Boxoffice-January.08.1955

1 will
. The
—
(OFFICE
J|]^^iJJl)5
ilTOR HAS HIS SAY ABOUT PICTURES
ARTISTS
(AA)—This is an extra
Play it on a weekend
dian fans will love it.
Theatre, St. Stephen,
n (AA)—John Hodiak,
;e Bennett. Just a waste
;, it was a good thing
vas excellent. Title will
3y sure let you know
ut. Played Wed., Thurs.,
;old with light snow.
House Theatre, Coati-
1 and rural patronage.
JMBIA
)
— Humphrey Bogart,
lacMurray. If you want
be proud of, play
n't think it will be a
W. S. Funk, Star The-
C. Population 1,200.
MOUNT
-Alan Ladd, James Ma-
.. A good picture with
vorth what Paramount
Too cruel to suit the
Dod and if you can buy
ertainly won't have any
I little money. Played
jood.—Fred L. Murray,
iritvvood, Sask. Smallnage.
1)—Bing Crosby, Bob
or. Bing, Bob and Dot-
; comedy. It had plenty
e plentiful. Good color,
un. Weather: O. K.—
Stic Theatre, Eureka,
,d rural patronage.
(Para)—Charlton Hesibert
Young. Fairly good
rticular drawing power,
bought right. Charlton
ere. Played Sun., Mon.
;ool.—Terry Axley, New
t. Small-town and rural
s (Para)—Betty Hutton,
rt Keith. Betty Hutton
J didn't have many of
chimp in the pic-
. Played Wed., Thurs.
lael Chiaventone, Valley
;y. 111. Small-town and
RADIO
Disney Cartoon Feature,
le ole wooden head, my
t has done well again,
ith "Tarzan and (of all
vil." Played Tliurs. to
.—Lew Bray jr.. Queen
xa.s. Medium size town,
iking patronaige.
UBUC
eeps
(Rep)—Gig Young,
uide Jan. 8. 1955
Mala Powers, William Talman. Interesting
cops and crooks drama of Chicago after
dark. Customers go for this type occasionally.
Biz good.—Frank Sabin, Majestic Theatre,
Eureka, Mont. Small-town and rural patronage.
20th CENTURY-FOX
David and Bathsheba (20th-Fox)—Gregory
Peck, Susan Hayward, Raymond Massey. An
oldie that we were forced to play percentage
'It Should Happen to You
—And It Did!
•ToEHHS:
I haven't been reporting^ lately because
I haven't been able to buy a 3c
stamp to mail the letter. I have had TV
in this area about two and a half years
now. In the beginning all the motion picture
salesmen told me that it would cut
down my business for a year or a year
and a half and then let up. Now, some
of them say three years and some admit
that they don't know if my business will
ever come back.
If any readers know how I can get
back my lost audience I wish they would
answer me in BOXOFFICE. No matter
what I play—and I am playing the top
pictures—I can only take in $25 to $50
top in two days. On many pictures at
$20 to $17.50 flat, I'm paying 60 to 75 per
cent for film. And I have paid as high as
110 per cent. A few days ago on a Columbia
picture I guaranteed $20 and grossed
$19 in two days. The title of this picture
was "It Should Happen to You."
Thanks to our friendly theatre supply
house, we put in CinemaScope and opened
several weeks ago with "The Kobe." I
found that all my patrons had gone to
large towns at a distance of 50 to 100
miles to see the picture eight months
to a year ago. Our second 'OS picture
was "How to Marry a Millionaire" on
which we did less than average business.
The same was true for "Ring of Fear."
What's the answer?
W. S. FUNK
Star Theatre
St. Stephen, S. C.
and it wasn't worth it. If possible play it
straight and you can make a dollar. Played
Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Cold.—
Harold Bell, Opera House Theatre, Coaticook.
Que., Small-town and rural patronage.
Garden of Evil (20th-Fox)—Gary Cooper,
Susan Hayward, Richard Widmark. This picture
is no big special by a long shot. Just a
fair outdoor picture and certainly not worth
the percentage terms asked. Played for three
days, Thursday through Saturday and the
picture's draw was only fair. I weis left with
only $9.36 for my share. 'Scope is a great
thing but where is all the money we were
going to make by putting it in?—W. L. Stratton.
Lyric Theatre, Challis, Idaho. Small-town
and rural patronage.
Inferno (20th-Fox)—Robert Ryan, Rhonda
Fleming, William Lundigan. Another excellent
film from Fox. Thoroughly enjoyed by till
patrons. Because of the title many missed It
and then complained bitterly because of it.
This is in brilliant Technicolor, has top performances
and plenty of action. We played the
2-D version. Those equipped for 3-D should
do very well with this film. Played Thurs.,
Fri., Sat. Weather: Very hot.—Dave S. Klein,
Astra Theatre, Kitwe-Nkana, Northern Rhodesia,
Africa. Mining, government and business
patronage.
Ruby Gentry (20th-Fox)—Jennifer Jones
Charlton Heston, Karl Maiden. Boy, there
are surprises in this business every day.
Thought this was going to be another "turkey"
but it really upset the applecart. Best
Wednesday night in over a year, topping even
"Quo Vadis." Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston
and Karl Maiden give outstanding dramatic
portrayals. Played Wed., Thurs. Weather:
Cool.—Norman Merkel. Time Theatre, Albert
City, Iowa. Small-town and rural patronage.
Three Young Texans (20th-Fox)—Mitzi
Gaynor, Keefe Brasselle, Jeffrey Hunter. Just
another western as far as story is concerned
but the atmosphere was very pleasing and
enjoyed by all. Played Wed., Thurs., Fri.,
Sat. Weather: Cool.—Harold Bell, Opera
House Theatre, Coaticook, Que. Small-town
and rural patronage.
UNITED ARTISTS
Lone Gun, The (UA)—George Montgomery,
Dorothy Malone, Frank Faylen. A good
western—not in the old formula of the general
run of stuff. Business above average.
Played Sat. Weather: O. K.—D. W. Trisko,
Runge Theatre, Runge, Texas. Small-town
and rural patronage.
Sabre Jet (UA)—Robert Stack, Coleen Gray,
Richard Arlen. Airplane stories draw well
with my folks. Price was right. Color helped
put it over. Fair enough! Played Tues., Wed.
Weather: O. K.—Frank Sabin, Majestic Theatre,
Eureka, Mont. Small-town and rural
patronage.
Shark River (UA)—Steve Cochran, Carole
Mathews, Warren Stevens. Not a bad film but
it wasn't worth the rental we were charged.
The UA office in Johannesburg has a bad
habit of saying 50 per cent each time they
think they have a fair film. Yes, "Shark
River" is right—title and rental quite coincidental.
Now, if you can get it at the right
rental, action houses will do well. We just
about broke even. Played Sun., Mon. Weather:
Hot.—Dave S. Klein, Astra Theatre,
Kitwe-Nkana, Northern Rhodesia, Africa.
Mining, government and business patronage.
Top Banana (UA)—Phil Silvers, Rose Mary,
Danny Scholl. Better screen this before you
show it. Some towns like Phil Silvers and
some towns don't.—E. M. Freiburger, Dewey
Theatre, Dewey, Okla. Small-town and rural
patronage.
UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL
Border River (U-D—Joel McCrea, Yvonne
De Carlo, Pedro Armendariz. Picture is good.
Played to slightly better than average business
on my Friday and Saturday change.
We did miss the Indians in this one but it
was a change anyway.—W. L. Stratton, Lyric
Theatre, Challis, Idaho. Small-town and
rural patronage.
Johnny Dark (U-D—Tony Curtis, Don
(Continued on next page)
<
v2
X
< X
P
X
X
a
z
<
CO
<
X