Boxoffice-May.03.1952

'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