Boxoffice-November.19.1955

guest Bonnie Procter: Mrs. Forest Gamble of
the Jewel in Humble, and guest Maxine Sarber;
Mrs. A. G. Peden and son Andrew,
cousins of 20th-Fox' Bill Gehring; Mr. and
Mrs. Paul Brown, who were guests of Mr. and
Mrs. Albert Raines. Korn Theatres (the
Raines missed because they had to take off
for Dallas on business); Ernest Forsythe of
the Don Gordon Theatre and Mrs. H. K.
Davis and Mrs. T. R. Sullivan.
Variely of Deiroil
Elects Crew for '56
From Mideast Edition
DETROIT—Variety Tent 5 has elected
seven exhibitor representatives, two exchajige
managers, one television station manager
and one supplier to its board of directors
for 1956.
The new directors are; Irving Belinsky,
owner, Eastwood Theatre; William Wetsman,
Wisper & Wetsnian Theatres; Ben
Rosen, manager. Confection Cabinet Corp.;
Ernest Conlon, executive secretary. Allied
Theatres of Michigan; Alden W. Smith,
Cooperative Theatres of Michigan; William
Clark. Clark Theatre Service; Walter Norris,
director of advertising, Butterfield Theatres:
Milton Zimmerman, manager, Columbia
Pictures; John Pival, manager, WXYZ-TV;
Lew Wisper, Wisper & Wetsman. and Joseph
J. Lee. manager at 20th-Fox.
New lATSE Local B63
Is Chartered in Houston
HOUSTON—Local B36. newly organized
union for employes of the Columbia and 20th-
Pox exchanges, was chartered at a meeting
Saturday (5). Officers are Marvin Wycoff,
president; Geraldine Taylor, vice-president;
Lucy Brown, business agent; Martha Konleczny.
financial secretary: Maurine McKay,
recording secretary and Wilbur Vinyard. sergeant
at arms. Trustees are Mary Louise
Young. Louise Rapp and Jewell Bass.
Here from Dallas in connection with the
charter presentation were Louise Wright,
Myrtle Kitts, Cona Shipp and Hazel Pancera.
Eddie Miller, local lATSE representative,
and Frank Coogler, of Local 279, hosted the
group at the Operators Club buffet.
Next Bischoff-Diamond
Opus to Be 'The Trek'
From Western Edition
HOLLYWOOD — Producers Samuel Bischoff
and David Diamond have acquired
"The Trek," an original by Montgomery Pittman
about covered wagon days, for addition
to their independent slate and have signed
Donna Corcoran, Sherry Jackson and Richard
Eyer for the leads. Bischoff and Diamond,
who recently produced The Phenix
City Story" for Allied Artists distribution,
have not set releasing arrangements as yet
for "The Trek."
EASTERN OKLAHOMA
By ART LAMAN
^^f have just returned to T-Town from two
weeks work in Texas. That's where they
do it bigger and better—and that applies to
almost everything.
The fellow who predicts the weather, however,
makes a lot of mistakes, just like the
fellow does here in Oklahoma. In fact, they
were going to town on the radio last weekend
about a cold "norther," supposedly headed
toward Fort Worth. It turned out to be another
hot summer-like weekend, with the
temperature in the 80s.
There is one thing Texans do in a big way.
That is attend the football games. That
doesn't only go for the major games, but they
also go in in a great big way for the high
school pigskin games. Last week over in
Terrell. Tex., the grade school played on
Thursday, with .some 2,500 people in the
stands. It was quite a contrast to the downtown
Iris Theatre showing "Tennessee's Partner"
first run, with less than 100 customers
in the theatre.
Leaman Marshall, who's the boss man over
the Terrell theatres, says that "hardly a
night goes by now without the schools or
someone else staging something that helps
to keep them away from the boxoffice." This
writer remembers we packed 'em in at the
Iris when he worked with Marshall in the
last half of the '20s.
* • «
Caught a smart stunt while in Terrell. Burnett
Gerald, who runs the Tom T'humb food
store just a few doors from the theatre, has
a metal tray placed outside the store with
a sign saying "free money for the parking
meters." And, sure enough, you can use a
nickel or a dime from the tray to ease the
pain of putting your own dough into the
meters. Here's an idea for some theatres.
Terrell has water problems. The city lake
is about dry and that part of the state needs
two or three days of soaking rain more than
any other place we have visited during the
last few months.
Drove over to Kaufman, Tex., and had a
chat with Norman Stewart, w'ho operated
the theatres there years ago. He now has
sold out to Buddy Harris, who operates the
one open house.
Kaufman is a very old town with many of
the stores around the courthouse square needing
a general face uplifting. Now it is more
noticeable than ever. In the center of the
HANDY
.square they are building a half million dollar
courthou.se.
« • •
Most of my working time in Texas was spent
at the Meadowbrook Drive-In at Port Worth.
Oscar May, who owns this 500-speaker job.
may not be one of the oldtime theatremen
around this Texas cowtown, but I'll say this:
he has the kind of courage and promotion
mind that created some of the great showmen
I have come in contact with during the
la.st 40 years. This business today is no place
for faint hearts and for those who think in
terms of pennies. During my stay in Fort
Worth, we installed the Magic Key—Treasure
Chest night. Inasmuch as the Meadowbrook
has a large family trade—working people
who sometimes cannot stay out on week
nights—May put the treasure chest deal on
Sunday nights, with hundreds of dollars worth
of beautiful gifts on display in the concession
stand during the entire week. The
result was that the first two Sunday nights
pulled up business and kept the conce.ssion
full of customers during the entire show.
The plan is being continued for the next few
Sundays.
Another thing that May does is to bring
back some of the bigger and better older pictures,
those six or seven years old. In most
programs featuring these oldies he has done
a very fair business.
Just recently May was talked into booking
a .sex picture. However, before playing it he
contacted the Fort Worth censors. They objected
to the film as well as the advertising
matter, so May canceled the film.
* * *
The entertainment season is starting in
Fort Worth with lots of attractions being
pushed. The Shrine circus is coming up for
ten days; Liberace is making an appearance
for "Sincerely Yours," now showing at the
Worth Theatre: Les Brown is coming to town.
Drive-in theatre admissions are at almost
any price you can afford. Sunday (13) the
Mansfield ran rather a catchy ad; "Big 8
for 80 Jamboree." The eight stood for eight
feature pictures and the 80 stood for 80
cents, admission per carload of customers.
Composes Documentary Score
Adolph Deutsch will compose and conduct
MGM's "The Battle of
the musical score for
Gettysburg."
Remodel Athens House
ATHENS, TEX.—The Texan Theatre here
has been remodeled by Manager Sherman L.
Hart. Renovation included a new paint job
on the inner and outer lobbies and the exterior
front and the installation of new curtains
and new carpets.