Boxoffice-October.01.1955

The EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY
(Continued from preceding page)
in his church bulletin that it was a "must
see" picture and we got a few famdies that
we had never gotten in our ten years here.
Played Sun., Mon., Tues., Wed. Weather:
Good—Paul Ricketts, Charm Theatre, Holyrood,
Kas. SmaU-town and rural patronage.
Miss Robin Crusoe (20th-Fox)—Amanda
Blake George Nader, Rosalind Hayes. I was
afraid of this movie, but I booked it becau.se
of price It does not seem to make any difference
what I play anymore. This show is
real corn, poor acting, but the color and
scenery are beautiful. My patrons ate it up.
Played late show Sat. Weather: Rainmg, as
usual.—W. S. Funk, Star Theatre, St, Stephen,
N. C. Population 1,000.
Racers, The (20th-Fox)-Kirk Douglas
Bella Darvi, Gilbert Roland. This lacked
something and suffered badly by comparison
with an old-fashioned 2-D picture on American
sports car racing that Universal released
last year. Some of the dialog was
hard to understand and there were long jumps
in the story that were rather hard to fill m.
Business was way down. Played Sun., Mon.
Weather: Good.—Paul Ricketts, Charm Theatre,
Holyrood, Kas. Small-town and rural
patronage.
That Lady (20th-Pox)—Olivia DeHavilland,
Gilbert Roland, Paul Scofield. We class this
one a^ not a small-town picture. It has a
good story, which is on the heavy drama
side and minus action, which our folks ju.st
can't get along without. Played Wed. thi-ough
Sat Weather: Warm.—Harold Bell, Opera
House, Coaticook, Que. Small-town patronage.
There's No Business Like Show Business
(20th-Fox)—Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor
Marilyn Monroe. Come Monday morning
I was ready to change the title to
there's no business in "No Business Like
Show Business," but Monday held good and
Tuesday was above average, so wc ended up
with an above average gross. Not enough
above to justify the original terms, but the
Fox branch manager said it had been put on
the scale, so I ended up with a profit, too.
It is a very slow starter, but after two listless
reels they get down to business and it
ends up the kind of picture that most folks
will like if you can get them in. Played Sun.,
Mon. Tues. Weather: Hot.—Bob Walker
Uintah Theatre, Fi'uita, Colo. Small-town and
rural patronage.
Untamed (20th-Fox)—Susan Hayward, Tyrone
Power, Richard Egan. This compares
with the best of the Cinemascopes. Scenery
unsurpassed. Acting tops. Fox and Metro
Rive us a chance to make a little money on
their product. Wish I could say that for
all the producers. Played Sun., Mon 'Tues.
—M. L. DuBose, Majestic Theatre, Cotulla,
Tex. Small-town and rural patronage.
UNITED ARTISTS
Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl (UA)—
Anthony Dexter, Eva Gabor. Alan Hale jr.
Doubled on top with an oldie western for
near-average business. School has started
now with on-and-off showers. Played Thurs.,
Sal 'weather: Warm.—Lew Bray jr.. Queen
Theatre. McAllen, Tex. English-SpanLshspeaking
patronage.
Man With a Million (UAi—Gregory Peck,
.lane Griffiths. Ronald Squhe. Greg Peck
with a fine English ca.st gave us a good show.
Ticket sales a bit slow, but to be expected.
No kicks. Played Tues.. Wed. Weather:
Okay—Frank Sabln, Majestic Theatre,
Eureka, Mont. Small-town and rural patronage.
Sabaka Karloff, Nino Marcel,
(UA)—Boris
Reginald Denny. Story of India with the
god ritual as a basis for the story. Cast
was good.
lire
Photography not too clear. Good
enough for midweek or a double bill. Played
Wed., Thurs. Weather: Hot.—D. W. Trisko,
Runge Theatre, Runge, Tex. Small-town
and rural patronage.
Shark River (UA)—Steve (Cochran, Carole
Mathews, Warren Stevens. Here's a nice little
family offering with more snakes than mother
will like, but enough small boys and an
educational tour of the Everglades interwoven
with a fair-to-middlin' story, to make
a pleasing entry on any double-bill in a
country town. With work, good shorts and a
midweek date, it could easily stand alone.
The cast isn't well-known, but they give a
fine account of themselves for the time they'll
occupy your back wall. It will get you more
nice comments than most film you use.
James Dean Greatest
Find Since Brando
pAST OF EDEN (WB)—Julie Harris,
" James Dean, Raymond Massey.
James Dean is the greatest find since
Marlon Brando. Here without a doubt,
is to date the top contender for the
Academy Award this year. This picture
has everything, including Elia Kazan and
boxoffice appeal.
ROBERT KUNGE
Uptown Theatre
Sedalia, Mo.
Doubled with "Africa Adventure" for average
business. Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Hot-
Bob Walker, Uintah Theatre, Fruita, Colo.
Small-town and rural patronage.
Stranger on Horseback (UA)—Joel McCrea,
Miroslava, Kevin McCarthy. Put this picture
on your Sunday and Monday change and bill
it as a big super-outdoor western and add a
Tom and Jerry cartoon carnival and you can't
miss. For me, this turned out to be a good
booking. United Artists has come a long way
and I have stuck with them as they came
along. I am more than happy that I did, as
UA is among the top majors of today. Keep
up the good work, UA. Played Sun., Mon.—
Mitchell Kelloff, Spur Theatre, La Veta, Colo.
Small-town and rural patronage.
UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL
Far Country, The (U-D—James Stewart,
Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan. Action a-
plenty, but as fine an outdoor drama as you
would wish to see. Had plenty of good comment.
Business was well above normal.
Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Good.—F. L.
Miuray, Strand Theatre, Spiritwood, Sask.
SmaU-town and rural patronage.
Gunsmokc (U-D—Audie Murphy, Susan
Cabot, Paul Kelly. Doubled with "Captain
Pirate" (Col) and combined with terrifically
hot weather, it gave us a turn-away Saturday
night crowd. Played Sat. only. Weather: Hot.
—Robert B. Tuttle, Sky Drive-In, Adrian,
Mich. Urban nnd rural patronage.
Man Without a Star (U-D—Kirk Douglas,
Jeanne Grain. Claire Trevor. Played to
average Sunday-Tuesday crowd. An exceptionally
well-acted outdoor picture. Kii-k
Douglas was very good, also Jeanne Grain.
Story is good and well-done throughout.
Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather: Okay.—
D. W. Trisko, Runge Theatre. Runge, Tex.
Small-town and rural patronage.
Sign of the Pagan (U-I>—Jeff Chandler,
Jack Palance, Ludmilla Tcherina. Nobody
here ever heard of Attila and didn't care to,
apparently. This type of show never does
any business here. Jack Palance does a
wonderful job as Attila, while Jeff Chandler
merely went along for the ride. Played Sun..
Mon. Weather: Good.—Audrey Thompson.
Ozark Theatre, Hardy, Ark. Small-town and
rural patronage.
Six Bridges to Cross (U-i:i—Tony Curtis,
George Nader, Julie Adams. Either the stars
or the plot, or both, pulled a fair crowd on
this one. From all angles it is a good show
and will stand by itself any day of the week.
By all means, play it. Played Sun.. Mon.
Weather: Fine.—I Roche, Vernon Theatre,
Vernon, Fla. Small-town and rural patronage.
So This Is Paris (U-D—Tony Curtis, Gloria
DeHaven, Gene Nelson. A good show, which
failed to do business and caused me to lose
money. It died on Monday night at the boxoffice.
It seems that musicals just don't draw
anymore. Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Good.
E. M. Freiburger, Dewey Theatre, Dewey
Okla. Small-town patronage.
WARNER BROS.
Bounty Hunter, The (WB) — Randolpt
Scott, Dolores Dorn, Marie Windsor. Here i:
a good action picture that drew solid boxoffice
for us. Doubled with "Violent Satur
day" (20th-Fox) which we thought was :
good suspense picture, with a Hitchcocl
touch. Played Wed., Thurs., Fri. Weather
Good. — Robert B. Tuttle, Sky Drive-Ir
Adrian, Mich. Urban and rural patronagi
Mister Roberts (WB)—Henry Fonda. J.ime
Cagney, William Powell. Hats off to Warner.
Here is, without a doubt, one of the top pit
tures of the year. Action, drama and side
splitting comedy. What more could anyor
want? One drawback: percentage too hig
to make any money. Played this throug
State Fair week here in Sedalia and i; w;
surprising how it stood up. I believe it aou
have been terrific boxoffice had we not bee
bucking the fair. Played Fri., through Thui
Weather: Hot.—Robert Klinge, Uptown The:
tre, Sedalia, Mo. Medium-size town ar.
patronage.
Ring of Fear (WB)—Clyde Beatiy f
O'Brien, Mickey Spillane. Good circus pi
ture. Plenty of action. Not too heavy at t
boxoffice, since there was plenty of compe
tion. Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weathi
Okay.—D. W. Trisko, Runge Theatre, Rum,
Tex. Small-town and rural patronage.
So Big (WB)—Jane Wyman. Sterling ^'i
den, Nancy Olson. A good drama in blsa
and white with a good story and runnlE
time, but not as good as "Johnny Belind^
as WB would have you believe.
MISCELLANEOUS
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Buena Vli>
—Kirk Douglas, James Mason. Paul Lu'S
This picture rang the bell for about top b'lncss
of this season for us. Our bO'"
doubled it with "Pi-incess of the Nile (2'"-
Fox) , which while okay, was superfluous no
because of the length created a programrns
[rn-
problem. We have found this same prosr"-
ming problem again and again this se
with so many of the doubles being so
Consequently, we are switching to s.
bills whenever the length or strength Oin'
main feature warrants. Played Sun., »«
Tues.-Robert B. Tuttle, Sky Driviln.
Adrian, Mich. Urban and rural patrol.'
BOXOFFICE BookinGuide
However.jJ
: :
October 1.95'
t
won't go wrong with this picture. Play It.J
will make vou some money. It did here
8^^
was well liked. Played Mon,, Tues, WeafchiM''
Rainy,—F. L. Murray, Strand Theatre, Spu^"
wood, Sask. Small-town and rural patrons*
Tall Man Riding (WB)—Randolph Sp^i
Dorothy Malone, Peggie Castle. A nice ipa
ern that wUl fit in any situation. I fltj
believe it's strong enough to stand singl^lP
We played it single and attendance wa*
low normal. Played Sun., through TS
Weather: Hot and humid,—Robert Kliif
Uptown Theatre. Sedalia, Mo, Medium-w
town and rural patronage. .
M