Boxoffice-December.20.1952

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BUFFALO
Ta^'k Beresin, chief barker of Variety Internalional,
was the guest at a reception in the
headquarters of Tent 7, with Dave Miller,
present chief barker of the tent, acting as
emcee. The local MGM staff held its Christmas
party in the .same place that evening .
Dr. Mauro Zambuto, world-famous authority
on sound, is coming here for several days in
advance of 'Anna." which opens January 8
at the Center. Zambuto will appear on several
radio stations. A Hollywood type night-before-opening
is being planned by Arthur
Krolick. UPT general manager, to launch the
Silvano Mangano starring vehicle.
Menno Dykstra presented "The Miracle of
Fatima" at his Glen Theatre. Williamsville,
and smashed all attendance records . . . Ira
E. Epstein, city manager for UPT in Rochester,
used some eye-catching ads in the Kodak
town sheets promoting the sale of gift books
of theatre tickets as "the ideal Christmas
gifts" . . . Joe Miller, for many years manager
of the local Columbia office and now part
owner of the Menands Drive-In, wa-s on Filmrow.
His wife Sadie is recuperating from an
eye operation in the Grouse Irving hospital
in Syracuse.
Lewis J. Lieser, head of the local Lieser Film
Distributing Co.. was host at a big Yuletide
party . . . Dave Miller and his U-I office force
held a Christmas party recently . . . Charlie
Mancuso, assistant booker at the Fix excliange,
is back on the job following a
shoulder operation.
Russ Tripi, former shipper at National
Screen, now is assistant shipper at the RKO
branch . . . Ben Joel jr., MGM booker at the
home office, was here for conferences with
Vincent R. McFaul, general manager of the
Loew-Shea circuit in Buffalo and Niagara
Falls . . . Max Miller, UA, was in town working
with Bill Brereton, Basil ad-pub chief,
on "Kansas City Confidential," and with
Eddie Meade at Shea's on "Outpost in Malaya."
The FCC has authorized a second commercial
TV station for Buffalo and a third, now
under consideration, may be on the air within
«3
a year. The Chautauqua Broadcasting Corp.,
a new Buffalo concern, has received authority
to build a new UHF station on channel 17 . .
Newspaperboys of the Buffalo Courier-Express
were guests of General Manager Robert T.
Murphy of the Century Theatre . . . Batavia
Film Laboratories, a complete theatre and TV
trailer service, is about to be estabhshed in
Batavia, N. Y., by Harold Reid. Ted Snell
and Barney Drees. Reid and Drees several
years ago operated the Greyhound Film offices
in Buffalo. Drees now is working at the
Buffalo Evening News as an artist.
Eddie Suess, MGM salesman, was chairman
of the big benefit show staged in the Depew
Theatre December 27 for Harold Hughes, now
at Perrysburg, N. Y., hospital ... A man who
allegedly took bank night at a Jamestown
theatre four years ago too seriously and
walked off with $600 in boxoffice receipts
is in Chautauqua county jaU awaiting
arraignment on a charge of first degree grand
larceny. Criminal Deputy Merle Campaign
returned from Alexandria. Va., with Richard
D. Gillmer, 32. Arkport, former assistant manager
of the Palace Theatre in Jamestown, for
whom a bench warrant has been in existence
since his secret indictment Dec. 6, 1948. The
indictment came after Gillmer, on a night
when the theatre was displaying a huge sign
reading "free cash tonight," disappeared. The
evening's ticket receipts also were missing.
Shortly later he was arrested on another
charge in Virginia and deputies said a detainer
was lodged against the time when he
should be released from detention there.
. .
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Kallet of the Kallet circuit,
Oneida, were on their way to spend the
winter in Miami Beach . The 153 Corp. of
which BiU Dipson is the head, has reopened
the Regent Theatre in Elmira, and Jack H.
Boyd has closed the State in Caledona.
"The most important matter before us, and
it may go a long way in our struggle for
survival, is the elimination of the federal
admission tax," says a bulletin just sent to
members of the MPTO of western New York.
"Our tax problems are about to come up before
Congress, it is imperative that each and
every exhibitor contact his
congressman and
supply him with pertment information that
will point up the absolute urgency of tax relief
The information that will influence
. . . your congressman can only come from you.
Here are a few suggestions that may give you
an idea as to what is needed so that the
legislators may be guided accordingly: Profit
and loss statements covering the last five
years to show the trend of falling grosses and
income and at the same time larger operating
costs; how the tax exceeds profits the
theatre may have made; schedules of equipment
replacements and improvements which
should be made if the house is to remain in
operation; statements from realtors and
other businessmen testifying to the depreciation
of values in the neighborhood where
theatres have had to close."
Kepresentini: Variety Tent 7, Myron Gross
visited the cerebral palsy clinic in the Children's
hospital and distributed candy, cigarets
and pa.>ises to downtown theatres, This was
Myron's annual Yuletide trip to the cUnic
and the gifts were given to employes of the
institution ... It is understood that Robert
T. Murphy, general manager of the Century
has signed up for the showing of "Niagara'
at that first run house. This picture wa;
produced at Niagara Falls last slimmer, whetf;
newspapers gave the filming a lot of pubUcitj
and ai't.
Buffalo marines at
both the recruiting offices
in the post office building and the reserve
base are cooperating 100 per cent witt
Manager Ed Miller of the Paramount in promoting
"Stars and Stripes Forever." Eddie i
is arranging a parade on opening night, with
marines using A-board posters all over westem
New York and the marines reserves posting
special signs on station wagons, which
are continuously moving along the highways
in
the vicinity.
Those who arg:ue that Rochester is culturally
"different" from her sister cities, may
find support in the realm of music and art,
but not in the list of screen boxoffice hits for
1952. Manager of Kodak town theatres, looking
over their boxoffice scores for the year,
report unanimously that Rochesterians went
for the same films in general as did the patrons
of many other cities. Theatre by theatre,
here are the tops for '52 in Rochester:
Cinema— "The River"; Little
— "The Man in
the White Suit"; Loew's— "QuoVadis"; Palace—
"The — Miracle of Fatima," and Paramount
"The Greatest Show on Earth." The
list contains no clue as to what the public
likes about pictures. One has a big name
star and another one, just as successful, does
not. "There is no formula," said Jay Golden,
RKO Theatres district manager. "You just
begin to think you know what's going to be a
sure thing, and then the public fools you.
'"
sanaM
Gross.
Gforje
a'j Buffalo \
iSewsworliei
It's one of the things that makes the business
so interesting." Lester PoUock, manager
of Loew's, says there is nothing like color,
music and adventure to stimulate the boxoffice.
*i Clown," a
a Meade of
"Quo Vadis" had the color, "Ivanhoe"
the adventm'e and "Singin' in the Rain" the
ingsilie
music. Maurice Slotmck, manager of the
Zi mi piiWi
Cinema, which ran "The River" for seven Mnena Ca'
weeks, lists as second best of the year, from^Mi ami foi
a business standpoint, "O. Henry's Pull' Kjityfonhe
House," which ran four and a half weeks. E in Sister;
Mrs. Ben Belinson, manager of the Little, !iB miim
named "The Man in the White Suit," "Ivory Was she i
Hunters," "Les Miserables" and retiurn showto
Remember."
The annual installation and dinner of Variety
Tent 7 will be held Sunday evening dl)
in the Statler. New officers to be installed are
Dewey Michaels, chief bai'ker; BUly Keaton,
first assistant chief barker; Marvin Jacobs,
second assistant chief barker; Robert Hayman,
doughguy, and W. E. Martin, property
master. These new du-ectors also will be installed;
Hai'ry L. Berkson, John G. Chinell,
Albert F. Ryde. Elmer C. Winegar. Max Yellen
and Arthm' Krolick. The committee arranging
the affair hopes to have a prominent industry
figure as speaker of the evening.
Mannie A. Brown, manager of the UA offices
in Buffalo and Albany, threw a tlireeway
Christmas celebration the otlier day. The
unique party started with hor d'oeuvres and
cocktails in the UA exchange in the Film
building, then moved to the La Marque restaurant
and thence to the Sheraton, where
the gang was feted by Moe Dudleson, UA district
chief. Among the guests were Elmer P. Ij^
Lux, general manager, Elmai't Theatres and
president of the Buffalo City council; Constantino
and Gus Basil and Spencer Balser,
BOXOFFICE :: December 27, 1952
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