Sell . . . and Sell Scores of busy little messages go out every week to a tremendous audience— and they get a tremendous response! Every exhibitor is busy— buying, selling, renting, hiring. All this is made easier and more profitable with the classified ads in Clearing House each week. READ • USE • PROFIT BY— Classified Ads in BOXOFFICE Grecrtest Coyerage in th« Field—^Most Rttaden for Your Money Four Insertions for Price of Three gE.8 BOXOFFICE :: April 16, 1962
with AMARILLO pame Nature made a personal appearance here at the opening of "State Fair" Wednesday i4i. Wouldn't it happen— for the first time in months it rained? But Interstate city manager Jack King had time during the day to finish erecting all the art and streamer flags in front of the Paramount and, due to his long-range campaign, the 8 p.m. performance still received a near-capacity audience from the strong advance ticket sales. To further benefit the coming weeks of the playdate it was covered by radio and TV news departments along with the newspapers. "The Eyes of Texas" was played in advance of Gov. Price Daniel's taped introduction before the feature started. Crossroads got to open "Whistle Down the Wind " "The Deadly Companions" at the Tascosa Drive-In and it was thence moved to the Twin. Carl Benefiel's Victory also went first run with "Wild Harvest" and the long-delayed "A Fever in the Blood." But Interstate rebooted 1950's "King Solomon's Mines" at the State. The Amarillo Junior Leagrue presented 1 13 > at its last play of the season Friday the Municipal Auditorium with "Fabu-Las Vegas," according to business agent Jimmy Cheshire. He also worked the symphony orchestra, which played there Tuesday . . . Channel 7 began featm-es on Sunday night prime time at 7:30 with "Run Silent. Run Deep," originally released by United Artists in 1958, to match the 8 p.m. prime time 20th-Pox product on channel 4 Saturday nights here. Channel 10 now offers three features on Saturday at 1 p.m. while channel 4 runs a top feature at the same time on Sunday matinees. This is in addition to late shows on Saturday and Sunday on 4, a 10 p.m. special Sundays and fom- other late shows repeated at 4:30 the following afternoon on 7, five late shows and thj-ee featm-es on Sunday mornings on ten with a new feature on Tuesday nights. This represents 23 different features per week on the three channels here. The Parker Square Theatre in Wichita Palls, opened in 1958 as the largest and only suburban house in that city, has met its final doom after having been converted and reopened last week as a department store. It has been closed since last year after a thj-ee-year operation by its original owners and later by Phil Isley of Dallas. Oklahoma City 'Fair' Bow Draws Almost Capacity OKLAHOMA CITY—"State Fair," second remake of what's close to being an American classic, was unreeled here Wednesday night i4i in a world premiere run the Criterion Theatre shared with a number of Texas film houses, the Daily Oklahoman reported. It drew a near-capacity crowd, in large part because a portion of the pictuie was made up of racing scenes shot at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds when 4,500 natives served as extras. The .story is set at the Texas state fairgrounds at Dallas. The premiere here Wednesday was de- Wallace Walthalh on 81st Birthday, Honored as Mr, Variety of Dallas DALLAS—Friends and barkers turned out at the clubrooms to honor Wallace Walthall who, as chainnan of the ceremonial committee, has inducted into membership practically every member of the Variety Club since its inception in 1935. Walthall, who for years was head of the National Screen Service office and a charter member of the Variety Club, received congratulations and best wishes from exhibitors, distributors and a host of friends on his 81st birthday. Born in Alabama in 1881, Walthall began his career in the motion picture business with the old Vitagraph Corp. From there he went to General Film Co. as manager in New Orleans before affiliating with National Screen Service. Barkers in the Dallas area and many on the national scene view Walthall as the symbol of Variety in his top hat and barker costume. Too, they remember his trademark of cordiality—passing out a stick of chewing gum to everyone he meets. Chief Barker Gordon McLendon presented a handsome calendar clock to Walthall as a token of appreciation for his outstanding Variety work. Paul Short, southeastern divisional manager for National Screen Service, said: "This club has been blessed with some really great men. The late beloved Bob O'Donnell was known as Mr. Show Business, Julius Schepp>s is Mr. Dallas, Chill Wills is Mr. Texas, Sol Sachs is Mr. Filmrow, Gordon McLendon is Mr. Radio, and henceforth Wallace Walthall will be known as Mr. Variety." Raymond Willie, vice-president and general manager of Interstate Theatres, expressed the admiration of theatre exhibitors when he said, "Wallace Walthall represents an irreplaceable era of spiritual greatness and fellowship." Phil Isley, president of the Phil Isley Theatres and past chief barker: "You are indeed one of the pillars of strength of the Variety Club now, in the past and in the future." void of any of the Hollywood stars featm-ed in the film—they were in Texas—but there was accompanying fanfare. A searchlight probed the di-izzly sky overhead before show time as a calliope tooted and a number of sports cars used in the movie were lined up outside the theatre. Response by the audience to "State Fair" reflected the film's attractiveness. Its first version starred the late Will Rogers in the 1930's, and the second appeared in the 1940's. Narration by Fred MacMurray HOLLYWOOD — Fred MacMurray has been selected by the United Community FMnds and Councils of America to appear in and narrate a new film for the United F^ind and Community Chest campaigns to be distributed nationally this fall. The film will be available for showings in theatres, on TV and in industrial plants and business offices in advance of the national -solicitation funds. WALLACE WALTHALL Sol Sachs, soutliwest district representative for Continental Distributing Co., lauded Walthall as "one of the great men of Variety and one who will alw'ays remain in the hearts of the men who know him." As a feature of the celebration Walthall not only inducted new members, but reaffirmed all the old members present. This prompted the suggestion that this procedure be repeated every year. Among those in attendance were Morty Freedman, Gene Welch, Jake Watkins, Jake Elder, Bill Williams, Norm Levinson, Walter Steadman. Sam Berry, Joe Love. Bernard Brager, Lloyd Edwards, Don Keyes, Meyer Rachofsky, Duke Clark, Fred Patton, Alfred Sack, Kendall Way, Walter Penn, Bob Amos, Bill Slaughter, Johnny Hicks, Ed Gall, Edwin Tobolowsky. Dave Bloom. Arthur Harris, Clyde Houston, John Shaffer. Kyle Rorex, and Short, McLendon, Isley, Sachs and Willie. Oklahoma City Cooper Will Close Till July OKLAHOMA CITY—The Cooper Theatre in downtown, which shows Cinerama films, will close April 26, reopening some time in July. Kenneth E. Anderson, general manager of Cooper Foundation Theatres, Lincoln, Neb., said: "It had been anticipated that one of the two pictures now in production, "How the West Was Won' or 'The Brothers Grimm,' would be available but the magnitude of producing both pictures simultaneously has prevented completion of either picture in time to meet the Cooper deadline." "Windjammer " will continue to run through April 26. Anderson pointed out the closing does not mean business has not been good in Oklahoma City. "We have been well satisfied with results here. Four of the six pictm-es shown had previously enjoyed fine runs in Oklahoma City, With the new films we anticipate a tremendous response," he said. BOXOFFICE April 16. 1962 SW-1
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