Boxoffice-August.21.1954

I
MINNEAPOLIS
1
Poid
—
—
—
iFast 'Brides' Pace
At Twin City State
— Holdovers continue to
prosper sensationally. One of the two new
arrivals. "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."
ushering Cinemascope into the State, catapulted
sky high.
Five of the eight first run theatres here
were charging more than the regular 85-cent
admission price the past week. For "The
Caine Mutiny" the scale was upped to $1.25,
for "Cinerama" the top is $2.65. for "Magnificent
Obsession" and "Seven Bride.s" it is
1$1, and for "Man With a Million" $1.20 (the
usual World price). Six of the eight theatres
had holdovers and all were doing marvelously.
(Average Is 100)
-This Is Cineromo (Cinerama), I 8th wk. . . 1 50
3opher Gone With the Wind (MGM), 5th wk. . . 1 40
.yric—Living It Up (Paro), 4th wk 100
Orpheum The Coine Mutiny (Col), 3rd wk 175
I'an—Cot Womon of the Moon (Astor); Monster
I
of the Ocean Floor (LP) 95
'?adio City Magnificent Obsession (U-l), 2nd wk. . 1 75
tate Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (MGM). 250
Vorid Man With a Million (UA), 2nd wk 150
Mutiny' Breaks
3maha Record
OMAHA—"The Caine Mutiny" at advanced
)rices scored a record at the State. In a wire
Columbia Manager Joe Jacobs, owner
lalph Goldberg said " 'The Caine Mutiny' is
Ixceeding
our fondest boxoffice expectations.
he house record is being exceeded by 25
er cent. More pictures like this would solve
11 our industry problems."
dmiral-Chief Return From the Seo (AA);
Security Risk ( AA) 1 00
rondeis King Richard and the Crusaders (WB),
to Kill (LP) 130
imoho Hans Christian Andersen (RKO); Make
Hoste to Live (Rep) 90
pheum Broken Lance (20th-Fox) 190
ate The Caine Mutiny (Col) 300
own—Gun Fury (Col), The Three Mesquiteers
Rep), reissue 85
ouis Lutz to Return
Detroit Situation
WAUKESHA, WIS.—Louis Lutz, who rently
has been managing local
theatres, re-
)rts that he will return to Detroit to
anage the Uptown Theatre in suburban
ighland Park beginning September 1. Lutz
rmerly managed the 2,900-seater for RKO
1942 to 1947.
ElKO's lease on the house expires Septemr
1 and the owners of the building have
i'->m
ntracted with Lutz to manage the house
a a salary and percentage.
CS Installations
fliore
lOMAHA—Paul Fine of Western Theatre
lipply said Cinemascope installations were
ntinuing to mount. Opening here recently
pre three suburban theatres of the Ralph
pldberg Corp.; the Avenue, Military and
pes.
JTrl-States circuit opened its Ingersoll in Des
bines and scheduled Cinemascope to open
J the Omaha Theatre here Sunday (15). Mrs.
\ N. Johnson completed installation at the
'rand in Red Oak, Iowa, the last of July
ii Frank Good is installing C'Scope with
iir channel stereosound at the lowana, also
1 Red Oak.
Modernization
?larts
WONDOVI, WIS.—Mr. and Mrs. H. S.
?^ater, new owners of the Mondovi Theatre,
Ijve started a modernization program.
Omaha Tent's Field Day
Mixes Fun and Business
OMAHA—Exliibitors in thus territory had
one of their biggest treats in many moons at
the big Variety Club Field day and dinner
dance.
Headline events were the visit of leaders in
the Variety Club and in the technical field
of the industry, a reception given by Chief
Barker J. Robert Hoff as a preliminary to
the main event, demonstrations of the latest
equipment and a golf program at Happy Hollow.
The dinner dance was at the Blackstone
hotel.
George Hoover, International chief barker,
was met at the Municipal airport and the
caravan of Omaha film leaders with a police
escort paraded through Filmrow and on to
the Blackstone hotel with banners flying and
sirens going.
In the procession were greeters Jack Renfro,
Joe Jacobs, Bill Barker, Myer Stern. Max
Rosenblatt, Iz Sokolof, Iz Weiner, Eddie
Shafton and Hoff. The party at the Hoff
home was tabbed one of the finest the industry
has had here.
LITNCHEON ADDRESS
International Chief Barker Hoover said in
a luncheon address that organizations dealing
with handicapped children need "corelated
thinking."
"Duplicated thinking means duplicated
costs," he said. "Too many organizations
are working on general fields of afflicted
children instead of treating more specific
cases. As a result, many handicapped children
aren't diagnosed and treated properly."
Hoover spoke to the boards of directors
of the United Cerebral Palsy Ass'n of Omaha,
the Douglas county chapter of the Nebraska
Society for Crippled Children, the Rehabilitation
Center Committee and the Variety Club.
He said he will attempt to weld the three
units together in rehabilitation work.
TECHNICAL DEMONSTRA'nONS
Also among his appearances was one at
the Center Theatre, where a demonstrktion
of new technical equipment was held. Among
the technical experts present were Joseph
Tushinsky, Hollywood, showing Superscope,
variable anamorphic lenses; L. B. McKinley,
vice-president of instrument sales. Bausch &
Lomb; Charles J. Bachman, Fairchild Co. of
New York with Perspecta sound; J. E. Debish,
Bell & Howell, from Chicago; Seymour Jacob,
Chicago, Super-Panatar, and George SUversten,
Chicago, Super-Cinephor and Cinephor.
Twentieth-Fox, MGM, RKO and Warners
showed films on advances in Cinemascope
and wide-screen. Exhibitors saw a comparison
of the latest in lenses and theii- reactions
were varied. Some were certain, for instance,
that the Bell & Howell system was the clearest
while others, like Ernie Kassabaum of
Seward, were positive that Bausch & Lomb
lens gave the greatest depth and sharpness.
There were some 200 persons at the Center
Theatre for the demonstration in the morning.
In the afternoon they moved to the
Happy Hollow Golf club, where teams from
Omaha and Des Moines film industries competed
and others enjoyed the clubhouse facilities.
Omaha golfers emerged victors. Omaha
PXOFnCE :: August 21, 1954 NC
f t)
George Hoover, International Variety
Club chief barker; L. B. McKinley, Bausch
& Lomb representative, and Joseph Tushinsky,
Hollywood, Superscope representative,
are showTi at Omaha where Tent 16
presented a demonstration of the latest
in
lenses.
Warner Office Manager Tony Goodman was
low with 74.
Then the festivities switched to the Blackstone
hotel for a cocktail party, dinner dance
and floor show in the Assembly room and
main ballroom. Pictures of Variety Club
figures at the various functions were shown
on television.
The occasion marked the first visit of an
international chief barker to
in 17 years.
the Omaha tent
Moore-Johnson Fight TV
Jolt to Theatre Takes
MINNEAPOLIS—Local exhibitors, surveying
boxoffice results on the night of the
Moore-Johnson championship fight telecast,
say they're more certain than ever that one
of the good things that could happen to them
would be the exclusive theatre televising of
all such future bouts and important sports
events in place of the telecasts on home sets.
Whereas the aforementioned pair's first
meeting, brought via TV exclusively into
4.100-seat Radio City Theatre here and turning
them away, apparently had no adverse
effect on the boxoffice locally, the Moore-
Johnson fight on home sets found takings
badly off all along the line, the exhibitors
report.
A factor on that particular night, however.
was an exhibition baseball game between the
New York Giants and their Minneapolis farm
club which drew a turnaway crow-d here and
which also went on TV.
Airer Screen Enlarged
MITCHELL. S. D.—William Clark, manager,
reports that the Lake Vue Drive-In has
enlarged its screen for CinemaScope screen-
William Levy Installs CS
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS. MINN.—William
Levy, owner of the Heights Theatre, has installed
Cinemascope.