Boxoffice-August.16.1965

i Levinson
I
Rodriquez
I The
I
Adjacent
1
LOS
. . good,
. . technical
Dallas Little Theatre
To Become Art House
;-rom Southwest Edition
DALXiAS—Under the
new name of Fes-
;ival Theatre, the originaJ Dallas Little
Theatre Playhouse, 3104 Maple Ave., will
igain become a focal point for distinguished
entertainment in this area. The
;heatre will be remodeled and converted
nto a first-run de luxe art showcase by the
lewly organized Academy Theatres of
Dallas, headed by Norm Levinson.
Other Academy officers are J. J. Rod-
•iquez, vice-president and treasurer: Edvin
Tobolowsky, vice-president and general
;ounsel, and Dennis Tient, auditor and
secretary.
is well-known nationally in the
inotion picture industry. Until eight
Inonths ago, he was general manager and
idvertising-publicity director for a Dallasjased
circuit, a position he held for six
l.'ears. Prior to that time, he was MGM
,)ress representative in many sections of
'he country and has managed theatres for
ijoew's Theatres, Inc., in Connecticut,
jcvinson presided at the first art theatre
ieminar for the Theatre Owners of America
convention in 1963 in New York.
is a Dallas exhibitor for Latin-
Unerican films. In addition to other
lusiness interests, he is owner of the Auto-
/Ista Drive-In. Tobolowsky, a prominent
Oallas attorney, has been connected with
he motion picture industry in many ca-
)acities for several years.
500-seat theatre is expected to close
'ery shortly for an extensive refurbishing
|0b, with costs approaching $100,000. The
..ala reopening is scheduled for the first
Veek in September. The opening picture
j.lll
be announced soon.
to the theatre will be a contiiiental-type
"under-the-stars" Festival
ix>unge, where patrons may relax over fine
imported wines, beers or espresso coffee
'/hile listening to hi-fi music. Further enlancing
the setting will be beautifully landcaped
gardens. The entire atmosphere will
jC elegant and lavish with every possible
omfort provided for the patron. Free
arking will also be available.
According to Levinson, the Festival will
|3t the precedent for a completely new con-
[ept in motion picture entertainment.
Zorba' Record in LA
om Western
Edition
ANGELES — "Zorba the Greek,"
|Oth-Pox release, now in its seventh month
it Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, has
l;t a new house record with a gross of
1220,000, according to William Hertz, Los
ngeles first-run district manager of Na-
;onal General Corp.
llf Your Screen
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3XOFFICE :: August 16, 1965
St. Petersburg Industry Rebuilding
While Attendance, Grosses Mount
ST, PETERSBURG — "Movie business
this year in St. Petersburg is big and
'money-green,' according to theatre owners
and managers," declared Marlene Haugland,
St. Petersburg Times movie reviewer
in a July article captioned "Greener on
This Side of the Fence." Exhibitors credit
their current boxoffice success to such
roadshow films as "Mary Poppins," "My
Fair Lady" and "The Sound of Music," in
addition to such regulars as "Goldfinger"
and "Cat BaUou."
The Haugland article, in part, continues:
The managerial consensus about the current
caliber of movies is that they're better
than ever. This might sound like a typical
yearly theme song coming from management
but Ray Dunn, manager of the Sky-
'Vue Drive-In, thinks "good material is
getting scarce because all the good books
and plays are being purchased before publication.
Hollywood is ti"ying to produce
better pictures that will have a tremendous
commercial value ... it has to offset production
costs which have risen sky-high.
There must be a good vehicle to justify the
high budget costs of $3-6-million per
picture."
MANY FACTORS UPGRADED
Walter Tremor, area manager for St.
Petersbui-g's thi-ee Florida theatres, thinks
"it stands to reason that movies have to be
better than ever . qualities
alone have improved 100 per cent the last
year or two. Producers are selecting quality
material which has a higher level of
intelligence. People's changing tastes have
demanded these better films."
"People's tastes iim in cycles, just like
Hollywood productions do," says Bill
Boardman of the Playhouse Theatre.
"Situation comedies are always a manager's
best bet . slick situation comedies,
that is. In the ten next few months we'll be
going through the war film cycle. There
are lots of top-notch ones coming up."
Manager of the Palms Theatre in
Pinellas Park, Bob Nichols, admits that
"movies have to be something special these
days to draw a crowd. Films must have a
quality soundtrack, Pulitzer Prize-winning
story or even a gimmick to do good boxoffice
business."
COSTUME SHOWS POPULAR
Rocker F. Salzer, whose Center Theatre
caters to the roadshow engagements, feels
"more pictures are being made that I like
to run. I find my customers like clean, costume
extravaganzas, such as "Ben-Hur,"
"Spartacus" and "King of Kings," or
quality musicals, such as "My Fair Lady."
The movie I have now, "Those Magnificent
Men in Their Flying Machines." is doing
good business because it's funny, interesting
and designed for the entire family.
More roadshow-type pictures have been
made within the last year and a half and
are still being made. I think it's because
better material is available to the film industry.
If Hollywood would have a regular
spacing plan, I could play spectaculars and
the big specials for the next two years.
Since more films now are being made in
Cinerama, I might put it into the Center."
All these experts keep coming back to the
success of "the big three." The State Theatre
opened with "MaiT Poppins" and
played it for a little less than two months.
Will Brown, manager of the Florida Theatre,
admits it could have played several
more weeks but the theatre already was
committed for another film. "Mai-y" moved
on to the Palms for several weeks and did
excellent business there. "I had standing
room only for the last show on the last
night," Nichols admits proudly.
"The Sound of Music" has been at the
Palace Theatre, Tampa, for 14 weeks and
is still doing record business. This Julie
Andrews starrer is scheduled for another
month's run.
And as to "My Fair Lady," Salzer says
it did milestone business. Approximately
126,000 persons saw the film, some people
saw it more than twice, and it ran 31
weeks. "Ben-Hur's" 34-week chariot race
didn't make as much money as the flower
girl Eliza.
There's a lot of faith in St. Petersburg's
movie business, judging by the new theatres
being constructed. Several weeks ago the
$700,000 Tyrone Theatre opened after a 35-
year dearth of theatre building in this area.
Owned by the Quarto Corp. and managed
I
Continued on page SE-8)
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