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-11. li<br />
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XHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY<br />
lABOUT PICTURESI<br />
It \v<br />
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ALLIED ARTISTS<br />
Big Combo, The (AA)—Cornel<br />
Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian<br />
Donlevy. Here's one of those nice<br />
little $7.50 sleepers we used to<br />
buy from Monogram. Only, now<br />
AA makes 20 pictures a year, instead<br />
of 50, and gets $17.50 each<br />
for the 20. I used to be able to<br />
double them at the $7.50 price<br />
and make money. Now, I double<br />
them at this price and if AA<br />
isn't making money on them,<br />
then we'd do better ignoring each<br />
other. It's a nice little program<br />
picture about cops and gangsters,<br />
but TV crowded us marquee<br />
renters out of the field.<br />
that nowadays we're in the business<br />
of selling juvenile delinquents<br />
new and better ways of<br />
being more delinquent. Played<br />
Fri., Sat. Weather: Snow.—Bob<br />
Walker. Uintah Theatre, Fruita,<br />
Colo. Pop. 1463.<br />
It seems<br />
BUENA VISTA<br />
Fantasia (BV)—Animated features.<br />
Long hair music plus animation<br />
put the thing over and<br />
it did okay. It was nice to get<br />
a four-track print again. First<br />
one In eight months. Can't even<br />
get Mr. Skouras to send one.<br />
Played Wed.-Sat. Weather: Cold.<br />
—Jim Fraser, Auditorium Theatre,<br />
Red Wing, Minn. Pop. 10,645.<br />
COLUMBIA<br />
Cockleshell Heroes (Col)—Jose<br />
Ferrer, Trevor Howard, Victor<br />
Maddern. It caught my fancy<br />
and I enjoyed the movie, plus<br />
the Digest story. Sure it is English,<br />
but they had their heroes,<br />
too! Businesswjse, it was a big,<br />
big flop—one of the biggest eggs<br />
in years. I hope Columbia checks<br />
us once—maybe then? Played<br />
Thurs., Fri., Sat. Weather: Wintry<br />
and snow.—Ken Christianson,<br />
Roxy Theatre, Washburn, N. D.<br />
Pop. 913.<br />
Combat Squad (Col)—Reissue.<br />
John Ireland, Lon McCallister,<br />
Hal March. Put this in the only<br />
place it could possibly fit—with<br />
a dualler on Friday-Saturday.<br />
Some of the younger fry came<br />
out to see what it was aU about<br />
and evidently liked what they<br />
saw, for no one left during the<br />
show. Put it with Howco's "Thunder<br />
Pass," an average little western,<br />
for a pretty good program.<br />
Weather was fine, no opposition<br />
to speak of, and first-of-themonth<br />
checks had come in, to<br />
all add up to better than average<br />
business. My business has been<br />
up a little since the first of the<br />
year. Hope it holds. Played Fri.,<br />
Sat. Weather: Pine.—I. Roche,<br />
Vernon Theatre, Vernon, Fla.<br />
Pop. 610.<br />
He Laughed Last (Col) —<br />
Frankie Laine, Lucy Marlow. Anthony<br />
Dexter. I don't know how<br />
to explain the lack of patronage.<br />
The picture wasn't a special, but<br />
there was color, some Frankie<br />
Laine songs (the present hi-fi<br />
craze here) and a pretty good<br />
cast, but on a weekend double<br />
bill, we lacked quite a little of<br />
breaking even and the price of<br />
this picture didn't hurt. Played<br />
Fri., Sat. Weather: Cold.—Mayme<br />
P. Musselman, Roach Theatre,<br />
Lincoln, Kas. Pop. 1,636.<br />
Odongo (Col)—Rhonda Fleming,<br />
Macdonald Carey, Juma.<br />
Better than average jungle yarn<br />
with Technicolor. Would have<br />
been better Thursday-Friday-<br />
Satuiday. Don't pass it. Played<br />
Tues., Wed., Thurs. Weather:<br />
Good.—Paul Ricketts, Ness Theatre,<br />
Ness City, Kas. Pop. 1,612.<br />
Cant Run Away<br />
"June AUyson and Jack Lemmon<br />
are absolutely great!"<br />
is a typical comment on "You<br />
Can't Run Away From It."<br />
Others are, "Best comedy I've<br />
seen in many a year!" "Why<br />
don't they make more movies<br />
like this one?" "This one has<br />
a little bit of everything and<br />
a purely fantastic story!"<br />
Maybe it wasn't fantastic, but<br />
our patrons "escaped" their<br />
everyday cares and laughed<br />
their way into 95 minutes of<br />
sheer enjoyment. People, so<br />
I've been told, like to get away<br />
from it all and "escape," if I<br />
may use the term, to a completely<br />
different world. I've<br />
also been told by our patrons,<br />
they do not care for the realistic<br />
types of movies that make<br />
them think of their own cares.<br />
So, play it, fellow showmen<br />
you can't run away from it!<br />
F. A. PHILLIPS<br />
Nortown Theatre<br />
Flint Mich.<br />
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER<br />
Bhowani Junction (MGM) —<br />
Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger,<br />
Bill Travers. Played on Sunday-<br />
Monday-Tuesday to average business.<br />
Some liked it and some did<br />
not. Business better than we expected.<br />
— Marion F. Bodwell,<br />
Paramount Theatre, Wyoming,<br />
111. Pop. 1,496.<br />
Fastest Gun Alive, The (MGM)<br />
— Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain,<br />
Broderick Crawford. This works<br />
up a lot of suspense along about<br />
the middle of this passable show.<br />
Only thing lacking was the color.<br />
Some of my farmers missed the<br />
point at the end, when Glenn<br />
Ford buried his past in the grave.<br />
Ford is always a good crowdpuller<br />
around these parts. I would<br />
recommend this for any day of<br />
the week. Played Fri., Sat.<br />
Weather: Good.—I. Roche, Vernon<br />
Theatre, Vernon, Fla.<br />
High Society (MGM) — Bing<br />
Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra.<br />
Fine picture that brought<br />
some extra customers. We're gonna<br />
miss our Grace. Wish she had<br />
stayed around. Lots of gals can<br />
raise babies, but not many look<br />
so good on our front wall. Played<br />
Tues., Wed. Weather: Good.—<br />
Paul Ricketts, Ness Theatre, Ness<br />
City, Kas. Pop. 1,612.<br />
High Society (MGM) — Bing<br />
Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra.<br />
One of the best we have<br />
played for years. Business good<br />
and everyone loved it. Played<br />
Sun., Mon., Tues.—Ken Gorham,<br />
Town Hall Theatre, Middlebury,<br />
Vt. Pop. 3,614.<br />
High Society (MGM) — Bing<br />
Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra.<br />
Not a small town show. Due<br />
to icy roads, the business was<br />
way below average. Played Sat.,<br />
Sun. Weather: Icy and cold.<br />
Harold Smith, Dreamland Theatre,<br />
Carson, Iowa. Pop. 613.<br />
Power and the Prize, The<br />
(MGM) — Robert Taylor, Elisabeth<br />
Mueller, Burl Ives. The<br />
Warner brothers would have<br />
loved this one when they were<br />
teaching movies to talk, for a<br />
lot gets said in this one for sure.<br />
If the dialog weren't interesting,<br />
this would fall by the way. as<br />
there's not much else but talk<br />
to keep it going. It pleased the<br />
folks who like a lot of good acting<br />
and don't care whether<br />
there's action or not. Business<br />
would have been most disappointing<br />
if it weren't the kind<br />
we've grown to expect in these<br />
days of poor folks' depression<br />
and big folks' prosperity. Played<br />
Wed., Tliurs. Weather: Snowy.<br />
Bob Walker, Uintah Theatre,<br />
Fruita, Colo. Pop. 1,463.<br />
These Wilder Years (MGM)—<br />
James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck,<br />
Walter Pidgeon. Good!<br />
Cagney's best and a pleaser.<br />
Gained a little each night, so<br />
someone must have talked. Played<br />
Tues., Wed., Thurs. Weather:<br />
Warming.—Paul Ricketts, Ness<br />
Theatre, Ness City, Kas. Pop.<br />
1,612.<br />
PARAMOUNT<br />
Hollywood or Bust (Para)<br />
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Anita<br />
Ekberg. One of the best of the<br />
Martin and Lewis pictures. Too<br />
bad they decided to split up.<br />
Played Thurs., Fri., Sat.—Ken<br />
Gorham, Town Hall Theatre,<br />
Middlebury, Vt. Pop. 3,614.<br />
Hollywood or Bust (Para)<br />
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Anita<br />
Ekberg. Good, but not much business.<br />
I am glad the team Is<br />
splitting up. They are getting<br />
stale. Think my customers would<br />
rather see Jerry Lewis alone anyway.<br />
Played Sun.-Wed. Weather:<br />
Cold.—Jim Fraser, Auditorium<br />
Theatre, Red Wing, Minn.<br />
Submarine Command (Para)<br />
Reissue. William Holden, Nancy<br />
Olson, William Bendix. William<br />
Holden and cast do a mighty fine<br />
job in an old, but good, one. Do<br />
you want a really good second<br />
feature? Try this one on for size<br />
and be pleased with the fine<br />
results you will get. Coupled it<br />
with a topnotch western for Sunday<br />
through Tuesday crowd that<br />
loved it. There is something about<br />
these old war stories that the<br />
public still likes. If the public<br />
likes 'em, play 'em. That's the<br />
way we feel, and it is paying off.<br />
Played Sun. - Tues. Weather:<br />
Cold.—F. A. Phillips, Nortown<br />
Theatre, Flint, Mich. Pop. 100,000<br />
plus.<br />
RKO RADIO<br />
Back From Eternity (RKO)—<br />
Rod<br />
Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg,<br />
Steiger. Good thriller except for<br />
a rather gruesome ending, but<br />
offhand, I can't think of a better<br />
one. Played Tues., Wed., Thurs.<br />
Weather: Good.—Paul Ricketts,<br />
Ness Theatre, Ness City, Kas.<br />
Cash on Delivery (RKO) —<br />
Shelley Winters, John Gregson,<br />
Peggy Cummins. Winters should<br />
have stayed home. I never saw a<br />
gal with so little to offer using<br />
it so badly. A really cute story<br />
mired deep in the triteness of<br />
some Englishmen's attempt to<br />
poke fun at their bankers<br />
(Americans) while at the same<br />
time attempting to imitate some<br />
of the cute sequences of a good<br />
American comedy. With a story<br />
like someone dreamed up, I'd<br />
say the guys that tried to movie-<br />
Ize it goofed. Played Fri.. Sat.<br />
Weather: Snowy.—Bob Walker,<br />
Uintah Theatre, Fi'uita, Colo.<br />
Pop. 1,463.<br />
Great Day in the Morning<br />
(RKO)—Virginia Mayo, Robert<br />
Stack, Ruth Roman. A very entertaining<br />
picture in beautiful<br />
color and Superscope, but positively<br />
no draw at the boxoffice.<br />
I think the picture would draw<br />
better with a more appropriate<br />
title. Played Thurs., Fri., Sat.<br />
Marion F. Bodwell, Paramount<br />
Theatre, Wyoming, 111. Pop. 1,496.<br />
REPUBLIC<br />
Carolina Cannonball (Rep) —<br />
Judy Canova, Andy Clyde, Ross<br />
Elliott. The glee that this stirred<br />
up amongst more folks that we've<br />
been seeing on most Friday-Saturdays<br />
was reminiscent of the<br />
golden days when we could buy<br />
40 or 50 little sleepers a year<br />
from Monogram and Columbia<br />
for $7.50 or $10 a throw and make<br />
enough to keep the wolf away.<br />
Five years ago, I'd never have<br />
thought of doubling a Canova as<br />
good as this one, nor a good Roy<br />
Rogers, but time marches on, and<br />
here I am putting them both on<br />
the same bill. This is a goodie<br />
for country folk, "ifen" you're<br />
still open out there in the country.<br />
Played Fri., Sat. Weather: Snow.<br />
—Bob Walker, Uintah Theatre,<br />
Fruita, Colo. Pop. 1,463.<br />
Pulled 'em In<br />
A really rough war picture,<br />
"Attack!" really pulled them<br />
in. Very good ad material<br />
available. Use it properly and<br />
you'll do all right.<br />
JIM FRASER<br />
Auditorium Theatre<br />
Red Wing, Minn.<br />
CENTURY-FOX<br />
20th<br />
Best Things in Life Are Free,<br />
The (20th-Fox)—Gordon Mao-<br />
Rae, Dan Dailey, Ernest Borgnine.<br />
Enjoyable musical with<br />
some nostalgic lines for us "oldsters."<br />
The "Birth of the Blues"<br />
number was better for looking<br />
than listening. Looked like a<br />
Gene Kelly production number,<br />
vintage "An American in Paris."<br />
Picture okay and well liked.<br />
Played Sun., Mon., Tues.<br />
Weather: Good.—Paul Ricketts,<br />
Ness Theatre, Ness City, Kas.<br />
Pop. 1,612.<br />
(Continued on following page)<br />
BOXOFnCE BookinGuide :: Feb. 16, 1957 11
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