Boxoffice-June.05.1978

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^JOKOCMiaSSY
...the Company; thats going places.
• JUNE 5, 1 978
II
1 NATIONAL EXECUTIVE EDIT
I
Including All Sectional News Pa
And it isn't even our damned war!
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BURT LANCASTER in "GO TELL THE SF^RTANS"
Starring CRAIG WASSON MARC SINGER JONATHAN GOLDSMITH
DENNIS HOWARD JOE UNGER EVAN KIM JOHN MEGNA HILI^ H^^^^^ r,
DAVID CLENNON and DOLPH SWEET CLYDE KUSATSU _ ^, ..
Directed by TED POST • Produced by ALLAN F BODOH and MITCHELL CANNOLD gj^''^
Screenplay by WENDELL MAYES-Based on the novel "Incident at Muc Wa"by DANIEL FORD J,r.
Executive Producer MICHAEL F LEONE-Music Composed and Conducted by Dick Halligan ligan
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A Spartan Productions/Mar Vista Productions Presentation
— ^ IRIRESTRICTED^I
IMESUMMbRmCjION AvcoEmbassy branch

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3101.
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6039.
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6660.
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Publication No. 062260.
JUNE 5, 1978
Vol. 113 No. 9
/he
TuAe er 'me /M&&en. rictuAe yncLd^
FACING FACTS AND FIGURES
IS A CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE that
IT
show business, which is based on the glamorization
of fiction, should be called upon to
face the facts of life in the practical world of
business. Consequently, the best showmen are
usually those highly gifted with imaginative
qualities and creative ideas useful in the promotion
of pictures, but who also have the ability
to handle the practical details of operating a
theatre so that it will show a profit. However,
very few showmen can qualify equally in both
fields.
For this reason, an exhibitor's employer should
be selected largely on the basis of ability
to supplement
qualities he himself lacks. One who has
the imagination to see numerous angles for the
promotion of a picture, who can write clever
catch phrases and devise various gimmicks to
bring in the trade, may be badly in need of a
practical house manager who will see that the
physical comforts of the patrons are not overlooked,
thus leaving the employer free to
handle
promotion details. Or the need may be in reverse
order.
Again, it may be that the showman, himself,
does not have the
right temperament for dickering
(the term is used advisedly) with exchanges
about film product. In that case, he is shrewd,
either to buy through a competent booking
agency or to hire an assistant who can bring
tears to the eyes of an exchange manager by his
eloquence on special situation
hardships.
As is well understood, the good executive is
not necessarily a genius but one who realizes
the kind of assistance he needs and plans accordingly.
Thus, a showman who fails to realize
his own shortcomings may be employing others
who fail to provide strength where he is weak.
There may be a whole department in his operation
which does not have the right skill
or knowhow
represented. Two good concession employees
help nothing but that department, whereas one
good concession employee with an assistant to
train,
if needed, and one good maintenance man,
with ditto, may be the real answer to the exhibitor's
situation.
A practical showman realizes that in indoor
houses, ushers are important for more reasons
than the seating of patrons. They may be needed
for disciplinary problems that arise, so, if high
school students are used, an older and more experienced
head usher should be in charge and.
subject to call when needed.
If an exhibitor does not understand the mechanical
equipment in his business, he needs
|
someone who not only can run a projector buti
knows something about simple repairs, lighting
problems, sound equipment, etc. The cost will
be spread over each week rather than in the
form of frequent large repair bills.
At the boxoffice he needs someone who can
both make change quickly and accurately and
also deal pleasantly and diplomatically with all
types of customers. An affable doorman (or
assistant manager) must be capable of dealing
firmly with any chiselers who present themselves
from time to time. In a drive-in, skilled help on
the ramps and as traffic
directors are extremely
important, because of young children who may
have drifted away from their parents.
Since public and community relations are great
business-builders, either the showman and/or his
wife should give special attention to these. Tlie\
are matters best not left to an employee, unlc-s in
an executive capacity as such, and the business
benefits to be derived from these contacts cannot
be over-emphasized.
Tliese thoughts are gleaned from conversations
with exliibitors. based on their experiences. Of
course, there are numerous situations where socalled
one-man operations cannot be expanded
but, where feasible, the vesting of responsibility
and authority in other capable hands is deemed
highly worthwhile.
All of which leads to the observation, hardly
original, that a good showman is one who wdrks
hard but intelligently at his profession in order
to keep his theatre open. If every exhibitor sat
down and analyzed his own situation, listing his
own capabilities and the areas where he needs
help most, then corrected his employee sheet accordingly,
fewer theatres would go dark.
Yet, it takes imagination to be in show business,
but the imagination should be confined to
the screen drama and to the promotion angles
for selling same. For it must always be remembered
that show business is a business—and like
most businesses, is run by facts and figures, with
two sides to the ledger— profit and loss.
The side your business is on may depend on
whether or not you have had the
face its
facts.
imagination to

UA's 'Panther' Set to Bow
In U.S„ Ccmada July 19
NEW YORK— Blake
Edwards' "Revenge
of the Pink Panther" will blanket the U.S.
and Canada with more than 600 openings
July 19, it was announced by Al Fitter,
United Artists senior vice-president for domestic
.sales. Starring Peter Sellers as Inspector
Jacques Clouseau, "The Revenge of
the Pink Panther" is being released by
United Artists.
The coast-to-coast North American openings
will follow the royal world premiere in
London, which will take place July 13, with
the Prince of Wales as guest of honor. The
London performance will be held at the
Odeon Leicester Square for the benefit of
the Newspaper Press Fund and the Welsh
Environment Foundation.
Shot on locations throughout Europe and
the Far East, "Revenge of the Pink Panther"
also stars Herbert Lorn and Robert
Webber, with Dyan Cannon.
Edwards produced and directed the film
from a screenplay by Frank Waldman, Ron
Clark and Edwards. The story is by Edwards,
the music is by Henry Mancini and
the animation is by DePatie-Freleng. Tony
Adams is the executive producer.
This is the fifth Pink Panther film made
by Edwards for UA with Sellers as Clouseau.
Ladd, Livingston Named
V-Ps of 20th-Fox Corp.
NEW YORK—Alan Ladd jr. and Alan
W. Livingston have been promoted to corporate
senior vice-presidents of 20th Century-
Fox Film Corp., it was announced by Dennis
C. Stanfill, chairman of the board and
chief executive officer. Both men previously
were corporate vice-presidents and both
were promoted in recognition of their outstanding
contributions to the growth of the
company.
Ladd is president of 20th Century-Fox
Pictures and a member of the 20th-Fox
board of directors. Livingston is president
of the entertainment group which also includes
the TV division, record and music
companies and film processing. Ladd had
been a corporate vice-president since 1973
and Livingston since 1976.
McCall Set as Production
Designer on 'Weatherman'
NEW YORK—Space artist Robert T.
McCall, whose concepts were used for the
promotion of "2001: A Space Odyssey," has
been named production designer of "Weatherman,"
the $12,000,000 futuristic sciencedrama
that will be directed by Joe Alves
for writer-producer John Chavez, executive
producers Lyn Thompson and Paul Sutherland
and the Weatherman Production Co.
McCall will conceptualize the "look" of the
"Weatherman" film and supervise all other
areas of art direction.
McCall's latest achievement, which took
him one year to complete and which has
been viewed by 10,000,000 persons, is "The
Space Mural, a Cosmic View."
Filming of "Weatherman" will begin this
fall.
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978
Boracks 'Harper Valley' Was Aimed
At Audiences of
By RALPH KAMINSKY
HOLLYWOOD — Veteran film buyer
Phil Borack, whose Cincinnati-based operations
provide movies
Phil
Borack
4**IF'
^M
for 300 theatres, is
convinced that his
grass-roots feel for
^^'^''' ^''^'"^ America
W'ln's in entertainment
will make his
production of "Harper
Valley PTA" a hit
wherever it plays.
Borack operates the
Tri-State Theatre Service,
which he describes
as the largest independent booking
and buying company in the country. He
said he formed April Fools Productions to
make "Harper Valley PTA" because "it
was the only way to get a good film to
distribute. I made the movie just to have a
property lo market."
Premiered in Ohio
"Harper Valley PTA" opened over the
Memorial Day weekend in a gala premiere
in Lebanon, Ohio, where it was lensed entirely
on location. The film, based on the
song made famous by Jeannie C. Riley,
stars Barbara Eden, Nanette Fabray, Louis
Nye, Pat Paulsen, Ronny Cox and Susan
Swift.
The film is tailored to a song and a particular
audience, Borack said. "I made it
for Middle America. It's a great film for
a certain audience. People who watch
'Happy Days' and 'Laveme and Shirley' will
love it," he asserted.
His decision to make "Harper Valley
PTA" came only after he had studied the
top 100 songs listed in charts over the last
15 years. Head and shoulders above them
all as movie potential, he said, were "Ode
to Billy Joe," already converted by Warner
Bros, into a hit movie, and "Harper Valley
PTA."
Previous Distributing
Ventures
Experienced as he is in film booking and
buying and from his previous distributing
ventures handling the "Pink Floyd" rock
group's cinema concert and a rock movie
by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Borack
decided to distribute his new feature himself.
He formed April Fools Distribution and
set up "25 of the finest sub-distributors,
really dynamic people" as a cross-country
network. "As a film buyer, I knew the
movie would have exhibitor acceptance and
it did," Borack affirmed.
By the time the premiere had been scheduled,
he had signed more than 400 theatres
with bookings, each putting up $5,000 in
guarantees—thus giving him assurance that
the $2,000,000 budget for the film already
had been returned. Another $1,500,000 has
been earmarked for the advertising and
Middle America
publicity campaigns to promote the movie,
he said.
"We could havi. had 2,000 bookings, if
we wanted them," Borack claimed, "the buyer
acceptance was there." His sub-distributors
have been calling him. he said, telling
him that "we'll have the best picture of the
year at the boxoffice," especially in the small
towns.
Avoiding
Large Cities
Borack's releasing strategy calls for the
film to be played for two weeks in drive-ins
and for four weeks in the hardtops. After
the film plays in its initial 400 booking in
the South and Midwest, he will steer clear
of the East and West Coasts, concentrating
on the medium-sized cities, avoiding Los
Angeles, New York and San Francisco for
the time being.
"We'll back into them later. We'll wait
until there's a buyer acceptance building up
there. That's when we'll be ready for the
more sophisticated markets," he said.
Despite the optimistic vision he has for
his movie, Borack said he intends to stay in
the film booking and buying end of the business.
But he does concede that "Harper
Valley PTA" ends in such a way that "^'a
sequel is obvious."
"But Em going to be too busy with the
distribution of this one to make another
picture soon," he pointed out. "And if I ever
decide to make another movie, I'll have to
run across a really good story."
Involved With Editing
Borack said he kept his finger in his booking
and buying business while "Harper Valley
PTA" was being made but that most of
his time was taken up by the film. "I was
involved in every aspect of the picture, right
down to the editing. I hired the best people
there are but I was right in there on every
move."
The film was tested in two cities, Huntington,
W. Va., and Zanesville, Ohio, and
the results were "sensational," Borack added.
In Zanesville, the theatre's house record
was broken and the reaction proved to him
that his judgment of "seeing everything
through the eyes of the exhibitor" was about
to pay off, he said.
"It's invaluable to think like the exhibitor:
"Will this movie sell in my theatre?'
You've got to think in terms of Columbus,
Ohio and Louisville—not worry about European
sales," he asserted.
PPP's 'Young Cycle Girls'
Score in Seatle Opening
LOS ANGELES — "The Young Cycle
Girls," new release from Peter Perry Pictures,
scored a very good gross—$39,025
in a ten-screen multiple opening May 17 in
Seattle.
The excellent boxoffice receipts were
achieved despite adverse weather—rain and
cold nights.

j
j
Stars of 'Passage' Feted
At Cannes Film Festival
CANNES, FRANCE—Hemdale and Pasj
I
Kevin Conway Turning (fo Shakespeare BCP and Orion Sign
After Roles vi
By JOHN CCCCHI
NEW YORK — AcjT Kevin Conway,
with two successive .'•yivester Stallone films
under his belt—the current "F.I.S.T." and
the upcoming "Paradise Alley"— now plans
to do a completely new stage adaptation of
"Macbeth" as star and director. He wants
to emphasize the magic inherent in the
Shakespearean work and may open his production
in Dubuque. Iowa, where he made
many friends and contacts during the filming
of "F.I.S.T." Conway is of the new
breed of actor who helps create a character
rather than one who merely plays a part;
also, he can give as well as take direction.
Press Image Incorrect
Conway will tell you that Stallone is not
the bad guy the press has made him out to
be. but a thorough professional who knows
what he wants. Stallone saw Conway's
award-winning performance on stage in
"When You Coming Back. Red Ryder?" and
suggested him to producer-director Norman
Jewison for the part of union hoodlum
Vince Doyle. The "audition" for the role
took the form of the TV film. "The Deadliest
Season," in which Jewison studied Conway's
ability the night he was to interview
the actor. "F.I.S.T.". which runs two and-ahalf-hours,
was to have been even longer
and an intermission was planned. Sometime
after the film was well into production.
Jewison was convinced that his concept of
an epic of the unions had to be pared down
to more realistic
proportions.
Since the film takes place over a long period
of time, all the main characters have to
age. Conway met this challenge by doing
his own makeup, once Mike Westmore had
come up with the formula. The actor also
gained from 12 to 15 pounds gradually for
the later scenes showing him in middle age.
All of the Dubuque scenes were done on
actual locations—no sets were built—and
the plant used as Henry Wilcoxon's factory
was an abandoned site which had been the
scene of a labor riot in 1936. just as was
recreated for the film. Some of the actual
participants in that riot were utilized as advisers
or actors.
Film Is Set in 1946
After the Dubuque filming was completed
and the production was relocated in Los
Angeles, Stallone asked Conway to do
"Paradi.se Alley," which was directed and
written by Stallone, who stars in the Universal
rclea.se. Feeling that the role of psychotic
punk Stitch Mahone was too much
like Doyle, Conway got permission from
Stallone to change the character. Set in
1946, "a more innocent era." says Conway,
the film has a slapstick and a serious element
revolving around a wrestling match. A
20-minute demonstration reel shown to exhibitors
has generated good response and the
film is set for November release.
The $125-a-seat Los Angeles Filmex
showing of "F.I.S.T." was well received and
Two Stallone Films
Conway feels that the negative New York
newspaper reviews were directed against
Stallone and not the film. With a new campaign,
the film has been building grosses
in this city. Conway points out that the
recent production of Steinbeck's "Of Mice
and Men," in which he starred with James
Earl Jones, was not warmly applauded by
the New York critics and yet the play received
standing ovations every night.
As for the future. Conway is looking
forward to experimenting with special effects
for his version of "Macbeth." He will
be promoting "Paradise Alley" and hopes
to make an independent film of a script
which his former wife wrote—and he may
be in next year's Oscar competition.
SEI Acquires Film Rights
To 'The Way of the Wind'
NEW YORK—Richard Salzburg, president
of Salzburg Enterprises. Inc., an-
-nounced that his organization has acquired
the nontheatrical film rights to "The Way
of the Wind," a classic sea saga that details
the 30,000-mile voyage of Charles Tobias,
a former multimillionaire executive for the
Bank of America.
The color motion picture, produced in
late 1976. details the adventures of the crew
of the 60-foot ketch "Mar" and their 30.-
000-mile pursuit of adventure and romance
from Los Angeles to Greece to the Bermuda
Triangle.
Tobias and his crew shot some 150.000
feet (50 viewing hours) of motion pictures
during their five-year trip and edited the
footage into an exciting motion picture feature.
SEI will distribute "The Way of the Wind"
in the nontheatrical market: governmental
agencies, schools and libraries, colleges and
universities, museums and libraries, institutions,
clubs and home rentals.
AA Subsidiary Will Offer
Videocassette Features
NEW YORK ~ Allied Artists Industries
has entered the videocassette market
through a new wholly owned subsidiary. Allied
Artists Video Corp., it was announced
by Emanuel L. Wolf, president and chairman
of the board of Allied Artists. Through
the formation of the new company, AA
becomes the first major film distributor to
make its entire library available to this fastgrowing
industry and to market its cassettes
through its own resources.
Allied Artists Video Corp. will offer the
complete library of Allied Artists Pictures
and plans to acquire additional programing
for this market. The library, consisting of
over 500 feature films, includes "Cabaret,"
"Papillan," "The Man Who Would Be
King." "The Story of O" and "The Betsy."
Among AA's classics arc "A Man and a
Woman." "Love in the Afternoon."
"Friendly Persuasion" and "Al Capone."
Co-Financing Pact
HOLLYWOOD—Bing Crosby Productions
has signed a co-financing deal with
Orion Pictures Co. to co-produce one film
now, with the hope of continuing the relationship
into a series of projects. BCP president
Charles Pratt will be the producer of
the first film. "The Great Santini." with
Robert Duvall starring.
Lewis John Carlino will direct his own
screenplay, adapted from the novel by Pat
Conroy. The final title of the film has not
yet been decided upon. Filming is set to begin
in September on locations in the South.
The story is a contemporary human come-
,
dy about a father-son relationship. Orion
will distribute the joint Orion-BCP produc- !
tion through Warner Bros.
The announcement of the joint agreement
was made by Pratt, Eric Pleskow, president
of Orion, and Mike Medavoy. Orion executive
vice-president.
;
sage Films hosted a party Sunday evening,
May 21, at the Cannes International Film
Festival for the international all-star cast
of its "The Passage," currently filming at
nearby Victorinc Studios in Nice, after
weeks of rough location filming in the freezing
high altitude of the stormy snow-covered
French Pyrenees. Because Hemdale is
handling worldwide sales of the action-adventure-suspense
picture, major international
film buyers and key journalists were invited
to meet Anthony Quinn. James Mason,
Malcolm McDowell. Patricia Neal, Kay
Lenz. Christopher Lee, Michel Lonsdale,
Marcel Bozzuffi, Paul Clemens and Robert
Rhys, as well as "The Passage" director, J.
Lee Thompson.
Executive producers John Daly (also
chairman of Hemdale Film Group) and
Derek Dawson and producer John Quested
were present, as well as Fred Schneier. viccpres-dent
of Hemdale Leisure Corp.. New
York, who handles all of Hemdale's foreign
sales.
"The Passage," a Lester Goldsmith and
Maurice Binder production for Monday
Films, concerns a family's harrowing attempt
to escape relentless Nazi pursuers.
AFSAC Is Providing WATS
Lines for Speedy Service
LOS ANGELE.S—Virginia Cambeis has
been named director of film operations for
AFSAC. a nonprofit air film shippers' association
serving its members nationwide.
Ms. Cambeis formerly was a manager for
Novo Airfreight in the Eastern region.
Because of the rapid growth of AFSAC's
(Air Freight Shippers Ass'n of California)
nationwide service, moving prints, Ms. Cambeis
has installed WATS lines so that members
over the entire nation may stay in
touch through the number (800) 421-2804,
or in California. (213) 649-1234.—Adv.
BOXOmCE :: June 5. 1978
J
|

Hot Boxoffice Reception
Seen for 'The Fox Affair'
NEW YORK—Upon returning to New
York City following a scries of successful
private screenings for sub-distributors and
exhibitors in Kansas City and Cincinnati, as
well as a screening for the major independents
in Hollywood, producer/ director
Fereidun Jorjani was optimistic about prospects
for his latest feature "The Fox Affair."
"The Fox Affair" is a 90-minute actionadventure
comedy filmed in New York and
Hong Kong.
The picture has an ultra-sophisticated
look and excellent production values (expensive
cars, plush locations, helicopter sequences,
explosions, car chases and disco
scenes) as well as karate/ kung fu, beautiful
women and an original disco soundtrack,
Jorjani points out. The chic look of the film.
along with these elements of spicy sex.
karate/ kung fu. international intrigue and
a tie-in with the current disco craze, should
spell big boxoffice grosses for the picture
when it is released in late June.
New Line Cinema represented the Panther
production of "The Fox Affair" in
Cannes for purchase on the international
market. All involved with the project expect
highly successful foreign sales.
ASC Parts Distribution
Center Moving to Texas
DALLAS—ASC Technical Services Corp.
has announced that it will move its major
parts supply dspot from Hasbrouck Heights.
N.J.. to the company's warehouse, shop and
corporate facilities near Dallas.
In making the announcement, ASC management
indicated that the move would
provide several advantages to the company
and its customers. In addition to greatly improving
parts and inventory control, the
company's lines of communication and distribution
will be shortened considerably for
a very large segment of the country.
While Dallas will be ASC's primary parts
distribution center, the company will continue
to maintain stock points in key market
areas of the country, including New York
City and ASC's Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.,
regional office.
In another directly related move, ASC
has announced the retirement of Domenick
Borrello, ASC's New Jersey parts distribution
center supervisor. A 33-year veteran
with the company, he joined Altec Service
Corp. in 1945. During his years with ASC,
Borrello has been responsible for inventory
control and the shipment of millions of parts
to thousands of ASC's exhibitor customers
nationwide. Borrello resides in the Bronx,
N.Y.. with his wife Carmela and their children
Steven, Ronald and Janet.
Dividend by Technicolor
LOS ANGELES—Technicolor, Inc., announced
May 22 that its board of directors
had declared a regular quarterly dividend
of ten cents per share, payable July
6 to stockholders of record at the close of
business Friday (16).
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978
ENTER
HERE — Old-fashioned
showmanship executed with a new kind
of efficiency is exemplified by the 12-
foot shark cut-out Universal has designed
for theatres playing "Jaws 2." Every
theatre booking the picture is being sent
the eye-catching "entrance" without
even having to request it, a.s they do
with most accessories. Nearly 2,000
have been ordered by circuits for crossplugging
as well as for use away from
the theatres in shopping centers, on
college campuses and wherever else
they will draw a crowd.
Asian Film Festival Set
For Australia Oct. 1-6
SYDNEY—Sydney will be the host city
for the 24th annual Asian Film Festival,
the
first to be held in Australia. Oct. 1-6. 1978.
Three hundred delegates from 12 Asian nations
and as many from Australia will attend.
During the festival wcel; each participating
country will present five feature films
and five short subjects. Subtitled in English,
they will be screened continuously in two
Sydney theatres.
A meeting of the Federation of Motion
Picture Producers of Asia, to be held in
North Sydney, will precede the festival.
Promsin Sibunruang of Thailand is president
of the federation.
'Jaws 2' Is Unspooled
In 31 -City Preview
New York—A special one-performance-only
sneak preview of UniversaPs
all-new "Jaws 2" took place Friday evening
(2) at Loews' State 2 here, as well
as in 30 other cities throughout the U.S.
A Zanuck/ Brown production for
Universal starring Roy Sehcider, Lorraine
Gary and Murray Hamilton,
"Jaws 2" is set in the same small resort
town of Amit\ and deals with events
which take place four \ears after the
initial attacks by a great while shark
as depicted in the blockbuster "Jaws."
"Jaws 2" was directed by Jcannot
Szwarc from a screenplay by Carl Gottlieb
and Howard .Sackler.
Nationwide Promotion
Begun for 'Jaws 2'
NLW YORK.— With the premiere of
"Jaws 2" less than two weeks away, Universal
has set four major publicity tours
which will cover the U.S., Canada and parts
of Europe, increasing the near-saturationlevel
promotion for the film.
Leading off was director Jeannot Szwarc
on May 24. He was scheduled to give interviews
and be a guest on TV and radio
shows in Paris, Nice, Stockholm and London.
He will hit .Seattle on his return, then
cov^r New York, Montreal, Toronto, Milwakee,
Vancouver and Pittsburgh.
Next out. May 28, was Susan Ford,
special photographer on the picture. She also
will do interviews, show her portfolio of
photos on TV and make department store
personal appearances in 17 American cities
including Los Angeles, New Orleans, New
York and Chicago.
Lorraine Gary, who stars in "Jaws 2"
with Roy Scheider. hit San Francisco, San
Diego. Dallas. Houston and New York beginning
Sunday (4). Three days later producers
Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown
will begin their tour and plan to cover six
domestic cities.
Prior to these tours publicity coordinator
Al Ebner took a 17-day swing through major
markets offering special promotional material
and photos to newspaper and TV editors.
'Moonraker' Set to Begin
Photography in August
NEW YORK— Producer Albert R. Broccoli
announced that his next James Bond
film for United Artists release, tentatively
titled "For Your Eyes Only," has been retitled
"Moonraker."
The picture is slated to go before the
cameras on locations in Paris. Venice,
Brazil, Guatemala and Nassau in August.
Lewis Gilbert will direct "Moonraker,"
which has a 22-week shooting schedule.
Roger Moore again will be starred as Ian
Fleming's James Bond 007.

.
Fifth Sfudent Film Awards Winners
Honored in Ceremonies at Academy
BEVERLY HILLS—Seven college student
filmmakers from New York, Massachusetts,
Connecticut and Pennsylvania were
honored May 21 as winners of the fifth annual
Student Film Awards. The program
was conducted by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy
Foundation. Co-sponsor of the project was
the American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
Presented with trophies and cash awards
at an 8 p.m. ceremony in the Samuel Goldwyn
Theatre in the Academy's headquarters
here were:
Dramatic Achievement Award: "Button,
Button," Burton Lee Harry, University of
Bridgeport. Conn., for a 23-minute film
about a housewife who can earn $50,000 if
she pushes a button on a people-killing
gadget that murders an unknown person by
remote control.
Film on Gambling
Documentary Achievement Award: "The
Sixth Week," John Simon Block, Graduate
Institute of Film & Television, New York
University, for a 23-minute look at a compulsive
gambler and his family, who manages
to stop gambling for six weeks but
finally succumbs to his compulsion.
Animation Achievement Award: "Mother
Goose," David Bishop. University of Southern
California, for a three-minute satirically
illustrated film presenting popular Mother
Goose nursery rhymes.
Experimental Achievement Award: "Triptych,"
Matthew Patrick, Hampshire College,
Amherst, Mass., for a six-minute music
image of three separate visions, each
with its own mood, tempo and form but
with similar color schemes. The film contains
many advanced techniques.
Documentary Merit Award: "Like Any
Child, Only More So," Maile Ornellas and
Catherine Allan, University of California,
Berkeley. The 28'/'2 -minute documentary explores
the world of hyperactive children,
pointing out that hyperactivity is complex
a
problem often misdiagnosed and inappropriately
treated.
Documentary Merit Award: "Through
Adam's Eyes," Robert Saget, Temple University,
Philadelphia. A 12'/2 -minute portrait
of a young boy with a facial birth
defect. Touchingly narrated by the boy
(Adam), it deals with corrective surgery
performed on him and his post-surgical
social adjustment.
All
Winners Present
All winners were present to receive their
awards from celebrity presenters, including
directors Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis;
actor Darren McGavin; actress
Susan
George; short filmmakers Andre Outtfreund
and Peter Werner; Terry S. Semel.
executive vice-president of Warner Bros.,
and film animator T. Hee, chairman of the
Student Film Awards executive committee.
Bishop is the fourth USC student to win
a Student Film Award in the program's
five-year history. Presenter Zemeckis, director
and co-author of "I Wanna Hold
Your Hand," received a Student Film
Award in 1975 while at USC.
Block is the third New York University
student to be honored with a Student Film
Award, while Temple's Saget is his university's
second recipient. Saget's supervising
faculty member at Temple, Ben Levin, received
a Student Film Award in 1974.
Total of 318 Entries
Students throughout the country entered
318 films in this year's competition, established
in 1973 to recognize in university and
college film production. AT&T will compile
winning films into a presentation to be
distributed for screenings on campuses
throughout the country.
Presto Products Merging
With the Coca-Cola Co.
ATLANTA—Shareholders of Presto
Products, Inc.. have approved the merger
of Presto into a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola
Co. J. Paul Austin, chairman of the board
of Coca-Cola, said it was anticipated that
the merger would be consummated prior to
Thursday (1).
As a result of the merger. Presto shareholders
are to receive .385 of a share of
common stock of the Coca-Cola Co. for
each share of common stock of Presto
Products, Inc.
Presto is based in Appleton, Wis., and is
engaged in
the manufacture and distribution
of plastic film packaging such as plastic
wrap, sandwich bags, food storage bags and
all types of litter bags which are sold to
consumers and industry.
Austin noted that Presto "has maintained
a strong rate of growth and rate of return
on investment and is expected to continue
its growth trend."
Upon completion of the merger. Presto
Products will become a subsidiary of the
Coca-Cola Co. and will continue to be operated
by its present management.
Meyers Named President
Of Lorimar Dist. Int'l
NEW YORK—Lorimar chairman of
the
hoard Mcrv Adelson and president Lee Rich
have announced the appointment of Robert
Meyers as president of Lorimar Distribution
International, a subsidiary of Lorimar. Prior
to the appointment, Meyers had served as
senior vice-president of Lorimar Distribution
International since September 1977.
Before joining Lorimar, Meyers was president
of Jad Films International, a company
he founded. Meyers also has .served
as vicepresident
in charge of international distribution
for National General Pictures and
managing director for Belgium and subsequently
European sales supervisor in Paris
for Cohmibia Pictures.
Reese to Trans-Atlantic
As Distribution Chief
HOLLYWOOD — Trans-Atlantic Enterprises
has named Roger Reese as producer's
representative in charge of theatrical release
for the company's four new film properties
now ready for distribution.
Reese already has coordinated the distribution
and promotional campaign in
Texas for Trans-Atlantic's first film, "Barnaby
and Me," being released by Six Flags
in association with Trans-Atlantic. The film
stars Sid Caesar, Juliet Mills and Sally Boyden.
The other three films ready for distribution
are "Shimmering Light," starring Beau
Brdges, Lloyd Bridges and Victoria Shaw;
"Because He's My Friend," starring Karen
Black and Keir Dullea, and "She'll Be
Sweet," starring Tony Lo Bianco and Sally
Kellerman.
Reese's background in
the motion picture
distribution business includes two and a half
years as chief field officer and sales director
for Billy Jack Enterprises. He also was producer's
representative and national sales
consultant for Pacific International Enterprises.
AE Names Blossom Kahn
Creative Projects Head
HOLLYWOOD — Blossom Kahn has
been named executive in charge of creative
projects for Avco Embassy Pictures, coming
to the newly created position from First Artists
Productions where she was director of
creative affairs.
The new position is in keeping with Avco
Embassy's plans to invest in film production
as well as distribution. Ms. Kahn will be involved
in acquisition and packaging of motion
picture properties, working with writers,
producers, directors and agents. She will
report directly to Paul Rosen, director of
creative affairs.
Before joining First Artists, Ms. Kahn
had operated her own literary firm, the
Kahn-Penny Agency, for six years. She began
her career in New York with the William
Morris Agency and later joined the
story department of Universal Pictures. She
was with the Curtis Brown literary agency
from 1964-68, heading the motion picture,
TV and play departments.
'Corvette Summer' Theme
On a UA Records Single
NEW YORK—Dusty Springfield's recording
of the Craig Safan song "Give Me
the Night." the original theme for MGM's
"Corvette Summer." will be released as a
single by United Artists Records. Springfield's
new album. "It Begins Again .."
.
recently was released on the UA label to
critical and popular acclaim.
"Corvette Summer," a contemporary love
story and action comedy starring Mark
Hamill and Annie Potts, had its world premiere
May 20 at the Showcase Theatre in
Toledo. Ohio. It was produced by Hal Barwood
and directed by Matthew Robbins
from their original screenplay. UA is distributinii
the film in the U.S. and Canada.
BOXOFTICE :: June 5, 1978

'
named
I
ices of Avco Embassy Pictures, it was an-
II
by Bob Rehme, the company's
i
nounced
!
senior
I
i! liaison between the company's sales and adi
vertising
'
of advertising budgets and planning.
"His promotion," said Rehme. "emphaj
sizes
. .
^
A-E Appoints Len Shapiro
Marlceting Services Head
LOS ANGELES—Len Shapiro has been
director of national marketing scrv-
vice-president and chief operating of-
ficer.
i: In his new post, Shapiro will serve as
departments in coordinating the
marketing and supervising of all
cooperative
advertising on Avco Embassy's theatrical
features. He will report directly to Rehme.
Shapiro, who joined Avco Embassy in
1970, previously was the company's director
the growing importance of the link
between sales and advertising in the development
of our marketing strategy."
J. Hunter Todd Beating
Drums for Miami Fest
CANNES, FRANCE—The Greater Miami
International Film Festival was unveiled
here officially by a large delegation
representing the Miami event. Included in
the group were: executive director J. Hunter
Todd, chairman of the board Ana Maria
Cartaya, Steven Quade, Vi Curtis, Mr. and
Mrs. Albert Goodstein and Mr. and Mrs.
Donald Kahn.
Festival information was distributed to
Cannes visitors, an aerial banner was flown
over the Canines beach daily, the Miami
group hosted a cocktail reception and more
than 2.000 four-color Miami Fest T-shirts
were given away.
A saturation advertising campaign promoting
the Greater Miami International
Film Festival is scheduled, with global coverage
the target. Art director for the festival
is Frank Schulwolf, who has created the exciting
and unusual Miami Fest logo and the
ad campaign.
For the complete entry and kit information,
as well as the festival poster, send
name and address to J. Hunter Todd, executive
director. Greater Miami International
Film Festival, P.O. Box 01-4861, Miami.
Fla. 33101. Telephone number is (305) 673-
5700, while the Telex number is 512316.
Group I Films Acquires
Rights to Two Features
HOLLYWOOD—Group I Films has acquired
U.S. and Canadian distribution rights
for "The Very First Time." to be retitled
"Carlos and the Hooker," and "Seven Black
Notes." both picked up by president Brandon
Chase on his recent European buying
tour.
The films, now in post-production, arc.
scheduled for release during the spring and
summer. Chase said.
"Carlos and the Hooker" is a story about
a 14-year-old boy and his first experience
with young love. "Seven Black Notes" stars
Jennifer O'Neil in a suspense thriller about
a woman who suddenly sees into the future
and visualizes
her own murd,.-r.
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978
Italian Film Captures
Top Honors at
Cannes
Cannes, P'rance — "L'AIbcro Dcgli
Zoccoli" (The Wooden Shoe Tree), directed
by Ermanno Olnii of Italy, May
30 was presented the Golden Palm, (op
award of the Cannes International Film
Festival. Jon Voight of the U.S. won
the male acting prize for his portrayal
in "Coming Home," directed by Hal
Ashby.
The female best acting prize was
shared by American Jill Clayburgh and
French actress Isabelle Huppert. Ms.
Clayburgh was honored for her performance
in Paul Mazursky's "An Unmarried
Woman," while Ms. Huppert received
recognition for her role in
Claude Chabrol's "Violette Nozieres."
Nagisa Oshima of Japan won the
best direction prize for his film "The
Empire of Passion."
The special Grand Prix of the international
jury was shared by Italy's
"Monkey's Dream," directed by Marco
Ferreri, and the British "The Shout,"
directed by Jerzy Skolimowski.
Herbert Arnold No'w Heads
Coca-Cola Fountain Sales
ATLANTA—Herbert A. Arnold has been
appointed vice-president and general manager
of the fountain sales department of
Coca-Cola USA, the domestic division of
the Coca-Cola Co. He succeeds T. H. Gibson,
who retired May 1 after 41 years
with the company.
Since joining the company in 1975, Arnold
has served as vice-president and operating
manager of the fountain sales department.
He has played a major role in the
department's increased emphasis on merchandising
and consumer promotions. Arnold
has had 25 years' experience in sales,
marketing and advertising, having held executive
positions with Monsieur Henri Wines,
Ltd.; Norman Craig & Kummel, Inc.. and
Benton & Bowles, where he was senior vicepresident
and a director.
Gibson, an Atlanta native, is a member
of the board of trustees of the National Institute
for the Foodservice Industry and a
past director of the International Foodservice
Manufacturers Ass'n. He also is active
in a number of other professional associations
and has served as a director of Variety
Clubs International. He will continue
to work for the company on a consulting
basis, specializing in industry relations.
'Roadblock' Hefty Grosser
In Charlotte Area Debut
LOS ANGELES—"The Great Smokey
Roadblock," a Dimension Pictures release
starring Henry Fonda, grossed a whopping
$205,834 in its first three days in the Charlotte
exchange area, according to Mickey
Zide, vice-president and general sales manager
for Dimension.
Steven Broidy Is Honored
By the NE School of Law
BO.STON— Veteran film producer Steve
Broidy. president and chairman of the board
of Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles,
received an
honorary doctor of
humanities degree
^» from Boston's New
V%3^jBL England School of
^^^ -^^^ Law Saturday (3).
Broidy began in
films as a salesman
for Universal and
„ . later for Warner Bros.
Steve Brmdy
^^^ ^,,5^^ ^^^-^^^ ^^_
coming vice-president and general sales
manager of the latter in 1940. From 1945
to 1965, he was president of Allied Artists,
leaving in that year to form his own Motion
Pictures International.
Allied Artists Acquires
'Wild Geese' Rights
NEW YORK—Allied Artists Pictures has
acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution
rights to "The Wild Geese." a high-adventure
film in the tradition of "The Dirty
Dozen" starring Richard Burton, Roger
Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger and
Stewart Granger, it was announced jointly
by Emanuel L. Wolf, president and chairman
of the board of Allied Artists and Euan
Lloyd, the film's producer.
"The Wild Geese," directed by Andrew
V. McLaglon on location in England and
Africa from a screenplay by Reginald Rose,
is a rousing adventure film about a group
of mercenary soldiers who attempt to rescue
the imprisoned leader of an emerging African
nation.
"The Wild Geese," which will have its
world premiere in London in July will be released
in the fall in the U.S. and Canada.
Actor Yves Montand Set
For 'Claire' by Vuille'
NEW 'if'ORK—Internationally acclaimed
actor Yves Montand has been signed by
producer Georges-Alain Vuille to star in
"Claire de Femme," a film based on French
novelist Romaine Gary's best-selling novel
of the same name.
Principal photography on the multimillion-dollar
production begins in October in
Paris.
Sipes Is Named President
Of Universal Television
UNIVERSAL CITY—Donald Sipes has
been appointed president of Universal Television,
it was announced May 31 by Sid
Sheinberg. president and chief operating
officer of MCA, Inc. Sipes previously was
executive vice-president of Universal Television
and also is a corporate vice-president
of MCA. Inc., the parent company.
Sipes succeeds Frank Price, who has been
president of Universal Television and remains
a vice-president and director of MCA.

South African Cinema Is Winning
Battle Against TV Competition
ruary. Colin Haynes, publicity director at
Ster-Kinekor, attributed the recovery to "aggressive
marketing and exciting products."
New Advertising Concept
The new marketing tactics include a film
information service run by professional journalists
and a new advertising concept, the
Showguide directory published daily in 23
newspapers in nine major cities. "Because
th2 average advertising budget for a film
is very tight, many under $5,000. it has not
always been possible before to achieve the
triple communications goals of impact, reach
and frequency. We could reach only a small
proportion of our potential audience with
small conventional display advertisements
which got lost among the other ads in the
media," Hayes noted.
Research by Ster-Kinekor's advertising
agency Bates, Wells & Rostron indicated
that families wanted more information before
making a buying decision in favor of
pictures instead of staying home to watch
TV. By combining all the Ster-Kinekor ads
in a single large-format spread, the new
Showguide not only promotes filmgoing in
highly visible form, but benefits each individual
release.
In designing the Showguide the agency researched
all existing types of cinema advertising
around the world. This research persuaded
publishers to regard the directory
as a reader service with both editorial and
advertising content which qualifies it for
special tariff consideration. Thus budget
mileage was increased dramatically.
Computer Aids Production
Production difficulties are enormous with
the Showguide content changing three times
a week in 23 daily newspapers. Information
on all films is fed into a computerized
memory typesetting machine and the final
Showguide content for each urban center
is chosen after attendance figures for the
previous few days have been analyzed. "By
combining the individual movie budgets into
a single bargaining and communications
force, we are now able to reach up to 98 per
cent of our target audience as often as 40
times for each film." says Peter Rostron,
who heads the marketing team.
The Showguide was launched in November
last year and audience response was almost
immediate. In spite of a 20 per cent
grov/th in the TV set population over the
a
JOHANNESBURG—In South Africa the same period and the introduction of smaller
HOLLYWOOD—Comedienne Joan Rivers,
happily counting the profits from her
"big bioscope" is making a comeback. The theatres, attendances at Ster-Kinekor films
improved by 12 per cent overall.
first successful outing as a motion picture
film industn- in that country suffered a
considerable decline in cinema attendance Rostron will proudly produce independently
director, "burned the mortgage" Wednesday.
conducted research showing that 86
after the introduction two years ago of TV,
May 24. to celebrate the final payoff
per cent of the Johannesburg Star readers
of the loan she had to take out on her house
known also as the "little bioscope."
New figures released by Ster-Kinekor,
help finance her "Rabbit Test" feature.
to
turn to the Showguide in the newspaper's
South Africa's largest theatre circuit, show entertainment supplement, making it the
During the days when she toured 41 cities
promote to her picture, Ms. Rivers, in her
that attendance currently is at its highest fourth best-read page in South Africa's
since TV started. The circuit's 150 hardtops
serio-comic style, urged all critics to "please
largest paper, with a circulation of more
and drive-ins drew more than 2.000,000 customers
than 350.000.
like my movie," because she didn't want to
in December 1977 alone and the The lose Showguide her
research
home.
statistics also
boom continued through January and Feb-
have been used by Haynes to stimulate bet-
The mortgage-burning took place at the
ter editorial coverage for movies. The Ster-
Kinekor circuit has created a film newsroom
to supply copy and pictures tailored to the
individual requirements of newspapers and
magazines. A team of journalists prepares
and distributes the information, much of it
on an exclusive basis.
"The South African newspapers and
magazines are among the most sophisticated
in the world, making full use of such technological
developments as electronic editing
and color reproduction," comments Haynes.
"We try to match that sophistication by supplying
motion picture industry stories written
in the style of each publication and with
pictures specially selected to match its requirements
and production processes. We've
cut the hard-sell out of conventional press
releases and write what the publications
really want. They trust us to be objective
and we get a very high acceptance rate."
Free to Theatre Patrons
In March Ster-Kinekor launched a glossy
magazine called Superscrecn which had an
initial print order of 500,000. "Superscreen
will highlight the glitter and glamor, excitement
and adventure of the movies, guaranteeing
to advertisers that they are going to
get the kind of ad-noting figures unobtainable
elsewhere," the publishers announced.
It will be given free to all theatre patrons
and will sell at 30 cents through retail outlets.
The magazine aims to be the biggest
film publication in the world with a monthly
circulation of 1,000,000.
Haynes is quick to acknowledge that a
stronger product line has played a major
role in South Africa's cinema boom. "Christmas
fare for 1977 included international
boxoffice successes like 'Star Wars,' 'The
Deep' and The Spy Who Loved Me.' They
really helped us to shake people out of their
TV-induced inertia and go back to the
movies. This business has fought back
against TV and quickly re-established itself
as South Africa's prime entertainment medium.
But we cannot afford to relax our efforts
to maintain the public interest in filmgoing."
Conti to Score 'Hurricane'
HOLLYWOOD — Producer Dino De
Laurentiis has signed Bill Conti to compose
the musical score for "The Hurricane"
which began filming in Bora Bora May 15.
The picture will be released by Paramount.
Joyous Joan Rivers
'Burns the Mortgage'
By RALPH KAMINSKY
First Los Angeles Bank in Beverly Hills
where, by coincidence, a huge Beverly Hills
fire truck was parked outside the building.
The event also gave Avco Embassy Pictures
an opportunity to make known that "Rabbit
Test" already has grossed more than $10,-
000.000 in the U.S. and Canada—and there
still is the rest of the world to go!
Ms. Rivers set fire to her mortgage, said
to amount to $300,000, while Bob Rehme,
Avco Embassy's senior vice-president and
chief operating officer, held a lighted candle.
As the document flamed, she dropped
it onto a silver tray, where it became ashes.
Looking on were her husband Edgar Rosenberg,
who produced the comedy, and
Lewis P. Horowitz, senior vice-president of
the bank's entertainment industries division.
Following the burning, reporters, photographers
and TV personnel were guests at a
champagne reception. Also participating in
the ceremonies were Jonas Rosenfield, who
had served as a marketing consultant for
Ms. Rivers, and Herman Kass, vice-president
of advertising.
Universal Plans 'Gang!'
Filming Start July 17
UNIVERSAL CITY — Robby Benson
will star in Universal's "Gang!", a Turman-
Foster production which begins filming July
17 on locations in and around Los Angeles
it was announced by Ned Tanen. president
of Universal theatrical motion pictures.
The film will be produced by Lawrence
Turman and directed by Robert Collins
from an original screenplay by Evan Hunter.
Ashby's 'Bound for Glory'
Wins Venezuelan Award
HOLLYWOOD — Hal Ashby's "Bound
for Glory" has been awarded the Premio
Condor prize as best foreign film of 1977
by Venezuela's Center for Film Culture.
The award was presented in Caracas May 9.
Produced by Robert Blumofe and Harold
Leventhal and directed by Ashby from a
screenplay by Robert Getchell, "Bound for
Glory" stars David Carradine as legendar\
folk singer Woody Guthrie and also stars
Ronny Cox, Melinda Dillon and Randy
Quaid.
Cinematographer Haskell Wexler received
an Oscar for his photography.
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978

^Fever' to $91,977,000
In Its First 144 Days
New York—Paramount Pictures'
"Saturday Night Fever" has grossed
$91,977,000 in the first 144 days of its
domestic theatrical release, it was announced
by Frank G. Mancuso, vicepresident-domestic
distribution for the
motion picture division of Paramount.
"Saturday Night Fever" stars John
Travolta and introduces Karen Lynn
Gomey as Stephanie.
Produced by Robert Stigwood with
Kevin McCormick as executive pro-
Fast Growth Anticipated
By Star Wars Fan Club
HOLLYWOOD—An ••ofticiar'
Fan Club has been organized and the
Star Wars
ducer, "Saturday Night Fever" was directed
by John Badhani from a screenplay
by Norman Uexler based upon a
story by Nik Cohn.
guiding
lights behind it expect the venture to
blossom into a $5,000,000 enterprises within
a year. The club was formed by Factors
Etc., Inc.; Star Wars Corp., and 20th Century-Fox.
The organizers anticipate 1,000,000 members
by year's end, with a membership fee
of $5 each.
For the fee, members will get: membership
cards, a "Star Wars" poster, jacket
patch, T-shirt heat transfer, book cover,
decal, a wallet-size color photo and an 8x 10-
inch color photo.
Members of the fan club also will receive
a 10 per cent discount on "Star Wars" merchandise.
Manson Int'l to Handle
'Vortex' Foreign Sales
LOS ANGELES—Manson
International
has picked up foreign representation on
"Vortex," feature film currently rolling
under the Charles Band Productions' banner.
The picture, which will be distributed domestically
by the Irwin Yablans co.. stars
Chris Mitchum, Jim Davis and Dorothy
Malone. "Vortex" is being produced by
Steve Neill and Wayne Schmidt. John "Bud"
Cardos is directing from a screenplay by
Neill and Schmidt. Charles Band is executive
producer.
Maynard Ferguson Horn
On 'Shannon' Soundtrack
NEW YORK. — Maynard Ferguson,
the
noted jazz trumpeter, has been signed by
Chartoff-Winkier, producers of UA's "Uncle
Joe Shannon," to perform on the soundtrack
of the film. The veteran musician not
only will play the trumpet solos for actor
Burt Young, who has the title role of a
trumpet player, but also will play other music
on the soundtrack.
In 1977 Ferguson had a Top 40 record
bit with "Gonna Fly Now," the theme from
Chartoff-Winkler's film hit "Rocky."
BOXOFnCE :: June 5. 1978
'Cloud Dancer/ Aerobatic Love Story,
Required Five Years Preparation
release is planned for the film which stars
David Carradine, Jennifer O'Neill and Joseph
Bottoms and features Colleen Camp,
Albert Salmi, Salome Jems, Arnette Jens
Zerbe, James Callahan, Norman Alden,
Nina Van Pallandt and Hoyt Axton.
Was Professional Actor
The son of radio director Hi Brown but
no relation to the young actor also named
Barry Brown, producer-director-writer
Brown was a nonprofessional actor as a
child and later earned a degree in aeronautical
engineering from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Becoming a
member of the Actors' Studio Directors'
Unit, he developed his skills as a director
of TV commercials and industrial documentaries,
winning awards in both fields.
His first theatrical feature was the sparsely
released "The Way We Live Now" (1970)
but "Cloud Dancer" is the one project
Brown is most enthusiastic about these
days.
His worst fault is being a perfectionist.
Brown admits. If you have a perfect vision
of something, you can create that—or your
idea of perfection—in a film, he says.
Everything focuses back on a director and
actors need a director who surprises them,
said Brown. Surprise is an element he
stresses, since an audience should never
anticipate what's going to happen next.
Writing for films requires a form of shorthand,
he believes, and one of the greatest
things to learn is what to leave out. Audiences
should be uplifted by what they see
and they should love the characters, even
the bad ones, if they're well presented.
'Aerobatic
Love Story'
Aerobatic flying is a sport few can afford
or qualify for, says Brown, who has done
some stunt flying. At the Curtiss-Pitts factory
in Florida, he discovered that a twoseat
aerobatic plane had been developed.
For the purposes of his film, which he describes
as "an aerobatic love story," such
a plane was necessary so that the actors
could be accompanied by a pilot while the
dangerous stunts were undertaken. Everyone
did his own supervised flying in the film,
says Brown, who has praise for all of his
actors, particularly Carradine.
Since the camera would be recording the
action in the plane (no process or trick
photography is used). Brown found it necessary
to design the camera mounts specially
into the construction of the aircraft. Shaking
and vibration have been eliminated and
Brown says that the results look so good
By JOHN COCCHI
that people may not believe it's real. With
NEW YORK— Producer-director Barry every maneuver or direction change, the
Brown spent five years preparing "Cloud body takes on much added weight—eight
Dancer" for the cameras, which rolled in times normal. It literally hurts to perform
Phoenix March 6. An exciting story of the these stunts, but the satisfaction and the
greatest aerobatic pilot in the world, it was thrill are why they are done. Aerobatics are
written by Brown and Daniel Tamkus and less dangerous than skydiving. Brown adds.
adapted by William Goodhart. A Christmas Using the best pilots available, Brown
had no accidents or mechanical delays during
production. He came in three days
ahead of schedule and on budget— under
$4,000,000. Although Russians usually dominate
in the field of aerobatics, the world's
champion is—like Carradine in the film
an American. A wealthy man, Charlie Hillard
constantly strives to test his ability.
Actually, there are only six or eight minutes
of aerobatics in the film, since Brown is
more interested in the character relationships
and the romantic angles.
Executive producer is Melvin Simon, a
supermarket builder and realtor who now is
financing many films. "Cloud Dancer" was
wholly financed by Simon who. Brown says,
virtually is the only major source for production
money outside of the major studios.
As a filmmaker, Brown is impressed by
Simon's willingness to take chances and his
leaving the production entirely in Brown's
hands.
Next, Brown may direct a film for someone
else or sell a script he owns. He would
like to film "Hearts," from a screenplay by
James Salter, about the invention of the
first artificial heart. Brown readied a halfhour
of "Cloud Dancer" for showing at
Cannes and expects many foreign sales.
Rights to 'Watership Down'
Obtained by Avco Embassy
HOLLYWOOD — Avco Embassy Pictures
Corp. has acquired U.S. distribution
rights on Nepenthe Productions' "Watership
Down." an animated feature based on
the novel by Richard Adams. Announcement
of the distribution agreement was
made jointly by Bob Rehme, Avco Embassy's
senior vice-president and chief operating
officer, and Martin Rosen, the film's producer,
writer and director.
The picture, produced in England over
three years is an adult-level allegory of
England's battle to liberate Europe from
Nazi Germany. The story deals with the
migration of a few rabbits across several
miles of English countryside and their battle
to establish a new warren, with the rabbits
serving as the fictionalized versions of
Adams' own fellow paratroopers in the battle
of Arnhem.
"Watership Down" is scheduled for release
in the fall, opening in New York and
Los .Angeles. Rehme said, with a full-scale
advertising and publicity campaign.
Featured in the film are the voices of Sir
Ralph Richardson. Harry Andrews, John
Bennett, Denholm Elliott and the late Zero
Mostel.

Blaine Baker Elected
New President of MPL
MEMPHIS—Following the death of
Frank M. McGeary. chairman of the board
of directors and president of Motion Picture
Laboratories, headquartered in Memphis,
the
corporate board of directors has elected
Blaine Baker as the new president.
Baker, formerly manager of Versatile
Film Productions, Cape Girardeau. Mo., and
longtime filmmaker, joined MPL in 1966
and has served as a member of the board
of directors and as vice-president in charge
of sales.
Larry R. Jackson, MPL controller, was
named as a new director.
Other directors and officers of MPL are:
Burt S. Kaufmann. vice-president and director;
Jim Solomon, vice-president-laboratory
production and director; Garner C. Misener,
former technical vice-president-Capitol Laboratories,
director, and G. Carleton Hunt,
McGreal & Hunt, Hollywood, and former
president, DeLuxe Laboratories, director.
"We believe that the best memorial we
can provide for Frank McGeary," Baker
said, "is to continue MPL's tradition of top
quality and personalized service, the way
that Frank McGeary taught us. With Mc-
Geary, the customer always came first and
we intend to do everything possible to keep
this spirit alive at MPL."
IRC Planning to Produce,
Package Motion Pictures
HOLLYWOOD—Sandy Cobe. president
of Intercontinental Releasing Corp., is moving
his distribution company into the film
packaging and executive-producing end of
the movie business and already has three
cities in the Far East and Europe whioh is
ending with his attendance at the Cannes
Film Festival.
Edgmont Sonderling Weds
Frosene Foster in Miami
MIAMI — Egmont Sonderling and Frosene
Foster of Arlington, Va.. were married
in a civil ceremony in Miami May 5.
Sonderling is chairman and president of
Sonderling Broadcasting Corp., a diversified
communications company headquartered
in Miami.
Mr. and Mrs. Sonderling will reside in
Miami Beach, Fla.
String Quartet Signed
NEW YORK—The Primavera String
Quartet, winner of the 19.S5 Nuremberg
Chamber Music Award, was signed to
play in a scene in "Oliver's Story," the continuation
of Paramount Picture's phenomenally
successful "Love Story," it was announced
by producer David V. Picker.
MOTION PICTURES RATED
BY THE CODE & RATING
ADMINISTRATION
The following feature-length motion pictures
have been reviewed and rated by the
Code and Rating Administration pursuant
to the Motion Picture Code and Rating
Program.
Title Distributor Hating
The Dark (FVI)
\r\
Emanuelle in Bangkok (Monarch) [Rj
Grease (Para)
PG
Hot Lead Cold Feet (BV)
[g]
Jaws 2 (Univ)
PG
Made It on My Own
(General Audience Film Prdns.) PG
Stingray (Emb)
PG
The Sweet Creek County War
(Imagery Films)
PG
Veil of Blood (Leisure Time Booking) (x)
Lawrence Will Produce
Two Pictures for Brut
NEW YORK—George Barrie, president
of Brut Pictures, a Faberge company, has
signed Robert Lawrence to produce two
films, "Kingfisher" and "Blind Love," with
Roy Rogosin as co-producer on the latter.
Barrie will serve as executive producer on
both features.
"Kingfisher," an exciting look at terrorism
and its victims, will have a screenplay
by Gerald Seymour, from his novel. Negotiations
are under way for a director.
Lawrence and Rogosin's "Blind Love"
will be the directorial debut of Michel Le-
Grand, who also will compose the music.
Based on Patrick Cauvin's novel of the same
name, it was first published by Houghton-
pictures lined up for this year, each in the
$1,000,000 to $2,000,000 class.
Miflin and now is available in Fawcett Paperback.
Cobe already has optioned rights to "40
Love," a comedy-drama with an original
screenplay by Ray McGrath. Plans are to
begin filming in August in Los
'The Last Rally'
Angeles.
Is Now
Cobe opened sales talks on the production Available to Theatres
during his two-month tour of numerous SAN FRANCISCO—Super 8-16 Studios
has announced the availability of the first
Super 8 film ever produced in widescreen
and stereophonic sound.
The production, titled "The Last Rally."
was filmed in Washington, D.C., at the
height of the Watergate scandai and the
Nixon impeachment proceedings, according
to Super 8-16 Studios.
Described as "a thought-provoking and
often satirical film," the company states
that "The Last Rally" sets "a new professional
standard for Super 8 and cinema
verite."
Made-in-Russia Western
Film Released in USSR
MOSCOW — "Armjd and Extremely
Dangerous," the first made-in-the-USSR
western film, has been released by the government
to theaties throughout the Soviet
Union. Footage was shot in Romania,
Czechoslovakia and southern Russia.
The Soviet-style cowboy film was based
on the work of 19th century American
writer Bret Hartc.
UA Names Steven Bach V-P
EC, European Production
NEW YORK— United Artists has appointed
Steven Bach vice-president for East
Coast and European production, it was announced
by Andy Albeck, president and
chief executive officer. Currently completing
his work as co-producer of 20th Century-
Fox's "Butch and Sundance: the Early
Years," Bach has moved into his UA position
and will headquarter in New York.
Bach until 1966 was a member of the
faculty of the University of Southern California
Cinema Department. He left that post
to work in public relations with Julian Myers
and in 1967 he joined the Mark Taper
Forum to become Gordon Davidson's assistant.
The following year he moved to
Katzka-Berne Productions as executive story
editor.
In 1970, Bach became a production executive
with Palomar Pictures in New York.
During his tenure there, he participated in
the development of such prestigious screen
properties as "Sleuth," "The Heartbreak
Kid" and "The Stepford Wives." In 1974
he and Gabriel Katzka organized Palladium
Productions (now known as Pantheon Pictures)
and produced several boxoffice hits.
Distribuidora Rivero Has
Acquired New Features
NEW YORK—United Film Enterprises
president Munio Podhorzer, a veteran producers'
representative and purchasing agent
for distributors around the world, has announced
the acquisition by Distribuidora Rivero.
Mexico, of a group of features.
Among them are "The Devil's Advocate,"
a Bavaria Studios presentation of a Geria
Film production, starring John Mills, Stephane
Audran and Jason Miller; "Baron
Blood," a Leone International production,
starring Joseph Gotten and EIke Sommer;
"Too Hot to Handle," produced by Ralph
T. Desiderio and starring Cheri Caffaro and
Sharon Ipale. and "Emily," produced by
Christopher Neame, with Koo Stark, Sarah
Brackett and Victor Spinetti.
An additional group of features presently
is under negotiation.
Improved Film Shipment
Sought by Texas NATO
DALLAS— In a letter to motion picture
distributors, NATO of Texas president Al
Reynolds urged their support in shipping
films in the correct size cans.
Reynolds said members had reported receiving
three-reel features in four-reel cans
and two reels in three-reel cans. Since film
carrier rates in Texas are based on the size
of the can, it adds an additional cost to the
film shipment. He also noted that substitution
of this kind results in confusion for
projectionists as to whether a reel of the
feature is missing.
Speaking for the NATO of Texas transportation
committee, Reynolds asked distributers
to keep an inventory of all size
cans so substitution will not be necessary
when films are shipped.
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978

. . . Weist
. . . John
. . . Keenan
. . Hank
. . Ken
>r ^y^olluwood IKepoA M
f
Avco Embassy Partial Backer
Of Film Set for Aug. Start
directing and Gene Kirkwood serving as
executive producer . . Filming began May
8 on Landfall Productions' "Hassle." starring
Sally Kirkland who also is serving as
associate producer. The script about the
conflicts between prostitutes and the police
in Los Angeles was written by Eric Stacey
jr., who also is producing and directing.
with J. Stein Kaplan as co-producer.
Orion Pictures Plans a Fall
Start for Two Feature Films
Orion Pictures plans to
begin filming this
fall on two features. "Heart Beat" will star
Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek and John Heard
in a story about the relationship between
Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassidv and Carolyn
Cassidy. with a script by John Byrum. Edward
Pressman will be executive producer,
with Michael Shamberg and Alan Greisman
producing. Ralph Bakshi will produce and
I first direct his live-action film, "If Catch
Her, ril Kill Her." from a screenplay by
Carol McKcand. Warner Bros, will distribute
Euan Lloyd is budgeting
both films . . . $11,000,000 for his next project. "Boarding
Party," to star Richaid Burton. Roger
Moore and Hardy Kruner. Shooting will
start next January in India with Andrew V.
McLaughlin directing . . . Producer Ellis
Green has set a September 4 start in Boston
on "Sweeney's Kid," the story of a career
politician's dismay over his son's decision
to become a priest rather than to follow in
his father's footsteps. Richard Egan will star
in the script written by Alex Penn, with
Quentin Cassidy set to direct . . . "The
Dilessi Affair." based on the book by Romilly
Jenkins about an 1870 kidnaping in
Greece, will be produced by John Hanson.
who plans to begin photography on location
in September. Philip SavHIe has been signed
to direct from the script by Thom Keyes.
Already cast in key roles are Jon Fimch.
Richard Johnson. Pierre Gelenti, Costa Kazakas
and Bjorn Andersen.
Take This Job and Shove It'
Film Based on Popular Song
"Take This Job and Shove It." based on
the hit
song by David Allen Coc and sung
BOXOmCE:: June .S. 1978
by Johnny Paycheck, will be produced and
d rected by Mark Lester from a script by
Elia Katz . . . Warbrook Productions and
William Orr plan to make "The Gold of
the Fox," with a script by Peter R. Brooke
& Associates has named Mikita
Knatz as co-producer and Gillcs A. dc Turenne
as executive in charge of production
on "The Overlords," set for shooting this
summer. Melvin Gordy, head of Weist &
Associates, will be the producer . . . Park
Productions will begin filming next spring
on Robert Hargrove's original love story
"Blue Lake," for which Hargrove also will
Avco Embassy Pictures will provide partial
financing for "A Man and a Woman
and a Bank." a love story set against a background
of an intricately devised computerized
bank heist involving a huge sum of
money. Donald Sutherland. Brooke Adams
and Paul Mazursky will star for producers
John B. Bennett and Peter Samuelson. The
screenplay was written by Raynold Gideon
and Bruce Evans. Filming will begin in August
in Vancouver and later will move to
the Far East . . . Principal photography be producer . . . Glenda Jackson will star
began May 22 on United Artists' "Uncle in "Dry Hustle" as the second of three films
Joe Shannon," a Robert Chartoff-Irwin under her deal with First Artists. Production
Winkler production starring Burt Young in
is slated to begin next spring on the
comedy written by Robert Enders, who also
his own screenplay, with Joe Hanwright
produce.
will
Golan-Globus Plan an August
Kick Off for 'The Magician'
An August start in Europe is planned by
Menahem Golan and "Voram Globus on
"The Magician," a $6,000,000 feature based
on the Bashevis Singer novel, "The Magician
of Lublin." Alan Arkin will star in the
title role and Brenda 'Vaccaro and Shelley
Winters will fill top roles, with Golan directing
. . . Principal photography is scheduled
to begin Wednesday (7) on Arizona
locations on "Wanda Nevada." starring Peter
Fonda, with Brooke Shields co-starring.
William Hayward will be executive producer
on the United Artists release and Dennis
Hackin. who wrote the screenplay will produce
with Neal Dobrofsky, with Hillary
Holdezn and Thomas Perry as associate
producers . . Producer-director Creighton
.
Ashe plans to begin production in London
early in August on "Mourning. Noone and
Knight," a comedy about a small town
mourning for two of its young citizens who
are believed to be drowned. They really
are
living in Paris. Larry Manetti will star in
the picture.
Allied Artists Is Acquiring
Rights to 'Shape of Things'
Allied Artists is acquiring the U.S. rights
to H. G. Wells' "The Shape of Things to
Come" and plans to begin production on
the science-fiction adaptation in July . . .
"A Place for Noah." a novel by Josh Greenfeld,
has been acquired by Alan Jay Factor.
John Newland and Larry Schiller, who will
produce. Executive producers will be Newland
and Factor.
MGM Has Announced Additions
To Impressive 'Champ' Cast
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "The Champ"
cast additions include Joan Blondell. playing
a wealthy society matron who likes to
race thoroughbreds; Jeff Blum, a 17-yearold
Hialeah racetrack exercise boy who will
play a
jockey, and Mary lo Catlett portraying
a reformed drinker working as a stablehand
at the track. Veteran film and Broadway
star Sam Levene will play an aged horse
groom at Hialeah. Shirlee Kong will portray
a close friend of Jon Voight and Ricky
Schroeder. "The Champ" is shooting on location
in Miami . . . Pat Hingle. Barbara
Bexley, Gail Strickland and Lonnie Chapman
have signed to co-star in 20th Century-
Fox's "Norma Rae" . . . Altovise Davis,
wife of Sammy Davis jr., has signed for a
role in Dimension Pictures' "Giggling in the
Park" . . . George Lazenhy has a featured
role in Peter Bogdanovich's "Saint Jack,"
New World Pictures feature shooting in
Singapore . . . Jack Elam will play the
leader of outlaws and Tim Matheson will
portray a cavalry spy in "Trail's End,"
which Walt Disney Productions began film-
Tammy Grimes, Beau
Bridges, Maureen Stapleton and Ray Bolger
will have co-starring roles in the Melvin
Simon production of "The Runner Stumbles"
. . . Bert Remsen will portray an owner
of an antique shop in the 20th Century-
Fox feature "The Rose" . . . Swiss actor
Jean-Luc Bideau has signed for a featured
role and English actor Jacobs, along with
Zia Mohyeddin, were added to the cast of
producer Georges-Alain Vuille's "Ashanti,"
now filming in Kenya . McMillan
has a featured role in Metro-Goldwyn-
Mayer's "Hide in Plain Sight." Also added
to the cast are Danny Aiello and Joe Grifasi
Huston has signed to co-star in
Sandy Howard's "Jaguar Lives" . . . Stephane
Audran will play an undercover agent
in Lorimar Productions' "The Big Red One"
. . . Jim Kelly stars in First Film Organization's
"Night of Final Revenge," a
martial
arts feature which began shooting May 15
in Hong Kong . Worden has been
cast in a featured role in "They Went That
Way and That Way." shooting in Atlanta
Wynn has joined the cast of
the Rankin/ Bass production of "The Bushido
Blade" . . . Don Stroud and George Kennedy
have been added to the cast of "Search
and Destroy."
Write Lyrics
Ayn Bobbins to
For 'Apartment House' Theme
Ayn Robbins has been signed to write the
lyrics for the theme song to "Apartment
House." planned for production by Myriad
Cinema International . . . Theoni V. Aldredge
will create the costumes for Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer's "The Champ" and also
will create and stage an elaborate fashion
show at Miami's Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
as one of the pictorial highlights of the
film . . . Manhattan Transfer will sing two
key songs in the David Bowie-Marlene Dietrich
film "Gigolo." now being edited in
London . . . Rafe Blasi has been set by executive
producer R. Ben Efraim as special
production coordinator for "Search and Destroy.
" now shooting at Niagara Falls. N.Y.
Lawrence Set as Producer
Of Brut's 'Kingfisher'
HOLLYWOOD— Robert Lawrence has
been signed to produce "Kingfisher." based
on Gerald Seymour's novel, for Brut Pictures,
it was announced by executive producer
Georoc Barrie. president of Brut Pictures
and Faberge.
u

.:..:.....-.......„,...,....,..-....... ..-..v......,...-.
BOXOFFICE
BAROMETER
This chort records the performance of current attractions in the opening weeic of their first runs in
five the 20 key cities checked. Pictures with fewer than engagements are not listed. As new runs
is in in
are reported, ratings are added and averages revised. Computation terms of percentage
relation to average grosses os determined by the theatre managers. With 100 per cent as average,
the figures show the gross ratings above or below that mark. (Asterisk * denotes combination bills.)

• ADUNES ft EXPLOITIPS
• ALPHABETICAL INDEX
• EXHIBITOR HAS HIS SAY
• FEATURE RELEASE CHART
• FEATURE REVIEW DIGEST
• SHORTS RELEASE CHART
• SHORT SUBJECT REVIEWS
• REVIEWS OF FEATURES
• SHOWMANDISING IDEAS
THE GUIDE TO M BETTER BOOKING AND 8 U S I N E S S - B U I L D I N G
Silver Dollar Prizes
Bally 'Silver Bears'
Richard Brelimd, manager of Ogden-Pcrry
Theatres' Ellis Isle Cinema in Jackson,
Miss., demonstrated that he knew the value
of a dollar during his promotion of "Silver
Bears."
Breland approached a local merchant and
asked for a donation of h's merchandise to
be given away over the air on WJQS Radio.
Appropriately, the merchant was the Deposit
Guaranty National Bank and the merchandise
was 25 silver dollars!
"The Silver Bears Game" was played 102
times, with theatre passes and silver dollars
awarded lucky winners. Each time the game
was played, the engagement of "Silver
Bears" at the Ellis Isle was plugged, including
feature times for that particular day.
Each time a silver dollar was won. Deposit
Guaranty National Bank and "Silver Bears"
nicL at the Ellis Isle also were touted,
entf The air time devoted to the game had a
total value of $900 and response to the
contest had to be described as "fantastic!"
Said Breland, "V/e feel it was the No. 1
contributing factor to a very successful engagement."
Huge Publishing Campaign Creating
Want-to-See for Jaws 2' Openings
In days gone by, publishing was a genteel
business. When a book chanced to become
a best seller (25,000 hardcover copies) it
was snapped up for the movies as a "presold"
property.
"Jaws" helped change all that. The story
of how it was written to a best seller formula
and promoted accordingly is well
known. The paperback sold nearly 10,000,-
000 copies and the movie became a runaway
hit.
"Jaws 2" represents the ultimate departure
from literary tradition. With the
title a "presold" property, a paperback was
written based on the upcoming movie and
it is being sold by Bantam Books with an
aggressiveness that a movie studio might
well admire.
8,000 Replies to Ad
The first gun in Bantam's campaign was
an ad in the New York Times book review
section March 12, offering preview copies
of the book to the first 3,000 persons requesting
them. The ad drew 8.000 replies.
Another 22,000 copies were given to reviewers,
book dealers and assorted opinionmakers.
Next was a coup that the studios frankly
envied: the sale of publication rights to the
first chapter to some of America's largest
and most prestigious newspapers, among
them the Washington Post, Los Angeles
Times, New York Post, Philadelphia Inquirer,
Chicago Tribune and others.
exposure than even best sellers at the top
of the charts can gamer.
A Reader's Digest Condensed Book Club
selection, "Jaws 2" also will be condensed
as the novel-of-the-month in Good Housekeeping.
In addition, serialization rights to
both the novel and "The Jaws 2 Log" have
been sold to the Star, a high-circulation
weekly newspaper.
The Star version will
feature photos from
the movie, an eight-page center pullout section
which includes four pages of full-color
scenes and special photos taken by Susan
Ford during production of the picture.
Financial arrangements made by Bantam
with Star publisher Rupert Murdoch and
his group are enlightening. Although they
paid a substantial sum for publication rights,
the figure was dwarfed by the $125,000
they contracted to spend on promotional
TV spots.
In all. Bantam is spending over $250,000
to promote "Jaws 2." By the time the picture
opens Friday (16) it won't have to complete
with such summer attraction as beachgoing.
Nobody—but nobody—will
safe to go back in the water.
think it's
As a Universal advertising-publicity executive
admitted: "If we'd gone to the papers
and offered the rights free, we would
have been turned down."
J

Personal Appearance Plugs
Tesf'
f-^romo
r luaaetd
Long garnered much publicity for the
Bill
Odeon Theatre in New Glasgow, N.S., when
he staged a drawing for prizes in cooperation
with a local radio station.
The giveaways included over 400 prizes,
all promoted from local merchants. There
were such articles as cans of pop, chocolate
bars, Frisbees, potato chips, kites, fried
chicken, a shirt, sweater, radio, watch, camera,
skateboard and pizza pies.
To be eligible for the drawing, patrons
filled out entry blanks at the Odeon's candy
counter and deposited them in a ballot box.
•
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
was promoted at the State theatres 1-2-3 in
Eureka, Calif., by Ernest Bondi, district
manager, and Ronald Rhodes, triplex manager,
when they helped to arrange the first
northern California Star Trek convention.
Over 3.000 science-fiction fans attended
the event and saw a display there plugging
the film's playdate at the State. Presiding
over the exhibit was Darth Vader, who captured
the eye of local TV cameramen, who
provided bonus ballyhoo via the video news-
Sure liochan. lejl. house manager of the Circle Theatre, and Lou Kenney. center.
managing director, present Joan Rivers a three-and-a-half-foot pregnant rabbit
made of pink and white carnations. The star of "Rabbit Test" made an in-per.son
appearance at the Circle Theatre the night the picture opened.
Rabbit Test" opened Friday night, April
28, at theatres in Boston and, as a special
treat to first-nighters attending the premiere
at the Circle Theatre in Brookline, Mass..
Joan Rivers was there in person to meet
and to mingle with the people who "saved
her house."
Miss Rivers was escorted into the theatre,
a Showcase Cinema, by a seven-foot rabbit
which stood by her side and watched as she
signed autographs and made jokes with
patrons. Al Chin, usher who donned the
rabbit outfit, was thrilled to escort the star!
Miss Rivers wr.s welcomed to the Circle
Theatre by Lou Kenney, managing director,
and .Steve Bochan, the house manager. They
presented the star with flowers and a box
of candy from the staff.
Special Interview Taped
event.
Once the interview was completed, both
Kenney and Bochan presented the actress
with a three-and-a-half-foot pregnant rabbit,
made from white and pink carnations
by a local florist. The gift, of course, was
a memento of the
atre.
visit to the Ci
Star Signs Autographs
Before departing. Miss Rivers thanked
the entire staff at the Circle, signed more
autographs and stills for the girls behind the
concession counter and let a bashful usher
kiss
her on the cheek.
Activities for Miss Rivers' appearance
were coordinated by John Nerich, district
manager for Redstone Theatres, and Ed
Knudson, circuit vice-president in charge of
advertising and promotion.
"Rabbit Test" played to sellout crowds
opening weekend.
Merchants in SC Sponsor
Weekly Ladies' Day Show
Don McKay, manager of Wometco's
Boca Raton Twin theatres, Miami, Fla., and
Along with the excitement of having a
celebrity in the house, "The Evening Magazine,"
Boston's nightly TV program seen on district manager Leo Brown sold a ladies'
WBZ-TV, Channel 4, filmed the event and day show to the Fifth Avenue Shopping
taped a special interview with Miss Rivers Center Merchants Ass'n to start May 10
in the theatre's art gallery. The Boston and run every Wednesday morning.
Globe and the Traveler also recorded the This represented another example of Wometco's
"Action Managers at Work." Ladies'
day shows currently are presented in
other Wometco theatres—at the Palm
Springs Twin, Hialeah, Fla., and at the
Crossroads Twin Theatre. St. Petersburg,
Fla.
Beatles Memorabilia
Hypes 'I Wanna Hold'
For the recent engagement of Universal's
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand." the Camelview
Plaza Cinema in Scottsdale, Ariz., brought
Beatlemania to its customers.
Theatre operator Dan Harkins displayed
antique Beatles memorabilia in his lobby.
The film's playdate was promoted via a
calendar which was mailed to 5.000 moviegoers
(on a theatre mailing list which he
maintains) and another 4.000 were distributed
throughout local record and bookstores
in conjunction with a promotion for
"FM" at another Harkins theatre. Handbills
for both pictures were passed out at record
stores, bookstores, concerts and to other
merchants.
Many of the theatre's patrons commented
and reminisced about the elaborate exhibit
in the Camelview Plaza Cinema's lobby.
Many rare pieces were on display, including
extinct albums, authentic concert tickets, inflatable
Beatles dolls, old media items and
even a piece of Ringo's bedsheet. The total
display was valued at $5,000 by local collectors.
Harkins, president of Harkins Theatres,
was amazed by the "large amount of young
children attracted to this film. It seems that
Beatlemania is still very much alive with
the young audience that never experienced
the Beatles phenomenon as it occurred."
Camelview Plaza Cinema employees
posted handbills and one-sheets at local highschools,
along with the same effort made by
Hayden East Cinema employees for "FM."
14 — 16 — BOXOFHCE Showmandiser :: June 5, 1978

Columnist Steve Weller's
Quite Hostile to Yellers
BUFFALO—News columnist Steve Weller.
author of Typewriter Ribbin", recently
committed his major likes and dislikes visa-vis
thespians" styles to lyric prose. Hitting
upon some points which we have not seen in
print too often, he waxed and waned all
over the likes of Belte Davis. Richard Dreyfuss
and Marlon Bando. Without further
ado, we quote Wellcr on yelling, deadpans
and mumbles:
The stoiy was a shocker. It said Bette
Davis had just observed her 70th birthday.
1 thought Bette Davis was always 70. Not
because of her appearance but because the
movie roles she played radiated the kind of
problems and personalities it takes about
three-quarters of a century to accumulate.
The story also said she had been making
motion pictures for 47 years. That means I
started not going to Bette Davis movies
when I was one year old.
This is no knock on her talents. She can
act, but when movies cost 9 cents, one of
the things nobody in my circle would spend
that much on was a Bette Davis flick.
She made nervous pictures, shouty pictures.
And they always seemed to be in
black and white. How do I know that much
about somebody I never went to see? Every
once in awhile we'd all be caught in the
same theatre with one of Bette's previews,
an experience that would strengthen the resolve
to be somewhere else when the whole
show arrived.
Maturity has diluted my need for technicolor,
but I still can't take nervous, shouty
entertainment.
Richard Dreyfuss shows promise of becoming
a male Bette Davis. He won an
award for his work in "The Goodbye Girl,"
but I won't see the film because the promotional
clips used on television indicate
all Richard does is holler and thrash about.
I thought "Dog Day Afternoon" would
never end, mostly because I thought Al
Pacino would never stop racing around
shrieking.
The decibel problem isn't confined to
drama. The ear-piercing comedy of Jerry
Lewis never convulsed me. The late Jack
Benny could get more done with five seconds
of sil.-nce that Jerry can with a fright
wig, an air horn and three verses of "Rocka-bye
My Baby," sung in a plaid diaper.
"The Jeffersons" is an almost unwatchable
TV show because George, who could
do it all with a flick of his fiery little eyes
if the script would allow it, never stops bellowing.
Raucousness isn't the only sin that can
knock an entertainer out of my Top 1,000.
Pacino doesn't shout in all his movies,
isn't but that necessarily an improvement.
When he isn't shouting, he is grimly stonefaced.
Next to noisy thespians I don't like
grimly stone-faced thespians best.
Marlon Brando fell from favor many
years ago, partly because it didn't take too
many movies to notice he never changed
anything but his style of mumble, partly
because the mumble he used in a turkey
called "Sayonara" was the worst fake South-
crn accent ever inflicted on an audience.
Lest this diatribe sound totally negative,
let it be said that Spencer Tracy and Wallace
Beery were great. So were Peter Lorre,
Jeanne Grain, Jane Wyman, Clark Gable,
Percy Kilbride, Akim Tamiroff, Maria Ouspenskaya
and Pat O'Brien.
All relics of the past, you cay? Well, Paul
Newman, Robert Redford and Jack Nicholson
are very good. Unfortunately, they came
along after the 9-cent ticket went out of
style.
The price increases do have a bright side.
Everytime Bette Davis makes a movie I
save $3.50.
now
Metric Conversion Films
Acquired by Salzburg
NEW YORK—Salzburg Enterprises, Inc.,
has received 50 color motion pictures on
metric vocational education from Educational
Film Systems of Los Angeles, according
to Richard Salzburg, SEl president,
who disclosed that this package is the second
phase of a series of 100 films that were
awarded to his organization for distribution
to governmental agencies, libraries and mu-
metre, litre, Celsius and gram—as they apply
to every phase of our daily lives at home
and at business, he said.
Each film in the second group of 50 color
motion pictures deals with a specific vocation—mining,
trucking, baking, mechanics,
building, masonry, clothing, fasteners, consumerism,
lumber, business, maritime, steel,
textile, shipping and receiving.
The "Metric Education and You" series
are narrated by a number of top Hollywood
entertainment figures, among them being
Jack Palance. Noah Berry, Foster Brooks,
Adrienne Barbareau and others.
The metric series, which has enjoyed a
wide distribution in educational circles, has
been honored by a number of top periodicals
and educational groups. The films can
be exhibited sequentially to provide aixliences
with a complete program in metric
concepts and their application. Weights,
measures, mass, temperature, volume and
capacity and their utilization of exponents
and decimals are discussed in metric terms.
Salzburg said that all of the 100 films in
the metric package are available on 16mm
and super 8mm film as well as on tape.
CinemaScope Screen for Library
PHILADELPHIA — The Free Library
of Philadelphia, which has become a popular
gathering spot on Sunday afternoons for
its free showing of Hollywood and classical
feature films in its Central Library lecture
Hall, can now show CinemaScope films.
The new equipment will be inaugurated with
a Sunday afternoon film series starting with
"Grand Prix" and "Grand Slam." The film
programs will continue to be offered free on
a first-come, first-seated basis.
Premiere for
'Wiz'
In New York City
NEW YORK— Mayor Edward 1. Koch
today announced that the city of New York
will, for the first time, sponsor a benefit
world premiere of a major motion picture,
the Universal/ Motown release "The Wiz,"
filmed entirely in New York City. The proceeds
of the benefit premiere, which will be
held October 24 at the Loews Astor Plaza
Theatre, will go to the Astoria Motion Picture
and Television Foundation in Astoria,
Queens.
The mayor was joined in the announcement
by Queens borough president Donald
Manes, who has played a leading role in
getting the famed studio leased from the
federal government at no cost to the city
and encouraging commercial productions
through development of the foundation.
The proceeds from the premiere will be
used to maintain and improve the facilities
of the AMP&TVF and turn it into a major
production studio. A cinematic landmark
built in 1920, the Astoria Film Studio was
the site of the first full-length feature film
seums, institutions, clubs and home rentals.
ever made. Valentino, the Marx brothers,
Salzburg said that this metric film package
Gloria Swanson and Jeanette MacDonald
from Educational Film Systems is aim-
were among
ed for elementary and secondary school
movies there.
and
the many stars who made
students as well as for vocational industrial
and
"We hope that with the proceeds from
use. Through live action animation,
the benefit for the premiere performance of
the films discuss metric conversion tables
'The Wiz,' public and private donations,
federal and state grants and other financial
resources, we will make New York City and
the Astoria Film Studio one of the busiest
film studios anywhere in the world and,
once again, make New York City a filmmaking
capital." Koch said at the press
conference.
Sidney Lumet directed "The Wiz." based
on the Tony Award-winning stage hit and
classic novel by L. Frank Baum, "The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz." The production was
filmed on more than 32 separate New York
locations in four boroughs, with 20 sets
built at the Astoria Studios in Queens.
Transformed into a "contemporary urban
fantasy" in the screenplay by Joel Schumacher,
the Universal/ Motown release is
the story of a 24-year old school teacher
named Dorothy (Diana Ross) who encounters
a "scarecrow" (Michael Jackson), a
"tinman" (Nipsey Russell) and a "lion" (Ted
Ross) on the road to self-realization. In other
key roles. I^na Home portrays the good
witch "Glinda," Richard Pryor plays "The
Wiz" and Mabel King is the bad witch
"Evillene."
Ken Harper was executive producer of
the film, which was produced by Rob Cohen
in Technicolor and Panavision utilizing
the Dolby sound system.
Shooting on 'Ice Castles'
Ends in Colorado Spgs.
COLORADO SPRINGS. COLO—After
seven weeks of shooting in and around St.
Paul. Minneapolis and Colorado Springs,
filming on "Ice Castles" was completed
here .April 21. More than 50 location sites
were used during filming.
BOXOmCE:: June 5, 1978
E-1

BROADWAy
THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
again heralded the coming of summer
and the release of top product, which should
make exhibitors and audiences very happy.
Leading the pack Friday (2) was Warners'
'Capricorn One," which should please sci-fi
chills and laughter throughout most of the
summer. July releases will include UA's
"Revenge of the Pink Panther" and "Corvette
Summer," Warners' "The Swarm," Disney's
"The Cat From Outer Space" and
Paramount's "Foul Play." Of course, there
will be many other releases from the majors
and the much-appreciated product from the
independents to keep the boxoffice turnstiles
in motion.
•
The world-famed Cannes Film Festival
came to a successful close with the announcement
of the prize winners. The Grand
Prix for top film went to Italy for Ennanno
Olmi's "The Three Wooden Clogs." Special
Jury Prize was won by Italy for Marco
Ferrari's "Bye Bye Monkey" and Britain
for Jerzy Skolinwvsky's "The Shout." The
U.S. took top honors in Best Actor, won by
Jon Voif>ht for "Coming Home," and shared
Best Actress between Jill Clayburgh for "An
Unmarried Woman" and Isabelle Hubert
for France's "Violette Noziere." The director
prize went to Japanese Nagisa Oshima
for "Empire of Passion." The U.S. features
already are in wide release here and their
prizes shoidd add some additional sums at
the boxoffice. The winning of awards by
foreign films at Cannes usually a.ssnres
eventual U.S. release and it is hoped llnil
U.S. audiences will he given the opporluniiy
to view them before long.
•
This year's annual audience collection
trailer for the Will Rogers Institute will star
Roy Scheider, currently the lead in Universal's
"Jaws 2." The trailer will be previewed
at the New York kick-off rally
Wednesday (7), which will be followed by a
luncheon on the grounds of the Burke Rehabilitation
Center in White Plains, where
the Will Rogers Institute now is located.
Salah M. Ha.ssanein, president of the Will
Rogers Institute, will welcome New York
exhibitors and their guests. Harry Buxbaum,
president of KRO-Stanley Warner Theatres,
exhibitor division chairman, together with
Nat Stern, Paramount distributor chairman
for New York, will outline plans for the
drive.
•
Showcases for May 31 included
"Laserblast" with "End of the World."
"American Grafhti." "If Ever I See You
E-2
Again." "House Calls." "Thank God It's
Friday." "F.I.S.T.". "An Unmarried Woman."
"Coming Home." "High An.xiely."
"Saturday Night Fever" and the big
grosser. "The Greek Tycoon." Limited
showcase was led by "The End" and the
long runners "Star War.^" and "Close Encounters
of the Third Kiiul."
buffs. Friday (9)
mien—Omen H"
ushers in 20th-Fo.\'s Da-
George Simonian has been named by
which just may top the Avco Embassy Pictures Corp. to the post of
successful "Omen" shock for shock. Friday sales manager for the Albany-Buffalosouthern
Connecticut territory. He will re-
(16) is the big day for the much-anticipated
"Grease" from Paramount, which will be port to Eastern division manager Mitchell
followed later in the month by "Heaven Can Goldman and will operate out of Avco Embassy's
Wait" and "The Bad News Bears Go to
New York branch office. Announce-
Japan." Columbia will be releasing "The ment was made by Herb Robinson, vicepresident
Cheap Detective" and Universal will open
and general sales manager of Avco
"Jaws 2," which will assure audiences of Embassy Pictures.
Simonian joined Avco Embassy as super-
•
that company's four-wall operations until
his return to Avco Embassy earlier this
year.
•
The Easlworld Theatre hosted the .uars
of its latest attraction. "Take Off." in an
effort to get audiences to meet the people
on the screen. Famed sexploitation product
stars Georgina Spelvin and Leslie Bovee
appeared in the lobby in the early afternoon
and in the late evening to meet the public
and to answer questions. The film Is an attempt
to cross the barrier into more commercially
oriented houses and il has the production
and story values which might help.
Executive producer Robert Sumner is providing
a top-flight ad campaign and merchandising
approach which should guarantee
top grosses.
'Star Wars' First Year
Celebrated in Salt Lake
SALT LAKE CITY — May 25
marked "Star Wars" first year anniversary at
Plitt's Center Theatre with over 1,660 performances.
"Star Wars" holds the record
as the highest grossing film in Utah's history.
"The Sound of Music," also a 20th-
Century-Fox production, played at the Utah
Theatre for 22 months, holding the record
for the longest running picture, but was a
road show attraction having a limited number
of performances daily and was not seen
by as many people as "Star Wars."
Salt Lake City's Mayor Ted Wilson
proclaimed May 25 as "Star Wars
Day." As with any birthday celebration,
there were a number of activities at Plitt's
Center Theatre, inclding special showings
of the film for handicapped, underprivileged
and disadvantaged children. The
Easter Seal Society,
division of family services.
Salt Lake County Ass'n for retarded
citizens, the Hardigen school for physically
and mental handicapped, the Big Brothers
of America Gordon Larson, branch manager
for 20th-Fox all were coordinated to
bring the children to the showings.
'Baby' Is Silling
Pretty in New York
NEW YORK—The long Memorial Day
weekend helped build business for most
New York theatres, the fact that the weather
was mostly dull added much to increased
grosses. The big winners were mainly those
films getting wide showcase breaks and
many of the first-run houses playing those
films were kept quite busy. Paramounrs
controversial "Pretty Baby" climbed inio
first spot with a seventh week total of ?'>0.
with much help from the exposure of its
young star, Brooke Sheilds. Two French
imports took second place: the award-winning
"Madame Rosa" and "Cat and Mouse."
each with a score of 300. The highly praised
rock film, "The Last Waltz." came in third
with a big 275.
The charming comedy-thriller from
France, "Dear Detective, ' came in fourth
with a good 200 at the eastside Suttofl. Uni-
visor of theatre operation in 1971 following
a long career as a house manager for such
exhibitors as the Brandt circuit, Walter
Reade and Ely Landau. In 1976 he left the
company to join Pacific International Enterprises,
where he has been involved with versal's "Nunzio" brought in 150 to land
in fifth place.
The Radio City Music Hall continues to
sinvive with generally favorable grosses for
the stage show and 1940 screen attraction
"Fantasia" from Disney. The end of the
school year should signal bigger crowds
soon.
The big showcase winner was Universal's
reissue of "American Graffitti," followed
by the second week of "Thank God Its Friday."
Other big grossers were "Coming
Home," "The Greek Tycoon," "House
Calls," "The End," "Youngblood" and 'An
Unmarried Woman."
(Average Is 100)
Cinema I—Cal and Mouse (SR), 4th wk
Cinema II—Nunzio (Univ) 2nd wk

. . . Rudy
12th Annual Reunion Held
By Veteran Film Workers
PITTSBURGH—More than 1,200 years
of very good service to the motion picture
industry were represented at the 12th annual
reunion of oidtime Filmrow dolls and
guys, most of them long retired. There were
46 persons present, two of which were husband
and wife Filmrow veterans. The
luncheon was held at the Cork 'n' Bottle
last Restaurant. Until year, this event was
for the dolls only, now it also is open to the
guys.
Respect by all was shown to Hilda Lissmann.
88. who started in the film business
with Dick Rowland in 1907, Hilda being
healthy and in good spirits and enjoying the
event, as did all present. She and May Weir
got the reunion started in 1966.
The four Schu sisters—Marie (Mrs. Fred)
Hart, Helen (Mrs. Andrew) Battiston, Louise
Thompson and Esther Holland—always are
popular and active in the reunions. Other
sisters in attendance were Anne and Belle
Simon and Cecilia and Loretta Guehl.
Greeting many friends were such oldtimers
as Titlie Garrity. Kitty Igims, Emma
Ball. Mr. and Mrs. Irving (Molly) Stein,
Jacob Pulkowski. Robert F. Klingensmith,
Dave Brown, George Tice, Angelo Marino,
A. J. "Alfie" Kuhn and Paul Reith.
Million-Dollar Chairman
Resigns Telethon Post
PHILADELPHIA — After serving as
chairman of the Philadelphia Variety Club's
telethon for three years, during which time
brought in $561,000 in 1976. $712,000 in
1^77 and the record-setting $1,021,234 in
February of this year.
Rosenberg said he was stepping down because
he must spend more time attending
to his busy law practice. The annual telethon
is staged over 20 consecutive weekend
hours on WPVI TV, the local ABC affiliate,
and originates in the Zellcrbach Theatre at
the University of Pennsylvania,
Rosenberg will continue to serve on the
Board of Directors of Tent 13 and will assist
the ne.xt telethon as well as continuing
his interest in Variety Club's activities in
behalf of handicapped children.
Charles F. (Chuck) Schalch. president of
Variety, announced the appointment of Dr.
Melvyn E. Smith to succeed Rosenberg as
chairman of Telethon '79. Dr. Smith serves
on the board of directors and during the recent
telethon was as hospitality chairman.
BALTIMORE
Jrwin R. Cohen, president of R/C Theatres,
accompanied by Wayne Anderson,
eastern shore district
supervisor, visited
all his theatres and managers in that area
the weekend of May 19. They were: Mrs.
Nicol Sann of the Dorset Theatre, Cambridge;
David Philips, World Cinemas,
Salisbury: Howard Levcnthal, Bowl Drivc-
In, Salisbury, and Jan Sullivan Boulevard
, , , Theatre. Salisbury Bill Brower. eastern
d vision of Buena Vista Distributing (headquartered
in Atlanta), along with Harry
Howar, Washington, D,C., branch manager,
visited with booker-buyers at the R/C
Theatres offices here May 23. Conferences
were held with Cohen, .\aron B. Seidler,
executive vice-president, and Chris Pope.
booker for the firm.
Walter Gettinger of Gettinger Enterprise'!
and his wife are happy parents. May 14
they witnessed the graduation of their son
Donald from the Michigan Law School in
Ann Arbor. Donald has accepted a job in
New York City with Simpson & Thatcher.
Another son. Robert, currently is learning
Woods, Betty Murray Finn, Helen Regal
Mach, Jay Angel, Bess KaJson. Ceil Miller,
th: hotel business
Mrs. Connie Caye Apel (who came from
from the ground up at
the Marriott Hotel in New Orleans.
East Liverpool, Ohio), Peg
Mayhap
he will join his father's Stowaway
O'Connell, Belle
Mandell Rodin, Goldie Frank. Rose Moidel
Caplan, Margaret S. Mastronie, Vce Kleeman,
Motel in Ocean City when he has learned
Norma Fawcett, Hilda Alvin, Cecilia
M. Poinc, Thelma Wurdock, Marge Vater
husband R.
the ropes.
"The End," starring Burt Reynolds,
Queiser, Eileen Foley and her
opened at Movies 5. Cinema I. Columbia
Mr. and Mrs. Peter C. Quiter (Gertrude
City Cinema. Rotunda Cinema. Randallstown
Bassett,
Hungerman), Mr. and Mrs. George
Theatre and Harundale Cinema May
24 . . . Also "The Hills Have Eyes" made
its bow at the Mayfair. Shore Drive-In and
Timonium Drive-In. May 31 it went to the
Bengies Drive-In and Edmondson Drive-In.
Jack Fruchtnian's J-F Theatres. Inc..
office moved from Charles Center in downtown
Baltimore to take up permanent residence
in Cross Keys. The move was finalized
the first week of the month.
The Cluster Theatre, which reopened
he brought the tent's major fund raising
event above the million-dollar mark, Malcolm
here recently under new management and
P. Rosenberg announced that he would a different operating policy, closed in May
relinquish his directorship for next year's
Ray Moore, star of the film
Petey Wheatstraw." was in town the week
event. Under his leadership, the telethon
of May 19 help'ng to sell his new picture
at the Apollo and Boulevard theatres.
8.000 attended the "spectacular" held at
Rome's Super-170 Drive-In in Odenton
May 16. "We were delighted with it." stated
Leon Back, general manager for Rome Theatres
and NATO of Maryland president.
May 22 the Maryland Task Force on the
Interrelationship of Maryland-Federal Employment
Standards held a public exploratory
hearing at the Division of Labor and
Industry here. Sam Temple, executive vicepresident
of F.H. Diirkec Enterprises, represented
the film industry.
It's that time again! Invitational letters
were mailed the first week of the month
for the NATO of Maryland symposium
which is open to the entire film industry
through the region, according to Mrs. Vera
Wolfe, executive secretary. The annual gettogether
will be held again at the Bay Ridge
Inn, Annapolis, August 22. Vera urges you
to mark your calendar. Frank Durkee III
is chairman of the affair this year.
Albert Rohe, formerly relief manager at
the Joppatowne Theatre, has suffered a
stroke and is presently at the Hamilton
Nursing Center, 6040 Harford Road, Baltimore.
MD 21214. room 107. Anyone who
wishes to send a caid is encouraged to do
so . . The Apex Theatre on South Broadway
(Schwaber World-Fare Theatres) closed
May 1.
Six Corporations Bidding
For Pittsburgh CATV Loot
PITTSBURGH—Six companies have bid
for the potential prosperity offered by the
city's CATV contract. More may enter the
lists.
Currently bidding are the Post Gazette,
teamed with the Black Courier and Denver's
Tele-Communications. Art "Pittsburgh Steelers"
Rooney sr.. American Television and
Communications. Inc.. Warner Communications.
Adelphia Communications Corp.
and Eastern Telecom.
The city's law department has ruled that
three per cent of the gross receipts must go
into the city's treasury and that the mayor
will
choose the winning bid.
FOR SALE
New Tri Plex automated theatre. Total seating of
1.000. Located in shopping center of growing suburb
of Midwest city. Now in operation and in beautiful
condition. Principals only. For further details, write:
Boxoffice. 4108
825 Van Brunt Blvd.
Kansas City, Mo. 64124
BOXOFHCE ;: June 5, 1978
E-3

. . Our
. .
BUFFALO
RIack and White in Color," the French fihn
which met with critical raves but a
lamentably short stay on screens here last
year, was brought back for a week's run
May 24-30 by the New Allendale Theatre
. . . Videoworks, free under co-sponsorship
of Media Study of Buffalo and Hallwalls,
were offered as follows: "Creatures in Small
Spaces," live video of human reactions to
isolation, (May 19 and 20) and "As the Universe
Expands." sci-fi drama (May 19 and
Officer John T. Dugan jr.. in charge of the
department's salacious literature unit, said
the film had "made more money than "Deep
Throat," another film of widespread notoriety.
The theatre manager, who is employed
by a corporation here, was not immediately
arrested because Dugan said the Class-A
misdemeanor charge of obscenity was not
sufficient to serve extradition papers. However,
"if the manager ever does come to
Buffalo, we'll get him," Dugan said.
Free films for kids are being offered on
Saturdays at the North Park library. Last
week's features: "Really Rosie" and "Creating
With Cartoons" . . . Artpark has the
perfect item for arts lovers who prefer viewing
performances from the sloping lawn
rather than from theatre seats. It's called
"the grass pass" and it is a $15 season ticket.
The "grass pass" is valid from July 5
to September 17. Also included in the book
are money-off coupons on such fast foods
as chicken and pizza that the lawn crowd
usually enjoys.
After a two-year vacancy, month of planning
and a false start, the Granada Theatre
reopened May 24 with the film "Harper
THE WEST LARGEST PRINTER
ONE SHEETS
TWO SHEETS
PRESS BOOKS
SLICKS
1 TO 4 COLORS
CENTRAL LITHOGRAPH CO.
1515 So. Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 749-8288
Valley PTA" "We're going to open quietly"
said Victor J. Mole, theatre operator.
"We won't be finished renovating until
midsummer, but we're opening anyway. Wc
don't want to prolong it any further."
Hollywood fever gripped the Erie Coimty
legislature May 18 as lawmakers voted
$1,000 for employees who have to work
overtime to help the film crew of "Hide in
Plain Sight." The shooting schedule calls
for using some county facilities but the
investment will come back in "obvious economic
benefits." County Executive Regan
told the legislators. A resolution also was
30).
passed urging Sea's Buffalo Theatre. Studio
Arena Theatre and the convention center
The adult film classic "Behind the Green
managements to cooperate on a package for
Door" was seized by police from the Central
the film's Buffalo premiere.
Park Cinema, as an alleged obscene movie.
Kathryn B. Wallingford, 88, a professional
pianist and organist who played accompaniment
for silent movies in Buffalo, died
May 18 in North Windham, Maine. She
was the widow of James Wallingford. who
owned the Central Park Theatre. She played
piano and organ accompaniments for silent
movies at the Buffalo Star Theatre, the old
Seneca Theatre, the Central Park Theatre
and at the Little Hippodrome. She is survived
by a son, James H. of Maine, nine
grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Lakeview senior citizens
were shown the
film "Yours, Mine and Ours" with Lucille
Ball May 23. A shopping spree at Goodwill
industries was scheduled for May 24 .
"Thank God It's Friday" was stitched together
for a single purpose, said reviewer
John Dwyer in the News . . . "something
to look at while 22 featured soloists and
groups imdir Motown-Casablanca contract
sing you 31 numbers copyrighted and released
on Motown-Casablanca Records."
Dwyer called it "amiable horseplay at a
disco dance contest, not quite up to the level
of last year's 'Car Wash.' "
New openings: "The End" in Seneca
Mall. Como Mall and Colvin Theatres; "The
Billion Dollar Hobo." Como Mall; "Herj
Comes the Tigers." Como Mall; "Youngblood."
Loews Teck; "Harper Valley
PTA." Granada and Como Mall; "A Different
Story." Holiday Theatre, and "If
Ever I See You Again." Boulevard. Seneca
and Thruway Mall Cinemas.
Alan Riche, co-producer of American Internat'onal's
"Youngblood." is a former
Buffalonian, having attended school here at
Williamsville High and at Amhetst Central
High School . sympathy goes to Sam
Geffen upon the death of his wife Ruth
following illness. Ruth was a member of the
Variety Club of Buffalo Tent 7 Women and
Sam served as chief barker of the club 'n
1973.
Michael F. Ellis, Variety Club Tent 7
bard, submits this to the News Reporter's
Notebook column: Spring is that time/
to be very brief/when the whole countryside/goes
on "re-leaf."
Reopening the Granada Theatre which
had been dark for two year^. Victor J. Mole,
operator, promised a gala event later in the
season. He started out with an anticipated
four-week run of "Harper Valley PTA"
"The inside of the theatre is complete renovated."
said Mole, "so we decided to open
rather quietly now and leave the festivities
until later, when our exterior remodeling is
done."
Theatre grants for $30,000 to the Studio
Arena Theatre and $5,000 to the Buffalobased
American Contemporary Theatre are
among the 194 grants to theatre companies
totaling slightly more than $6,000,000 announced
by the National Endowment for
the Arts for the 1977-78 season , . . Bill
Hebert and Ike EhrHchman of Frontier
Amusement Corp. of Buffalo went to Toronto.
Ont.. May 23 to visit Frontier
Amusement Corp. of Canada Ltd.
Buffalo has been unsuccessful in getting
contractors' bids to restore the organ at
Shea's Buffalo Theatre. Two contractors
took out specifications for the job prior to
an advertised opening of bids, but neither
firm submitted a proposal. City architects
estimated a cost of about $125,000 for the
work on the city-owned downtown showplace.
William N. Serotte, 72, a former area
comedian, died May 23 in Kenmore Mercy
Hospital. Serotte and his partner, the
late Daniel Konikoff, formed an Amos-and-
Andy style duo in the late 1920s and early
1930s known as "Coffee and Cocoa." For
years they performed their comedy routine
in
area night clubs and on WGR Radio,
The Valu-5 Cinema in Cheektowaga reopened
May 26 after being closed for the
past several months. Anthony Ragusa sr„
said that eventually the Valu-5 again would
be bidding for first-run pictures. The grand
reopening films were "Julia," "Close Encounters
of the Third Kind," "High Anxiety,"
"The Betsy" and "Oh, God!" The new
policy is matinees daily with a $1.25 admission
until 6:30 and $2.50 thereafter.
Variety Club Fund-Raising
Events Slated for Summer
CHICAGO—Vic Bernstein, past chief
barker for Tent 26 and Midwest manager
for American International Pictures, will be
honored by the amusement division. State of
Israel bonds, at a testimonial dinner Tuesday.
(20). The event will be held at the
Continental hotel.
The spotlight is focused on the Variety
Club of Illinois as two other activity annoimcemcnts
advise some details relating
to the theatre collection drive and the annual
summer golf tournament. The drive for
funds for LaRabida start Friday (16).
Bernie Mack, chairman, is looking for volunteers
who will serve as collectors. For the
.second straight year, Johnny and Jeannie
Morris, sports announcers on WBBM-TV,
will make appeals for cooperation on theatre
screens. Volunteers willing to help may
call Joe Hebert at LaRabida. phone 363-
6700.
The golf tournament will be held July 24
at the Evanston golf club.
E-4 BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978

: standing
,,
handicapped
j
61st
PHILADELPHIA
I } Cinger Lou Ravvls was honored by the Philadelphia
Variety Club "for his out-
talents and efforts in behalf of the
ch Idren of the Delaware Valley."
Making the presentation at the Latin
Casino were Charles F. Schalch. Variety
Club president and Malcolm P. Rosenberg,
who chaired the Variety Club telethon . . .
Harron Corp. was awarded the franchise
for cable television in Hamilton Township,
N.J., with the service, including PRISM for
first-run films and sporting events, to start
by the end of this
year.
^_^*
Actress Colleen Dewliurst became Dr.
Dcwhurst this week as she received the honorary
degree of Doctor of Humane Letters
from Ursinus College in neighboring Collegeville.
Pa.
The Fox Theatre in center city, along with
the Esquire, Cheltenham Mall Tw'n and
St. all Drive-In, offered "all-nite movies"
for the three-day Memorial Day weekend.
From midnight to 8:30 a.m., each
house showed "Rabid," "The Street Fighter,"
"Five Black Hand S'de" and "Caged
Heat."
The SOth birthday of Mickey Mouse was
celebrated at the Echelon Mall in nearby
Voorhees Township, N.J., w'th an exhibit
•that included a collection of original celluloid
drawings and paintings used in the
Walt Disney animated motion pictures . .
.
Walt Strony, who has been closely associated
with the restored Chicago Theatre's
Wurlitzer theatre organ in that city, gave a
concert in Wilmington, Del., on the Kimball
theatre pipe organ which is now housed
in
the John Dickinson High School.
The New Strand Theatre in Lakewood,
N.J., finally has received permission from
the city fathers there to offer a series of
rock concerts this summer. The theatre,
which seats 1,000 persons, also will have a
special showing of "Operation Thunderbolt"
for the benefit of Ahavat Shalon synagogue
in that city.
Doris Mayer, a membjr of the Screen
Actors Guild, died at the age of 50, May 22
at the Easton (Pa.) Hospital, in which city
she made her home.
A gala champagne preview of "A House
in the Woods" was held at the Barn, Red
Bank, N.J., for the benefit of the Monmouth
Coimty Mental Health Ass'n.
Trolley Corners Triplex
Site of Film Festival
SALT LAKE CITY—The
three-theatre
complex at Trolley Corners has been chosen
as the site of the upcoming American
I-ilm Festival, sponsored by the industrial
development division. It will run Sept. 6-
12.
"Negotiations still
continue," said Sterling
V.in Wagenen, one of the effort's principle
organizers for major motion picture releases
to be shown at the festival.
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BOXOFnCE :: June 5. 1978
E-5

. . . Area
. . The
. . Allegheny
. . Edward
.
"
PITTSBURGH
jy/Jildred (Mrs. E. Elmer) Hasley, retired
pioneer in the business, is on a threeweek
trip and vacation in South America
. . . Glenn J. Easter, renewing his subscrip
tion. states he is
"semi-retired."
Exhibitors' best friends continue to be
Jules and Gertrude Curley and it was our
pleasure recently to spend a few minutes
with them at their new and more comfortable
ADV offset printing agency in the Art
Morrone Building, 82 Van Braam St. Their
excellent herald, theatre forms and poster
printing is a very important item in the
trade. Now with computerized typesetter.
the staff includes Regina H. Devcr, with
eight years of service, and Mary F. Hughes.
Active consultant is Prof. Frcderich J.
Amery, professor emeritus of graphic communications
at Carnegie-Mellon University.
The Sebecks of the Brownsville Drive-In
(T&J) Enterprises) seem to be way out front
in showmanship. They don't miss a trick,
advertise
early and often and have a good attendance
for their adult films-only policy.
which has been popular for several years.
This season they are adding a flea market
and they already have their citizens band
radio store there. In no way connected with
the theatre, the Sebecks support all children's
programs in the Fayette area. They
are good neighbors.
W. C. Jenkins, Morgan American Management
Corp., now is located here at 14
Foster Square, zip code 15212.
John Savage, ex-actor and dress designer
who died May 19 at 47, had several discnchantments
with the movie business. Once
left penniless in Yugoslavia when a dishonest
film producer fled with funds, he opened
his suitcase in a strange country and sold
his wardrobe for the price of a ticket back
to Italy. Savage was a Pittsburgh Playhouse
graduate.
The Penthouse, Ritz-Mini and the Palace
feature star burlesque gals plus two or three
adult movies with weekly changes of program
. Liberty showed "Sweet Folds
of Flesh" . . . "The Homecoming" and "Kiss
Today Goodbye" were recent Cinema Follies
Club features and the CFC "Body Contest"
was a five-night affair, final competition
being May 30, with free beer and hot
dogs.
"The Last Waltz," 'Jennifer." "If Ever I
See You Again." "The Sea Gypsies" and
"Malibu Beach" are first-running at neighborhood
houses . . . Opening Wednesday
(14) at the neighborhoods are "High-Ballin' "
and the reissued "In Search of the Castaways."
"Jaws 2" and "Grease" open Friday
(16) at Showcases, with the former also
at the Gateway, the latter at the Warner.
Neighborhood houses have dated "Laserblast"
and the reissue "The Jungle Book"
Wednesday (21). The Showcase at this time
opens "The Cheap Detective" and at
month's end Showcase and the Squirrel Hill
open "Heaven Can Wait" and Showcase
and Fulton get "Convoy." The neighborhoods
will offer "Our Winning Season,"
"The Bad News Bears Go to Japan" and
"The Great Smokey Roadblock."
"Thank God Its Friday" had a special tieup
with Kaufman's with attractive displays
and advertisements featuring "Saturday Afternoon
Disco," fashion shows, hair makeup,
etc. . . . Retirees from Old Filmrow who
staged a happy reunion recently will be
pleased to hear that Burtus Bishop, former
MGM branch head here and at Charlotte
and later Western division manager for "Leo
the Lion" at Chicago, observed another
birthday at his retirement residence in Fort
Lauderdale. Fla. ... A 15-cent George M.
Cohan commemorative stamp will be issued
July 4, celebrating the song-and-dance man's
centennial. We remember him writing many
penny post cards to vaudeville friends via
the Dramatic Mirror, which listed bookings
in advance.
Lou Stanson, pioneer projectionist, enjoys
recalling the e.xciting years on Broadway
when, as a young man, he knew many of
the stars and plays and craftsmen. He was a
co-worker with many "names" and these
. . .
in Section A, each costing around $175 , . .
The Pittsburgh Symphony's 1978-79 pops
associations never disappear from his
scries at Heinz Hall will feature Henry Mancini
thoughts. Renewing his subscription for another
October 28-30; Carlos Montoya Decem-
two years, he sent along two Ritepoint
ber 2-4; Peter Nero January 1.3-15; music
pens from his Louis J. Stanson Associates
of Rodgers and Hart with the Mendelssohn
(advertising specialties business) at P.O. Box
Choir and four soloists March 2, 4 and 5;
Victor Borge March 30-April 2, and Larry
241, McKees Rocks 15136.
Adier April 27, 29 and 30.
"Capricorn One" was previewed at the
Fulton and Showcase East Events at
. . .
"The Final Sin" was the Garden feature
the Civic Arena are costing 25 cents more,
theatres were showing "The Hardy
this being an increase in the high parking
there Politicians but
have Girls," "Discose.x," "Vampire's Night Orgy,"
fees all
"The Deep," "Dracula's Great Love,"
killed the liquor business in the Keystone
State via its liquor control board's operation
"Legend of Hell House," etc. . . . Civic
Arena is installing about 2,000 new seats
of its monopoly state stores, costs forever
. escalate, profits plummet J.
Fireworks were featured at area parks to
close Memorial Day . County
is opening three new Olympic-size computer-controlled
three-foot-wave swimming
TECHNICAL SERVICES
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DeBartolo in the nick of time is "rescuing"
the unprofitable pro hockey club here, the
Penguins, which had a net loss this past
season of $2,225,137.
"Oscar's Best Actors," an ABC-TV presentation
May 23, was the year's best tube f
offering, as far as this correspondent is con- I
cerned. It was aimed at yours truly and
|
'
presented only Gene Kelly. William "Beedle"
•
Holden and John Wayne. Thanks, ABC!
New pro full-contact karate kickboxing !
world champion as of May 21 is Jacquet I
Bazemore, trained by your correspondent |
at his Voelker AC boxing gym in Wilkinsburg.
He decisioned Ross Scott for the title
at Cleveland State University's Woodling
Gym.
The Palace, which hadn't used press advertising
for five months, again exploits its
weekly change of burlesque and is continuing
ads in Market Square where attractions
were displayed during the period that the
daily newspaper was not used . . . "The
End" showed first run at the Warner and
Showcase East and "American Graffiti" was
at the Village and Showcase East . . . "Coming
Home, Baby" topped the Liberty adult
three-feature bill, following "Rites of
Uranus" . . . Community College of Allegheny
County starts its new professional
training program in 16mm motion picture
production Monday (5). This class schedule
will be repeated beginning September 11 at
Motion Picture Film Services, Inc., 209
Ninth St.. in this city. In addition to tuition,
a $1,200 facility, equipment and supply fee
is
assessed.
The Art Cinema's lop feature was "Captain
Lust." following "Illusions of Love"
and "Pretty Baby Sister" . . . "The Chosen
has had an ending switch . . . Robert Goulet
(with Jan Murray) has Friday (16)
through Sunday (18) dates at Heinz Hall
. . . in Playing the territory are "Jason and
.
the Argonauts" and "The Tempter"
"Madame Rosa" was previewed and then
opened at the Squirrel
Friday (9) is "Damien—Omen
Hill . .
Opening
11" .
.
.
.
Pat DiCesare and Rich Engler. rock show
promoters in recent years at the Syria Mosque.
Civic Arena and Stanley Theatre, now
are owners of the Stanley, purchased from
Cinemette, the price being "in excess ol
$1,000,000."
Summer Film Season at Carnegie Institute
is short but interesting. Visiting filmmakers
including Klaus Wyborny from Germany,
Steve Dwoskin from England and
Christo from California. Sunday films in
June are shown in the lecture hall at 7:30
p.m. and in July there will be 8 and 10 p.m.
exhibitions at the Museum of Art Theatre.
rW^ERAMil IS Vi SHOW
BI'SL\E9»S L\ HilWiUI
f
TCN>,
Wlicn you conic to Wulklki,
don't miss the famous Don II(
Show ... at Cinerama's
Reef Towers Hotel.
n
Kill
BOXOFnCE ;: June 5, 1978

There will be features from Germany. England.
Brazil. India and the U.S.. ultimate
showman Ken Russell's "The Savage Messiah"
(1972) being a July 2 offering; Rainer
Werner Fassbinder's "Chinese Roulette"
(1976), not included in last year's Fassbinder
scries, will be unreeled July 23. and
"Playtime" (1969) by France's Jacques Tati
closes the season July 30. Fun, fun, fun!
Werner Herzog's features Sunday (4)
were filmed in the Amish country of Pennsylvania
and are West Germany releases.
Most controversial film ir. years returns
Sunday (18) for one showing only, this being
Albert and David Maysles" "Grey Gardens."
which depicts the lives of the Beales. aunt
and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Special for film fans, beginning September
7, Thursday evenings will be devoted to a
retrospective for the films of Luis Bunuel.
spanning his career.
We hope it's true: Jill Jackson in her syndicated
column writes: "More and more entertainment
in films is creeping back and
the public is lapping it up." These films
haven't turned up hereabouts as yet.
Phila. D.A. Lobbies
To Change Porno Law
PHILADELPHIA—The city's district attorney
Edward Rendell announced plans to
kad a campaign in the state legislature at
Harrisburg to close an embarrassing loophole
in the state's new antiobscenity law
which took effect in January. He believes
the loophole is so large and fundamental that
it renders the new law unenforceable in the
state's largest city.
The new measure provides that when law
enforcement officers raid a movie house and
confiscate a film deemed pornographic, they
must make their own copy of the film for
use as evidence in the trial. Once it is determined
by a judge that the film is pornographic,
the theatre operator is subject to
fines for showing the film.
However, what has actually happened in
the raids staged by the district attorney's
office last month is that the theatre owners
signed a consent decree in court stating that
they will no longer exhibit the film in question
and thus avoid a regular trial.
According to Rendell. this is the "rub."
The law does not address itself to the operation
of the movie house but to the showing
of the particular film. Once the theatre operator
agrees not to show the film, he still
has the option of showing another pornographic
film. If he exercises this option, as
•most do. the prosecution could continue
until the vast supply of available adult motion
is
pictures exhausted.
The whole thing is ridiculous, said
Thomas Watkins. assistant district attorney
in charge of prosecuting cases under the pornography
law now in force in the state. Rendell,
who has compiled a complete case to
document his argument, waited until the primary
elections were over before bombarding
the state legislature with his concerns.
Pornography in films is a major issue here
as elsewhere throughout the state and it is
likely to influence the coming election.
Variety Club Tent 13
To Peddle 'Happiness'
PHILADELPHIA — "Old Newsboys
Day." the big outdoor fund raiser for Philadelphia
Varity Club Tent 13 when they
take over the downtown streets and the
suburban shopping centers, will get a new
dimension this year. For the first time, it
was announced by Variety Club's president
Charles F. Schalch. the "Old Newsboys
Day" fever will spread to the Boardwalk in
nearby Atlantic City, N.J.
Business and civic personalities will appear
in the top hat of the barker and the
gold coin apron of the newsboy and a "happiness
edition" published by the Philadelphia
Inquirer will be sold as a contribution to
raise funds for Variety's charities on behalf
of handicapped children. Richard Elkman.
advertising executive, is chairman of this
year's "Old Newsboys Day." scheduled for
Friday (16).
Hadley, Mass. AMC House
Sponsors 'Fever' Contest
HADLEY. MASS.—The "fever" hit
Hadley as American Multi Cinema's Mountain
Farms 4 Theatres tied in with Poor
Richard's Discoteque and Record Town to
sponsor a "Saturday Night Fever" contest.
The ten finalists selected their own songs
to be played by the disc-jockey, who also
works at the theatres.
The contest drew a capacity crowd of
300 people and many were turned away.
Two local newspapers were generous in their
coverage with the Valley Advocate giving a
four-page spread to the event. Prizes were
a one-year pass to the theatres and $50
courtesy of Poor Richard's. Movie posters
were awarded to runners-up.
Response was so good that manager Dale
Oglesby had to do it all over again two
weeks later.
Lewis Lambasts Critics
PHILADELPHIA—Jerry Lewis, in town
to co-host the Mike Douglas syndicated television
talk show, took time out to blast the
movie critics during one of his less humorous
moments. "Film critics deprive the public
of marvelous moments," complained
Lewis. "One day there will be no critics and
the world will smell better again."
iN^SaS
m.
flLMACK STUDIOS,
©
Thurber Slory Sel
For TV Production
NEW YORK — James Thurbcrs "The
Greatest Man in the World" will be the first
of eight stories to be filmed for the second
edition of "The American Short Story" it
was announced by Robert Geller. executive
producer of the series and president of the
Learning in Focus production organization.
Playwright Jeff Wanshell has been signed
to write the teleplay. Production of the 40-
minute film is scheduled to begin thi.s summer.
The Thurber story presents, in the author's
words, "a national hero of insufficient intelligence,
background and character successfully
to endure the mounting orgies of glory
prepared for aviators who stayed up a long
time or flew a great distance." It describes
the events that take place when he flies a
single-engine plane around the world nonstop.
The National Endowment for the Humanities
last summer announced a grant of
$350,000 for development of the second
series of filmed short stories by renowned
American authors. The first edition of "The
American Short Story" was the first dramaitc
series produced for American public TV
to be purchased by BBC. Authors represented
in the first edition included F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway. Richard
Wright, Henry James and John Updike.
Alyce Locapo Re-elected
President of NY WOMPI
NEW YORK—The 1978-79 slate of officers
for Women of the Motion Picture Industry
of New York has been elected, with
Mrs. Alyce (Rusty) Locapo of United Artists
Corp. succeeding herself as president.
Other officers are: first vice-president.
Mrs. Maria Vanderberg (re-elected) of Novo
Air Freight; second vice-president, Mrs.
Barbara Robinson (re-elected) of lATSE;
recording secretary. Miss Mary Vera, Columbia
Pictures; corresponding secretary.
Miss Sadie Castanza (re-elected) of Triangle
Theatres, and treasurer. Miss Beatrice
Moore, Joseph E. Levine Presents. Miss
Gertrude Pierce, Paramount Pictures, represents
the publicity committee.
FILMACK'S 1978 INSPIRATION CATALOG
Make it your aid to increase your attendance
and concession sales, by using
Merchant Ads, Snack Bar films,
and Special Announcement films.
(Write For Your FREE Copy)
FILMACK STUDIOS,
1327 S.Wabash Ave., Chicago, III. 60605
(312)427-3395
BOXOmCE :; June 5. 1978

LibeMy
WASHINGTON
24. The USO Salute to Bob Hope on his
75th birthday in the Kennedy Center Opera
House the next evening climaxed with the
announcement of the Bob Hope USO Center
in Washington. D.C. The proposed Boh
Hope USO Center is to serve as the USO
World Headquarters, to provide a modern
facility for service personnel stationed in or
visiting the greater Washington area and to
exhibit Hope's extensive personal collection
of USO memorab'lia—mementos of Hope's
near 40 years of involvement with the organization.
Phil Gaffin, USO director of
public relations, stated: "To carry the Bob
Hope USO Center to completion, a major
fund-raising campaign is being launched.
The proposed center will serve as a nation's
'Thanks for the Memories' to a man who
has helped keep the USO and its woik in
the public's eye and heart." Michael E.
Menster, locally based USO national executive,
discussed the nonprofit civilian agency's
purpose: "USO's exclusive mission is
to improve the morale and well-being of
our country's servicemen and women. Services
are aimed at the needs of the 2,100.-
000 people in uniform and their .1.200.000
dependents."
Steve Turner, Universal branch manager,
issued announcements to area exhibitors
concerning the "Jaws 2" sneak preview at
the Riverdale (Md.) Theatre, Friday (2),
which will be a trade screening. The Riverdale
is a circuit (Glenmore Cinestate. formerly
District Theatres) flagship, and was
specially .selected for the new film's third
nationwide showing, "Jaws 2" will premiere
Friday (16), according to Glenmore's head
booker Ronald Steffensen.
Charles T. Jordan, Warner Bros, branch
chief, screened for exhibitors "Big Wednesday"
at the Motion Picture Ass'n of America
May 26 . . . Another tradeshowing of
significance was that of 20th Century-Fox's
"A Wedding," which William Zoet's.
branch manager, hosted at the MPAA May
Invitations have been issued to the world
premiere of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "International
Velvet," which United Artists
is releasing, for Sunday (25), at the Eisenhower
Theatre, Kennedy Center. Patron
tickets for the premiere with a buffet following
are $75 each. All others are $20
Nationwide
Sound and
Projection Service
on all brands.
RCA Service Company, A Division of RCA
43 Edward J Han Rd
.
Industrial Park
Jersey Cily, N J 07305, Phone (201) 451-2222
each. The informal gala will benefit the
United States Equestrian Team. The film's
area opening is set for August 9.
Jack Valenti, the czar of the motion picture Motion picture rights for "Annie." a top
industry.
Hope
in\ited me here," said Bob moneymaking musical of the '70s. have
as guest celebrity at Mrs. Rosalyn been obtained for a reported $10,000,000.
Carter's breakfast (annual First Lady's This example of professionalism is at the
breakfast given by the Women's Congiessional
National Theatre on an extended engage-
Club) in the Shoreham Hotel, May ment . . Bette Davis and Humphrey Bo-
.
gart features are the current revival series
at the Biograph in Georgetown.
Joe Brooks, whose film "If Ever I See
You again" was here "lighting up" his own
life with seeming unending promotion.
"People underestimate everything I do because
I do it all." he exclaimed.
'Shakespeare of Seating'
Waxes Poetic on the Job
CHICAGO—Today we hear about so
many young people trying to "find themselves."
But we learned from Joyce Rellis.
manager of the Glenwood and Park Forest
theatres, that Dave Gregory, an usher at the
Glenwood, shows a special respect for his
job and he seems to have sound plans for
good direction now and in the future.
Joyce wants to share a poem recently
written by Dave, which gives an insight to
the thinking of a young man in his second
year of high school:
"The usher must keep up his good cheer.
When he kicks people out for drinking
beer,
And armed with his trusty flashlight.
He watches over the crowd, like a shepherd
in the night.
During the night and during the day.
That shepherd will be sure to stay.
He is important and that we know.
He'll stay real late, 'til it's time to go.
That usher is a real true friend.
He'll be sure to stay until the end.
And now my friend, it's time to go.
That usher's lettin' in.
Just one more show ."
. .
The poem was written while Dave was at
work, waiting for the next show. He attends
Homewood Flossmoor High, and he plans
to go on to college where he hopes to major
in law enforcement. He has ushered at the
Glenwood for the past six months.
More Celebration Marks
'Star Wars' Anniversary
PHILADELPHIA— It was a gala birthday
party that Don Davidson, advertising
and promotion chief for Sameric Theatres,
arranged for the first birthday of "Star
Wars" at the Eric I Theatre in center city.
With the cooperation of 20th Century-Fox.
Sameric Theatres hosted 1,000 youngsters
from five Philadelphia junior high .schools
at two shows. The youngsters also received
a bucket of popcorn, a Coke and a novelty
memento of the movie.
In addition. Neil Stein, who operates the
popular Fish Market Restaurant, and who
admits seeing "Star Wars" 10 times since it
first opened, baked a giant birthday cake
for the occasion.
Speakers To Film Council:
'Support Good Products'
MILWAUKEE—The head of a chain of
53 film houses in Wisconsin told 200 diners
at their annual luncheon: "I want you to
voice your objections by not going (to the
theatre) when you can't find a decent movie.
If you want to see more family entertainment,
if you don't want violence, sex, sick
humor or dirty films— just don't buy
tickets."
The speaker was Richard L. Kite, president
of Marcus Theatres Corp., who h.id
just been honored by the Better Films tV
TV Council of the Milwaukee Area with
its "Man of the Year" Award.
"The good films do not all have to be
children's films." Kite said. "Look, 'Rocky'
had an adult message—the value of holding
onto a dream and persevering to attain it.
.^nd it was very entertaining. Our previous
speaker Father Gene's words hit the spot
when he said 'we do not have to see what
they (Hollywood movie makers) put out.' "
As the main speaker at the annual luncheon
held recently at the Pfister Hotel, the
Rev. Gene Jakubek lashed out at television
as being the chief contributor to our changing
mores. "TV makes enormous impressions
on all of us—more than any other
media." he said. "We, as adults, can view
this violence, the sexy stuff and the shocking
things depicted on the tube or screen,
and we can shrug it off. But the youngster
cannot. He becomes stirred up. and he can't
just take it and forget it like adults can.
Youngsters feel they have to act out what
they see . . . to see if it really is that way.
"And the advance word is that you and
I can look forward to more sex on TV this
coming fall than ever before. You'll excuse
the expression, but the way the producers
put it—they say we need "more T and A.'
In acceptable vernacular that means more
bosoms and butts. Now. dear people, don't
whine to me. You tell those people who are
responsible for making these films that you
don't like what you are seeing. But do you
tell them'? Do you take the time to write?"
The priest then pointed out that in a city
the size of Milwaukee, one letter speaks for
as many as 1,400 persons. In the smaller
one letter speaks for around 900 persons.
cities,
"This is pathetic." he charged. "We
are beer guzzlers; we are people who sit and
do nothing. But we do have a responsibility
— to our youngsters as well as to ourselves.
So . . . speak up and write. Yes, write for
your rights."
The clergyman whose own weekly TV
series, "The Answer is Love," is seen by
millions, has written several books, newspaper
columns and magazine articles, and
is much in demand on the speaking circuit
everywhere in the U.S.
This year Better Films Scholarships went
to three Marquette University students.
BUX-MONT
Marquees—Signs
LEASING
Horsham, Pennsylvania 19044
Call (215) 676-4444 or 675-1040
E-8
BOXOFFICE ::
Ji

'Rosa/The End' Tie
For Tops in Denver
DENVER—The Academy Award-winning
foreign film, '"Madame Rosa," swirled
to the top of the charts here. "Rosa" drew a
250 to tie with Burt Reynolds' black comedy,
"The End." Nearest competition came
from another new film, "Harper Valley
PTA," which pulled in a strong 225. "Star
Wars" kept its hold on the public as it entered
its incredible 53rd week, occupying the
No. 3 spot with a 220. Lowest film on the
tally was "Coming Home," still above average
in its 8th week with a 110.
Ar^ddin—The Last Waltz (UA) ,130
Century 21~High Anxiety (20th-Fox), 10th wk ,125
Colorado Four—House Calls (Univ), Uth wk ,170
Conlmental—Star Wars (20th-Fox), 53rd wk 220
Cooper— Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Hollywood
piRST ARTISTS Productions Co. has
agreed in principal to acquire all the
stock of Joel Cal-Made, manufacturer of
men's sports shirts, for $8,000,000 in cash.
Joel/Cal-Made grosses more than $18,000,-
000 annually. The agreement still must be
approved by First Artists' board of trustees.
•
Members of Women in Film will hold a
members-only meeting Monday (5) to nominate
candidates for the board of directors.
The session will be at the Samuel Goldwyn
Studios.
•
Fred Astaire will be honored with the
eighth annual National Artist Award of the
American National Theatre and Academy.
to be presented at ANTA's dinner October 6
at the Century Plaza Hotel.
•
Jere Jacob has been named vice-president
in charge of business affairs and personnel
for the Cates Bros. Co.. to handle business
and administrative matters for the company's
feature film and TV projects. She
had been production assistant and later associate
producer to Joseph Cates.
•
United Artists' "Rocky," winner of the
1976 Oscar as Best Picture, opened in more
than 50 hardtops and drive-ins in the Los
Angeles and Orange County areas May 31.
including the Vine in Hollywood, the UA
Center in Westwood and the Tower in Los
Angeles.
•
Monty Hall, Bob Wynn and Tom Fenno
will be honored for their dedicated work
for Variety Club telethons at a special
luncheon set by Tent 25 for Tuesday (20)
at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
•
Gene Raymond, actor, director, producer,
writer and composer, has been elected president
of the Motion Picture and Television
Fund to fill the post left vacant by George
Bagnall, who died in March 1978.
*
Veteran marketing executive Mo Rothman,
former worldwide head of distribution
for Columbia Pictures, has been retained as
Happenings
marketing consultant by Blake Edwards for
United Artists' "Revenge of the Pink Panther."
•
William Hornady has been named counsel
for Avco Embassy Pictures Corp., moving
over from Columbia Pictures where he
was an attorney in the feature division.
AFL Beverly Hills HS
Begin Cooperative Effort
BEVERLY HILLS—Robert F. Blumofe.
director of the American Film Institute-
West. Kenneth Peters, superintendent of the
Beverly Hills Unified School District, and
Sol Levine, principal of Beverly Hills High
School, have announced the beginning of
full semester film internship for selected
BHHS seniors, already have been implemented
with BHHS students serving as in
terns at AFI's Charles K. Feldman Library
at Greystone and on several student productions.
Other aspects of the cooperative program
which have been agreed on are: th<
inclusion of Beverly Hills students, faculty
and staff in workshops and seminars given
at Greystone; the use of the AFI Library;
lectures by former AFI fellows and AFI
staff on films and filmmaking for Beverly
Hills school classes, and special screenings
of AFI films for the school district, as well
as for other residents of Beverly Hills.
Dean Turner, director of the Applied
Education Center of Beverly Hills High
School, and Peter Bieler, West Coast administrator
for AFI, will serve as liaison officers
for the project.
Shooting Start Scheduled
For 'The Deadly Game'
LOS ANGELES—"No one will be admitted
during the last 20 minutes of this
f Im." That sign, popular for detective and
thriller films of the 1940s and '50s will appear
in
front of theatres once again.
This time, the signs will bar entry during
the last half of "What Is the Deadly
Game?". J. Allen Parks' Seven Productions
featLire film, scheduled to begin shooting on
location in Reno Thursday (15).
A cop thriller intertwined with mystery
and suspense, the film will screen "stunts
the likes of which have never before been
seen." says Parks. "To accomplish that,
we've signed Ron Manning as producer,
actor and stunt coordinator."
Manning, a long-time film veteran, has
appeared as an actor and stuntman in such
productions as "Rio Lobo," "The Enforcer,"
"The Outlaw Josey Wales," "Rage," "The
Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean," "Pocket
Money" and many others.
The plot, suggested by the Hillside Stramgler
case, follows the exploits of a Los Angeles
police department undercover detec-
a cooperative program designed primarily
to give students from the district—and from
Beverly Hills High School in particular—
broad range of education experiences in film
and filmmaking.
The AFI-Beverly Hills project, an expansion
of the highly successful internship program
tive sent to Reno to probe for possible con-
presently in operation at Beverly Hills nections between the LA murders and sevtive
High School, recently was approved in its eral gruesome slayings that were committed
entirety by a unanimous vote of the Beverly
Hills Board of Education.
there
details
under
are
similar
drawn from
circumstances.
facts surrounding
Script
Several facets of the BHHS-AFI program both actual cases, according to executive
which includes the development of a specia producer, director and technical adviser
Paks, who declined to reveal any details of
the story. The screenplay, written by Kathleen
Lambert, is drawn from the book "The
Deadly Game" authored by J. Allen Parks.
"Filmgoers have always loved suspense
and mystery films, and we're going back to
an era in which the plot wasn't revealed imtil
the audience saw the movie," explained
Parks. "To keep the details secret, the
shooting site will be constantly patrolled by
security guards, and scripts won't be given
to the actors or crew until shortly before
rehearsals begin."
The name of the star, cast as the imdercover
cop. will be released soon and Parks
says, "He's a leading Hollywood actor with
a
long string of major film credits."
Co-staning are Lauri Sheridan, a Seven
Productions find, and Toni Tuso, who first
won fame as Miss America 1976.
®
oO?¥Se^^'^^
CO^rc^Pa

. .
TUCSON
pilni and TV stars participated in the fourth
annual American Airlines/Jet Magazine
Celebrity Invitational Tennis Tournament
at the Tucson Racquet Club.
Tickets to the exclusive premiere showing
of "Grease." starring John Travolta and
Olivia Newton-John, are $8 and currently
are on sale at Levy's department store in
El Con shopping center. The June 15 gala
includes an after-theatre "SOs sock hop at
the After the Gold Rush disco.
A public tribute for world-renowned cinematographer
Lee Garmes, ASC, including
a screening of "Shanghai Express," was held
at the U of A Gallagher Theatre in late
May. Garmes won an Oscar for photographing
"Shanghai Express." TTie event featured
work done by participants in the Arizona
Filmmakers Workshop held in April. Tucson
Mayor Lew Murphy made a presentation to
Garmes. who directed an eight-minute
black-and-white western filmed at Old
Tucson.
DENVER
^embers of the industry gathered at the
Paramount Offices to wish "Good
I Lick" to Irene Chavez who is leaving distribution
to enter another business. Irene
was the Salt Lake City booker for the local
branch.
Another farewell party was held in the
Columbia office for branch manager Ted
Shugrue who is moving on to San Francisco
to take over that branch. Shugrue had held
the manager's post in Denver for the past
two years and he will be succeeded by
Kjnncth Newbert who is being transferred
Irom Minneapolis.
Marvin M. "Mike" Persons has taken over
the operation of the Holiday Twin Drive-In.
Fort Collins. Colo. The buying and booking
will b; handled by Tim Warner of Warner
Marketing, headquartered in Bozeman,
Mont.
Rocky Mountain Film Company held a
screening of the Osmond family's "The
I. J I cat Brain" at the Lakeside Theatre .
Warner Bros, screened "Big Wednesday" at
the Century Screening Room . . . Universal
PETERSON
THEATRE
455 Bearcat Drive
Times Square Park
SUPPLY
Salt Lake City, Utah 84115
801-466-7642
placed large newspaper advertisements to
announce their screening of "National Lampoon's
Animal House" on Friday evening
at the Century 21 Theatre.
Irene Robinson, assistant branch manager
for Buena Vista Distributing Co., recently
celebrated her 20th year of service with the
company.
Jerry Collins, who was branch .manager
for American International Pictures here,
has moved over to Warners and will be
booking the accounts.
Bob, Dolly and Donna Heyl were visiting
the exchanges and setting dates for the West
Drive-In, Torrington, Wyo.
SAN FRANCISCO
^omings and goings in the Bay Area; UA's
Shirley Stimmel is out of the hospital
and back on the job . . . AIP branch manager
Larry Pilmaier and his tan have returned
from Hawaii to the somewhat less
than exotic branch office; his travelling companion.
UAT's Mark Donovan, is making a
stopover in San Diego before returning to
work.
Jan Klingelhofer, Fox's former head booker,
has gone to work assisting Gary Meyer
at Parallax Theatres' Northern California
office. Taking her place at Fox will be
Charles Jarrett.
Columbia branch manager Wayne Case
was given a rousing sendoff last week at a
luncheon beautifully organized by Pat Lachnit.
Wayne, who assumes his new position
in Toronto, Ontario, as Columbia's general
sales manager of Canada next week, was
presented with an engraved gold bracelet.
The presentation was made by Jim Pierson
of UATC, the newly acclaimed "Henny
Youngman of Filmrow." Succeeding Wayne
will be Ted Shugrue, who comes from managing
Columbia's Denver branch.
Publicists Cathy Mouton and Bob Goodwin
from Jack Wodells will be in Seattle
next week on separate public appearance
tours. Cathy will be handling "A Different
Story" director Paul Aaron, while Bob will
be introducing "Jaws 2" director Jeannot
Swarc to the Seattle press.
McMillian Ncaned MGM
Prod. Services Director
HOLLYWOOD—Robert M. McMillian. a
veteran of nearly 30 years with MGM Laboratories,
has been named to the newly-created
position of director of production services
for the laboratory, it was announced by
Walter G. Eggers, vice-president and general
manager.
McMillian has been chief timer and head
of the timing department for the past 1
years. In his new capacity, he will be supervisor
of the dailies and timing as well as
serving as one of the laboratories' chief contacts
with the creative element of the film
industry.
Temple University Annual
Film Fest List Announced
PHILADELPHIA — Temple
University
Center City Campus' Cinematheque/Film
Archives will feature the finest international
films for its fourth annual Summer Film
Festival. A varied selection of titles from
the United States. England, France, Italy
and Japan will be shown from Friday (9)
through September 4 in two air-conditioning
screening rooms—Stage TTiree and the
Cinematheque Screening Room.
There will be films shown every night
of the week in Stage Three during the Summer
Film Festival with the Cinematheque
programs shown at 7 and 9:15 p.m. on
Friday and Saturday, and a 7:30 p.m. showing
on Sunday through Thursday programs.
On Tuesdays, the Film Archives programs
will feature a single screening at 7 p.m.
Among the films scheduled for Stage
Three are "King Solomon's Mines," "Whistle
Down the Wind," "All These Women,"
"Passport to Pimlico," "The Awful Truth,"
"The Man Who Knew Too Much," "Providence"
and "Tunes of Glory."
The Cinematheque Screening Room will
present a program every night of the week
at 7 and 9:15 p.m., except for Tuesdays.
"The French and Italian Cinema" will be
continued through the summer, featuring
both current and classic films. "It will be a
Festival of the very best contemporary directors
plus memories of past masters,"
promised a university spokesman.
Among the films to be shown in the
Cinematheque Screening Room are "Inspector
Maigret," "Seven Beauties," "The
Garden of the "Finzi Continis," "A Brief
vacation," "Grand Illusion." "Murmur of the
Heart." "La Ronde," "A Special Day" and
"Two English Girls." All programs will be
open to the public for both theatres at a $2
admission. Admission is reduced to $1.50
for students and mem'oers of the university's
Film Archives Society.
THE WEST LARGEST PRINTER
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BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978
W-3

Harry Goldberg Has
Retired After 54 Yrs.
^i^.--
played the part of "the brat" for two years,
and then went on to form a song-and-dance
act with other show business acquaintances.
With the advent of the "talkies" in 1927
such one-night-stand stage acts were the first
to be cut from the program. While this
early show business venture was short-lived,
Goldberg did make many lasting friendships
with entertainers who later went on
to fame in vaudeville and the "talkies."
Starting again in a different direction,
Goldberg became an usher at the Scollay
Square Theatre in Boston. Soon promoted
to head usher and then to sound checker,
Goldberg then was sent to the Paramount
Long Island studios in New York to gain
additional skills in sound. Returning to Boston,
he was made assistant house manager
and helped to produce the tab shows which
were presented on weekends in the larger
houses of the Paramount-Publix circuit.
Goldberg was appointed assistant manager
of the Modern Theatre in Boston in 1930
— the youngest person in that position on
n|tftt ^BSound and
Nationwide
Projection Service
on all brands.
RCA Service Company, A Division of RCA
1501 Beach Street, Monlebello, Calil 90640
Phone (213) 728-7473
the East Coast. By the late '30s he was a
manager with the circuit. He worked with
the company until 1945. when it was split in
an anti-trust action. He then went with the
original company, renamed American Theatres
Corp. after the split, where he remained
until 1960.
During World War II the U.S. treasury
department appointed Goldberg as liaison to
the Hollywood victory committee. The job
entailed handling stars' personal appearances
at New England defense plants, as
well as working with Hollywood personnel
in setting up the giant bond cavalcades at
the Boston Garden. He was awarded the
U.S. treasury Silver Coin Award for this
work, coordinating the war effort in New
England with most of Hollywood's biggest
stars.
Upon leaving American Theatres in 1960,
Goldberg went to work for Lowell Thomas
and Meriam C. Cooper as group sales di-
In 1963 Cinerama sold out to Cinedome
Theatres; Cinedome sent Goldberg to San
Francisco to manage the Orpheum Cinerama
Theatre. The Cinerama franchise was
later moved to the Golden Gate Theatre,
which Goldberg managed until 1970 when
road shows became too expensive to continue.
Looking to make a move at that time,
Goldberg was hired by John Dobbs, operations
manager of United Artists Theatres,
in the position of Northwest division advertising
coordinator, where he has been
for the last eight years.
Harry Goldberg has been something of
an institution in San Francisco, and his
presence will be missed everywhere along
Filmrow, from the office at UTAC with its
"Bless This Mess" plaque on the wall, where
he usually arrived at 6:00 each morning,
in the branch offices and advertising agencies
with whom he worked daily, and at the
Bay Area theatres where sneak previews
would have him working until midnight
on many a Saturday night.
Renovated Marple
Opening Delayed
WICHITA, KAS.—The Marple, a coffeehouse/cinema
designed to offer classic vintage
films in an intimate downtown setting,
probably will not open until August because
of remodeling delays.
Linda Powell, co-owner with Marilynn
Gump of the $225,000 rejuvenation project,
confirmed the original opening date of mid-
April has been pushed back to late summer
because of delays in
securing a city renovation
permit.
Powell expressed annoyance at the permit
delay, saying she thought "the city was very
uncooperative and sat on our permit for
45 days. They are very gung-ho about new
construction, and you can get a building
Dinner Film House in N.Y.
NEW YORK—In a first tor New York
City exhibition, the 8th St. Playhouse, 52
West 8th St., Manhattan, has become a dinner
film theatre, providing both food service
and motion pictures. The conventional dinnerner
theatres in the area, offer food and
stage
attractions.
permit in a week or less,
"But with renovation, the city seems less
rector at Cinerama. He was then made assistant
national advertising director, work-
interested in downtown development than
SAN FRANSISCO — Harry Goldberg,
the Urban Renewal Agency."
Northwest division advertising manager for ing with Vic Rosen. At the same time he
Powell conceded, however, that the delays
in issuing the permit came from nec-
United Artists Theatre Circuit, took the became assistant to Everett Callow, international
advertising director. Working with
advice of his physician, and retired May 15
essary reviewing of the theatre interior space
after 54 years in the industry.
these men gave him the great wealth of
for appropriate fire protection systems.
Goldberg's career began in 1924, when experience he needed as he began travelling
She said the permit now has been approved
and that interior reconstruction was
he was promoted from mail boy at Boston's around the country, breaking in the advertising,
promotion and group sales people in
Shepard Stores to a featured player on "The
scheduled to start within a week to ten days.
Family," a program produced by a radio each area.
The postponement boosted the estimated
station owned by the Shepard Stores. He
cost of the project about 10 per cent, Powell
continued. She said the Small Business
Administration, which granted the original
$225,000 loan in January, also granted additional
funding.
She said the reconstruction should take
three months after it is started.
Most of the work will be inside the theatre
and will not be visible to passersby,
Powell noted. But one part of the project
will be noticeable from the exterior. The
partners plan a mural to the upper part of
the west wall (visible to castbound Douglas
traffic) to cover up the remaining sign for
the Vogue.
The mural project also is slated to start
within a week or so, Powell said, adding
she has received encouragement from officials
eager to see the last vestiges of the notorious
adult theatre covered over.
The lobby will feature space for local
artists to display their work, although it will
not be a sales gallery, they added.
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Wlicn you come to Wuikiki,
don't miss the famous Don Ho
Show ... at Cinerama's
Reef Towers Hotel, f
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W-4 BOXOFHCE :; June 5, 1978

. . . The
CHICAGO
J^ockford is one of the sophisticated and
active towns in Illinois. But special promotion
for the arrival of "FM" added a
"touch of class" to the sophistication. Credit
for this goes to spearheaders Jerry Bulger
and Dennis Hutchins of the Plitt Theatres
advertising department and also to Tom
Stacey, manager of the Plitt Midway theatre
in Peoria, and the town's district manager
Ralph Sullivan. The launching of "FM" had
the glamor of a Hollywood opening which
was bolstered by WZOK-FM Radio sponsorship.
All the station's disc jockeys and
personnel attended in full formal attire.
They arrived by limo and walked the red
carpet while an untold number of watchers
got the message. Some 1.700 persons who
held invitations to the special screening
filled
the theatre.
The top grossing re-releases which have
been rescheduled in many area theatres have
measured up to expectations. In this group,
special mention is given to "American Graffiti."
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune,
in stating that the film is worth a trip to the
suburbs, says, "To see 'Graffiti' again is to
want to congratulate a few of its previously
unsung heroes, specifically casting directors
Fred Rook and Mike Fenton, for providing
so many of the film's talented young actors
who went on to become stars."
We are glad to report that Mickey Gold,
manager of the Oriental Theatre in the
Loop, had satisfactory heart surgery. Unfortunately
he will have to remain home for
a few more weeks to recuperate. The Oriental
has been meeting with success in its
current policy of showing three films at
$1.50 admission.
For the first
time a Chicago WOMPI installation
of new officers is open to nonmembers.
Industry people are, in fact, urged
to attend the event which will be a dinner
Wednesday (28) at Johnny's Steak House.
William Lange. president of Wm. Lange &
Associates, will serve as toastmastcr, and
Edythe Stein, president of the Women's
Variety Club, will install the incoming cifficers.
For reservations call Linnea Johnson,
726-1658, or Peggy Gates at 332-1734.
Friday (9) is the date for the first showing
in this area of "Good Guys Wear
Black." This American Cinema Releasing
Co. film is distributed through Wm. Lange
& Associates.
Condolences to Florence Cohen of Warner
Bros, on the death of her mother. Mrs.
Annabelle Hanson.
Scotty Hutcheon, who retired to Florida a
few years ago. and his wife are current
visitors. Highlight of their trip is getting
acquainted with their new granddaughter.
the Russ Hutcheon's new baby.
Carriage-type lights just installed throughout
at the .Admiral Theatre have created a
new atmosphere. This means a partial Victorian
look will greet Nancy Hoffman and
VARIETY HONORS TV STA-
TION—Keith Gunther, left, program
director for KSD-TV Channel 5 in St.
Louis, accepts a special award from
John H. Londoff, right, chief barker of
St. Louis Variety Tent Four as Joe
Simpkins, fundraising chairman, looks
on. KSD-TV was honored by the St.
Louis tent for its "magnificent contribution
to the handicapped children of
our community through the annual St.
Louis Variety Club Telethon, the Crusade
for Forgotten Children." The 19-
hour charity/entertainment spectacular
February 25-26 on that station raised
$752,807 for emotionally and physically
handicapped children in the Greater
St. Louis area.
The Variety Club award was presented
at a telethon victory luncheon
May 12 at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel
Starlight Roof.
Chris Cirella who will be on hand to appear
in behalf of "Little Me-Maria Strangelove,"
a new first run film.
Linda Russ returned to her work at Brotman
Theatres following a Florida vacation
Brotman Near North Carnegie is
all set with Dolby sound for the opening of
"The Last Waltz."
"Mr. Klein," a new Quartet Films movie
distributed through New World Pictures of
Chicago, opened as a first run at the 3
Penny, Devon and Wilmette theatres. "Mr.
Klein" won three Cesars (the French equivalent
of the Academy Award) including Best
Picture and Best Director. The setting for
"Mr. Klein" is Nazi-occupied Paris. .Anti-
Nazism forms the basis for the story, and
it is rated PG. Stars are Alain Delon and
Jeanne Moreau.
Mona Matoba is the this city's new film
coordinator. She is assisted by Sgt. Dominic
Frigo in the mayor's office to provide city
services to local and visiting film makers.
Joe McKenzie of Chicago Motion Picture
Services has just finished working on the
20th Century-Fox production of "Butch and
Sundance, the Early Days." It was filmed
in Telluride. Colo, and Santa Fe, N.M.
Former Chicagoan Allan Carr will b; in
town Thursday (15) for the premiere of
"Grease" ... It is reported that Susan Ford,
who was special photographer on "Jaws II,"
will be here soon to help promote the
(Continued on page C-2)
'Coming Home' Wins
Kaycee Ratings War
KANSAS CITY—Six new titles appeared
on Kansas City marquees last week but only
one, "Coming Home," made a big impression.
With the exception of the Jane Fonda
starrer, which hit 300 per cent in two area
theatres, holdovers fared better than newcomers.
Placing second in the attendance
race was "Star Wars" which, after a full
.
year at the Glenwood Theatre, pulled an
amazing 275 per cent, beating out such
competition as "Youngblood" (260), "The
Greek Tycoon" (260), "Pretty Baby" (255)
and "Close Encounters" (235).
(Average Is 100)
Blue Ridge, Ranchmart—Coming Home (UA) .300
Eleven Iheatres—Goodbye Franklin High (SR) -- 50
Embassy—Pretty Baby (Para), 3rd wit ,255
Embassy—An Unmarried Woman (ZO'!: Foi:)
9th wk, .160
Fairyland—The Soul of Bruce Lee (SH; .100
Fine Arts—The End oi the World in Our Usual
Bed in a Night Full oi Rain (V;Bi .135
Five theatres— Restless (SR) .IBS
Four theatres—FI« (Univ), 4'h >.'): 150
Tycoon Four theatres—The Greek (Ur.iv)
Four theatres— If Ever I See You Again
(Col) .180
Glenwood—Close Encounters ol the Third Kind
(Col), 23rd wk -235
Glenwood^Star Wars (70th-Fox), 52nd wk 275
Independence, Midland—The Manitou (Lmh),
3rd wk -.105
Metcoli—The Turning Point (20lh-Foz)
I6th wk .70
Midland—F.I.S.T. (UA), 4th wk .90
Ranchman—High Anxjely (20th-Fox),
16th wk 110
Three theatres—House Calls (Univ). 10th wk. .125
Three theatres—Youngblood (A!P), 2nd wk 260
"The Greek Tycoon's' Ship Comes
In at Top of Chicago's Tally
CHICAGO — Once again "The Greek
Tycoon" held the edge on top grossing for
the week. Next in line for best business were
"Madame Rosa" in the fourth week at the
Carnegie Theatre and "Pretty Baby" in the
third week at three area movie houses.
Affecting first run grosses were such moveovers
as "The Turning Point" and such reissues
as "American Graffiti" and "Annie
Hall."
Bolingbrook 1—Alice, Sweet Alice (AA), 2nd wk. 150
Carnegie—Modame Rosa (SR), 4th wk 300
Esquire—An Unmarried Woman (20th-Fox),
10th wk 150
Eight theatres—F.I.S.T. (UA), 4th wk 150
Eight theatres—Tintorera (SR) 200
Four theatres—House Calls (Univ), lOth -.vk 225
Nine theatres—FM (Un,v) 225
Roosevelt—Young Blood (AIP), 6th wk 250
Six theotres-The Greek Tycoon (Umv), 2nd wlc. 400
Three theatres-Pretty Baby (Para), 3rd wk 300
Three theatres-Saturday Night Fever (Para),
23rd wk 150
"SS Girls" Is Whipping
Up Big Response in 111.
CAHOKIA, ILL. — Tornado warnings
and heavy rains here couldn't keep away
filmgoers who were determined to see "SS
Girls," a Topar Film release. The film
grossed over $4,000 in three days at a drivein
in Cahokia.
Elsewhere, "SS Girls" grossed $2,800 in
thee davs in Sandoval, 111.
THEWTRE EQUIPMENT
Everxthing for the Theatre"
339 No. CAPITOL AVC., INDIANAMLIS, INO.
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978 C-1

CHICAGO
(Continued from page C-1)
Tuesday (16) opening of the shark film.
Burt Reynolds' popularity cannot be questioned
if attention from the public is an indication.
Now it will be interesting to see how
"The End," the film which he directed and
stars in, will be received. It opens in a series
of neighborhood theatres throughout the
city.
Welcome to Karl Kahaian, who joined
Warner Bros, as office manager. In this capacity
he will be in charge of collections.
Warner Bros.' "Capricorn One" opLned in
Chicago area and downstate theatres Friday
(2).
Colleen Welch, who has served as secretary
to Buena Vista branch manager Carole
Sutter, is relocating in Denver. K. C. Brynelsen.
who has handled the Indianapolis
screening was sponsored by WBMX-FM
Radio, Motown Productions, Casablanca
Records and Filmworks along with Columbia
Pictures. As Jerry Downey, regional publicity
director for Columbia puts it, "Thank
God It's Friday" is a contemporary comedy
with music, featuring top recording artists
Donna Summer and the Commodores, along
with a group of colorful characters out for
a rollicking Friday night at the Zoo, a disco
nightclub where anything goes.
In other Columbia Pictures' activity
"Jason and the Argonauts" opened in 90
area theatres May 26, and ne.xt on the
agenda is "The Cheap Detective," with
Peter Falk and Ann-Margret. "Jason and
the Argonauts" is based on the legend of
Fa^AACK STUDIOS.
Jason"s search for the Golden Fleece. It is
rated G.
Best wishes to Milt Levine, who has joined
Randolph Film Distributors as general
sales manager. Levins, who for the past ten
years was associated with Avco Embassy
Pictures, started his career in the film industry
as a booker with Warner Bros. He
later became a branch manager for this company,
and subsequently was affiliated with
Columbia Pictures and United Artists.
The Biograph Theatre has. with considerable
success, been introducing something different
in movies. Michael Cacoyannis"
"Iphigenia" opened in this North Side theatre
Friday (2). "Iphigenia" is, it is noted,
"chronologically the first story in the
Cacoyannis Trojan Wars triology," and is
based on the tragedies of Euripides. The
triology also includes "Electra" (1962) and
"The Trojan Women" (1971). "Iphigenia"
is distributed in the U.S. by Cinema 5. It
has not been rated by the MPAA.
ternational Pictures, where he holds the post
of Midwest manager.
Vic joined the Variety Club of Illinois 23
years ago. He served as the Tent 26 chiet
barker for two terms. He was honored by
the club as King for a Day in 1973, and in
1977 he was the recipient of a Heart award.
As a member of the Cinema Lodge and
Sports Lodge of B'nai B'rith, he received
the Cinema Lodge Man of the Year award
in 1960. A constant supporter of the State
of Israel, he is serving on the board of
governors for Israel Bonds. When Vic is
honored at the Israel Bond testimonial dinner
Tuesday (20), he will be presented with
the Prime Minister of Israel Medal.
FILMACK'S 1978 INSPIRATION CATALOG
Make it your aid to increase your attendance
and concession sales, by using
Merchant Ads, Snack Bar films,
and Special Announcement films.
(Write For Your FREE Copy)
FILMACK
KANSAS CITY
^acation time is coming and, if you're
thinking about getting a camera, you
might check with Sandy Pickett at Buena
Vista. She and her husband want to buy a
new camera and they are ready to sell the
one they have—a four-year-old Minolta
SRTlOl 35mm camera with an f 1.7 lens.
If you're interested, contact Sandy for a
camera she says is in "excellent condition."
Speaking of vacations, Carol Hobbs, 20th
Century-Fox, is in the midst of an enjoyable
two-week excursion. Carol, her children and
her parents left last week for Canada, where
they plan to visit all the provinces. Sounds
like a nice trip and there should be plenty of
snapshots to view upon her return.
The two secretaries in the Disney office
took separate excursions to the Lake of the
Ozarks over the holiday weekend. Connie
Haesemeyer spent the weekend at Sunrise
Beach, while Terrie Dunn tested the waters
Sometimes when a well known-person
billing, was moved up as secretary to Mrs.
off Standing Rock. Terrie's closest call developed
when she and her parents discovered
Sutter.
is well-regarded
is around for a long time, he
a hole in their boat. Fortunately, the
Kaplan Continental Pictures is handling but his merits are not always defined in
heavy orders for a short which continues to detail. Now, as the time approaches for Victor
Bernstein to be saluted at the Amuse-
everyone else taking big holiday jaunts,
boat did not sink . . . Incidentally, with
be a hot item. 'The 1977 Miss Universe
Pageant."
ment Division, State of Israel Bond testimonial
Buena Vista booker Judy Helton was not
outdone. an exclusive interview
dinner, his credits are being count-
to be In
"Thank God It's Friday," a new Columbia
with BoxoFFiCE. Judy revealed that during
ed. He is being recognized for civic and
the course of the weekend she actually drove
Pictures film, is the subject of a lot of charitable activities during his long career
through Bonner Springs, Kas. We can't wait
conversation. Exposure began with a Night- in the motion picture field. Vic started his
Before - Opening - Night 'Thank-God-It's-
io see the snapshots.
career as a shipping clerk with Paramount
Here" premiere at the Esquire Theatre. The
When Charley Jarrett departed the 20th
Pictures. He worked his way up over the
years, and in 1965 he joined American In-
Century-Fox office last month for San
STUDIOS,
1 327 S.Wabash Ave., Chicago,lll.60605
(312)427-3395
Francisco, several folks in the local office
moved up a notch. That still left an opening,
however, and last week Barbara Stewart
filled that position. Barbara—who is no
stranger to the film industry, logging fourplus
years with the Dickinson circuit and
most recently with Universal Pictures—will
perform the clerical duties formerly the responsibility
of Carol Hobbs. who moved up
to the post of branch manager's secretary.
In the film "The Seven Year Itch," Tom
EwjII takes Marilyn Monroe to a movie.
The question is, to you trivia buffs, what
wa,s the name of that movie? American International's
Carla Wilson knew; at least,
she knew someone who knew when a deejay
asked that question over the radio recently.
Jim Hanlon, AIP booker, was the genius
who recalled the title of the movie but he
cut it close. He didn't remember until after
Carla had dialed the station and the phone
was ringing. Then Jim blurted it out and
Carla repeated it to the disc jockey. For
some reason, however. Jim wished to remain
anonymous and Carla graciously took the
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C-2 BOXOmCE ;: June 5, 1978

. . The
on-the-air credit. Incidentally, Carla-Jim's
answer won for them four tickets to the
Claude Akins-Juliiis Boros benefit golf
tournament at the Hillcrest Country Club.
Neither of them being a golfer, they passed
those tickets along to someone who could
appreciate them—AIP branch manager John
Wangberg. All in all, it was a rewarding
experience. Oh, by the way, the movie Tom
Ewell and Marilyn Monroe saw was "The
Creature From the Black Lagoon."
The United Motion Picture Ass'n publishes
a calendar with "Dates You Can Use"
and already AIP secretary Pam Dowd is
wishing they hadn't. It seems that Sunday
(4) was National Old Maids Day and Pam
—raving beauty though she is—currently is
unattached. So, she was the recipient of a
cake on that dubious holiday, courtesy of
her concerned and slightly smirking workmates.
Reports are that Pam was so overwrought
that she cracked her new facelift
in
three places.
Bill Rice, Mercury Film, and wife Diane,
20th Century-Fox, spent a four-day weekend
with their youngsters in the Missouri Ozarks,
visiting Silver Dollar City . Paul
Rices departed Kansas City May 25 for a
up. They wouldn't talk about money at all
when they returned to this fair city.
Variety Women are sponsoring a trip to
Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in Omaha July 15,
with transportation via Jefferson Bus Lines.
The $25 fee includes dinner after the races,
"all the booze you think you can drink"
(we understand a clinical psychologist is
screening ticket buyers carefully to weed
out compulsive libation gulpers, which could
spoil the fun) and, of course, the transportation
(getting there is half the fun—the other
half is getting back). The entire bash is a
benefit for the Crippled Children's Nursery
School. However, make your reservations
NOW. Response to the initial announcement
a couple of weeks ago has been fantastic, so
don't delay—call and pay Sharon Richeson,
753-8200, or Raye Dean Deal, 782-5223.
Screenings at Commonwealth: Tuesday
(May 30), "Tintorera" (United Film), dis-
tributed by Thomas & Shipp, and Sept. 30.
1955 (Univ); Wednesday (May 31), "Five
Days From Home" (Univ); and Thursday
Screenings
(1), "Almost Summer" (Univ)
(May 30), "A
at Midwest: Tuesday
Wedding" (20th-Fox) and "Tintorera"
(United Film), distributed by Thomas &
Shipp.
Editorial Note: The media is flogged frequently
these days for reporting nothing but
bad news. For the gals on Filmrow, here's
a bit of good news which was received from
a highly reliable source. Jerry Jones, Boxoffice
staffer who has needled virtually
every defenseless industryite, marked a very
austere milestone May 31. To put it bluntly,
it was his birthday. What makes the occasion
auspicious is the fact that Jerry has
reached the ripe old age of 30 without being
run down or car-bombed. The good news
is that, when last seen May 31, he was limping,
which means that he's a sitting duck
for anyone who wants to take careful aim.
Sic 'em, girls!
ST.
LOUIS
_^nierican Graffiti" is back with additional
original scenes not shown in the George
Lucas production the first time around. It is
the current attraction at Grandview, Northwest,
Sunset Hills, Varsity and Alton Cine.
Walt Disney's "In Search of the Castaways."
starring the late greats Maurice
Chevalier and George Sanders, with a young
Hayley Mills, is back on the screens at Des
Peres 4, Cypress Village, Halls Ferry 6, Hi-
long weekend in Phoenix, Ariz., whsre they
visited Mr. and Mrs. Ed Darr . . . Cleaning Pointe, Ellisville and St. Andrews and will
up at the horse races in Omaha last week doubtless delight new audiences. This is the
were Paul Rice, Bill Rice, Jerry Stella and first attraction at Cypress Village since the
Don Ireland. That's right, they just cleaned house was closed for remodeling. The Mann
theatre is now a beautiful twin!
BflM JnSound and
m«V^I Projection Service
Nationwide — on all brands.
RCA Service Company. A Division of RCA
7620 Gross Point Road, Skokie. Ill 60076
Phone (312) 478-6591
As the ad says, "Just when you thought it
was safe to go back in the water," along
comes "Jaws 2" from Universal at Cross
Keys, Sunset Hills, Creve Coeur, Stadium 2
and the Alton Cine in Illinois. Roy Scheider
again stars as he did in "Jaws." His co-star
is Lorraine Gary in the Friday (16) opener.
John Travolta's second film with music.
"Grease," opens Friday (16) at Northwest
Plaza. Woods Mill, Esquire, Sunset, and in
Illinois at the Eastgate, Alton, and Fairview,
Fairview Heights. Travolta went
through the traditional "footprints in cement"
ceremony at the Los Angeles opening
at Grauman's Chinese and has received
a gold record for his duet with co-star
Olivia Newton-John, "You're the One I
Want." Lorenzo Lamas, son of Fernando
Lamas and Arlene Dahl. makes his debut
in "Grease." appearing as Travolta's rival
for Olivia's affections.
Diana Steffens, receptionist at Robert E.
Johnson Advertising, has returned bubbly
and tanned from her Florida vacation where
she visited DisneyWorld in Orlando, among
other points of interest.
Mel Brooks' zany "High Anxiety," which
enjoyed a long run at Westport Cine after a
February opening, will begin a subrun at
seven theatres Wednesday (14). In addition
to the multi-talented Brooks, the cast includes
Madeline Kuhn, Harvey Korman,
Cloris Leachman and Dick Van Patten.
American International's "Our Winning
.Season," starring Scott Jacoby, begins a wide
multiple Friday (16). The story is set in
1967 and focuses on a group of youngsters
in their senior year at Griffin High where
Jacoby is a member of the track team who
tries desperately to beat the team's star,
Robert Wahler. There is a combination of
hilarity, heartbreak and triumph in the film
aimed at the youth market.
Area residents were saddened by the death
of Robert O. (Bob) Goddard. popular
Globe-Democrat columnist. He died May 15
at Barnes Hospital where he had been a cancer
patient. Burial was in Jefferson Barracks
Cemetery. Goddard was a member of the
newspaper's staff for 41 years, had served
as feature writer and reviewer of entertainment,
but was best known and loved for his
chatty "In Our Town" column. His items
were often reprinted in Readers Digest and
Earl Wilson's column.
He was a graduate of the University of
Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism
and served in the Army's information and
education division in World War II. At the
time he was discharged from the army he
was news editor of the Paris edition of the
army's Stars and Stripes newspaper. A native
of Moberly, Mo., Goddard often said
smilingly that the town was known for two
famous people, "General Omar Bradley and
me." During his illness, actor Forrest Tucker,
an old friend, flew here to visit his pal.
Goddard dined out for the last time with
Tucker and his long time buddy, entertainment
entrepreneur George Edick, whose
name frequently appeared in Goddard's column.
A memorial in the form of an annual
scholarship to the University of Missouri
journalism school has been established in
Goddard's memory.
FOR SALE
New Tri-Plex automated theatre. Total seating of
1,000. Located in shopping center of growing suburb
of Midwest city. Now in operation and in beautiful
condition. Principals only. For further details, write:
Boxoffice, 4108
825 Van Brunt Blvd.
Kansas City. Mo. 84124
EOXOFnCE :: June 5. 1978 C-3

ni
DOLBY
Stigwood Parlays Market-Developing
Ability Into Entertainment Empire
CHICAGO—Gene Siskel, film critic for
the Chicago Tribune, recently asked why
Robert Stigwocd, music, film and theatre
mogul, was buying a home in the Bermudas.
The answer he received led him
to investigate one of the most lucrative entertainment
organizations in the world. In
his article Siskel reports:
Stigwood is the show business entrepreneur
setting the movie business on its ear
through his shrewd understanding and manipulation
of popular music and the
recordbuying
audience.
At age 43, Stigwood heads an entertainment
conglomerate that bears his name and
includes 34 subsidiary companies. Last year
his companies generated films, plays, and
records that grossed $100,000,000. This
year the projected gross is $300,000,000.
Stigwood has amassed a personal fortune
conservatively estimated by an associate at
between $30,000,000 and $50,000,000.
The biggest current moneymaker in the
Stigwood empire is the film "Saturday Night
Fever," which Stigwood's film company financed.
The film cost approximately $3,-
500,000 to make, in North America alone
it already has earned film rentals of $45,-
000,000. Stigwood's share: a whopping 45
per cent.
And that's just the movie. The "Fever"
two-record, sound track album on Stigwood's
record label has sold 10,000,000
units at an average retail price of $9 each.
Stigwood's profit per album: approximately
60 cents.
The best guess is that when the "Fever"
fever eventually runs its course, the Stigwood
film and record companies will net
more than $50,000,000. And Stigwood is
holding an ace in the hole that would increase
the "Fever" boxoffice even more.
He soon may release a sanitized, PG-rated
version of "Fever" so that preteen-agers can
see it without adult supervision. The more
gentle version originally was made for sale
to television. It is now playing in London
theaters before 6 p.m.
But Stigwood is more than a one-film,
flash-in-the-pan genius. His story begins in
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have underestimated the power of the rock
music industry. Until now."
And how. The story of Stigwood's stunningly
successful promotion of "Saturday
Night Fever" is the talk of the film industry.
What Stigwood did was release the Bee
Australia, winds up in a millionaire's monthly
commute between homes in Bermuda
Gees song "How Deep Is Your Love?"
weeks before the movie opened.
and Beverly Hills, and includes stopovers "We decided to let the music sell the
with such monumental entertainment
movie,"
properties
as the Beatles, "Hair," 'How "Jesus Deep Is
Gershon said "When we released
Christ
Your Love?' we made sure
Superstar," "Tommy," the Bee Gees, rock
guitarist Eric Clapton and Cream and the
soon-to-be-released films of "Grease" and
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
TTie Australian-born son of an electrical
engineer, Stigwood left an advertising career
to become a talent agent in England, representing
mostly actors in TV commercials.
This was in the '50s and Stigwocd reportedly
had the field much to himself because he
alone recognized there was such a field.
That would become one of his greatest professional
strengths—spotting new markets.
He then went on to become the first independent
record producer in England, successfully
butting heads with the major recording
conglomerates. As an agent he acquired
the Bee Gees and Eric Clapton as
clients in 1966. They remain his clients today
and that's another of his trademarks— longlasting
professional relationships.
After serving a brief term as a co-managing
director of the Beatles along with the
late Brian Epstein. Stigwood struck a gold
mine by bringing the play "Hair" to England.
Three years later he made the most creative
move of his career. After listening to
a predistribution recording of "Jesus Christ
Superstar." Stigwood had an idea. He "saw"
the sound track as a stage play. He then
discovered that no one owned stage performance
rights to the music because no
one else had considered it a stage show.
The rest is history. "Superstar" is now in
its eighth year of continuous performances
in London, having grossed $40,000,000
worldwide Stigwood also produced the "Superstar"
movie, a multimillion-dollar hit.
"The real breakthrough for Robert was
'Tommy,' " Frederick Gershon, president of
the Robert Stigwood organization, said. "No
film company wanted to touch it. The property
was a rock opera. All it was was a
musical score. Robert decided to make it
as a film without dialog, using traditional
movie stars (Ann-Margret and Jack Nicholson)
and rock stars (Elton John and Roger
Daltry).
"The film companies simply didn't understand
the star quality of a musician like
Elton John or the drawing power of the
album sales. The film companies always
C L\EIL\MA IS L\ SHOW
Br9»LVEKS L\ H.\Wi\II TOO,
When you come to Wulkiki,
don't miss the famous Don Ho
Show ... at Cinerama's
Reef Towers Hotel. f
that every disk jockey received a complete
promotional kit about the movie. That way
when they introduced the song they could
talk about the film."
The plan worked better than anyone could
have imagined. Except Stigwood. He apparently
knew what was going to happen.
"In order to have Paramount release the
film in 550 theaters at once," says an RSO
executive, "Robert guaranteed that one of
the singles from the film would be No. 1
before the film was released. He did it, too."
The rest is record industry history.
Having conquered pop music, theatre
and film Stigwood has his sights on a new
goal—television. The head of RSO's TV
department was in Cannes last week
selling ideas. Stigwood is negotiating pro- '
graming ideas with all three American networks.
There appears to be no limit to the
empire Stigwood can build.
Dale H. McFarland, 64,
Dies in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS— Dale H. McFarland,
64, active in theatre circles for many years,
died May 17 at St. Vincent Hospital in this
city. He entered the film exhibition field
early in the 1930s with RKO Theatres and
later was with Publix in Iowa. He formerly
was associated with Tri-States Theatres in
various executive capacities. From 1951 to
1 959 he was general manager of the Fourth
Avenue Amusement Co., Louisville, Ky.,
and its affiliate, the Greater Indianapolis
Amusement Co. He served in the same position
for the midwestern division of United
Artists Theatre Circuit in 1970 and served
several years with the firm.
He was in charge of United Artists operations
in Wisconsin, Louisville and Detroit,
covering nearly 27 houses, with headquarters
at Milwaukee. He retired in 1974 and
had been living in Naples, Fla., returning
to
Indianapolis nearly a year ago.
FINER PR(
iAsk You
HURLEY
2« $.roh Drlv

Eileen Kaiser Dalier Is
WOMPI Booker of the Year
NEW ORLEANS— Eileen Kaiser Dalier.
industryite and United Artists Corp. veteran
booker, was named Booker of the Year
b\ a secret ballot vote of Louisiana/ Mississippi
theatre owners.
Ballots were mailed to each exhibitor
operating in the territory, handled out of the
Now Orleans branch, requesting they vote
for the most outstanding booker of their
choice.
Mrs. Dalier was chosen over almost a
d.izen other veteran bookers. Eileen is no
si ranger to any of us in the territory. She
hcgan her film tareer in 1947 as a biller
with Columbia Pictures along with seven
others from the Kaiser Klan. giving th;
Columbia staff a total of eight Kaiser sisters
reporting to Houston Duvall, local branch
manager at the time.
During a one-year span she was promoted
to contract clerk, bid clerk, short subject
booker and second booker under Lydia Scull\
In 1950 she was promoted to head booker
which position she held until June of
1965. She continued her film career with
elected to serve on the 1978-79 board as
corresponding secretary.
Theatre Closes; Ends Long
Career of Projectionist
FITZGERALD. G A.— After 51 years of
part and full-time work as a theatre projectionist,
Lester C. Fussell will retire from
the profession when the Grand Theatre
closes in a few months.
Cliff Edward, Lester said. This film with
sound, ran a full week, he recalled.
This equipment was replaced in a short
time with the new sound-on-film system.
which is still in use today.
Fussell and Ring were in the projector
booth the night in 19.M when the Grand
burned. After this. Ring moved to Florida
and purchased two theatres there.
Fussell accepted employment at the lo;al
textile mill while the Grand was being rebuilt
and retained his job at the mill until it
closed in 1970. He then began w,irk days at
Irwin Mfg. Co. for Jerry Heller.
In 1948 he went back to work at the
Grand, then a Martin Theatre, and has
served there as projectionist since then.
Recalling the thrill of hearing 1.200 to
1,500 screaming voices during a thrilling
or frightening scene of a western or adventure
picture, Fussell said, 'sometimes 1
think I enjoyed it all more than the kids
did."
The new Martin Theatre will seat 250 in
each portion of the twin theatre. "The large
crowds will no longer be heard." Fussell
lamented.
His retirement plans include spending a
lot of time with his wife of 40 years. "Nell
United Artists. This is the first award of its
kind ever offered by LATO-MTO (Louisiana
Association of Theatre Owners— Mis-
has been a wonderful wife and is a lovely
person," he added.
sissippi Theatre Owners) in which the winner
will be guest of honor, all expenses paid,
at the forthcoming theatre owners convention
scheduled to be held at the Broadwater
Beach Hotel in Biloxi, Miss. (18)-(20).
A special banquet has been arranged honoring
Mrs. Dalier as Booker of th: Year
luesday (20).
Gene Goodman, division manager of
United Artists notified Mrs. Dalier of her
outstanding achievement and most deserved
honor. She is also a charter member of
WOMPI serving in the capacity of industry
'jrvice chairman and has recently been
NEW ORLEANS
^nna Power, local WOMPI president, presided
over the May Founder's Day
meeting at the Quality Inn Midtown with
48 members, guests and friends in attendance.
A delightful evening was planned by
program chairman Marie Berglund, including
traditional cocktails and take.
Congratulations to WOMPI Eileen Dalier
on being chosen Booker of the Year. She
will be honored this year at the Louisiana/
Mississippi theatre owners convention
scheduled to be held at the Broadwater
Beach Hotel in Biloxi, Miss.
WOMPI members are scheduled to turn
out en masse for the Abbe Nursing Home
Spring Festival slated for Saturday (17).
On Thursday, May 25, members served as
hostesses for the "Harper Valley PTA"
screening sponsored by New World Pictures
and Bill Cobb, president of Lakeside The-
"The Buddy Holly Story" was directed by
Steve Rash for producer Fred Bauer, with
Edward H. Cohen and Fred T. Kuehnert
the executive producers.
.\ccompanying his late brother-in-law, J.
D. Ring, projectionist at the Grand, at the
age of three years in 1920, he was introduced
to the "world of celluloid." He sat on
a high stool in the projection booth, watched
Ring perform his duties and watched the
pictures being played through the port hole.
The Grand, Fussell recalls, was owned at
that time by the late George Ricker.
Becoming relief operator at the age of ten
during the era of silent movies about 1927,
he and Ring ran the picture from 2 until
1 1 :30 p.m. daily. Lester operated the project
alone while Ring took a supper break each
day.
In 1928, Ricker installed sound in the
Grand in the form of records synchronized
with the picture being projected. The first of
these movies was "Ukulele Ike" featuring
HK.HIK.HIS Ol WOMPI LLNCHEON—(Upper left) Bill WilUams,
division manatjer of 20th Ccntur\-Fox, addresses the New Orleans WOMPI Bosses
Luncheon. Next to him is Anna Power, WOMPI president. (Upper right) Two of
the bosses honored were Bob Taylor, Universal Film Kxchange branch manager,
and Charles Varnado, Independent Films. They are presenting a bouquet to
WOMPI, accepted by Anna Power. (Lower left) T. C;. "Teddy" Solomon, past
NATO president and chairman of the board of Gulf States Theatres, was Master
of Ceremonies. Seated next to him are Bill Williams, guest speaker, and Anna
Power. (Lower right) Earl Perry, president of Ogden-Perry Theatres, is honored
as boss of the day by T. G. Solomon, Anna Power and Marie Berglund, program
chairman of the luncheon.
BOXOmCE :: June 5. 1978

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Fire Destroys New Orleans
Home of 'Rocky Horror'
NEW ORLEANS—F hi mes that sent New
Orleans firemen running to avoid a collapsing
balcony did heavy damage recently
to the Gentilly Orleans Theatre. 3869 Gentilly
Blvd.
The exterior walls of the theatre, which
has been the center of the city's art and
foreign films for years and home of "The
Rocky Horror Picture Show." were left in
what fire superintendent William McCrossen
called, "a weakened condition."
One of the firemen at the scene said it
appeared the fire had been smoldering for
some time, because when firemen entered
the building and punched holes for their
hoses "the whole thing just when whoosh."
The fire burst through the roof, sending
smoke and sparks over a wide area of the
Gentilly section, and lighting the sky with
flames which could be seen over a wide area.
The theatre is between the Gentilly .Shopping
Plaza and Franklin Avenue.
The first alarm came at about 1:15 a.m.,
and escalated to five alarms by 1:52 a.m.
The blaze was d.'clared under control at
2:47 a.m.
The theatre had been showing an Ingmar
Bergman film, "The Serpent's Egg." starring
Liv Ullman and David Carradine.
McCrossen sad that when the first units
arrived, they found the two-story concrete
block building filled with heavy smoke, and
shortly afterward the entire structure erupted
in flames.
Firemen kept the flames from spreading
to McCune's Pharmacy next door. "It was
separated from the theatre by a little alley,
three feet wide at most." the fire chief said.
"We were forced to withdraw from the
building during the early stage of the fire
because of intense heat and smoke and the
possibility of a partial collapse of the building.
The balcony inside did collapse and the
walls were in a weakened condition."
The Fire Prevention Division is investigating
the origin of the fire and its cause.
The theatre has been notable for presenting
"The Rocky Horror Picture Show." its
weekend midnight feature for about a year.
The film's faithful followers had showed
up in a wild variety of garb and put on a
performance which came close to matching
that of the film.
Theatre manager Joe Bethea was quoted
as saying "they're a good bunch of kids and
I let them do whatever they want, as long
as they don't dance the "timj warp" too close
to the screen."
One local reviewer extolled the service the
theatre perrormed in showing features one
would not be likely to see here outside a
university-supported film festival. This service,
the reviewer wrote, overcomes "the
musty smell, erratic projection and encased
plastic
flowers."
It opened in the late 1920s as the Gentilly
Theatre, a movie house for people who lived
in the neighborhood, and it had a steady
clientele in its early years.
Katherine Browne produced "Zero to
Sixty," starring Darren McGavin.
SE-2
BOXOmCE :: June 5. 1978

. . ABC
Theatre Owners Protest
4 Per Cent Film Tax
DETROIT—Alex Ben Block, writing in
the Detroit News, recently investigated the
furor caused by a judge's ruling that theatre
owners must now pay a 4 per cent tax for
use of all films. His reports follows:
Movie ticket prices across Michigan may
rise, fear a number of area theatre operators,
because a porno operator's lawsuit cla'ming
unfair ta.xation
backfired.
Attorneys representing the leading Detroit
area film exhibitors filed suit last week in
Wayne County Circuit Court asking relief
from a Department of Revenue order which
places a 4 per cent tax on the sale, purchase
or rental cost of any movie shown in a
Michigan theatre. A hearing was scheduled
on a temporary injunction which would at
least allow the exhibitors to delay paying the
tax until the suit is settled.
"It's
Big Cost Is Film
a disaster for us," says the president
of a large Michigan movie chain who refused
to be named because of pending litigation.
"Our biggest cost is film. If you add
4 per cent to our costs, we are left in a
squeeze. We really question how much more
we can pass on to the consumer before it
becomes self-defeating."
At issue is a 1937 Michigan Use Tax Act
which places a 4 per cent levy on the wholesale
cost of all films, but which specifically
exempts copyrighted motion pictures. Since
almost all first-run features are copyrighted,
the law has usually only been applied to
X-rated films.
The current flap began after the state
department of revenue collected the tax from
the American Amusement Co.. a corporation
begun by Harry Mohney. which exhibits
X-rated films in several small Michigan
communities. According to Assistant Atty.
Gen. Raymond O'Malley. American Amusement
sued, claiming it was unfair and unconstitutional
to tax only uncopyrighted
films.
All
Films Now Taxed
Court of Claims Judge Leo Corkin of
Clinton County agreed the law was unconstitutional,
but instead of simply giving
American Amusement back its money, he
ruled that in the future the tax should apply
to all films, regardless of copyright.
After studying Judge Corkin's decision.
Michigan Commissioner of Revenue Sidney
D. Goodman issued a March 31 order that
the tax be applied across the board, retroactive
to Dec. 21. 1977. the date of the
ruling.
"The question of why this exemption existed
at all came up years ago," said Goodman
by phone from his Lansing office, "because
it never made sense. We feel the court
was correct in ruling there should be no distinction
between copyrighted and noncopyrighted
films."
Attorney Avern Cohn of Honigman. Miller,
Schwartz and Cohn. one of the law firms
representing the Michigan chapter of the
National Ass'n of Theatre Owners, says he
feels the judge ruled unfairly because he addressed
questions beyond the scope of the
case in front of him. Cohn also questions
how the new federal copyright law. which in
effect makes everything copyrighted automatically,
will influence the case.
Although first-run feature admissions are
already $4 in New York and Los Angeles,
Charles Shafer, president of State Theatres,
Inc. and other corporations operating movie
houses in the Detroit area, thinks exhibitors
may be forced to absorb the new tax.
"I think if we raised prices now we could
really be hurt," he says. "The dollar movie
houses are doing well, and at $4 per ticket it
gets too expensive for a family to go out to
a movie anymore."
Shafer also points out that because of the
nature of the film business, raising ticket
prices 50 cents would barely bring in 15
cents to cover the new tax.
Exhibitors bid on movies far in advance,
often without seeing them, and then must
put up large guarantees. Out of the total
admission the theatre keeps a small percentage
for its expenses, and then pays 60 to 90
per cent of the profit to the distributor (such
as Warner Bros.. Paramount or United
Artists).
Hollywood Percentage Unchanged
So if ticket prices are raised, it just means
a larger amount of money for the Hollywood
distributors, whose percentage is unchanged.
Another problem, say the exhibitors, is
that they don't always do enough business
even to cover the guarantee. That means if
they have to pay $100,000 to the distributor,
but only take in $70,000 at the boxoffice
because the film flopped, they will end
up paying a 4 per cent tax on $30,000 they
never made.
Attorney Laurence B. Deitch of Simon.
Deitch. Roth & Siefman. another of the
firms representing the theatre owners, says if
the case is lost to the lower courts there will
probably be an appeal. Revenue Commissioner
Goodman says he wouldn't be surprised
if it goes all the way to the Supreme
Court. Which means, of course, any effect
on admission prices remains a long way off.
Considering legal costs, as well as the tax.
it is likely ticket prices will eventually be
forced up. Says Dietch: "In the end these
things usually have a way of getting passed
m»
JACKSONVILLE
nichard Lewis, American International
manager for Florida, and his staff had
area film bookers panting for prizes, as
usual, in their January-April lucky playdates
bond drive. Each feature playdate—when
paid for—entitled bookers to a chance in
the sweepstakes rewards. Zeroing in on
homeplate this time for first place was Bobby
Turbyfill, booking for the triple screens
of the local Pine Drive-In to the tunc of
$100. The $75 second place went to local
Cleveland Kent, president of Kent Theatres.
Another localer. Diane Beasley of Floyd
Enterprises, snared the $50 third place. Lucille
Wingate of Fernandina. booking for
the Reese Drive-In there, received the
fourth place U.S. savings bond of $25.
On successive Friday and Saturday nights
ABC Florida State Theatres' Regency
Twins sneaked "Capricorn One" and "American
Graffiti," the latter for a second time
around with added Dolby stereophonic
sound and additional original scenes not
shown in the first version . FST's
little San Marco opened with an exclusive
run of "The Last Waltz."
On a rating scale going from a top of 4
to a low of 1, the newest Journal scores
gave "Annie Hall" a 31/2; "Saturday Night
Fever" followed next at 3 along with "The
Billion Dollar Hobo" and "Coming Home";
"F.I.S.T." snared a 2'/2 mark; coming in
at 2 were "The Greek Tycoon," "Gray Lady
Down," "Here Come the Tigers" and "The
Boys in Company C"; a loner at 1 '/i was
"Can I Do It . . . Till I Need Glasses"; and
on the floorboard of bottom 1 were "Skateboard"
and "Laserblast."
Academy Awards Contest
SARASOTA, FLA. A contest focusing
on Academy Award nominations was the
basis for increasing customer interest at
American Multi Cinema's Sarasota 6 prior
to the actual award announcements. Assistant
manager Del Jacobs set up a lobby
display of stills from the various categories,
along with a ballot box and a tape recording
which played the nominated songs.
FILMACK'S 1978 INSPIRATION CATALOG
Make it your aid to increase your attendance
and concession sales, by using
Merchant Ads,
Snack Bar films,
and Special Announcement films.
(Write For Your FREE Copy)
FILMACK STUDIOS,
1327 S.Wobosh Ave., Chicogclll. 60605
(312)427-3395
BOXOFTICE :: June 5. 1978

Blind-Bidding Arguments
Article Opens a Few Eyes
JACKSONVILLE—The problem of exhibitors
"blind bidding" on the offerings of
motion picture distributors became an eyoopening
presentation by Mike Clark, mov e
writer of the Journal.
Mike asked opinions of Thatcher Walt.
Jacksonville's consumer affairs chief, who
mentally threw up his hands in exasperation
to say, "I can't think of such a situation.
The consumer of entertainment puts up with
Paramount Pictures,
who was supportive of
blind-bidding by indicating that ending it
would increase movie studio investment interest
charges, thus forcing up ticket prices.
It would also delay movie releases.
Speaking against blind-bidding for exhibitors.
Cleveland Kent, president of Jacksonville-based
K;nt Theatres, compared it to
buying a horse unseen and "being told only
that it has four legs." Kent added, "A
prohibition on blind-bidding would force
movie studios to make good movies again
or take a financial beating. If blind-bidding
a lot of crap."
isn't illegal then it's immoral. We end up
This spring a bill was introduced in the with trash sometimes that I wouldn't have
Florida legislature to curtail blind-bidding shown here because we didn't know what
but it died in committee.
the pictures w£re about," he concluded.
From New York came the voice of Schwartz countered by saying that blindbidding
works both ways—distributors Stephen Schwartz, legislative counsel for
are
just as uncertain about a movie's impact as
the theatre owners.
Whatever the future decisions of the industry
are to be regarding blind-bidding.
Mike Clark provided a forum here for the
industry opponents which was welcomed by
the public for shedding light on the subject
for moviegoers who arc the ultimate winners
or losers.
Patrons Taste Shark Meat
In Unique Kent Promotion
JACKSONVILLE— Keith Miller, manager
of Kent Theatres' local St. Johns
Twins, engineered a fine group of exploitation
projects which paid off for the doublebilling
of shark films "Blue Water, White
Death" and "Jaws of Death" in five local
Kent units, the Neptune and St. Johns I
indoorers. and the Blanding. Main Street
ad Southside drive-ins.
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Kent's city manager for the circuit's ten
local units. Bill Geowey. said Miller's objective
was to "beef up attendance in an
otherwise bleak month as everyone is preparing
for the traditional fast-paced summer
beginning in June."
Biggest gimmick of the promotion was
the providing of real samples of shark meat
cooked to order by a seafood specialty restaurant
in nearby oceanfront Mayport at the
mouth of the St. Johns River where sharks
are brought in daily by deepsea fishing
boats. Geowey remarked that patrons
"proved braver than anticipated and big
trays of the really tasty shark meat were
consumed in the first two days they were
offered as free gifts."
Also high on Miller's promotion list were
five $100 gifts of skin diving equipment and
a first prize of an all-expense paid sevenday
skin-diving excursion to the Isle of Pines
south of Cuba valued at $600. All these
prizes were donated to Kent Theatres and
patrons by the firm of Aquatics Unlimited
of Orange Park. In addition. Miller had
displays set up at the five theatres to demonstrate
the use of anti-shark swimming
devices and the values of underwater protective
gear by swimmers and divers in
Florida
waters. Kent jxploiteers also provided
each of the five participating theatres with
six-foot cutout replicas which were mounted
and spotlighted on theatre marquees for
public viewing.
Meyers to Address Groups
On Oscar History, Impact
LOS ANGELES— Julian F. Myers, publicist
at American International Pictures,
will speak on "The Oscar; A World Personality"
to the Hollywood Press Club Jime
1 I and to the Book Publicists of Southern
California Aug. 10. Last month he addressed
Dr. Morgan Harris" writers' workshop
at Beverly Hills Adult School.
Myers has been a member of the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
for 22 years and works backstage with the
press during the annual Oscar presentations.
He resides in Santa Monica with his wife.
S&4 BOXOmCE :: June
.S. 1978

Tucker,
I
Fourth Feature Film Role
For TM' Star Brandon
HOUSTON—"What really surprised me
was the first time I watched a disc jockey
work the board. He'd cue the record, hit a
couple of buttons, pop in a tape, adjust the
volume and talk, all at the same time. Man.
it's like you've got to have seven hands
at least. And I thought, no way can I
handle that. But I worked at it and I can
handle a board now, too, with no sweat."
A stirring testimonial from a Columbia
.School of Broadcasting graduate'.'
How about actor Michael Brandon explaining
the preparation he did for his role
as program director of a progressive radio
st.ition in "FM" (currently at local theatres).
.And that's not all, it was reported by Eric
Gerber, Houston Post film
writer.
"Besides learning to work the control
board, I hung around with the jocks (at LA's
top rock station KMET), sat in on the music
meetings, met the record promo people and
went to the concerts," Brandon explained
on a recent publicity stop here. "That's the
way I handle things. When I played a doctor,
1 went to the hospital; a lawyer, to
court. When I did "Police Story,' I rode the
streets after midnight with some cops."
For Brandon, "This is only my fourth
feature film," he said. "I decided I'd much
rather wait for the projects that really turn
me on and let standard actors handle standard
roles even if that means I don't work
much."
In "FM," Brandon is a hip and idealistic
young man who leads the station's staff
(which includes Martin Mull, Cleavon Little,
Cassie Yates and Eileen Brennan) in a strike
when their musical freedom is threatened
by big business policies.
"It's really cool doing this tour and going
to the radio stations because I relate to all
the jocks now. I mean, I feel like I am one.
They really dig the movie. They say they
wished their program director was like me.
Maybe 1 should start a station, huh?"
PM" is a fairly accurate look at the
uorld of the rock DJ, but there are a few
discrepancies, Brandon said.
"Well, they (the studio and director John
Alonzo) were trying to stay within the PG
guidelines and didn't want to get mi.xed up
with the drug clement. But in many stations
that's pretty standard, you know, a room
where you can smoke and get mellow. But
I can understand avoiding that even if I
don't think it's accurate. I mean, one scene
has me drinking champagne. Hey, the character
I play drinking champagne? Wrong.
So 1 at least put in some dialogue alluding
to what's really happening. I come in and
say I've got good news and bad news. Bad
news: We're out of drugs. Good news:
There's some on the way."
"We're not another disco music movie,"
he pointed out. "The title track's by Steely
Dan and we've got Jimmy Buffet and Linda
Ronstadt featured in the film. You know,
we shot Linda's footage at her last concert
here in the Summit. We shot her concert
and a few dramatic scenes. She was really
uptight about acting. I was at the hotel 'til
4 a.m. the night before cooling her out."
MIAMI
J^ianii banker Stephen Ouade and Hunter
Todd have gone to the Cannes Film
Festival to promote the upcoming Greater
Miami Film Festival set for this fall. Todd
is executive director of the Miami festival.
The motion picture and television industry
of Florida has been honored in the legislature
with a House Resolution which states
"That the Florida House of Representatives
recognizes and commends the motion picture
and television industry for its valuable
economic and social benefit to our State,
and expresses its sincere appreciation for the
worldwide audience the industry provides
for Florida's natural beauty and resources,
and hereby endorses and supports the motion
picture and television industry of
Florida."
Director Franco Zeffirelli confronted a
picket line here one day this week as he
prepared to begin the third week of shooting
of "The Champ," MGM's remake of the
1931 Jackie Cooper/ Wallace Beery classic.
Pickets from the lATSE, Local 545, Miami
stage employes appeared at both the Marriott
Hotel, where the movie production offices
are located, and at Hialeah Race
Course, where much of the film is centered.
Production work on "The Champ" was
stopped for about five hours while the
pickets marched before d'spersing. They
were said to be complaining that producers
failed to hire enough local stagehands. A
spokesman for the film said the company
agreed on exactly the number of locals to
be used, and that the figure included 40 local
stagehands, compared to 75 union craftsmen
and stagehands from Hollywood.
The union people were reported as saying
they shouldn't be made the scapegoat
of the five-house walkout. Greg Kasper of
the union is reported as saying that now the
men are back at work and the matter is
resolved temporarily. He said that MGM's
employment figures were misleading, stating
that "of my people they hired 11, all in
lesser categories, and brought in 20 of their
own.' To sum up the real issue from the
is union's side, there a feeling that South
Florida workers have been given mostly
lower-quality jobs.
Miami Space Transit Planetarium and the
Goethe Institute-German Cultural Center
May 22 and 23. Dr. Gotthard Wolf, sciencefilm
historian and founder of the Institute
for Scientific Films in Germany, conducted
the seminar showing the potential of scientific
films for teach'rg and research.
Mexican Comic in States
For Tatrullero' Promo
SAN ANTONIO—Cantinflas, the king of
Mexican comedy, walked with a slow gait,
his eyes hidden behind black sunshades, his
hands gripping tightly those of Mayor Lila
Cockrcll and members of the San Antonio
Red Carpet committee, it was reported by
Danny Garcia in the San Antonio Light.
When his arrival Saturday (20) morning
at the international airport created an
impromptu Mexican festival— mariachi
horns blaring, camera lights flashing—and
a throng of fans applauding along a runway
—the aging comedian probably resisted an
urge to run out and hug everybody. Instead,
he flashed his internationally known smile
and just glided along in the song-and dance
atmosphere to a waiting limousine.
On doctor's orders, the famous comedian
is trying to slow the intense pace which began
30 years and some 100 films ago, catapulting
him from the Mexico City slums to
the status of film star.
"I have a lot of memories of the people
here. I want you to give them an abrazo
(embrace)," he said. "I have lived in Mexico
City all my life, but I love all the fans
here. They make me want to come back
again and again."
Because of a heart condition, the sprightly
actor has been advised to make just one
film a year, and he is in San Antonio to
push his latest, "El Patrullero 777." But he
makes no concessions to the aging process.
"I could be 12 or 22 or 29," he grinned.
"As long as I can, I will continue to make
films, because it is what I enjoy doing. Right
now I am working hard still, running my
company, Rioma Films. Bit I feel as if
I am in good shape."
In his traditional black leather coat, the
Mexican comic does not appear much older
than when he starred in "Around the World
in 80 Days," in which his derby hat and
baggy pants routine became famous.
More than 2,400 tickets were sold for
Saturday's Alameda Theatre showing of "El
Patrullero 777," a Chaplinesque spoof of
street corner policemen. In addition he was
feted at the reception at the Spanish Governor's
Palace.
To Cantinflas, his work is part of a lifelong
dream. "I never knew that it would be
like this," he said speaking in both Spanish
and English. "Everything you do takes hard
work to succeed, but if you work hard you
can succeed."
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The Footlighters had its 21st installation
dinner May 22 at the Doral Beach hotel.
It was a black-tie affair. Tommy Dale is the
president of the organization.
Research on zoology, behaviorism, phssiology
and botany was transmitted from the
laboratory to film at a two-day scientific
documentary film seminar sponsored by the
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EOXOFTICE :: June 5. 1978 SE-5

. . The
Atlantic City Location
For Rum-Running Story
ATLANTIC CITY. N.J.— At a press reception
May 10 at his city hall offices, announcement
was made of the production of
a major motion picture in this city, by the
executive director of the New Jersey motion
picture development commission. Filming
of "Atlantic City Proof." a nostaligic
comedy about rum-running in the early
1920's. is expected to start production in
September.
The film will be produced by Peter Miller,
a New York literary and film agent and
Richard Rosenberg, attorney from Hawthorne.
N.J. and producer of another film,
"Alice, Sweet Alice," which also was shot
in New Jersey and is schediled to be released
in October.
The new pictur: is based on a short
story. "Rum Runners." by Christopher
Cook Gilmore, which has been lengthened
into a full novel, entitled "Atlantic City
Proof," for which an October publication
date has been set. M'ller, who also was
present at the press reception, said his feature
will have top-name stars in the leading
roles and a top-name film director. However,
he declined to identify them because
he said that negotiations have not been
completed as yet.
Twenty Weeks' Work
Friedman said there will be ten weeks of
pre-production activity here, followed by
another ten weeks of actual production.
which should pump some $1,500,000 into
local hands. About 50 to 60 actors and
actresses will participate in the filming,
along with as many as 100 extras who will
be recruited locally.
Miller, who was born in Atlant'c City
and raised in suburban Northficld. said the
fictional story deals with two characters who
start out as backbay clammeis and end up
as the biggest rum-runners on the East coast.
Local sites which authentically depict the
era will be used and Miller sad he anticipates
full cooperation from area police and
the Coast Guard in keeping mcd:rn cars and
boats out of the camera's view.
Friedman said the movie marked the second
major film production slated for the
southern part of the state. Filming of "The
Amityville Horror" is slated to begin shortly
at nearby Toms River. Other major
movies in production throughout the state
included "Voices," beirg filmed in Hudson
and Essex Counties ard "King of the Gypsies,"
partially filmed in Sussex County.
"The Bell Jar" is scheduled tentatively to
be filmed in Mor mouth, Bergen and Sussex
counties.
Peter Donat is a featured player in Avco
Embassy's "A Different Story."
ATLANTA
^hey Went Thataway and Thataway." an
Atlanta-made motion picture written
by Tim Conway, who also stars in it, will
premiere here August 17 in the "Fabulous
Fox" Theatre with proceeds going to the
Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children,
said Don Hall, chairman of the board
of The International Picture Show (TIPS),
the Atlanta-based company which produced
the picture and will distribute it. Hall noted
that the benefit premiere is being sponsored
by the auxiliary to the Medical Ass'n of
Atlanta, a local branch AMA national auxiliary.
Both Conway and his costar. Chuck Mc-
Cann. and other stars from the film are
scheduled to make personal appearances for
the August premiere. Tim is an exceptionally
gifted comedian and pairing him. with
McCann couldn't have been a better selection.
Hall said. "They are the new 'Laurel
and Hardy' types and they have that same
kind of chemistry together." Hall added.
Conway's first movie with TIPS, "The
Billion Dollar Hobo." went into general release
this past January and is scheduled to
open in New 'York City and Los Angeles
in June. This summer TIPS, which is pledged
to make and release family-type pictures,
will distribute two other pictures,
"Where Time Began," based on Jules
Verne's novel "Journey to the Center of
the Earth," starring British actor Kenneth
Moore, and "The Land of Return." starring
singer Mel Torme and William Shatner.
Marquee changes—Lenox Square (exclusive
engagement—one week only): Elizabeth
Taylor in "A Little Night Music";
Phipps Plaza 1 (another exclusive showing).
"Coming Home"; Arrowhead, Loews
Tara Twin, South DcKalb ard Town &
Country, "If Ever I See You Again"; Greenbriar,
North 85 and Georgia drive-ins,
"Fingers"; Storey's Rhodes and Cobb Center,
"The Last Waltz"; Broadview, Suburban
Plaza, Westgate and three drive-ins, "Buckstone
County Prison"; Loew's 12 Oaks,
'Emanuelle in Bangkok"; Westgate, Rialto,
Village, Tower Place and five drive-ins,
"Tintorera"; Loew's Tara. Twin, Parkaire,
Perimeter Mall, National Triple, Town &
Country, "The Greek Tycoon"; Cobb Center,
Jonesboro Twin, Lakewood Twin,
Mableton Triple, Northlake, Tower Place,
Omni Six, Perimeter Mall and two drive ins,
"Starship Invasions."
Sneak previews came in bunches this last
weekend. Burt Reynolds was attracting his
fans to Buford Highway Twin, North De-
Kalb and Lenox Square with "The End"
. . . "American Graffiti" was brought back
to Akers Mill. Arrowhead and Perimeter
Mall "with additional original scenes never
jhown before" ard "for the first time in
major
full stereophonic sound"
studio sneak preview shown at the Cobb
Center. National Triple, Northlake and Tower
Place was "Capricorn One."
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis O'Neil announce the
birth of a son, who weighed 6 pounds and
15 ounces, and was 19 inches long. Ih,.'
baby was born at Piedmont Hospital Ma\
16 and the mother and baby are already at
home. Lewis is a salesman for United Artists
and says he "saw it all . . . it was fantastici"
Among the many gifts John Wayne received
while he was hospitalized in Boston
following his operation was a Wedgwood
blue silk robe monogrammed "Duke" in
two-inch script letters on the chest. The
gift came from his Atlanta friends. WXIA
TV executive of the local ABC affiliate,
and his wife Kathy. The Davidsons and
Wayne have been friends since Davidson's
TV days in Louisville, Ky.. prior to coming
h;r.\ Wayne served as grand marshal for
the Kentucky Derby festivities and was a
guest in their home. Last year the Davidsons
were dinner guests in Wayne's Newport
Beach, Calif., home. When the Duke
was making "The Green Berets" in nearby
Fort Benning. on the outskirts of Columbus.
Ga.. he came to this city to serve as grand
marshal for WSB-TV's Fourth of July parade,
an annual event.
Free feature films for children are being
shown Monday afternoons at 1 and 4 p.m.
at the Paces Ferry branch of the Atlanta
Public Library. Tickets are needed for each
child six years of age and up. The tickets
are free and may be picked up at the library
branch on the Monday of the show or on
the pr;ceding Saturday.
A locally produced children's TV show.
"Super 2," was among 16 programs for
young viewers honored by Action For Children's
Television, a national citizens group,
at its award presentation in Washington.
D.C.. earlier this month. "Super 2." produced
by Atlanta's WSBA TV, airs on Saturday
mornings at 11:30. It is a fast-paced
video magazine for viewers eight to 14.
hosted by Atlanta youths, and during the
course of a year some 500 boys and girls
have seen themselves on the show.
Independent filmmakers looking for wa\s
to obtain funding for their films and video
documentaries were the recipients of valuable
information at a meeting last week at
800 Lcmbert Drive
Allonta, Go, 30324
i404) 876-0347
"Everything for your theatre— except film"
N.E. __^ 800 S, Grohom St

[
finalized
I
gomery,
I
Coca-Cola
I sports
! 500,000.
'
but
: and
; of
j
racing
;
Road
; track
'
I
:
Tradepress
'
Century
'
"The
;
Has
''
World
i
'
ning
i circuit
I leasing.
;
the
the IMAGE Film/Video Center. Kathy
Kline, project coordinator of WNET. New
York's TV laboratory, appeared at the
IMAGE center last week to answer questions
about that station's fund for independent
filmmakers and took suggestions
about how the fund should be distributed.
Last year the station awarded a total of
$500,000 to five filmmakers who applied
for the grants. Because of some criticism
that the grants went to established filmmakers
who were already well-established in
the field, WNET is sending out representatives
around the country both to encourage
entries for next year's awards and find out
how the program might be broadened. This
meeting was the only one being held in the
Southeast and was open to anyone from
the region.
Road Atlanta, the 2,52-mile track, known
for being the most difficult drive on the
American circuit, is about to be bought by
two race-driving brothers from Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., who say they are anxious to expand
their racing business in Atlanta. According
to one of the buyers, Don Whitington,
he and his brother Bill have come to
terms with the current Road Atlanta owner,
Arthur Montgomery, and the sale will be
"very soon," It is known that Montwho
is chairman of the Atlanta
Bottling Co., ar.d a former director
of the Atlanta Stadium Authority,
has wanted to sell the track. The price tag
for the facility, one of the South's major
racing layouts, is in excess of $1.-
"We will keep everything the same,
we're going to pour a lot more into it,
add some events and get a lot more out
it. We are going to widen the scope of
in Atlanta." Montgomery purchased
Atlanta in December, 1972, when the
was on the verge of bankruptcy. It
still isn't a big moneymaker, but it is in the
black now. said Montgomery.
screenings last week at the
Cinema Corp. facility included
Uncanny," and "Secrets," and "She
Seen the Wind," distributed by New
Pictures of Atlanta; "The Buddy
Holly Story," Columbia Pictures; "Our Win-
Season," American International Pictures;
"Inside Ursula," "Visions" and "The
! Psychiatrist," screened for the R.C. Cobb
and distributed by Clark Films Re-
United Artists issued invitations to
trade to the screening of a 12-minute
: featurette on "Brass Target," starring Sophia
Loren and Max von Sydow. Shown
following the featurette were two ten-minute
short subjects.
Hospital rcpoii: The mother of Dewey
Bentley is a patient at the Bi tton Gwinnett
Hospital. Also in that hospital are two other
Filmrow folk. Frank Lowery, retired sales-
• OOKINC SERVIGE25P^
230 S, Tryon St., Suite 362, Charlotte, N.C.
Frank Lowry . . Bill Cline
Phone: (704) 377-9341
man for United Artists and other exchanges,
who suffers from emphy-;ma. and Harriett
Woodall, of Woodall Thctres. who underwent
an emergency operation for removal
of her appendix, Boxoffice and its friends
wish for them a speedy recovery.
Marjorie Roberson, 20th Century-Fox
booker, flew to lacksonville to spend Mother's
Day with her mother, Mrs. Jean Teague,
who is in retirement after many years with
the ABC-Florida Division.
Mr. and Mrs. Travis Carr sr., had the
pleasure of seeing their son, Travis jr., a
freshman at the University of Georgia in
Athens and a member of the National Society
of the American Revolution ROTC,
receive an award for military achievement.
Travis sr. is a salesman for 20th-Fox and
Mrs. Carr, a WOMPI, is a staffer in the
New World Pictures of Atlanta exchange.
Boxoffice salutes them as well as their son.
Cheryl Roberson was flown to the Eastern
Airlines training school in Miami last
week to start her introduction into the company's
flight routine. She resigned her 20th-
Fox position to follow in the footsteps of
her sister, Nancy.
WOMPI notes—The Atlanta club installed
five new members at a recent meeting
held at the Terrace Garden Inn. The new
members were Susan Jackson of New
World Pictures, Jean Forrester of Columbia
Pictures, Pat Adams of Martin Theatres
and Judy Caudell of Woodall Theatres.
Three charter members of the Atlanta club
were on hand to participate in the 25th
anniversary of the club, which is the third
one to have been created, following those
in Dallas and New Orleans. The three were
Esther Osley of Allied Artists and two retirees,
Nell Middleton. formerly of Metro-
Goldwyn-Mayer, and Sarah Bush. The installation
banquet is scheduled for Friday (2).
Paramount Pictures issued invitations to
a Happy Birthday Allan Carr party at the
screening of "Grease," a Robert Stigwood/
Allan Carr production May 26 at the
Perimeter Mall Theatre. Festivities began
in front of the theatre at p.m. after which
9
the guests filed into the theatre to see the
film. Starring John Travolta and Olivia
Newton-John, the picture was greeted warmly
at its conclusion.
250,000th Customer Feted
SARASOTA SPRINGS. FLA.—Knowing
that American Multi Cinema's Sarasota 6
theatres soon would be welcoming its 250.-
000th customer, assistant managers Del Jacobs
and Art Williams set a special promotion
in motion. A lobby poster heralded the
event and a list of prizes to be awarded to
the lucky customer.
©
Two Winners in UTA
Student Festival
AUSTIN, TEX. — Morning News film
critic Philip Wuntch reports that the third
"almost annual" University
of Texas-Austin
student film festival ended in a tie Friday,
May 12. A six-member jury of critics and
filmmakers refused to resort to a coin-toss,
Wuntch's story is reprinted here:
Tying for the winning trophy were Tim
Hatcher's "Star Dreams," a 10-minute
pixilated film which combines elements of
"Star Wars," "The Wizard of Oz" and
"2001: A Space Odyssey" in its story of a
humanoid space traveler, and Richard Fenner's
"The Chamber Within," a four-minute
abstract film which built to a crescendo of
music, poetry and pent-up emotions.
The festival, held this year at the Heights
Theatre, a 525-seat art deco film house
which specializes in cult and art product, is
referred to as an "almost annual event" by
UTA film instructor Andy Anderson.
"In 1976 we held the festival at The Hop,
a small restaurant that seats about 40
people, and it was great," Anderson said.
"But last year, we held it at a restaurant in
Arlington that accommodates 100, and
around 300 people showed. It was a disaster,
and we try to forget about that one entirely."
Aside from "Star Dreams" and "The
Chamber With:n," five other entries received
special merit mention from the jurors: "John
Camera Swazee and Friends," a one-minute
film by Bob Camp and Allen Tyler, cited
for its craftmanship and animation; Pat
Ghena's seven-minute narrative film, "Resonance."
cited for its storyline and acting;
Olivia Austin's two minute abstract pixilation
film. "Lynn." praised for its editing;
Steve White's three-minute manual film,
"Visual Sound," cited for its technical innovations,
and Ruda Blair's "Pick-Uja Love," a
three-minute narrative film praised for its
"realization of concept."
All entries were submitted in either 16mm
or super 8mm. Anderson said the film
festival
is
not compulsory for UTA film students
although all students are required to have an
entry ready by ihe lestAal deadline.
The entries werj either straight narrative,
multicellular animation film;,, manual films
or pixilated films. Anderson described pixilated
films as those in which the action is
derived from still photos, while manual films
require etching on a film surface, sometimes
utilizing instruments as delicate as a needle
normally used in eye surgery.
"One minute of a manual film usually
takes a semester to do and consists of 1400
drawings." he said.
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©S©
BOXOFFICE :: June 5. 1978 SE-7

Handicapped Houston Filmgoers
Protest Inadequate Facilities
HOUSTON—The highly acclaimed movie
"Coming Home." the principal character of
which is a paraplegic veteran recently back
from the Vietnam conflict, is playing at the
Galleria III Cinema—but not to persons
confined to wheelchairs, it was reported by
Rick Barrs. a Houston Post reporter.
The only wheelchair-bound movie patrons
who were able to see the movie Saturday
(20) had to be hand carried into the theatre.
The problem is. the theatre has no
ramps, only steps.
To draw attention to the problems handicapped
persons face in gaining access to
public build ngs, the Houston Coalition for
Barrier Free Living staged a protest outside
the theatre prior to its afternoon showing
of the movie, starring actor Jon Voight as
the paralyzed veteran.
Fonda, Voight Respond
protesters said.
Employees of the cinema, one of four
owned by General Cinemas, Inc., in the
Galleria shopping mall on Westheimer, lifted
three protesters in their wheelchairs down
three steps to the theatre lobby for the
show.
One of them was Charles .Sabatier, a .^2
year-old paraplegic originally from Galveston,
who was shot in Vietnam in 1968 and
lost the use of his legs. Like the character
Voight plays in "Coming Home." Sabatier
was a "buck sergeant" in the Army.
"Before I was shot in Vietnam at 22, I
never even thought about the problems
handicapped people have in getting up and
down stairs," said Sabatier, as he was plunking
down .$2.50 for his ticket. "Now I sure
think
about it."
Some Theatres Accessible
Though some Houston theatres are accessible
to the handicapped, the majority are
not,
according to spokesmen for the barrierfree
living group. State law requires that
all public buildings constructed after Jan. 1
of this year, including movie theatres, be
accessible to the handicapped, but the Galleria
III and IV theatres were built before
that time, they noted.
Elliott
Brown, division manager for General
Cinemas, said he sympathized with the
problem and would find out why the theatre
docs not have wheelchair ramps and
other barrier-free features. Brown said thai
the theatre aisles are too narrow to accommodate
comfortably patrons in wheelchairs.
And, some of the protestors added, the theatre's
bathrooms are up one flight of stairs
from the theatre.
Bob Kafka, 32. coordinator of handicapped
affairs at the University of Houston,
commented that the issue is that handicapped
persons "have pride just like everybody
else" and want to be able to go to a
movie without someone having to carry them
in. "This is embarrassing when you bring a
date to the movies and someone has to carry
you in." said Kafka, a Vietnam veteran who
lost the use of his legs in an automobile
accident after he returned from the
war.
'Buddy Holly' Premieres;
Park Named for Singer
DALLAS—Nine world premieres of "The
Buddy Holly Story" from Columbia Pictures
were held Thursday (18) in Texas
and Oklahoma with the biggest event centered
here at the Medallion Theatre.
The premiere activities followed a special
ceremony in Buddy Holly's home town of
Lubbock. Tex. The city council and the
Lubbock parks commission dedicated the
Buddy Holly Recreation Area in honor of
At the protest, which drew a telegram
from Voight and co-star Jane Fonda expressing
their support, demonstrators carried
placards with such slogans as "Coming
Home" the legendary
is a great movie! So
musician
I've heard'" and
who changed the
"We came horn;
scope of
...
contemporary
but
music.
can't get in." The
Holly,
protest was on the eve who
of National Handicapped
but brilliant
composed 47 hit songs in his
brief
Awareness Week career,
beginning
died in a private
Sunday,
plane crash in 1959.
In addition to the Medallion Theatre here,
the premiere theatres were Capital Plaza.
Austin; Western Plaza, Amarillo; Cielo Vista
3. El Paso; Town & Country, Houston;
Cinema West. Lubbock; Shepard 1, Oklahoma
City; Fox Park Central. San Antonio;
and the Woodland Hill 2, Tulsa.
The Dallas premiere was a kleig-lit, redcarpet
event with marching bands playing
Buddy Holly music, backed by the glamor
and excitement of the famed Dallas Cowgirls
who perform at all the Dallas professional
football games.
Gary Busey who stars as Buddy Holly
and Don Stroud who stars as Jesse were
joined by director Steve Rash, the produ"er
Fred Bauer, and executive producer Ed
Cohen.
Flying to this city for the premiere were
Alan J. Hirschfield. president and chief executive
officer of Columbia Pictures Industries,
Inc.; Joseph A. Fischer, senior vicepresident
and chief financial officer; Norman
Levy, executive vice-president in charge
of marketing, and Robert Cort, vice-president
and general manager of advertising,
publicity and exploitation.
Attending the park dedication ceremonies
were Gary Busey, Don Stroud, and others.
CIIVERAMA IS L\ SHOW
Bl'SLVESS L\ HAWiUI TCN>,
Wlicn yon come to Wulkiki,
don't miss the famous Don Ho
Show ... at Cinerama's
Reef Towers Hotel. f
WOMPI Tallies 698 Hours
Of Service in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS—WOMPI's May meeting
was held May 23 at the Quality
Inn Midtown. The meeting was also a Founder's
Day celebration as members enjoyed
the comradeship and shared their memories
of the New Orleans club in its 25th year.
Community service hours reached a total
of 698 for the first four months of the year.
These hours are chalked up by WOMPI
members who donate time mainly to shutins
and others less fortunate. The January
total was 184; February, 148; March, 180,
and April. 186. WOMPI supports Abbe
Nursing Home. Hickory Heights. Eucharislic
Missionaries and other local organizations.
WOMPI recently assisted the Variety
Club with its benefit premiere. Thanks went
to Ruth Cook, Gladys Villars, Catherine
D'Alfonso. Doris Stevens. Marie Saucier,
Eileen Dalier, Pam Mercier, Eunice Peeples,
Glenda Jatho, Sandy Staub, Anna Power,
Earline Dupuis and to those others whose
participation by their attendance and in helping
to serve is
appreciated.
'Grease' Bash Ballyhoos
Opening in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO—Olivia Newton-John.
who stars in the hit movie "Grease" with
John Travolta, is going to have a big party
here with more than 1,200 special guests.
Readers of the Evening News and their
friends can be one of her guests simply by
filling out a coupon from the newspaper
and depositing it in one of the special boxes
that will be in 442 ID Shop and Junior
World Shop in all local Joske's stores. Deadline
to become eligible to get on the
"Grease" party guest list was May 31.
When all the entries are collected Joske's
will draw out 600 names. These individuals
will get two tickets to Olivia's party at
Arneson River Theatres Wednesday (7).
Other events were scheduled starting
Saturday (3) to herald the coming of the
film. Joske's and KZlOO Radio held a
dance contest in front of Joske's Windsor
Park Mall store Saturday (3). Five couples
will be selected to compete at Olivia's big
party. A number of San Antonians flew to
Hollywood Sunday (4) for the world premiere
of "Grease" and the big party which
followed.
Mayor Lila Cockrell is to proclaim
"Grease Day" Wednesday (7) the day of
Olivia's party. There'll be a "Grease" parade
on the San Antonio River as Olivia Newton-
John rides to the affair With her will be
Michael Reagan, winner of the News-
Joske's "Be a Star" contest, and "Grease"
producer Allan Carr. Reagan captured a role
in the movie through the screen test that
followed the area contest which was judged
the best publicized contest in 37 major cities
in America.
KSAT-TV will present a "Grease" documentary
Wednesday (14). It includes Reagan's
winning screen test.
"Grease" will open at Century South Six
Theatres on June 15.
SE-8
BOXOFTICE :: June 5. 1978

Principal Filming Finished
On 'Butch and Sundance'
CHAMA, N.M.—Principal photographs
on 20th Ccnlury-Fox's "Butch and Sundance:
the Early Days," was completed here
May 1 1 in the finely preserved marshaling
\ lids of the vintage Cumbres & Toltec Railroad.
Mthoiigh temporarily stalled by blizzards
and drifting snow in its final week, associate
producer Jack B. Bernstein and director
Richard Lester brought the filming to a
close after 19 shooting days—exactly four
da\s ahead of their original schedule.
Lester left immediately for his London
base at Twickenham Film Studios to begin
final editing. He will return to California in
early August for music sessions with Academy
Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith.
The picture is scheduled to be delivered
in September for a projected Christmas
1978 release.
After ten weeks in the saddle. Tom Berenger
(Butch Cassidy) flew to his home in
New York City where his wife greeted him
with a baby boy. born while the film was on
final locations in remote Alamosa, Colo.
William Katt (the Sundance Kid) is due
back in his native California in lime for previews
and promotion work on his last feature
film, "Big Wednesday," from Warner
Bros.
"Butch and Sundance: the Early Days"
a Pantheon/William Goldman production
is
produced by Gabriel Katzka and Steven
Bach from an original screenplay by Allan
Burns.
Film Fest Is in the Red
But Will Be Back in '79
PORTLAND—The final word is in on
the Portland Film Festival and. although it
may not have been a rousing success financially,
it was a complete success in terms of
attendance.
There were about three times as many
programs this year (110 compared to 38 in
1977) with twice as many people seeing
them (20.000 compared to 10,000).
"Sure, we'll do it again next year." said
Robert Bogue, Portland's publicity manager
tor Seven Gables Corp., the Seattle company
that owns the Cinema 21, Fine Arts
and Movie House theatres where the films
were shown. "At least that's the official
word now."
Seven Gables made a profit of $5,000 on
the festival, with receipts of $31,000. The
Northwest Film Study Center, which cosponsored
the festival, lost about $2,000
with receipts of $42,000. Robert Sitton. the
Center's director, is not sure they will cosponsor
a festival next year unless backers
can be found to insure that the Center at
least breaks even.
One benefit is that the Center acquired
two 35mm projectors for the festival, enabling
it to increase the variety of films
shown.
Many of the festival's more popular films
are now being shown at Seven Gables theatres,
said Bogue.
Georges-Alain Vuille will
produce "Gad.'
Mulberry Squares Camp to Make
'Mcguffin' Bigger Than 'Benji
DALLAS — Joe Camp of Mulberry
Square Productions is convinced "Double
Mcguffin" will be the Dallas-based company's
highest grossing picture yet. according
to Philip Wuntch. Morning News film
writer. Wuntch's article about the maverick
producer appears here:
"It's a mixture of early Hitchcock and
"The Sting.' It's made for adult audiences,
but with its fun and suspense, it will have
tremendous appeal to kids," Camp said,
sitting behind his antique desk in his Dallas
office, dressed in Western garb.
Hopes for a Smash
His first feature, "Benji," was a smash.
His following efforts, "Hawmps!" and "For
the Love of Benji," were not as successful,
although neither could be called a flop. But
Camp feels "Mcguffin," about the misadventures
of a group of boys at a private
school, will do even better than "Benji."
"It will play like 'Oh, God!' or 'House
Calls' in terms of word-of-mouth. We're
aiming for an October 6 premiere. All our
other films have had summer play dates because
we wanted to take advantage of outof-school
traffic. 'Mcguffin' isn't reliant on
that audience."
It has the most elaborate cast of any
Mulberry Square production, starring Ernest
Borgnine and George Kennedy, with EIke
Sommer as a prime minister.
"Borgnine wears a black hat. Kennedy
wears a slightly dirty white hat. And Elke
just has the stature of a prime minister.
She's tall and she looks right in a limousine."
Three Area Youths
Pre-adult cast members include three Dallas
residents: Greg Hodges, Jeff Nicholson
and Dion Pride, son of Charley Pride. Camp
recruited Michael Jureau from Chicago and
Lisa Whelchel from Fort Worth. Miss Whelchel,
a new Mousketeer, will be featured in
the August issue of American Girl, with a
cover photo by Camp. Football stars Lyie
Alzaedo and Ed "Too Tall" Jones play assassins
in the mystery-comedy. Camp says,
with complete believability, "They make
you believe they're mean just by stamding
there."
The film was shot— in unseasonably cool
weather—in Georgia and South Carolina.
"If you'd read the script, you'd think it
was Hardy Boyish, but it's not executed
that way. Sure, it's about six students, but
we make them act like real people and not
like the Hardy Boys."
For camp followers, "Double Mcguffin"
charts a slightly different course for the
filmmaker. Although it has not been officially
rated by the MPAA, the film could
easily wind up with a PG rating—a first
for Camp, who's always been a staunch supporter
of family films. He even closed the
set a couple of times to shoot two versions
of the same scene.
"At the time of shooting, I still hadn't
decided whether I wanted it to be a G or a
PG movie. The script was originally written
as a PG. I hassled around and changed the
language and then didn't like the changes.
But the audience structure has changed substantially
since 'Benji' came out in 1974.
Part of the success of 'Benji' was due to a
backlash against the excessive sex and violence
on the screen at the time. But society
has passed through that period—with a certain
residual effect. People who once
thought 'heir and 'damn' were sinful words
now use the words themselves.
"In 1975, 'heir and 'damn' automatically
got a PG. Not so now. Also it takes an immense
amount of work to convince adults
they should see a G movie. It's become the
kiddie category."
But the deciding factor was the success
of "Smokey and the Bandit" which did not
go unnoticed by Camp.
Lesson Learned from 'Smokey'
"I went to a twin theatre. 'Smokey' was
on one side, and a G-rated Disney picture
was on the other. The lines of families to
see 'Smokey' were twice as long as the lines
to see the G-rated movie. Then a few weeks
later. I appeared on a television show in a
town near here. We all sat around having
coffee after the show, and everyone thanked
me profusely for making nothing but G-
rated pictures. Then they all started talking
about what a wonderful picture 'Smokey
and the Bandit' was. Everyone—including
the preacher—had taken their whole families
to see it."
Joe calls that experience "the beginning
of my frustration. I had bent over backwards
never to use a 4-letter word in a
movie for fear of not getting a G rating.
Yet I would never jeopardize the confidence
of the people who come to a Mulberry
Square picture bringing every member of
their
family."
Joe is the father of two sons, Joey, 1 6,
and Brandon, 6, both of whom have seen
plenty of non-G movies.
Plans for Sequel
"Joey sees whatever he wants to see.
Brandy has seen things like "The Deep,'
which he liked, and 'The Other Side of Midnight,'
which he thought was a terrible
bore."
Camp has plans for a sequel to "Double
Mcguffin" and will begin production on
either it or "Cat's Paw" next March. One
of his goals isto do a sequel that will do better
than its predecessor both artistically and
commercially.
"Benji" brought an abundance of merchandising
products. Benji games, including
stacks of Benji dominoes, are found in every
corner of Camp's office; and Benji greeting
cards are thumb-tacked along the walls. The
(Continued on next page)
BOXOFHCE :: June 5, 1978 SW-1

DALLAS
gaturday May 27 around 1000 orphans and
Sara Murry of Theatre Services, Inc. decided
to take a week's vacation before Bob
O'Donncll took off for Seattle. What a way
to have a vacation—she fell and broke her
ankle. However, being the workhorse she is,
she was back at her desk Thursday (1).
Mary Jo Bills, a ten year employee of
Avco Embassy, tendered her resignation and
is planning to take a long-overdue rest.
Michael Husband is the new employee to
replace Mary Jo.
Sunday May 28, was a rather exciting
day about town: Laurel Leaf, Inc.. was
shooting a few back-up shots between 8 and
10 a.m. for their new production "Krisi and
The Legend of Mount Shasta."
Warner Bros, has a new girl in their contract
department, Charlotte Gracy, a former
ABC Interstate employee.
Jr
as B ' r
"Go Modern...For All Your Theatre Needs"
Congratulations and best wishes are extended
Mary Elizabeth Couch and Paul
Douglas LeRoy. The young couple was united
in marriage May 26. in the St. Elizabeth
Catholic Church with the wedding reception
following at the Knights of Columbus hall.
The young bride is the daughter of Leon
Couch of Couch Film Service Co.
Director William Wyler
Awarded Honorary Degree
DALLAS—Film director William Wyler
became "Doctor Wyler" during special ceremonies
at Southern Methodist University's
63rd annual commencement convocation in
Dallas May 21. becoming one of the few
directors in film history to receive such an
honor— if not the only one.
The citation, read before an audience of
ten thousand, says in part: "Inspirer, illuminator
and entertainer of millions of people
around the world for over half a century,
patriot of his adopted land, he is respected
by his peers in the art of motion pictures,
having been nominated by them as best director
more than any other, and awarded
their highest tribute three times ... in recognition
of his considerable contributions
to one of mankind's newest arts. Southern
Methodist University is pleased to confer
upon William Wyler the honorary degree of
Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa."
^
"Wl-til^a -^ SALES & SERVICE. INC
2200 YOUNG STREET • DALLAS, TEXAS, 75201 • TELEPHONE 747-3191
Joe Camp Hopes to Make
'Mcguffin' His Biggest
(Continued from preceding page)
underprivileged children were entertained
success of Benji products earned Mulberry
at the Cinema Theater North
II in Square the label of "merchandising geni-
Park Shopping Center with a special showing
uses." But Camp doesn't forsee a flood of
of "Star Wars." a joint venture by the
"Double Mcguffin" products
Effective Thursday
swamping the
(1), the booking and
Variety Club Tent 17 and General Cinema
market.
advertising department for Te.xas Cinema,
Theatres.
Corp. has moved its offices to 7515 Greenville
However, he's not foresaking the expressive
canine who brought him fame. A recent
Ave., Suite 711, Dallas. 75231, Lee
Seattle will never be the same as a large
group of Variety Club Tent
Mitchell also is at
17
the members
address.
and their wives were
The
ji,"
there
telephone numbers to attend the
are
in
696-2696,
the ratings. in
Variety Clubs
696-2676
international convention May
and 696-2677. Please correct your
September Mulberry Square will finish production
28-Thursday WOMPI film directory.
(1).
The accounting
on "Benji's Very Own Christmas
office will remain Special."
at their present which stars
address,
Ron Moody, who won
Roy new television special, "The Phenomenon of Ben-
finished high And
Lloyd and Marilyn Edwards and Bill and 451 Burton Terrace Shopping
an
Center,
Oscar nomination as Fagin in "Oliver!"
Wanda Slaughter will go on to Victoria and 75227.
Exteriors were shot in Switzerland—a long
Vancouver Saturday and
way from Benji's first
take an inland
movie location in Mckinnev.
cruise up to Juneau on the coast of Alaska
before returning home.
Crowd Control Challenge
For AMC Theatre Manager
DENVER—The most interesting part of
being a theatre manager is dealing with the
public. Controlling crowds efficiently and
effectively, especially when the houses are
selling out, can be exciting, according to
Rick Foltz, manager of American Multi
Cinema's Buckingham 5 theatres.
"A sort of electric atmosphere prevails
during our sellout periods," Rick said.
Serving the customer well is his No. 1
purpose. The staff at Buckingham 5 is well
trained to that end, seeing that each customer
is served courteously and efficiently,
making it a pleasant experience for him
from the time he comes to the boxoffice
throughout his attendance at the film.
Rick came to AMC with a background
of schooling and experience which is serving
him well in his present position. He is
a graduate of the University of Northern
Colorado with a BS in business administration.
After holding a position for a year
as an auditor for a Chicago firm, he came
back to Denver and operated his own advertising/promotion
agency for two years.
He sold his agency in March 1977,
joining AMC as a manager trainee. He was
promoted to manager of the Buckingham 5
in July 1977.
Among many pursuits. Rick enjoys photography,
skiing, four-wheel driving and
sightseeing in the mountains with his wife
Eava. They have a son, Joshua, two months
old.
Pinkston Sales & Service
MOTION PICTURE EQUIPMENT
Complete Sales Service or Repair
AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTORS FOR MANY MANUFACTURERS
Ed Cernosek
R.W. (Pinky) Pinkston
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Dallas, Tex. 7523: or 741-1638
SW-2
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BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978

. . Bob
. . KSAT
. . Robert
Texas Theatre Acquired
By RG Circuit Interests
SAN ANTONIO—Don Mosher. head of
the San Antonio based RG Theatres has acquired
the downtown Texas Theatre. The
house has been closed since early December
1977 and was operated then by Movie One
Theatres of San Antonio, the Bexar County
National Bank recently purchased the thea-
building.
tre
William Burns, formerly with Cooper
Foundation Theatres in Omaha, Neb., has
been moved by the RG circuit from Waco
to take over duties as city manager for the
RG circuit in San Antonio.
The policy of the Texas will be presentation
of a double bill of horror films with
free parking evenings and all day Saturday
and Sunday at the Bexar County Bank parking
lot.
Admission policy is $2 for adults and $1
for children.
The RG Circuit now operates the Universal
City Twin and the Callaghan Twin,
in addition to the Texas, in San Antonio.
PR Firm Honored for Work
On 50th Oscar Year Promo
LOS ANGELES—The public relations
firm Harshc-Rotman & Druck earned a
PRo award from the Publicity Club of Los
.Angeles for the 1977-78 publicity campaign
for the golden anniversary celebration
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences. Martin M. Cooper, vice-president
at HR&D's office here, supervised the projects.
The campaign included writing and producing
a 22-minute film, "Oscar's First 50
Years," narrated by Jack Lemmon, covering
the history, objectives and activities of the
academy. "Fifty Gold Years of Oscars: The
Official History of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences." a 300-page illustrated
volume, also was issued as part of
the public and industry birthday salute. Additional
exhibits, tributes, public appearances,
speeches and publicity were generated
and coordinated for local and national audiences
by the firm.
The special projects PRo award wae prescnt.'d
as recognition from Southern California
public relations professionals to the
firm for a superior public relations project.
SAN ANTONIO
J^r. and Mrs. Maurice Braha have returned
home following a vacation in Europe.
He is head of Braha Theatre Enterprises,
operators of the New Laurel Theatre, the
Aztec 3 and the Judson 4 . TV,
Saturday May 27, as part of their film series,
presented "Proud and Damned" with Chuck
Connors. Also in the cast is Cesar Romero
who is currently appearing at Earl HoUiman's
Fiesta Dinner Theatre in "Never Get
Smart With An Angel." Stepping in as a
supporting actor was Johnny Silver who has
played in some 35 motion pictures and with
such stars as Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye
and Dean Martin.
A summer family film festival will be offered
to the public free of charge by St.
Mary's University cinema arts department.
The movies and dates they will be shown
are "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,"
(1938) Monday (12): "The Good Humor
Man," (1950) Monday (19) and the musical
"Oliver!" (1968 Monday (26). The films will
begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be screened in
St. Mary's continuing education center auditorium.
Refreshments will be served according
to Rev. Louis Reile, S.M., director
of cinema arts at St. Mary's.
The San Antonio Film Society screened
one of its series of German films at Trinity
University May 30. The movie was "Strongman
Ferdinand." a 1976 comedy directed by
Alexander Kluge about the chief security
officer of a large industrial plant. Admission
for non-members of the society is $1.50 . . .
UA's Cine Cinco in Windsor Park Mall
staged a midnight show May 27 with all
proceeds to Muscular Dystrophy Ass'n. The
showings were being promoted by KTSA
Radio disc jockey Charlie Brown broadcasting
from the mall for MD. Films included
"Cabaret." "Phantom of the Paradise" and
"Monty Python and Holy Grail." Admission
was $1.50.
A film "Eckankar, A Way of Life" was
shown at a one-day seminar May 27 at
the organization's local headquarters. The
meeting included a discussion of the group's
teachings . Polunsky. whose column
Flicker Footnotes appears in the San Antonio
Light and whose comments are heard
on radio and television as well, was in Toledo,
Ohio for the world premiere festivities
for "Corvette Summer." Polunsky interviewed
Annie Potts, leading lady of the film
and the two writers of the film, Barwood
and Robbins . Morse, who has
appeared in several films, comes to San
Antonio to appear at Earl Holliman's Fiesta
Dinner Playhouse Tuesday (6) through July
16 in Woody Allen's stage play, "Play It
Again, Sam."
New titles appearing on local marquees
and films returning for additional playing
time include "In Search of the Castaways"
at Northwest Six and Century South Six;
"American Graffiti" at Century .South Six,
UA Cine Cinco and North Star Cinema;
"The End" at UA Cine Cinco. Northwest
Six and UA Movies 4; "Harper "Valley
PTA" at Northwest 6, UA Cine Cinco
and UA Movies 4; "Madame Rosa" at the
Olmos and the double bill of "The Redeemer.
Son of Satan" and "Ruby" at Century
South Six. Varsity. Mission 4 and Town
Twin, and "Corvette Summer" at the Aztec
3, Central Park Fox 3, Judson Four Drivein,
Mission Drive-In and San Pedro Drivein.
KTFM-FM Midnighters this week with
admission all seats $1.50, passes accepted
for all showings except for "Star
. , . At the Century
Wars," included "The Rocky Horror Picture
Show" (for its 39th week), "The End," "An
Unmarried Woman," "Harper Valley
PTA " and "FM"
South Six the showings included "Star
Wars," "The Buddy Holly Story," "Warlords
of Atlantis," "American Graffiti." "In
Search of the Castaways" and "Rabbit Test."
Manson Int'l Will Handle
'Tourist Trap' Overseas
LOS ANGELES—"Tourist Irap." a recently
completed feature film under the
Charles Band Productions' banner, has been
picked up by Manson International for
foreign representation.
The Irwin Yablans Co. previously was set
to handle domestic distribution of the picture,
which stars Chuck Connors.
NATIONAL
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Fred Road D-l $2,319.50
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GRIMES FILM
BOOKING
BlI'^RfLIES
MARIA FORSA^
500 SOUTH ERVAY ST - SUITE 603B DALLAS, TEXAS 75201
(214) 744-3165 - 3995041 SW-3
BOXOFHCE :: June 5, 1978

. . The
DOLBY
HOUSTON
•pie American Automobile Ass'n, is offering
discount ticivets for admission at
any General Cinema theatre in the state for
only $2.40, ($2.15 in El Paso, San Antonio
or Waco) or any of the si.x American Multi
Cinema theatres in Houston for a low $1.50.
The discount tickets may be purchased at
AAA offices in Austin. Beaumont, El Paso,
Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and
Waco, and may be used at any matinee or
evening performance by the expiration date
of Dec. 1, 1978. American Multi Cinema
tickets are on sale at both Houston AAA
offices and arc good for admission Sunday-
Thursday, except when the pass list is suspended.
These tickets must be used by the
expiration date of June 30,
1978, All tickets
are nonrefundable. General Cinemas include;
Austin—Capital Plaza, Highland
Mall; Beaumont—Gateway Plaza, Parkdale:
El Paso—Cielo Vista Mall; Fort Worth
—Opera House, Richland Plaza, Seminary
South; Houston—Galleria, Greenspoint,
Gulfgale. Meyerland, Northline, Westwood;
-San Antonio— McCreless, North Star, and
Waco—Lak; Air. American Multi-Cinemas
in Houston are; Almeda East and West.
9
Northwest 4. Southway 6, Town and Country
6 and Northoak 6.
Earlyne Chaney will come to Houston to
conduct classes at the Royal Coach Inn
Friday (30)-July 2. The famed mystic was
once a movie actress. While in the city she
will receive a Woman of the Year award
from the Houston Mystic Ass'n. . . . Oscar
award winning comedian Red Buttons was
in the city for the Jewish National Fund's
"Israers 30th Anniversary Ball," at $50 per
person.
New film titles apf>earing on local marquees
and films returning for additional
playing time include "Word Is Out" at the
Greenway 3; "The End" at the Almeda 9
West, Festival 6, Shamrock 6, Northoaks 6
and Westchase 5; "American Graffiti" at
Almeda 9 West. Clear Lake 2, Southmore
6, Festival 6. Southway 6. Northline 2 and
Woodlake 2; "In Search of the Castaways"
at Festival 6, Greenspoint 5, Gulfgate 2, Memorial
2, Meyerland 2, Northshore and
Parkview; "The Inheritance" at Loews Saks
2 and Town & Country 6; "High-Ballin' "
at Allen Center 3. Almeda 9 West, Champions
2, Deauville, Northwest 4, Northwood
6, Southmore 6. Southway 6, Irvington,
King Center 2, McLendon 3, Parkway,
Telephone Road 2, Thunderbird 2 and Town
& Country; "Harper Valley PTA" at Almeda
9, Northwest, Northwood, North
Oaks, Shamrock Town & Country and Westwood;
"Warlords of Atlantis" at Allen Center
3, Festival 6, Almeda 9 East, Northwood
6, AMC's Northoaks 6, Southway 6, Town
& Country 6, Westchase 5, Airline Gulfway
2, King Center 2, McLendon 3 and Telephone
Road 2.
Film showings at the Museum of Fine
Arts includ; Bresson's "Un Femme Douce"
Friday (9) and "Underground" and "War
Games" Saturday (10) in Brown Auditorium
. Mini Park Theatre, an allmale
theatre, is presently closed for repairs
due to a fire. The theatre will be re-opened
after the repairs and repainting are completed.
Hoffman to TM Theatres
As Ad-Marketing Chief
TUCSON— Ernest R.
Hoffman, who recently
resigned as division manager for Plitt
Intermountain Theatres, has joined TM
Theatres here as director of advertising and
marketing, it was announced by Merton B.
and Jeffrey Weiner, owners of TM Theatres.
In
announcing Hoffman's new affiliation,
the Weiners said that he "will play an influential
role in the decision-making process
concerning the company's operation." Both
said they believed Hoffman's years of experience
and expertise will be "a definite
contribution to the success of TM Theatres'
commitment in meeting the demands of film
promotion and marketing."
The Weiners also believe the expansion
of their staff will increase the potential and
effectiveness of the business, thus enabling
the company to meet the needs of Tucson
as the city continues to grow.
Technicolor Reports Loss
For First Quarter in 78
LOS ANGELES—Technicolor reported
a net loss for the three months ended March
25. 1978. of $445,000. The net income and
earnings per share for the comparable period
a year ago were $1,177,000. Net sales
and other income were $34,387,000, as
compared to $30,659,000 in the previous
year.
The operating results were adversely affected
by the value of the assets of the
company's wholly owned Italian subsidiary
in recognition of what it termed "the deteriorating
financial condition of the Italian
film industry." As part of corrective measures
being taken in attempting to return the
Italian operation to profitability, an unprofitable
Super 8 processing facility in Milan
has been closed.
Management in Italy was instructed by
the company to close the Rome facility in
fiscal
1978 unless major changes in the subsidiary's
method of operations could be
implemented without delay. In reaction to
this, workers at the Rome plant occupied
the premises, causing Technicolor to terminate
current operations. The company's investment
in the Italian operation March 25,
1978, was $1,660,000.
Technicolor attributed a 1 2 per cent jump
in sales and other income to increases in
film, processing, audio-visual equipment
sales and government contract revenues.
The company announced: "Excluding Italian
operations, earnings increased 26 per
cent due to the increased sales activity and
increased operating efficiencies at the company's
film processing facility in North
Hollywood."
Dick Merritt to Team
With Omni Studios
LOS ANGELES—Dick Merritt Creative
Services has been retained to develop all
advertising and promotional materials for
a variety of entertainment ventures currently
under way by Omni Studios of Culver
City.
Omni, active in film, concerts and record
promotion in the Philippines, will kick off
its U.S. offerings with a series of concerts
starring Rico J. Puno, Filipino film, TV
iwesiern lern Jnea/re bauldmen/iDo.
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Houston, Texas 77003
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SW-4 BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978

Hemisfilm 79 Announces
13th Annual Festival
SAN ANTONIO — Hemisfilm '79, the
thirteenth annual international film festival
to be held in San Antonio, will schedule a
scries of events to cover February 5, 6, and
7 of 1979. Included will be awards for film
in 1 1 categories.
Hemisfilm. sponsored by the International
Fine Arts Center of the Southwest, has been
held in San Antonio since 1967. The 1979
festival will give awards to entries in 1
classes: best feature, best short film: best
.inimation: best director, best short (27 minutes
or shorter) documentary; best long
(more than 27 minutes) documentary: plus
five time categories: one to ten mins.. 1 1 to
22 mins.. 23 to 44 mins.. 45 to 59 mins..
and 59 minutes and longer.
"Showcase films" are welcome at
the festival,
but will not be eligible for awards.
Last year the twelve awards were shared
h\ four countries: Canada. France. West
Ci.-rmany, and the U.S.
The 1979 competition is open to filmmakers
of the entire world. There is no
limit to number of films entered by one
country, group or individual.
A panel of judges will be announced at
a later date, according to Louis Reile, founder
and director of the Hemisfilm event.
Members of the IFACS Board act as preliminary
and qualifying board of judges.
Hemisfilm '79 is listed by the U.S. Office
of Information in the official calendar of
events, as it has been for the past twelve
years.
Entry forms, rules and regulations and
other pertinent information is available
from IFACS. One Camino Santa Maria.
.San Antonio, Te.xas, 78284. Phone is 512-
4.^6-3209. Cable is HEMISFILM.
Image Transform Cements
Korean Ties With Center
NORTH HOLLYWOOD—Rev. Dwang
Nam Kim has been named to establish an
Image Transform Service center in the Republic
of Korea, according to Jack Mauck,
marketing vice-president of the film and
videotape firm. The appointment, effective
immediately, covers Image Transform's
patented and proprietary technology for
tape-to-film and film-to-tape transfer, as
well as its PAL/NTSC/SECAM standards
conversion.
"With Korea emerging as a viable TV
market, we were asked to provide representation,"
Mauck stated. Like the U.S.,
Korea operates on the 525-line broadca.st
standard and can easily utilize Image Transform's
electronic image enhancement, noise
reduction and scene-by-scene color correction.
Rev. Kim is headquartered in Los Angelies.
His son H. G. Kim will staff the office
in Seoul, Korea.
With principal offices and laboratories in
North Hollywood, Image Transform also
maintains offices in New York, Chicago,
Washington, D.C., Tokyo, London and Toronto.
The company recently appointed a
ivpresentative in Sydney.
BOXOmCE :: June 5. 1978
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. .
. . . Charles
. . John
OKLAHOMA CITY
^he winners in the annual Variety Club of
Oklahoma golf tournament were many.
Championship: first place. Bob Farley.
Family Theatres. Tulsa: second. Jerry
Brand. United Artists Theatres. Dallas:
third. V.T. Huey. Huey Sewing Machine
Services. First flight: first. John Sorenson.
Westwood Theatre: second. Bill Stephens.
51 Drive-In. Broken Arrow: third. Dwight
Terry. Woodward Theatres, Woodward.
Second flight: first. Jim Campbell sr.. Pioneer
Supply Co.: second, Fred Bunkelman.
Dallas: third, Jim Campbell jr.. Pioneer
Supply Co. Third flight: first. Gary Kimray.
Oklahoma City Shipping: second. Marc Mc-
Lean. KKNG Radio: third. Charles Welsh.
ABC Bank. The medalist trophy went to
Jerry Brand. 72. Duffer honors went to
Diana Smith, wife of Jerry Smith. Columbia.
Variety Club members wish to extend a
special thanks to Marge Snyder of the Family
Theatres, Tulsa. George Grube of the
Grube Advertising agency and 14 Flags
Drive-In, as well as Frank McCabc of Video
Independent Theatres for their efforts in
making this tournament a going thing.
George Sam Caporal, Caporal Theatres,
left right after the tournament to attend the
international convention in
Bill
Seattle.
Maddox, Universal salesman (retired)
of Memphis, passed away there May 25.
Funeral services were held May 27. Bill was
last in town during March to attend the
funeral of Charles Hudgens and at that time
seemed his usual smiling and happy self.
While here he visited us and we took him
around to see many of his local friends. We
wish to extend our heartfelt condolences
to wife Nell, sons Davy, Bill and Ricky and
remaining survivors.
John McConnel of McConnel Amusement
Co.. advises us that he reopened a
completely remodeled theatre in Hcnryetta.
He named it the Cine 1&2. When he purchased
it from Video Independent Theatres
it was the Blaine. The first feature shown
in the new plex was ".Semi-Tough" .
Carol Jean Boone is the new owner of the
Bi-State Drive-In, Caldwell, Kas.
"
E.G. Nicholas, Canadian Theatre. Purfe^v^
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SW-6
Jifty Franks Inc.. 1800 Austin Nail Bank Tower,
Austin. Texas 78701
Ph612-472-8«2
cell, stopped in to take care of film chores
on his way to Kansas City on other business
Townsend, Pryor and Miami.
Okla.. theatres, unable to attend the golf
tournament because of labor problems in
Pryor, was able to come in later to book
and buy . Ashley, partner in
Ashley-Snyder theatres, Tulsa, has been
active in the publicity of present and upcoming
pictures there.
The annual Southern Slates Corvette Festival
here Friday (2), worked right in with
the opening of MGM's "Corvette Summer,"
which was saturated throughout this trade
territory the same date.
Oklahoma Cinema had a very impressive
one page ad on upcoming summer releases
in the Sunday showcase of the Daily Oklahoman
for their Northpark 4, West Park
and French Market Twin theatres.
Marquee changes: "The End"—Southpark
and MacArthur Park: "Harper Valley
PTA"—Quail and Apollo Twins and Reding
4: "Coming Home"—Westwood: "In Search
of the Castaways"— Reding 4, Heisman 4.
Apollo and Quail Twins; "American Graffiti"—Reding
4 and Shepherd Twin: "Corvette
Summer"— MacArthur Park, Park
Terrace, Cinema 70, Hillcrest, Sooner Twin,
Edmond Plaza and The Movies: "Coach"
Northpark; "The Bad News Bears go to
Japan"—Northpark; "Capricorn One"
French Market, and "High-Ballin" " — Mac-
Arthur Park, .Sooner Twin, 14 Flags and
Cinema 70.
Tulsa's changes in marquees: "In Search
of the Castaways"—Village Cinema and
Fox Twin. "Harper Valley PTA"—UA"s
Fontana and Forum, "American Graffiti"
—Fox Twin and Village Cinema. "The End"
—UA's Fontana. "High-Ballin' " —Spectrum
Twin and I 1th Street Drive-In and
Home"—UA's Annex.
Movie actor Don Stroud was in Tulsa to
help promote "The Buddy Holly Story" and
attend a benefit showing for the Children's
Day Nursery there.
Wind Topples Airer Screen
ESTHERVILLE. IOWA—A windstorm
which produced gusts estimated at 70 miles
per hour recently toppled the screen tower
at the Chief Drivc-In. There has been no
estimate of the dollar-value of damage at
the theatre, which had planned to present
the motion picture "Linda Lovelace for
President" the night the storm occurred.
Robertson Hosts Reunion
LA JOLLA. CALIF.—Actor Cliff
Robertson
hosted a reunion for the 85 members
of the 1941 graduation class of La Jolla
High School at his home and 77 attended.
Robertson. 53. surprised many by remembering
their names and faces.
John Hancock
Women."
ill di -I "Regiment of
UCSB Student Composers
Win Corwin-Metro Awards
SANTA BARBARA, CA.—Four student
composers in the UC Santa Barbara music
department were named winners of the
Sherrill C. Corwin-Metropolitan Theatres
awards for original music composition, it
was announced by Professor Clayton Wilson,
coordinator of the competition.
Corwin. a Los Angeles motion picture
industry leader, provided $1,000 in prize
money for this first annual musical composition
competition for UCSB students.
The $300 prize for the best orchestral
composition went to David Brodbeck for
his score titled "Metathesis" for a full orchestra.
The $300 prize for the best vocal
work was awarded to Leslie Roberts for
her "Abstracts and Extracts" for soprano
and piano. Two $200 awards went to the
best chamber music compositions and were
won by Marc Ream for his "Murmurs Rcvisisted"
(for flute, oboe, harp, piano and
percussion) and Tsung-hsien Yang for his
"String Quartet."
Three well-known composers on the UC
Santa Barbara faculty served as judges.
Peter Racine Fricker, professor of music,
was chairman and the other members were
Edward Applebaum, associate professor of
music, and Goron Crosse, lecturer in the
College of Creative Studies.
Corwin is chairman of the board of the
Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Theatres
whose 45-theatre circuit includes 11 theatres
in the Santa Barbara area.
Prominent in the entertainment industry,
Corwin has been president of NATO and
Variety.
Corwin also provides $1,250 in prizes
for drama writing by UCSB students.
Academy Elects Members
To Its Board of Directors
BEVERLY HILLS—Twelve members
have been elected to the board of governors
of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, following the recent election conducted
by the accounting firm of Price
Waterhouse & Co.
Those elected, and the branches they represent,
are: Edward Asner. actors; Albert J.
Whitlock. art directors; Lee D. Garmes,
cinematographers; Arthur G. Hiller, directors;
Marvin E. Mirisch. executives; Fred
W. Berger. film editors; Arthur Hamilton,
music: Robert F. Blumofe, producers; John
C. Flinn, public relations; Hal Elias, short
films; Donald C. Rogers, sound; and Michael
Blankfort, writers.
Asner. Mirisch, Hamilton, Flinn, Elias
and Rogers were re-elected from last year's
board.
Continuing as members of the Academy's
governing body are; Jeff Alexander, Gene
Allen. Tony Bill. John Cacavas. Verna
Fields. George Folsey, June Foray. Regina
Gruss, T. Hee. Fay Kanin, Howard W.
Koch, Mike Medavoy. Donald O. Mitchell,
Ronald Neame, Gregory Peck, Charles M.
Powell, William H. Reynolds, Frank E.
Rosenfelt, Te.\ Rudloff, William .Schallert,
John H. Senter, Leonard South. Robert
Towne and Robert E. Wise.
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978

i Capt.
San Antonio Charity Show
Hosted by Cantinflas
SAN ANTONIO— Mario Moreno, known
on the screen ax Cantinflas, packed the Almeda
Theatre Saturday May 20 and raised
$12,000 for musical instruments which will
go to eight local musical centers for children
sponsored by Club Amistad. Featured on
stage were La Rondalla de San Patrico, a
singing and musical group of youngsters and
Mariachi Infantil Guadalupano.
Al Zarzana, president of Texas National
Theatres and a personal friend of Cantinflas
turned the theatre over for the charity endeavor.
I,
San Antonio Mayor Lila Cockrell read a
proclamation in honor of Cantinflas; Commissioner
Leo Mendoza presented the comic
I with an Hidalgo from Bexar County, and
t to top the presentation ceremonies, police
Pete Casia.s, presented Cantinflas with
;
a plaque making him an honorary chief of
I police in the San Antonio police department,
and a badge number 777. The name
of the current Cantinflas film is "El Patrullero
777" (Patrolman 777).
Ohio Festival Announces
78 Film Award Winners
ATHENS, OHIO—The 1978 Athens International
Film Festival came to a close
April 30 with a presentation ceremony announcing
this year's Golden Athena Award
winners. Vincente Minnelli, honorary guest
of the festival, presented the award for best
feature to "Canal Zone" by Frederick Wiseman,
distributed by Zipporah Films.
The Golden Athena also was awarded to
"The Witness," by Greg Martinelli, for best
short story; "Furies," by Sara Petty, in the
animation category; "Bilm Fuilding Part
Five," by John Knecht, for best experimental
film, and "Ritual," a Canadian entry
by Kalle Lasn, for best documentary.
"Howie," by Chuck Hudina, was voted
best autobiographical/ biographical film;
"Kudzu," by Marjorie Short, best educational/promotional
film; "Brides," by Sharon
.Sachs, for best 100-foot film, and
"Chiaroscuro," by Anthony Kadell, winner
in
the Super 8 category.
The Lee Garmes Award for best cinematography,
a new award created this year by
the festival, went to Marty Stouffer for his
film "The Predators." A special merit award
was presented to Robin Smith at the ceremony
for her documentary "He's Only
Missing."
The Athens International Film Festival is
supported by grants from the National Endowment
for the Arts and the Ohio Arts
Council.
ASC
>0 Box 5150
TECHNICAL SERVICES
CORPORATION
• Richardson. Texas 75080
TOTAL BOOTH SERVICE, SOUND,
PROJECTION, PARTS, INSTAtLATION
AND MAINTENANCE
DOLBY SYSTEM 214-234-3270
STAR TREATMENT SERVICE'
Witching Hour Means Showtime
For Some and Profit for Others
PHILADELPHIA—While a number of
film houses supplement income by leasing
out the theatre for rock music or country
and western concerts in keeping with the
popular appeal in the area, more and more
area theatres are finding weekend midnight
shows a steady source of additional income.
Apart from the fact that the midnight
shows, with a strong appeal to a collegeage
crowd, has created a sort of "cult" following,
the midnight audiences are a boon
to business at the refreshment stands as
well.
Independents and Chains
SchedLiling midnight shows is not limited
record midnight run for "Pink Flamingoes."
The picture had a strong attraction for the
gay set, many showing up at the theatre in
costume. Many still do for the long "Rocky
Horror" run.
Budco Theatres offers midnight shows at
two of its theatres across the river in New
Jersey—at the Community Theatre near
Ellisburg, where R rated "Swept Away" will
be shown, and the Prince Twin Cinema
near Trenton, where "Fritz the Cat" and
"The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat" will be
paired for a twin midnight bill Friday and
Saturday nights.
Stones and Beatles
General Cinema Corp. features rock music
films for the weekend midnights at five
area houses. Taking a $2.50 ticket. General
Cinema kept the twin houses lit at its Deptford
(N.J.) Mall and Echelon (N.J.) Mall
cinemas with the midnighters having a
choice between "Phantom of the Paradise"
or "Alice Cooper's Welcome To My Nightmare,"
At $1.50. the chain's Shrewsbury
(N.J.) Plaza Theatre will offer "Ladies and
Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones," while the
Capitol Plaza in Trenton's Korvette City,
also on the Jersey side, will offer a Beatles
double feature with "Let It Be" and "A
Hard Days' Night."
In Allentown. Pa., General Cinema teams
up with WSAN Radio in promoting midnight
shows for both Friday and Saturday
nights. With many colleges in the area, a $2
separate admission will offer a twinning of
"Jimi Hendri.x" and "The Lords of Flatbush."
Starting May 26 the Lehigh Valley
Mall Cinema began an extended midnight
engagement for "The Rocky Horror
Picture Show."
A heavy favorite with the midnighters.
the "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"
started a run May 19 midnight at the
Quaker Bridge 4 in the Quaker Bridge Mall
outside of Trenton, N.J. The Belmar Cinema
at the Belmar (N.J.) Mall takes a $1.50
ticket for such Friday and Saturday midnight
offerings as "The Harder They Come,"
"Elvis On Tour" and "Janis." May 26,
the Belmar Cinema started a midnight engagement
for "Rocky Horror" which is expected
to stay on through the summer.
From time to time, Milgram Theatres will
make it an all-night screening starting at
midnight and running until 6:30 a.m. on
Sunday morning. Packaging four features at
both its center-city Fox Theatre and the
to independent exhibitors, although one of
the most successful and longest-running Erlen Theatre in suburban Cheltenham, Pa.,
midnight shows is at the TLA Cinema here. it was continuous showings starting at midnight
the last Saturday in April for "Su-
The chains have also entered the field. Presently,
most of the midnight offerings are to spiria," "Black Mama. White Mama," "Boss
be found at houses linked with the locally Nigger" and "The Man from Hong Kong."
based Budco Quality Theatres and with Interestingly enough, only one adult theatre
in the area is offering midnight shows.
General Cinema Corp.
For several years now, TLA Cinema has Started this week. Cinema 295, at Cherry
been enjoying full houses at midnight on Hill, N.J.. which features XXX rated films,
Saturdays with the "The Rocky Horror began weekend midnight shows with a
Picture Show." Previously, the midtown double feature of "The Devil in Miss Jones"
theatre developed a cult following with a and "Deep Throat."
Live Midnight Concerts
A midnight show of a different sort has
been introduced at the County Theatre in
nearby Doylestown, Pa. A former flagship
theatre of the Budco movie circuit, it was a
live midnight show as Something/ Anything
Productions presented a country-flavored
rock 'n' roll show. Something/ Anything will
produce a series of midnight concerts at the
County Theatre, taking a $2 ticket for the
live midnight show.
Other area theatres used for live concerts
on a regular basis, but during the regular
evening show hours, include the Paramount
Theatre, the only midtown movie house in
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., presenting big names;
the Media Theatre in suburban Media, Pa.,
where the screen is darkened every Friday
night for rock concerts featuring groups
with area followings, and the Broadway
Theatre. Pitman, N.J.. where theatre owner
C. E. Piatt produces big-name country
and western stars several times each month.
The Tower Theatre in suburban Upper
Darby, Pa., used almost exclusively for rock
concerts, turned movie house for the May
5 weekend for the Philadelphia premiere
of "History of the Beatles."
BOXOmCE :: June 5. 1978 SW-7

Tucker,
I
Life of Texas Gang
Leader to be Shot
SAN ANTONIO— Negotiations are under
way with at least one major studio, and pos-
iminist for the Light.
The Light, in an exclusive, stated that a
first meeting with film producer Rogelio
Agrasanchez and attorneys who represent
Carrasco and his widow Rosa, was scheduled
to be held in San Antonio May 30.
Agrasanchez. in reports confirmed by Variety,
has been discussing the Carrasco film
with Hollywood movie star Charles Bronson
and his production company. International
Center Producers.
The meeting, which will take place in the
offices of San Antonio attorney Ruben
Montemayor. who represented Carrasco and
was present at the 1 1 day siege in Huntsville
in August 1974 when the desperate
gang leader was killed in a wild shootout,
included Agrasanchez. free lance writer Bill
Starr, attorney Anthony Nicholas, who represents
Rosa Carrasco. and Montemayor.
Universal Studios in Hollywood has also
shown interest in the possible production
of Carrasco's life story and the longest prison
siege in U.S. history. Another film group
in Los Angeles that has contacted Montemayor
several times in connection with the
Carrasco story is led by former San Antonian
Tony Calderon.
Suggestions as to who would play the part
of Carrasco have included Bronson, Anthony
Quinn, singers Freddy Fender and
Johnny Rodriguez and even suave motion
picture and television celebrity Ricardo Montalban.
Says Montemayor, who got to know
Carrasco intimately. "We may have to go
on a major talent search for this part."
Names for the proposed production have
run the gamut from "Viva Carrasco" (which
Montemayor promptly turned down) to
"The Longest Siege" and "The Mexican
Connection."
Although Montemayor has gathered quite
a bit of copy on the Carrasco case and has
a large collection of tapes of the siege, with
all the telephone conversations that took
place during that period, he feels that a
special book and movie script must be written
for the film.
Attorney Michael Rizik. who also represents
Rosa and was the one to whom she
turned when she surrendered 18 months ago,
has revealed that he and Nicholas also have
a massive set of transcripts on the Carrasco
case available.
CLVEKA>IA IS tX SH(m
BVSVIESS m HAWAII TCM>,
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don't miss the famous Don 11
Show ... at Cinerama's
Reef Towers Hotel.
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The film is scheduled to be shot on location
in Texas and Mexico. A federal prison
on the outskirts of Guadalajara was the
scene of a Carrasco breakout before he came
back to Texas and his ultimate doom.
"There is a possibility we might even be
able to shoot some of the film at or near
sibly several smaller ones, for the filming a Texas prison facility." one spokesman
of the story of notorious South Texas narcotics
kingpin Fred Gomez Carrasco. it was the prison at Huntsvill; along with the li-
said. Another suggested that a duplicate of
reported by Ed Castillo, reporter and colbrary
where Carrasco and two other gunmen
along with the hostages were holed up,
might be built near San Antonio or Brackettville.
As for direction, Montemayor said it all
depends on who will be the ultimate producer.
"If it's Bronson. he might want to
produce and direct the film." the attorney
said.
Another director who has been considered
is veteran Hollywood figure Juan A.
Alonzo, whose credits include "Chinatown,"
"Black Sunday" and "The Bad News Bears."
Unita Theatre Proves It
Still Has Drawing Power
SALT LAKE CITY—What many persons
had believed to be an old theatre with no
ing to Robert Bathey, newly appointed city
manager for Plitt Theatres in Provo and
Orem.
Bathey had managed the 625-seat house
during the past eight months and saw the
business steadily increase during that time.
During the run of "Coma" alone, Unita
grossed over $50,000.
"When I came to Provo, the Unita had
a reputation and stigma about it." Bathey
recalls, "thus our bookings weren't too good
and neither were our grosses.
"Before I got here at Christmas, The
Pink Panther Strikes Again' did an amazing
amount of business. But then the bookings
fell off until 'You Light Up My Life.' That's
when we started to show everybody what an
older house really can do."
The Unita Theatre had also been in the
news during the past six months. First, an
elderly lady ran her car through the front
of the theatre. Then, towards the end of the
year, "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" opened,
and thousands of dollars worth of piiblicity
were generated through Provo's legal fight
to have the picture banned. "The legal battle
tripled our business," Bathey remarked,
"and we have been doing great ever since."
Beverly Cinema Announces
New Revival Fihn Policy
HOLLYWOOD—Sherman Torgan. former
location agent and one-time theatre
operator, has taken over the Beverly Cinema
and has turned off its pornography policy
to convert it into a revival house screening
such items as "Last Tango in Paris"
and "A Streetcar Named Desire."
Torgan dropped the $5 ticket price and
set a scale of $2 for adults and $1 for children.
Hellman Enterprises Adds
Two Executives to Staff
CHERRY HILL. N.J.— Hellman Enterprises.
Inc.. has announced an extension of
its movie theatre operations and an entry
into the fast food industry as part of a major
expansion program in the Philadelphia
area.
Robert C. Rothfeld his joined the firm
as vice-president and David Weinstein has
been promoted from general manager of the
Hellman Theatres division to director of advertising
and public relations.
Rothfeld comes to Hellman from the investment
banking firm of Kidder. Peabody
& Co. He worked at Hellman Enterprises
in the past in several executive capacities.
Additionally, he has been district manager
and real estate specialist for Esquire Theatres
of America. Weinstein. a career executive
in the theatre business, has served as
general manager for Hellman Theatres in
Albany and Philadelphia, working in a similar
capacity for other major chains.
Corporation president Neil Hellman
staled that "several multi-unit fast food
franchise operations" were under consideration
and the firm is expected to make a major
commitment shortly. The purchase of
grossing several
potential has set new area
house
theatres is also
records
being negotiated
for itself and has
and
attracted
plans
record
are
crowds
under way to convert Hellman's
during the first 14 weeks of
Lincoln
1978, accord-
Drive-In into a twin operation.
President Hellman said that his firm
actively is seeking new business opportunities
as part of the company's continuing
commitment to the Philadelphia area.
PhlTE, NITE Affiliate,
Gets Pennsylvania's OK
PHILADELPHIA — The
newly-organized
Philadelphia Independent Theatre Exhibitor
(PhlTE). formed here last October
as an area chapter for the National Independent
Theatre Exhibitors (NITE), has
been given offical status in obtaining a charter
as a nonprofit corporation.
Application for the charter was filed with
the Pennsylvania Department of State by
the local law firm of Herman and Bayer,
representing the new exhibitors group.
According to its petition for the nonprofit
corporation charter, the purposes for which
it is organized are "working for equity in
the market place for all motion picture exhibitors."
Fred lannarelli is president of the
new organizations.
CB Given Away in Promo
GONZALE,S. CALIF.— Ricky Kuntschik
was the winner of a citizen's band radio
through a drawing at Commonwealth Theatres'
Lynn during a run of "Breaker, Breaker."
Manager David Wickham made the tieup
and Ed's Electronics furnished the CB.
Sound and
Projection Service
Nationwide — on all brands.
RCA Service Company, A Division of RCA
4508 Bibb Blvd . Ga 30084
Phone (404) 934-9333
SW-I BOXOFnCE :: June 5. 1978

'Sunset Cove' Hits
Twin City Ozoners
MINNEAPOLIS — Enchanting
spring
weather sprinkled stars over the drive-in
situations but put a pal! over the hardtops.
"Sunset Cove" found plenty of fans on
wheels—and at four screens found a solid
175. "If Ever I See You Again" managed
a 110, also with four openings. And now
we go into the cellar: "The Duellists" missed
the mark with a 50 at the Skyway II Theater
as did "The Sea Gypsies" on 1 1 screens
and "The Last Survivor" on five screens.
"An Unmarried Woman" dated a leggy 220
at the Skyway II. and "The Greek Tycoon"
sailed to a smooth 200 in a second frame
at the Cooper. It was a case of happy birthday
for "Star Wars." rounding out its first
year at the Park and still clocking a 14.5.
One wonders if there'll ever be another like
Handicapped Children Celebrate
Af 'Star Wars' Birthday Party
lllllllll
it.
(Average Is 100)
Brookdale; Movies at Burnsville—House Calls
(Univ), 10th wk
Brookdale; Southdale—Saturday Night Fever
(Para), 23rd wk 65
Cooper—The Greek Tycoon (Umv), 2Tid wk 200
Cooper Cameo—Coming Home (UA), 4th wk 195
Eleven theatres—The Sea Gypsies (WB) 50
Five theatres—The Lost Survivor (AIP) 50
Four theatres—H Ever I See You Again (Col) 110
Four thea'res—Sunset Cove (SR) 175
Mann—Blue Collar (Univ), 3rd wk 70
Park—Star Wars (20th-Fox), 52nd wk 145
Skyway 1—The Goodbye Girl (WB), 22nd wk 85
Skyway 11—The Duellists (Para) 50
Skyway 111—An Unmarried Woman (20lh-Fox),
6th wk 220
TTiree theatres—At Last (EMC), 3rd wk 50
Three theatres-F.I.S.T. (UA), 4lh wk 80
World—Pretty Baby (Para), 3rd wk 95
Dubinsky Bros. Unveil
New JR Sound System
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA—Sarge Dubinsky,
general manager of Dubinsky Bros.
Theatres of Lincoln, Neb., announced the
installation of the new JR-4000-1 four-track
stereophonic sound system in the Midlands
theatres here. Dubinsky indicated that the
^ystem. which recently was demonstrated at
the NATO of Nebraska convention, gives
the theatres one of the finest stereo systems
of any in the metropolitan area.
The system was created, designed and
built by local resident John Ryan, 31. Ryan.
who graduated in 1965 from Abraham Lincoln
High School here, has been working on
the system for the past si.x months. He is
an employee of Slipper Theatre Supply of
Omaha, the firm which installed the sound
s\sicm.
The Midlands theatres opened "American
Graffiti" May 26 utilizing the new system
for the first
time.
Rabbits Big at AMC House
BUFFALO—A pair of promos at American
Multi Cinema's Como 8 Theatres involved
giant rabbits. One was the prize in
an Easter parade coloring contest, won by
9-year-old Paula Schere.
The other was in support of the engagement
of "Rabbit Test," and was the prize in
a riddle/joke contest, this one won by 9-
year-old Tim Kinsled.
Bill Conti has been signed to write the
score for "The Hurricane."
Greeting the excited handicapped participants in the "Star Wars" birthday
celebration were Darth Vader and a starship trooper, characters in the film. Also
present: Ronald McDonald, who led the 600 children in
a chorus of "Happy Birthday."
DES MOINES—The Variety Club of
Iowa. 20th Century-Fo.x and Dubinsky Theatres
hosted approximately 600 underprivileged
and handicapped children at a gala
anniversary in honor of the year-long run of
"Star Wars" at the Rivera Theatre here.
On hand to celebrate the event were Dave
Gold, branch manager of 20th-Fox in this
city; Jim Glenn, Dubinsky city manager:
Tim West and Dick Glenn, Dubinsky advertising,
and Carl Hoffman, Dubinsky film
buyer. Variety Club members attending included
state president Mike Reiily, Stan
Reynolds and Ralph and Betty Olson. Also
lending a hand were area theatre managers
Larry Mick, Dave Collins, Ed Buckley,
Pacific's Hollywood
Triplex Is Reopened
HOLLYWOOD—In
Boulevard's revitalization program. Pacific
Theatres announced the reopening May 26
step with Hollywood
of its completely renovated Pacific Hollywood
Theatre, situated at Hollywood and
Wilcox.
The famed showcase, long a landmark,
premiered originally in 1930 as the Warner
Theatre. In a circuit expansion Pacific acquired
the theatre in 1968, renaming it the
Hollywood Pacific.
The huge edifice, having just undergone
a $1,200,000 modernization, and staffed by
46 persons under veteran manager Al
Young, has been partitioned into a threetheatre
entertainment center with a total
John Salama and Craig Collins.
Each child received a miniature "Star
Wars" character and poster, courtesy of
20th Century-Fox, and free pop, candy and
popcorn, courtesy of Village Supply Co.
Ronald McDonald was there to pass out the
gifts and entertain the children.
Bruce Anderson, Rivera and River Hills
manager, and Jim Glenn organized the
event. Both agreed that the help of the
local media was invaluable in aiding the
promotion.
One youngster, who came in a wheel
chair in a Variety Club Sunshine Coach
remarked: "I
really wanted to see 'Star Wars'
but nobody ever took me. This is
great!"
seatng capacity of 2,300, slates Jerome A.
Forman, vice-president and general manager
of the company.
The lavish refurbishing program—from
the boxoffice to a 500-car parking facility
directly back of the theatre—includes three
giant new screens and latest in sound and
projection.
The eye-appealing Mediterranean influence
in motif still prevails but with colorkeyed
decor emphasized by bright new tones
to match the new carpeting, draping and
seating.
Six restrooms and two elaborate refreshment
centers, conveniently located, are easily
accessible from any point in the triplex.
Theatre One downstairs and theatres two
and three upstairs offer patrons a choice of
programs showing simultaneously under one
roof, with all seats assuring an unobstructed
view of the picture.
BOXOFHCE :: June 5, 1978 NC-1

. . The
MINNEAPOLIS
TJnited Artists branch manager Walt Badger
was expecting robust boxoffice action
for "The End." Badger sneaked the Burt
Reynolds picture at the Hopkins Theatre
here and at the Roseville 4 in St. Paul.
Both arc Engler circuit houses. Jeff Engler.
sharing Badger's lofty expectations for the
attraction, also sneaked it here at the Brookdale.
Meanwhile, newcomer Badger's wife
has now joined him here, and they've been
busy settling in at their house.
left him vulnerable to his wife's pleas so
painted the living room. It's a project that
he's ducked since 1975. "Tve had the paint
for three years." chuckles Palmquist. "but I
convinced my wife that paint is like wine
it improves with age."
Karen Swing, branch secretary for Warner
Bros., took a week's vacation and spent
it remodeling and painting her house. No,
she didn't use any of Palmquist's "vintage"
paint.
The opening of the Minnesota fishing season
saw a million heading for the state's
10,000 lakes, among the fishermen Don
Palmquist, office manager at the 20th Century-Fox
branch; Tom Lutz, salesman at the
Warner Brothers branch; Jack Kelvie (and
son David) of Northwest Theatres; Randy
Greene of Sunn International Pictures, and
Marty Braverman of Buena Vista. The
group journeyed to Lake Miltona, near
Alexandria in northern Minnesota. And the
only fish caught, says Palmquist, "were five
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SCREENS
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suckers—that I landed at the poker table! "
Palmquist adds that he needed the money
because he leaves on vacation Saturday (3).
first heading for Denver—and then up to the
Canadian border, a lake and more fish! . . .
Also among the opener fishing parties was
a group headed by Jim Wilson of the Wilson
Booking Service, the party invading Leech
Lake, aga n in northern Minnesota. But high
winds kept waters choppy and catches scan-
Gary IVleyer, representing Parallax Theatre
Systems of Los Angeles, was in town
lining up product for the Uptown Theatre
here. Parallax took over the Uptown from
General Cinema and planned to open
Don Palmquist, office manager at the
20th Century-Fox branch, finally—and we
it
mean finally— painted his living room. May 26. The first attractions will be a
Palmquist was about to go fishing at Park
two-month-long classic series, films such as
Rapids, Minn., when
"The Red
he heard the temperature
was 38 degrees. Ice-fisherman Palm-
Shoes." "Casablanca," "Singin'
in the Rain" and the like. Classic series have
been heavily
quist likes his winter weather
worked already in this
in the winter,
area
so he called off the finny business. That
and it will be interesting to see if this policy
will mean any ticket action.
Glenn Miller Festival
Wows 'Em in Clarinda
CLARINDA, IOWA—The third annual
Glenn Miller Festival drew an estimated
10,000 people to this town May 5-6. This
year's festival featured a concert-dance at
the high school gym, a Miller Orchestra
performance and the showing of three films
"The Glenn Miller Story," "Orchestra
Wives" and "Sun Valley Serenade."
Forrie Meyers, Paramount branch chief,
went fishing at South Turtle Lake, near Battle
Alan Cass of Colorado University at
Lake. Minn. . Dakota Theatre.
Crosby. N.D., is now being operated by a
Boulder presented a show on Miller's life,
a $500 music scholarship was awarded to
group of Crosby businessmen headed by a Clarinda High School student and the
president Stephen Joraanstad ... A new Eddy Haddad Orchestra played for the
twin theatre, the West Twins, has opened
owned
dance Satinday night.
in Madison, S.D., and is and operated
Warren Fye, director of the local chamber
by D.R. Prostrollo. Buying and book-
of commerce said that the festival drew
ing will be done by the (Jim) Wilson Theatre
calls and letters from Canada, South Africa
Service.
and Great Britain.
Available from your outhorized
Theatre Equipment Supply Dealer
|tichnii ITECHNIKOTE CORP.
3
63 S.abring St., B'kirn 3
Tires Get Promo Rolling
PENSACOLA. FLA. — Manager Bud
Rogers set up a contest with Uniroyal "Tiger
Paws" tires and film passes as prizes to
boost his showing of "Here Come the Tigers"
at American Multi Cinema's Westwood
4 theatres here.
$24,000 Raised by Premiere
DUBUQUE. IOWA—The proceeds from
the sale of tickets to the premier performance
of "F.I.S.T." here April 25. as well as
from the gala party which followed, totaled
approximately $24,000. according to a premiere
committee spokesman. The funds are
to be divided between various local causes.
MERCHANT ADSSPECIAL TRAILERS
Trailercttes-Daters
rni.OK—BLACK & WHITE
PARROT FILMS, INC.
'Slithis' a Monster Hit,
Makes Money and Friends
OMAHA— "Slithis" mania is sweeping the
Midwest. The Thomas & Shipp Films product
opened here at the Skyview Drive-In,
Park 4 Theatres and the Midlands Theatres
Friday (5) to record-setting grosses and still
is playing to capacity crowds. First weekend
totals exceeded $15,000. The Skyview reaped
$5,000 the first night for the largest
gross the drive-in has ever reported. Based
upon such figures the distributor has hopes
the film may be another "Jaws."
Bob Blank, the drive-in manager, was
thrilled with the results of the "Slithis" engagement
here and claimed the largest concession
profit ever as well. He called the
picture "a winner all around."
The film was not only held over for a
second week, but two other theatres were
added to the run: the Admiral and Country
Club 4 Theatres. Mickey Ellis of Thomas
& Shipp stated that this was the first time
he can remember the 1400-car Skyview
holding a picture for two weeks. He added
that what makes the gross so phenomenal
is the season; if the film had come out in
July, he said, opening night would have exceeded
$7,500.
"It's a big hit with the kids," remarked
Jay Maness of the Midland 4 Mall Theatres
in Council Bluffs, la., where "Slithis" opened
simultaneously. "The repeat business reminds
me of our 'Star Wars' run."
Nominated for an award by the Sci-Fi
Horror Academy. "Slithis" is rated PG. A
successful promotion for the film has been
the fan club. Here, after the first weekend
showings, over 3,000 joined.
The monster himself and Steve Traxler,
creator of the picture, were in Des Moines
Monday-Sunday (15-21) for "fun promotions"
such as dance lessons, opening a
bank account and trying out waterbeds. TV
appearances there included "The Mary Brubaker
Show," "The Dolph Pulliam Show"
and "The Floppy Show."
KIOA Radio and KMGK-FM provided
vans which took the monster to area junior
and senior high schools. One station will
sponsor a disco dance at Des Moines' Adventureland
Park Friday (19) which will
feature a guest appearance by the creature.
It seems safe to say that "Slithis" has
scared no one in this region away from the
boxoffice.
Rag Doll Pair Provide
Big Boxoffice Return
FAIRMONT. MINN.—When
"Raggedy
Ann and Andy" was booked at the Plitt
Lake Theatre here Linda M. Ebeling. manager,
was able to arrange for a "personal
appearance" of the famed duo and personally
sewed and stuffed 25 Raggedy Ann
dolls to be given away to lucky boys and
girls attending. Linda and her sister-in-law
Debbie Ebeling wore dyed mop heads which
helped make the two of them a convincing
Ann and Andy.
The pair in costume strolled downtown
Fairmont streets and the local shopping
mall—and the impact was reflected at the
boxoffice.
NC-2 BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978

. . The
PES MOINES
H special effort was made by Pete Peresko,
booker for Thomas & Shipp Films in
Kansas City for a break on "Speed Trap"
in Omaiia. Pete was up for over 48 hours
to meet the plane in Kansas City to drive
all the prints to Omaha in order to meet
openings May 24.
Jean Campbell, Universal branch manager's
secretary, lied the knot May 20 with
Jack Watkins of this city. Universal employees
had a pot luck dinner for the couple
May 18. celebrating with a bottle of the
Carolyn Porter, Dick Haes En-
bubbly , . .
terprises, had a bad time recently when she
got blood poisoning in her foot from a bite
inflicted by her pet cat. Incidentiy, the cat's
name is Beelzebub. Carolyn said the cat
gave her the wound when they were playing
and it got a bit rough.
been a whopping success. In town for a
week prior to the opening were Stever
Traxler, creator of the film, and the monster.
They toured the city from end to end
and received a lot of coverage in the Register
& Tribune. "Slithis" is definitely a people-pleaser
as well as a boxoffice smash.
Irving Shiffrin, former manager for the
West-Vue Drive-In here, has decided to
move back to Cleveland. He lived there for
eight years representing Columbia Pictures
promotion department and says he has
many old friends there. He says he will
miss Des Moines. We say, the best of luck
to you, Irv . . . Abbott Swartz of Minnesota
visited last week.
Sixteen members of the Variety Club of
Iowa are attending the international convention
in Seattle: Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Olson
of Universal, Mr. and Mrs. Steve Blank of
Central States Theatres, Mr. and Mrs. Stan
Reynolds of TOPIC, Mr. and Mrs. Mike
Reilly, Ray Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Mike
is welcome. Please contact Ralph Olson at
255-2846 for details.
11V- 137^-14" o.A*
$50.00
16'-I6V^"DUMtTER $81.50
vi ."-ft *"°t
Telekinesis Films Move
Everything But Critics
CLEVELAND—Emerson Batdorff, entertainment
editor of the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, commented recently on the trend
of filmmakers to capitalize on audience's
infectious desire to see motion pictures
about telekinesis—most of which seem to
have little to offer. He goes on to say:
At the moment, we are in a fit of telekinetic
movies.
Telekinesis is a long word meaning the
ability to cause objects at a distance to
move or bend or break or melt by mere
force of personality or gritting the teeth.
Usually when patrons suddenly want to
see the same sort of movie time after time,
the fit can be traced back to one big movie.
I trace the rise of the telekinetic movie back
to "The Exorcist."
"The Exorcist" was a perfectly horrid
movie, but it was a big one. In "The Exorcist,"
if you remember, there was all sorts
of inexplicable physical activity of inanimate
objects. All this was probably caused
Arthur Stein jr., is a proud grandfather
for the first time. Son Jay and his wife
by the Devil, including the way the little
Barb had a long overdue nine-pound boy
girl
May 24. They named the child David
turned her head all the way around so
she could see if anyone was sneaking up on
Aaron. Jay, Barb and the baby reside in
her. Thus the seed was sown.
Iowa City . . . Vera Richardson, secretary
to Steve Blank and Glenn Nargang. is off Soon there were several copycat movies
on a two-week vacation to who-knowswhere.
that tried to cash in on "The Exorcist" without
going to the considerable expense that
the production of "The Exorcist" entailed.
"Slithis" opened here May 19 and has The first successful telekinetic movie in
which the manifestations were clearly caused
by a person and not the Devil (although he
probably was in the background) was "Carrie."
Carrie was a mean, misunderstood girl
who found she could make inanimate objects
do as she wished and used this power
to make a terrible movie.
.
Anderson, Jeanann Dowie, Dr. and Mrs.
Pat Reilly and Mr. and Mrs. Merle Newman
annual Variety Club golf
tournament will be held Thursday (22) at
Echo Valley Country Club here. Everyone
with a haircut.
BOXOFHCE :: June 5, 1978
But it was successful at the boxoffice.
Even before it was successful at the boxoffice,
the man who made "Carrie," Brian
de Palma, had such faith in it that he started
making another movie with the same plot.
He called it "The Fury."
In it a young man discovers that he can
melt locomotives in their tracks just by looking
at them, as well as make his enemies
bleed from their earholes and elsewhere.
The plot has the fellow who has these
magnificent powers getting in a fix. He is
held captive and his father, played by Kirk
Douglas with a fixed grimace, must rescue
him with a good deal of bloodshed.
What never is explained is how a man
whose glance can melt bank vaults and
make enemies bleed from the earholes happens
to be in a fix he can't get out of. Such
a fellow would seem to be capture-proof.
You would detain him at your peril. It's not
as though he were Samson, to be disarmed
In a telekinetic movie nothing really need
make sense, so this problem never occurs to
viewers.
Richard Burton, who figures that it is the
duty of an actor to act, stars in "The Medusa
Touch," in which he has telekinetic
powers, and he also gets himself into fixes
in spite of them, just as in "The Fury." The
big problem here is how Burton got into the
picture in the first place.
Effects Man Dunn
Famous for Skill
OMAHA — World-Herald staffer John
Onoda reports that, "If it weren't for Linwood
Dunn, the starship Enterprise might
never have cut its way across the reaches
of space and King Kong might never have
made it to the top of the Empire State
building." Onoda's story is quoted below:
Dunn, 73. of Los Angeles, is an Oscarwinning
cinematographer who has worked
on many television programs and motion
pictures including "Citizen Kane," "King
Kong," "Airport," "The Bible" and "Catch
22." He was in Omaha to present a film
and lecture about his skills.
Dunn has worked in the motion picture
industry since the era of silent pictures.
He is president of Film Effects of Hollywood,
which did the special effects for
television's "Star Trek," and is currently
working on "Project UFO."
The work done at Dunn's studio involves
an optical printer, a machine that can film
a closeup of a scene already photographed.
It can also be used to comb'ne a number
of elements that have been filmed separately.
"A lot of my work comes after most of
the filming is over," said Dunn. "People
think that a movie is finished when the
cameras stop rolling, and that's not true.
There's a lot of adjusting and fix-up work
you do with an optical printer."
Dunn gave an example: "Taxi Driver"
was going to get an X rating because of its
bloody ending. The movie's producer called
Dunn for help.
"He brought over some film and I desaturated
the red out of the scenes, so the
action was the same but the blood was gray
instead of red. After that, the movie got an
R instead of an X."
The success of "Star Wars" and "Close
Encounters of the Third Kind" has given
the special effects industry a shot in the
arm, said Dunn.
"Their financial success has loosened it
all up. Special effects has made a great leap
forward because 'Star Wars' is th2 top grossing
film of all
time. Now everyone wants to
get into the act. We're getting a lot more
phone calls."
Dunn presented a film of his work and
then answered questions at Westside High
School, 87th and Pacific Streets, May 20.
A workshop was held with Dunn at the
Eppley Center auditorium at the University
of Nebraska at Omaha.

. . May
. . "What
MILWAUKEE
T ocal area movie houses that have ticd-in
with the newest "Fun Unlimited Passcard""
(in its sixth year) are: Mill Road foiirplex.
Spring Mall triplex. Cinemas 1 & II,
Centre Cinema Twins. Marc I & II in both
Menomonec Falls and Racine, Tosa in Wauwatosa
and 24 Outdoor. .Shilled as an "inflation
tighter," a passcard costs $11.95 and
for the next six months, beginning Thursday
(1) and continuing until December 1. offers
the purchaser "29 free movies and 30 free
dinners. The deal comes with a money-back
guarantee: ""Examine your membership. If
you are not satisfied, return all material
unused within ten days for a full refund."
Pictures." Downey has also mailed a
news release to the media and local exhibitors
stating "Thank God It"s Friday" is "the
first major film to utilize the ambiance of a
contemporary disco nightclub for its principal
setting. You won't escape noticing the
unusual decor of the Zoo: 16-foot ostriches,
laser-eyed snakes with eyes that shoot light
into the mirrored walls, exotic doves and
fanta.sy birds, icicle walls, etc." Further:
" 'Thank God It's Friday" marks the unprecedented
union of two giant music organizations
to make a motion picture, Motown
and Casablanca Records and Filmworks.
Rob Cohen, Motown"s executive vice-president
is the prducer. Neil Bogart, president
of Casablanca, is the executive producer."
"Thank God Its Friday" opens Friday (9)
at Northtown, Point, Riverside, Spring Mall,
CLVERi%WL\ IS IK SWm
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f
When yrni conic to VVuikiki,
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Show . . . ut Cinerama's
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RliEFTOW'ERS»ElXiEWATER
'"rna
ind 24 Outdoor. Starlite. Bluemound Drive-
The King of Swing, jazz great Benny
Goodman will perform with his clarinet in
a Milwaukee Symphony benefit concert at
the Performing Arts Center Friday (9). The
concert is intended to help the Milwaukee
Symphony Orchestra to eliminate its current
deficit. Ticket prices range from $150
(charitable donation $138) to $10 (charitable
donation $5.50). Patrons purchasing the
$150. $100. and $75 tickets are invited to
attend a reception and champagne supper
in Bradley Pavilion following the concert.
Screen personalities Kris Kristofferson
and Rita Coolidge are to appear in person
in a concert to be staged at the Milwaukee
Summerfest Grounds Saturday. July 29.
Edwin Morgan, co-producer of the films Tickets range from $7.50 to $6. Kris Kristofferson
and Ali MacGraw star in the film.
"You Light Up My Life"" and "If Ever I
See You Again.'" is a nephew of Tom Morgan
who oversees the Marcus Theatres in Road, centre Twins, and Southridge. Also
"Convoy." which opens Friday (30) at Mill
Beaver Dam. Wis. Producer Morgan formerly
lived in Madison where his mother Bears Go to Japan." The third strike of the
set to open here that day is "The Bad News
and brother still reside . . . Toni Dysterhuis, nation's most popular Little Leaguers— it's
local branch office manager for United rated PG— will be at Spring Mall. North-
the meeting mainly to get constructive ideas
on bringing in good shows," Joyce told the
40 persons who attended. The Rev. Armand
Boehme who participated in the meeting
said he and others present hope "that no
more X-rated films will be shown. The
future is in the hands of God. No one can
predict what will happen." Mrs. Bisbach
informed the newspaper editor that she
urged people to come to the good films so
that they wouldn't have to show X-rated
shows." She explained that it's difficult to
change people's filmgoing habits and that
since the theatre had been "run into the
ground" before they (the Bisbachs) got it,
people had gotten used to going to other
towns to see pictures.
Obscenity charges brought against the
Princess Theatre a year ago for showing
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20 allegedly obscene movies (over several I
months) were upheld on Wednesday (17)
when Circuit Judge Marvin C. Holz refused
to dismiss the obscenity case against the
theatre. Attorneys John Weston of Los Angeles
and James Shelton of Milwaukee had
sought to dismiss all 20 counts while holding
that Wisconsin's smut law was unconstitutional.
As reported by Thomas J. Hagerty
in the Journal, Judge Holz's decision "paved
the way for no contest pleas on all counts
under a previously agreed upon plea bargain,
at least $6,000 in fines against the
theatre and destruction of the 20 adult films
seized by police. A vice squad officer estimated
that each film was worth from $700
to $1,200."
Mosinee Theatre in Mosinee, Wis., experimented
with midnight shows on a recent
weekend, offering five Three Stooges comedies
in a festival plus a Krazy Kat cartoon
and more. Mosinee's population is less than
2,500.
The management of Blaine Theatre in
Boscobel, Wis., recently announced at the
top of its display ad in the local weekly:
"Note—due to many cancellations and
Artists Corp.. arranged the showing of a 12- ridge. Brown Port and Outdoor 24. Starlite
minute featurette. "Brass Target" (MGM) Drive-ins. Another first-run film is "The
May 25 at the Center Screening Room. Cheap Detective" starring Peter Falk at
Spring Mall. Skyway, Mayfair. Northridge
and Prospect Mall. The PG-er opens Friday
Thursday (1-4) was "The Incredible Melting
Jerry Downey, regional publicity direc-
Man" . Theatre in Mayville
. . .
(23) Meanwhile, long-running
tor for Columbia Pictures, is sending out
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" has has a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. but no show
invites "to an evening at the Zoo." It is "the
Sunday evening. Walt Disney's "Candleshoe"
was the main attraction on a recent
left Northridge where it opened in two
auditoriums, but it continues in its "exclusive
wildest, wackiest, most song-splattered, funfilled
disco in the western world—as seen
weekend . was the name of the
in Columbia Pictures' 'Thank God It's Friday,""
24th week" at Southtown.
first Mickey Mouse cartoon and when was
he explains. The special screening is
"X-Rated Movies Discussed at Meetings
at the Northtown Theatre Thursday (8) and
it released?" a Milwaukee film fan wanted
writes Downey: "This pass will be honored in Muscoda" is the headline on a front page
story in the Boscobel Dial, weekly published
for admission-for-one at the special nightbeforc-opening-night,
Thank-God-It's-Here in Boscobel, Wis. The meeting had been
Premiere which is being co-sponsored by arranged by Hank and Joyce Bisbach, owners
'Plane Crazy.' It's celebrating its 50th an-
Radio WOKY, Motown Productions, Casablanca
of the Muscoda Theatre, at the St. John's niversary this vear. having been released
Records, Filmworks, and Columbia gym in Muscoda "to discuss movie offerings in 1928."
and local support of the theatre." "We called
shortages, our programs are all messed up.
Check the local papers for the show and
dates." Film attraction from Monday-
to know in an inquiry sent to the Reader's
Mailbox of the Journal. Reply: "Mickey
made his debut in a silent cartoon titled
Owner of Adult Theatre
Guilty of Obscenity
LINCOLN, NEB. — The owner of an
adult book store and film house was found
guilty on 22 coimts of obscenity by a Lancaster
County Court jury recently.
The jury of three women and three men
returned the verdict following six hours of
deliberation.
Convicted was Tara Enterprises of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. The company faced 22 counts
of exhibiting obscene films at the Adult
Book Store and Cinema X movie house in
downtown Lincoln.
'Centennial' Filming in Neb.
GRAND ISLAND—The Daily Independent
reported that Universal Studios is considering
filming part of James Michener's
best-selling novel "Centennial" in the Grand
Island-Platte River area. Representatives of
the studio were in town recently to talk to
chamber of commerce officials about the
filming possibilities.
Nick Mancuso will make his feature film
debut in the leading role of Columbia's
"Nightwing."
BOXOmCE :: June 5, 1978

Tycoon' and 'Tesl'
Tie in Cleveland
CLEVELAND— It took the double whallop
packed by Universalis "The Greek Tycoon"
coupled with the rabbit punching of
"Rabbit Test" to knock the wind from the
sails of "Saturday Night Fever." "Tycoon"
and "Test" each hit 280 on the barometer,
outpacing "Fever" by 40 points. The John
Travolta film is still powerful in its 22nd
week, however, retaining second place with
a solid 240. In last place, surprisingly, was
"Pretty Baby." unable to ply its charms in
the fourth week, turning in a score of 80.
Besides the two No. 1 films, other openers
were "The Hills Have Eyes" with an average
100, Bertolucci's four-hour "1900" with
90 and "The Billion Dollar Hobo" with a
high 195.
(Average Is 100)
Five Iheaties—The Greelc Tycoon (Univ) 280
Five theatres— Rabbit Test (Emb) 2P0
Four theatres—The Goodbye Girl (WB),
21st wk. IfiO
Four theatres—The Hills Have Eyes (SR) 100
Six theatres—F.I.S.T. WA). 3rd wk 120
Six theatres—An Unmarried Woman (20th-Fox)
3rd v^k 13i
Three theatres—FM (Umv), 3rci wk 125
Three theatres—The Billion Dollar Hobo
(Internafl Picture Show) I''=
Two theatres—House Calls (Univ), 8th wk 170
Two theatres—Saturday Night Fever (Para),
22nd wk 240
Two theatres—Pretty Baby (Para), 4.h wk 80
Twro theatres—The Kentucky Fried Movie (SR),
2nd wk 150
Two theatres— 1900 (Paia) 90
LOUISVILLE
'£be Showcase cinemas celebrated an important
birthday Thursday, May 25:
one year of "Star Wars." The sci-fier has
played to hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic
fans since its arrival here a year ago.
To commemorate the anniversary, the
Showcase presented three special afternoon
showings of the picture for youngsters from
children's homes, supplying free popcorn
and soft drinks, as well as giving away "Star
Wars" toys. In the evening, two special invitation-only
screenings were held, complete
with champagne and a huge birthday cake
with one candle. It was some birthday bash!
The Alpha 3 opened "Just Crazy About
Horses" in a regional premiere Wednesday,
May 24. The documentary about horses and
their owners garnered favorable reviews in
local newspapers and should fare well in
this Derby City.
Henry Saag, owner of the Kentucky Theatre
in Lexington, has announced that the
showhouse will inaugurate a new repertory
policy, presenting two different films each
night. Marty Sussman. who operates the
highly successful Vogue Theatre in our town
with the same policy, will book for the Lexington
house. Located on Main Street, the
Kentucky was built in the 1920s by the
Switow family and has operated continuously
since its unveiling. The new policy will
be kicked off Wednesday (7) with charity
benefit showings of the classics "Casablanca"
and "Singin" in the Rain."
May 24 marked the opening of the April
Fools production. "Harper Valley PTA." at
the Alpha 1-2-3. the Village 8 and the Grant
Plaza Theatres, as well as in the Twilite.
Clarksville and South Park drive-ins.
Theatre Tour Will Assure
Wise Renovation Fund Use
Fonda Feted in Cleveland
During Appearance Tour
CLEVELAND—Political activism mixed
with Hollywood glamour and exciting movie
entertainment were the pleasures of Cleve-
INDIANAPOLIS—A $34,000,000 project
to build a 17-story. 300-room Radisson
Hotel in downtown Indianapolis includes
renovation of the Indiana Theatre, an historic
building that for many years offered
films and stage shows but has been vacant
in recent years.
The facade, lobby, and ballroom of the
Indiana Theatre building will be renovated,
with all improvements of the building to be
finished by fall of 1980. at a cost of about
$4,000,000.
The city will buy the land as well as the
theatre adjacent to the site of the old Claypool
Hotel for $2,500,000. then sell the
theatre building to the Downtown Merchants
Ass'n. which is to lease it to the
Indiana Repertory Theatre, which will move
there from its present location.
A sidelight on the project is the use of
a $15,000 grant by the representatives of
the Indiana Repertory Theatre to finance a
"cultural facilities research and design"
study. Evans Woollen, Indiana architect for
the Indiana Theatre structure, with Edward
Stem, IRT artistic director, Benjamin Mordecai,
producing director, and Chris Armen,
production manager, started in March on
"research tours" to visit 18 theatres from
Seattle to Providence, as well as the Shaw
Festival in Toronto, to assure that the new
location "will be one of the finest in America."
Stern said.
Near the end of the tour, a seminar will
be held for Woollen and the three IRT
representatives at Center Stage in Baltimore
to review their findings. A second seminar
will take place in Indianapolis, at which time
the Indiana Theatre will be toured and examined
by professional theatre jjersonnel.
Among theaters to be visited are: Seattle
Repertory and Contemporary Theater, both
in Seattle; Alley in Houston; Cincinnati
Playhouse; Louisville's Actors Theater;
Children's Theater Co. and Guthrie Theater
in Minneapolis and several others.
landers during the one-day visit ol Jane
Fonda May 17.
The star of "Coming Home" was highly
visible all day long. Early in the morning
she appeared on "Morning Exchange"
where she was interviewed by host Fred
Griffith. She explained to the audience that
she enjoyed making this picture because
it was exciting entertainment as well as a
meaningful story. She continued that in the
movie, her paraplegic lover (Jon Voight)
was a man who had lost his body but gained
his mind at the same time her husband
(Bruce Dern) was having an antithetical
experience. Some elements of the first
character
were drawn from a personal friend
of Ms. Fonda, a paraplegic author.
The events of the evening included the
premiere of "Coming Home" at the World
East Theatre. There were two showings of
the picture and during the intermission there
was a reception, the proceeds of which went
to benefit four citizens" groups. Industrial
Sltates Policy Center. Cleveland Women
Working. Northern Ohio Project on National
Priorities and The Ohio Public Interest
Campaign.
The reception was held at the home of
Mrs. Rena (Michael) Blumberg in Shaker
Heights. Mrs. Blumberg is the community
relations director of WWWE-AM and
WDOK-FM and is vice-president of Womenspace.
The Blumbergs' home and garden
made a beautiful setting on a pleasant evening
for this outstanding event. The friends
of Mrs. Blumberg filled the house with delicious
hors d'oeuvres complemented with
wine and sweet tables.
Ms. Fonda wore slacks with a printed,
gauzy, full blouse in the latest mode. Her
attractive appearance was matched by her
gracious personality and demeanor. She
stood at the entrance hall to greet everyone.
(Continued on page ME-3)
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I
DOLBY
House Reopens 40 Years
Later; Gish Bowed There
DAYTON, OHIO—Future of the 116-
year-old Victory Theater in downtown Dayton
has taken on a brighter tinge with financial
and moral support from the city of
Dayton, via a SI 13.000 community development
block grant and the continuing volunteer
aid from members of the Junior League
of Dayton, according to Maribeth Eiken.
president of the Victory Theater Ass'n.
Now the association has to raise funds to
match the city"s grant, in order to make a
down payment on the theatre building so the
group can take title to the structure. That
Besides helping to pay for capital improvements,
membership dues will be used
to raise operating funds to keep the house
open. Members of the Junior League have
agreed to create a large volunteer corps
which will work on the membership drive,
promotional activities, ticket sales and children's
theatre productions, composed not
only of members, but other civic-minded
men and women of all ages who are interested
in working for the facility.
'Star Wars' Smashes Old
'Jaws' Record in Toledo
TOLLDO, OHIO—The longest running
and biggest money-making film to hit Toledo,
"Star Wars." celebrated its anniversary
at the Showcase Cinemas complex on
Secor Road by holding a special matinee
Thursday. May 25 at 4 p.m. for all the underprivileged
children in the area.
Phil Kline, area manager for the Showcase
complex, said the film has doubled the
gross of the previous record money-maker,
"Jaws." He said the film still draws fairly
large crowds, especially on weekends, but
will be discontinued at Showcase soon because
it is moving into a second wave of
releases. Other long runs which "Star Wars"
easily outdistanced were "Dr. Zhivago." 31
weeks, and "Gone With the Wind." 30
weeks.
At the special matinee, one of the more
active local fans of "Star Wars," Paul Madden,
age 22, of nearby Rossford. Ohio,
appeared costumed as Darth Vader. accompanied
by a friend who drives their
customized $22,000 "Star Wars" van. The
pair tour local events in their spare time as
a hobby (no fee) and sign autographs for
children. Madden, a professional portrait
artist, is working on a portrait of George
Lucas, the producer of "Star Wars."
Exhibitors Say Drive-Ins
Must Adapt to the Times
AKRON. OHIO—Bob Downing, a writer
is a pre-condition for use of the block grant
money.
Mrs. Eiken said they have received
pledges from individuals, foundations and for the Akron Beacon-Journal, recently investigated
the status of drive-ins here and
organizations, and plan to make a down
payment by August 1. so work can be started
brought back the following report:
immediately on crucial roofing repairs. Drive-ins with their giant silver screens
estimated to require $50,000. and a new on the outskirts of American cities are many
stage floor, estimated to cost $13,000.
things to many people.
They are a place where romancing couples
can enjoy each other's company; where
Dad and Mom take the kids for a family
movie; where the kids crowd into the back
scat, fighting each other for popcorn and
jockeying for the best viewing position;
where the kids' yells and screams usually
drown out the audio portion of the movie.
It's a place where the kids fall asleep in the
back seat.
But the day of the drive-in is fading, according
to some experts. They say it can't
compete with television. Some experts have
said that drive-ins will disappear within 20
years although not eveiyone agrees.
The ever-changing drive-in has changed.
It is showing different kinds of films to different
kinds of audiences.
"In the 1950s, we showed Doris Daytype
movies, but today we have to show
realism—with graphic explicitness." said
1 7 -year-old Lou Ratner. djan of the Akron
area drive-in operators and owner of the
Montrose Drive-In Theater at 1-77 and Ohio
18 in Copley Township.
"In the early days, we were primarily
catering to the family business. The family
picture was still king. Families with children
were the back bone of our business. At that
time, the adult business wasn't worth a
thing.
"The appeal of the drive-in came because
of the combination of ease and informality.
There were no frills, no hassles. The babysitter
was built right in. You just brought
the kids along. You didn't have to dress
up. You could bring your own snacks. Parking
wasn't a problem." he said.
"Everything started to change in the '50s
when television—1 cringe at that word
came into existence." said 29-year-oId Mike
Dennis, manager of the East Drive-In. 600
South Ave.. Tallmadge.
"We also were forced to compete more
and more for people's leisure and recreation
time. They had more time to do things, but
they had more options of things to do than
they did 30 years ago." he said.
"We changed, and the product changed,"
Ratner said.
He pointed out that the moviegoing habits
of audiences are no longer the same.
People started being selective in picking
what films they wanted to see.
Instead of just going to the drive-in for a
night out. families now decide which movies
to see. Today, the average American sees
only four or five movies a year. Ratner said.
As the family audiences fell off in the
late '50s and early '60s, the drive-ins began
catering to older audiences with more realism.
Sex-oriented movies became more prevalent
at drive-ins all across the country.
"Surprisingly, most people don't object
to violence or language. But they do object
to nudity, especially if their young children
are
around." according to Ratner.
"Five or six years ago. that is what almost
all the drive-ins were showing: the cheerleaders,
the nurses, the student teachers with
sexploitation subjects like that. We can't
deny it. That must have been about 60 per
cent of the business. The camera had to go
into the bedroom with the couple. It's not
that way any more," Ratner said.
"Drive-ins were trying to appeal to the
young, but it didn't last long. It sold for a
while, but not any more. The audiences saw
that the films were all alike.
"We were forced to change gears again.
Audiences want realism in their movies.
They are disappointed if it isn't there. The
realistic, action films were the salvation of
oLir business. The vast majority of people
will still go to a drive-'n today to see a quality
film— if it is realistic."
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BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978

[
successful
;
Reynolds
I
I
He
j
top-grossing
I
said
today at drive-ins are the Burt
and the Clint Eastwood movies.
according to Dennis.
said "Smokey and the Bandit" is the
film shown at the East. Rutncr
"Blazing Saddles" remains his top box-
hit at the Montrose.
Each of the 14 drivi;-ins in the Akron
j
office
I
area
"Drive-in audiences do demand more action,"
Dennis said. "Our people like the
realistic action films now." Movies that are
has developed a unique character, according
to Ratner and Dennis. Some are
successful showing horror and monster films
where those movies flop at other drive-ins.
For example, Ratner said he can be successful
showing movies which are a little
more sophisticated—like Woody Allen and
Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall" and Mel
Brooks' "High Anxiety."
Ratner and Dennis said it is their feeling
that drive-ins are also shedding their image
as a place where young couples go to make
out, "passion pits" as some people called
the drive-ins.
"Financially it's always been touch and
go for drive-in theatres." Ratner said. "Today,
with inflation and higher costs, the
cushion is gone. Prices have gone up, and
theatres are staying open year-round, but
it's not enough."
Escalating land values on the urban fringe
—where drive-ins were built for a mobile
American society 30 years ago—have made
the property where drive-ins are prime land
for commercial development. Real estate
taxes are also escalating.
Drive-ins have, however, become more
attractive to movie distributors.
The cost of films has soared. Where
drive-ins could once get films for $200 to
$300, the cost of first-run features has become
a percentage of the gate, usually 60
per cent and. in some cases, up to $90,000
for one film.
Drive-in operators must gamble on what
movies to show and how much they're willing
to pay for the films, according to Ratner
and Dennis.
"Distributors want to get quality, firstrun
movies into drive-ins during June. July
and August." Ratner said. "That's the bottom
of the indoor theatre season,
"As a result, we're getting more first-run
films in the summer in the last five to seven
years. That is when this is the greatest business
in the world.
"There will always be drive-ins." Ratner
said. "It's a part of America for the last 30
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Fonda Feted in Cleveland
(Continued from page ME-1)
posed for pictures and signed autographs
with grace and poise. The crowd included
eminent personalities from Cleveland's cultural
and political circles, industrialists and
union representatives. Also there were veteran
associates of Ms. Fonda from the potests
engendered by the May 4th 1970 killings
at Kent State University.
The conclusion of the reception was a
short talk by Ms. Fonda. She said, "I spent
the larger part of my professional life being
very alienated from my work, not even enjoying
it very much. Just like most people,
I spent my days doing my job.
"As a producer. I have some control over
my work. 'Coming Home' is doing extremely
well—even in Orange County (California),
a
lot.
the home of Richard Nixon. That says
"I do not want to present just sex and
violence. I want to give society something
meaningful. I thmk people will opt for
something other than superficiality and
meaningless actions."
Projectionist Began Work
Back in Vaudeville Days
BEDFORD, IND.—Louie Fiddler, 68, is
beginning his 52nd year in a business that
has taken him from vaudeville to the nation's
major TV networks.
He started working as a janitor and stagehand
at the old Indiana Theatre here when
he was 16. The pay was $12 a week—a lot
of money in those days for a 16-year-old
boy.
"They ran vaudeville three days a week
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday—one week,
then a tab show (that's cleaned-up burlesque)
on alternate weeks. In those days you
couldn't run any rough stuff." he recalled.
Among the performers who played the
old Indiana and went on to fame were Bob
Hope, then a vaudeville hoofer. Gene Autry
and his sidekick Smiley Burnett, and the
George White Scandals.
Fiddler met Hope again in Hollywood,
where he worked for all three television networks
from 1965 through 1970.
He enjoyed kidding Hope about being
thrown out of an old hotel in Bedford when
he went to visit one of the chorus girls. The
comedian mentioned the incident in his first
book.
Red Skelton reminisced with Fiddler
about being at a baseball game in Bedford
when the bleachers collapsed at the ball
park. An avid baseball fan, Skelton had
gone to the game while in town with the
Stone City Medicine Show.
worked show on CBS. Deb-
"I Red's last
bie Reynolds was his guest. He stood around
and told tales to us stagehands and prop
men. I teased him about crossing his bridge
in Vincennes," Fiddler said.
Working out of Local Union 33 of the
International Association of Theater and
Stage Employees, Fiddler was an electrician,
stagehand, property man "and aboLit anything
necd;d."
Fiddler has operated everything from the
old hand-crank film projector to the most
modern equipment. He recalls helping his
father, Oscar Fiddler, a projectionist of silent
films at the old Crystal and Colonial
theaters in Bedford, when he was about
n.
when Dad
"I guess got interested in it I
worked at the Colonial," he said. "They
had one hand-crank machine and a motordriven
machine. Dad was the first man in
town to run a continuous show.
"I'd go in and crank while dad made the
change-over in the reels and threaded it up.
Then he'd come over and we'd relieve each
other, each cranking the 1,000-foot reels.
There was no sound to worry about, but if
you cranked too slow, it flickered on you.
I couldn't work late because they had a
10 p.m. curfew." he said.
After Fiddler married his sweetheart,
Juanita Brown, when he was 18. he went
to work at the VonRitz Theater here as a
projectionist. He spent 21 years there.
Since returning to Indiana in 1970, Fiddler
has worked for a time at the Indiana
Theatre in Indianapolis. In the winter
months he works at the Indiana University
Aud'torium where he is a stagehand.
The man who has seen thousands of motion
pictures doesn't oare for today's films
that have "too much rough stuff" and would
prefer that Hollywood turn out movies comparable
to the old ones that drew long
waiting lines at theatre boxoffices.
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BOXOFnCE :; June 5, 1978

Lebanon Is Harper
Valley for a Day
LEBANON. OHIO—This town of 10,-
000 changed its name for one day to "Harper
Valley" to celebrate the premiere
of "Harper Valley PTA" which was filmed
partially here last year. Phil Borack, operator
of Tri-State Theatre Service film booking
agency in Cincinnati, is executive producer
of the film and George Edwards of
Hollywood is producer.
Producing was not a totally new e.\periencc
for Borack. who four years ago bought
the American rights to "Pink Floyd." about
the rock group, and marketed it throughout
the country via telephone. He said one of
the easiest things to do was raise the capital.
A six-city Ohio-Kentucky s'multaneous
bow was made, with stars Ronny Cox and
Nanette Fabray attending. The openings
were in the Fairborn Theatre, in a Dayton
suburb, and Cinema North and Southtown,
both in Dayton, the Colony Square Cinema
in Lebanon, the Springdale near Cincinnati.
and the Erlanger in Erlanger. Ky.
At Lebanon, Dan Humphreys of WPFB-
AM, Middletown, broadcast the premiere.
The film was preceded by a concert of the
Lebanon High School Jazz Band. The band
scene had been cut from the film, givins
rise to rumors that the band would retaliate
by not performing at the premiere.
However, they swallowed thcT disappointment
and played, to the enjoyment of all.
Toledo Film Fest Entries
Solicited; Prizes Given
TOLEDO. OHIO—Amateur filmmakers
the area have been invited submit
)n
to
entries to the first Toledo Film Festival.
to be part of the 13th annual Festival of
the Arts held June 24-25 at Crosby Gardens.
The event is intended to stimulate interest
in filmmaking and is sponsored by
the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library,
WGTE-FM, an educational radio station!
and the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo.
Prizes in three categories range from
$25 to $100.
Victory Theatre Wins
New Life With Grant
RISING SUN. OHIO—The Rising Sun
Historical Society last week re-dedicated
the 330-seat second-story auditorium where
film star Lillian Gish made her stage debut
at age 5. This marked the reopening of an
80-year-old opera house which had been
boarded up since 1937. after this village of
about 1.000 residents built a high school
auditorium.
Members of the local historical society
sanded, scrubbed, and painted the opera
house auditorium, where, despite its name,
no opera was ever performed. Instead, according
to June Stevens, president of the
local historical group, the residents preferred
vaudeville, bands, melodramas, medicine
spielers, and, in 1915, a lecture a wom-
by
en's rights activist and another by a prohibitionist.
The historic building has an ornate tin
ceiling, curved stage, and graffiti from former
performers as part of its decor. First
floor of the downtown building was formerly
the village hall.
'If Ever I See You Again'
Recorded by Roberta Flack
HOLLYWOOD—Roberta Flack. Atlantic
Records artist, has recorded "If Ever I See
You Again," title song of the Columbia Pictures
release composed by Joe Brooks, winner
of this year's Academy Award for best
song. "You Light Up My Life."
The new single by the singer, which was
placed on sale in advance of the film's national
release in May, v/as produced by
Brooks for Atlantic and will be introduced
with an extensive promotional campaign by
the record company.
A gold-record artist, Roberta Flack currently
has two hit recordings on the nation's
sales charts—a single, "The Closer I Get To
You," and the certified gold album, "Blue
Lights in the Basement."
"If Ever I See You Again," which Brooks
produced and directed, stars Brooks with
Shelley Hack, Jimmy Breslin, Kenny Karen
and Jerry Keller. The new film features the
music and five original songs written by
Brooks, who also co-authored the screenplay
with Martin Davidson.
Ohio Chosen as Site
Of 3 Film Projects
COLUMBUS. OHIO—Three Hollywood
film producers have selected sites in Ohio
for projects, said James A. Duerk. development
director for the state. The Ohio Film
Bureau was instrumental in helping the
producers find suitable locations.
Universal Studios is using areas in Tuscarawas.
Holmes, and Coshocton counties
for filming portions of "Centennial," a 25-
hour novel for television which NBC will
air next October. Several authentic Amish
homes and faims will be used as the setting
for the film, which traces the cross-country
trip from Lancaster, Pa., to Centennial,
Colo, by a 24-year-old Mcnnonite in 1844.
Shooting of the film is set to start this
month and will last up to four weeks. The
company will use Ohio River locations near
Higginsport for filming an Indian fight
scene.
Quinn Mart'n Productions is planning to
use locations in
the Akron area for the filming
of a two-hour fictionalized drama titled
"The Abortion Dilemma." Pending script
approval by CBS television officials, filming
is set to start late this month.
Mary Tyler Moore Productions went to
Cincinnati early in April to shoot opening
scenes of a TV situation comedy.
Mall Screens Free Films
To Attract New Business
MOORESTOWN. N.J. — Feature film
shows are being utilized by the Moorestown
Mall Merchants Ass'n. in helping to attract
shoppers to the local mall. On every third
Tuesday of the month, the merchants will
sponsor a free movie show at the Eric Plaza
Theatre located in the mall. The promotion
kicked off May 16 with the showing
of "Thieves."
Screen shows are scheduled at 10 in the
morning, giving the moviegoers the entire
afternoon to shop at the mall stores. Admission
to the free show is restricted to
adults. The normal opening hour for the
Eric Plaza is I p.m.
"Eyes of Laina Mars" was directed by
Irvin Kershner.
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BOXOFHCE :: June 5, 1978

. . . Also
. . The
.
Conn. Exhibition Touts
Special Lower Prices
HARTFORD—Connecticut exhibition is
placing greater emphasis on reduced prices
to attract new audiences, according to Boxoffice
sources. Newspapers throughout the
state are advertising bargain matinees, "twilite
hour" specials and student and senior
citizen admission prices.
Independent exhibitor Leonard Paul recently
leased the long-shuttered Burnside
Cines 2, East Hartford, and is charging 99
cents for all seats at all times and selling
candy for 25 cents. The fast-expanding
Perakos Theatres, New Britain, with both
four-wallers and under-skyers, advertise
bargain matinees (to 2 p.m.) at deluxe showcases.
In downstate Meriden, where the GCC
Mediden Mall 2 is offering $1.50 admission
to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the competing
Tolls Theatres' Meriden 2 has been
advertising $1.25 tickets to 3 p.m.
At the same time, an increasing number
of Connecticut drive-ins are charging X dollars-per-carload,
regardless of the number
of passengers, and this on continuing
a
basis.
Agency Finds Violation
Caused Cinema Collapse
HARTFORD — A cement wall under
construction at the Redstone Theatres" Showcase
5, Charter Oak Mall, East Hartford.
that collapsed in April and killed a worker,
was not braced and, therefore, violated federal
working standards, according to a newly-released
federal report.
The Valley Concrete Corp.. Farmington.
Conn., has been cited for the building violation,
said Harold R. Smith, area director for
the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
Smith said that the west wall of a sixth
auditorium addition to the Redstone plex did
not have roof trustees, joists or other means
of bracing to provide the lateral strength to
prevent collapse of the wall.
The violation carries a $400 fine if proved.
Valley Concrete's appeal of the report is
to be heard by an administrative judge on
an as-yet not scheduled date.
Services for Innes Held
BOSTON—A memorial service was held
in King's Chapel House. Beacon Hill, for
Killer Innes, 75, a retired production manager
for Paramount Pictures. He had retired
from the firm in 1961 with 31 years
of service. As production manager, his responsibilities
included approval of scripts.
He was the brother of the late State Senator
Charles J. Innes. There are no immediate
survivors.
'Bad Weather' Matinees
NORWOOD, MASS.—The Norwood
Cinemas 2 advertise, "Matinees, Saturday-
Sunday, 2 P.M.— Bad Weather Only—Call
Theatre!"
MAINE
^he Paris Cinema. Portland, advertised
"free popcorn" with each admission at
weekend family matinees. Admission was
all all $1 for seats at four shows. The E.M.
Loew's Fine Arts Twin Cinemas (auditoriimi will have a tab of $ 1 00-per-.seat with remainder
of the house scaled downward. Bob
two), also Portland, played "Futureworld"
and "At the Earth's Core," AIP 1976 releases,
Eaton. Chamber of Commerce spokesman.
at matinees, also charging says that if Hope does agree to come to
weekend
Maine, "it will be a small portion oi that
$1 admission for all seats.
weekend, which will be the first of its kind.
"The Ladykillers," Continental Releasing It is intended to tie-in with the University
1956 British import co-starring Sir Alec of Maine's football game at Orono. and may
Guinness and Peter Sellers, was shown at involve a country-western show, fashion
show, productions by the Bangor Symphony,
the Hancock Coimty Auditorium in Ellsworth.
Joseph E. Levine, the Embassy Pictures
Corp. president-turned-independent producer,
put the Olson house in Cushing.
made famous by artist Andrew Wycth, up
for sale at a price reported in the $500,000
range. Levine three years ago. after having
spent some $200,000 on remodeling the
structure, stood on the front lawn and loudly
cursed the Cushing townspeople for an
alleged torrent of hate mail involving the
planned Wyeth Museum. With national television
recording his words, Levine charged
that more than a hint of antisemitism might
have been at the crux of town reaction.
College cinema: "Young Frankenstein"
(20th-Fox. 1974). Colby College; "Straw
Dogs" (Cinerama, 1971), University of
Maine Gorham campus; "Bringing Up
Baby" (RKO, 1938), Bates College; "Zorba
the Greek" (International Classics, 1965),
Bowdoin College; "Annie Hall" (United
Artists, 1977), University of Maine Portland
and Gorham campuses, among others.
Newly-arrived on Maine screens:
Columbia's
"Silver Bears," AIP's "The Incredible
Melting Man," plus states' rights X product,
"Finishing School." "Keyhole," "Please
Please Me" and "Pretty Lips," among
others.
The holdover bloc included Universal's
"House Calls" plus "FM," Paramount's
"Pretty Baby." 20th-Fox's "High Anxiety"
and "An Unmarried Woman." Avco Embassy's
"Rabbit Test" and Warners' "The
Goodbye Girl" ... A word about Paramount's
"Saturday Night Fever"—the John
Travolta starrer has developed an enormous
young adult cult, with holdovers continuing
beyond exhibition's fondest expectations
across the state ... At the same time,
Warners' "Oh. God!" the George Burns
starrer, which demonstrated strong boxoffice
strength some months ago in initial
playdates. has been returning to a number
of situations with surprisingly brisk trade
The Greater Bangor-Brewer Chamber of
Commerce disclosed at presstime that it was
negotiating for Bob Hope to bring his show
troupe to a first-of-its-kind weekend in October.
One news source tells Boxofmce that
the Hope troupe will have to be guaranteed
between $35,000 and $40,000 at the Bangor
Auditorium; this means the first five rows
and Acadia Repertory Theatre and a brunch
or lunch. A retail and industrial exposition
of some kind has also been discussed."
The Gallic
import, "The Discreet Charm
of the Bourgeoisie." was shown in the student
lounge of the Bangor Community College
as concluding attraction in a continuing
free series. Professor Martin Pincus conducted
a postscrcening discussion.
"Hallelujah the Hills," made by independent
New England filmmaker Adolphas
Mekas, was shown in the town hall at Blue
Hill . . . The Hancock County Auditorium.
Ellsworth, hosted a Humphrey Bogart
double-bill, comprised of "Casablanca" and
"Passage to Marseilles."
An irate letter to the editor of the Bangor
Daily News (it has the largest daily circulation
in Maine; some 80.000 copies) singled
out advertising for X rated films. "Perhaps
you have not taken into account." the letter
went on. "that when the ads tend to reveal
the content of the movies, they become almost
X rated themselves . . . Perhaps many
of your readers pay no attention to these
ads, and thereby acquisce to their being
there. I have children in my home, and I
don't wish for them to be exposed to this
sort of thing. Many of the newspapers advertise
X rated movies with no comments
of any kind .
."
Warners' "Straight Time" was slotted into
the Paris Cinema, in-town Portland, with
$1.50 admission in effect for all seats at all
times . . "Beauty and the Beast." Jean
Cocteau's effort of some years ago. was
brought back by The Movies. Portland . . .
The Lincoln Cinema. Lincoln, playing Paramount's
"The One and Only," used the line,
"with Henry "The Fonz" Winkler." in newspaper
advertising.
"Little Women," the RKO 1933 release,
was screened at the Performing Arts Center,
Bath . Maine Mall, South Portland
(tenants include General Cinema
Corp.'s Maine Mall Cinemas 3). hosted a
doing well has been a reprise
community talent competition, the winner
scheduling of United Artists' "Annie Hall."
designated to appear with Boston show-host
on the strength of the Woody Allen comedy's
four
Dave Maynard on WBZ TV.
Oscars.
Bernardo Bertolucci has scheduled a late
spring start on "La Luna," starring Liv UUmann,
with locatic photography in Brooklyn,
N.Y. planned.
BOXOFFICE :: Ji 1978 NE-1

. FM
'
.'
. . . More
New Haven Greets
'Joseph Andrews'
NEW HAVEN—Some imaginative newspaper
teaser advertising generated a brisk
235 opening week for Paramoiint's "Joseph
Andrews." in a long-delayed area premiere
(national release was last October) at the
Sampson & Spodick York Square Cinema.
Avco Embassy's "The Manitou" (doublebill)
opened in five situations (in-town Whalley
and four suburban underskyers). Two
Universal releases— "I Wanna Hold Your
Hand," with 190. auditorium one, Redstone
Showcase 6 and "The Gre,:k Tycoon," 165.
auditorium one, RKO-Stanley Warner Cinemart
2. and auditorium two. General Cinema
Corp.'s Milford and EMC Film Corp.'s
"Convention Girls" (double-bill), 150, Milford
and Summit underskyers. completed
the incoming bloc.
(Average Is 100)
Cinemart I, Miliori 11—The Greek Tycoon
(Univ) 165
Cinemart II—An Unmarried Woman (20th-Fox),
wl.
Milford I—The Goodbye Girl V/B), 16th wk
Millord. Sjtt.z-.-a T : Convention Girls (EMC)
'
Noked Eider -) '
in
Showc:i; I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Univ)
'
Showsas- F.l.S.T. rird v/k
'
Showcasv -
: i v/k
Showcase :.' House Calls i"n:v) 8th wk
Showcase V-Salurday Nighl Fever (Para),
23rd wk
Whalley, iour dnv for "Bitter Heritage."
NE-2 BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978

NEW BEDFORD
The Lockwood-Friedman Twin Cinema
140, playing 20th-Fox's "An Unmar
ricd Woman," auditorium one, and Avco
Embassy's "Rabbit Test," auditorium two,
h.id innovative promotion indeed; free adml^sion
was offered to any unmarried or
mairied woman accompanied by an unmarried
or married man.
AIP's "The Incredible Melting Man"
opened day-and-date at the Fairhaven and
Westport Drive-Ins. with same distributor's
"The Town That Dreaded Sundown" companion
feature in Fairfield and "Food for
the Gods," co-feature in Westport.
«*.^*
The Wareham Drive-In double-billed
states' rights' R-rated "Sweater Girls" and
"Swinging Cheerleaders," with a $6-percarload
charge in effect (regardless of number
of passengers) . . . States' rights' X-
rated "Dirty Lilly" opened at the Center
Cinema, advertising heralding the booking
as "Direct From New York City World
Premiere" . . . The Oxford Cinema, Fairhaven,
charged $1.50 admission for all seats
at all times with subsequent-run playdate of
Universal's "The Choirboys."
"Suspicion," RKO 1941 release directed
by Alfred Hitchcock and co-starring Cary
Grant and Joan Fontaine, was shown as a
free attraction at the Westport Free Public
Library.
Tom Shire sr., of the State Cinema, hosting
the regional premiere of Paramount's
"Pretty Baby." included the line, "Banned
In Canada!" in advertising. The Louis Malle
attraction carries an R rating from the Motion
The
Picture Ass'n. of America . . . Lockwood & Friedman Twin Cinemas 140,
with a booking of MGM-UA's "Coma,"
charged $1.50 admission for all seats at all
times.
Area openings, in addition to "Pretty
Baby," included Universal's "FM," plus
"The Greek Tycoon." with the holdover
roster comprised of Warners' "Straight
Time." "The Goodbye Girl," Mulberry
Square Productions' "For the Love of Benji,"
20th-Fox's "High Anxiety" and Avco
Embassy's "The Manitou."
Earl J. Dias, arts critic for the Standard-
Times, touching on "Rabbit Test" (Avco
Embassy) and "High Anxiety." commented:
" 'High Anxiety' is not a flawless movie, but
compared with 'Rabbit Test.' it is a masterpiece."
The New Bedford Whaling Museum
hosted a showing of "Unfaithfully Yours."
20th-Fox 1948 release co-starring Rex Harrison
and the late Linda Darnell. Admission
was $2.
The Wareham Drive-In. with area bow ol
states' rights' R-rated "Varsity Plaything"
and "Campus Teaser" on a double-bill.
charged $6-per-car. regardless of number of
passengers.
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BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978

Liberty
I
HARTFORD
Plans for a $2,500,000 sports complex
have been disclosed for Rocky Hill by
Robert Maher. president of Hospitality Consultants
of Farmington. An 85.000-squarefoot
facility is to house 20.000 square feet
of offices, ten racquetball courts, five tennis
courts and a tournament hall that will
seat 500. A rooftop restaurant and cocktail
lounge are also included. One of the fastestgrowing
Hartford suburbs. Rocky Hill is
presently cinema-less; just down the Silas
Deane Highway in adjacent Wethersfield.
however, is the long-shuttered Cine Webb,
once a flourishing part of the Lockwood &
Gordon Theatres.
Independent exhibitor Leonard Paul,
operating the Burnside Cines 2. East Hartford,
on lease from Keppner-Tarantul Theatres,
changed the name to Burnside Twin
Cine ... A spokesman for the Hartford
Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n at Boxoffice
press time denied published reports that the
bank was considering an offer to reopen the
long-closed Central Theatre, West Hartford,
on a 99 cents admission-at-all times
policy.
Walter Robinson acknowledged that
the bank was negotiating with an unidentified
two-man partnership seeking acquisition
of the property, valued at over $250.-
000. At the peaktime of the Warner Bros.
Theatres in metropolitan Hartford, the Central
was a key subsequent-run. Hugh J.
ISound and
Projection Service
Nationwide — on all brands.
RCA Service Company. A Division of RCA
43 Edward J Hart Rd . Industrial Park
Jersey City, N J 07305, Phone (201)451-2222
CTVI^JL\!»L\ IS L\ SHOW
BI'SLVESS IX HXWAH TOO,
Wlicn you c(jiiic to Waikiki,
don't miss the famous Don Ho
Show ... at Cinerama's
Reef Towers Hotel.
Ri:i;i- • WAIKIKI TMwr.K ( n rni, ki.ii
^'5f
years . . .
. . .
Campbell managed the house for many
Management of Marc Anthony's
Restaurant reported a filmmaking troupe
^he Perakos Theatres Associates
would be shooting scenes for a project titled.
circuit
""Night Blindness." a disco-oriented motion
donated six tickets (valued at $18) to
picture, at the Wethersfield Ave. facility.
the Elm 2 to the West Hartford Rotary
Club dinner/auction at the Veterans Memorial
Media memos: The Leader, a 53.000-cir-
Rink: tickets for the latter function culation newspaper in East Hartford, ceased
publication The Journal-Inquirer.
after year, sold for $ 1 5-per-person and proceeds benefitted
a as
the West Hartford Athletic League
26.000-circulation tabloid published
in adjacent Manchester, began distributing
and other community organizations . . .
Richard A. Curland. creator of "Nos-Trivia."
free copies in the other paper's immediate
John Krikorain. national
a quiz game of questions and answers circulation area
combining nostalgia and trivia, quizzed the
advertising manager of The Hartford
audience at Killingly High School the other Courant since 1975. becomes advertising director
July 31 with retirement of Robert
Monday night on vintage motion pictures,
among other topics, in a special performace
L. St. Martin. St. Martin joined the news-
as part of the Killingly-Brooklyn Springpaper
in 1936.
Frank Sinatra jr. and the
time Festival . . .
Larry O'Brien octette performed in two SBC Management Corp.'s Enfield Cine 4
shows daily Monday-Wednesday (22-24) at was among co-sponsors, as member of the
the Westfarms Mall's Grand Court.
Enfield Mall Merchants Ass'n.. of a performance
featuring the Fermi High School
and Enfield High School jazz bands at the
mall Saturday (20). The reigning Miss Connecticut
and 24 contestants from all over
the state appeared and. for good measure,
the mall merchants distributed free gift certificates
and picked up the tab for a grand
prize drawing . . . Richard J. Wilson. SBC
vice-president, advises that the mall merchants
are offering volunteer groups the
use of the center mall floor space for a
small deposit fee of $15-per-table. the fee
returnable after the sponsoring organization
cleans the area.
VERMONT
Leave it to Merrill Jarvi.s, the independent
exhibitor, to come up with yet another
variation on a tried-and-proved theme; hosting
Vermont premiere of Columbia's ""Casey's
Shadow" at his Merrill's Showcase 3
(metropolitan Burlington first-run plex).
Jarvis advertised a "Money Back Guarantee"
And. for good measure, he spelled
out
the terms: "YoLir money will be refunded in
full within the first 45 minutes of this film
if you do not feel that you are really being
entertained . . . No questions asked. How
can you go wrong?—The Management."
Providing even greater inducement, the indefatigable
Jarvis offered "bargain" matinee
admission of $1.25.
Another independent exhibitor, Paul Gamache,
St. Albans Drive-In, brought back
Paramount's "Orca the Whale" as companion
feature for sub-run booking of same
mont openings: 20th-Fox's "Thunder and
Lightning," "Damnation Alley," United
Distribution's "Kentucky Fried Movie,"
states' rights "Love You to Death" and
Much in the manner of
'"Hard Soap" . . .
Universal's "Smokey and the Bandit." Warners'
"Oh, God!" has emerged as a cult attraction
of sorts; it is enjoying holdover
status to an astonishing degree.
Ihe Lightning Ridge Film Society sponsored
a showing of the Italian import, "I
Vitelloni." on a Friday at 8 p.m. in the
Pavilion ALiditorium, Montpelier . . . Cinema
5's "Harlan County USA" was shown
in the Pavilion Auditorium. Montpelier, under
sponsorship of the Lightning Ridge Film
Society.
Paramo jnt's "Saturday Night Fever," in a
boxoffice performance similar to that experienced
across the New England states
and throughout the country, is demonstrating
strong holdover capacity in Vermont.
Merrill Jarvis. Merrill Theatre Corp., metropolitan
Burlington, slotted the John Travolta
starrer into a record-breaking sixth
month in auditorium three of his Merrill's
Showcase 3.
"An Unmarried Woman" was accorded
cover page attentiom. no less, in the Burlington
Free Press "Weekend Living" section
in conjunction with playdate at the Merrill
J;irvis situation. The Free Press does not
review film, per se, but quoted an unidentified
critic as having said the Jill Clayburgh
stairer was "a wise, witty, sad and
hilarious comedy."
NEW BRITAIN
J^nother area daily newspaper—the Bristol
Press— boosted its price-per-copy from
15 cents to 20 cents, attributing the increase
to escalating costs . . . Michael
Frederick O'Neal Speaks
To Tufts Univ. Students
BOSTON—Frederick O'Neal, international
president of Associated Actors and Artists
of America, is a black actor whose theatrical
career was launched over 50 years
ago in St. Louis. He is currently appearing
in an Urban League production of the life
of Haiti's Henri Christophe. O'Neal has
kept a careful diary of his life in the theatre
since the '20s. but can't make up his mind
who will get his journals and other theatrical
memorabilia.
O'Neal, in Boston at the invitation of
the Committee on Black Involvement in
Drama at Tufts University, lectured to the
studjnts. A notable black library, the Schomberg
collection of Negro literature and history,
is a candidate to get some of O'Neal's
collection, as are the University of Wisconsin
and Boston University which has a
sizeable library of black studies.
F. Killian
is new retail advertising sales manager for
The Herald New Britain's afternoon daily;
on the advertising staff since 1976, he was
previously an ad man at the Manchester
Evening Herald.
The E.M. Loew's Farmington Drive-ln is
one of the few regional underskyers to carry
constant reminders in advertising about refreshment
service; the words. "'Visit Our
Sna k Bar!" appear next to the theatre logo.
John Perakos, vice-president and assistant
general manager of the family owned-andoperated
Perakos Theatres Associates circuit,
has been elected to the board of directors.
New Britain Bank & Trust Co.
NE-4 BOXOFHCE :: June 5. 1978

I would
!
filmmakers
Louis Malle Is Irked
By Ad in Tradepaper
TORONTO—Shortly after the Ontario
Censor Board banned the motion picture
"Pretty Baby." John Rhodes, the province's
industry and tourism minister, initiated the
publication of a six-page glossy advertisement
in a Hollywood-based film industry
tradepaper. In the ad. Rhodes stated: "I
like to take this opportunity to invite
to take a look at Ontario. You
will like what you .see artistically, technically
and economically."
The publicity move by the Ontario Industry
and Tourism Minister frankly rubbed
director Louis Malle, who megged "Pretty
Baby," the wrong way.
Malle promptly replied to Rhodes in a
subsequent issue of the same tradepaper as
follows: "For those filmmakers who will
consider your invitation, will you prepare a
list of facilities and sites available in Ontario
as well as an index of themes deemed
both Canadian and U.S. TV and the
controversy between the censor board and
Malle has received full treatment from the
print media.
The blackout on the Paramount Pictures
release "Pretty Baby" continues in the province
of Ontario. While the distributor could
opt to take the matter into the courts, a
recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling
backing the right of provincial boards to
censor films might have a chilling effect
on that approach.
In the meantime, the buzz-buzz continues
in film industry circles regarding the reasons
for the censor board ban. There appears
to be, however, no indication that anyone is
going to back down on the issue and minister
Rhodes probably will continue to try to
lure filmmakers to the province through all
media available to him.
Astral Sets U.S. Release
For 2 Canadian Features
MONTREAL—M. M. Stevenson, president
of Astral Films. Ltd.. announced that
he has concluded a U.S. distribution agreement
for two important Canadian films.
Allan King's "Who Has Seen the Wind,"
starring Jose Ferrer, and Claude Heroux's
"The Uncanny," starring Ray Milland.
Mickey Stevenson stated: "We are particularly
pleased with these contracts signed
with the Trooper Corp. of Houston, Tex.,
which, in addition to substantial cash advances
on both pictures, incorporates terms
and conditions which will assure maximum
returns to the Canadian producers and investors."
Hollywood Filmmakers Chart Major
Summer Slate in British Columbia
VANCOUVER—Hollywood
filmmakers
are descending on British Columbia, according
to Les Wedman, entertainment editor
of the Vancouver Sun. "Murie May is
dusting out Panorama Studios and looking
for waterfront luxury homes for rent to accommodate
Hollywood filmmakers as they
invade British Columbia to give it the biggest-ever
moviemaking boom this summer,"
Wedman wrote recently.
His article, which outlined plans for
shooting in northwestern Canada, is quoted
herewith:
Three Feature Films
If production goes according to plan,
there will be at least three feature films
shot here and a 26-episode TV series, with
a total budget of close to $12,000,000, a
good chimk of which will boost the British
Columbia economy, especially for the patient
people like film industry initiator May
feature that will star Shirley Jones.
The company moves into Penticton to
start shooting Monday (5) for the better
part of three weeks. There also will
be filming
done in Vancouver, according to unit
manager John Wardlow. .Schaefer, he said,
will be taking exceptional care in the casting
of a boy and girl to play the Orchard Children,
who need to be five and seven. Casting
also has been done in New York and
Los Angeles but a Canadian actor still is
being sought to play opposite Jones. The
production, for Time-Life Films, will cost
just under $1,000,000. Schaefer intends using
as many Canadians in front of and behind
the camera as possible. There will be a
cast of 35.
"Black Sunday" Team
Frankenheimer and Rosen are among
those who've asked real estate woman Muriel
May to find them houses to make their
stay here more comfortable. Frankenheimer
also is in search of exceptional restaurants.
A reputed gourmet and chef as well. Frankenheimer
sampled Chez Joel when he was
here last and has an invitation to use the
kitchen anytime. Also looking for a house
is Oscar-winning actress Talia Shire, who
has the lead in "The Windsor Project." A
male co-star has yet to be named.
Paul Tucker, scouting locations and doing
liaison here, said the first week of July
is the likely starting time. Panorama Studios
likely will be used as a cover set in case the
weather turns nasty. He said art director
Bill Smith arrives from Los Angeles and
Frankenheimer's stunt coordinator gets here
shortly. The cinematographer. whose name
hasn't been released yet, also is expected
soon to do some test .shooting.
That's because the film will introduce to
audiences a new 3-D process, reported to do
away with the awkward glasses with the
red and green cellophane lenses. "The Windsor
Project," a thriller, is expected to be
out at Christmas. With a budget of $8,000,-
000, it is by far the most expensive feature
ever made in Vancouver and probably in
Canada.
acceptable? May I suggest respectfully that
you also inform filmmakers of the province's
Sutherland to Star
board of censors and its unpredictable and those waiting for it to happen.
which have the effect of paralyzing
George Schaefer, with eight Emmys to
dictates
filmmakers' freedom of expression?"
his credit for outstanding TV dramas
So far as is known, no further exchanges
most of them on the "Hall of Fame" seriesis
the first to descend on film hopefuls here. with his own company. He also will star in
of heated sentiment are planned for publication
in
the trades; however, the ban has been
"The it with Brooke Adams, said to be one of
He'll be completing the casting for
the subject of considerable discussion on Orchard Children." a two-hour TV special Hollywood's fastest-rising actresses. She has
two films due for release soon. One is "Days
Next to go will be "A Man. A Woman
and a Bank," that actor Donald .Sutherland
will make here in August and September
of Heaven" and the other, in which she costars
with Sutherland too, is United Artists'
"Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Avco
Embassy is financing and distributing the
comedy drama for Sutherland and partner
Peter Samuelson that will have an eight to
nine-week shooting schedule here and in
Macao.
The most exciting project in the works
and one that could well lead to other things
is "Huckleberry Finn and His Friends," 13
hours of TV entertainment producer Robert
Stabler will be doing here, on location
and in Panorama Studios, the facilities built
in West Vancouver almost two decades ago
when hope of a British Columbia fihn industry
was even more optimistic than it is
now.
With German and Canadian money in the
Teamed again for Paramount Pictures
co-production, Stabler expects to meet with
are producer Robert Rosen, production manager
Allan Levine and director John Frank-
his Frankfurt financier to finalize plans.
Stabler, whose Madison Productions is based
in Los Angeles, was the man behind sevenheimer.
all of whom will arrive in town
soon to stay for at least eight weeks of filming
of "The Windsor Project" in which Briteral
TV series. Recently he was making TV
features in Australia and now has returned
ish Columbia is supposed to double for the
to do a series here, something he long has
upper state of Maine. The threesome has
wanted. According to May. Stabler is a man
worked together before on "Black Sunday"
who
and "French Connection 2."
doesn't start something he cannot finish.
From Los Angeles, Stabler said he will try
for a mid-June start but he still has to cast
Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer since
is the series based on both Mark Twain
books. He will be auditioning for two boys,
one from Vancouver and the other from Toronto.
His scripts arc being written by Canadians
and .Americans and the directing
(Continued on page K.-4)
BOXOFHCE :; June 5, 1978
K-1

,
•-.'.•o
-The
',
-
.
Very
Equus Gallops Into Capital City
But Stumbles at the Starting Line
OTTAWA—United Artists' "Equus" finally
arrived in Canada's capital, but went
unnoticed, as did most of the city's other
new arrivals. Warner Bros.'s Oscar-winner.
"The Goodbye Girl," grabbed a Very Good
in its 21st week to lead the pack. All other
pictures did either Fair or Good business.
Capilol Square 1, B-itannin The Chosen
(AFDi
Fair
Ca'Dlto; : , ; - ,
\ Goodbye
Girl
Very Good
Elgin— Conung Home
• . ,: Good
Elmd3.r Blue Collar ::.•../. Fair
Utile £.q..-,—Equus lUA) Fair
Nelson—The Last Waltz iUA) Good
Place de VUle 1, Cinema 6—An Unmarried
Woman (BVFD), 3rd wk Good
Place de Ville 2. Airport—Cooch (PR) Fci-r
Rideau, Britannia The Manitou (Astral) - Fair
St. Laurent 1—House Calls (Univ), 3rd wk Good
St. Laurent 2—FM (Umv), 3rd wk Fair
Somerset, Queensway—The Fury (BVFD),
3rd wk Good
Rainy Vancouver Weather Throws
Wet Blanket on Ozoner Activity
VANCOUVER—Rainy weather which
hurt outdoor attractions failed to put a
damper on strong hardtop fare. Both "The
Greek Tycoon" at the Odeon, and "The Last
Waltz" at the Downtown bowed with Excellent
grosses, while holdover "Coming
Home" was home free in the Capitol 6,
and "F.I.S.T." still packed a powerful wallop
at the Stanley.
Capitol 6— Coming Home (UA),
4th wk Excellent
Capitol 6—The Chosen (AFD). 3rd wk Fair
Capitol 6 Coach (PR) Average
wk Fair
Capitol 6—The Redeemer (PR), 2nd
Capitol 5—High Anxiety (BVFD),
wk 14th Average
Capilol 6—Saturday Night Fever (Para),
22nd wk Fair
Downtown The Last Waltz 'UA) Excellent
Odeon—The Greek Tycoon ;'Jr.;. Excellent
Stanley F.I,S.T. (UAi, 3 .:',: :i Very Good
Vancouver Centre—A Little Night Music
(IFD) _ ._ Slow
Vancouver Centre The Goodbye Girl iWB),
21st wk Fair
Vogue—FM (Univ), 3rd wk Fair
Response to New Toronto Films
Hits Barometer's Two Extremes
TORONTO—Toronto tilmgoers are tough
on new films—either they love them or ignore
them. This week's barometer readings
were no different. Of five newcomers, three
of them— "Jennifer," "The Pink Telephone"
and ".Spccdtrap"—did Poor business. One,
"F.I..S.T.". boiled to the top of the line with
and Excellent, followed not far behind by
"Alice. Sweet Alice" with a Very Good. The
latter film was not hurt, certainly, by the
publicity given star Brooke Shields in her
controversial picture "Pretty Baby," center
of controversy in
Ontario.
'
Elgin—lenniler (AFD)
Poor
Five theatres— Alice. Sweet Al
Good
(IFD)
Very
Four theatres—House Calls (U
Very Good
Hollywood—An Unmarried Woman (BVID),
wk Good
„',h?a.:--5—FM (Univ), 2nd wk Fair
tr.eai.-fcs—Star Wais (BVFD),
.46lh v,-k, ..._ Very Good
3rd wk Fair
University—F.I.S.T. (UA) Excellent
Uptown—Coming Home (UA), 3rd wk Excellent
Uptown Speedtrap (IFD) Poor
Uotown-Saturday Night Fever (P^rcil
21st wk. Fair
York—Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(Col), 21sl wk Very Good
All But One of Montreal's First
Run Films Score Good or Higher
MONTREAL—Universal's "I Wanna
Hold Your Hand" failed to find favor
among fans of the Fab Four. The film
found only a Fair following in its first week.
All other pictures, however, were Good or
above, including "Super Flics" (French language)
and "The Last Waltz," a newcomer,
both of which were rated E.xcellent. "Cry
For Me Billy", "Long Dark Night" and
"The Girls of Madame Claude" were Good
in terms of boxoffice draw; all others, including
newcomer "The Manitou," were
Very Good.
Alwaler—I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Univ) Fair
Avenue—The Goodbye Girl (WB),
21sl wk Very Good
Cinema—Coming Home (UA)
3rd wk Very Good
Claremonl—An Unmarried Woman (BVFD),
9th wk . Good
Cole Des Neiges—House Calls (Univ),
8th wk Very Good
Loews—The Last Waltz (UA) Excellent
Loews—The Manitou (Astral) Very Good
Loews Saturday Night Fever (Para),
22nd wk Very Good
Loews—Long Dark Night (WB), 2nd wk Good
Loews The Girls ol Madame Claude (Mut),
2nd wk Good
Palace—Cry For Me BUly (PR) Good
Place Ville Mane— Pretty Baby (Para)
5th wk, .. Very Good
Van Home—Akira Kurosawa's Dersu Uzala
(IFD)
Good
York—F.LS.T. (UA), 3rd wk Very Good
French Language Films
Herri—Super Flics (Astral), 2nd wk Excellent
Champlain La Rencontre du 3ieme Type
(Astral), 8th wk
Good
Cremazie-Annie Hall (UA),
lOlh wk Very Good
Parisien— 1900 (Para), 12th wk Very Good
Parisien—La Vie Devant Sai (Pros),
9th wk Very Good
Parisien Tendre Poulel (Para),
3rd wk Very Good
Two Newcomers, Two Holdovers
Score Top Grosses in Calgary
CALGARY—Two long-running holdovers.
"The Goodbye Girl" and "House
Calls." have kept audiences laughing for
quite some time. They continued to do so
this week, both films earning Excellent ratings.
Two relative newcomers also filled
cinema houses, "Pretty Baby" and "Coming
Home." both in their second weeks and
both drawing Excellent response. Fair ratings
were earned by two new pictures,
"Island of the Damned" and "A Little Night
Music," while "What's Up Nurse" and "The
Manitou" did Good and Very Good business,
respectively.
Calgary Place 1— Pretty Baby (Para),
2— Coming Home (UA)
2nd
Grand 1 The Manitou ( I :i Very Good
Grand 2—FM ' , •
Very Good
Market Mall : The One and Only ! Tl
14lh wk. Good
Market Mall 3— Return From Witch Mountain
(BV), 7th wk Fair
Market Mall 4—Julia (BVFD), 14th wk Good
Market Mall 5— Oh. Godl (WB), 3lsl wk Good
Market Mall 6—Straight Time (WB), 8th wk Good
North Hill—Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(Astral), 20th wk. Good
7th wk Good
Palace Island of the Damned (AFP) Fair
Palliser Square 1—The Fury (BVFD),
5th wk Good
Palliser Square 2—A Little Night Music
(AFD)
Fair
Three theatres—Beyond and Back (PR),
4th wk . Fair
Towne Blue—The Goodbye Girl (WB),
20lh wk Excellent
Uptown 1—House Calls (Univ),
8th wk. Excellent
Uptown 2, Westbrcok 1—What's Up Nurse
(IFD)
Good
Westbrook 2—Crossed Swords (WB), 8th wk .Good
Holdovers Dominate in Edmonton;
'Egg' Is Highest Rated Newcomer
EDMONTON—Newcomers didn't stand
a chance against the powerful draws of such
holdovers as "The Goodbye Girl" and
"FM," which hit the Excellent mark. Other
excellent films were "Beyond and Back,"
"Coming Home," "Rabbit Test" and "Pretty
Baby." Most of the openers attracted only
Fair crowds. The single exception was "The
Serpent's Egg" which managed a Good in
its first week at the Gameau.
Caoilano, Towne—Beyond and Back (PR),
2iid wk Excellent
Capitol Square 2 Coming Home (UA),
2nd wk Excellent
Capitol Square 3—Rabbit Test (Astral),
2nd wk Excellent
.
Capitol Square 4—A Special Day (PR)
Fair
Garneay—The Serpent's Egg (Para)
Good
A
Londonderry
Meadowlark— Silver Bears (Astral), 3rd wk Fair
Odeon I—FM (Umv), 2nd wk Excellent
Paramount—The Fury (BVFD), 4lh wk Good
1, 1 Plaza Rialto That's Carry On (Astral) Fair
Strand—The Incredible Melting Mon (AFD);
._ Love Under 17 (AFD) Fair
Westmount A Pretty Baby (Para),
2iid wk Excellent
Westmount B—The Goodbye Girl (WB),
20th wk Excellent
"Last Waltz,' 'Greek Tycoon' Win
Boxoflice Battle in Winnipeg
WINNIPEG—As holdovers slipped, two
newcomers, "The Last Waltz" and "The
Greek Tycoon," opened to Excellent ratings.
"Coming Home" was still very strong,
but slower, and "The Goodbye Girl," and
"Star Wars." still around from last year,
were average or better, and holding. "Pretty
Baby" and "High Anxiety" were above average,
but down from last week.
Capitol—Coach (PR), 4th wk Good
Colony Pretty Baby (Pa; 3)
3rd wk Very Good
Convention Cs-nlie— 1 Wonna Hold Your Hand
Fair
(Univ) ..
Downtown— Unsatisfied Love (PR), Rendezvous
with Anne (PR) Average
Garden City—Record City (AFD) Fair
Garrick 1—High Anxiety (BVFD), 4th wk Good
Garrick II—The Manitou (Astral), 2Tid wk Fair
Grcnt Park—The Goodbye Girl (WB),
21st wk Good
Kings—Star Wars (BVFD), 47th wk Average
Metropolitan—The Redeemer (PR) Good
Northstar Il-Coming Home (UA),
3rd wk Excellent
Odeon The Greek Tycoon (Univ) Excellent
Polo Pa'rk—The Last Waltz (UA) Excellent
Publication Is Resumed
By Monlreal Newspapers
MONTREAL—Cinemas here once again
will have the option of advertising attractions
in the newspaper.
Two major French-language dailies, La
Presse and Montreal-Matin, returned to the
newstands May 8 for the first time in seven
months. Publication was resumed following
the settlement of a contract dispute.
Italian Star Visits Toronto
TORONTO— Film actress Gina Lollobrigida
was in town in mid-May to act as
co-host on a 12-hour telethon to raise money
for a home for the aged.
K-2
BOXOFnCE :: June 5. 1978

077 AW A
Uere in Ottawa, one gets the feeling that
the Ottawa managers are trying to make
pinball wizards of their patrons. The Rideau
Theatre started the trend and has some
twenty-two machines on their premises. The
Britannia Twin Airport and Queensway
drive-ins were the next to bring the machines
into their buildings. Now the Place
de ViUe, Capitol Square and Elgin theatres
also sport the pinball machines. Many patrons
seem to be enjoying the games of
chance.
Ottawa was the site of the largest marathon
race in Canada May 15. Over 2,400
runners participated in the National Capital
Marathon which is considered one
of the best in the world. The runners" ages
varied from seven years to 67. The fortytwo
kilometre race produced one of the
most exciting finishes ever in the four-year
history of the marathon. Brian Maxwell of
Toronto completed the 26 miles in 2 hours,
16 minutes and 2.6 seconds to beat out Mississauga's
Paul Bannon by a mere twotenths
of a second. These two runners will
represent Canada at the Edmonton Commonwealth
Games in August. Of the participants
about 1,750 completed the event.
VANCOUVER
Dene Joyal of Canfilm did not gamble on
our spring weather and took a quick flight
to Hawaii . . . Not so fortunate was Janet
Wizniuk who. with her mother, took off for
a motor trip to Washington state, only to
be rained out in Seattle during the general
rainstorm which covered the whole Northwest
during the May 13-14 weekend . . .
The same storm raised havoc with most outside
activities, particularly the drive-ins,
which usually pick up in the weeks following
the start of Daylight Saving Time, and
field sports such as baseball, which has just
returned to this city after a lengthy absence.
The storm did not deter Variety Club Tent
47's first international bed race, which drew
a total of 24 entrants, all sponsored in the
amount of $500 each by various firms.
Entries came from as far away as Hawaii,
which was fitting, since the Pacific Mall
complex was sponsoring a Hawaiian week.
(Continued on page K-4)
Former Alfa. Censor Board Member
Discusses Movies, Morals and Mores
EDMONTON— "Censoring doesn't mean
condoning," declared M. Jones, former
member of the Alberta Censor Board, in a
by-lined article published May 12 by the
Edmonton Journal.
Ms. Jones' comments regarding censorship
are quoted herewith:
Everyone has a differept concept of what
a film censorship board ought to be or is
actually doing.
Libertarians tend to assume that all film
censors are narrow-minded, joyless people
who live to cut. Moralists feel that nobody's
doing anything about anything anymore and
that the people in charge have lost all their
marbles and are letting everything through.
While many film lovers are probably relieved
that this director's work has been
made available to the people of Alberta in
Qindy Williams, star of "American Graffiti,"
its original form, the other side is probably
wondering just what's going on. Here is the
"The First Nudie Musical" and
and story of a child prostitute and our film censors
TV's "Laverne & Shirley," planed in
by. Are the guardians
are letting it get
out, missing the media representatives who
of our moral standards condoning such behavior?
were eager to interview her.
Mrs. Gerty Sutherland, wife of Odeons
vice-president here, is resting at home following
The idea of "condoning" is where a lot
misimderstanding arises. To pass a film
of
an auto accident.
for exhibition does not imply that whatever
is portrayed is condoned or recommended
Vi Hosford returned from a visit to the
by the censor board as suitable social behavior.
East Coast of the U.S., where she visited
case, the board
Myrtle Beach, S.C; Bermuda; New York,
and Chicago.
If this were the
would be forced to reject 95 per cent of all
popular films.
Even in the most innocent family-type
entertainments, we see robberies, fist fights,
BOXOFHCE :: June 5, 1978
car chases and other reprehensible behavior.
Yet many of the complaints that come in
to the board are based on the feeling that
the board has "approved" undesirable behavior,
ignoring the fact that viewers must
expect to exercise a certain amount of judgment
in assessing the morality of situations
in the movies.
Situations
Too Complex
Even a small child should be able to understand
that the man who's beating up
Black Beauty is doing something bad and
h's behavior is not to be imitated. Some situations
are too complex for the young to
be able to make their own judgments and
this is where film classification comes in.
The more sophisticated the moral dilemma,
the more likely the film to become Adult
or Restricted Adult.
Those who complain about leniency on
the part of the board frequently fail to make
the distinctions between the various categories.
Complaints against a film like "The
Exoicist" arose from the fear that impressonable
young people would be negatively
influenced by what they saw on the screen.
In the U.S., where there are no holds
barred on movie admissions, this could be
the case and, in fact, the media played up
the situation with tales of faintings and
nightmares. But according to the laws in
this province, young people simply are not
legally entitled to see the movie. The borderline
age between adulthood and youth,
for the purpose of law, is arbitrarily set at
18, taking this as a norm of maturity.
We must wonder why it is that while
literally hundreds of B-gradc sexploitation
pictures play with monotonous regularity
Either way, there is a law in this country
which gives rise to provincial censorship at certain theatres with never a murmur of
protest from the public, a hornets' nest is
boards, and that law recently was upheld
by the Supreme Court of Canada. Such inevitably stirred up when the same sort of
boards are therefore a fact of life; a fact goings-on are filmed on a high budget with
which again has been brought to attention competent actors, a reasonable plot, and
by the current furor over the film "Pretty good photography. "Emmanuelle" was a
Baby" and its banning in Ontario and Saskatchewan.
classic case.
In these situations, the majority of com-
What's Going On?
plaints tend to come from people who have
not seen the movie but just know how bad
it is because of its reputation. Ah, reputation—the
sister of rumor, gossip and calumny.
Since the film is of a higher-than-average
technical quality than the fly-by-night
quickies, a broader segment of the public
actually is likely to enjoy it than normally
would happen with the cheapies that run
for a week and disappear. Word-of-moiith
builds into a reputation, and a snowball
effect
occurs.
Just as the girl with the bad reputation
in high school is condemned by those who
don't know her personally for actions which
may be no different than those of her less
flamboyant classmates, certain films are
singled out for scandal even though they
cross no boundaries hitherto uncrossed.
Playing at a respectable downtown theatre
just aggravates the situatio.T and the outcry
becomes disproportionate to the actual offence.
The censor board, in such cases, would
be wrong to fall prey to influence by reputation
and rumor. It must render the same
judgment that it would if the film had no
advance publicity whatever.
In the case of "Pretty Baby." certain red
(Continued on Page K-4)

. . met
Hollywood Filmmakers
Slate Summer Productions
(Continued from pags K-1)
jobs will be split, too.
Bob Gray, commissioned by the provincial
government to encourage and promote filmmaking
here after provincial film commissioner
Wolfgang Richter was dismissed, is
in London making contact with a number
of British producers, at least one of whom
wants to shoot part of a feature in British
Columbia with the coastline and mountains
substituting for the Norwegian fjords.
Gray . with no less than 60 producers
and studio executives in Hollywood
and reported "a tremendous amount of interest
in British Columbia as a place to
make films." He earned coverage in the
tradepapcrs with his pitch that U.S. filmmakers
could save money by shooting in
British Columbia because of the favorable
exchange rale on the American dollar.
yANCOUVER
(Continued from page K-3)
This gave the Women of Variety a chance
to raise needed club funds via a pineapple
fruit sale. In spite of the rain May 13. large
crowds gathered to watch the event, including
elder statesman and founding chief barker
Harry Howard. The "fun" sports idea
has become big in these parts and every
event draws large crowds and many participants.
The following day, almost 2,000 runers
and joggers participated in a "fun run"
sponsored by CHQM Radio, the Y.VICA
and the park board, around the sea wall at
Stanley Park, with a prize of some sort lor
everyone.
Tent 47 canvasman Max Schnier. on a
trip back to his old haunts in Calgary and
Winnipeg, participated in planning talks
for the new Variety tents which are in the
works for Calgary and Winnipeg . . . Locally,
Tent 47 continued to grow with the
addition of the following: Cecil Groberman.
Dr. Mark D. Schonfeld, M. J. Zabensky.
Kenneth F. Benoy, Abe Gray, George E.
Phillips, C. J. Connaghan, Daniel M. Mc-
Nemey and Herb Capozzi.
The Miracle Drive-In, Black Creek, has
a new owner. Max Rolinski. Jack and Elsie
Kirk, who have run the theatre for many
years, are going to "retire" to build themselves
a new, larger home.
Alberta Censor Discusses
Movies, Morals. Mores
(Continued from page K-.3)
herrings are being raised which confuse the
issue, due to the youth of the star, Brooke
Shields. With the current proposals for
amendments to the criminal code concerning
child exploitation now being put forth,
the whole issue bears a closer look.
It is curious that the same society which
is so outraged at the use of a young girl in
a film actually encoiuages the sexual exploitation
of children in so many other
forms. Every summer, young girls dressed
in skimpy outfits parade down the streets
of North America, wiggling their bottoms
and flashing their thighs in the ritual of
the drum majorette. Anyone who does not
believe that this is an exploitation of youthful
female flesh should ask himself why it
is that the boys in the marching bands are
quite decently covered as opposed to the
girls.
Female children are encouraged to join
booster clubs in our schools, again donning
provocatively tiny outfits while executing
some fairly raunchy steps in their roles as
cheerleaders, purely for the entertainment
of the male heroes of the school football
team. The most disgusting spectacles, and
ones which seem to me to be a parallel to
the "virginity auction" in "Pretty Baby,"
are children's beauty contests.
Right down to preschool age. tiny little
girls are paraded out in sequined bikinis,
covering nonexistent breasts and hips but
hinting at the future goods. They prance and
mince like nightclub dancers, then are rewarded
strictly on the basis of attractive
flesh. And their mothers approve of it!
All this is accepted as innocent, clean
fun. But I find it more insidious, debasing
and corrupting than a film which in no uncertain
terms makes it clear thai a yoimg
girl is. in fact, being exploited.
Brooke Shields' Private Life
A further concern with "Pretty Baby"
has been the private life of Brooke Shields.
Her mother is reputedly an alcoholic who
freaks out and lets her pose in the nude in
Penthouse magazine. Decidedly not a desirable
upbringing.
But it is certainly not the job of a censorship
board to judge a film on the basis of
the private lives of its stars. The movie brat
is an unfortunate part of show business life.
Tatimi O'Neal exhibited some pretty precocious
behavior, both on screen and off, with
her tough language, smoking and blase ways
at a tender age.
Hayley Mills, who starred in the most innocent
of roles, surprised her audiences by
becoming involved with a much older man;
while Jodie Foster, who played a very convincing
hooker at the age of 12, privately
expressed her inability to understand why
anyone would find her body sexy and seems
to have drifted back to "kid" roles. Her
situation could be even more potentially
exploitative than the case of Brookie Shields
who. from interviewed accounts, does seem
to know what she's doing.
But such nuances are simply beyond the
scope of a film censorship Ijoard. Its concern
is the audience, not the cast. Once
again, it is mot a matter of condoning or
approving of isolated behavior on screen or
off; it is a matter of viewing a film in its entire
context and placing it into that category
in which the aud'ence likely will best be
able to judge the film for itself.
The censor board, after all, is comparable
to any other body which screens consumer
goods for distribution. The idea is to
make as much as possible available to the
public, mot keep as much as possible out.
Only in the most extreme cases of hard-core
pornography should permission be denied.
.'\nd "Pretty Baby" is nowhere near that
type of film.
For those who wonder, "Then just what
is?", the question will have to remain unanswered
as long as the censor board continues
to do the job it has been appointed
to do.
Canadian Customs Ordered
To Nab Blasphemous Film
OTTAWA—Revenue Minister Joe Guay
has advised members of Parliament and senators
via memorandum that customs officials
have been ordered to stop at border
points prints of a film "variously titled as
'The Many Faces of Jesus' or 'The Three
Faces of Jesus' " so that the motion picture
can be examined for immoral or indecent
content.
Said Guay, "It is alleged that this film
contains material of an indecent or blasphemous
nature."
Under the Customs Act, the Canadian
government can seize and destroy immoral
or indecent material.
The official action was taken after the
justice minister and secretary of state were
inundated with letters and petitions protesting
the motion picture; nevertheless, it could
not be ascertained with any specificity that
such a film actually existed and no one could
be located who actually had viewed a film
of this nature.
One government official commented, "We
don't even know if the darned film exists.
We have no proof of such a film being in
Fleming Memorial Award
Is Set for Composers
OTTAWA—The Canadian Music Council
announced that an annual award for
young composers has been established in
memory of Robert Fleming, former director
of music for the National Film Board
in Montreal and music professor at Carleton
University here. The first award will be
presented next spring and it will amount to
the annual interest earned on an endowment
of $10,000 raised by friends of Fleming.
The award will go to a student chosen
by a jury from candidates proposed by music
conservatories and university schools of
music.
The memorial award will be administered
by the Canadian Music Council and the selection
jury nominated by three national
music organizations.
Fleming died in 1976 of cancer at the
age of 55. He had composed scores for more
than 250 films, as well as numerous works
for orchestra, ballet, band and chamber music
performance groups.
C'llVERAMil IS L\ SHOW
BI'SLVESS L\ ILUfiUl T,
f
Wlicn you come to Waikiki,
don't miss tlic famous Don Ho
Show . . . ut Cinerama's
Reef Towers Hotel.
K-4
BOXOFHCE :: June 5, 1978

. Helios
* "
BOXOFFICE BOOKINCUiDE
An interpretive analysis oi lay and tradepress reviews. Running tim« is in parentheses. The plus and
minus signs indicate degree of merit. Listings cover current reviews regularly. Symbol sj denotes
BOXOFFICE Blue Ribbon Award. All films are in color except those indicated by (b&w) for black & white.
(MPAA) ratings: gj —general audiences; PG—all ages admitted (parental
dance suggested); [g — ricted, with persons
admitted unlei ccompanied by
or adult guardian; gcy—persons under 17 not admitted. National Catholic Ofiice to Motion
(NCOMP) ratings: Al— unobjectionable for general patronage; A2—unobjectionable f( adults
lescents; A3—unobjectionable for adults; A4—morally unobjectionable for adults.
B— objectionable in part for all; C—condemned^ Broadcasting and Film Coi ission. National Co
of Churches (BFC). For listings by company, FEATURE CHAET.
I^EVI£W DIGEST
AND ALPHABETICAL INDEX
++ Very Good; + Good; Poor; = Very Poor the summory H is rated 2 pluses, = as 2 minuses.
5022 Almost Summc
5016 American Hot
(91) C-DV
5013 Amsterdam KM
Shares
Barocco (102) Ac-
D ...Films La Boetie-Sarah Films 5-15-78
Battle of Chile. The (191) Doc
(b&w) Tricontincntal 4-17-7S A3
Betsy, The (125) D AA 2-27-78 C
5008 (H
5013 Bio Sleep. The
(100) My-Sus-D UA 3-20-78 1)8
Bio Thumbs (SO) Sex C Coast 5-29-78 (»
500S Billion Dollar Hobo, The
(90) C Infl Show 2-27-7S Bl
Picture
Black at Yale: Film Diary
a
(50) Doc ...Warrington Hudlin 4-24-78
Blue Collar (110) D Univ 2-13-7S 5005 El C
5008 Blue Country (105) C Quartet 2-27-78 PG C
5021 Blue Sunshine
(97) Ho-D Cinema Shares 4-24-78 Bl
in C. 5000 Boys Company The
(126) War C-D Col 1- 9-78 E) B
Breaking With Old Ideas
(120) D Oclolier Films 2-13-78
Bus. The (87) Melo .
Films 5-15-7S
Calm Prevails Over the Country (100)

, WB
. ..RAI
REVIEW DIGEST
AND ALPHABETICAL INDEX ^ Very Good, ^ Good; ^ Fair; - Poor; = Very Poor. the summary H is rated 2 pluses, — as 2 minuses.
4986 Lookinj for Mr. Goodbar
(135) D
49S7 Love at First Sight
(85) C-D
Para U- 7-77
Movietime 11-14-77
9+1-
1+2-
5014 Madame Rosa (105) Atlantic 3-20-7S A3 -f
5001 Mado (130) D Joseph Green 1-30-78 B +
5C21 Malibu Beacii (93) C Crown 4-24-78 [H +
+
5014 Man Who Loved Women, The
(U9) C-D Cinemas 3-20-78 B +
4981 Maniac (90)
Ac-Sus-D New World 10-24-77 PG ±
5009 Manitou. The (104) Ho-D ,..Emb 3- 6-78 PG B +
4992 Mansion of the Doomed
(85) Ho-D Group 1 11-2S-77 H ±
5010 Mean Dog Blues (108) Ac-D AlP 3- 6-78 m +
5010 Medusa Touch. The
(110) Siis-Ho-D
.
Mother .-nd
Daughter
3-13-78 PG A3 -f
(SO) D Pantheon 1 5-15-78 +
Mr. Klein (124) D Quartet 2-13-78 PG A3 ++
5006 My Boys Are Good Boys
(90) Ac-D Peter Perry 2-13-78 PG +
—N—
4987 Night Child (90)
Sus-D Film Ventures 11-14-27 E! +
49821900 (241) Hi-D Para 10-24-77 IBl C -H-
5026 Nunzio (92) C-D Univ 5- S-7S PG +
4979 OOh, God! (104) C WB 10-17-77 PG A3 -f
4974 On the Comet (75) SF ....Filmaco 9-19-77 +
Ona People: Life and Death in Tierra
del Fuego. The (55)
Doc Chapman/de Gonzalez 1-23-78 ±
5006 One and Only, The (98) C .... Para 2-13-78 PG A3 -f|
5000 Opening Night (144) D Faces 1-9-78 A3 -f
4998 Operation Thunderbolt
(125) Hi-Sus-D ....Cinema Shares 1- 2-78 PG A2 +
Other Side of the Mountain Part The
5005 2.
(100) D Univ 2-13-78 PG A3 +
5027 Our Winning Season (92) C-D ..AlP 5-15-78 PG +
—PO—
Padre Padrone (114) B-D ...
Pafnucio Santo
11-14-77
(98) F Conacir e, S.A. 10-31-77
4988 Pete's Dragon
(135) An-CM BV 11-14-77 El Al
Phantom Baron
(100) F Rohauer 2-13-78
Raymond
4981 Piece of the Action, A

1
1
ON
.Ml
•<
1

s
s
Ses
sill
II?
S?E
SE|
III!
ee"*-?
oSEi
ilil

ON
•|aa

Jan
. May
Nov
Nov
. Aug
May
MISCELLANEOUS
Rel. Date
FLORA RELEASING
D.. Ann 77 Mast
0) Aug 77
Way Back (91) Oct 77
Fred Williamson, diaries Woolf
Second Spring (92) Nov 77
riirt .lursens. Irmgard Shonberg
BEEHIVE PRODUCTIONS
Chesty Anderson, U.S. Navy
Lust Flight (80) ...Sex D. June 78 (88) Nov 77
Seren.i. Mi\e '.'ingpr. I'.it Manning Shari Eubank, DorrI Thomson
Curves Ahead! (81) ..Sex C. Oct 78 Death Journey (91) Nov 77
Gnldie l!f:ir. \V,F. Margold
Fred Williamson, Bernard Kuby
Tlie Lady Wants a
Mean Johnny Barrows (90) ..Nov 77
Tramp Sex C . 79 Fred Williamson. Roddy McDowall
Sliclielle St. Bernard. Robert Terrier Wacky Taxi (79) Nov 77
Frank Sinatra jr., John .\stln
Seeds of Evil (90) Dec 77
Joe Dallcsandro, Katharine
Houghton
JOSEPH BRENNER
Keep My Grave Open (85) ..Jan 78
The Devil's Rain/The Viroiii Wit Camilla Cair. Gene Ross
(90/90) M: The Demon Lover (80) May 78
Erne-t H..:Kiiiiir. Bililie .Vlliet/ Christman Robbins. Val Mayerik
.\iin Mklipllr. Patricia llaincs The Bandits (87) May 78
Autorsv/Carrie (UA)
Robert Conrad. Jan-Michael Vincent
(85/98) Mar 78
Mims) Farm.T. liay Lovelncl

Opinions on Current ProducHons
Symbol Q denotes color; © CinemaScope: ® Panavision; IT) Technirama; (g

FEATURE REVIEWS Story Synopsis; Exploitips; Adiines for Newspapers and Program^
THE STORY: "All Things Bright . . ." (World Northal)
It is 1938 in the Nortli Yorksliire Dales in Great Britain.
World War II is looming. Veterinarian John Alderton becomes
a jiuiior partner of Colin Blakely. He lives with his
wife. Lisa Harrow, in cramped attic quarters on top of
Skeldale house, which belongs to Blakel.v and where the
practice is based. He trims budgerigars' beaks and saves a
herd of ailing cattle, treating each animal individually
and compassionately. When Alderton successfully operates
on a dog's broken leg he is offered a partnership with
a vet in town, but is too fond of Blakely to leave. He
judges a pet show at a comitry fete and helps a yoimg
vet student. Paul Shelley, obtain some practical experience.
Alderton delivers a calf: later, his own child is born.
The following day Britain declares war on Germany. But
for the time being there are other things to think about
such as a busy vet practice and taking a new-born son
for a stroll through the beautiful countryside.
EXPLOITIPS:
Plan a tie-in with the Bantam book. Local zoos and pet
stores may also be contacted for tie-ins.
CATCHLINES:
A Man You'll Want to Meet, a People You'll Want to
Know, a Country You'll Want to Live in, a Love You'll
Want to Share ... A Movie the World Needs Now!
THE STORY:
"Speedtrap" (First Artists)
A my.sterious car thief, nicknamed Roadrunner, wreaks
havoc in Phoenix by stealing luxui-y cars and causing
police cars to collide in their- pm'suit. The thief knows
electronics and has a small black box that opens car
doors, starts engines and interferes with radio frequencies
for police calls. The latter alone leads to police car
collisions, and police captain Morgan Woodward is blamed,
Insiu'ance companies call in Joe Don Baker to investigate.
Policewoman Tyne Daly is assigned to assist
Baker, her old friend. Mechanic Richard Jaeckel receives
calls from Roadrunner with information for Baker. Robert
Loggia's car, containing a million dollars worth of
heroin, is stolen. Loggia, a crime boss, is associated with
Woodward. With the help of Jaeckel's information. Baker
finds the car. In a hair-raising chase he catches Roadrunner.
who turns out to be Daly. She takes him to
Woodward's warehouse, where they shoot it out with
Woodward and Loggia, killing them. Baker then decides
to take a vacation with Daly and her ingenious black
box.
EXPLOITIPS:
Stage a "Speedtrap" stunt event. Tie in with local auto
races. Mount a wrecked car display. Offer a survival certificate
to patrons leaving the theatre.
CATCHLINES:
Crazy for Speed and Driving— for Revenge! ... No One
Could Stop Roadrunner!
USE THIS HANDY SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM
BOXOFFICE:

1 salary,
":
. Boxoffice,
,
top
f.ES: 50c per word, minimum $5.00 CASH WITH COPY. Four conaecutive insertions lor price
iree. When using a Boxoffice No. figure 2 additional words and include $1.00 additional, to
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B;pr coat of handling replies. Display Classified, S38.00 per Column Inch. No commission
Uved. CLOSING DATE: Monday noon preceding publication date. Send copy and answera
, ox Numbers to BOXOFFICE. 825 Van Brunt Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64124.
HELP WANTED
lOGHESSIVE Midwest circuit lias pc
ible, managers and troine
benelits (hospitalizali
Send resume in confiden
!AUTIFUL indoor 6-plex in lowa-Illiircepting
applications lor ex-
:;.anagers, also assistant man-
- nj to learn the business. Must
iia:e to Rock Island, Illinois. A fine
tiy package for experienced, serious,
^nsible persons, including company
hospitalization, dental and retireplans.
For these immediate openings.
! (309) 787-5961 for applications or
resume to Redstone Management,
Vest 10th Ave., Milan, 111. 61264. We
equal opportunity employer, M/F.
TO EXPANSION, General Cinema
3 Will have openings for assistant
inager trainees in the Georgia/
lina areas. Salary competition, excelbenelils.
EOE. Send resume to Genma
Theatres, Division Olfice, 2967
, Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339.
LOUIS AREA— Small, growing cirhas
management openings for several
Run Deluxe houses and drive-ins.
benefits for the right peo-
Send photo, salary requirements and
4100.
des liberal accident, health and life
ance, vacations, concession and ad
lissions and much more. Salary comurate
with experience. Send complete
with recent photo to: Boxoffice,
POSITIONS WANTED
ONTROLLER,
FILMS FOR SALE
10 minute short, "Myst.rv i
ItIQUE .ows." Theatre house-reel. Recip^er
orldwide acclaim. Low price. Conta:
ucer. Conrad Brooks, 3205 Los Feli
., Apt 11-106, Los Angeles, C.
BM PUBUC DOMAIN classics. Catalog
; ^
; .. :k, 3621-B Wakonda Drive. Des
.3 50321.
FILMS WANTED
•INTED: 35mm trailers, 1930-1977, ani
i/'tv L Brown, 6763 Hollywood Blvd.
: 1, Calif. 90028.
-
Independent Producers: Es-
...n exchange for over 30 years
, - : all types of film product to
ib'ule lor Chicago and Wisconsin
k Contact: Lillian Eigner, c/o Kaplan
finental Pictures, 203 N. Wabash, Chik
111. 60601. (312) 782-8413.
POPCORN MACHINES
lAND NEW COUNTER MODEL all
I.;TR1C Display Poppers from $426.50
o. Knspy Korn, 120 S Halsled, Chi-
O 60605.
IE RIGHT background music adds the
ft ct touch to your theatre. Demo tape
rable. (815) 397-9295.
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
TICKET MACHINES repaii
DRIVE-IN SPEAKERS reconed, $1 50
to: each. Send JED. Service Co., 10
Woodside Drive. Grafton, Massachusetts
(617) 839-4058.
mmn Hous(
THEATRES FOR SALE
CIRCUIT, South Texas. Highly prolitable
operation. 13 theatres in 8 towns. $2,100-
TWO I6mm Victor-Kalart proectors with 000 00. Terms to qualilied buyers. JOE JOzoom
lenses, $200 each Two 16mm Victor- SEPH (214) 363-2724.
Kalart power-pack projectors with zoom DRIVE-IN THEATRE. Eastern shor
lenses, $400 each. Send $100 with order, ars. Al Condition. 14 acres. Hot
pay balance upon inspection of projectors. irea. Call (301) 742-5915.
Call (305) 531-3423. Write: Mini Theatres
of Florida, Box 402788, Miami Beach, Florida
33140.
New York. Own
EQUIPMENT PACKAGE Irom ti
Cinemeccanica projectors. 700 An
DRIVE-IN THEATRE CIRCUIT m Dalle
Stellar seals plus. (314) 822-4098.
HOLMES 35mm portable projectors,
bases, constant speed motors, cnnplilier,
lenses. Baby Strong lamps and rectiliers,
good condition. Perfect for small theatre or
screening room. $1,000 00 pair. (816) 523-
2699. Boxoffice. 4101.
POWERS 35mm projectors, converted
sound, incandescent lamps, stands, squc
magazines, ampliiier and speaker,
original equipment. Museum pieces. $50
00 pair. (816) 523-2599. Boxoliice, 4102.
RADIO SOUND lor drive-in theatres,
only $1995 factory direct *• no costly
rewiring includes transmitter and backup
unit if meets FCC requirements. Call
ic
now. toll free, lor lurther iniormation.
Ask for Operator 31. National, (800) 824-
NOTCH MANAGER wanted for ex- 5120. California, (800) 852-7711.
3 first run operation in major city 14" METAL REFLECTORS, reiinished.
tst location. Top salary. Send resume $49.50: Thousand bargains. What do you
mfidence. Boxoffice, 4109.
need? STAR CINEMA SUPPLY, 217 West
21st Street, New York 10011.
SIMPLEX heavy duty or lightweight
bases, $400.00 set. Super heads, $350.00
set. Wanted: one set DeVry X-D projectors
Robert Dominic, 2529 Nordell, Castro Valley,
California 94546. (415) 537-1887.
S; Xonex I 7/8 LPS cassette player; Lalayette
RK-8008 8-track stereo deck; Realistic
SCP-I stereo cassette player; SCT-5C
stereo cassette tape deck and turntable;
Realistic 4-channel quad-synthesizer; General
Control ticket machine. Best oiler.
Boxoliice, 4106.
EQUIPMENT WANTED
WE PAY good money for used equiplent.
Texas Theatre Supply, 915 S. Alalo,
San Antonio, Texas 78205.
TOP CASH PAID for Xenon lamphouses,
THEATRES WANTED
soundheads, projectors, lenses and portable
projectors. What have you? STAR
CINEMA SUPPLY, 217 West 21st Street,
New York lOOIl. Phone (212) 675-3515.
INDOOR THEATRES or drive-ins wanted
lease in Mich., Oh. and Ind Open or
to
closed. Please send iniormation. Boxoffice,
BUSINESS STIMULATORS
THEATRE GAMES. Binqo Banko $8 (
2, weekly. Novelty Games, R.D. Port le
vis, NY. 12771.
BUILD ATTENDANCE with real Ha
ion orchids. Few cents each. Write F
ers of Hawaii, 670 S. Lafayette Place,
Angeles, Calif. 90005.
THEATRE MONTHLY CALENDARS, weekly
programs, heralds, bumper strips, daily
boxoliice reports, time schedules, passes,
labels, etc. Write lor samples, prices. Dixie
Litho, Box 882, Atlanta, Ga. 30301.
BINGO CARDS DIE CUT: 1-75, 1500 combinations
m color. PREMIUM PRODUCTS,
339 West 44th St., New York, N.Y. 10036.
(212) 245-4972
WORLD'S LARGEST THEATRE broke
JOE JOSEPH, Box 31406, Dallas 75231 (21-
363-2724
TURLOCK, CALIFORNIA. Twin Indoor,
391 seats each side. $350,000.00. JOE JO-
SEPH (214) 363-2724
DRIVE-IN THEATRES in Lemmon, SD
and Bowman, ND. Show good net. Box
189, Spearlish, SD. (605) 642-4857
TX. 4 drive-ms, includes all real estat
JOE JOSEPH (214) 353-2724.
tauront, apartme
seats. Details and photos Saco Fall:
3lty, Columbia Falls, Maine 04623.
AUSTIN, TEXAS 975
ity ipus ).00. JOE JOSEPH
:214) 363-2724.
ALSO IN THE FOLLOWING TEXAS
TOWNS. Drive-in, Longview $200,000 00.
AND in Marlin, indoor, downtown, $35,-
000.00 AND in Honey Grove, indoor, $30,-
000 00. AND in Alpine, twin indoor and
drive-in $75,000.00. JOE JOSEPH (214) 353
2724.
THEATRE,
sr 10 years. Excellent
lamily
$25,000 cash, long
ice, 4092.
NORTHEAST KANSAS Theatre, 7 years
old 350 seats. Good lamily operation.
4,000 population. County seat. Reasonably
priced. Owner retiring. Call (913) 552-
3554 lor more details.
THEATRE PLUS RENTALS. Small
DRIVE-IN THEATRE CONSTRUCTION
cle
Idaho town. Hodden Realty. Shosho.
Idaho 83352.
SCREEN TOWERS INTERNATIONAL: Ten
TEXAS—Only Drive-in in Eastland Coun Day Screen Installation, (817) 642-3591.
ty, population 19,000. Ill health lorces re Drawer P. Rogers, Texas 7B569
A/V EQUIPMENT—Alt spot (portable); tirement. Herbert Rapp, (817) 547-1149.
Shure console control with reverb, model
VA 30Z-C: VM turntable model 1658-1; 2
Shure 6 It- speaker columns, model VA300-
AUTOMATED indoor theatre. Prosperou
Charleston, WV suburb. 494 seats, nei
equipment, air-conditioned. 100,000-plu
drawing population. Boxoffice, 4103.
THEATRES FOR LEASE
INDEPENDENT has cash to buy indoor
and drive-in. Southeastern town of 8,000-
15,000. Boxoffice, 4094.
300 CAR DRIVE-IN, Pulaski, Virginia
Only drive-in in county, population 35,-
000. Earl B. Fow, P. O. Box 250, Dublin,
Virginia. (703) 674-5045.
4087.
TO LEASE, theatres 600 s
area. Send lull inlormatic
Henderson, 5115 Induslria
Las Vegas, Nev. 891 13.
THE MANUAL OF THEATER MANAGE-
MENT. We appreciate all the mail orders
utives, independent exhibitors and cinema
managers, coast to coast. For your own
copy ol our prolessional hardcover edition,
send $20. check or money order to Raich
J. Erwin, Publisher, Box 1982, Laredo,
Texas 78040.
THEATRE SEATING
TOPS IN THEATRE SEATING upholsterg
anywhere— seat covers made to ordei
hnest materials—low prices—we buy and
sell theatre choirs. Chicago Used Chan
Mart, 2616 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, 111
60612. (312) 235-1111.
SPECIALISTS IN THEATRE SEATING.
New and rebuilt theatre chairs lor sale
We buy and sell old chairs. Travel Irom
to coast coast. Seating Corporation ol
New York, 247 Water Street, Brooklyn
N. Y. 11201. Tel. (212) 875-5433 (reverse
MISCELLANEOUS
WANTED: Recent movie posters, lobby
cards and stills in quantity L. Browri,
6753 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Calii.
lobbvs, press. Memory Shop, Box
Cooper Station. N.Y.C. (212) 473-2404.
CASH lor one-sheets, posters, lobby cord
ets, stills, pressbooks, trade magazines,
oming attraction slides, annuals, trailers.
SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM
BOXOFHCE:
825 Van Brunt Blvd.
Kansas City. Mo. 64124
Please enter my subscription to
BOXOFFICE.
n
D
1 YEAR $15.00
2 YEARS $28.00
n Remittonce
D Send
Inroicc
Encloted
Outside U.S., Conoda and Pan
Amerieon Union, $25.00 Per Yeor.
THEATRE
STREET ...
TOWN
NAME
ZIP CODE
POSITION .
STATE..
C OFnCE :: June 5, 1978

UNIVERSAL PICTURES PROUDLY
ANNOUNCES THE NEXT
MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM THE
1978 ACADEMY AWARD WINNING
BEST ACTOR.
Available as early as October 13th by contacting your Universal Branch Manager.