Boxoffice-May.03.1952

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BOXOFFICE
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The EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY ABOUT
COLUMBIA
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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
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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-
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Scott should stay with Harry Joe Brown.
fair. Played Sun., Mon.. Tues.
Cold.—Graham and Yarnell, Kra-
Theatre. Detroit. Mich. Neighborhood
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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
town and rural patronage.
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
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