.. 

Chicago 5. 

Tighten loose chairs with Permaslone anchor 

cement. Fensin Sealing Co., Chicago 5. 

Chair-ity begins at S.O.S. All types theatre 

chairs from $2.95. Send for Chair Bulletin Dept. 

C. S.O.S Cinema Supply Corp . 602 W. 52nd St., 

New York 19. Cable Sosound. 

Many years in the seating business Is your 

guaraniee. (iood used chairs are not too plentiful 

but we have the pick. Full upholstered, panel 

back and many other styles. We furnish proper 

slope or level standards to fit your floor. All 

size 18 to 21-Inch chairs. Our prices are lowest. 

Write for exact photo and price. We furnish parts 

(or all makes. Send sample. Good quality plastic 

coated le:itlierette 25x26-lnch. all colors, 55c ea. 

Chicago Used Chair .Mart. 829 South State St.. 

Cliicago 5. Ill, 

No more torn seats: Quickly repair cuts and ript 

on leatherette seals with original PatcliA-Seat. 

Specify color when ordering. Comiilele kit Inc. 

1 nt. Icalher coating, $6. General Chair Co. 

Chicago 22, 

Chair Parts: We furnish most any part ywi require 

Send sample for price. brackeU. lurka 

and seats. General Chair Co,. 1308 Klslon Ave.. 

Oiicago 22. 111. 

Several thousand used opera chairs now 

_ 

In 

slock Can furnlsli any amounl you rwiuest. Full 

upholstered back. Insert panelback, iHHSiinnf and 

spring edge seat. Write for photo and slate 

amount and Incline. We also manufacture new 

chairs. General Chair Co., 1308-22 Elslon Ave.. 

Cliicago 22, 111 

No more loose chairs: Get "Fltmastorve" Anchor 

cement $5 per box. General Chair Co , 

Chicago 

22. III. . 

2,500 theatre chairs. 

734, Dallas. Tei. 

Many late nodel. Bei 

For sale: 331 jeaU. like new: upholstered seal. 

veneer hack. $8 each. Free with deal. I full roll 

material to match and 130 all veneer seata. 

Inilte Inspection Contact H. E. Miller. Miller 

Theatre Bldg . Kestus, Mo.

Your projectors . . . your sound systems . . . your 

in-a-car speakers. 

These three, more than any other drive-in equipment, 

are what makes a crowd ... A happy, 

satisfied crowd ... A crowd that will return fo 

your theatre time after time to enjoy fine motion 

picture 

entertainment. 

The crowd-wise, profit-wise theatre owner will see 

to it, therefore, that his projector, soundhead and 

speakers are the finest! . . . And throughout the 

world, there is none finer than SIMPLEX! 

SIMPLEX PROJECTORS for the thrillingly bright 

picture patrons demand ... the steady, flickerfree 

picture patrons will return to see! 

SIMPLEX SOUND SYSTEMS for the crystal-clear 

tone, the great frequency range that makes every 

picture more enjoyable, every theatre more 

popular! 

SIMPLEX IN-A-CAR SPEAKERS for consistently 

superior performance under all weather conditions! 

Built to assure perfect, uninterrupted 

reception! 

i (

Boxoffice-May.03.1952

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