Boxoffice-April.07.1958

^"'
EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY
SHORT SUBJECT REVIEWS
(Continued from preceding page)
John Lupton, Joanne Dru. Good
post-Civil War picture. We've
had several with this theme of
late. It seems they come in
bunches. Don't be afraid of it.
TNvill please.—Frank E. Sabin,
Majestic Theatre. Eureka, Mont.
Pop. 929.
Fuzzy Pink NightBOwn, The
(UA) — Jane Russell, Ralph
Meeker, Adolphe Menjou. A
pretty good show, but where Is
the color? ThLs company had
better get its good shows dressed
up a little. Without color they
Just do not have that extra draw
that puts them in the top bracket.
Played Sun., Mon. Weather:
Good.—B. Berglund, Trail Theatre.
New Town, N. D. Pop. 1,200.
Johnny Concho (UA>— FVank
Sinatra, Kcenan Wynn, William
Conrad. A small cast does a great
big' Job. The women bitch at me
for i-unnins Sinatra, but you
gotta hand it to him, he's an
actor. This oldie was no match
for the first night football game
of the season, but what will stand
up to that kind of competition
these days? A couple years ago
this drably colored western would
have been a blockbuster, with a
tinted print, that is. Flinny when
we need color worse than ever
before, there ain't any. Played
Frl., Sat.—Bob Walker, Uintah
Theatre, Fruita. Colo. Pop. 1,463.
Men in War (UA)—Robert
Ryan, Aldo Ray, Robert Keith.
Not so hot as entertainment or
at the boxoffice, and 30 below
teoiperatures were no help.
Played Sun., Mon. Weather: Cold.
—Ken Christianson, Roxy Theatre,
Washburn, N. D. Pop. 913.
Sweet Smell of Success (UA1—
Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis,
Susan Harrison. An unpleasant
picture that had no reason for
being produced. Time magazine
gave this as one of the top ten.
Subject is superbly done, but our
cowboys stayed away in droves,
giving us the lowest Sunday gross
in 15 years. They didn't like the
smell. Played Sun., Mon. Weather:
10 above from a 25 below
zero.—Carl W. Veseth, Villa Theatre,
Malta, Mont. Pop. 2,095.
UNIVERSAL-INTERNAT'L
Back From Eternity (U-D—
Robert Ryan. Anita Ekberg. Rod
Steiger. Good audience picture.
Held interest start to finish. Lots
of suspense and action, centering
around a do^^Tied airliner in the
Jungle.—Frank E. Sabin. Majestic
Theatre, Eureka, Mont. Pop. 929.
Jet Pilot (U-D—John Wayne,
Janet Leigh, Jay C. Flippen. This
did okay and seemed to please.
Personally, I didn't think it was
so hot. I don't blame Howard
Hughes for holding it so long.
Played Tues., Wed.—S. T. Jackson,
Jackson Theatre, Plomaton,
Ala. Pop. 1,036.
Kettles In the Ozarks, The
(U-I) — Marjorie Main, Arthur
Hunnlcutt, Una Merkel. Not as
good as the previous Kettle pictures.
Arthur Hunnicutt is not
the old Kilbride. However, the
picture drew as well as the rest,
which is something. But I don't
think that the pictures will hold
out unless a better mate is found
for Ma. Played Frl., Sat. Weather:
Fine.—Fred L. Murray, Strand
Theatre, Splrltwood, Sask. Pop,
355.
My Man Godfrey
(U-H^June
AUy.son, David Nlven, Jessie
Royce Landis. It was a pleasure
to get one in color and scope
witli a good cast and a stoi-y that
pleased an average best change
program crowd. I would like to
see more like "Godfrey," but
think there was some mixup with
another character by the same
name, who doesn't rank very high
witli our people, the theatre
patrons, so we suffered on that
account.—Mayme P. Musselman,
Roach Theatre, Lincoln, Kas.
Pop. 1,636.
One Desire (U-I)—Anne Baxter,
Rock Hudson, Julie Adams.
This is a good picture and was
well received and well liked by
all who saw it, including yours
truly. Not enough people saw it
and while the take was under
averse, the picture, in my estimation,
was well over average.
Many good comments, but .small
at the boxoffice. Play it. It will
please youi- patrons. Played Fri.,
Sat. Weather: CJood. — Fred L.
Mun-ay. Strand Theatre, Spiritwood,
Sask. Pop. 355.
Young Stranger, The (U-I) —
James MacArthur, Kim Hunter,
James Daly. The author had a
fine idea in the beginning, depicting
juvenile delinquents.
James MacArthur certainly deserved
to be slapped around for
distiu-bing people in a theatre,
placing his feet on seats in front;
of him, refusing to take them
off and finally assaulting the
manager. However, everyone in
a theatre knows it is death to so
much as touch a customer. The
author practically condones the
action of the juvenUe MacArthur.
Daly as the father and Kim
Hunter as the mother are excellent,
and while MacArthur
gives a good performance, no
sympathy can be given him. If
j'ou want juveniles slopping in
their seats, placing their feet on
seats in front of them, insulting
other patrons and in general
making nuisances of
themselves,
book this film, since the average
juvenile will get the impression
after seeing it that nobody can
ask him to be reasonably respectful
in his behavior. Played
with "Bombers B-52." Business
poor.—Don Holbrook, Five Star
Theatre, Palmer, Mass. Pop. 9,-
533.
WARNER BROS.
Big Land, The (WB) — Alan
Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Edmond
O'Brien. A beaut of a picture,
clean and entertaining, but a
blizzard covered our land, so
"The Big Land" was slow here
at the Roxy. Ladd up to his top
standard, our favorite here!
Played Wed., Fri., Sat. Weather:
Blizzard. — Ken Christianson,
Roxy Theatre, Washburn, N. D.
Pop. 913.
Pajama Game, The (WB)—
Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol
Haney. Picture good enough, but
not much business. People ara
careful about their spending.
Played Sun., Mon., Tues. Weather:
Good.—Mel Danner, Ciixle
Theatre, Waynoka, Okla.
Columbia
Harlem Magicians
(World of Sports) 7 Mlns.
Very good. Even those not particularly interested in basketball
will be impressed and amused at the skilful antics of these great
players, led by that great dribbler. Marques Haynes. The feats
they perform with the ball are truly remarkable as they devote
more time to having fun than scoring points. The dribbling is
really incredible.
Columbia
Magoo's Moose Hunt
(Magoo Comedy) 6'/j Mlns.
Good. Magoo goes moose hunting with his old side-kick, Bottomley,
who specializes in the most modern weapons, including
a machine gun. However, a special scent attracts the moose to
Magoo who gets tangled up in its antlers and carried away.
Columbia
Magoo's Young Manhood
(Magoo Comedy) 7 Mins.
Good. It's a flashback to Magoo's youth. Hoping to have a
date with Lilly Larrabee of the Broadway stage, he visits her
on the theatre stage under the impression he's entertaining her
at dinner at Delmonico's. and turns her show into a shambles.
Columbia
Outer Space Jitters
(Stooge Comedy)
16H Mins.
Good. The Three Stooges land on the planet Zunev, meet three
charmers with electricity instead of blood in their veins and get
more of a kick out of them than they anticipate. Then there is
a scientist who would kill them, but they escape.
Columbia
Quiz Whizz
(Stooge Comedy)
15% Mlns.
Good. Swindlers get $15,000 that Joe has won on a TV quiz
show. Moe and Larry join forces with him to recover the money
and succeed in the most difficult way possible after evading a
number of attempts at murder. Then the U. S. tax collector steps
in for his cut.
Columbia
Rock 'Em Cowboy
(Screen Snapshots)
9 Mins.
Good. It's rodeo time for the "Guess Who" contest reel. On
hand with Ralph Staub are Audie Murphy, Prankie Laine, Miss
U.S.A. and 50 champion cowboys. The fun with the wild horses
and bulls is fast and furious.
Columbia
Trees and Jamaica Daddy
(Ham and Hattie Cartoon) 7 Mins.
Good. First of UPA's new Ham and Hattie series, this presents
a little girl playing with a mechanical bird and cat against a background
of trees. The drawings are cleverly childlike. Then, in a
second section, Hamilton Ham and his players render the calypso
song, "De Family Tree," as the cartoon family characters increase
in number.
Columbia
Sailing and Village Band
(Ham and Hattie Cartoon) 7 Mins.
Good. Second in the UPA series of two-section cartoons. First,
little Hattie saUs her toy ship in a fountain until a frog sinks it.
Then Hamilton Ham and his players figure In a clever tale of a
small-town band that salutes the visit of a distinguished figure.
The treatment is unusual.
Columbia
Wonders of
Chicago
(Musical Travelarks) 16% Mlns.
Very Good. A fine selection of scenes by producer-director Harry
Fo.ster and superb photography in Eastman Color by cameraman
William O. Steiner sr.. make this an outstanding travel subject.
This sort of thing has never been done better, even including
earlier Musical Travelarks about Manhattan, Washington and
New Orleans. Adding to its appeal are the singing descriptions by
BiU Hayes and commentary by George Jessel. Previously issued
la Cinemascope, the series has now gone to a 1.85-1 ratio. Again,
it is a star attraction for any audience.
c
14 BOXOFFICE BookinGuide : :
April 7, 1958